Assessment of Sensory Processing and Executive Functions in Childhood: Development, Reliability, and Validity of the EPYFEI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dulce Romero-Ayuso

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the “Assessment of Sensory Processing and Executive Functions in Childhood” (EPYFEI, a questionnaire designed to assess the sensory processing and executive functions of children aged between 3 and 11 years. The EPYFEI was completed by a sample of 1,732 parents of children aged between 3 and 11 years who lived in Spain. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted and showed five main factors: (1 executive attention, working memory, and initiation of actions; (2 general sensory processing; (3 emotional and behavioral self-regulation; (4 supervision, correction of actions, and problem solving; and (5 inhibitory. The reliability of the analysis was high both for the whole questionnaire and for the factors it is composed of. Results provide evidence of the potential usefulness of the EPYFEI in clinical contexts for the early detection of neurodevelopmental disorders, in which there may be a deficit of executive functions and sensory processing.

Authentic execution of distributed event-driven applications with a small TCB

OpenAIRE

Noorman, Job; Mühlberg, Tobias; Piessens, Frank

2017-01-01

This paper presents an approach to provide strong assurance of the secure execution of distributed event-driven applications on shared infrastructures, while relying on a small Trusted Computing Base. We build upon and extend security primitives provided by a Protected Module Architecture (PMA) to guarantee authenticity and integrity properties of applications, and to secure control of input and output devices used by these applications. More specifically, we want to guarantee that if an outp...

Development and preliminary reliability of a multitasking assessment for executive functioning after concussion.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Laurel B; Radomski, Mary Vining; Davidson, Leslie Freeman; Finkelstein, Marsha; Weightman, Margaret M; McCulloch, Karen L; Scherer, Matthew R

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVES. Executive functioning deficits may result from concussion. The Charge of Quarters (CQ) Duty Task is a multitask assessment designed to assess executive functioning in servicemembers after concussion. In this article, we discuss the rationale and process used in the development of the CQ Duty Task and present pilot data from the preliminary evaluation of interrater reliability (IRR). METHOD. Three evaluators observed as 12 healthy participants performed the CQ Duty Task and measured performance using various metrics. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) quantified IRR. RESULTS. The ICC for task completion was .94. ICCs for other assessment metrics were variable. CONCLUSION. Preliminary IRR data for the CQ Duty Task are encouraging, but further investigation is needed to improve IRR in some domains. Lessons learned in the development of the CQ Duty Task could benefit future test development efforts with populations other than the military. Copyright © 2014 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Aerobic Fitness and Cognitive Development: Event-Related Brain Potential and Task Performance Indices of Executive Control in Preadolescent Children

Science.gov (United States)

Hillman, Charles H.; Buck, Sarah M.; Themanson, Jason R.; Pontifex, Matthew B.; Castelli, Darla M.

2009-01-01

The relationship between aerobic fitness and executive control was assessed in 38 higher- and lower-fit children (M[subscript age] = 9.4 years), grouped according to their performance on a field test of aerobic capacity. Participants performed a flanker task requiring variable amounts of executive control while event-related brain potential…

A reliable sewage quality abnormal event monitoring system.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tianling; Winnel, Melissa; Lin, Hao; Panther, Jared; Liu, Chang; O'Halloran, Roger; Wang, Kewen; An, Taicheng; Wong, Po Keung; Zhang, Shanqing; Zhao, Huijun

2017-09-15

With closing water loop through purified recycled water, wastewater becomes a part of source water, requiring reliable wastewater quality monitoring system (WQMS) to manage wastewater source and mitigate potential health risks. However, the development of reliable WQMS is fatally constrained by severe contamination and biofouling of sensors due to the hostile analytical environment of wastewaters, especially raw sewages, that challenges the limit of existing sensing technologies. In this work, we report a technological solution to enable the development of WQMS for real-time abnormal event detection with high reliability and practicality. A vectored high flow hydrodynamic self-cleaning approach and a dual-sensor self-diagnostic concept are adopted for WQMS to effectively encounter vital sensor failing issues caused by contamination and biofouling and ensure the integrity of sensing data. The performance of the WQMS has been evaluated over a 3-year trial period at different sewage catchment sites across three Australian states. It has demonstrated that the developed WQMS is capable of continuously operating in raw sewage for a prolonged period up to 24 months without maintenance and failure, signifying the high reliability and practicality. The demonstrated WQMS capability to reliably acquire real-time wastewater quality information leaps forward the development of effective wastewater source management system. The reported self-cleaning and self-diagnostic concepts should be applicable to other online water quality monitoring systems, opening a new way to encounter the common reliability and stability issues caused by sensor contamination and biofouling. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scalable Joint Models for Reliable Uncertainty-Aware Event Prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Soleimani, Hossein; Hensman, James; Saria, Suchi

2017-08-21

Missing data and noisy observations pose significant challenges for reliably predicting events from irregularly sampled multivariate time series (longitudinal) data. Imputation methods, which are typically used for completing the data prior to event prediction, lack a principled mechanism to account for the uncertainty due to missingness. Alternatively, state-of-the-art joint modeling techniques can be used for jointly modeling the longitudinal and event data and compute event probabilities conditioned on the longitudinal observations. These approaches, however, make strong parametric assumptions and do not easily scale to multivariate signals with many observations. Our proposed approach consists of several key innovations. First, we develop a flexible and scalable joint model based upon sparse multiple-output Gaussian processes. Unlike state-of-the-art joint models, the proposed model can explain highly challenging structure including non-Gaussian noise while scaling to large data. Second, we derive an optimal policy for predicting events using the distribution of the event occurrence estimated by the joint model. The derived policy trades-off the cost of a delayed detection versus incorrect assessments and abstains from making decisions when the estimated event probability does not satisfy the derived confidence criteria. Experiments on a large dataset show that the proposed framework significantly outperforms state-of-the-art techniques in event prediction.

Questionnaire-based assessment of executive functioning: Psychometrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Castellanos, Irina; Kronenberger, William G; Pisoni, David B

2018-01-01

The psychometric properties of the Learning, Executive, and Attention Functioning (LEAF) scale were investigated in an outpatient clinical pediatric sample. As a part of clinical testing, the LEAF scale, which broadly measures neuropsychological abilities related to executive functioning and learning, was administered to parents of 118 children and adolescents referred for psychological testing at a pediatric psychology clinic; 85 teachers also completed LEAF scales to assess reliability across different raters and settings. Scores on neuropsychological tests of executive functioning and academic achievement were abstracted from charts. Psychometric analyses of the LEAF scale demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency, parent-teacher inter-rater reliability in the small to large effect size range, and test-retest reliability in the large effect size range, similar to values for other executive functioning checklists. Correlations between corresponding subscales on the LEAF and other behavior checklists were large, while most correlations with neuropsychological tests of executive functioning and achievement were significant but in the small to medium range. Results support the utility of the LEAF as a reliable and valid questionnaire-based assessment of delays and disturbances in executive functioning and learning. Applications and advantages of the LEAF and other questionnaire measures of executive functioning in clinical neuropsychology settings are discussed.

Preserved intention maintenance and impaired execution of prospective memory responses in schizophrenia: evidence from an event-based prospective memory study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gyula eDemeter

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Executive system dysfunction and impaired prospective memory (PM are widely documented in schizophrenia. However, it is not yet clarified which components of PM function are impaired in this disorder. Two plausible target components are the maintenance of delayed intentions and the execution of PM responses. Furthermore, it is debated whether the impaired performance on frequently used executive tasks is associated with deficit in PM functions. The aim of our study was twofold. First, we aimed to investigate the specific processes involved in event-based PM function, mainly focusing on difference between maintenance of intention and execution of PM responses. Second, we aimed to unfold the possible connections between executive functions, clinical symptoms, and PM performance. An event-based PM paradigm was applied with three main conditions: baseline (with no expectation of PM stimuli, and without PM stimuli, expectation condition (participants were told that PM stimuli might occur, though none actually did, and execution condition (participants were told that PM stimuli might occur, and PM stimuli did occur. This procedure allowed us to separately investigate performances associated with intention maintenance and execution of PM responses. We assessed working memory and set-shifting executive functions by memory span tasks and by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST, respectively. Twenty patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 20 healthy control subjects (matched according to age and education took part in the study. It was hypothesized that patients would manifest different levels of performance in the expectation and execution conditions of the PM task. Our results confirmed that the difference between baseline performance and performance in the execution condition (execution cost was significantly larger for participants diagnosed with schizophrenia in comparison with matched healthy control group. However, this difference was not

Advanced Reactor Passive System Reliability Demonstration Analysis for an External Event

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Bucknor

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Many advanced reactor designs rely on passive systems to fulfill safety functions during accident sequences. These systems depend heavily on boundary conditions to induce a motive force, meaning the system can fail to operate as intended because of deviations in boundary conditions, rather than as the result of physical failures. Furthermore, passive systems may operate in intermediate or degraded modes. These factors make passive system operation difficult to characterize within a traditional probabilistic framework that only recognizes discrete operating modes and does not allow for the explicit consideration of time-dependent boundary conditions. Argonne National Laboratory has been examining various methodologies for assessing passive system reliability within a probabilistic risk assessment for a station blackout event at an advanced small modular reactor. This paper provides an overview of a passive system reliability demonstration analysis for an external event. Considering an earthquake with the possibility of site flooding, the analysis focuses on the behavior of the passive Reactor Cavity Cooling System following potential physical damage and system flooding. The assessment approach seeks to combine mechanistic and simulation-based methods to leverage the benefits of the simulation-based approach without the need to substantially deviate from conventional probabilistic risk assessment techniques. Although this study is presented as only an example analysis, the results appear to demonstrate a high level of reliability of the Reactor Cavity Cooling System (and the reactor system in general for the postulated transient event.

Advanced reactor passive system reliability demonstration analysis for an external event

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bucknor, Matthew; Grabaskas, David; Brunett, Acacia J.; Grelle, Austin [Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne (United States)

2017-03-15

Many advanced reactor designs rely on passive systems to fulfill safety functions during accident sequences. These systems depend heavily on boundary conditions to induce a motive force, meaning the system can fail to operate as intended because of deviations in boundary conditions, rather than as the result of physical failures. Furthermore, passive systems may operate in intermediate or degraded modes. These factors make passive system operation difficult to characterize within a traditional probabilistic framework that only recognizes discrete operating modes and does not allow for the explicit consideration of time-dependent boundary conditions. Argonne National Laboratory has been examining various methodologies for assessing passive system reliability within a probabilistic risk assessment for a station blackout event at an advanced small modular reactor. This paper provides an overview of a passive system reliability demonstration analysis for an external event. Considering an earthquake with the possibility of site flooding, the analysis focuses on the behavior of the passive Reactor Cavity Cooling System following potential physical damage and system flooding. The assessment approach seeks to combine mechanistic and simulation-based methods to leverage the benefits of the simulation-based approach without the need to substantially deviate from conventional probabilistic risk assessment techniques. Although this study is presented as only an example analysis, the results appear to demonstrate a high level of reliability of the Reactor Cavity Cooling System (and the reactor system in general) for the postulated transient event.

Advanced reactor passive system reliability demonstration analysis for an external event

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bucknor, Matthew; Grabaskas, David; Brunett, Acacia J.; Grelle, Austin

2017-01-01

Many advanced reactor designs rely on passive systems to fulfill safety functions during accident sequences. These systems depend heavily on boundary conditions to induce a motive force, meaning the system can fail to operate as intended because of deviations in boundary conditions, rather than as the result of physical failures. Furthermore, passive systems may operate in intermediate or degraded modes. These factors make passive system operation difficult to characterize within a traditional probabilistic framework that only recognizes discrete operating modes and does not allow for the explicit consideration of time-dependent boundary conditions. Argonne National Laboratory has been examining various methodologies for assessing passive system reliability within a probabilistic risk assessment for a station blackout event at an advanced small modular reactor. This paper provides an overview of a passive system reliability demonstration analysis for an external event. Considering an earthquake with the possibility of site flooding, the analysis focuses on the behavior of the passive Reactor Cavity Cooling System following potential physical damage and system flooding. The assessment approach seeks to combine mechanistic and simulation-based methods to leverage the benefits of the simulation-based approach without the need to substantially deviate from conventional probabilistic risk assessment techniques. Although this study is presented as only an example analysis, the results appear to demonstrate a high level of reliability of the Reactor Cavity Cooling System (and the reactor system in general) for the postulated transient event

Based on Weibull Information Fusion Analysis Semiconductors Quality the Key Technology of Manufacturing Execution Systems Reliability

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zhi-Hui; Tang, Ying-Chun; Dai, Kai

2016-05-01

Semiconductor materials and Product qualified rate are directly related to the manufacturing costs and survival of the enterprise. Application a dynamic reliability growth analysis method studies manufacturing execution system reliability growth to improve product quality. Refer to classical Duane model assumptions and tracking growth forecasts the TGP programming model, through the failure data, established the Weibull distribution model. Combining with the median rank of average rank method, through linear regression and least squares estimation method, match respectively weibull information fusion reliability growth curve. This assumption model overcome Duane model a weakness which is MTBF point estimation accuracy is not high, through the analysis of the failure data show that the method is an instance of the test and evaluation modeling process are basically identical. Median rank in the statistics is used to determine the method of random variable distribution function, which is a good way to solve the problem of complex systems such as the limited sample size. Therefore this method has great engineering application value.

Human reliability analysis of dependent events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swain, A.D.; Guttmann, H.E.

1977-01-01

In the human reliability analysis in WASH-1400, the continuous variable of degree of interaction among human events was approximated by selecting four points on this continuum to represent the entire continuum. The four points selected were identified as zero coupling (i.e., zero dependence), complete coupling (i.e., complete dependence), and two intermediate points--loose coupling (a moderate level of dependence) and tight coupling (a high level of dependence). The paper expands the WASH-1400 treatment of common mode failure due to the interaction of human activities. Mathematical expressions for the above four levels of dependence are derived for parallel and series systems. The psychological meaning of each level of dependence is illustrated by examples, with probability tree diagrams to illustrate the use of conditional probabilities resulting from the interaction of human actions in nuclear power plant tasks

Analyzing System on A Chip Single Event Upset Responses using Single Event Upset Data, Classical Reliability Models, and Space Environment Data

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Melanie; LaBel, Kenneth; Campola, Michael; Xapsos, Michael

2017-01-01

We are investigating the application of classical reliability performance metrics combined with standard single event upset (SEU) analysis data. We expect to relate SEU behavior to system performance requirements. Our proposed methodology will provide better prediction of SEU responses in harsh radiation environments with confidence metrics. single event upset (SEU), single event effect (SEE), field programmable gate array devises (FPGAs)

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.

The Event Coordination Notation: Execution Engine and Programming Framework

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kindler, Ekkart

2012-01-01

that was written manually. In this paper, we rephrase the main concepts of ECNO. The focus of this paper, however, is on the architecture of the ECNO execution engine and its programming framework. We will show how this framework allows us to integrate ECNO with object-oriented models, how it works without any......ECNO (Event Coordination Notation) is a notation for modelling the behaviour of a software system on top of some object-oriented data model. ECNO has two main objectives: On the one hand, ECNO should allow modelling the behaviour of a system on the domain level; on the other hand, it should...... be possible to completely generate code from ECNO and the underlying object-oriented domain models. Today, there are several approaches that would allow to do this. But, most of them would require that the data models and the behaviour models are using the same technology and the code is generated together...

Test-retest reliability of infant event related potentials evoked by faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Munsters, N M; van Ravenswaaij, H; van den Boomen, C; Kemner, C

2017-04-05

Reliable measures are required to draw meaningful conclusions regarding developmental changes in longitudinal studies. Little is known, however, about the test-retest reliability of face-sensitive event related potentials (ERPs), a frequently used neural measure in infants. The aim of the current study is to investigate the test-retest reliability of ERPs typically evoked by faces in 9-10 month-old infants. The infants (N=31) were presented with neutral, fearful and happy faces that contained only the lower or higher spatial frequency information. They were tested twice within two weeks. The present results show that the test-retest reliability of the face-sensitive ERP components is moderate (P400 and Nc) to substantial (N290). However, there is low test-retest reliability for the effects of the specific experimental manipulations (i.e. emotion and spatial frequency) on the face-sensitive ERPs. To conclude, in infants the face-sensitive ERP components (i.e. N290, P400 and Nc) show adequate test-retest reliability, but not the effects of emotion and spatial frequency on these ERP components. We propose that further research focuses on investigating elements that might increase the test-retest reliability, as adequate test-retest reliability is necessary to draw meaningful conclusions on individual developmental trajectories of the face-sensitive ERPs in infants. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A reliability simulation language for reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deans, N.D.; Miller, A.J.; Mann, D.P.

1986-01-01

The results of work being undertaken to develop a Reliability Description Language (RDL) which will enable reliability analysts to describe complex reliability problems in a simple, clear and unambiguous way are described. Component and system features can be stated in a formal manner and subsequently used, along with control statements to form a structured program. The program can be compiled and executed on a general-purpose computer or special-purpose simulator. (DG)

Reliability research based experience with systems and events at the Kozloduy NPP units 1-4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khristova, R; Kaltchev, B; Dimitrov, B [Energoproekt, Sofia (Bulgaria); Nedyalkova, D; Sonev, A [Kombinat Atomna Energetika, Kozloduj (Bulgaria)

1996-12-31

An overview of equipment reliability based on operational data of selected safety systems at the Kozloduy NPP is presented. Conclusions are drawn on reliability of the service water system, feed water system, emergency power supply - category 2, emergency high pressure ejection system and spray system. For the units 1-4 all recorded accident protocols in the period 1974-1993 have been processed and the main initiators identified. A list with 39 most frequent initiators of accidents/incidents is compiled. The human-caused errors account for 27% of all events. The reliability characteristics and frequencies have been calculated for all initiating events. It is concluded that there have not been any accidents with consequences for fuel integrity or radioactive release. 14 refs.

Reliability research based experience with systems and events at the Kozloduy NPP units 1-4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khristova, R.; Kaltchev, B.; Dimitrov, B.; Nedyalkova, D.; Sonev, A.

1995-01-01

An overview of equipment reliability based on operational data of selected safety systems at the Kozloduy NPP is presented. Conclusions are drawn on reliability of the service water system, feed water system, emergency power supply - category 2, emergency high pressure ejection system and spray system. For the units 1-4 all recorded accident protocols in the period 1974-1993 have been processed and the main initiators identified. A list with 39 most frequent initiators of accidents/incidents is compiled. The human-caused errors account for 27% of all events. The reliability characteristics and frequencies have been calculated for all initiating events. It is concluded that there have not been any accidents with consequences for fuel integrity or radioactive release. 14 refs

Self-reported quality of life measure is reliable and valid in adult patients suffering from schizophrenia with executive impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Baumstarck, Karine; Boyer, Laurent; Boucekine, Mohamed; Aghababian, Valérie; Parola, Nathalie; Lançon, Christophe; Auquier, Pascal

2013-06-01

Impaired executive functions are among the most widely observed in patients suffering from schizophrenia. The use of self-reported outcomes for evaluating treatment and managing care of these patients has been questioned. The aim of this study was to provide new evidence about the suitability of self-reported outcome for use in this specific population by exploring the internal structure, reliability and external validity of a specific quality of life (QoL) instrument, the Schizophrenia Quality of Life questionnaire (SQoL18). cross-sectional study. age over 18 years, diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the DSM-IV criteria. sociodemographic (age, gender, and education level) and clinical data (duration of illness, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia); QoL (SQoL18); and executive performance (Stroop test, lexical and verbal fluency, and trail-making test). Non-impaired and impaired populations were defined for each of the three tests. For the six groups, psychometric properties were compared to those reported from the reference population assessed in the validation study. One hundred and thirteen consecutive patients were enrolled. The factor analysis performed in the impaired groups showed that the questionnaire structure adequately matched the initial structure of the SQoL18. The unidimensionality of the dimensions was preserved, and the internal/external validity indices were close to those of the non-impaired groups and the reference population. Our study suggests that executive dysfunction did not compromise the reliability or validity of self-reported disease-specific QoL questionnaire. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A fast method for calculating reliable event supports in tree reconciliations via Pareto optimality.

Science.gov (United States)

To, Thu-Hien; Jacox, Edwin; Ranwez, Vincent; Scornavacca, Celine

2015-11-14

Given a gene and a species tree, reconciliation methods attempt to retrieve the macro-evolutionary events that best explain the discrepancies between the two tree topologies. The DTL parsimonious approach searches for a most parsimonious reconciliation between a gene tree and a (dated) species tree, considering four possible macro-evolutionary events (speciation, duplication, transfer, and loss) with specific costs. Unfortunately, many events are erroneously predicted due to errors in the input trees, inappropriate input cost values or because of the existence of several equally parsimonious scenarios. It is thus crucial to provide a measure of the reliability for predicted events. It has been recently proposed that the reliability of an event can be estimated via its frequency in the set of most parsimonious reconciliations obtained using a variety of reasonable input cost vectors. To compute such a support, a straightforward but time-consuming approach is to generate the costs slightly departing from the original ones, independently compute the set of all most parsimonious reconciliations for each vector, and combine these sets a posteriori. Another proposed approach uses Pareto-optimality to partition cost values into regions which induce reconciliations with the same number of DTL events. The support of an event is then defined as its frequency in the set of regions. However, often, the number of regions is not large enough to provide reliable supports. We present here a method to compute efficiently event supports via a polynomial-sized graph, which can represent all reconciliations for several different costs. Moreover, two methods are proposed to take into account alternative input costs: either explicitly providing an input cost range or allowing a tolerance for the over cost of a reconciliation. Our methods are faster than the region based method, substantially faster than the sampling-costs approach, and have a higher event-prediction accuracy on

Bioenergy. A sustainable and reliable energy source. A review of status and prospects. Executive Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauen, A.; Vuille, F.; Berndes, G.; Junginger, M.; Londo, M.

2009-08-01

This publication is the Executive Summary of a report prepared for IEA Bioenergy. The full report 'Bioenergy - a Sustainable and Reliable Energy Source' will be available on the website of IEA Bioenergy in digital form and in hard copy in a few months time. The purpose of the project was to produce an authoritative review of the entire bioenergy sector aimed at policy and investment decision makers. The brief to the contractors was to provide a global perspective of the potential for bioenergy, the main opportunities for deployment in the short and medium term and the principal issues and challenges facing the development of the sector.

A fuzzy-based reliability approach to evaluate basic events of fault tree analysis for nuclear power plant probabilistic safety assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purba, Julwan Hendry

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We propose a fuzzy-based reliability approach to evaluate basic event reliabilities. • It implements the concepts of failure possibilities and fuzzy sets. • Experts evaluate basic event failure possibilities using qualitative words. • Triangular fuzzy numbers mathematically represent qualitative failure possibilities. • It is a very good alternative for conventional reliability approach. - Abstract: Fault tree analysis has been widely utilized as a tool for nuclear power plant probabilistic safety assessment. This analysis can be completed only if all basic events of the system fault tree have their quantitative failure rates or failure probabilities. However, it is difficult to obtain those failure data due to insufficient data, environment changing or new components. This study proposes a fuzzy-based reliability approach to evaluate basic events of system fault trees whose failure precise probability distributions of their lifetime to failures are not available. It applies the concept of failure possibilities to qualitatively evaluate basic events and the concept of fuzzy sets to quantitatively represent the corresponding failure possibilities. To demonstrate the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed approach, the actual basic event failure probabilities collected from the operational experiences of the David–Besse design of the Babcock and Wilcox reactor protection system fault tree are used to benchmark the failure probabilities generated by the proposed approach. The results confirm that the proposed fuzzy-based reliability approach arises as a suitable alternative for the conventional probabilistic reliability approach when basic events do not have the corresponding quantitative historical failure data for determining their reliability characteristics. Hence, it overcomes the limitation of the conventional fault tree analysis for nuclear power plant probabilistic safety assessment

The reliability of manual reporting of clinical events in an anesthesia information management system (AIMS).

Science.gov (United States)

Simpao, Allan F; Pruitt, Eric Y; Cook-Sather, Scott D; Gurnaney, Harshad G; Rehman, Mohamed A

2012-12-01

Manual incident reports significantly under-report adverse clinical events when compared with automated recordings of intraoperative data. Our goal was to determine the reliability of AIMS and CQI reports of adverse clinical events that had been witnessed and recorded by research assistants. The AIMS and CQI records of 995 patients aged 2-12 years were analyzed to determine if anesthesia providers had properly documented the emesis events that were observed and recorded by research assistants who were present in the operating room at the time of induction. Research assistants recorded eight cases of emesis during induction that were confirmed with the attending anesthesiologist at the time of induction. AIMS yielded a sensitivity of 38 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 8.5-75.5 %), while the sensitivity of CQI reporting was 13 % (95 % CI 0.3-52.7 %). The low sensitivities of the AIMS and CQI reports suggest that user-reported AIMS and CQI data do not reliably include significant clinical events.

Event and fault tree model for reliability analysis of the greek research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albuquerque, Tob R.; Guimaraes, Antonio C.F.; Moreira, Maria de Lourdes

2013-01-01

Fault trees and event trees are widely used in industry to model and to evaluate the reliability of safety systems. Detailed analyzes in nuclear installations require the combination of these two techniques. This work uses the methods of fault tree (FT) and event tree (ET) to perform the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) in research reactors. The PSA according to IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) is divided into Level 1, Level 2 and level 3. At Level 1, conceptually safety systems act to prevent the accident, at Level 2, the accident occurred and seeks to minimize the consequences, known as stage management of the accident, and at Level 3 are determined consequences. This paper focuses on Level 1 studies, and searches through the acquisition of knowledge consolidation of methodologies for future reliability studies. The Greek Research Reactor, GRR - 1, was used as a case example. The LOCA (Loss of Coolant Accident) was chosen as the initiating event and from there were developed the possible accident sequences, using event tree, which could lead damage to the core. Furthermore, for each of the affected systems, the possible accidents sequences were made fault tree and evaluated the probability of each event top of the FT. The studies were conducted using a commercial computational tool SAPHIRE. The results thus obtained, performance or failure to act of the systems analyzed were considered satisfactory. This work is directed to the Greek Research Reactor due to data availability. (author)

Event and fault tree model for reliability analysis of the greek research reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albuquerque, Tob R.; Guimaraes, Antonio C.F.; Moreira, Maria de Lourdes, E-mail: atalbuquerque@ien.gov.br, E-mail: btony@ien.gov.br, E-mail: malu@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2013-07-01

Fault trees and event trees are widely used in industry to model and to evaluate the reliability of safety systems. Detailed analyzes in nuclear installations require the combination of these two techniques. This work uses the methods of fault tree (FT) and event tree (ET) to perform the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) in research reactors. The PSA according to IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) is divided into Level 1, Level 2 and level 3. At Level 1, conceptually safety systems act to prevent the accident, at Level 2, the accident occurred and seeks to minimize the consequences, known as stage management of the accident, and at Level 3 are determined consequences. This paper focuses on Level 1 studies, and searches through the acquisition of knowledge consolidation of methodologies for future reliability studies. The Greek Research Reactor, GRR - 1, was used as a case example. The LOCA (Loss of Coolant Accident) was chosen as the initiating event and from there were developed the possible accident sequences, using event tree, which could lead damage to the core. Furthermore, for each of the affected systems, the possible accidents sequences were made fault tree and evaluated the probability of each event top of the FT. The studies were conducted using a commercial computational tool SAPHIRE. The results thus obtained, performance or failure to act of the systems analyzed were considered satisfactory. This work is directed to the Greek Research Reactor due to data availability. (author)

Comparison of methods for dependency determination between human failure events within human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cepis, M.

2007-01-01

The Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is a highly subjective evaluation of human performance, which is an input for probabilistic safety assessment, which deals with many parameters of high uncertainty. The objective of this paper is to show that subjectivism can have a large impact on human reliability results and consequently on probabilistic safety assessment results and applications. The objective is to identify the key features, which may decrease of subjectivity of human reliability analysis. Human reliability methods are compared with focus on dependency comparison between Institute Jozef Stefan - Human Reliability Analysis (IJS-HRA) and Standardized Plant Analysis Risk Human Reliability Analysis (SPAR-H). Results show large differences in the calculated human error probabilities for the same events within the same probabilistic safety assessment, which are the consequence of subjectivity. The subjectivity can be reduced by development of more detailed guidelines for human reliability analysis with many practical examples for all steps of the process of evaluation of human performance. (author)

Comparison of Methods for Dependency Determination between Human Failure Events within Human Reliability Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cepin, M.

2008-01-01

The human reliability analysis (HRA) is a highly subjective evaluation of human performance, which is an input for probabilistic safety assessment, which deals with many parameters of high uncertainty. The objective of this paper is to show that subjectivism can have a large impact on human reliability results and consequently on probabilistic safety assessment results and applications. The objective is to identify the key features, which may decrease subjectivity of human reliability analysis. Human reliability methods are compared with focus on dependency comparison between Institute Jozef Stefan human reliability analysis (IJS-HRA) and standardized plant analysis risk human reliability analysis (SPAR-H). Results show large differences in the calculated human error probabilities for the same events within the same probabilistic safety assessment, which are the consequence of subjectivity. The subjectivity can be reduced by development of more detailed guidelines for human reliability analysis with many practical examples for all steps of the process of evaluation of human performance

Reliability analysis in intelligent machines

Science.gov (United States)

Mcinroy, John E.; Saridis, George N.

1990-01-01

Given an explicit task to be executed, an intelligent machine must be able to find the probability of success, or reliability, of alternative control and sensing strategies. By using concepts for information theory and reliability theory, new techniques for finding the reliability corresponding to alternative subsets of control and sensing strategies are proposed such that a desired set of specifications can be satisfied. The analysis is straightforward, provided that a set of Gaussian random state variables is available. An example problem illustrates the technique, and general reliability results are presented for visual servoing with a computed torque-control algorithm. Moreover, the example illustrates the principle of increasing precision with decreasing intelligence at the execution level of an intelligent machine.

SIERRA - A 3-D device simulator for reliability modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Chern, Jue-Hsien; Arledge, Lawrence A., Jr.; Yang, Ping; Maeda, John T.

1989-05-01

SIERRA is a three-dimensional general-purpose semiconductor-device simulation program which serves as a foundation for investigating integrated-circuit (IC) device and reliability issues. This program solves the Poisson and continuity equations in silicon under dc, transient, and small-signal conditions. Executing on a vector/parallel minisupercomputer, SIERRA utilizes a matrix solver which uses an incomplete LU (ILU) preconditioned conjugate gradient square (CGS, BCG) method. The ILU-CGS method provides a good compromise between memory size and convergence rate. The authors have observed a 5x to 7x speedup over standard direct methods in simulations of transient problems containing highly coupled Poisson and continuity equations such as those found in reliability-oriented simulations. The application of SIERRA to parasitic CMOS latchup and dynamic random-access memory single-event-upset studies is described.

The Persian Checklist of Pleasant Events (PCPE: ‎Development, Validity and Reliability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sepideh Bakht

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: Experiencing ‎pleasant events during daily life ‎has a significant positive role in ‎the personal mental health and ‎acts as a keystone for “behavioral ‎activation” (BA interventions. ‎There are serious differences in ‎the pleasant event schedules in ‎different cultures and countries. ‎We aimed to develop a Persian ‎checklist of pleasant events ‎‎(PCPE to provide and validate a ‎culturally compatible checklist for ‎Iranians.‎Methods: To develop a checklist ‎of pleasant events, inspired by ‎Pleasant Events Schedule (PES ‎‎(MacPhillamy & Lewinsohn, ‎‎1982, we held three focused ‎group discussions with 24 normal ‎healthy participants from both ‎genders (female = 12 and asked ‎them to mention as much ‎pleasant events as possible. ‎When the list reached saturation ‎level, the inappropriate items with ‎respect to legal, cultural and ‎religious concerns were omitted. ‎The final checklist of PCPE ‎consists of two subscales: ‎Frequency (frequency of events ‎during last month and ‎pleasantness (perceived ‎pleasantness of events. The total ‎score consists of frequency ‎multiplied by pleasantness. To ‎test the reliability and validity of ‎the checklist, the PCPE, ‎Depression, Anxiety and Stress ‎Scale (DASS, the Persian ‎version of WHO Quality of Life ‎and the Demographic ‎Questionnaire were administered ‎in a sample of 104 participants ‎‎(50 male and 54 female.‎Results: Frequency, ‎pleasantness and the total scores ‎of PCPE showed high levels of ‎internal consistency (Cronbach’s ‎alpha, .976, .976 & .974, ‎respectively. Further support for ‎the convergent validity of the ‎PCPE was obtained via ‎moderate negative correlations ‎with depression, anxiety, stress ‎scores in DASS and positive ‎correlation with quality of life as ‎well as respondent’s perceived ‎happiness. There were negative ‎correlations between

Selected problems and results of the transient event and reliability analyses for the German safety study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoertner, H.

1977-01-01

For the investigation of the risk of nuclear power plants loss-of-coolant accidents and transients have to be analyzed. The different functions of the engineered safety features installed to cope with transients are explained. The event tree analysis is carried out for the important transient 'loss of normal onsite power'. Preliminary results of the reliability analyses performed for quantitative evaluation of this event tree are shown. (orig.) [de

The protection system of nuclear reactors. Example of a very high reliability system. Its evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weill, J.

1980-06-01

The present state of reactor protection is described and mention is made of certain evolutionary trends towards completely automated systems which either help the operator to take decisions in the event of an accident or take and execute these decisions for him. To do so, the use of models and recourse to complex data processing systems is necessary. This ensemble reflects an evolution of the reliability of the equipment towards that of the software [fr

Diversity of approaches in assessment of executive functions in stroke: Limited evidence?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Conti

2015-03-01

There is a paucity of tools to reliably measure executive dysfunction after stroke, despite the fact that executive dysfunction is frequent. Identification of the best tools for executive dysfunction assessment is necessary to address important gaps in research and in clinical practice.

Calculation of noninformative prior of reliability parameter and initiating event frequency with Jeffreys method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Jie; Zhang Binbin

2013-01-01

In the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) of nuclear power plants, there are few historical records on some initiating event frequencies or component failures in industry. In order to determine the noninformative priors of such reliability parameters and initiating event frequencies, the Jeffreys method in Bayesian statistics was employed. The mathematical mechanism of the Jeffreys prior and the simplified constrained noninformative distribution (SCNID) were elaborated in this paper. The Jeffreys noninformative formulas and the credible intervals of the Gamma-Poisson and Beta-Binomial models were introduced. As an example, the small break loss-of-coolant accident (SLOCA) was employed to show the application of the Jeffreys prior in determining an initiating event frequency. The result shows that the Jeffreys method is an effective method for noninformative prior calculation. (authors)

Statistical Symbolic Execution with Informed Sampling

Science.gov (United States)

Filieri, Antonio; Pasareanu, Corina S.; Visser, Willem; Geldenhuys, Jaco

2014-01-01

Symbolic execution techniques have been proposed recently for the probabilistic analysis of programs. These techniques seek to quantify the likelihood of reaching program events of interest, e.g., assert violations. They have many promising applications but have scalability issues due to high computational demand. To address this challenge, we propose a statistical symbolic execution technique that performs Monte Carlo sampling of the symbolic program paths and uses the obtained information for Bayesian estimation and hypothesis testing with respect to the probability of reaching the target events. To speed up the convergence of the statistical analysis, we propose Informed Sampling, an iterative symbolic execution that first explores the paths that have high statistical significance, prunes them from the state space and guides the execution towards less likely paths. The technique combines Bayesian estimation with a partial exact analysis for the pruned paths leading to provably improved convergence of the statistical analysis. We have implemented statistical symbolic execution with in- formed sampling in the Symbolic PathFinder tool. We show experimentally that the informed sampling obtains more precise results and converges faster than a purely statistical analysis and may also be more efficient than an exact symbolic analysis. When the latter does not terminate symbolic execution with informed sampling can give meaningful results under the same time and memory limits.

Discrete event command and control for networked teams with multiple missions

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Frank L.; Hudas, Greg R.; Pang, Chee Khiang; Middleton, Matthew B.; McMurrough, Christopher

2009-05-01

During mission execution in military applications, the TRADOC Pamphlet 525-66 Battle Command and Battle Space Awareness capabilities prescribe expectations that networked teams will perform in a reliable manner under changing mission requirements, varying resource availability and reliability, and resource faults. In this paper, a Command and Control (C2) structure is presented that allows for computer-aided execution of the networked team decision-making process, control of force resources, shared resource dispatching, and adaptability to change based on battlefield conditions. A mathematically justified networked computing environment is provided called the Discrete Event Control (DEC) Framework. DEC has the ability to provide the logical connectivity among all team participants including mission planners, field commanders, war-fighters, and robotic platforms. The proposed data management tools are developed and demonstrated on a simulation study and an implementation on a distributed wireless sensor network. The results show that the tasks of multiple missions are correctly sequenced in real-time, and that shared resources are suitably assigned to competing tasks under dynamically changing conditions without conflicts and bottlenecks.

Conferences and Events

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

André Lavoie

2016-06-14

Jun 14, 2016 ... Approved by the Management Executive Committee. - 1 - ... Event ‒ represents activities related to IDRC operations and may include both ... Events include business meetings; corporate, branch or divisional management.

Executable Architecture Research at Old Dominion University

Science.gov (United States)

Tolk, Andreas; Shuman, Edwin A.; Garcia, Johnny J.

2011-01-01

Executable Architectures allow the evaluation of system architectures not only regarding their static, but also their dynamic behavior. However, the systems engineering community do not agree on a common formal specification of executable architectures. To close this gap and identify necessary elements of an executable architecture, a modeling language, and a modeling formalism is topic of ongoing PhD research. In addition, systems are generally defined and applied in an operational context to provide capabilities and enable missions. To maximize the benefits of executable architectures, a second PhD effort introduces the idea of creating an executable context in addition to the executable architecture. The results move the validation of architectures from the current information domain into the knowledge domain and improve the reliability of such validation efforts. The paper presents research and results of both doctoral research efforts and puts them into a common context of state-of-the-art of systems engineering methods supporting more agility.

The test-retest reliability of the latent construct of executive function depends on whether tasks are represented as formative or reflective indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Willoughby, Michael T; Kuhn, Laura J; Blair, Clancy B; Samek, Anya; List, John A

2017-10-01

This study investigates the test-retest reliability of a battery of executive function (EF) tasks with a specific interest in testing whether the method that is used to create a battery-wide score would result in differences in the apparent test-retest reliability of children's performance. A total of 188 4-year-olds completed a battery of computerized EF tasks twice across a period of approximately two weeks. Two different approaches were used to create a score that indexed children's overall performance on the battery-i.e., (1) the mean score of all completed tasks and (2) a factor score estimate which used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Pearson and intra-class correlations were used to investigate the test-retest reliability of individual EF tasks, as well as an overall battery score. Consistent with previous studies, the test-retest reliability of individual tasks was modest (rs ≈ .60). The test-retest reliability of the overall battery scores differed depending on the scoring approach (r mean  = .72; r factor_ score  = .99). It is concluded that the children's performance on individual EF tasks exhibit modest levels of test-retest reliability. This underscores the importance of administering multiple tasks and aggregating performance across these tasks in order to improve precision of measurement. However, the specific strategy that is used has a large impact on the apparent test-retest reliability of the overall score. These results replicate our earlier findings and provide additional cautionary evidence against the routine use of factor analytic approaches for representing individual performance across a battery of EF tasks.

LQCD workflow execution framework: Models, provenance and fault-tolerance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piccoli, Luciano; Simone, James N; Kowalkowlski, James B; Dubey, Abhishek

2010-01-01

Large computing clusters used for scientific processing suffer from systemic failures when operated over long continuous periods for executing workflows. Diagnosing job problems and faults leading to eventual failures in this complex environment is difficult, specifically when the success of an entire workflow might be affected by a single job failure. In this paper, we introduce a model-based, hierarchical, reliable execution framework that encompass workflow specification, data provenance, execution tracking and online monitoring of each workflow task, also referred to as participants. The sequence of participants is described in an abstract parameterized view, which is translated into a concrete data dependency based sequence of participants with defined arguments. As participants belonging to a workflow are mapped onto machines and executed, periodic and on-demand monitoring of vital health parameters on allocated nodes is enabled according to pre-specified rules. These rules specify conditions that must be true pre-execution, during execution and post-execution. Monitoring information for each participant is propagated upwards through the reflex and healing architecture, which consists of a hierarchical network of decentralized fault management entities, called reflex engines. They are instantiated as state machines or timed automatons that change state and initiate reflexive mitigation action(s) upon occurrence of certain faults. We describe how this cluster reliability framework is combined with the workflow execution framework using formal rules and actions specified within a structure of first order predicate logic that enables a dynamic management design that reduces manual administrative workload, and increases cluster-productivity.

Exact and approximate probabilistic symbolic execution for nondeterministic programs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Luckow, Kasper Søe; Păsăreanu, Corina S.; Dwyer, Matthew B.

2014-01-01

Probabilistic software analysis seeks to quantify the likelihood of reaching a target event under uncertain environments. Recent approaches compute probabilities of execution paths using symbolic execution, but do not support nondeterminism. Nondeterminism arises naturally when no suitable probab...... Java programs. We show that our algorithms significantly improve upon a state-of-the-art statistical model checking algorithm, originally developed for Markov Decision Processes....... probabilistic model can capture a program behavior, e.g., for multithreading or distributed systems. In this work, we propose a technique, based on symbolic execution, to synthesize schedulers that resolve nondeterminism to maximize the probability of reaching a target event. To scale to large systems, we also...

DEVELOPMENT OF THE TEMPERATURE CONTROL OF THE HOME-STREET AND MANAGING EXECUTIVE EQUIPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doshenko G.G.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A home-street temperature control device and executive equipment management have been developed, which is characterized by high reliability and comparatively low cost. Due to the improvement of the analog circuit it is ensured to increase the speed of the developed device and its reliability. Practical recommendations for the manufacture of a home-street temperature control device and executive equipment management are presented

Systems reliability/structural reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, A.E.

1980-01-01

The question of reliability technology using quantified techniques is considered for systems and structures. Systems reliability analysis has progressed to a viable and proven methodology whereas this has yet to be fully achieved for large scale structures. Structural loading variants over the half-time of the plant are considered to be more difficult to analyse than for systems, even though a relatively crude model may be a necessary starting point. Various reliability characteristics and environmental conditions are considered which enter this problem. The rare event situation is briefly mentioned together with aspects of proof testing and normal and upset loading conditions. (orig.)

NPTool: Towards Scalability and Reliability of Business Process Management

Science.gov (United States)

Braghetto, Kelly Rosa; Ferreira, João Eduardo; Pu, Calton

Currently one important challenge in business process management is provide at the same time scalability and reliability of business process executions. This difficulty becomes more accentuated when the execution control assumes complex countless business processes. This work presents NavigationPlanTool (NPTool), a tool to control the execution of business processes. NPTool is supported by Navigation Plan Definition Language (NPDL), a language for business processes specification that uses process algebra as formal foundation. NPTool implements the NPDL language as a SQL extension. The main contribution of this paper is a description of the NPTool showing how the process algebra features combined with a relational database model can be used to provide a scalable and reliable control in the execution of business processes. The next steps of NPTool include reuse of control-flow patterns and support to data flow management.

Rapid and reliable detection and identification of GM events using multiplex PCR coupled with oligonucleotide microarray.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xiaodan; Li, Yingcong; Zhao, Heng; Wen, Si-yuan; Wang, Sheng-qi; Huang, Jian; Huang, Kun-lun; Luo, Yun-bo

2005-05-18

To devise a rapid and reliable method for the detection and identification of genetically modified (GM) events, we developed a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with a DNA microarray system simultaneously aiming at many targets in a single reaction. The system included probes for screening gene, species reference gene, specific gene, construct-specific gene, event-specific gene, and internal and negative control genes. 18S rRNA was combined with species reference genes as internal controls to assess the efficiency of all reactions and to eliminate false negatives. Two sets of the multiplex PCR system were used to amplify four and five targets, respectively. Eight different structure genes could be detected and identified simultaneously for Roundup Ready soybean in a single microarray. The microarray specificity was validated by its ability to discriminate two GM maizes Bt176 and Bt11. The advantages of this method are its high specificity and greatly reduced false-positives and -negatives. The multiplex PCR coupled with microarray technology presented here is a rapid and reliable tool for the simultaneous detection of GM organism ingredients.

User's manual of a support system for human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokobayashi, Masao; Tamura, Kazuo.

1995-10-01

Many kinds of human reliability analysis (HRA) methods have been developed. However, users are required to be skillful so as to use them, and also required complicated works such as drawing event tree (ET) and calculation of uncertainty bounds. Moreover, each method is not so complete that only one method of them is not enough to evaluate human reliability. Therefore, a personal computer (PC) based support system for HRA has been developed to execute HRA practically and efficiently. The system consists of two methods, namely, simple method and detailed one. The former uses ASEP that is a simplified THERP-technique, and combined method of OAT and HRA-ET/DeBDA is used for the latter. Users can select a suitable method for their purpose. Human error probability (HEP) data were collected and a database of them was built to use for the support system. This paper describes outline of the HRA methods, support functions and user's guide of the system. (author)

Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions Grid of the Future White Paper on Review of Recent Reliability Issues and Systems Events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hauer, John F.; Dagle, Jeffery E.

1999-12-01

This report is one of six reports developed under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program in Power System Integration and Reliability (PSIR). The objective of this report is to review, analyze, and evaluate critical reliability issues demonstrated by recent disturbance events in the North America power system. Eleven major disturbances are examined, most occurring in this decade. The strategic challenge is that the pattern of technical need has persisted for a long period of time. For more than a decade, anticipation of market deregulation has been a major disincentive to new investments in system capacity. It has also inspired reduced maintenance of existing assets. A massive infusion of better technology is emerging as the final option to continue reliable electrical services. If an investment in better technology will not be made in a timely manner, then North America should plan its adjustments to a very different level of electrical service. It is apparent that technical operations staff among the utilities can be very effective at marshaling their forces in the immediate aftermath of a system emergency, and that serious disturbances often lead to improved mechanisms for coordinated operation. It is not at all apparent that such efforts can be sustained through voluntary reliability organizations in which utility personnel external to those organizations do most of the technical work. The eastern interconnection shows several situations in which much of the technical support has migrated from the utilities to the Independent System Operator (ISO), and the ISO staffs or shares staff with the regional reliability council. This process may be a natural and very positive consequence of utility restructuring. If so, the process should be expedited in regions where it is less advanced.

A knowledge-based operator advisor system for integration of fault detection, control, and diagnosis to enhance the safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhatnagar, R.

1989-01-01

A Knowledged-Based Operator Advisor System has been developed for enhancing the complex task of maintaining safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants. The operator's activities have been organized into the four tasks of data interpretation for abstracting high level information from sensor data, plant state monitoring for identification of faults, plan execution for controlling the faults, and diagnosis for determination of root causes of faults. The Operator Advisor System is capable of identifying the abnormal functioning of the plant in terms of: (1) deviations from normality, (2) pre-enumerated abnormal events, and (3) safety threats. The classification of abnormal functioning into the three categories of deviations from normality, abnormal events, and safety threats allows the detection of faults at three levels of: (1) developing faults, (2) developed faults, and (3) safety threatening faults. After the identification of abnormal functioning the system will identify the procedures to be executed to mitigate the consequences of abnormal functioning and will help the operator by displaying the procedure steps and monitoring the success of actions taken. The system also is capable of diagnosing the root causes of abnormal functioning. The identification, and diagnosis of root causes of abnormal functioning are done in parallel to the task of procedure execution, allowing the detection of more critical safety threats while executing procedures to control abnormal events

The List of Threatening Experiences: the reliability and validity of a brief life events questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Brugha, T S; Cragg, D

1990-07-01

During the 23 years since the original work of Holmes & Rahe, research into stressful life events on human subjects has tended towards the development of longer and more complex inventories. The List of Threatening Experiences (LTE) of Brugha et al., by virtue of its brevity, overcomes difficulties of clinical application. In a study of 50 psychiatric patients and informants, the questionnaire version of the list (LTE-Q) was shown to have high test-retest reliability, and good agreement with informant information. Concurrent validity, based on the criterion of independently rated adversity derived from a semistructured life events interview, making use of the Life Events and Difficulties Scales (LEDS) method developed by Brown & Harris, showed both high specificity and sensitivity. The LTE-Q is particularly recommended for use in psychiatric, psychological and social studies in which other intervening variables such as social support, coping, and cognitive variables are of interest, and resources do not allow for the use of extensive interview measures of stress.

Characterization of System Level Single Event Upset (SEU) Responses using SEU Data, Classical Reliability Models, and Space Environment Data

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Melanie; Label, Kenneth; Campola, Michael; Xapsos, Michael

2017-01-01

We propose a method for the application of single event upset (SEU) data towards the analysis of complex systems using transformed reliability models (from the time domain to the particle fluence domain) and space environment data.

A comparison between Markovian models and Bayesian networks for treating some dependent events in reliability evaluations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duarte, Juliana P.; Leite, Victor C.; Melo, P.F. Frutuoso e

2013-01-01

Bayesian networks have become a very handy tool for solving problems in various application areas. This paper discusses the use of Bayesian networks to treat dependent events in reliability engineering typically modeled by Markovian models. Dependent events play an important role as, for example, when treating load-sharing systems, bridge systems, common-cause failures, and switching systems (those for which a standby component is activated after the main one fails by means of a switching mechanism). Repair plays an important role in all these cases (as, for example, the number of repairmen). All Bayesian network calculations are performed by means of the Netica™ software, of Norsys Software Corporation, and Fortran 90 to evaluate them over time. The discussion considers the development of time-dependent reliability figures of merit, which are easily obtained, through Markovian models, but not through Bayesian networks, because these latter need probability figures as input and not failure and repair rates. Bayesian networks produced results in very good agreement with those of Markov models and pivotal decomposition. Static and discrete time (DTBN) Bayesian networks were used in order to check their capabilities of modeling specific situations, like switching failures in cold-standby systems. The DTBN was more flexible to modeling systems where the time of occurrence of an event is important, for example, standby failure and repair. However, the static network model showed as good results as DTBN by a much more simplified approach. (author)

A comparison between Markovian models and Bayesian networks for treating some dependent events in reliability evaluations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duarte, Juliana P.; Leite, Victor C.; Melo, P.F. Frutuoso e, E-mail: julianapduarte@poli.ufrj.br, E-mail: victor.coppo.leite@poli.ufrj.br, E-mail: frutuoso@nuclear.ufrj.br [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2013-07-01

Bayesian networks have become a very handy tool for solving problems in various application areas. This paper discusses the use of Bayesian networks to treat dependent events in reliability engineering typically modeled by Markovian models. Dependent events play an important role as, for example, when treating load-sharing systems, bridge systems, common-cause failures, and switching systems (those for which a standby component is activated after the main one fails by means of a switching mechanism). Repair plays an important role in all these cases (as, for example, the number of repairmen). All Bayesian network calculations are performed by means of the Netica™ software, of Norsys Software Corporation, and Fortran 90 to evaluate them over time. The discussion considers the development of time-dependent reliability figures of merit, which are easily obtained, through Markovian models, but not through Bayesian networks, because these latter need probability figures as input and not failure and repair rates. Bayesian networks produced results in very good agreement with those of Markov models and pivotal decomposition. Static and discrete time (DTBN) Bayesian networks were used in order to check their capabilities of modeling specific situations, like switching failures in cold-standby systems. The DTBN was more flexible to modeling systems where the time of occurrence of an event is important, for example, standby failure and repair. However, the static network model showed as good results as DTBN by a much more simplified approach. (author)

Software design of a general purpose data acquisition and control executive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labiak, W.G.; Minor, E.G.

1981-01-01

The software design of an executive which performs general purpose data acquisition, monitoring, and control is presented. The executive runs on a memory-based mini or micro-computer and communicates with a disk-based computer where data analysis and display are done. The executive design stresses reliability and versatility, and has yielded software which can provide control and monitoring for widely different hardware systems. Applications of this software on two major fusion energy experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will be described

Pharyngeal pH alone is not reliable for the detection of pharyngeal reflux events: A study with oesophageal and pharyngeal pH-impedance monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Desjardin, Marie; Roman, Sabine; des Varannes, Stanislas Bruley; Gourcerol, Guillaume; Coffin, Benoit; Ropert, Alain; Mion, François

2013-01-01

Background Pharyngeal pH probes and pH-impedance catheters have been developed for the diagnosis of laryngo-pharyngeal reflux. Objective To determine the reliability of pharyngeal pH alone for the detection of pharyngeal reflux events. Methods 24-h pH-impedance recordings performed in 45 healthy subjects with a bifurcated probe for detection of pharyngeal and oesophageal reflux events were reviewed. Pharyngeal pH drops to below 4 and 5 were analysed for the simultaneous occurrence of pharyngeal reflux, gastro-oesophageal reflux, and swallows, according to impedance patterns. Results Only 7.0% of pharyngeal pH drops to below 5 identified with impedance corresponded to pharyngeal reflux, while 92.6% were related to swallows and 10.2 and 13.3% were associated with proximal and distal gastro-oesophageal reflux events, respectively. Of pharyngeal pH drops to below 4, 13.2% were related to pharyngeal reflux, 87.5% were related to swallows, and 18.1 and 21.5% were associated with proximal and distal gastro-oesophageal reflux events, respectively. Conclusions This study demonstrates that pharyngeal pH alone is not reliable for the detection of pharyngeal reflux and that adding distal oesophageal pH analysis is not helpful. The only reliable analysis should take into account impedance patterns demonstrating the presence of pharyngeal reflux event preceded by a distal and proximal reflux event within the oesophagus. PMID:24917995

User`s manual of a support system for human reliability analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yokobayashi, Masao [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Tamura, Kazuo

1995-10-01

Many kinds of human reliability analysis (HRA) methods have been developed. However, users are required to be skillful so as to use them, and also required complicated works such as drawing event tree (ET) and calculation of uncertainty bounds. Moreover, each method is not so complete that only one method of them is not enough to evaluate human reliability. Therefore, a personal computer (PC) based support system for HRA has been developed to execute HRA practically and efficiently. The system consists of two methods, namely, simple method and detailed one. The former uses ASEP that is a simplified THERP-technique, and combined method of OAT and HRA-ET/DeBDA is used for the latter. Users can select a suitable method for their purpose. Human error probability (HEP) data were collected and a database of them was built to use for the support system. This paper describes outline of the HRA methods, support functions and user`s guide of the system. (author).

Build and Execute Environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2017-04-21

At exascale, the challenge becomes to develop applications that run at scale and use exascale platforms reliably, efficiently, and flexibly. Workflows become much more complex because they must seamlessly integrate simulation and data analytics. They must include down-sampling, post-processing, feature extraction, and visualization. Power and data transfer limitations require these analysis tasks to be run in-situ or in-transit. We expect successful workflows will comprise multiple linked simulations along with tens of analysis routines. Users will have limited development time at scale and, therefore, must have rich tools to develop, debug, test, and deploy applications. At this scale, successful workflows will compose linked computations from an assortment of reliable, well-defined computation elements, ones that can come and go as required, based on the needs of the workflow over time. We propose a novel framework that utilizes both virtual machines (VMs) and software containers to create a workflow system that establishes a uniform build and execution environment (BEE) beyond the capabilities of current systems. In this environment, applications will run reliably and repeatably across heterogeneous hardware and software. Containers, both commercial (Docker and Rocket) and open-source (LXC and LXD), define a runtime that isolates all software dependencies from the machine operating system. Workflows may contain multiple containers that run different operating systems, different software, and even different versions of the same software. We will run containers in open-source virtual machines (KVM) and emulators (QEMU) so that workflows run on any machine entirely in user-space. On this platform of containers and virtual machines, we will deliver workflow software that provides services, including repeatable execution, provenance, checkpointing, and future proofing. We will capture provenance about how containers were launched and how they interact to annotate

Slow movement execution in event-related potentials (P300).

Science.gov (United States)

Naruse, Kumi; Sakuma, Haruo; Hirai, Takane

2002-02-01

We examined whether slow movement execution has an effect on cognitive and information processing by measuring the P300 component. 8 subjects performed a continuous slow forearm rotational movement using 2 task speeds. Slow (a 30-50% decrease from the subject's Preferred speed) and Very Slow (a 60-80% decrease). The mean coefficient of variation for rotation speed under Very Slow was higher than that under Slow, showing that the subjects found it difficult to perform the Very Slow task smoothly. The EEG score of alpha-1 (8-10 Hz) under Slow Condition was increased significantly more than under the Preferred Condition; however, the increase under Very Slow was small when compared with Preferred. After performing the task. P300 latency under Very Slow increased significantly as compared to that at pretask. Further, P300 amplitude decreased tinder both speed conditions when compared to that at pretask, and a significant decrease was seen under the Slow Condition at Fz, whereas the decrease under the Very Slow Condition was small. These differences indicated that a more complicated neural composition and an increase in subjects' attention might have been involved when the task was performed under the Very Slow Condition. We concluded that slow movement execution may have an influence on cognitive function and may depend on the percentage of decrease from the Preferred speed of the individual.

Proceedings of the meeting of a task force on problems of rare events in the reliability analysis of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-01-01

In safety problems of nuclear plants interest centres on various types of rare events. These may extend from rare modes of failures in the component parts of the system and plant, the simultaneous occurrence of a very low resistance of a structural member and an extremely high load, to rare catastrophic failures which affect whole plant and system complexes. The obvious need is therefore to understand the patterns of behaviour of these events in space and time domains and be able to make some adequate estimate of their probability of occurrence. In 1975, a Task Force of Experts on the Statistical Analysis of Rare Events in Nuclear Installations was set up, its main objective being to explore methods for handling the problems of reliability analysis involving rare events. The main topic area of the Ispra meeting concerns the statistical analysis of structures such as containment and pressure vessels, automatic protection systems, and allied items, with a view to giving a quantified probabilistic statement on particular reliability characteristics. The particular subjects covered by the invited experts who would normally be working in specialized fields, includes, specifically, statistical modelling of rare events, decision theory applied to rare events, small sampling theory in the case of rare events. Man-made phenomena as well as natural phenomena are also considered, as they involve different approaches to modelling. 22 papers are presented, with reports on group discussions

A Conceptual Framework of Human Reliability Analysis for Execution Human Error in NPP Advanced MCRs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, In Seok; Kim, Ar Ryum; Seong, Poong Hyun [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Won Dea [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-08-15

The operation environment of Main Control Rooms (MCRs) in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) has changed with the adoption of new human-system interfaces that are based on computer-based technologies. The MCRs that include these digital and computer technologies, such as large display panels, computerized procedures, and soft controls, are called Advanced MCRs. Among the many features of Advanced MCRs, soft controls are a particularly important feature because the operation action in NPP Advanced MCRs is performed by soft control. Using soft controls such as mouse control, and touch screens, operators can select a specific screen, then choose the controller, and finally manipulate the given devices. Due to the different interfaces between soft control and hardwired conventional type control, different human error probabilities and a new Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) framework should be considered in the HRA for advanced MCRs. In other words, new human error modes should be considered for interface management tasks such as navigation tasks, and icon (device) selection tasks in monitors and a new framework of HRA method taking these newly generated human error modes into account should be considered. In this paper, a conceptual framework for a HRA method for the evaluation of soft control execution human error in advanced MCRs is suggested by analyzing soft control tasks.

A Conceptual Framework of Human Reliability Analysis for Execution Human Error in NPP Advanced MCRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, In Seok; Kim, Ar Ryum; Seong, Poong Hyun; Jung, Won Dea

2014-01-01

The operation environment of Main Control Rooms (MCRs) in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) has changed with the adoption of new human-system interfaces that are based on computer-based technologies. The MCRs that include these digital and computer technologies, such as large display panels, computerized procedures, and soft controls, are called Advanced MCRs. Among the many features of Advanced MCRs, soft controls are a particularly important feature because the operation action in NPP Advanced MCRs is performed by soft control. Using soft controls such as mouse control, and touch screens, operators can select a specific screen, then choose the controller, and finally manipulate the given devices. Due to the different interfaces between soft control and hardwired conventional type control, different human error probabilities and a new Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) framework should be considered in the HRA for advanced MCRs. In other words, new human error modes should be considered for interface management tasks such as navigation tasks, and icon (device) selection tasks in monitors and a new framework of HRA method taking these newly generated human error modes into account should be considered. In this paper, a conceptual framework for a HRA method for the evaluation of soft control execution human error in advanced MCRs is suggested by analyzing soft control tasks

Post-event human decision errors: operator action tree/time reliability correlation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, R.E.; Fragola, J.; Wreathall, J.

1982-11-01

This report documents an interim framework for the quantification of the probability of errors of decision on the part of nuclear power plant operators after the initiation of an accident. The framework can easily be incorporated into an event tree/fault tree analysis. The method presented consists of a structure called the operator action tree and a time reliability correlation which assumes the time available for making a decision to be the dominating factor in situations requiring cognitive human response. This limited approach decreases the magnitude and complexity of the decision modeling task. Specifically, in the past, some human performance models have attempted prediction by trying to emulate sequences of human actions, or by identifying and modeling the information processing approach applicable to the task. The model developed here is directed at describing the statistical performance of a representative group of hypothetical individuals responding to generalized situations

Post-event human decision errors: operator action tree/time reliability correlation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hall, R E; Fragola, J; Wreathall, J

1982-11-01

This report documents an interim framework for the quantification of the probability of errors of decision on the part of nuclear power plant operators after the initiation of an accident. The framework can easily be incorporated into an event tree/fault tree analysis. The method presented consists of a structure called the operator action tree and a time reliability correlation which assumes the time available for making a decision to be the dominating factor in situations requiring cognitive human response. This limited approach decreases the magnitude and complexity of the decision modeling task. Specifically, in the past, some human performance models have attempted prediction by trying to emulate sequences of human actions, or by identifying and modeling the information processing approach applicable to the task. The model developed here is directed at describing the statistical performance of a representative group of hypothetical individuals responding to generalized situations.

Analyzing Test-As-You-Fly Single Event Upset (SEU) Responses using SEU Data, Classical Reliability Models, and Space Environment Data

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Melanie; Label, Kenneth; Campola, Michael; Xapsos, Michael

2017-01-01

We propose a method for the application of single event upset (SEU) data towards the analysis of complex systems using transformed reliability models (from the time domain to the particle fluence domain) and space environment data.

Of plants and reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schneider Horst

2009-01-01

Behind the political statements made about the transformer event at the Kruemmel nuclear power station (KKK) in the summer of 2009 there are fundamental issues of atomic law. Pursuant to Articles 20 and 28 of its Basic Law, Germany is a state in which the rule of law applies. Consequently, the aspects of atomic law associated with the incident merit a closer look, all the more so as the items concerned have been known for many years. Important aspects in the debate about the Kruemmel nuclear power plant are the fact that the transformer is considered part of the nuclear power station under atomic law and thus a ''plant'' subject to surveillance by the nuclear regulatory agencies, on the one hand, and the reliability under atomic law of the operator and the executive personnel responsible, on the other hand. Both ''plant'' and ''reliability'' are terms focusing on nuclear safety. Hence the question to what extent safety was affected in the Kruemmel incident. The classification of the event as 0 = no or only a very slight safety impact on the INES scale (INES = International Nuclear Event Scale) should not be used to put aside the safety issue once and for all. Points of fact and their technical significance must be considered prior to any legal assessment. Legal assessments and regulations are associated with facts and circumstances. Any legal examination is based on the facts as determined and elucidated. Any other procedure would be tantamount to an inadmissible legal advance conviction. Now, what is the position of political statements, i.e. political assessments and political responsibility? If everything is done the correct way, they come at the end, after exploration of the facts and evaluation under applicable law. Sometimes things are handled differently, with consequences which are not very helpful. In the light of the provisions about the rule of law as laid down in the Basic Law, the new federal government should be made to observe the proper sequence of

The Impact of Hedge Fund Activism on Target Firm Performance, Executive Compensation and Executive Wealth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Carrothers

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the relationship between hedge fund activism and target firm performance, executive compensation, and executive wealth. It introduces a theoretical framework that describes the activism process as a sequence of discrete decisions. The methodology uses regression analysis on a matched sample based on firm size, industry, and market-to-book ratio. All regressions control for industry and year fixed effects. Schedule 13D Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC filings are the source for the statistical sample of hedge fund target firms. I supplement that data with target firm financial, operating, and share price information from the CRSP-COMPUSTAT merged database. Activist hedge funds target undervalued or underperforming firms with high profitability and cash flows. They do not avoid firms with powerful CEOs. Leverage, executive compensation, pay for performance and CEO turnover increase at target firms after the arrival of the activist hedge fund. Target firm executives’ wealth is more sensitive to changes in share price after hedge fund activism events suggesting that the executive team experiences changes to their compensation structure that provides incentive to take action to improve returns to shareholders. The top executives reap rewards for increasing firm value but not for increased risk taking.

Issues in cognitive reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woods, D.D.; Hitchler, M.J.; Rumancik, J.A.

1984-01-01

This chapter examines some problems in current methods to assess reactor operator reliability at cognitive tasks and discusses new approaches to solve these problems. The two types of human failures are errors in the execution of an intention and errors in the formation/selection of an intention. Topics considered include the types of description, error correction, cognitive performance and response time, the speed-accuracy tradeoff function, function based task analysis, and cognitive task analysis. One problem of human reliability analysis (HRA) techniques in general is the question of what are the units of behavior whose reliability are to be determined. A second problem for HRA is that people often detect and correct their errors. The use of function based analysis, which maps the problem space for plant control, is recommended

76 FR 66057 - North American Electric Reliability Corporation; Order Approving Regional Reliability Standard

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-25

... Reliability Standard that is necessitated by a physical difference in the Bulk-Power System.\\7\\ \\7\\ Order No... Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System, Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,242, order on reh'g... electric system event analyses and thereby improve system reliability by promoting improved system design...

Study on a new framework of Human Reliability Analysis to evaluate soft control execution error in advanced MCRs of NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Inseok; Kim, Ar Ryum; Jung, Wondea; Seong, Poong Hyun

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The operation environment of MCRs in NPPs has changed by adopting new HSIs. • The operation action in NPP Advanced MCRs is performed by soft control. • New HRA framework should be considered in the HRA for advanced MCRs. • HRA framework for evaluation of soft control execution human error is suggested. • Suggested method will be helpful to analyze human reliability in advance MCRs. - Abstract: Since the Three Mile Island (TMI)-2 accident, human error has been recognized as one of the main causes of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) accidents, and numerous studies related to Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) have been carried out. Most of these methods were developed considering the conventional type of Main Control Rooms (MCRs). However, the operating environment of MCRs in NPPs has changed with the adoption of new Human-System Interfaces (HSIs) that are based on computer-based technologies. The MCRs that include these digital technologies, such as large display panels, computerized procedures, and soft controls, are called advanced MCRs. Among the many features of advanced MCRs, soft controls are a particularly important feature because operating actions in NPP advanced MCRs are performed by soft control. Due to the differences in interfaces between soft control and hardwired conventional type control, different Human Error Probabilities (HEPs) and a new HRA framework should be considered in the HRA for advanced MCRs. To this end, a new framework of a HRA method for evaluating soft control execution human error is suggested by performing a soft control task analysis and the literature regarding widely accepted human error taxonomies is reviewed. Moreover, since most current HRA databases deal with operation in conventional MCRs and are not explicitly designed to deal with digital HSIs, empirical analysis of human error and error recovery considering soft controls under an advanced MCR mockup are carried out to collect human error data, which is

Increase of hydroelectric power plant operation reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshumbaev, M.B.

2006-01-01

The new design of the turbine of hydroelectric power plant (HPP) is executed in the form of a pipe with plates. Proposed solution allows increasing the hydroelectric power plant capacity at existing head and water flow. At that time the HPP turbine reliability is increase, its operation performances are improving. Design efficiency is effective mostly for small-scale and micro-HPP due to reliable operation, low-end technology, and harmless ecological application. (author)

Environmentalists' and business executives' attitudes and information about the nuclear power controversy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bass, B.M.; Bass, R.; Shapira, Z.

1977-01-01

To validate a baseline for an exercise dealing with the controversy over nuclear power, 38 environmentalists and 64 business executives completed a 24-item questionnaire of 12 attitudinal and 12 information items. Reliabilities were .87 and .56 respectively. Environmentalists were strongly unfavourable to further nuclear plant development but business executives were neutral to favourable revealing some degree of social concern. Environmentalists were better informed and executives more uncertain but attitude and information were independent if group effects were held constant. An additional sample of 49 college seniors in business administration responded like business executives. Their attitudes and information could be predicted (R = .60) from their tendency to keep up with current news and their personal assertiveness. (author)

Environmentalists' and business executives' attitudes and information about the nuclear power controversy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bass, B M; Bass, R [Rochester Univ., N.Y. (USA); Shapira, Z

1977-01-01

To validate a baseline for an exercise dealing with the controversy over nuclear power, 38 environmentalists and 64 business executives completed a 24-item questionnaire of 12 attitudinal and 12 information items. Reliabilities were .87 and .56 respectively. Environmentalists were strongly unfavourable to further nuclear plant development but business executives were neutral to favourable revealing some degree of social concern. Environmentalists were better informed and executives more uncertain but attitude and information were independent if group effects were held constant. An additional sample of 49 college seniors in business administration responded like business executives. Their attitudes and information could be predicted (R = .60) from their tendency to keep up with current news and their personal assertiveness.

WE-G-BRA-02: SafetyNet: Automating Radiotherapy QA with An Event Driven Framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadley, S; Kessler, M; Litzenberg, D; Lee, C; Irrer, J; Chen, X; Acosta, E; Weyburne, G; Lam, K; Younge, K; Matuszak, M; Keranen, W; Covington, E; Moran, J

2015-01-01

Purpose: Quality assurance is an essential task in radiotherapy that often requires many manual tasks. We investigate the use of an event driven framework in conjunction with software agents to automate QA and eliminate wait times. Methods: An in house developed subscription-publication service, EventNet, was added to the Aria OIS to be a message broker for critical events occurring in the OIS and software agents. Software agents operate without user intervention and perform critical QA steps. The results of the QA are documented and the resulting event is generated and passed back to EventNet. Users can subscribe to those events and receive messages based on custom filters designed to send passing or failing results to physicists or dosimetrists. Agents were developed to expedite the following QA tasks: Plan Revision, Plan 2nd Check, SRS Winston-Lutz isocenter, Treatment History Audit, Treatment Machine Configuration. Results: Plan approval in the Aria OIS was used as the event trigger for plan revision QA and Plan 2nd check agents. The agents pulled the plan data, executed the prescribed QA, stored the results and updated EventNet for publication. The Winston Lutz agent reduced QA time from 20 minutes to 4 minutes and provided a more accurate quantitative estimate of radiation isocenter. The Treatment Machine Configuration agent automatically reports any changes to the Treatment machine or HDR unit configuration. The agents are reliable, act immediately, and execute each task identically every time. Conclusion: An event driven framework has inverted the data chase in our radiotherapy QA process. Rather than have dosimetrists and physicists push data to QA software and pull results back into the OIS, the software agents perform these steps immediately upon receiving the sentinel events from EventNet. Mr Keranen is an employee of Varian Medical Systems. Dr. Moran’s institution receives research support for her effort for a linear accelerator QA project from

WE-G-BRA-02: SafetyNet: Automating Radiotherapy QA with An Event Driven Framework

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hadley, S; Kessler, M [The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Litzenberg, D [Univ Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Lee, C; Irrer, J; Chen, X; Acosta, E; Weyburne, G; Lam, K; Younge, K; Matuszak, M [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Keranen, W [Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Covington, E [University of Michigan Hospital and Health System, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Moran, J [Univ Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: Quality assurance is an essential task in radiotherapy that often requires many manual tasks. We investigate the use of an event driven framework in conjunction with software agents to automate QA and eliminate wait times. Methods: An in house developed subscription-publication service, EventNet, was added to the Aria OIS to be a message broker for critical events occurring in the OIS and software agents. Software agents operate without user intervention and perform critical QA steps. The results of the QA are documented and the resulting event is generated and passed back to EventNet. Users can subscribe to those events and receive messages based on custom filters designed to send passing or failing results to physicists or dosimetrists. Agents were developed to expedite the following QA tasks: Plan Revision, Plan 2nd Check, SRS Winston-Lutz isocenter, Treatment History Audit, Treatment Machine Configuration. Results: Plan approval in the Aria OIS was used as the event trigger for plan revision QA and Plan 2nd check agents. The agents pulled the plan data, executed the prescribed QA, stored the results and updated EventNet for publication. The Winston Lutz agent reduced QA time from 20 minutes to 4 minutes and provided a more accurate quantitative estimate of radiation isocenter. The Treatment Machine Configuration agent automatically reports any changes to the Treatment machine or HDR unit configuration. The agents are reliable, act immediately, and execute each task identically every time. Conclusion: An event driven framework has inverted the data chase in our radiotherapy QA process. Rather than have dosimetrists and physicists push data to QA software and pull results back into the OIS, the software agents perform these steps immediately upon receiving the sentinel events from EventNet. Mr Keranen is an employee of Varian Medical Systems. Dr. Moran’s institution receives research support for her effort for a linear accelerator QA project from

FAIR - Baseline technical report. Executive summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gutbrod, H.H.; Augustin, I.; Eickhoff, H.; Gross, K.D.; Henning, W.F.; Kraemer, D.; Walter, G.

2006-09-01

This document presents the Executive Summary, the first of six volumes comprising the 2006 Baseline Technical Report (BTR) for the international FAIR project (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research). The BTR provides the technical description, cost, schedule, and assessments of risk for the proposed new facility. The purpose of the BTR is to provide a reliable basis for the construction, commissioning and operation of FAIR. The BTR is one of the central documents requested by the FAIR International Steering Committee (ISC) and its working groups, in order to prepare the legal process and the decisions on the construction and operation of FAIR in an international framework. It provides the technical basis for legal contracts on contributions to be made by, so far, 13 countries within the international FAIR Consortium. The BTR begins with this extended Executive Summary as Volume 1, which is also intended for use as a stand-alone document. The Executive Summary provides brief summaries of the accelerator facilities, the scientific programs and experimental stations, civil construction and safety, and of the workproject structure, costs and schedule. (orig.)

Towards a Reactive Semantic Execution Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Komazec, Srdjan; Facca, Federico Michele

Managing complex and distributed software systems built on top of the service-oriented paradigm has never been more challenging. While Semantic Web Service technologies offer a promising set of languages and tools as a foundation to resolve the heterogeneity and scalability issues, they are still failing to provide an autonomic execution environment. In this paper we present an approach based on Semantic Web Services to enable the monitoring and self-management of a Semantic Execution Environment (SEE), a brokerage system for Semantic Web Services. Our approach is founded on the event-triggered reactivity paradigm in order to facilitate environment control, thus contributing to its autonomicity, robustness and flexibility.

Open-label administration of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate improves executive function impairments and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Thomas E; Brams, Matthew; Gao, Joseph; Gasior, Maria; Childress, Ann

2010-09-01

Executive function (EF) impairment in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may account for behavioral symptoms such as poor concentration, impaired working memory, problems in shifting among tasks, and prioritizing and planning complex sets of tasks or completing long-term projects at work or school. Poor self-regulation and control of emotional behaviors frequently are seen in patients with ADHD. This study assessed EF behaviors in adults with ADHD at baseline and after 4 weeks of treatment with lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX). Executive function behavior was assessed using the Brown Attention-Deficit Disorder Scale (BADDS) during the 4-week open-label dose-optimization phase prior to a 2-period, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of LDX (30-70 mg/day). The ADHD Rating Scale IV (ADHD-RS-IV) with adult prompts assessed ADHD symptoms. Change in EF behavioral symptoms was evaluated based on week 4 BADDS total and cluster scores; analyses of shifts from baseline among subjects with BADDS scores < 50, 50 to 59, 60 to 69, and ≥ 70; and scores less than or greater than baseline 90% confidence range (eg, reliably improved or worsened, respectively). Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were described. At week 4, BADDS total and cluster scores were reduced (ie, improved; all P < 0.0001 vs baseline [n = 127]). The ADHD-RS-IV with adult prompts scores also improved (all P < 0.0001 vs baseline). At week 4, 62.7% of subjects had a BADDS total score of < 50, and 78.9% were reliably improved; 1.4% were reliably worsened. Common TEAEs (≥ 5%) during the dose-optimization phase were decreased appetite (36.6%), dry mouth (30.3%), headache (19.7%), insomnia (18.3%), upper respiratory tract infection (9.9%), irritability (8.5%), nausea (7.7%), anxiety (5.6%), and feeling jittery (5.6%). Clinically optimized doses of LDX (30-70 mg/day) significantly improved EF behaviors in adults with ADHD. Treatment-emergent adverse events with LDX were

Reliability and validity of the Impact of Event Scale (IES): version for Brazilian burn victims.

Science.gov (United States)

Echevarria-Guanilo, Maria E; Dantas, Rosana A S; Farina, Jayme A; Alonso, Jordi; Rajmil, Luis; Rossi, Lídia A

2011-06-01

The aims of this study were to assess the internal reliability (internal consistency), construct validity, sensitivity and ceiling and floor effects of the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Impact of Event Scale (IES). Methodological research design. The Brazilian-Portuguese version of the IES was applied to a group of 91 burned patients at three times: the first week after the burn injury (time one), between the fourth and the sixth months (time two) and between the ninth and the 12th months (time three). The internal consistency, construct validity (convergent and dimensionality), sensitivity and ceiling and floor effects were tested. Cronbach's alpha coefficients showed high internal consistency for the total scale (0·87) and for the domains intrusive thoughts (0·87) and avoidance responses (0·76). During the hospitalisation (time one), the scale showed low and positive correlations with pain measures immediately before (r=0·22; pnegative correlations with self-esteem (r=-0·52; plow and negative with the Bodily pain (r=-0·24; pimpact of the event in the group of patients under analysis. The Impact of Event Scale can be used in research and clinical practice to assess nursing interventions aimed at decreasing stress during rehabilitation. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Executive dysfunction, brain aging, and political leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Mark; Franklin, David L; Post, Jerrold M

2014-01-01

Decision-making is an essential component of executive function, and a critical skill of political leadership. Neuroanatomic localization studies have established the prefrontal cortex as the critical brain site for executive function. In addition to the prefrontal cortex, white matter tracts as well as subcortical brain structures are crucial for optimal executive function. Executive function shows a significant decline beginning at age 60, and this is associated with age-related atrophy of prefrontal cortex, cerebral white matter disease, and cerebral microbleeds. Notably, age-related decline in executive function appears to be a relatively selective cognitive deterioration, generally sparing language and memory function. While an individual may appear to be functioning normally with regard to relatively obvious cognitive functions such as language and memory, that same individual may lack the capacity to integrate these cognitive functions to achieve normal decision-making. From a historical perspective, global decline in cognitive function of political leaders has been alternatively described as a catastrophic event, a slowly progressive deterioration, or a relatively episodic phenomenon. Selective loss of executive function in political leaders is less appreciated, but increased utilization of highly sensitive brain imaging techniques will likely bring greater appreciation to this phenomenon. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was an example of a political leader with a well-described neurodegenerative condition (cerebral amyloid angiopathy) that creates a neuropathological substrate for executive dysfunction. Based on the known neuroanatomical and neuropathological changes that occur with aging, we should probably assume that a significant proportion of political leaders over the age of 65 have impairment of executive function.

Compilation of the calculation elements of the electronic equipments reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lefevre, R.; D'Harcourt, A.; Dupuy, G.

1968-01-01

The aim of this work is to allow the practical execution of the estimated calculation of the electronic devices reliability and to standardize the source and the approach of the calculations while giving a systematic character to their execution mode. The systematic character of the calculations allows a comparison of the reliability of different materials and a rapid control of the calculations validity; at last, it brings out the use conditions of all the components of a set. A reliability calculation made according to the method described here reveals: -components badly used -the relative influence on the reliability of the set, of a component or a components group taking into account of the number, of the characteristics and of the use of these ones. At last, the results of the calculation allows to organize the exploitation (availability) and the maintenance (staff, stock of components) of the materials. The failure rates given in this book are only relating to the components service-life and do not correspond to precocious failures. (authors) [fr

An Early Years Toolbox for Assessing Early Executive Function, Language, Self-Regulation, and Social Development: Validity, Reliability, and Preliminary Norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Steven J; Melhuish, Edward

2017-06-01

Several methods of assessing executive function (EF), self-regulation, language development, and social development in young children have been developed over previous decades. Yet new technologies make available methods of assessment not previously considered. In resolving conceptual and pragmatic limitations of existing tools, the Early Years Toolbox (EYT) offers substantial advantages for early assessment of language, EF, self-regulation, and social development. In the current study, results of our large-scale administration of this toolbox to 1,764 preschool and early primary school students indicated very good reliability, convergent validity with existing measures, and developmental sensitivity. Results were also suggestive of better capture of children's emerging abilities relative to comparison measures. Preliminary norms are presented, showing a clear developmental trajectory across half-year age groups. The accessibility of the EYT, as well as its advantages over existing measures, offers considerably enhanced opportunities for objective measurement of young children's abilities to enable research and educational applications.

A hybrid load flow and event driven simulation approach to multi-state system reliability evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

George-Williams, Hindolo; Patelli, Edoardo

2016-01-01

Structural complexity of systems, coupled with their multi-state characteristics, renders their reliability and availability evaluation difficult. Notwithstanding the emergence of various techniques dedicated to complex multi-state system analysis, simulation remains the only approach applicable to realistic systems. However, most simulation algorithms are either system specific or limited to simple systems since they require enumerating all possible system states, defining the cut-sets associated with each state and monitoring their occurrence. In addition to being extremely tedious for large complex systems, state enumeration and cut-set definition require a detailed understanding of the system's failure mechanism. In this paper, a simple and generally applicable simulation approach, enhanced for multi-state systems of any topology is presented. Here, each component is defined as a Semi-Markov stochastic process and via discrete-event simulation, the operation of the system is mimicked. The principles of flow conservation are invoked to determine flow across the system for every performance level change of its components using the interior-point algorithm. This eliminates the need for cut-set definition and overcomes the limitations of existing techniques. The methodology can also be exploited to account for effects of transmission efficiency and loading restrictions of components on system reliability and performance. The principles and algorithms developed are applied to two numerical examples to demonstrate their applicability. - Highlights: • A discrete event simulation model based on load flow principles. • Model does not require system path or cut sets. • Applicable to binary and multi-state systems of any topology. • Supports multiple output systems with competing demand. • Model is intuitive and generally applicable.

Executive dysfunction, severity of traumatic brain injury, and IQ in workers with disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Matheson, Leonard

2010-01-01

To study whether severity of traumatic brain injury and the intelligence quotient are related to executive dysfunction. Sixty-two adults with brain injury who were referred for a work capacity evaluation. Retrospective review of severity of traumatic brain injury, intelligence quotient from a previously-conducted neuropsychological evaluation, determination of executive function status from the neuropsychological evaluation, and both self-report and informant-report executive dysfunction scores from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Executive dysfunction and the intelligence quotient are related to severity of traumatic brain injury, but executive dysfunction and the intelligence quotient are not related to each other. Executive dysfunction as determined by a neuropsychological evaluation was not consistent with clients' self-reports but was consistent with informant-reported executive dysfunction. Five types of executive dysfunction were reported by knowledgeable informants, with significant elevations on the Shift, Plan/Organize, Task Monitor, Organization of Materials, and Working Memory BRIEF clinical scales. The intelligence quotient is not a useful indicator of executive dysfunction. Informant-report executive dysfunction is a reliable and potentially useful adjunct to a neuropsychological evaluation. Working memory is the most severe type of executive dysfunction and may not be adequately measured by current neuropsychological evaluation methods.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gricel eOrellana

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The executive function (EF is a set of abilities, which allows us to invoke voluntary control of our behavioral responses. These functions enable human beings to develop and carry out plans, make up analogies, obey social rules, solve problems, adapt to unexpected circumstances, do many tasks simultaneously and locate episodes in time and place. EF includes divided attention and sustained attention, working memory, set-shifting, flexibility, planning and the regulation of goal directed behavior and can be defined as a brain function underlying the human faculty to act or think not only in reaction to external events but also in relation with internal goals and states. EF is mostly associated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC. Besides EF, PFC is involved in self-regulation of behavior, i.e. the ability to regulate behavior according to internal goals and constraints, particularly in less structured situations. Self-regulation of behavior is subtended by ventral medial /orbital PFC. Impairment of EF is one of the most commonly observed deficits in schizophrenia through the various disease stages. Impairment in tasks measuring conceptualization, planning, cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency, ability to solve complex problems and working memory occur in schizophrenia. Disorders detected by executive tests are consistent with evidence from functional neuroimaging, which have shown PFC dysfunction in patients while performing these kinds of tasks. Schizophrenics also exhibit deficit in odor identifying, decision-making and self-regulation of behavior suggesting dysfunction of the orbital PFC. However, impairment in executive tests is explained by dysfunction of prefronto-striato-thalamic, prefronto-parietal and prefronto-temporal neural networks mainly. Disorders in executive functions may be considered central facts with respect to schizophrenia and it has been suggested that negative symptoms may be explained by that executive dysfunction.

Executive Assistant – Risk Management and Internal Audit / Office of ...

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

Under the supervision of the Director, Risk Management and Internal Audit, the ... filing system which includes ensuring all information related to RMIA's activities is ... Maintains reliable accounting/budgeting records of fees and expenditures ... The Executive Assistant's responsibilites have a direct impact on Director's and ...

Hybrid instrument applied to human reliability study in event of loss of external electric power in a nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, Eduardo Ferraz

2015-01-01

The study projects in highly complex installations involves robust modeling, supported by conceptual and mathematical tools, to carry out systematic research and structured the different risk scenarios that can lead to unwanted events from occurring equipment failures or human errors. In the context of classical modeling, the Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA) seeks to provide qualitative and quantitative information about the project particularity and their operational facilities, including the identification of factors or scenarios that contribute to the risk and consequent comparison options for increasing safety. In this context, the aim of the thesis is to develop a hybrid instrument (CPP-HI) innovative, from the integrated modeling techniques of Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), concepts of Human Reliability Analysis and Probabilistic Composition of Preferences (PCP). In support of modeling and validation of the CPP-HI, a simulation was performed on a triggering event 'Loss of External Electric Power' - PEEE, in a Nuclear Power plant. The results were simulated in a virtual environment (sensitivity analysis) and are robust to the study of Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) in the context of the PSA. (author)

An examination of reliability critical items in liquid metal reactors: An analysis by the Centralized Reliability Data Organization (CREDO)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Humphrys, B.L.; Haire, M.J.; Koger, K.H.; Manneschmidt, J.F.; Setoguchi, K.; Nakai, R.; Okubo, Y.

1987-01-01

The Centralized Reliability Data Organization (CREDO) is the largest repository of liquid metal reactor (LMR) component reliability data in the world. It is jointly sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) of Japan. The CREDO data base contains information on a population of more than 21,000 components and approximately 1300 event records. A conservative estimation is that the total component operating hours is approaching 3.5 billion hours. Because data gathering for CREDO concentrates on event (failure) information, the work reported here focuses on the reliability information contained in CREDO and the development of reliability critical items lists. That is, components are ranked in prioritized lists from worst to best performers from a reliability standpoint. For the data contained in the CREDO data base, FFTF and JOYO show reliability growth; EBR-II reveals a slight unreliability growth for those components tracked by CREDO. However, tabulations of events which cause reactor shutdowns decrease with time at each site

High-Performance Monitoring Architecture for Large-Scale Distributed Systems Using Event Filtering

Science.gov (United States)

Maly, K.

1998-01-01

Monitoring is an essential process to observe and improve the reliability and the performance of large-scale distributed (LSD) systems. In an LSD environment, a large number of events is generated by the system components during its execution or interaction with external objects (e.g. users or processes). Monitoring such events is necessary for observing the run-time behavior of LSD systems and providing status information required for debugging, tuning and managing such applications. However, correlated events are generated concurrently and could be distributed in various locations in the applications environment which complicates the management decisions process and thereby makes monitoring LSD systems an intricate task. We propose a scalable high-performance monitoring architecture for LSD systems to detect and classify interesting local and global events and disseminate the monitoring information to the corresponding end- points management applications such as debugging and reactive control tools to improve the application performance and reliability. A large volume of events may be generated due to the extensive demands of the monitoring applications and the high interaction of LSD systems. The monitoring architecture employs a high-performance event filtering mechanism to efficiently process the large volume of event traffic generated by LSD systems and minimize the intrusiveness of the monitoring process by reducing the event traffic flow in the system and distributing the monitoring computation. Our architecture also supports dynamic and flexible reconfiguration of the monitoring mechanism via its Instrumentation and subscription components. As a case study, we show how our monitoring architecture can be utilized to improve the reliability and the performance of the Interactive Remote Instruction (IRI) system which is a large-scale distributed system for collaborative distance learning. The filtering mechanism represents an Intrinsic component integrated

Executive function and bilingualism in young and older adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanna eKousaie

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Research suggests that being bilingual results in advantages on executive control processes and disadvantages on language tasks relative to monolinguals. Furthermore, the executive function advantage is thought to be larger in older than younger adults, suggesting that bilingualism may buffer against age-related changes in executive function. However, there are potential confounds in some of the previous research, as well as inconsistencies in the literature. The goal of the current investigation was to examine the presence of a bilingual advantage in executive control and a bilingual disadvantage on language tasks in the same sample of young and older monolingual anglophones, monolingual francophones, and French/English bilinguals. Participants completed a series of executive function tasks, including a Stroop task, a Simon task, a sustained attention to response task (SART, the Wisconsin Card Sort Test (WCST, and the digit span subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, and language tasks, including the Boston Naming Test (BNT, and category and letter fluency. The results do not demonstrate an unequivocal advantage for bilinguals on executive function tasks and raise questions about the reliability, robustness and/or specificity of previous findings. The results also did not demonstrate a disadvantage for bilinguals on language tasks. Rather, they suggest that there may be an influence of the language environment. It is concluded that additional research is required to fully characterize any language group differences in both executive function and language tasks.

Characterization of System on a Chip (SoC) Single Event Upset (SEU) Responses Using SEU Data, Classical Reliability Models, and Space Environment Data

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Melanie; Label, Kenneth; Campola, Michael; Xapsos, Michael

2017-01-01

We propose a method for the application of single event upset (SEU) data towards the analysis of complex systems using transformed reliability models (from the time domain to the particle fluence domain) and space environment data.

Motor resonance facilitates movement execution: an ERP and kinematic study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mathilde eMénoret

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Action observation, simulation and execution share neural mechanisms that allow for a common motor representation. It is known that when these overlapping mechanisms are simultaneously activated by action observation and execution, motor performance is influenced by observation and vice versa. To understand the neural dynamics underlying this influence and to measure how variations in brain activity impact the precise kinematics of motor behaviour, we coupled kinematics and electrophysiological recordings of participants while they performed and observed congruent or non-congruent actions or during action execution alone. We found that movement velocities and the trajectory deviations of the executed actions increased during the observation of congruent actions compared to the observation of non-congruent actions or action execution alone. This facilitation was also discernible in the motor-related potentials of the participants; the motor-related potentials were transiently more negative in the congruent condition around the onset of the executed movement, which occurred 300 ms after the onset of the observed movement. This facilitation seemed to depend not only on spatial congruency but also on the optimal temporal relationship of the observation and execution events.

Research on Control Method Based on Real-Time Operational Reliability Evaluation for Space Manipulator

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Yifan Wang

2014-05-01

Full Text Available A control method based on real-time operational reliability evaluation for space manipulator is presented for improving the success rate of a manipulator during the execution of a task. In this paper, a method for quantitative analysis of operational reliability is given when manipulator is executing a specified task; then a control model which could control the quantitative operational reliability is built. First, the control process is described by using a state space equation. Second, process parameters are estimated in real time using Bayesian method. Third, the expression of the system's real-time operational reliability is deduced based on the state space equation and process parameters which are estimated using Bayesian method. Finally, a control variable regulation strategy which considers the cost of control is given based on the Theory of Statistical Process Control. It is shown via simulations that this method effectively improves the operational reliability of space manipulator control system.

Operational safety reliability research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, R.E.; Boccio, J.L.

1986-01-01

Operating reactor events such as the TMI accident and the Salem automatic-trip failures raised the concern that during a plant's operating lifetime the reliability of systems could degrade from the design level that was considered in the licensing process. To address this concern, NRC is sponsoring the Operational Safety Reliability Research project. The objectives of this project are to identify the essential tasks of a reliability program and to evaluate the effectiveness and attributes of such a reliability program applicable to maintaining an acceptable level of safety during the operating lifetime at the plant

Promise-based management: the essence of execution.

Science.gov (United States)

Sull, Donald N; Spinosa, Charles

2007-04-01

Critical initiatives stall for a variety of reasons--employee disengagement, a lack of coordination between functions, complex organizational structures that obscure accountability, and so on. To overcome such obstacles, managers must fundamentally rethink how work gets done. Most of the challenges stem from broken or poorly crafted commitments. That's because every company is, at its heart, a dynamic network of promises made between employees and colleagues, customers, outsourcing partners, or other stakeholders. Executives can overcome many problems in the short-term and foster productive, reliable workforces for the long-term by practicing what the authors call "promise-based management," which involves cultivating and coordinating commitments in a systematic way. Good promises share five qualities: They are public, active, voluntary, explicit, and mission based. To develop and execute an effective promise, the "provider" and the "customer" in the deal should go through three phases of conversation. The first, achieving a meeting of minds, entails exploring the fundamental questions of coordinated effort: What do you mean? Do you understand what I mean? What should I do? What will you do? Who else should we talk to? In the next phase, making it happen, the provider executes on the promise. In the final phase, closing the loop, the customer publicly declares that the provider has either delivered the goods or failed to do so. Leaders must weave and manage their webs of promises with great care-encouraging iterative conversation and making sure commitments are fulfilled reliably. If they do, they can enhance coordination and cooperation among colleagues, build the organizational agility required to seize new business opportunities, and tap employees' entrepreneurial energies.

Human factor reliability program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knoblochova, L.

2017-01-01

The human factor's reliability program was at Slovenske elektrarne, a.s. (SE) nuclear power plants. introduced as one of the components Initiatives of Excellent Performance in 2011. The initiative's goal was to increase the reliability of both people and facilities, in response to 3 major areas of improvement - Need for improvement of the results, Troubleshooting support, Supporting the achievement of the company's goals. The human agent's reliability program is in practice included: - Tools to prevent human error; - Managerial observation and coaching; - Human factor analysis; -Quick information about the event with a human agent; -Human reliability timeline and performance indicators; - Basic, periodic and extraordinary training in human factor reliability(authors)

Systems analysis programs for hands-on integrated reliability evaluations (SAPHIRE) Version 5.0. Fault tree, event tree, and piping ampersand instrumentation diagram (FEP) editors reference manual: Volume 7

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKay, M.K.; Skinner, N.L.; Wood, S.T.

1994-07-01

The Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) refers to a set of several microcomputer programs that were developed to create and analyze probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs), primarily for nuclear power plants. The Fault Tree, Event Tree, and Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (FEP) editors allow the user to graphically build and edit fault trees, and event trees, and piping and instrumentation diagrams (P and IDs). The software is designed to enable the independent use of the graphical-based editors found in the Integrated Reliability and Risk Assessment System (IRRAS). FEP is comprised of three separate editors (Fault Tree, Event Tree, and Piping and Instrumentation Diagram) and a utility module. This reference manual provides a screen-by-screen guide of the entire FEP System

HUMAN RELIABILITY ANALYSIS DENGAN PENDEKATAN COGNITIVE RELIABILITY AND ERROR ANALYSIS METHOD (CREAM

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Zahirah Alifia Maulida

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Kecelakaan kerja pada bidang grinding dan welding menempati urutan tertinggi selama lima tahun terakhir di PT. X. Kecelakaan ini disebabkan oleh human error. Human error terjadi karena pengaruh lingkungan kerja fisik dan non fisik.Penelitian kali menggunakan skenario untuk memprediksi serta mengurangi kemungkinan terjadinya error pada manusia dengan pendekatan CREAM (Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method. CREAM adalah salah satu metode human reliability analysis yang berfungsi untuk mendapatkan nilai Cognitive Failure Probability (CFP yang dapat dilakukan dengan dua cara yaitu basic method dan extended method. Pada basic method hanya akan didapatkan nilai failure probabailty secara umum, sedangkan untuk extended method akan didapatkan CFP untuk setiap task. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan faktor- faktor yang mempengaruhi timbulnya error pada pekerjaan grinding dan welding adalah kecukupan organisasi, kecukupan dari Man Machine Interface (MMI & dukungan operasional, ketersediaan prosedur/ perencanaan, serta kecukupan pelatihan dan pengalaman. Aspek kognitif pada pekerjaan grinding yang memiliki nilai error paling tinggi adalah planning dengan nilai CFP 0.3 dan pada pekerjaan welding yaitu aspek kognitif execution dengan nilai CFP 0.18. Sebagai upaya untuk mengurangi nilai error kognitif pada pekerjaan grinding dan welding rekomendasi yang diberikan adalah memberikan training secara rutin, work instrucstion yang lebih rinci dan memberikan sosialisasi alat. Kata kunci: CREAM (cognitive reliability and error analysis method, HRA (human reliability analysis, cognitive error Abstract The accidents in grinding and welding sectors were the highest cases over the last five years in PT. X and it caused by human error. Human error occurs due to the influence of working environment both physically and non-physically. This study will implement an approaching scenario called CREAM (Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method. CREAM is one of human

Foundations for Streaming Model Transformations by Complex Event Processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Dávid, István; Ráth, István; Varró, Dániel

2018-01-01

Streaming model transformations represent a novel class of transformations to manipulate models whose elements are continuously produced or modified in high volume and with rapid rate of change. Executing streaming transformations requires efficient techniques to recognize activated transformation rules over a live model and a potentially infinite stream of events. In this paper, we propose foundations of streaming model transformations by innovatively integrating incremental model query, complex event processing (CEP) and reactive (event-driven) transformation techniques. Complex event processing allows to identify relevant patterns and sequences of events over an event stream. Our approach enables event streams to include model change events which are automatically and continuously populated by incremental model queries. Furthermore, a reactive rule engine carries out transformations on identified complex event patterns. We provide an integrated domain-specific language with precise semantics for capturing complex event patterns and streaming transformations together with an execution engine, all of which is now part of the Viatra reactive transformation framework. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach with two case studies: one in an advanced model engineering workflow; and one in the context of on-the-fly gesture recognition.

Reliability of the peer-review process for adverse event rating.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan J Forster

Full Text Available Adverse events are poor patient outcomes caused by medical care. Their identification requires the peer-review of poor outcomes, which may be unreliable. Combining physician ratings might improve the accuracy of adverse event classification.To evaluate the variation in peer-reviewer ratings of adverse outcomes; determine the impact of this variation on estimates of reviewer accuracy; and determine the number of reviewers who judge an adverse event occurred that is required to ensure that the true probability of an adverse event exceeded 50%, 75% or 95%.Thirty physicians rated 319 case reports giving details of poor patient outcomes following hospital discharge. They rated whether medical management caused the outcome using a six-point ordinal scale. We conducted latent class analyses to estimate the prevalence of adverse events as well as the sensitivity and specificity of each reviewer. We used this model and Bayesian calculations to determine the probability that an adverse event truly occurred to each patient as function of their number of positive ratings.The overall median score on the 6-point ordinal scale was 3 (IQR 2,4 but the individual rater median score ranged from a minimum of 1 (in four reviewers to a maximum median score of 5. The overall percentage of cases rated as an adverse event was 39.7% (3798/9570. The median kappa for all pair-wise combinations of the 30 reviewers was 0.26 (IQR 0.16, 0.42; Min = -0.07, Max = 0.62. Reviewer sensitivity and specificity for adverse event classification ranged from 0.06 to 0.93 and 0.50 to 0.98, respectively. The estimated prevalence of adverse events using a latent class model with a common sensitivity and specificity for all reviewers (0.64 and 0.83 respectively was 47.6%. For patients to have a 95% chance of truly having an adverse event, at least 3 of 3 reviewers are required to deem the outcome an adverse event.Adverse event classification is unreliable. To be certain that a case

Neurobehavioral Abnormalities Associated with Executive Dysfunction after Traumatic Brain Injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodger Ll. Wood

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Objective: This article will address how anomalies of executive function after traumatic brain injury (TBI can translate into altered social behavior that has an impact on a person’s capacity to live safely and independently in the community.Method: Review of literature on executive and neurobehavioral function linked to cognitive ageing in neurologically healthy populations and late neurocognitive effects of serious TBI. Information was collated from internet searches involving MEDLINE, PubMed, PyscINFO and Google Scholar as well as the authors’ own catalogs.Conclusions: The conventional distinction between cognitive and emotional-behavioral sequelae of TBI is shown to be superficial in the light of increasing evidence that executive skills are critical for integrating and appraising environmental events in terms of cognitive, emotional and social significance. This is undertaken through multiple fronto-subcortical pathways within which it is possible to identify a predominantly dorsolateral network that subserves executive control of attention and cognition (so-called cold executive processes and orbito-frontal/ventro-medial pathways that underpin the hot executive skills that drive much of behavior in daily life. TBI frequently involves disruption to both sets of executive functions but research is increasingly demonstrating the role of hot executive deficits underpinning a wide range of neurobehavioral disorders that compromise relationships, functional independence and mental capacity in daily life.

RTE - 2013 Reliability Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denis, Anne-Marie

2014-01-01

RTE publishes a yearly reliability report based on a standard model to facilitate comparisons and highlight long-term trends. The 2013 report is not only stating the facts of the Significant System Events (ESS), but it moreover underlines the main elements dealing with the reliability of the electrical power system. It highlights the various elements which contribute to present and future reliability and provides an overview of the interaction between the various stakeholders of the Electrical Power System on the scale of the European Interconnected Network. (author)

Development of a Performance-Based Measure of Executive Functions in Patients with Schizophrenia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

En-Chi Chiu

Full Text Available A performance-based measure for assessing executive functions (EF is useful to understand patients' real life performance of EF. This study aimed to develop a performance-based measure of executive functions (PEF based on the Lezak model and to examine psychometric properties (i.e., unidimensionality and reliability of the PEF using Rasch analysis in patients with schizophrenia. We developed the PEF in three phases: (1 designing the preliminary version of PEF; (2 consultation with experts, cognitive interviews with patients, and pilot tests on patients to revise the preliminary PEF; (3 establishment of the final version of the PEF and examination of unidimensionality and Rasch reliability. Two hundred patients were assessed using the revised PEF. After deleting items which did not satisfy the Rasch model's expectations, the final version of the PEF contained 1 practice item and 13 test items for assessing the four domains of EF (i.e., volition, planning, purposive action, and effective performance. For unidimensional and multidimensional Rasch analyses, the 4 domains showed good reliability (i.e., 0.77-0.85 and 0.87-0.90, respectively. Our results showed that the PEF had satisfactory unidimensionality and Rasch reliability. Therefore, clinicians and researchers could use the PEF to assess the four domains of EF in patients with schizophrenia.

Reliability and maintainability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

Several communications in this conference are concerned with nuclear plant reliability and maintainability; their titles are: maintenance optimization of stand-by Diesels of 900 MW nuclear power plants; CLAIRE: an event-based simulation tool for software testing; reliability as one important issue within the periodic safety review of nuclear power plants; design of nuclear building ventilation by the means of functional analysis; operation characteristic analysis for a power industry plant park, as a function of influence parameters

Microprocessor event analysis in parallel with Camac data acquisition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cords, D.; Eichler, R.; Riege, H.

1981-01-01

The Plessey MIPROC-16 microprocessor (16 bits, 250 ns execution time) has been connected to a Camac System (GEC-ELLIOTT System Crate) and shares the Camac access with a Nord-1OS computer. Interfaces have been designed and tested for execution of Camac cycles, communication with the Nord-1OS computer and DMA-transfer from Camac to the MIPROC-16 memory. The system is used in the JADE data-acquisition-system at PETRA where it receives the data from the detector in parallel with the Nord-1OS computer via DMA through the indirect-data-channel mode. The microprocessor performs an on-line analysis of events and the result of various checks is appended to the event. In case of spurious triggers or clear beam gas events, the Nord-1OS buffer will be reset and the event omitted from further processing. (orig.)

Event-Related Potentials in a Cued Go-NoGo Task Associated with Executive Functions in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder; A Case-Control Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne L. Høyland

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Executive functions are often affected in autism spectrum disorders (ASD. The underlying biology is however not well known. In the DSM-5, ASD is characterized by difficulties in two domains: Social Interaction and Repetitive and Restricted Behavior, RRB. Insistence of Sameness is part of RRB and has been reported related to executive functions. We aimed to identify differences between ASD and typically developing (TD adolescents in Event Related Potentials (ERPs associated with response preparation, conflict monitoring and response inhibition using a cued Go-NoGo paradigm. We also studied the effect of age and emotional content of paradigm related to these ERPs. We investigated 49 individuals with ASD and 49 TD aged 12–21 years, split into two groups below (young and above (old 16 years of age. ASD characteristics were quantified by the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ and executive functions were assessed with the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF, both parent-rated. Behavioral performance and ERPs were recorded during a cued visual Go-NoGo task which included neutral pictures (VCPT and pictures of emotional faces (ECPT. The amplitudes of ERPs associated with response preparation, conflict monitoring, and response inhibition were analyzed. The ASD group showed markedly higher scores than TD in both SCQ and BRIEF. Behavioral data showed no case-control differences in either the VCPT or ECPT in the whole group. While there were no significant case-control differences in ERPs from the combined VCPT and ECPT in the whole sample, the Contingent Negative Variation (CNV was significantly enhanced in the old ASD group (p = 0.017. When excluding ASD with comorbid ADHD we found a significantly increased N2 NoGo (p = 0.016 and N2-effect (p = 0.023 for the whole group. We found no case-control differences in the P3-components. Our findings suggest increased response preparation in adolescents with ASD older than 16 years and

Suggestibility under Pressure: Theory of Mind, Executive Function, and Suggestibility in Preschoolers

Science.gov (United States)

Karpinski, Aryn C.; Scullin, Matthew H.

2009-01-01

Eighty preschoolers, ages 3 to 5 years old, completed a 4-phase study in which they experienced a live event and received a pressured, suggestive interview about the event a week later. Children were also administered batteries of theory of mind and executive function tasks, as well as the Video Suggestibility Scale for Children (VSSC), which…

Microprocessor event analysis in parallel with CAMAC data acquisition

CERN Document Server

Cords, D; Riege, H

1981-01-01

The Plessey MIPROC-16 microprocessor (16 bits, 250 ns execution time) has been connected to a CAMAC System (GEC-ELLIOTT System Crate) and shares the CAMAC access with a Nord-10S computer. Interfaces have been designed and tested for execution of CAMAC cycles, communication with the Nord-10S computer and DMA-transfer from CAMAC to the MIPROC-16 memory. The system is used in the JADE data-acquisition-system at PETRA where it receives the data from the detector in parallel with the Nord-10S computer via DMA through the indirect-data-channel mode. The microprocessor performs an on-line analysis of events and the results of various checks is appended to the event. In case of spurious triggers or clear beam gas events, the Nord-10S buffer will be reset and the event omitted from further processing. (5 refs).

Space Shuttle Program Primary Avionics Software System (PASS) Success Legacy - Quality and Reliability Date

Science.gov (United States)

Orr, James K.; Peltier, Daryl

2010-01-01

Thsi slide presentation reviews the avionics software system on board the space shuttle, with particular emphasis on the quality and reliability. The Primary Avionics Software System (PASS) provides automatic and fly-by-wire control of critical shuttle systems which executes in redundant computers. Charts given show the number of space shuttle flights vs time, PASS's development history, and other charts that point to the reliability of the system's development. The reliability of the system is also compared to predicted reliability.

A methodology to incorporate organizational factors into human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Pengcheng; Chen Guohua; Zhang Li; Xiao Dongsheng

2010-01-01

A new holistic methodology for Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is proposed to model the effects of the organizational factors on the human reliability. Firstly, a conceptual framework is built, which is used to analyze the causal relationships between the organizational factors and human reliability. Then, the inference model for Human Reliability Analysis is built by combining the conceptual framework with Bayesian networks, which is used to execute the causal inference and diagnostic inference of human reliability. Finally, a case example is presented to demonstrate the specific application of the proposed methodology. The results show that the proposed methodology of combining the conceptual model with Bayesian Networks can not only easily model the causal relationship between organizational factors and human reliability, but in a given context, people can quantitatively measure the human operational reliability, and identify the most likely root causes or the prioritization of root causes caused human error. (authors)

Study of evaluation techniques of software configuration management and reliability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Youn, Cheong; Baek, Y. W.; Kim, H. C.; Han, H. C.; Choi, C. R. [Chungnam National Univ., Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

2001-03-15

The Study of activities to solve software safety and quality must be executed in base of establishing software development process for digitalized nuclear plant. Especially study of software testing and Verification and Validation must executed. For this purpose methodologies and tools which can improve software qualities are evaluated and software Testing, V and V and Configuration Management which can be applied to software life cycle are investigated. This study establish a guideline that can be used to assure software safety and reliability requirements in digitalized nuclear plant systems.

Maximizing Statistical Power When Verifying Probabilistic Forecasts of Hydrometeorological Events

Science.gov (United States)

DeChant, C. M.; Moradkhani, H.

2014-12-01

Hydrometeorological events (i.e. floods, droughts, precipitation) are increasingly being forecasted probabilistically, owing to the uncertainties in the underlying causes of the phenomenon. In these forecasts, the probability of the event, over some lead time, is estimated based on some model simulations or predictive indicators. By issuing probabilistic forecasts, agencies may communicate the uncertainty in the event occurring. Assuming that the assigned probability of the event is correct, which is referred to as a reliable forecast, the end user may perform some risk management based on the potential damages resulting from the event. Alternatively, an unreliable forecast may give false impressions of the actual risk, leading to improper decision making when protecting resources from extreme events. Due to this requisite for reliable forecasts to perform effective risk management, this study takes a renewed look at reliability assessment in event forecasts. Illustrative experiments will be presented, showing deficiencies in the commonly available approaches (Brier Score, Reliability Diagram). Overall, it is shown that the conventional reliability assessment techniques do not maximize the ability to distinguish between a reliable and unreliable forecast. In this regard, a theoretical formulation of the probabilistic event forecast verification framework will be presented. From this analysis, hypothesis testing with the Poisson-Binomial distribution is the most exact model available for the verification framework, and therefore maximizes one's ability to distinguish between a reliable and unreliable forecast. Application of this verification system was also examined within a real forecasting case study, highlighting the additional statistical power provided with the use of the Poisson-Binomial distribution.

Addressing Unison and Uniqueness of Reliability and Safety for Better Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zhaofeng; Safie, Fayssal

2015-01-01

For a long time, both in theory and in practice, safety and reliability have not been clearly differentiated, which leads to confusion, inefficiency, and sometime counter-productive practices in executing each of these two disciplines. It is imperative to address the uniqueness and the unison of these two disciplines to help both disciplines become more effective and to promote a better integration of the two for enhancing safety and reliability in our products as an overall objective. There are two purposes of this paper. First, it will investigate the uniqueness and unison of each discipline and discuss the interrelationship between the two for awareness and clarification. Second, after clearly understanding the unique roles and interrelationship between the two in a product design and development life cycle, we offer suggestions to enhance the disciplines with distinguished and focused roles, to better integrate the two, and to improve unique sets of skills and tools of reliability and safety processes. From the uniqueness aspect, the paper identifies and discusses the respective uniqueness of reliability and safety from their roles, accountability, nature of requirements, technical scopes, detailed technical approaches, and analysis boundaries. It is misleading to equate unreliable to unsafe, since a safety hazard may or may not be related to the component, sub-system, or system functions, which are primarily what reliability addresses. Similarly, failing-to-function may or may not lead to hazard events. Examples will be given in the paper from aerospace, defense, and consumer products to illustrate the uniqueness and differences between reliability and safety. From the unison aspect, the paper discusses what the commonalities between reliability and safety are, and how these two disciplines are linked, integrated, and supplemented with each other to accomplish the customer requirements and product goals. In addition to understanding the uniqueness in

Evaluation of the reliability concerning the identification of human factors as contributing factors by a computer supported event analysis (CEA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilpert, B.; Maimer, H.; Loroff, C.

2000-01-01

The project's objectives are the evaluation of the reliability concerning the identification of Human Factors as contributing factors by a computer supported event analysis (CEA). CEA is a computer version of SOL (Safety through Organizational Learning). Parts of the first step were interviews with experts from the nuclear power industry and the evaluation of existing computer supported event analysis methods. This information was combined to a requirement profile for the CEA software. The next step contained the implementation of the software in an iterative process of evaluation. The completion of this project was the testing of the CEA software. As a result the testing demonstrated that it is possible to identify contributing factors with CEA validly. In addition, CEA received a very positive feedback from the experts. (orig.) [de

Ontology-driven extraction of event logs from relational databases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Calvanese, Diego; Montali, Marco; Syamsiyah, Alifah; van der Aalst, Wil M P; Reichert, M.; Reijers, H.A.

2015-01-01

Process mining is an emerging discipline whose aim is to discover, monitor and improve real processes by extracting knowledge from event logs representing actual process executions in a given organizational setting. In this light, it can be applied only if faithful event logs, adhering to accepted

Mathematical reliability an expository perspective

CERN Document Server

Mazzuchi, Thomas; Singpurwalla, Nozer

2004-01-01

In this volume consideration was given to more advanced theoretical approaches and novel applications of reliability to ensure that topics having a futuristic impact were specifically included. Topics like finance, forensics, information, and orthopedics, as well as the more traditional reliability topics were purposefully undertaken to make this collection different from the existing books in reliability. The entries have been categorized into seven parts, each emphasizing a theme that seems poised for the future development of reliability as an academic discipline with relevance. The seven parts are networks and systems; recurrent events; information and design; failure rate function and burn-in; software reliability and random environments; reliability in composites and orthopedics, and reliability in finance and forensics. Embedded within the above are some of the other currently active topics such as causality, cascading, exchangeability, expert testimony, hierarchical modeling, optimization and survival...

Reliability of risk-adjusted outcomes for profiling hospital surgical quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Krell, Robert W; Hozain, Ahmed; Kao, Lillian S; Dimick, Justin B

2014-05-01

Quality improvement platforms commonly use risk-adjusted morbidity and mortality to profile hospital performance. However, given small hospital caseloads and low event rates for some procedures, it is unclear whether these outcomes reliably reflect hospital performance. To determine the reliability of risk-adjusted morbidity and mortality for hospital performance profiling using clinical registry data. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, 2009. Participants included all patients (N = 55,466) who underwent colon resection, pancreatic resection, laparoscopic gastric bypass, ventral hernia repair, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, and lower extremity bypass. Outcomes included risk-adjusted overall morbidity, severe morbidity, and mortality. We assessed reliability (0-1 scale: 0, completely unreliable; and 1, perfectly reliable) for all 3 outcomes. We also quantified the number of hospitals meeting minimum acceptable reliability thresholds (>0.70, good reliability; and >0.50, fair reliability) for each outcome. For overall morbidity, the most common outcome studied, the mean reliability depended on sample size (ie, how high the hospital caseload was) and the event rate (ie, how frequently the outcome occurred). For example, mean reliability for overall morbidity was low for abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (reliability, 0.29; sample size, 25 cases per year; and event rate, 18.3%). In contrast, mean reliability for overall morbidity was higher for colon resection (reliability, 0.61; sample size, 114 cases per year; and event rate, 26.8%). Colon resection (37.7% of hospitals), pancreatic resection (7.1% of hospitals), and laparoscopic gastric bypass (11.5% of hospitals) were the only procedures for which any hospitals met a reliability threshold of 0.70 for overall morbidity. Because severe morbidity and mortality are less frequent outcomes, their mean

Reliable Maintanace of Wireless Sensor Networks for Event-detection Applications%事件检测型传感器网络的可靠性维护

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

胡四泉; 杨金阳; 王俊峰

2011-01-01

The reliability maintannace of the wireless sensor network is a key point to keep the alarm messages delivered reliably to the monitor center on time in a event-detection application. Based on the unreliable links in the wireless sensor network and the network charateristics of an event detection application,MPRRM,a multiple path redundant reliability maintanace algoritm was proposed in this paper. Both analytical and simulation results show that the MPRRM algorithm is superior to the previous published solutions in the metrics of reliability, false positive rate, latency and message overhead.%传感器网络(Wireless Sensor Networks,WSN)的事件检测型应用中,如何通过可靠性维护来保证在检测到事件时报警信息能及时、可靠地传输到监控主机至关重要.通过对不可靠的无线链路和网络传输的分析,提出多路冗余可靠性维护算法MPRRM.通过解析方法和仿真分析证明,该算法在可靠性、误报率、延迟和消息开销量上比同类算法具有优势.

Exact reliability quantification of highly reliable systems with maintenance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bris, Radim, E-mail: radim.bris@vsb.c [VSB-Technical University Ostrava, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Applied Mathematics, 17. listopadu 15, 70833 Ostrava-Poruba (Czech Republic)

2010-12-15

When a system is composed of highly reliable elements, exact reliability quantification may be problematic, because computer accuracy is limited. Inaccuracy can be due to different aspects. For example, an error may be made when subtracting two numbers that are very close to each other, or at the process of summation of many very different numbers, etc. The basic objective of this paper is to find a procedure, which eliminates errors made by PC when calculations close to an error limit are executed. Highly reliable system is represented by the use of directed acyclic graph which is composed from terminal nodes, i.e. highly reliable input elements, internal nodes representing subsystems and edges that bind all of these nodes. Three admissible unavailability models of terminal nodes are introduced, including both corrective and preventive maintenance. The algorithm for exact unavailability calculation of terminal nodes is based on merits of a high-performance language for technical computing MATLAB. System unavailability quantification procedure applied to a graph structure, which considers both independent and dependent (i.e. repeatedly occurring) terminal nodes is based on combinatorial principle. This principle requires summation of a lot of very different non-negative numbers, which may be a source of an inaccuracy. That is why another algorithm for exact summation of such numbers is designed in the paper. The summation procedure uses benefits from a special number system with the base represented by the value 2{sup 32}. Computational efficiency of the new computing methodology is compared with advanced simulation software. Various calculations on systems from references are performed to emphasize merits of the methodology.

Transmission reliability faces future challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaty, W.

1993-01-01

The recently published Washington International Energy Group's 1993 Electric Utility Outlook states that nearly one-third (31 percent) of U.S. utility executives expect reliability to decrease in the near future. Electric power system stability is crucial to reliability. Stability analysis determines whether a system will stay intact under normal operating conditions, during minor disturbances such as load fluctuations, and during major disturbances when one or more parts of the system fails. All system elements contribute to reliability or the lack of it. However, this report centers on the transmission segment of the electric system. The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) says the transmission systems as planned will be adequate over the next 10 years. However, delays in building new lines and increasing demands for transmission services are serious concerns. Reliability concerns exist in the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool and the Mid-America Interconnected Network regions where transmission facilities have not been allowed to be constructed as planned. Portions of the transmission systems in other regions are loaded at or near their limits. NERC further states that utilities must be allowed to complete planned generation and transmission as scheduled. A reliable supply of electricity also depends on adhering to established operating criteria. Factors that could complicate operations include: More interchange schedules resulting from increased transmission services. Increased line loadings in portions of the transmission systems. Proliferation of non-utility generators

Energy/Reliability Trade-offs in Fault-Tolerant Event-Triggered Distributed Embedded Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gan, Junhe; Gruian, Flavius; Pop, Paul

2011-01-01

task, such that transient faults are tolerated, the timing constraints of the application are satisfied, and the energy consumed is minimized. Tasks are scheduled using fixed-priority preemptive scheduling, while replication is used for recovery from multiple transient faults. Addressing energy...... and reliability simultaneously is especially challenging, since lowering the voltage to reduce the energy consumption has been shown to increase the transient fault rate. We presented a Tabu Search-based approach which uses an energy/reliability trade-off model to find reliable and schedulable implementations...

Teleradiology in Southeast Iran: Evaluating the Views of Senior Executives and Radiologists.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadoughi, Farahnaz; Erfannia, Leila; Sancholi, Mahboobe; Salmani, Fatemeh; Sarsarshahi, Aida

Teleradiology is considered as one of the important forms of telemedicine. Positive views of the users and providers of these services play an important role in its successful implementations. The aim of this study was to investigate the views of radiologists used in the radiology departments of teaching hospitals in the Zahedan University of Medical Sciences through teleradiology, as well as evaluate the executive possibility of teleradiology in these hospitals by the views of chief executive officer and comparison between these two views. The current cross-sectional research was performed in 2014 at Zahedan teaching hospitals. The views of 13 chief executive officers on the possibility of the execution of teleradiology and 26 radiologists on the teleradiology process were evaluated by means of two valid and reliable questionnaires. The results of the research revealed that most of the radiologists had knowledge of and positive opinions about teleradiology. Conversely, the view by chief executive officers was that implementation of these processes was not possible in the studied hospitals. Dealing with some issues including data security, controlling or restricting access to clinical information of patients during the process of teleradiology, the possibility of legal protection for the participating radiologists, constitution of executive teams in the organization along with the financial supports, and, subsequently, invitation of the supports from the chief executive officers as the main sponsors of teleradiology implementation in the teaching hospitals are all guidelines for improvement of the successful implementation of teleradiology.

RTE - 2015 Reliability Report. Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

Every year, RTE produces a reliability report for the past year. This report includes a number of results from previous years so that year-to-year comparisons can be drawn and long-term trends analysed. The 2015 report underlines the major factors that have impacted on the reliability of the electrical power system, without focusing exclusively on Significant System Events (ESS). It describes various factors which contribute to present and future reliability and the numerous actions implemented by RTE to ensure reliability today and in the future, as well as the ways in which the various parties involved in the electrical power system interact across the whole European interconnected network

Core Flight Executive Software Radiation Mitigation Study

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The reliability of SmallSat / CubeSat missions may be increased by using software radiation mitigation for single event upsets (SEUs). Implementing protection in...

Limits on the efficiency of event-based algorithms for Monte Carlo neutron transport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul K. Romano

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The traditional form of parallelism in Monte Carlo particle transport simulations, wherein each individual particle history is considered a unit of work, does not lend itself well to data-level parallelism. Event-based algorithms, which were originally used for simulations on vector processors, may offer a path toward better utilizing data-level parallelism in modern computer architectures. In this study, a simple model is developed for estimating the efficiency of the event-based particle transport algorithm under two sets of assumptions. Data collected from simulations of four reactor problems using OpenMC was then used in conjunction with the models to calculate the speedup due to vectorization as a function of the size of the particle bank and the vector width. When each event type is assumed to have constant execution time, the achievable speedup is directly related to the particle bank size. We observed that the bank size generally needs to be at least 20 times greater than vector size to achieve vector efficiency greater than 90%. When the execution times for events are allowed to vary, the vector speedup is also limited by differences in the execution time for events being carried out in a single event-iteration.

ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY AS CRITERIA OF INFORMATIVENESS IN THE NEWS STORY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melnikova Ekaterina Aleksandrovna

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The article clarifies the meaning of the terms accuracy and reliability of the news story, offers a researcher's approach to obtaining objective data that helps to verify linguistic means of accuracy and reliability presence in the informative structure of the text. The accuracy of the news story is defined as a high relevance degree of event reflection through language representation of its constituents; the reliability is viewed as news story originality that is proved by introducing citations and sources of information considered being trustworthy into the text content. Having based the research on an event nominative density identification method, the author composed nominative charts of 115 news story texts, collected at web-sites of BBC and CNN media corporations; distinguished qualitative and quantitative markers of accuracy and reliability in the news story text; confirmed that the accuracy of the news story is achieved with terminological clearness in nominating event constituents in the text, thematic bind between words, presence of onyms that help deeply identify characteristics of the referent event. The reliability of the text is discovered in eyewitness accounts, quotations, and references to the sources being considered as trustworthy. Accurate revision of associations between accuracy and reliability and informing strategies in digital news nets allowed the author to set two variants of information delivery, that differ in their communicative and pragmatic functions: developing (that informs about major and minor details of an event and truncated (which gives some details thus raising the interest to the event and urging a reader to open a full story.

Processing communications events in parallel active messaging interface by awakening thread from wait state

Science.gov (United States)

Archer, Charles J; Blocksome, Michael A; Ratterman, Joseph D; Smith, Brian E

2013-10-22

Processing data communications events in a parallel active messaging interface (`PAMI`) of a parallel computer that includes compute nodes that execute a parallel application, with the PAMI including data communications endpoints, and the endpoints are coupled for data communications through the PAMI and through other data communications resources, including determining by an advance function that there are no actionable data communications events pending for its context, placing by the advance function its thread of execution into a wait state, waiting for a subsequent data communications event for the context; responsive to occurrence of a subsequent data communications event for the context, awakening by the thread from the wait state; and processing by the advance function the subsequent data communications event now pending for the context.

Callous-unemotional traits moderate executive function in children with ASD and ADHD: A pilot event-related potential study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Tye

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD are associated with varied executive function (EF difficulties. Callous-unemotional (CU traits, a proposed antecedent of adult psychopathy, are often associated with intact or enhanced EF. Here we test whether CU traits may therefore modulate EF in ASD and ADHD, in which EF is typically impaired. We collected CU traits and measured event-related potentials (ERPs that index EF during a cued-continuous performance test (CPT-OX in boys with ASD, ADHD, comorbid ASD + ADHD and typical controls. We examined attentional orienting at cues (Cue-P3, inhibitory processing at non-targets (NoGo-P3 and conflict monitoring between target and non-target trials (Go-N2 vs. NoGo-N2. In children with ASD, higher CU traits were associated with an enhanced increase in N2 amplitude in NoGo trials compared to Go trials, which suggests relatively superior conflict monitoring and a potential cognitive strength associated with CU traits. The results emphasise the importance of considering the effects of co-occurring traits in the assessment of heterogeneity of EF profiles in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Equipment Reliability Program in NPP Krsko

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skaler, F.; Djetelic, N.

2006-01-01

Operation that is safe, reliable, effective and acceptable to public is the common message in a mission statement of commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs). To fulfill these goals, nuclear industry, among other areas, has to focus on: 1 Human Performance (HU) and 2 Equipment Reliability (EQ). The performance objective of HU is as follows: The behaviors of all personnel result in safe and reliable station operation. While unwanted human behaviors in operations mostly result directly in the event, the behavior flaws either in the area of maintenance or engineering usually cause decreased equipment reliability. Unsatisfied Human performance leads even the best designed power plants into significant operating events, which can be found as well-known examples in nuclear industry. Equipment reliability is today recognized as the key to success. While the human performance at most NPPs has been improving since the start of WANO / INPO / IAEA evaluations, the open energy market has forced the nuclear plants to reduce production costs and operate more reliably and effectively. The balance between these two (opposite) goals has made equipment reliability even more important for safe, reliable and efficient production. Insisting on on-line operation by ignoring some principles of safety could nowadays in a well-developed safety culture and human performance environment exceed the cost of electricity losses. In last decade the leading USA nuclear companies put a lot of effort to improve equipment reliability primarily based on INPO Equipment Reliability Program AP-913 at their NPP stations. The Equipment Reliability Program is the key program not only for safe and reliable operation, but also for the Life Cycle Management and Aging Management on the way to the nuclear power plant life extension. The purpose of Equipment Reliability process is to identify, organize, integrate and coordinate equipment reliability activities (preventive and predictive maintenance, maintenance

Common data elements for secondary use of electronic health record data for clinical trial execution and serious adverse event reporting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philipp Bruland

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Data capture is one of the most expensive phases during the conduct of a clinical trial and the increasing use of electronic health records (EHR offers significant savings to clinical research. To facilitate these secondary uses of routinely collected patient data, it is beneficial to know what data elements are captured in clinical trials. Therefore our aim here is to determine the most commonly used data elements in clinical trials and their availability in hospital EHR systems. Methods Case report forms for 23 clinical trials in differing disease areas were analyzed. Through an iterative and consensus-based process of medical informatics professionals from academia and trial experts from the European pharmaceutical industry, data elements were compiled for all disease areas and with special focus on the reporting of adverse events. Afterwards, data elements were identified and statistics acquired from hospital sites providing data to the EHR4CR project. Results The analysis identified 133 unique data elements. Fifty elements were congruent with a published data inventory for patient recruitment and 83 new elements were identified for clinical trial execution, including adverse event reporting. Demographic and laboratory elements lead the list of available elements in hospitals EHR systems. For the reporting of serious adverse events only very few elements could be identified in the patient records. Conclusions Common data elements in clinical trials have been identified and their availability in hospital systems elucidated. Several elements, often those related to reimbursement, are frequently available whereas more specialized elements are ranked at the bottom of the data inventory list. Hospitals that want to obtain the benefits of reusing data for research from their EHR are now able to prioritize their efforts based on this common data element list.

Common data elements for secondary use of electronic health record data for clinical trial execution and serious adverse event reporting.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruland, Philipp; McGilchrist, Mark; Zapletal, Eric; Acosta, Dionisio; Proeve, Johann; Askin, Scott; Ganslandt, Thomas; Doods, Justin; Dugas, Martin

2016-11-22

Data capture is one of the most expensive phases during the conduct of a clinical trial and the increasing use of electronic health records (EHR) offers significant savings to clinical research. To facilitate these secondary uses of routinely collected patient data, it is beneficial to know what data elements are captured in clinical trials. Therefore our aim here is to determine the most commonly used data elements in clinical trials and their availability in hospital EHR systems. Case report forms for 23 clinical trials in differing disease areas were analyzed. Through an iterative and consensus-based process of medical informatics professionals from academia and trial experts from the European pharmaceutical industry, data elements were compiled for all disease areas and with special focus on the reporting of adverse events. Afterwards, data elements were identified and statistics acquired from hospital sites providing data to the EHR4CR project. The analysis identified 133 unique data elements. Fifty elements were congruent with a published data inventory for patient recruitment and 83 new elements were identified for clinical trial execution, including adverse event reporting. Demographic and laboratory elements lead the list of available elements in hospitals EHR systems. For the reporting of serious adverse events only very few elements could be identified in the patient records. Common data elements in clinical trials have been identified and their availability in hospital systems elucidated. Several elements, often those related to reimbursement, are frequently available whereas more specialized elements are ranked at the bottom of the data inventory list. Hospitals that want to obtain the benefits of reusing data for research from their EHR are now able to prioritize their efforts based on this common data element list.

Electronic device for endosurgical skills training (EDEST): study of reliability.

Science.gov (United States)

Pagador, J B; Uson, J; Sánchez, M A; Moyano, J L; Moreno, J; Bustos, P; Mateos, J; Sánchez-Margallo, F M

2011-05-01

Minimally Invasive Surgery procedures are commonly used in many surgical practices, but surgeons need specific training models and devices due to its difficulty and complexity. In this paper, an innovative electronic device for endosurgical skills training (EDEST) is presented. A study on reliability for this device was performed. Different electronic components were used to compose this new training device. The EDEST was focused on two basic laparoscopic tasks: triangulation and coordination manoeuvres. A configuration and statistical software was developed to complement the functionality of the device. A calibration method was used to assure the proper work of the device. A total of 35 subjects (8 experts and 27 novices) were used to check the reliability of the system using the MTBF analysis. Configuration values for triangulation and coordination exercises were calculated as 0.5 s limit threshold and 800-11,000 lux range of light intensity, respectively. Zero errors in 1,050 executions (0%) for triangulation and 21 errors in 5,670 executions (0.37%) for coordination were obtained. A MTBF of 2.97 h was obtained. The results show that the reliability of the EDEST device is acceptable when used under previously defined light conditions. These results along with previous work could demonstrate that the EDEST device can help surgeons during first training stages.

Alfred P. Southwick, MDS, DDS: dental practitioner, educator and originator of electrical executions.

Science.gov (United States)

Christen, A G; Christen, J A

2000-11-01

The search for a modern, humane method of criminal execution was triggered by a freak accident which occurred in Buffalo, New York in 1881. Dr. Alfred P. Southwick (a former steam-boat engineer, noted dentist and dental educator) happened to witness an intoxicated man die after he inadvertently touched a live generator terminal. Southwick's initial reaction was shock. Later, as he pondered this tragic event, he concluded that electrocution was, at least, a quick and seemingly painless way to depart from this earth. As his thoughts turned to common methods of capital punishment, Alfred concluded that death by electrocution could become a more humane alternative, as compared with the more grisly methods (e.g., hanging, beheading by guillotine, garroting, suffocation and flaying). Working through the governor of New York and the state legislature, Southwick originated and successfully promoted the passage of laws which mandated electrical executions in New York and in approximately 20 other states. During 1888-1889, Southwick served on the state's three-person Electrical Death Commission, a group who reported that electrical execution was superior to all other methods. On January 1, 1889, the world's first electrical execution law went into effect. On August 6, 1890, William Francis Kemmler, who had murdered his mistress, was the first person to die in the electric chair. However, this public event became an amateurish spectacle: the initial surge of current did not cause Kemmler's immediate death and a second jolt was needed. Those who witnessed this bungled execution were stunned. Graphic and detailed criticism from both the press and the general public ran high. However, Dr. Southwick vigorously continued to support and finally achieve his goal--to humanize capital punishment through the legal use of electrical execution.

Application of subset simulation in reliability estimation of underground pipelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tee, Kong Fah; Khan, Lutfor Rahman; Li, Hongshuang

2014-01-01

This paper presents a computational framework for implementing an advanced Monte Carlo simulation method, called Subset Simulation (SS) for time-dependent reliability prediction of underground flexible pipelines. The SS can provide better resolution for low failure probability level of rare failure events which are commonly encountered in pipeline engineering applications. Random samples of statistical variables are generated efficiently and used for computing probabilistic reliability model. It gains its efficiency by expressing a small probability event as a product of a sequence of intermediate events with larger conditional probabilities. The efficiency of SS has been demonstrated by numerical studies and attention in this work is devoted to scrutinise the robustness of the SS application in pipe reliability assessment and compared with direct Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. Reliability of a buried flexible steel pipe with time-dependent failure modes, namely, corrosion induced deflection, buckling, wall thrust and bending stress has been assessed in this study. The analysis indicates that corrosion induced excessive deflection is the most critical failure event whereas buckling is the least susceptible during the whole service life of the pipe. The study also shows that SS is robust method to estimate the reliability of buried pipelines and it is more efficient than MCS, especially in small failure probability prediction

Fault recovery in the reliable multicast protocol

Science.gov (United States)

Callahan, John R.; Montgomery, Todd L.; Whetten, Brian

1995-01-01

The Reliable Multicast Protocol (RMP) provides a unique, group-based model for distributed programs that need to handle reconfiguration events at the application layer. This model, called membership views, provides an abstraction in which events such as site failures, network partitions, and normal join-leave events are viewed as group reformations. RMP provides access to this model through an application programming interface (API) that notifies an application when a group is reformed as the result of a some event. RMP provides applications with reliable delivery of messages using an underlying IP Multicast (12, 5) media to other group members in a distributed environment even in the case of reformations. A distributed application can use various Quality of Service (QoS) levels provided by RMP to tolerate group reformations. This paper explores the implementation details of the mechanisms in RMP that provide distributed applications with membership view information and fault recovery capabilities.

Some areas of reliability technique which have been neglected to some extent - maintainability - human reliability - mechanical reliability - repairable systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akersten, P.A.

1985-01-01

The present thesis consists of four papers, three of which are of a expositary nature and one more theoretical. The first two papers have a natural coupling to the man-machine interface. The first paper is devoted to the concept of maintainability and the role of man as maintenance technician. The second paper discusses aspects of human reliability, mainly studying man as operator. However, maintenance tasks can be studied in the same manner. The third paper concerns reliability prediction for mechanical components. This is an area of vital importance for the reliability practitioner, who needs realistic and easy-to-use mathematical models for different failure modes. The fourth paper discusses mathematical models for repairable systems, especially the problem of testing whether a constant event intensity model is adequate or not. (author)

Executive Dysfunction

Science.gov (United States)

Rabinovici, Gil D.; Stephens, Melanie L.; Possin, Katherine L.

2015-01-01

Purpose of Review: Executive functions represent a constellation of cognitive abilities that drive goal-oriented behavior and are critical to the ability to adapt to an ever-changing world. This article provides a clinically oriented approach to classifying, localizing, diagnosing, and treating disorders of executive function, which are pervasive in clinical practice. Recent Findings: Executive functions can be split into four distinct components: working memory, inhibition, set shifting, and fluency. These components may be differentially affected in individual patients and act together to guide higher-order cognitive constructs such as planning and organization. Specific bedside and neuropsychological tests can be applied to evaluate components of executive function. While dysexecutive syndromes were first described in patients with frontal lesions, intact executive functioning relies on distributed neural networks that include not only the prefrontal cortex, but also the parietal cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum. Executive dysfunction arises from injury to any of these regions, their white matter connections, or neurotransmitter systems. Dysexecutive symptoms therefore occur in most neurodegenerative diseases and in many other neurologic, psychiatric, and systemic illnesses. Management approaches are patient specific and should focus on treatment of the underlying cause in parallel with maximizing patient function and safety via occupational therapy and rehabilitation. Summary: Executive dysfunction is extremely common in patients with neurologic disorders. Diagnosis and treatment hinge on familiarity with the clinical components and neuroanatomic correlates of these complex, high-order cognitive processes. PMID:26039846

Executive working memory load induces inattentional blindness.

Science.gov (United States)

Fougnie, Daryl; Marois, René

2007-02-01

When attention is engaged in a task, unexpected events in the visual scene may go undetected, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness (IB). At what stage of information processing must attention be engaged for IB to occur? Although manipulations that tax visuospatial attention can induce IB, the evidence is more equivocal for tasks that engage attention at late, central stages of information processing. Here, we tested whether IB can be specifically induced by central executive processes. An unexpected visual stimulus was presented during the retention interval of a working memory task that involved either simply maintaining verbal material or rearranging the material into alphabetical order. The unexpected stimulus was more likely to be missed during manipulation than during simple maintenance of the verbal information. Thus, the engagement of executive processes impairs the ability to detect unexpected, task-irrelevant stimuli, suggesting that IB can result from central, amodal stages of processing.

Executive functioning impairment in women treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Christie; Bernstein, Lori J; Rich, Jill B

2017-11-01

Women with breast cancer have reported adverse cognitive effects following chemotherapy. Evidence is mixed on whether executive functioning is particularly impaired in women treated with chemotherapy, in part due to the wide range of tasks used to measure executive processes. We performed a systematic review of the published literature to evaluate whether some subcomponents of executive functioning are more vulnerable to impairment than others among breast cancer survivors who had been treated with chemotherapy. Studies published as of April 2017 were identified using three electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) and a manual search of relevant reference lists. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using a checklist of predefined criteria. Of 1280 identified articles, a total of 41 were included for review. Study findings were categorized into three primary subdomains of executive functioning: inhibition, shifting, and updating. Although there was heterogeneity in the neuropsychological measures used to assess executive functioning, tests could be grouped into the subcomponents they assessed. Inhibition appears relatively spared from the effects of chemotherapy, whereas impairments in shifting and updating are more commonly found following chemotherapy. Examination of subcomponents of executive functioning is recommended to better characterize the nature of executive dysfunction in women treated with chemotherapy. Future studies should include executive functioning tasks of varying complexity, use of multiple tasks to increase reliability, and alternative indices to capture performance, such as within-person variability.

Powering stochastic reliability models by discrete event simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kozine, Igor; Wang, Xiaoyun

2012-01-01

it difficult to find a solution to the problem. The power of modern computers and recent developments in discrete-event simulation (DES) software enable to diminish some of the drawbacks of stochastic models. In this paper we describe the insights we have gained based on using both Markov and DES models...

Tutoring executives online

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bignoux, Stephane; Sund, Kristian J.

2018-01-01

Studies of learning and student satisfaction in the context of online university programmes have largely neglected programmes catering specifically to business executives. Such executives have typically been away from higher education for a number of years, and have collected substantial practical...... experience in the subject matters they are taught. Their expectations in terms of both content and delivery may therefore be different from non-executive students. We explore perceptions of the quality of tutoring in the context of an online executive MBA programme through participant interviews. We find...... that in addition to some of the tutor behaviours already discussed in the literature, executive students look specifically for practical industry knowledge and experience in tutors, when judging how effective a tutor is. This has implications for both the recruitment and training of online executive MBA tutors....

Tutoring Executives Online

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bignoux, Stephane; Sund, Kristian J.

2016-01-01

Studies of learning and student satisfaction in the context of online university programs have largely neglected programs catering specifically to business executives. Such executives have typically been away from higher education for a number of years, and have collected substantial practical...... experience in the subject matters they are taught. Their expectations in terms of both content and delivery may therefore be different from non-executive students. We explore perceptions of the quality of tutoring in the context of an online executive MBA program through participant interviews. We find...... that in addition to some of the tutor behaviors already discussed in the literature, executive students look specifically for practical industry knowledge and experience in tutors, when judging how effective a tutor is. This has implications for both the recruitment and training of online executive MBA tutors....

[Ecological validity and multitasking environments in the evaluation of the executive functions].

Science.gov (United States)

Bombín-González, Igor; Cifuentes-Rodríguez, Alicia; Climent-Martínez, Gema; Luna-Lario, Pilar; Cardas-Ibáñez, Jaione; Tirapu-Ustárroz, Javier; Díaz-Orueta, Unai

2014-07-16

Evaluation of executive functions is a major issue of neuropsychological assessment, due to the role displayed by these on a cognitive, behavioural and emotional level, and the implication of these functions in daily life functioning. In order to perform a reliable assessment, the strategy traditionally followed for the evaluation of executive functions has been their atomization in different cognitive subprocesses, which is useful in a clinical or a research context. However, in clinical practice it is frequently artificial to disintegrate a global and complex cognitive process, such as executive functions, in a variety of related components; thus, tests designed according to these theoretical processes have low value in clinical procedures (diagnosis, rehabilitation design) due to their poor correspondence with the subject's or patient's clinical reality. The aims of the present work are to revise the concept of ecological validity applied to the evaluation of executive functions, and to perform a critical review of executive functions assessment by means of multitask paradigms as a way to increase the ecological validity and predictive value of the subject's functional performance. After a historical journey around the (low) ecological validity of single-task tests, and the bet in favour of a multitask paradigm for the evaluation of executive functions, up-to-date existing multitask tests are presented meticulously (with their respective advantages and disadvantages). Finally, concrete recommendations about how to develop multitask tests in the future are presented, attending to concrete parameters related to the context, tasks, objectives, rules and scoring.

Characterizing Cognitive Aging of Working Memory and Executive Function in Animal Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer Lynn Bizon

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Executive functions supported by prefrontal cortical systems provide essential control and planning mechanisms to guide goal-directed behavior. As such, age-related alterations in executive functions can mediate profound and widespread deficits on a diverse array of neurocognitive processes. Many of the critical neuroanatomical and functional characteristics of prefrontal cortex are preserved in rodents, allowing for meaningful cross-species comparisons relevant to the study of cognitive aging. In particular, as rodents lend themselves to genetic, cellular and biochemical approaches, rodent models of executive function stand to significantly contribute to our understanding of the critical neurobiological mechanisms that mediate decline of executive processes across the lifespan. Moreover, rodent analogues of executive functions that decline in human aging represent an essential component of a targeted, rational approach for developing and testing effective treatment and prevention therapies for age-related cognitive decline. This paper reviews behavioral approaches used to study executive function in rodents, with a focus on those assays that share a foundation in the psychological and neuroanatomical constructs important for human aging. A particular emphasis is placed on behavioral approaches used to assess working memory and cognitive flexibility, which are sensitive to decline with age across species and for which strong rodent models currently exist. In addition, other approaches in rodent behavior that have potential for providing analogues to functions that reliably decline to human aging (e.g., information processing speed are discussed.

Hybrid parallel execution model for logic-based specification languages

CERN Document Server

Tsai, Jeffrey J P

2001-01-01

Parallel processing is a very important technique for improving the performance of various software development and maintenance activities. The purpose of this book is to introduce important techniques for parallel executation of high-level specifications of software systems. These techniques are very useful for the construction, analysis, and transformation of reliable large-scale and complex software systems. Contents: Current Approaches; Overview of the New Approach; FRORL Requirements Specification Language and Its Decomposition; Rewriting and Data Dependency, Control Flow Analysis of a Lo

77 FR 25070 - Special Local Regulation for Marine Events; Temporary Change of Dates for Recurring Marine Events...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-27

... comprise marine events include sailing regattas, power boat races, swim races and holiday parades. For a.... Energy Effects This rule is not a ``significant energy action'' under Executive Order 12866 and is not likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy. Technical...

Foundations for a time reliability correlation system to quantify human reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dougherty, E.M. Jr.; Fragola, J.R.

1988-01-01

Time reliability correlations (TRCs) have been used in human reliability analysis (HRA) in conjunction with probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) to quantify post-initiator human failure events. The first TRCs were judgmental but recent data taken from simulators have provided evidence for development of a system of TRCs. This system has the equational form: t = tau R X tau U , where the first factor is the lognormally distributed random variable of successful response time, derived from the simulator data, and the second factor is a unitary lognormal random variable to account for uncertainty in the model. The first random variable is further factored into a median response time and a factor to account for the dominant type of behavior assumed to be involved in the response and a second factor to account for other influences on the reliability of the response

Assessing Changes in the Reliability of the U.S. Electric Power System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, Peter H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Physics; LaCommare, Kristina H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Eto, Joseph H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Sweeney, James L. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

2015-08-01

Over the past 15 years, the most well-publicized efforts to assess trends in U.S. electric power system reliability have focused only on a subset of all power interruption events (see, for example, Amin 2008 and Campbell 2012)—namely, only the very largest events, which trigger immediate emergency reporting to federal agencies and industry regulators. Anecdotally, these events are thought by many to represent no more than 10% of the power interruptions experienced annually by electricity consumers. Moreover, a review of these emergency reports has identified shortcomings in relying on these data as reliable sources for assessing trends, even with the reliability events they report (Fisher et al. 2012). Recent work has begun to address these limitations by examining trends in reliability data collected annually by electricity distribution companies (Eto et al. 2012). In principle, all power interruptions experienced by electricity customers, regardless of size, are recorded by the distribution utility. Moreover, distribution utilities have a long history of recording this information, often in response to mandates from state public utility commissions (Eto et al. 2006). Thus, studies that rely on reliability data collected by distribution utilities can, in principle, provide a more complete basis upon which to assess trends or changes in reliability over time.

Semanticized autobiographical memory and the default - executive coupling hypothesis of aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Spreng, R Nathan; Lockrow, Amber W; DuPre, Elizabeth; Setton, Roni; Spreng, Karen A P; Turner, Gary R

2018-02-01

As we age, the architecture of cognition undergoes a fundamental transition. Fluid intellectual abilities decline while crystalized abilities remain stable or increase. This shift has a profound impact across myriad cognitive and functional domains, yet the neural mechanisms remain under-specified. We have proposed that greater connectivity between the default network and executive control regions in lateral prefrontal cortex may underlie this shift, as older adults increasingly rely upon accumulated knowledge to support goal-directed behavior. Here we provide direct evidence for this mechanism within the domain of autobiographical memory. In a large sample of healthy adult participants (n = 103 Young; n = 80 Old) the strength of default - executive coupling reliably predicted more semanticized, or knowledge-based, recollection of autobiographical memories in the older adult cohort. The findings are consistent with the default - executive coupling hypothesis of aging and identify this shift in network dynamics as a candidate neural mechanism associated with crystalized cognition in later life that may signal adaptive capacity in the context of declining fluid cognitive abilities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-term reliability of the visual EEG Poffenberger paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedrich, Patrick; Ocklenburg, Sebastian; Mochalski, Lisa; Schlüter, Caroline; Güntürkün, Onur; Genc, Erhan

2017-07-14

The Poffenberger paradigm is a simple perception task that is used to estimate the speed of information transfer between the two hemispheres, the so-called interhemispheric transfer time (IHTT). Although the original paradigm is a behavioral task, it can be combined with electroencephalography (EEG) to assess the underlying neurophysiological processes during task execution. While older studies have supported the validity of both paradigms for investigating interhemispheric interactions, their long-term reliability has not been assessed systematically before. The present study aims to fill this gap by determining both internal consistency and long-term test-retest reliability of IHTTs produced by using the two different versions of the Poffenberger paradigm in a sample of 26 healthy subjects. The results show high reliability for the EEG Poffenberger paradigm. In contrast, reliability measures for the behavioral Poffenberger paradigm were low. Hence, our results indicate that electrophysiological measures of interhemispheric transfer are more reliable than behavioral measures; the later should be used with caution in research investigating inter-individual differences of neurocognitive measures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

System on chip module configured for event-driven architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Kevin; Brady, Charles E.; Ashlock, Tad A.

2017-10-17

A system on chip (SoC) module is described herein, wherein the SoC modules comprise a processor subsystem and a hardware logic subsystem. The processor subsystem and hardware logic subsystem are in communication with one another, and transmit event messages between one another. The processor subsystem executes software actors, while the hardware logic subsystem includes hardware actors, the software actors and hardware actors conform to an event-driven architecture, such that the software actors receive and generate event messages and the hardware actors receive and generate event messages.

Alert: An Adaptive Low-Latency Event-Driven MAC Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vinod Namboodiri

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Collection of rare but delay-critical messages from a group of sensor nodes is a key process in many wireless sensor network applications. This is particularly important for security-related applications like intrusion detection and fire alarm systems. An event sensed by multiple sensor nodes in the network can trigger many messages to be sent simultaneously. We present Alert, a MAC protocol for collecting event-triggered urgent messages from a group of sensor nodes with minimum latency and without requiring any cooperation or prescheduling among the senders or between senders and receiver during protocol execution. Alert is designed to handle multiple simultaneous messages from different nodes efficiently and reliably, minimizing the overall delay to collect all messages along with the delay to get the first message. Moreover, the ability of the network to handle a large number of simultaneous messages does not come at the cost of excessive delays when only a few messages need to be handled. We analyze Alert and evaluate its feasibility and performance with an implementation on commodity hardware. We further compare Alert with existing approaches through simulations and show the performance improvement possible through Alert.

Processing data communications events by awakening threads in parallel active messaging interface of a parallel computer

Science.gov (United States)

Archer, Charles J.; Blocksome, Michael A.; Ratterman, Joseph D.; Smith, Brian E.

2016-03-15

Processing data communications events in a parallel active messaging interface (`PAMI`) of a parallel computer that includes compute nodes that execute a parallel application, with the PAMI including data communications endpoints, and the endpoints are coupled for data communications through the PAMI and through other data communications resources, including determining by an advance function that there are no actionable data communications events pending for its context, placing by the advance function its thread of execution into a wait state, waiting for a subsequent data communications event for the context; responsive to occurrence of a subsequent data communications event for the context, awakening by the thread from the wait state; and processing by the advance function the subsequent data communications event now pending for the context.

Behavioral and Electrophysiological Differences in Executive Control between Monolingual and Bilingual Children

Science.gov (United States)

Barac, Raluca; Moreno, Sylvain; Bialystok, Ellen

2016-01-01

This study examined executive control in sixty-two 5-year-old children who were monolingual or bilingual using behavioral and event-related potentials (ERPs) measures. All children performed equivalently on simple response inhibition (gift delay), but bilingual children outperformed monolinguals on interference suppression and complex response…

Limits on the Efficiency of Event-Based Algorithms for Monte Carlo Neutron Transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Romano, Paul K.; Siegel, Andrew R.

2017-04-16

The traditional form of parallelism in Monte Carlo particle transport simulations, wherein each individual particle history is considered a unit of work, does not lend itself well to data-level parallelism. Event-based algorithms, which were originally used for simulations on vector processors, may offer a path toward better utilizing data-level parallelism in modern computer architectures. In this study, a simple model is developed for estimating the efficiency of the event-based particle transport algorithm under two sets of assumptions. Data collected from simulations of four reactor problems using OpenMC was then used in conjunction with the models to calculate the speedup due to vectorization as a function of two parameters: the size of the particle bank and the vector width. When each event type is assumed to have constant execution time, the achievable speedup is directly related to the particle bank size. We observed that the bank size generally needs to be at least 20 times greater than vector size in order to achieve vector efficiency greater than 90%. When the execution times for events are allowed to vary, however, the vector speedup is also limited by differences in execution time for events being carried out in a single event-iteration. For some problems, this implies that vector effciencies over 50% may not be attainable. While there are many factors impacting performance of an event-based algorithm that are not captured by our model, it nevertheless provides insights into factors that may be limiting in a real implementation.

Reliability studies in research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albuquerque, Tob Rodrigues de

2013-01-01

Fault trees and event trees are widely used in industry to model and to evaluate the reliability of safety systems. Detailed analyzes in nuclear installations require the combination of these two techniques. This study uses the methods of FT (Fault Tree) and ET (Event Tree) to accomplish the PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) in research reactors. According to IAEA (lnternational Atomic Energy Agency), the PSA is divided into Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. At the Level 1, conceptually, the security systems perform to prevent the occurrence of accidents, At the Level 2, once accidents happened, this Level seeks to minimize consequences, known as stage management of accident, and at Level 3 accident impacts are determined. This study focuses on analyzing the Level 1, and searching through the acquisition of knowledge, the consolidation of methodologies for future reliability studies. The Greek Research Reactor, GRR-1, is a case example. The LOCA (Loss of Coolant Accident) was chosen as the initiating event and from it, using ET, possible accidental sequences were developed, which could lead damage to the core. Moreover, for each of affected systems, probabilities of each event top of FT were developed and evaluated in possible accidental sequences. Also, the estimates of importance measures for basic events are presented in this work. The studies of this research were conducted using a commercial computational tool SAPHIRE. Additionally, achieved results thus were considered satisfactory for the performance or the failure of analyzed systems. (author)

The Executive Control of Face Memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven Z. Rapcsak

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Patients with frontal lobe damage and cognitively normal elderly individuals demonstrate increased susceptibility to false facial recognition. In this paper we review neuropsychological evidence consistent with the notion that the common functional impairment underlying face memory distortions in both subject populations is a context recollection/source monitoring deficit, coupled with excessive reliance on relatively preserved facial familiarity signals in recognition decisions. In particular, we suggest that due to the breakdown of strategic memory retrieval, monitoring, and decision operations, individuals with frontal lobe impairment caused by focal damage or age-related functional decline do not have a reliable mechanism for attributing the experience of familiarity to the correct context or source. Memory illusions are mostly apparent under conditions of uncertainty when the face cue does not directly elicit relevant identity-specific contextual information, leaving the source of familiarity unspecified or ambiguous. Based on these findings, we propose that remembering faces is a constructive process that requires dynamic interactions between temporal lobe memory systems that operate in an automatic or bottom-up fashion and frontal executive systems that provide strategic top-down control of recollection. Executive memory control functions implemented by prefrontal cortex play a critical role in suppressing false facial recognition and related source memory misattributions.

Investigating the effects of caffeine on executive functions using traditional Stroop and a new ecologically-valid virtual reality task, the Jansari assessment of Executive Functions (JEF(©)).

Science.gov (United States)

Soar, K; Chapman, E; Lavan, N; Jansari, A S; Turner, J J D

2016-10-01

Caffeine has been shown to have effects on certain areas of cognition, but in executive functioning the research is limited and also inconsistent. One reason could be the need for a more sensitive measure to detect the effects of caffeine on executive function. This study used a new non-immersive virtual reality assessment of executive functions known as JEF(©) (the Jansari Assessment of Executive Function) alongside the 'classic' Stroop Colour-Word task to assess the effects of a normal dose of caffeinated coffee on executive function. Using a double-blind, counterbalanced within participants procedure 43 participants were administered either a caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee and completed the 'JEF(©)' and Stroop tasks, as well as a subjective mood scale and blood pressure pre- and post condition on two separate occasions a week apart. JEF(©) yields measures for eight separate aspects of executive functions, in addition to a total average score. Findings indicate that performance was significantly improved on the planning, creative thinking, event-, time- and action-based prospective memory, as well as total JEF(©) score following caffeinated coffee relative to the decaffeinated coffee. The caffeinated beverage significantly decreased reaction times on the Stroop task, but there was no effect on Stroop interference. The results provide further support for the effects of a caffeinated beverage on cognitive functioning. In particular, it has demonstrated the ability of JEF(©) to detect the effects of caffeine across a number of executive functioning constructs, which weren't shown in the Stroop task, suggesting executive functioning improvements as a result of a 'typical' dose of caffeine may only be detected by the use of more real-world, ecologically valid tasks. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimizing Training Event Schedules at Naval Air Station Fallon

Science.gov (United States)

2018-03-01

Time VBA Visual Basic for Applications WTI Weapons and Tactics Instructor xiii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK xiv Executive Summary Naval Air...emitter inventory for each site. Constraint (3.6) ensures scheduled flight events have access to an emitter, at the proper location, required for the...flight event requests and their respective requirements into a specificmacro-enabled excel worksheet (Microsoftl, 2017). A series of VBA ( VBA , 2017

Root cause analysis in support of reliability enhancement of engineering components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Sachin; Mishra, Vivek; Joshi, N.S.; Varde, P.V.

2014-01-01

Reliability based methods have been widely used for the safety assessment of plant system, structures and components. These methods provide a quantitative estimation of system reliability but do not give insight into the failure mechanism. Understanding the failure mechanism is a must to avoid the recurrence of the events and enhancement of the system reliability. Root cause analysis provides a tool for gaining detailed insights into the causes of failure of component with particular attention to the identification of fault in component design, operation, surveillance, maintenance, training, procedures and policies which must be improved to prevent repetition of incidents. Root cause analysis also helps in developing Probabilistic Safety Analysis models. A probabilistic precursor study provides a complement to the root cause analysis approach in event analysis by focusing on how an event might have developed adversely. This paper discusses the root cause analysis methodologies and their application in the specific case studies for enhancement of system reliability. (author)

Computer-aided reliability and risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leicht, R.; Wingender, H.J.

1989-01-01

Activities in the fields of reliability and risk analyses have led to the development of particular software tools which now are combined in the PC-based integrated CARARA system. The options available in this system cover a wide range of reliability-oriented tasks, like organizing raw failure data in the component/event data bank FDB, performing statistical analysis of those data with the program FDA, managing the resulting parameters in the reliability data bank RDB, and performing fault tree analysis with the fault tree code FTL or evaluating the risk of toxic or radioactive material release with the STAR code. (orig.)

Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices Regarding the Role of Executive Functions in Reading and Arithmetic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shirley Rapoport

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The current study investigated early elementary school teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the role of Executive Functions in reading and arithmetic. A new research questionnaire was developed and judged by professionals in the academia and the field. Reponses were obtained from 144 teachers from Israel. Factor analysis divided the questionnaire into three valid and reliable subscales, reflecting (1 beliefs regarding the contribution of executive functions to reading and arithmetic, (2 pedagogical practices, and (3 a connection between the cognitive mechanisms of reading and arithmetic. Findings indicate that teachers believe executive functions affect students’ performance in reading and arithmetic. These beliefs were also correlated with pedagogical practices. Additionally, special education teachers’ scored higher on the different subscales compared to general education teachers. These findings shed light on the way teachers perceive the cognitive foundations of reading and arithmetic and indicate to which extent these perceptions guide their teaching practices.

Improving inspection reliability through operator selection and training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGrath, Bernard; Carter, Luke

2013-01-01

A number of years ago the UK's Health and Safety Executive sponsored a series of three PANI projects investigating the application of manual ultrasonics, which endeavoured to establish the necessary steps that ensure a reliable inspection is performed. The results of the three projects were each reported separately on completion and also presented at number of international conferences. This paper summarises the results of these projects from the point of view of operator performance. The correlation of operator ultrasonic performance with results of aptitude tests is presented along with observations on the impact of training and qualifications of the operators. The results lead to conclusions on how the selection and training of operators could be modified to improve reliability of inspections.

Night-to-night arousal variability and interscorer reliability of arousal measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Loredo, J S; Clausen, J L; Ancoli-Israel, S; Dimsdale, J E

1999-11-01

Measurement of arousals from sleep is clinically important, however, their definition is not well standardized, and little data exist on reliability. The purpose of this study is to determine factors that affect arousal scoring reliability and night-to-night arousal variability. The night-to-night arousal variability and interscorer reliability was assessed in 20 subjects with and without obstructive sleep apnea undergoing attended polysomnography during two consecutive nights. Five definitions of arousal were studied, assessing duration of electroencephalographic (EEG) frequency changes, increases in electromyographic (EMG) activity and leg movement, association with respiratory events, as well as the American Sleep Disorders Association (ASDA) definition of arousals. NA. NA. NA. Interscorer reliability varied with the definition of arousal and ranged from an Intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.19 to 0.92. Arousals that included increases in EMG activity or leg movement had the greatest reliability, especially when associated with respiratory events (ICC 0.76 to 0.92). The ASDA arousal definition had high interscorer reliability (ICC 0.84). Reliability was lowest for arousals consisting of EEG changes lasting <3 seconds (ICC 0.19 to 0.37). The within subjects night-to-night arousal variability was low for all arousal definitions In a heterogeneous population, interscorer arousal reliability is enhanced by increases in EMG activity, leg movements, and respiratory events and decreased by short duration EEG arousals. The arousal index night-to-night variability was low for all definitions.

Reliability analysis of shutdown system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, C. Senthil; John Arul, A.; Pal Singh, Om; Suryaprakasa Rao, K.

2005-01-01

This paper presents the results of reliability analysis of Shutdown System (SDS) of Indian Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor. Reliability analysis carried out using Fault Tree Analysis predicts a value of 3.5 x 10 -8 /de for failure of shutdown function in case of global faults and 4.4 x 10 -8 /de for local faults. Based on 20 de/y, the frequency of shutdown function failure is 0.7 x 10 -6 /ry, which meets the reliability target, set by the Indian Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. The reliability is limited by Common Cause Failure (CCF) of actuation part of SDS and to a lesser extent CCF of electronic components. The failure frequency of individual systems is -3 /ry, which also meets the safety criteria. Uncertainty analysis indicates a maximum error factor of 5 for the top event unavailability

Tabled Execution in Scheme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Willcock, J J; Lumsdaine, A; Quinlan, D J

2008-08-19

Tabled execution is a generalization of memorization developed by the logic programming community. It not only saves results from tabled predicates, but also stores the set of currently active calls to them; tabled execution can thus provide meaningful semantics for programs that seemingly contain infinite recursions with the same arguments. In logic programming, tabled execution is used for many purposes, both for improving the efficiency of programs, and making tasks simpler and more direct to express than with normal logic programs. However, tabled execution is only infrequently applied in mainstream functional languages such as Scheme. We demonstrate an elegant implementation of tabled execution in Scheme, using a mix of continuation-passing style and mutable data. We also show the use of tabled execution in Scheme for a problem in formal language and automata theory, demonstrating that tabled execution can be a valuable tool for Scheme users.

Reliability of the Cooking Task in adults with acquired brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Poncet, Frédérique; Swaine, Bonnie; Taillefer, Chantal; Lamoureux, Julie; Pradat-Diehl, Pascale; Chevignard, Mathilde

2015-01-01

Acquired brain injury (ABI) often leads to deficits in executive functioning (EF) responsible for severe and long-standing disabilities in daily life activities. The Cooking Task is an ecological and valid test of EF involving multi-tasking in a real environment. Given its complex scoring system, it is important to establish the tool's reliability. The objective of the study was to examine the reliability of the Cooking Task (internal consistency, inter-rater and test-retest reliability). A total of 160 patients with ABI (113 men, mean age 37 years, SD = 14.3) were tested using the Cooking Task. For test-retest reliability, patients were assessed by the same rater on two occasions (mean interval 11 days) while two raters independently and simultaneously observed and scored patients' performances to estimate inter-rater reliability. Internal consistency was high for the global scale (Cronbach α = .74). Inter-rater reliability (n = 66) for total errors was also high (ICC = .93), however the test-retest reliability (n = 11) was poor (ICC = .36). In general the Cooking Task appears to be a reliable tool. The low test-retest results were expected given the importance of EF in the performance of novel tasks.

Proceedings of the workshop on reliability data collection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

The main purpose of the Workshop was to provide a forum for exchanging information and experience on Reliability Data Collection and analysis to support Living Probabilistic Safety Assessments (LPSA). The Workshop is divided into four sessions which titles are: Session 1: Reliability Data - Database Systems (3 papers), Session 2: Reliability Data Collection for PSA (5 papers), Session 3: NPP Data Collection (3 papers), Session 4: Reliability Data Assessment (Part 1: General - 2 papers; Part 2: CCF - 2 papers; Part 3: Reactor Protection Systems / External Event Data - 2 papers; Part 4: Human Errors - 2 papers)

ERP evidence suggests executive dysfunction in ecstasy polydrug users.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, C A; Fairclough, S H; Fisk, J E; Tames, F; Montgomery, C

2013-08-01

Deficits in executive functions such as access to semantic/long-term memory have been shown in ecstasy users in previous research. Equally, there have been many reports of equivocal findings in this area. The current study sought to further investigate behavioural and electro-physiological measures of this executive function in ecstasy users. Twenty ecstasy-polydrug users, 20 non-ecstasy-polydrug users and 20 drug-naïve controls were recruited. Participants completed background questionnaires about their drug use, sleep quality, fluid intelligence and mood state. Each individual also completed a semantic retrieval task whilst 64 channel Electroencephalography (EEG) measures were recorded. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed no between-group differences in behavioural performance on the task. Mixed ANOVA on event-related potential (ERP) components P2, N2 and P3 revealed significant between-group differences in the N2 component. Subsequent exploratory univariate ANOVAs on the N2 component revealed marginally significant between-group differences, generally showing greater negativity at occipito-parietal electrodes in ecstasy users compared to drug-naïve controls. Despite absence of behavioural differences, differences in N2 magnitude are evidence of abnormal executive functioning in ecstasy-polydrug users.

Why Rules Matter in Complex Event Processing...and Vice Versa

Science.gov (United States)

Vincent, Paul

Many commercial and research CEP solutions are moving beyond simple stream query languages to more complete definitions of "process" and thence to "decisions" and "actions". And as capabilities increase in event processing capabilities, there is an increasing realization that the humble "rule" is as relevant to the event cloud as it is to specific services. Less obvious is how much event processing has to offer the process and rule execution and management technologies. Does event processing change the way we should manage businesses, processes and services, together with their embedded (and hopefully managed) rulesets?

The influence of executive capacity on selective attention and subsequent processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirk R. Daffner

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Recent investigations that suggest selective attention is dependent on top-down control mechanisms lead to the expectation that individuals with high executive capacity would exhibit more robust neural indices of selective attention. This prediction was tested by using event-related potentials (ERPs to examine differences in markers of information processing across 25 subjects divided into 2 groups based on high vs. average executive capacity, as defined by neuropsychological test scores. Subjects performed an experimental task requiring selective attention to a specified color. In contrast to expectation, individuals with high and average executive capacity did not differ in the size of ERP indices of selective attention: the anterior Selection Positivity (SP and posterior Selection Negativity (SN. However, there were substantial differences between groups in markers of subsequent processing, including the anterior N2 (a measure of attentional control and the P3a (an index of the orienting of attention. Executive capacity predicted speed of processing at both early and late attentional stages. Individuals with lower executive capacity exhibited prolonged SN, P3a, and P3b latencies. However, the delays in carrying out selective attention operations did not account for subsequent delays in decision making, or explain excessive orienting and reduced attentional control mechanisms in response to stimuli that should have been ignored. SN latency, P3 latency, and the size of the anterior N2 made independent contributions to the variance of executive capacity. In summary, our findings suggest that current views regarding the relationship between top-down control mechanisms and selective attention may need refinement.

A time-series approach to random number generation: Using recurrence quantification analysis to capture executive behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wouter eOomens

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The concept of executive functions plays a prominent role in contemporary experimental and clinical studies on cognition. One paradigm used in this framework is the random number generation (RNG task, the execution of which demands aspects of executive functioning, specifically inhibition and working memory. Data from the RNG task are best seen as a series of successive events. However, traditional RNG measures that are used to quantify executive functioning are mostly summary statistics referring to deviations from mathematical randomness. In the current study, we explore the utility of recurrence quantification analysis (RQA, a nonlinear method that keeps the entire sequence intact, as a better way to describe executive functioning compared to traditional measures. To this aim, 242 first- and second-year students completed a non-paced RNG task. Principal component analysis of their data showed that traditional and RQA measures convey more or less the same information. However, RQA measures do so more parsimoniously and have a better interpretation.

78 FR 30747 - Reliability Standards for Geomagnetic Disturbances

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-23

... that the scientific understanding of GMDs is still evolving, we recognize that Reliability Standards... by solar events, results in distortions to the earth's magnetic field, can be of varying intensity... systems.\\4\\ The interaction of the earth's magnetic field and solar events can cause low frequency GICs to...

Advanced Fuels Campaign Execution Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kemal Pasamehmetoglu

2010-10-01

The purpose of the Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) Execution Plan is to communicate the structure and management of research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities within the Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCRD) program. Included in this document is an overview of the FCRD program, a description of the difference between revolutionary and evolutionary approaches to nuclear fuel development, the meaning of science-based development of nuclear fuels, and the “Grand Challenge” for the AFC that would, if achieved, provide a transformational technology to the nuclear industry in the form of a high performance, high reliability nuclear fuel system. The activities that will be conducted by the AFC to achieve success towards this grand challenge are described and the goals and milestones over the next 20 to 40 year period of research and development are established.

Advanced Fuels Campaign Execution Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kemal Pasamehmetoglu

2011-09-01

The purpose of the Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) Execution Plan is to communicate the structure and management of research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities within the Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCRD) program. Included in this document is an overview of the FCRD program, a description of the difference between revolutionary and evolutionary approaches to nuclear fuel development, the meaning of science-based development of nuclear fuels, and the 'Grand Challenge' for the AFC that would, if achieved, provide a transformational technology to the nuclear industry in the form of a high performance, high reliability nuclear fuel system. The activities that will be conducted by the AFC to achieve success towards this grand challenge are described and the goals and milestones over the next 20 to 40 year period of research and development are established.

Transition from Terrorist Event Management to Consequence Management, Executive Summary

Science.gov (United States)

1982-03-31

hUMIEe " BDM/W-82-l1 5-TR AUTO11(o 1. CONTR ACT OR GRANT NumURe) J. C. Evanis, M. K. Pilgrim, C. J. Potter EMW-C-0744 9. PER•O^•ING ORGANIZATIN NAME...should, and is expected to, provide leadership in this regard. There exists a variety of experience and planning for responding to terrorist events. The

Top-down and bottom-up definitions of human failure events in human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boring, Ronald Laurids

2014-01-01

In the probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) used in the nuclear industry, human failure events (HFEs) are determined as a subset of hardware failures, namely those hardware failures that could be triggered by human action or inaction. This approach is top-down, starting with hardware faults and deducing human contributions to those faults. Elsewhere, more traditionally human factors driven approaches would tend to look at opportunities for human errors first in a task analysis and then identify which of those errors is risk significant. The intersection of top-down and bottom-up approaches to defining HFEs has not been carefully studied. Ideally, both approaches should arrive at the same set of HFEs. This question is crucial, however, as human reliability analysis (HRA) methods are generalized to new domains like oil and gas. The HFEs used in nuclear PRAs tend to be top-down - defined as a subset of the PRA - whereas the HFEs used in petroleum quantitative risk assessments (QRAs) often tend to be bottom-up - derived from a task analysis conducted by human factors experts. The marriage of these approaches is necessary in order to ensure that HRA methods developed for top-down HFEs are also sufficient for bottom-up applications.

ASCERTAINMENT OF ELECTRIC-SUPPLY SCHEMES RELIABILITY FOR THE ATOMIC POWER PLANT AUXILIARIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. L. Starzhinskij

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The paper completes ascertainment of electrical-supply scheme reliability for the auxiliaries of a nuclear power plant. Thereat the author considers the system behavior during the block normal operation, carrying out current maintenance, and capital repairs in combination with initiating events. The initiating events for reactors include complete blackout, i.e. the loss of outside power supply (normal and reserve; emergency switching one of the working turbogenerators; momentary dumping the normal rating to the level of auxiliaries with seating the cutout valve of one turbo-generator. The combination of any initiating event with the repairing mode in case of one of the system elements failure should not lead to blackout occurrence of more than one system of the reliable power supply. This requirement rests content with the help of the reliable power supply system self-dependence (electrical and functional and the emergency power-supply operational autonomy (diesel generator and accumulator batteries.The reliability indicators of the power supply system for the nuclear power plant auxiliaries are the conditional probabilities of conjoined blackout of one, two, and three sections of the reliable power supply conditional upon an initiating event emerging and the blackout of one, two, and three reliable power-supply sections under the normal operational mode. Furthermore, they also are the blackout periodicity of one and conjointly two, three, and four sections of normal operation under the block normal operational mode. It is established that the blackout of one bus section of normal operation and one section of reliable power-supply system of the auxiliaries that does not lead to complete blackout of the plant auxiliaries may occur once in three years. The probability of simultaneous power failure of two or three normal-operation sections and of two reliable power-supply sections during the power plant service life is unlikely.

Analysis of system and of course of events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoertner, H.; Kersting, E.J.; Puetter, B.M.

1986-01-01

The analysis of the system and of the course of events is used to determine the frequency of core melt-out accidents and to describe the safety-related boundary conditions of appropriate accidents. The lecture is concerned with the effect of system changes in the reference plant and the effect of triggering events not assessed in detail or not sufficiently assessed in detail in phase A of the German Risk Study on the frequency of core melt-out accidents, the minimum requirements for system functions for controlling triggering events, i.e. to prevent core melt-out accidents, the reliability data important for reliability investigations and frequency assessments. (orig./DG) [de

Mood effects on memory and executive control in a real-life situation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lagner, Prune; Kliegel, Matthias; Phillips, Louise H; Ihle, Andreas; Hering, Alexandra; Ballhausen, Nicola; Schnitzspahn, Katharina M

2015-01-01

In the laboratory, studies have shown an inconsistent pattern of whether, and how, mood may affect cognitive functions indicating both mood-related enhancement as well as decline. Surprisingly, little is known about whether there are similar effects in everyday life. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate possible mood effects on memory and executive control in a real-life situation. Mood effects were examined in the context of winning in a sports competition. Sixty-one male handball players were tested with an extensive cognitive test battery (comprising memory and executive control) both after winning a match and after training as neutral baseline. Mood differed significantly between the two testing situations, while physiological arousal and motivation were comparable. Results showed lowered performance after the win compared with training in selected cognitive measures. Specifically, short-term and episodic memory performance was poorer following a win, whereas executive control performance was unaffected by condition. Differences in memory disappeared when emotional states after the match were entered as covariates into the initial analyses. Thus, findings suggest mood-related impairments in memory, but not in executive control processes after a positive real-life event.

OS Independent Mobile Solutions for Manufacturing Execution Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heiko Meyer

2013-12-01

Full Text Available From the suppliers' perspective it is best to provide the user of a plant with a mobile solution in the form of perfectly matching Apps for the rolled-out manufacturing execution system. Due to the extremely short innovation cycle in the mobile phone development and not least because of the first iPhone generation launch in 2007 the mobile phone market completely changed over the past four years. Today, a large percentage of the sold devices can be classified as smart phones. The paper describes an easy and reliable way to develop OS independent mobile solutions for all common smartphones based on standard technologies.

Wired World-Wide Web Interactive Remote Event Display

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Groot, Nicolo

2003-05-07

WIRED (World-Wide Web Interactive Remote Event Display) is a framework, written in the Java{trademark} language, for building High Energy Physics event displays. An event display based on the WIRED framework enables users of a HEP collaboration to visualize and analyze events remotely using ordinary WWW browsers, on any type of machine. In addition, event displays using WIRED may provide the general public with access to the research of high energy physics. The recent introduction of the object-oriented Java{trademark} language enables the transfer of machine independent code across the Internet, to be safely executed by a Java enhanced WWW browser. We have employed this technology to create a remote event display in WWW. The combined Java-WWW technology hence assures a world wide availability of such an event display, an always up-to-date program and a platform independent implementation, which is easy to use and to install.

5 CFR 842.211 - Senior Executive Service, Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service, and Senior Cryptologic...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Senior Executive Service, Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service, and Senior Cryptologic Executive Service. 842.211 Section 842.211... EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM-BASIC ANNUITY Eligibility § 842.211 Senior Executive Service, Defense...

Human reliability in high dose rate afterloading radiotherapy based on FMECA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Jun; Fan Yaohua; Yue Baorong; Wei Kedao; Ren Fuli

2012-01-01

Objective: To put forward reasonable and feasible recommendations against the procedure with relative high risk during the high dose rate (HDR) afterloading radiotherapy, so as to enhance its clinical application safety, through studying the human reliability in the process of carrying out the HDR afterloading radiotherapy. Methods: Basic data were collected by on-site investigation and process analysis as well as expert evaluation. Failure mode, effect and criticality analysis (FMECA) employed to study the human reliability in the execution of HDR afterloading radiotherapy. Results: The FMECA model of human reliability for HDR afterloading radiotherapy was established, through which 25 procedures with relative high risk index were found,accounting for 14.1% of total 177 procedures. Conclusions: FMECA method in human reliability study for HDR afterloading radiotherapy is feasible. The countermeasures are put forward to reduce the human error, so as to provide important basis for enhancing clinical application safety of HDR afterloading radiotherapy. (authors)

Rare events: a state of the art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uppuluri, V.R.R.

1980-12-01

The study of rare events has become increasingly important in the context of nuclear safety. Some philosophical considerations, such as the framework for the definition of a rare event, rare events and science, rare events and trans-science, and rare events and public perception, are discussed. The technical work of the Task Force on problems of Rare Events in the Reliability Analysis of Nuclear Plants (1976-1978), sponsored by OECD, is reviewed. Some recent technical considerations are discussed, and conclusions are drawn. The appendix contains an essay written by Anne E. Beachey, under the title: A Study of Rare Events - Problems and Promises

Managing unforeseen events in production scheduling and control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arica, E.; Falster, Peter; Hvolby, H. H.

2016-01-01

initial plans unfeasible or obsolete during production execution. How to effectively handle the unscheduled events and take corrective actions still remains a central question to academics and practitioners. In this paper, we explore this issue through a review of the relevant literature and an in......The production planning and control process is performed within complex and dynamic organizations made up of customer expectations, equipment, materials, people, information, and technologies. Changes in both internal and external factors can create a variety of unforeseen events, which make...

Critical Assessment of the Foundations of Power Transmission and Distribution Reliability Metrics and Standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Nateghi, Roshanak; Guikema, Seth D; Wu, Yue Grace; Bruss, C Bayan

2016-01-01

The U.S. federal government regulates the reliability of bulk power systems, while the reliability of power distribution systems is regulated at a state level. In this article, we review the history of regulating electric service reliability and study the existing reliability metrics, indices, and standards for power transmission and distribution networks. We assess the foundations of the reliability standards and metrics, discuss how they are applied to outages caused by large exogenous disturbances such as natural disasters, and investigate whether the standards adequately internalize the impacts of these events. Our reflections shed light on how existing standards conceptualize reliability, question the basis for treating large-scale hazard-induced outages differently from normal daily outages, and discuss whether this conceptualization maps well onto customer expectations. We show that the risk indices for transmission systems used in regulating power system reliability do not adequately capture the risks that transmission systems are prone to, particularly when it comes to low-probability high-impact events. We also point out several shortcomings associated with the way in which regulators require utilities to calculate and report distribution system reliability indices. We offer several recommendations for improving the conceptualization of reliability metrics and standards. We conclude that while the approaches taken in reliability standards have made considerable advances in enhancing the reliability of power systems and may be logical from a utility perspective during normal operation, existing standards do not provide a sufficient incentive structure for the utilities to adequately ensure high levels of reliability for end-users, particularly during large-scale events. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

Seeking high reliability in primary care: Leadership, tools, and organization.

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, Robert R

2015-01-01

Leaders in health care increasingly recognize that improving health care quality and safety requires developing an organizational culture that fosters high reliability and continuous process improvement. For various reasons, a reliability-seeking culture is lacking in most health care settings. Developing a reliability-seeking culture requires leaders' sustained commitment to reliability principles using key mechanisms to embed those principles widely in the organization. The aim of this study was to examine how key mechanisms used by a primary care practice (PCP) might foster a reliability-seeking, system-oriented organizational culture. A case study approach was used to investigate the PCP's reliability culture. The study examined four cultural artifacts used to embed reliability-seeking principles across the organization: leadership statements, decision support tools, and two organizational processes. To decipher their effects on reliability, the study relied on observations of work patterns and the tools' use, interactions during morning huddles and process improvement meetings, interviews with clinical and office staff, and a "collective mindfulness" questionnaire. The five reliability principles framed the data analysis. Leadership statements articulated principles that oriented the PCP toward a reliability-seeking culture of care. Reliability principles became embedded in the everyday discourse and actions through the use of "problem knowledge coupler" decision support tools and daily "huddles." Practitioners and staff were encouraged to report unexpected events or close calls that arose and which often initiated a formal "process change" used to adjust routines and prevent adverse events from recurring. Activities that foster reliable patient care became part of the taken-for-granted routine at the PCP. The analysis illustrates the role leadership, tools, and organizational processes play in developing and embedding a reliable-seeking culture across an

Reliability Concerns for Flying SiC Power MOSFETs in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Galloway, K. F.; Witulski, A. F.; Schrimpf, R. D.; Sternberg, A. L.; Ball, D. R.; Javanainen, A.; Reed, R. A.; Sierawski, B. D.; Lauenstein, J-M

2018-01-01

SiC power MOSFETs are space-ready in terms of typical reliability measures. However, single event burnout (SEB) often occurs at voltages 50% or lower than specified breakdown. Data illustrating burnout for 1200 V devices is reviewed and the space reliability of SiC MOSFETs is discussed.

Feasibility study for the European Reliability Data System (ERDS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mancini, G.

1980-01-01

In the framework of the Reactor Safety Programme of the Commission of the European Communities, the JRC - Ispra Establishment has performed a feasibility study for an integrated European Reliability Data System, the aim of which is the collection and organization of information related to the operation of LWRs with regard to component and systems behaviour, abnormal occurrences, outages, etc. Component Event Data Bank (CEGB), Abnormal Occurrences Reporting System, Generic Reliability Parameter Data Bank, Operating Unit Status Reports and the main activities carried out during the last two years are described. The most important achievements are briefly reported, such as: Reference Classification for Systems, Components and Failure Events, Informatic Structure of the Pilot Experiment of the CEDB, Information Retrieval System for Abnormal Occurrences Reports, Data Bank on Component Reliability Parameters, System on the Exchange of Operation Experience of LWRs, Statistical Data Treatment. Finally, the general conclusions of the feasibility study are summarized: the possibility and the usefulness for the creation of an integrated European Reliability Data System are outlined. (author)

Prime implicants in dynamic reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyrväinen, Tero

2016-01-01

This paper develops an improved definition of a prime implicant for the needs of dynamic reliability analysis. Reliability analyses often aim to identify minimal cut sets or prime implicants, which are minimal conditions that cause an undesired top event, such as a system's failure. Dynamic reliability analysis methods take the time-dependent behaviour of a system into account. This means that the state of a component can change in the analysed time frame and prime implicants can include the failure of a component at different time points. There can also be dynamic constraints on a component's behaviour. For example, a component can be non-repairable in the given time frame. If a non-repairable component needs to be failed at a certain time point to cause the top event, we consider that the condition that it is failed at the latest possible time point is minimal, and the condition in which it fails earlier non-minimal. The traditional definition of a prime implicant does not account for this type of time-related minimality. In this paper, a new definition is introduced and illustrated using a dynamic flowgraph methodology model. - Highlights: • A new definition of a prime implicant is developed for dynamic reliability analysis. • The new definition takes time-related minimality into account. • The new definition is needed in dynamic flowgraph methodology. • Results can be represented by a smaller number of prime implicants.

Reliability assessment of distribution power systems including distributed generations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Megdiche, M.

2004-12-01

Nowadays, power systems have reached a good level of reliability. Nevertheless, considering the modifications induced by the connections of small independent producers to distribution networks, there's a need to assess the reliability of these new systems. Distribution networks present several functional characteristics, highlighted by the qualitative study of the failures, as dispersed loads at several places, variable topology and some electrotechnical phenomena which must be taken into account to model the events that can occur. The adopted reliability calculations method is Monte Carlo simulations, the probabilistic method most powerful and most flexible to model complex operating of the distribution system. We devoted a first part on the case of a 20 kV feeder to which a cogeneration unit is connected. The method was applied to a software of stochastic Petri nets simulations. Then a second part related to the study of a low voltage power system supplied by dispersed generations. Here, the complexity of the events required to code the method in an environment of programming allowing the use of power system calculations (load flow, short-circuit, load shedding, management of units powers) in order to analyse the system state for each new event. (author)

Commentary: Mentoring the mentor: executive coaching for clinical departmental executive officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Geist, Lois J; Cohen, Michael B

2010-01-01

Departmental executive officers (DEOs), department chairs, and department heads in medical schools are often hired on the basis of their accomplishments in research as well as their skills in administration, management, and leadership. These individuals are also expected to be expert in multiple areas, including negotiation, finance and budgeting, mentoring, and personnel management. At the same time, they are expected to maintain and perhaps even enhance their personal academic standing for the purposes of raising the level of departmental and institutional prestige and for recruiting the next generation of physicians and scientists. In the corporate world, employers understand the importance of training new leaders in requisite skill enhancement that will lead to success in their new positions. These individuals are often provided with extensive executive training to develop the necessary competencies to make them successful leaders. Among the tools employed for this purpose are the use of personal coaches or executive training courses. The authors propose that the use of executive coaching in academic medicine may be of benefit for new DEOs. Experience using an executive coach suggests that this was a valuable growth experience for new leaders in the institution.

Single-instruction multiple-data execution

CERN Document Server

Hughes, Christopher J

2015-01-01

Having hit power limitations to even more aggressive out-of-order execution in processor cores, many architects in the past decade have turned to single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) execution to increase single-threaded performance. SIMD execution, or having a single instruction drive execution of an identical operation on multiple data items, was already well established as a technique to efficiently exploit data parallelism. Furthermore, support for it was already included in many commodity processors. However, in the past decade, SIMD execution has seen a dramatic increase in the set of

Executive Orders from 1994-2013

Data.gov (United States)

National Archives and Records Administration — The President of the United States manages the operations of the Executive branch of Government through Executive orders. After the President signs an Executive...

German risk study on nuclear power plants. Appendix 2. Reliability analysis. Deutsche Risikostudie Kernkraftwerke. Fachband 2: Zuverlaessigkeitsanalyse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dietlmeier, W.; Gossner, S.; Gueldner, W.; Hoertner, H.; von Linden, J.; Preischl, W.; Reichart, G.; Spindler, H.; Volmer, G.; Zipf, G.

1981-01-01

Based on the event tree analysis as documented in the Appendix 1, the failure probabilities of the system functions required to control the initiating events are evaluated in this Appendix 2. The reliability investigations necessary for the evaluation of the event sequences are performed mostly by means of the fault tree analysis. The methods of the reliability analysis, the composition and function of the systems important to safety and the functional tests performed on these systems are dealt with in detail. The comprehensive documentation of the reliability analyses as performed for the internal events necessitated a division of this Appendix 2 into two volumes.

Strategies and Decision Support Systems for Integrating Variable Energy Resources in Control Centers for Reliable Grid Operations. Executive Summary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, Lawrence E. [Alstom Grid, Inc., Washington, DC (United States)

2011-11-01

This is the executive summary for a report that provides findings from the field regarding the best ways in which to guide operational strategies, business processes and control room tools to support the integration of renewable energy into electrical grids.

A Chan Dietary Intervention Enhances Executive Functions and Anterior Cingulate Activity in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnes S. Chan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Executive dysfunctions have been found to be related to repetitive/disinhibited behaviors and social deficits in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs. This study aims to investigate the potential effect of a Shaolin-medicine-based dietary modification on improving executive functions and behavioral symptoms of ASD and exploring the possible underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. Twenty-four children with ASD were randomly assigned into the experimental (receiving dietary modification for one month and the control (no modification groups. Each child was assessed on his/her executive functions, behavioral problems based on parental ratings, and event-related electroencephalography (EEG activity during a response-monitoring task before and after the one month. The experimental group demonstrated significantly improved mental flexibility and inhibitory control after the diet modification, which continued to have a large effect size within the low-functioning subgroup. Such improvements coincided with positive evaluations by their parents on social communication abilities and flexible inhibitory control of daily behaviors and significantly enhanced event-related EEG activity at the rostral and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex. In contrast, the control group did not show any significant improvements. These positive outcomes of a one-month dietary modification on children with ASD have implicated its potential clinical applicability for patients with executive function deficits.

An exploratory study on the executive recruitment and performance in Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitrios N. Koufopoulos

2005-11-01

Full Text Available Based on 42 succession events in Greek organizations, the study aims to examine the relationship between antecedent organisational characteristics such as size and performance of the firm and the source of successor (insider versus outsider. In addition, Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO’s demographic characteristics such as age, functional and educational background as well as industry, organization and position/job tenure- are discussed in relation to organisational effectiveness.

Event tree analysis using artificial intelligence techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, B.W.; Hinton, M.F.

1985-01-01

Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques used in Expert Systems and Object Oriented Programming are discussed as they apply to Event Tree Analysis. A SeQUence IMPortance calculator, SQUIMP, is presented to demonstrate the implementation of these techniques. Benefits of using AI methods include ease of programming, efficiency of execution, and flexibility of application. The importance of an appropriate user interface is stressed. 5 figs

Investigating Executive Working Memory and Phonological Short-Term Memory in Relation to Fluency and Self-Repair Behavior in L2 Speech.

Science.gov (United States)

Georgiadou, Effrosyni; Roehr-Brackin, Karen

2017-08-01

This paper reports the findings of a study investigating the relationship of executive working memory (WM) and phonological short-term memory (PSTM) to fluency and self-repair behavior during an unrehearsed oral task performed by second language (L2) speakers of English at two levels of proficiency, elementary and lower intermediate. Correlational analyses revealed a negative relationship between executive WM and number of pauses in the lower intermediate L2 speakers. However, no reliable association was found in our sample between executive WM or PSTM and self-repair behavior in terms of either frequency or type of self-repair. Taken together, our findings suggest that while executive WM may enhance performance at the conceptualization and formulation stages of the speech production process, self-repair behavior in L2 speakers may depend on factors other than working memory.

Effectiveness comparison of partially executed t-way test suite based generated by existing strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, Rozmie R.; Ahmad, Mohd Zamri Zahir; Ali, Mohd Shaiful Aziz Rashid; Zakaria, Hasneeza Liza; Rahman, Md. Mostafijur

2015-05-01

Consuming 40 to 50 percent of software development cost, software testing is one of the most resource consuming activities in software development lifecycle. To ensure an acceptable level of quality and reliability of a typical software product, it is desirable to test every possible combination of input data under various configurations. Due to combinatorial explosion problem, considering all exhaustive testing is practically impossible. Resource constraints, costing factors as well as strict time-to-market deadlines are amongst the main factors that inhibit such consideration. Earlier work suggests that sampling strategy (i.e. based on t-way parameter interaction or called as t-way testing) can be effective to reduce number of test cases without effecting the fault detection capability. However, for a very large system, even t-way strategy will produce a large test suite that need to be executed. In the end, only part of the planned test suite can be executed in order to meet the aforementioned constraints. Here, there is a need for test engineers to measure the effectiveness of partially executed test suite in order for them to assess the risk they have to take. Motivated by the abovementioned problem, this paper presents the effectiveness comparison of partially executed t-way test suite generated by existing strategies using tuples coverage method. Here, test engineers can predict the effectiveness of the testing process if only part of the original test cases is executed.

75 FR 55574 - Joint Public Roundtable on Swap Execution Facilities and Security-Based Swap Execution Facilities

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-13

...; File No. 4-612] Joint Public Roundtable on Swap Execution Facilities and Security-Based Swap Execution Facilities AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``CFTC'') and Securities and Exchange Commission... discuss swap execution facilities and security-based swap execution facilities in the context of certain...

Structural system reliability calculation using a probabilistic fault tree analysis method

Science.gov (United States)

Torng, T. Y.; Wu, Y.-T.; Millwater, H. R.

1992-01-01

The development of a new probabilistic fault tree analysis (PFTA) method for calculating structural system reliability is summarized. The proposed PFTA procedure includes: developing a fault tree to represent the complex structural system, constructing an approximation function for each bottom event, determining a dominant sampling sequence for all bottom events, and calculating the system reliability using an adaptive importance sampling method. PFTA is suitable for complicated structural problems that require computer-intensive computer calculations. A computer program has been developed to implement the PFTA.

Volunteer Motivations at a National Special Olympics Event

Science.gov (United States)

Khoo, Selina; Engelhorn, Rich

2011-01-01

Understanding the motivations for people to volunteer with the management and execution of major sporting events is important for the recruitment and retention of the volunteers. This research investigated volunteer motivations at the first National Special Olympics held in Ames, Iowa, USA in July 2006. A total of 289 participants completed the 28…

Safety and reliability assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

This report contains the papers delivered at the course on safety and reliability assessment held at the CSIR Conference Centre, Scientia, Pretoria. The following topics were discussed: safety standards; licensing; biological effects of radiation; what is a PWR; safety principles in the design of a nuclear reactor; radio-release analysis; quality assurance; the staffing, organisation and training for a nuclear power plant project; event trees, fault trees and probability; Automatic Protective Systems; sources of failure-rate data; interpretation of failure data; synthesis and reliability; quantification of human error in man-machine systems; dispersion of noxious substances through the atmosphere; criticality aspects of enrichment and recovery plants; and risk and hazard analysis. Extensive examples are given as well as case studies

RSAM: An enhanced architecture for achieving web services reliability in mobile cloud computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amr S. Abdelfattah

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The evolution of the mobile landscape is coupled with the ubiquitous nature of the internet with its intermittent wireless connectivity and the web services. Achieving the web service reliability results in low communication overhead and retrieving the appropriate response. The middleware approach (MA is highly tended to achieve the web service reliability. This paper proposes a Reliable Service Architecture using Middleware (RSAM that achieves the reliable web services consumption. The enhanced architecture focuses on ensuring and tracking the request execution under the communication limitations and service temporal unavailability. It considers the most measurement factors including: request size, response size, and consuming time. We conducted experiments to compare the enhanced architecture with the traditional one. In these experiments, we covered several cases to prove the achievement of reliability. Results also show that the request size was found to be constant, the response size is identical to the traditional architecture, and the increase in the consuming time was less than 5% of the transaction time with the different response sizes. Keywords: Reliable web service, Middleware architecture, Mobile cloud computing

Educational Management Organizations as High Reliability Organizations: A Study of Victory's Philadelphia High School Reform Work

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, David E.

2013-01-01

This executive position paper proposes recommendations for designing reform models between public and private sectors dedicated to improving school reform work in low performing urban high schools. It reviews scholarly research about for-profit educational management organizations, high reliability organizations, American high school reform, and…

Concurrent Models for Object Execution

OpenAIRE

Diertens, Bob

2012-01-01

In previous work we developed a framework of computational models for the concurrent execution of functions on different levels of abstraction. It shows that the traditional sequential execution of function is just a possible implementation of an abstract computational model that allows for the concurrent execution of functions. We use this framework as base for the development of abstract computational models that allow for the concurrent execution of objects.

Development of web-based reliability data base platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Seok Won; Lee, Chang Ju; Sung, Key Yong

2004-01-01

Probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) is a systematic technique which estimates the degree of risk impacts to the public due to an accident scenario. Estimating the occurrence frequencies and consequences of potential scenarios requires a thorough analysis of the accident details and all fundamental parameters. The robustness of PSA to check weaknesses in a design and operation will allow a better informed and balanced decision to be reached. The fundamental parameters for PSA, such as the component failure rates, should be estimated under the condition of steady collection of the evidence throughout the operational period. However, since any single plant data does not sufficiently enough to provide an adequate PSA result, in actual, the whole operating data was commonly used to estimate the reliability parameters for the same type of components. The reliability data of any component type consists of two categories; the generic that is based on the operating experiences of whole plants, and the plant-specific that is based on the operation of a specific plant of interest. The generic data is highly essential for new or recently-built nuclear power plants (NPPs). Generally, the reliability data base may be categorized into the component reliability, initiating event frequencies, human performance, and so on. Among these data, the component reliability seems a key element because it has the most abundant population. Therefore, the component reliability data is essential for taking a part in the quantification of accident sequences because it becomes an input of various basic events which consists of the fault tree

Validation of the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A) in the obese with and without binge eating disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Rouel, Melissa; Raman, Jayanthi; Hay, Phillipa; Smith, Evelyn

2016-12-01

Obesity and binge eating disorder (BED) are both associated with deficiencies in executive function. The Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A) is a self-report measure that assesses executive function. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the BRIEF-A in an obese population, with and without BED, and to explore the differences on the BRIEF-A in the obese, with and without BED, compared to normative sample. 98 obese participants (70 BED) completed the BRIEF-A, DASS-21 and several performance-based measures of executive function. 30 participants completed a repeat assessment two months later. There was evidence of good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, however evidence for construct and convergent validity was mixed. Additionally, it was found that obese individuals report significantly more executive function difficulties on the BRIEF-A than the normative sample. Further, obese with BED report more executive function difficulties than those without. This study shows some evidence of sound psychometric properties of the BRIEF-A in an obese sample, however more research is required to understand the nature of executive function being measured. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A mid-layer model for human reliability analysis: understanding the cognitive causes of human failure events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Song-Hua; Chang, James Y.H.; Boring, Ronald L.; Whaley, April M.; Lois, Erasmia; Langfitt Hendrickson, Stacey M.; Oxstrand, Johanna H.; Forester, John Alan; Kelly, Dana L.; Mosleh, Ali

2010-01-01

The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) is sponsoring work in response to a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) directing an effort to establish a single human reliability analysis (HRA) method for the agency or guidance for the use of multiple methods. As part of this effort an attempt to develop a comprehensive HRA qualitative approach is being pursued. This paper presents a draft of the method's middle layer, a part of the qualitative analysis phase that links failure mechanisms to performance shaping factors. Starting with a Crew Response Tree (CRT) that has identified human failure events, analysts identify potential failure mechanisms using the mid-layer model. The mid-layer model presented in this paper traces the identification of the failure mechanisms using the Information-Diagnosis/Decision-Action (IDA) model and cognitive models from the psychological literature. Each failure mechanism is grouped according to a phase of IDA. Under each phase of IDA, the cognitive models help identify the relevant performance shaping factors for the failure mechanism. The use of IDA and cognitive models can be traced through fault trees, which provide a detailed complement to the CRT.

A Mid-Layer Model for Human Reliability Analysis: Understanding the Cognitive Causes of Human Failure Events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stacey M. L. Hendrickson; April M. Whaley; Ronald L. Boring; James Y. H. Chang; Song-Hua Shen; Ali Mosleh; Johanna H. Oxstrand; John A. Forester; Dana L. Kelly; Erasmia L. Lois

2010-06-01

The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) is sponsoring work in response to a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) directing an effort to establish a single human reliability analysis (HRA) method for the agency or guidance for the use of multiple methods. As part of this effort an attempt to develop a comprehensive HRA qualitative approach is being pursued. This paper presents a draft of the method’s middle layer, a part of the qualitative analysis phase that links failure mechanisms to performance shaping factors. Starting with a Crew Response Tree (CRT) that has identified human failure events, analysts identify potential failure mechanisms using the mid-layer model. The mid-layer model presented in this paper traces the identification of the failure mechanisms using the Information-Diagnosis/Decision-Action (IDA) model and cognitive models from the psychological literature. Each failure mechanism is grouped according to a phase of IDA. Under each phase of IDA, the cognitive models help identify the relevant performance shaping factors for the failure mechanism. The use of IDA and cognitive models can be traced through fault trees, which provide a detailed complement to the CRT.

Effectiveness of different approaches to disseminating traveler information on travel time reliability.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

The second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Reliability program aims to improve trip time reliability by reducing the frequency and effects of events that cause travel times to fluctuate unpredictably. Congestion caused by unreliable, or n...

Executive Energy Leadership Academy | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Executive Energy Leadership Academy Executive Energy Leadership Academy NREL's Executive Energy Leadership Academy is a nationally renowned program that provides non-technical business, governmental, and foreground. Leadership Program The Leadership Program is designed for community and industry leaders with an

Event-Driven Technology to Generate Relevant Collections of Near-Realtime Data

Science.gov (United States)

Graves, S. J.; Keiser, K.; Nair, U. S.; Beck, J. M.; Ebersole, S.

2017-12-01

Getting the right data when it is needed continues to be a challenge for researchers and decision makers. Event-Driven Data Delivery (ED3), funded by the NASA Applied Science program, is a technology that allows researchers and decision makers to pre-plan what data, information and processes they need to have collected or executed in response to future events. The Information Technology and Systems Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) has developed the ED3 framework in collaboration with atmospheric scientists at UAH, scientists at the Geological Survey of Alabama, and other federal, state and local stakeholders to meet the data preparedness needs for research, decisions and situational awareness. The ED3 framework supports an API that supports the addition of loosely-coupled, distributed event handlers and data processes. This approach allows the easy addition of new events and data processes so the system can scale to support virtually any type of event or data process. Using ED3's underlying services, applications have been developed that monitor for alerts of registered event types and automatically triggers subscriptions that match new events, providing users with a living "album" of results that can continued to be curated as more information for an event becomes available. This capability can allow users to improve capacity for the collection, creation and use of data and real-time processes (data access, model execution, product generation, sensor tasking, social media filtering, etc), in response to disaster (and other) events by preparing in advance for data and information needs for future events. This presentation will provide an update on the ED3 developments and deployments, and further explain the applicability for utilizing near-realtime data in hazards research, response and situational awareness.

Conceptual Modeling of Events as Information Objects and Change Agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bækgaard, Lars

as a totality of an information object and a change agent. When an event is modeled as an information object it is comparable to an entity that exists only at a specific point in time. It has attributes and can be used for querying and specification of constraints. When an event is modeled as a change agent...... it is comparable to an executable transaction schema. Finally, we briefly compare our approach to object-oriented approaches based on encapsulated objects....

On Event/Time Triggered and Distributed Analysis of a WSN System for Event Detection, Using Fuzzy Logic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofia Maria Dima

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Event detection in realistic WSN environments is a critical research domain, while the environmental monitoring comprises one of its most pronounced applications. Although efforts related to the environmental applications have been presented in the current literature, there is a significant lack of investigation on the performance of such systems, when applied in wireless environments. Aiming at addressing this shortage, in this paper an advanced multimodal approach is followed based on fuzzy logic. The proposed fuzzy inference system (FIS is implemented on TelosB motes and evaluates the probability of fire detection while aiming towards power conservation. Additionally to a straightforward centralized approach, a distributed implementation of the above FIS is also proposed, aiming towards network congestion reduction while optimally distributing the energy consumption among network nodes so as to maximize network lifetime. Moreover this work proposes an event based execution of the aforementioned FIS aiming to further reduce the computational as well as the communication cost, compared to a periodical time triggered FIS execution. As a final contribution, performance metrics acquired from all the proposed FIS implementation techniques are thoroughly compared and analyzed with respect to critical network conditions aiming to offer realistic evaluation and thus objective conclusions’ extraction.

Reliability of a Simple Physical Therapist Screening Tool to Assess Errors during Resistance Exercises for Musculoskeletal Pain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Kenneth Jay; Sundstrup, E.; Andersen, L. L.

2014-01-01

The main objective was to investigate the intra- and intertester reliability of a simple screening tool assessing errors in exercise execution by visual observation. 38 participants with no previous resistance exercise experience practiced for two weeks four typical upper limb exercises using ela...

Educating Executive Function

Science.gov (United States)

Blair, Clancy

2016-01-01

Executive functions are thinking skills that assist with reasoning, planning, problem solving, and managing one’s life. The brain areas that underlie these skills are interconnected with and influenced by activity in many different brain areas, some of which are associated with emotion and stress. One consequence of the stress-specific connections is that executive functions, which help us to organize our thinking, tend to be disrupted when stimulation is too high and we are stressed out, or too low when we are bored and lethargic. Given their central role in reasoning and also in managing stress and emotion, scientists have conducted studies, primarily with adults, to determine whether executive functions can be improved by training. By and large, results have shown that they can be, in part through computer-based videogame-like activities. Evidence of wider, more general benefits from such computer-based training, however, is mixed. Accordingly, scientists have reasoned that training will have wider benefits if it is implemented early, with very young children as the neural circuitry of executive functions is developing, and that it will be most effective if embedded in children’s everyday activities. Evidence produced by this research, however, is also mixed. In sum, much remains to be learned about executive function training. Without question, however, continued research on this important topic will yield valuable information about cognitive development. PMID:27906522

Design of robust reliable control for T-S fuzzy Markovian jumping delayed neutral type neural networks with probabilistic actuator faults and leakage delays: An event-triggered communication scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

Syed Ali, M; Vadivel, R; Saravanakumar, R

2018-06-01

This study examines the problem of robust reliable control for Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy Markovian jumping delayed neural networks with probabilistic actuator faults and leakage terms. An event-triggered communication scheme. First, the randomly occurring actuator faults and their failures rates are governed by two sets of unrelated random variables satisfying certain probabilistic failures of every actuator, new type of distribution based event triggered fault model is proposed, which utilize the effect of transmission delay. Second, Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model is adopted for the neural networks and the randomness of actuators failures is modeled in a Markov jump model framework. Third, to guarantee the considered closed-loop system is exponential mean square stable with a prescribed reliable control performance, a Markov jump event-triggered scheme is designed in this paper, which is the main purpose of our study. Fourth, by constructing appropriate Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, employing Newton-Leibniz formulation and integral inequalities, several delay-dependent criteria for the solvability of the addressed problem are derived. The obtained stability criteria are stated in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), which can be checked numerically using the effective LMI toolbox in MATLAB. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness and reduced conservatism of the proposed results over the existing ones, among them one example was supported by real-life application of the benchmark problem. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In-plant application of industry experience to enhance human reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hannaman, G.W.; Singh, A.

1993-01-01

This paper describes the way that modern data-base computer tools can enhance the ability to collect, organize, evaluate, and use industry experience. By combining the computer tools with knowledge from human reliability assessment tools, data, and frameworks, the data base can become a tool for collecting and assessing the lessons learned from past events. By integrating the data-base system with plant risk models, engineers can focus on those activities that can enhance over-all system reliability. The evaluation helps identify technology and tools to reduce human errors during operations and maintenance. Learning from both in-plant and industry experience can help enhance safety and reduce the cost of plant operations. Utility engineers currently assess events that occur in nuclear plants throughout the world for in-plant applicability. Established computer information networks, documents, bulletins, and other information sources provide a large number of event descriptions to help individual plants benefit from this industry experience. The activities for coordinating reviews of event descriptions from other plants for in-plant applications require substantial engineering time to collect, organize, evaluate, and apply. Data-base tools can help engineers efficiently handle and sort the data so that they can concentrate on understanding the importance of the event, developing cost-effective interventions, and communicating implementation plans for plant improvement. An Electric Power Research Institute human reliability project has developed a classification system with modern data-base software to help engineers efficiently process, assess, and apply information contained in the events to enhance plant operation. Plant-specific classification of industry experience provides a practical method for efficiently taking into account industry when planning maintenance activities and reviewing plant safety

DER 83: outstanding events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

The DER's activity is presented through 82 ''outstanding events''. Each one is a stage in the effort of research and development of the DER. These events concern the following fields: new applications of electric power for customers; environment protection and new energy sources; improvements of electric power production units; electrical materials; electric network planning and control; computer codes. In the production field, one deals more particularly with nuclear reactor safety studies: analysis of the behaviour of different components; reactor safety experiments; reliability of different systems (safety, communications...) [fr

Performance of the CMS Event Builder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andre, J.M.; et al.

2017-11-22

The data acquisition system (DAQ) of the CMS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider assembles events at a rate of 100 kHz, transporting event data at an aggregate throughput of to the high-level trigger farm. The DAQ architecture is based on state-of-the-art network technologies for the event building. For the data concentration, 10/40 Gbit/s Ethernet technologies are used together with a reduced TCP/IP protocol implemented in FPGA for a reliable transport between custom electronics and commercial computing hardware. A 56 Gbit/s Infiniband FDR Clos network has been chosen for the event builder. This paper presents the implementation and performance of the event-building system.

Regional frontal gray matter volume associated with executive function capacity as a risk factor for vehicle crashes in normal aging adults.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroyuki Sakai

Full Text Available Although low executive functioning is a risk factor for vehicle crashes among elderly drivers, the neural basis of individual differences in this cognitive ability remains largely unknown. Here we aimed to examine regional frontal gray matter volume associated with executive functioning in normal aging individuals, using voxel-based morphometry (VBM. To this end, 39 community-dwelling elderly volunteers who drove a car on a daily basis participated in structural magnetic resonance imaging, and completed two questionnaires concerning executive functioning and risky driving tendencies in daily living. Consequently, we found that participants with low executive function capacity were prone to risky driving. Furthermore, VBM analysis revealed that lower executive function capacity was associated with smaller gray matter volume in the supplementary motor area (SMA. Thus, the current data suggest that SMA volume is a reliable predictor of individual differences in executive function capacity as a risk factor for vehicle crashes among elderly persons. The implication of our results is that regional frontal gray matter volume might underlie the variation in driving tendencies among elderly drivers. Therefore, detailed driving behavior assessments might be able to detect early neurodegenerative changes in the frontal lobe in normal aging adults.

A framework for reliability and risk centered maintenance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selvik, J.T.; Aven, T.

2011-01-01

Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) is a well-established analysis method for preventive maintenance planning. As its name indicates, reliability is the main point of reference for the planning, but consequences of failures are also assessed. However, uncertainties and risk are to a limited extent addressed by the RCM method, and in this paper we suggest an extension of the RCM to reliability and risk centered maintenance (RRCM) by also considering risk as the reference for the analysis in addition to reliability. A broad perspective on risk is adopted where uncertainties are the main component of risk in addition to possible events and associated consequences. A case from the offshore oil and gas industry is presented to illustrate and discuss the suggested approach.

Cost-effective solutions to maintaining smart grid reliability

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Qiu

As the aging power systems are increasingly working closer to the capacity and thermal limits, maintaining an sufficient reliability has been of great concern to the government agency, utility companies and users. This dissertation focuses on improving the reliability of transmission and distribution systems. Based on the wide area measurements, multiple model algorithms are developed to diagnose transmission line three-phase short to ground faults in the presence of protection misoperations. The multiple model algorithms utilize the electric network dynamics to provide prompt and reliable diagnosis outcomes. Computational complexity of the diagnosis algorithm is reduced by using a two-step heuristic. The multiple model algorithm is incorporated into a hybrid simulation framework, which consist of both continuous state simulation and discrete event simulation, to study the operation of transmission systems. With hybrid simulation, line switching strategy for enhancing the tolerance to protection misoperations is studied based on the concept of security index, which involves the faulted mode probability and stability coverage. Local measurements are used to track the generator state and faulty mode probabilities are calculated in the multiple model algorithms. FACTS devices are considered as controllers for the transmission system. The placement of FACTS devices into power systems is investigated with a criterion of maintaining a prescribed level of control reconfigurability. Control reconfigurability measures the small signal combined controllability and observability of a power system with an additional requirement on fault tolerance. For the distribution systems, a hierarchical framework, including a high level recloser allocation scheme and a low level recloser placement scheme, is presented. The impacts of recloser placement on the reliability indices is analyzed. Evaluation of reliability indices in the placement process is carried out via discrete event

Swimming pool reactor reliability and safety analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Zhaohuan

1997-01-01

A reliability and safety analysis of Swimming Pool Reactor in China Institute of Atomic Energy is done by use of event/fault tree technique. The paper briefly describes the analysis model, analysis code and main results. Meanwhile it also describes the impact of unassigned operation status on safety, the estimation of effectiveness of defense tactics in maintenance against common cause failure, the effectiveness of recovering actions on the system reliability, the comparison of occurrence frequencies of the core damage by use of generic and specific data

An Advanced Simulation Framework for Parallel Discrete-Event Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, P. P.; Tyrrell, R. Yeung D.; Adhami, N.; Li, T.; Henry, H.

1994-01-01

Discrete-event simulation (DEVS) users have long been faced with a three-way trade-off of balancing execution time, model fidelity, and number of objects simulated. Because of the limits of computer processing power the analyst is often forced to settle for less than desired performances in one or more of these areas.

The DYLAM approach for the dynamic reliability analysis of systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cojazzi, Giacomo

1996-01-01

In many real systems, failures occurring to the components, control failures and human interventions often interact with the physical system evolution in such a way that a simple reliability analysis, de-coupled from process dynamics, is very difficult or even impossible. In the last ten years many dynamic reliability approaches have been proposed to properly assess the reliability of these systems characterized by dynamic interactions. The DYLAM methodology, now implemented in its latest version, DYLAM-3, offers a powerful tool for integrating deterministic and failure events. This paper describes the main features of the DYLAM-3 code with reference to the classic fault-tree and event-tree techniques. Some aspects connected to the practical problems underlying dynamic event-trees are also discussed. A simple system, already analyzed with other dynamic methods is used as a reference for the numerical applications. The same system is also studied with a time-dependent fault-tree approach in order to show some features of dynamic methods vs classical techniques. Examples including stochastic failures, without and with repair, failures on demand and time dependent failure rates give an extensive overview of DYLAM-3 capabilities

Assessing traumatic event exposure: general issues and preliminary findings for the Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodman, L A; Corcoran, C; Turner, K; Yuan, N; Green, B L

1998-07-01

This article reviews the psychometric properties of the Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire (SLESQ), a recently developed trauma history screening measure, and discusses the complexities involved in assessing trauma exposure. There are relatively few general measures of exposure to a variety of types of traumatic events, and most of those that exist have not been subjected to rigorous psychometric evaluation. The SLESQ showed good test-retest reliability, with a median kappa of .73, adequate convergent validity (with a lengthier interview) with a median kappa of .64, and good discrimination between Criterion A and non-Criterion A events. The discussion addresses some of the challenges of assessing traumatic event exposure along the dimensions of defining traumatic events, assessment methodologies, reporting consistency, and incident validation.

MEASUREMENT: ACCOUNTING FOR RELIABILITY IN PERFORMANCE ESTIMATES.

Science.gov (United States)

Waterman, Brian; Sutter, Robert; Burroughs, Thomas; Dunagan, W Claiborne

2014-01-01

When evaluating physician performance measures, physician leaders are faced with the quandary of determining whether departures from expected physician performance measurements represent a true signal or random error. This uncertainty impedes the physician leader's ability and confidence to take appropriate performance improvement actions based on physician performance measurements. Incorporating reliability adjustment into physician performance measurement is a valuable way of reducing the impact of random error in the measurements, such as those caused by small sample sizes. Consequently, the physician executive has more confidence that the results represent true performance and is positioned to make better physician performance improvement decisions. Applying reliability adjustment to physician-level performance data is relatively new. As others have noted previously, it's important to keep in mind that reliability adjustment adds significant complexity to the production, interpretation and utilization of results. Furthermore, the methods explored in this case study only scratch the surface of the range of available Bayesian methods that can be used for reliability adjustment; further study is needed to test and compare these methods in practice and to examine important extensions for handling specialty-specific concerns (e.g., average case volumes, which have been shown to be important in cardiac surgery outcomes). Moreover, it's important to note that the provider group average as a basis for shrinkage is one of several possible choices that could be employed in practice and deserves further exploration in future research. With these caveats, our results demonstrate that incorporating reliability adjustment into physician performance measurements is feasible and can notably reduce the incidence of "real" signals relative to what one would expect to see using more traditional approaches. A physician leader who is interested in catalyzing performance improvement

Spaceborne computer executive routine functional design specification. Volume 2: Computer executive design for space station/base

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, J. R.; Fitzpatrick, W. S.

1971-01-01

The computer executive functional system design concepts derived from study of the Space Station/Base are presented. Information Management System hardware configuration as directly influencing the executive design is reviewed. The hardware configuration and generic executive design requirements are considered in detail in a previous report (System Configuration and Executive Requirements Specifications for Reusable Shuttle and Space Station/Base, 9/25/70). This report defines basic system primitives and delineates processes and process control. Supervisor states are considered for describing basic multiprogramming and multiprocessing systems. A high-level computer executive including control of scheduling, allocation of resources, system interactions, and real-time supervisory functions is defined. The description is oriented to provide a baseline for a functional simulation of the computer executive system.

Addressing Uniqueness and Unison of Reliability and Safety for a Better Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zhaofeng; Safie, Fayssal

2016-01-01

Over time, it has been observed that Safety and Reliability have not been clearly differentiated, which leads to confusion, inefficiency, and, sometimes, counter-productive practices in executing each of these two disciplines. It is imperative to address this situation to help Reliability and Safety disciplines improve their effectiveness and efficiency. The paper poses an important question to address, "Safety and Reliability - Are they unique or unisonous?" To answer the question, the paper reviewed several most commonly used analyses from each of the disciplines, namely, FMEA, reliability allocation and prediction, reliability design involvement, system safety hazard analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, and Probabilistic Risk Assessment. The paper pointed out uniqueness and unison of Safety and Reliability in their respective roles, requirements, approaches, and tools, and presented some suggestions for enhancing and improving the individual disciplines, as well as promoting the integration of the two. The paper concludes that Safety and Reliability are unique, but compensating each other in many aspects, and need to be integrated. Particularly, the individual roles of Safety and Reliability need to be differentiated, that is, Safety is to ensure and assure the product meets safety requirements, goals, or desires, and Reliability is to ensure and assure maximum achievability of intended design functions. With the integration of Safety and Reliability, personnel can be shared, tools and analyses have to be integrated, and skill sets can be possessed by the same person with the purpose of providing the best value to a product development.

RIO: a program to determine reliability importance and allocate optimal reliability goals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poloski, J.P.

1978-09-01

The designer of a nuclear plant must know the plant's associated risk limitations so that he can design the plant accordingly. To design a safety system, he must understand its importance and how it relates to the overall plant risk. The computer program RIO can aid the designer to understand a system's contribution to the plant's overall risk. The methodology developed and presented was sponsored by the Nuclear Research Applications Division of the Department of Energy for use in the Gas Cooled Fast Breeder Reactor (GCFR) Program. The principal motivation behind its development was the need to translate nuclear plants safety goals into reliability goals for systems which make up that plant. The method described herein will make use of the GCFR Accident Initiation and Progression Analyses (AIPA) event trees and other models in order to determine these reliability goals

Towards a methodology for the engineering of event-driven process applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baumgrass, A.; Botezatu, M.; Di Ciccio, C.; Dijkman, R.M.; Grefen, P.W.P.J.; Hewelt, M.; Mendling, J.; Meyer, A.; Pourmirza, S.; Völzer, H.; Reijers, H.; Reichert, M.

2016-01-01

Successful applications of the Internet of Things such as smart cities, smart logistics, and predictive maintenance, build on observing and analyzing business-related objects in the real world for business process execution and monitoring. In this context, complex event processing is increasingly

Multi Agent System Based Wide Area Protection against Cascading Events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Zhou; Chen, Zhe; Liu, Leo

2012-01-01

In this paper, a multi-agent system based wide area protection scheme is proposed in order to prevent long term voltage instability induced cascading events. The distributed relays and controllers work as a device agent which not only executes the normal function automatically but also can...... the effectiveness of proposed protection strategy. The simulation results indicate that the proposed multi agent control system can effectively coordinate the distributed relays and controllers to prevent the long term voltage instability induced cascading events....

Modeling Energy & Reliability of a CNT based WSN on an HPC Setup

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rohit Pathak

2010-07-01

Full Text Available We have analyzed the effect of innovations in Nanotechnology on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN and have modeled Carbon Nanotube (CNT based sensor nodes from a device prospective. A WSN model has been programmed in Simulink-MATLAB and a library has been developed. Integration of CNT in WSN for various modules such as sensors, microprocessors, batteries etc has been shown. Also average energy consumption for the system has been formulated and its reliability has been shown holistically. A proposition has been put forward on the changes needed in existing sensor node structure to improve its efficiency and to facilitate as well as enhance the assimilation of CNT based devices in a WSN. Finally we have commented on the challenges that exist in this technology and described the important factors that need to be considered for calculating reliability. This research will help in practical implementation of CNT based devices and analysis of their key effects on the WSN environment. The work has been executed on Simulink and Distributive Computing toolbox of MATLAB. The proposal has been compared to the recent developments and past experimental results reported in this field. This attempt to derieve the energy consumption and reliability implications will help in development of real devices using CNT which is a major hurdle in bringing the success from lab to commercial market. Recent research in CNT has been used to model an energy efficient model which will also lead to the development CAD tools. Library for Reliability and Energy consumption includes analysis of various parts of a WSN system which is being constructed from CNT. Nano routing in a CNT system is also implemented with its dependencies. Finally the computations were executed on a HPC setup and the model showed remarkable speedup.

Analysis of manufacturing based on object oriented discrete event simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eirik Borgen

1990-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes SIMMEK, a computer-based tool for performing analysis of manufacturing systems, developed at the Production Engineering Laboratory, NTH-SINTEF. Its main use will be in analysis of job shop type of manufacturing. But certain facilities make it suitable for FMS as well as a production line manufacturing. This type of simulation is very useful in analysis of any types of changes that occur in a manufacturing system. These changes may be investments in new machines or equipment, a change in layout, a change in product mix, use of late shifts, etc. The effects these changes have on for instance the throughput, the amount of VIP, the costs or the net profit, can be analysed. And this can be done before the changes are made, and without disturbing the real system. Simulation takes into consideration, unlike other tools for analysis of manufacturing systems, uncertainty in arrival rates, process and operation times, and machine availability. It also shows the interaction effects a job which is late in one machine, has on the remaining machines in its route through the layout. It is these effects that cause every production plan not to be fulfilled completely. SIMMEK is based on discrete event simulation, and the modeling environment is object oriented. The object oriented models are transformed by an object linker into data structures executable by the simulation kernel. The processes of the entity objects, i.e. the products, are broken down to events and put into an event list. The user friendly graphical modeling environment makes it possible for end users to build models in a quick and reliable way, using terms from manufacturing. Various tests and a check of model logic are helpful functions when testing validity of the models. Integration with software packages, with business graphics and statistical functions, is convenient in the result presentation phase.

The ATLAS Event Index: The Architecture of the Core Engine

CERN Document Server

Barberis, Dario; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The global view of the ATLAS Event Index system has been presented in the 17th ACAT Conference. This article concentrates on the architecture of the system core component. This component handles the final stage of the event metadata import, it organizes its storage and provides a fast and feature-rich access to all information. A user is able to interrogate metadata in various ways, including by executing user-provided code on the data to make selections and to interpret the results. A wide spectrum of clients is available, from a set of linux-like commands to an interactive graphical Web Service. The stored event metadata contain the basic description of the related events, the references to the experiment event storage, the full trigger record and can be extended with other event characteristics. Derived collections of events can be created. Such collections can be annotated and tagged with further information.

Future of structural reliability methodology in nuclear power plant technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schueeller, G I [Technische Univ. Muenchen (Germany, F.R.); Kafka, P [Gesellschaft fuer Reaktorsicherheit m.b.H. (GRS), Garching (Germany, F.R.)

1978-10-01

This paper presents the authors' personal view as to which areas of structural reliability in nuclear power plant design need most urgently to be advanced. Aspects of simulation modeling, design rules, codification and specification of reliability, system analysis, probabilistic structural dynamics, rare events and particularly the interaction of systems and structural reliability are discussed. As an example, some considerations of the interaction effects between the protective systems and the pressure vessel are stated. The paper concludes with recommendation for further research.

Analysis of sodium valve reliability data at CREDO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bott, T.F.; Haas, P.M.

1979-01-01

The Centralized Reliability Data Organization (CREDO) has been established at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) by the Department of Energy to provide a centralized source of data for reliability/maintainabilty analysis of advanced reactor systems. The current schedule calls for develoment of the data system at a moderate pace, with the first major distribution of data in late FY-1980. Continuous long-term collection of engineering, operating, and event data has been initiated at EBR-II and FFTF

EEG signatures of arm isometric exertions in preparation, planning and execution.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasseroleslami, Bahman; Lakany, Heba; Conway, Bernard A

2014-04-15

The electroencephalographic (EEG) activity patterns in humans during motor behaviour provide insight into normal motor control processes and for diagnostic and rehabilitation applications. While the patterns preceding brisk voluntary movements, and especially movement execution, are well described, there are few EEG studies that address the cortical activation patterns seen in isometric exertions and their planning. In this paper, we report on time and time-frequency EEG signatures in experiments in normal subjects (n=8), using multichannel EEG during motor preparation, planning and execution of directional centre-out arm isometric exertions performed at the wrist in the horizontal plane, in response to instruction-delay visual cues. Our observations suggest that isometric force exertions are accompanied by transient and sustained event-related potentials (ERP) and event-related (de-)synchronisations (ERD/ERS), comparable to those of a movement task. Furthermore, the ERPs and ERD/ERS are also observed during preparation and planning of the isometric task. Comparison of ear-lobe-referenced and surface Laplacian ERPs indicates the contribution of superficial sources in supplementary and pre-motor (FC(z)), parietal (CP(z)) and primary motor cortical areas (C₁ and FC₁) to ERPs (primarily negative peaks in frontal and positive peaks in parietal areas), but contribution of deep sources to sustained time-domain potentials (negativity in planning and positivity in execution). Transient and sustained ERD patterns in μ and β frequency bands of ear-lobe-referenced and surface Laplacian EEG indicate the contribution of both superficial and deep sources to ERD/ERS. As no physical displacement happens during the task, we can infer that the underlying mechanisms of motor-related ERPs and ERD/ERS patterns do not only depend on change in limb coordinate or muscle-length-dependent ascending sensory information and are primary generated by motor preparation, direction

CERN hosts training event on international management

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

CERN held its first training event on international management at the Globe on 2 October, sharing its expertise with high-level Swiss managers as part of their year-long part-time executive training programme on advanced management. CERN is often talked about in terms of impressive statistics: the coldest place in the universe, the largest accelerator, the greatest volume of data. Whilst the science is undeniably remarkable, it is backed by a management infrastructure that has to be as cutting-edge as the research it supports. On 2 October, the Learning and Development section of HR organised an event for 60 delegates to come to CERN to learn about international management from those who have taken on the management challenges at the heart of this unique institution. It was the first time that CERN had prepared such an event. SKU, a non-profit organisation, approached our management training team to arrange the event as part of a wee...

Analysis of NPP protection structure reliability under impact of a falling aircraft

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shul'man, G.S.

1996-01-01

Methodology for evaluation of NPP protection structure reliability by impact of aircraft fall down is considered. The methodology is base on the probabilistic analysis of all potential events. The problem is solved in three stages: determination of loads on structural units, calculation of local reliability of protection structures by assigned loads and estimation of the structure reliability. The methodology proposed may be applied at the NPP design stage and by determination of reliability of already available structures

Investigating the impact of nicotine on executive functions using a novel virtual reality assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Jansari, Ashok S; Froggatt, Daniel; Edginton, Trudi; Dawkins, Lynne

2013-05-01

Nicotine is known to enhance aspects of cognitive functioning in abstinent smokers, but the effects on specific areas of executive functions and in non-smokers are inconclusive. This may be due in part to the poor sensitivity of tests used to assess executive functions. This study used a new virtual reality assessment of executive functions known as JEF (the Jansari assessment of Executive Functions) to address this issue. A 2 × 2 design manipulating group (smokers and never-smokers) and drug [nicotine (4 mg for smokers; 2 mg for never smokers) versus placebo gum]. School of Psychology; University of East London. Seventy-two participants (aged 18-54 years): 36 minimally deprived (2 hours) smokers and 36 never-smokers. Components of executive function were measured using the virtual reality paradigm JEF, which assesses eight cognitive constructs simultaneously as well as providing an overall performance measure. Univariate analyses of variance revealed that nicotine improved overall JEF performance, time-based prospective memory and event-based prospective memory in smokers (P < 0.01), but not in never-smokers. Action-based prospective memory was enhanced in both groups (P < 0.01) and never-smokers out-performed smokers on selective thinking and adaptive thinking (P < 0.01). Executive functioning and prospective memory as aspects of cognitive performance can be enhanced by nicotine gum in smokers who have abstained for as little as 2 hours. © 2012 The Authors, Addiction © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Reliability and Maintainability model (RAM) user and maintenance manual. Part 2

Science.gov (United States)

Ebeling, Charles E.

1995-01-01

This report documents the procedures for utilizing and maintaining the Reliability and Maintainability Model (RAM) developed by the University of Dayton for the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). The RAM model predicts reliability and maintainability (R&M) parameters for conceptual space vehicles using parametric relationships between vehicle design and performance characteristics and subsystem mean time between maintenance actions (MTBM) and manhours per maintenance action (MH/MA). These parametric relationships were developed using aircraft R&M data from over thirty different military aircraft of all types. This report describes the general methodology used within the model, the execution and computational sequence, the input screens and data, the output displays and reports, and study analyses and procedures. A source listing is provided.

[Effect of hereditary and environmental factors on the executive function of twin children].

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Xiaomei; Ma, Xingshun; Zhu, Wenfen; Fu, Yixiao; Zhou, Yingqing; Meng, Huaqing; Hou, Xiao; Jia, Lu; Qin, Qing; Wang, Yingcheng; Deng, Wei; Li, Tao

2014-08-01

To explore the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the executive function of twin children. The executive function of 122 twin pairs from Chongqing (aged from 6 to 18 years) were investigated with the perseverative errors of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Structural equation modeling was performed to evaluate the effects of the additive genetic factors (A), dominance genetic latent factors (D) and individual specific environmental factors (E) on the executive functions. The effects of D and E on perseverative errors were 0. 77 (95%CI: 0.65-0.84) and 0.23 (95%CI: 0.16-0.35), respectively. The probability of perseverative errors showed a significant negative correlation with family functioning and with the total GHQ-12 scores of the fathers and mothers (r:-0.335, -0.335, and -0.219, respectively, Pparenting styles and stress life events. Perseverative errors are influenced by a common dominance genetic latent factor and individual specific environmental factors, but the role of environmental factors such as family functioning and parental health can not be ignored.

Discrete event simulation tool for analysis of qualitative models of continuous processing systems

Science.gov (United States)

Malin, Jane T. (Inventor); Basham, Bryan D. (Inventor); Harris, Richard A. (Inventor)

1990-01-01

An artificial intelligence design and qualitative modeling tool is disclosed for creating computer models and simulating continuous activities, functions, and/or behavior using developed discrete event techniques. Conveniently, the tool is organized in four modules: library design module, model construction module, simulation module, and experimentation and analysis. The library design module supports the building of library knowledge including component classes and elements pertinent to a particular domain of continuous activities, functions, and behavior being modeled. The continuous behavior is defined discretely with respect to invocation statements, effect statements, and time delays. The functionality of the components is defined in terms of variable cluster instances, independent processes, and modes, further defined in terms of mode transition processes and mode dependent processes. Model construction utilizes the hierarchy of libraries and connects them with appropriate relations. The simulation executes a specialized initialization routine and executes events in a manner that includes selective inherency of characteristics through a time and event schema until the event queue in the simulator is emptied. The experimentation and analysis module supports analysis through the generation of appropriate log files and graphics developments and includes the ability of log file comparisons.

Multiply imaged Transient Events in Cluster Lenses

Science.gov (United States)

Narasimha, Delampady

2018-04-01

ARIES had a successful gravitational microlens project during 1998-2002. A similar monitor for Transient Events in galaxies at high redshift lensed by rich galaxy-clusters provides a challenging possibility with important cosmological implications. Rich galaxy-clusters at intermediate redshifts are powerful gravitational lenses which produce multiple images, in the shape of giant arcs of 5-20" extent, of distant background galaxies in their field. Weak lens shear of the background galaxy distribution can reliably trace the lens mass profile. Multiple images of supernovae or GRBs in the background galaxies can be recorded in a systematic monitor of the system. An unlensed high redshift supernova might not be observable, but when lensed by a galaxy-cluster, it will stand out because the point event brightens relative to the host. The color profile of a high redshift lensed point event will be much more reliable than an unlensed one due to much less host contamination. An estimate of the time delay enables observation of the full light curve of the subsequent images of the event. ARIES can have outside collaboration for multiband simultaneous lightcurves of other images. The measured time delay and position of images of the transient event provide better cosmological constraints including distance scale of the Universe. The Devasthal telescope can detect one or more events by monitoring half a dozen cluster fields over three years time.

A software Event Summation System for MDSplus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, W.M.; Mastrovito, D.M.; Roney, P.G.; Sichta, P.

2008-01-01

The MDSplus data acquisition and management system uses software events for communication among interdependent processes anywhere on the network. Actions can then be triggered, such as a data-acquisition routine, or analysis or display programs waiting for data. A small amount of data, such as a shot number, can be passed with these events. Since programs sometimes need more than one data set, we developed a system on NSTX to declare composite events using logical AND and OR operations. The system is written in the IDL language, so it can be run on Linux, Macintosh or Windows platforms. Like MDSplus, the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) is a core component of the NSTX software environment. The Event Summation System provides an IDL-based interface to EPICS. This permits EPICS-aware processes to be synchronized with MDSplus-aware processes, to provide, for example, engineering operators information about physics data acquisition and analysis. Reliability was a more important design consideration than performance for this system; the system's architecture includes features to support this. The system has run for weeks at a time without requiring manual intervention. Hundreds of incoming events per second can be handled reliably. All incoming and declared events are logged with a timestamp. The system can be configured easily through a single, easy-to-read text file

Integrated Evaluation of Reliability and Power Consumption of Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antônio Dâmaso

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Power consumption is a primary interest in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs, and a large number of strategies have been proposed to evaluate it. However, those approaches usually neither consider reliability issues nor the power consumption of applications executing in the network. A central concern is the lack of consolidated solutions that enable us to evaluate the power consumption of applications and the network stack also considering their reliabilities. To solve this problem, we introduce a fully automatic solution to design power consumption aware WSN applications and communication protocols. The solution presented in this paper comprises a methodology to evaluate the power consumption based on the integration of formal models, a set of power consumption and reliability models, a sensitivity analysis strategy to select WSN configurations and a toolbox named EDEN to fully support the proposed methodology. This solution allows accurately estimating the power consumption of WSN applications and the network stack in an automated way.

Integrated Evaluation of Reliability and Power Consumption of Wireless Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Dâmaso, Antônio; Maciel, Paulo

2017-01-01

Power consumption is a primary interest in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), and a large number of strategies have been proposed to evaluate it. However, those approaches usually neither consider reliability issues nor the power consumption of applications executing in the network. A central concern is the lack of consolidated solutions that enable us to evaluate the power consumption of applications and the network stack also considering their reliabilities. To solve this problem, we introduce a fully automatic solution to design power consumption aware WSN applications and communication protocols. The solution presented in this paper comprises a methodology to evaluate the power consumption based on the integration of formal models, a set of power consumption and reliability models, a sensitivity analysis strategy to select WSN configurations and a toolbox named EDEN to fully support the proposed methodology. This solution allows accurately estimating the power consumption of WSN applications and the network stack in an automated way. PMID:29113078

Analysis of operating reliability of WWER-1000 unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bortlik, J.

1985-01-01

The nuclear power unit was divided into 33 technological units. Input data for reliability analysis were surveys of operating results obtained from the IAEA information system and certain indexes of the reliability of technological equipment determined using the Bayes formula. The missing reliability data for technological equipment were used from the basic variant. The fault tree of the WWER-1000 unit was determined for the peak event defined as the impossibility of reaching 100%, 75% and 50% of rated power. The period was observed of the nuclear power plant operation with reduced output owing to defect and the respective time needed for a repair of the equipment. The calculation of the availability of the WWER-1000 unit was made for different variant situations. Certain indexes of the operating reliability of the WWER-1000 unit which are the result of a detailed reliability analysis are tabulated for selected variants. (E.S.)

A competence executive coaching model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pieter Koortzen

2010-07-01

Research purpose: The purpose of this article is to address the training and development needs of these consulting psychologists by presenting a competence executive coaching model for the planning, implementation and evaluation of executive coaching interventions. Research design, approach and method: The study was conducted while one of the authors was involved in teaching doctoral students in consulting psychology and executive coaching, specifically in the USA. The approach involved a literature review of executive coaching models and a qualitative study using focus groups to develop and evaluate the competence executive coaching model. Main findings: The literature review provided scant evidence of competence executive coaching models and there seems to be a specific need for this in the training of coaches in South Africa. Hence the model that was developed is an attempt to provide trainers with a structured model for the training of coaches. Contribution/value-add: The uniqueness of this competence model is not only described in terms of the six distinct coaching intervention phases, but also the competencies required in each.

Parallel discrete-event simulation of FCFS stochastic queueing networks

Science.gov (United States)

Nicol, David M.

1988-01-01

Physical systems are inherently parallel. Intuition suggests that simulations of these systems may be amenable to parallel execution. The parallel execution of a discrete-event simulation requires careful synchronization of processes in order to ensure the execution's correctness; this synchronization can degrade performance. Largely negative results were recently reported in a study which used a well-known synchronization method on queueing network simulations. Discussed here is a synchronization method (appointments), which has proven itself to be effective on simulations of FCFS queueing networks. The key concept behind appointments is the provision of lookahead. Lookahead is a prediction on a processor's future behavior, based on an analysis of the processor's simulation state. It is shown how lookahead can be computed for FCFS queueing network simulations, give performance data that demonstrates the method's effectiveness under moderate to heavy loads, and discuss performance tradeoffs between the quality of lookahead, and the cost of computing lookahead.

NMD Classifier: A reliable and systematic classification tool for nonsense-mediated decay events.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min-Kung Hsu

Full Text Available Nonsense-mediated decay (NMD degrades mRNAs that include premature termination codons to avoid the translation and accumulation of truncated proteins. This mechanism has been found to participate in gene regulation and a wide spectrum of biological processes. However, the evolutionary and regulatory origins of NMD-targeted transcripts (NMDTs have been less studied, partly because of the complexity in analyzing NMD events. Here we report NMD Classifier, a tool for systematic classification of NMD events for either annotated or de novo assembled transcripts. This tool is based on the assumption of minimal evolution/regulation-an event that leads to the least change is the most likely to occur. Our simulation results indicate that NMD Classifier can correctly identify an average of 99.3% of the NMD-causing transcript structural changes, particularly exon inclusions/exclusions and exon boundary alterations. Researchers can apply NMD Classifier to evolutionary and regulatory studies by comparing NMD events of different biological conditions or in different organisms.

Educating executive function.

Science.gov (United States)

Blair, Clancy

2017-01-01

Executive functions are thinking skills that assist with reasoning, planning, problem solving, and managing one's life. The brain areas that underlie these skills are interconnected with and influenced by activity in many different brain areas, some of which are associated with emotion and stress. One consequence of the stress-specific connections is that executive functions, which help us to organize our thinking, tend to be disrupted when stimulation is too high and we are stressed out, or too low when we are bored and lethargic. Given their central role in reasoning and also in managing stress and emotion, scientists have conducted studies, primarily with adults, to determine whether executive functions can be improved by training. By and large, results have shown that they can be, in part through computer-based videogame-like activities. Evidence of wider, more general benefits from such computer-based training, however, is mixed. Accordingly, scientists have reasoned that training will have wider benefits if it is implemented early, with very young children as the neural circuitry of executive functions is developing, and that it will be most effective if embedded in children's everyday activities. Evidence produced by this research, however, is also mixed. In sum, much remains to be learned about executive function training. Without question, however, continued research on this important topic will yield valuable information about cognitive development. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, 8:e1403. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1403 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Essays in Executive Compensation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D. Zhang (Dan)

2012-01-01

textabstractThis dissertation focuses on how executive compensation is designed and its implications for corporate finance and government regulations. Chapter 2 analyzes several proposals to restrict CEO compensation and calibrates two models of executive compensation that describe how firms would

Highlights from the early (and pre-) history of reliability engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saleh, J.H.; Marais, K.

2006-01-01

Reliability is a popular concept that has been celebrated for years as a commendable attribute of a person or an artifact. From its modest beginning in 1816-the word reliability was first coined by Samuel T. Coleridge-reliability grew into an omnipresent attribute with qualitative and quantitative connotations that pervades every aspect of our present day technologically intensive world. In this short communication, we highlight key events and the history of ideas that led to the birth of Reliability Engineering, and its development in the subsequent decades. We first argue that statistics and mass production were the enablers in the rise of this new discipline, and the catalyst that accelerated the coming of this new discipline was the (unreliability of the) vacuum tube. We highlight the foundational role of AGREE report in 1957 in the birth of reliability engineering, and discuss the consolidation of numerous efforts in the 1950s into a coherent new technical discipline. We show that an evolution took place in the discipline in the following two decades along two directions: first, there was an increased specialization in the discipline (increased sophistication of statistical techniques, and the rise of a new branch focused on the actual physics of failure of components, Reliability Physics); second, there occurred a shift in the emphasis of the discipline from a component-centric to an emphasis on system-level attributes (system reliability, availability, safety). Finally, in selecting the particular events and highlights in the history of ideas that led to the birth and subsequent development of reliability engineering, we acknowledge a subjective component in this work and make no claims to exhaustiveness

77 FR 19570 - Special Local Regulation for Marine Events, Chesapeake Bay Workboat Race, Back River, Messick...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-02

... typically comprise marine events include sailing regattas, power boat races, swim races and holiday parades... of boat races to be held on the waters of Back River, Poquoson, Virginia on June 24, 2012. This event... Federal Government and Indian tribes. Energy Effects We have analyzed this proposed rule under Executive...

The Five Digits Test in the assessment of older adults with low formal education: construct validity and reliability in a Brazilian clinical sample.

Science.gov (United States)

de Paula, Jonas Jardim; Oliveira, Thaís Dell'Oro; Querino, Emanuel Henrique Gonçalves; Malloy-Diniz, Leandro Fernandes

2017-01-01

In the assessment of older adults with very low formal education, typical tests of selective attention and inhibitory control are biased by reading abilities. In this sense, we aim to assess the psychometric characteristics of the Five Digits Test (FDT), a numerical Stroop paradigm, in older adults without cognitive disorders, with mild cognitive impairment, and with dementia. We assessed 211 Brazilian older adults with low formal education using the FDT and other cognitive measures. Construct validity and reliability were assessed by correlations and internal consistency. The FDT test had weak correlations with crystalized intelligence tests and moderate-high correlations with fluid intelligence measures and tests of global cognitive status and executive functions. The split-half coefficient of reliability showed high internal consistency (>0.900). Together, the results suggest that the FDT is a valid and reliable measure for the assessment of processing speed and executive functions in older adults with low formal education.

Modeling of system reliability Petri nets with aging tokens

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volovoi, V.

2004-01-01

The paper addresses the dynamic modeling of degrading and repairable complex systems. Emphasis is placed on the convenience of modeling for the end user, with special attention being paid to the modeling part of a problem, which is considered to be decoupled from the choice of solution algorithms. Depending on the nature of the problem, these solution algorithms can include discrete event simulation or numerical solution of the differential equations that govern underlying stochastic processes. Such modularity allows a focus on the needs of system reliability modeling and tailoring of the modeling formalism accordingly. To this end, several salient features are chosen from the multitude of existing extensions of Petri nets, and a new concept of aging tokens (tokens with memory) is introduced. The resulting framework provides for flexible and transparent graphical modeling with excellent representational power that is particularly suited for system reliability modeling with non-exponentially distributed firing times. The new framework is compared with existing Petri-net approaches and other system reliability modeling techniques such as reliability block diagrams and fault trees. The relative differences are emphasized and illustrated with several examples, including modeling of load sharing, imperfect repair of pooled items, multiphase missions, and damage-tolerant maintenance. Finally, a simple implementation of the framework using discrete event simulation is described

The ATLAS Event Index: The Architecture of the Core Engine

CERN Document Server

Barberis, Dario; The ATLAS collaboration; Hrivnac, Julius

2017-01-01

The global view of the ATLAS Event Index system has been presented in the last ACAT. This talk will concentrate on the architecture of the system core component. This component handles the final stage of the event metadata import, it organizes its storage and provides a fast and feature-rich access to all information. A user is able to interrogate metadata in various ways, including by executing user-provided code on the data to make selections and to interpret the results. A wide spectrum of clients is available, from a set of linux-like commands to an interactive graphical Web Service. The stored event metadata contain the basic description of the related events, the references to the experiment event storage, the full trigger record and can be extended with other event characteristics. Derived collections of events can be created. Such collections can be annotated and tagged with further information. This talk will describe all system sub-components and their development evolution, which lead into the choi...

Reliability of cognitive tests of ELSA-Brasil, the brazilian longitudinal study of adult health

Science.gov (United States)

Batista, Juliana Alves; Giatti, Luana; Barreto, Sandhi Maria; Galery, Ana Roscoe Papini; Passos, Valéria Maria de Azeredo

2013-01-01

Cognitive function evaluation entails the use of neuropsychological tests, applied exclusively or in sequence. The results of these tests may be influenced by factors related to the environment, the interviewer or the interviewee. OBJECTIVES We examined the test-retest reliability of some tests of the Brazilian version from the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease. METHODS The ELSA-Brasil is a multicentre study of civil servants (35-74 years of age) from public institutions across six Brazilian States. The same tests were applied, in different order of appearance, by the same trained and certified interviewer, with an approximate 20-day interval, to 160 adults (51% men, mean age 52 years). The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the reliability of the measures; and a dispersion graph was used to examine the patterns of agreement between them. RESULTS We observed higher retest scores in all tests as well as a shorter test completion time for the Trail Making Test B. ICC values for each test were as following: Word List Learning Test (0.56), Word Recall (0.50), Word Recognition (0.35), Phonemic Verbal Fluency Test (VFT, 0.61), Semantic VFT (0.53) and Trail B (0.91). The Bland-Altman plot showed better correlation of executive function (VFT and Trail B) than of memory tests. CONCLUSIONS Better performance in retest may reflect a learning effect, and suggest that retest should be repeated using alternate forms or after longer periods. In this sample of adults with high schooling level, reliability was only moderate for memory tests whereas the measurement of executive function proved more reliable. PMID:29213860

Reliability of Cognitive Tests of ELSA-Brasil, the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Alves Batista

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Cognitive function evaluation entails the use of neuropsychological tests, applied exclusively or in sequence. The results of these tests may be influenced by factors related to the environment, the interviewer or the interviewee. Objectives: We examined the test-retest reliability of some tests of the Brazilian version from the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease. Methods: The ELSA-Brasil is a multicentre study of civil servants (35-74 years of age from public institutions across six Brazilian States. The same tests were applied, in different order of appearance, by the same trained and certified interviewer, with an approximate 20-day interval, to 160 adults (51% men, mean age 52 years. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC was used to assess the reliability of the measures; and a dispersion graph was used to examine the patterns of agreement between them. Results: We observed higher retest scores in all tests as well as a shorter test completion time for the Trail Making Test B. ICC values for each test were as following: Word List Learning Test (0.56, Word Recall (0.50, Word Recognition (0.35, Phonemic Verbal Fluency Test (VFT, 0.61, Semantic VFT (0.53 and Trail B (0.91. The Bland-Altman plot showed better correlation of executive function (VFT and Trail B than of memory tests. Conclusions: Better performance in retest may reflect a learning effect, and suggest that retest should be repeated using alternate forms or after longer periods. In this sample of adults with high schooling level, reliability was only moderate for memory tests whereas the measurement of executive function proved more reliable.

An Early Years Toolbox for Assessing Early Executive Function, Language, Self-Regulation, and Social Development: Validity, Reliability, and Preliminary Norms

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Steven J.; Melhuish, Edward

2017-01-01

Several methods of assessing executive function (EF), self-regulation, language development, and social development in young children have been developed over previous decades. Yet new technologies make available methods of assessment not previously considered. In resolving conceptual and pragmatic limitations of existing tools, the Early Years…

Wind turbine reliability : a database and analysis approach.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linsday, James (ARES Corporation); Briand, Daniel; Hill, Roger Ray; Stinebaugh, Jennifer A.; Benjamin, Allan S. (ARES Corporation)

2008-02-01

The US wind Industry has experienced remarkable growth since the turn of the century. At the same time, the physical size and electrical generation capabilities of wind turbines has also experienced remarkable growth. As the market continues to expand, and as wind generation continues to gain a significant share of the generation portfolio, the reliability of wind turbine technology becomes increasingly important. This report addresses how operations and maintenance costs are related to unreliability - that is the failures experienced by systems and components. Reliability tools are demonstrated, data needed to understand and catalog failure events is described, and practical wind turbine reliability models are illustrated, including preliminary results. This report also presents a continuing process of how to proceed with controlling industry requirements, needs, and expectations related to Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety. A simply stated goal of this process is to better understand and to improve the operable reliability of wind turbine installations.

Grid collector an event catalog with automated file management

CERN Document Server

Ke Sheng Wu; Sim, A; Jun Min Gu; Shoshani, A

2004-01-01

High Energy Nuclear Physics (HENP) experiments such as STAR at BNL and ATLAS at CERN produce large amounts of data that are stored as files on mass storage systems in computer centers. In these files, the basic unit of data is an event. Analysis is typically performed on a selected set of events. The files containing these events have to be located, copied from mass storage systems to disks before analysis, and removed when no longer needed. These file management tasks are tedious and time consuming. Typically, all events contained in the files are read into memory before a selection is made. Since the time to read the events dominate the overall execution time, reading the unwanted event needlessly increases the analysis time. The Grid Collector is a set of software modules that works together to address these two issues. It automates the file management tasks and provides "direct" access to the selected events for analyses. It is currently integrated with the STAR analysis framework. The users can select ev...

A method to assign failure rates for piping reliability assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gamble, R.M.; Tagart, S.W. Jr.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on a simplified method that has been developed to assign failure rates that can be used in reliability and risk studies of piping. The method can be applied on a line-by-line basis by identifying line and location specific attributes that can lead to piping unreliability from in-service degradation mechanisms and random events. A survey of service experience for nuclear piping reliability also was performed. The data from this survey provides a basis for identifying in-service failure attributes and assigning failure rates for risk and reliability studies

Business of reliability

Science.gov (United States)

Engel, Pierre

1999-12-01

The presentation is organized around three themes: (1) The decrease of reception equipment costs allows non-Remote Sensing organization to access a technology until recently reserved to scientific elite. What this means is the rise of 'operational' executive agencies considering space-based technology and operations as a viable input to their daily tasks. This is possible thanks to totally dedicated ground receiving entities focusing on one application for themselves, rather than serving a vast community of users. (2) The multiplication of earth observation platforms will form the base for reliable technical and financial solutions. One obstacle to the growth of the earth observation industry is the variety of policies (commercial versus non-commercial) ruling the distribution of the data and value-added products. In particular, the high volume of data sales required for the return on investment does conflict with traditional low-volume data use for most applications. Constant access to data sources supposes monitoring needs as well as technical proficiency. (3) Large volume use of data coupled with low- cost equipment costs is only possible when the technology has proven reliable, in terms of application results, financial risks and data supply. Each of these factors is reviewed. The expectation is that international cooperation between agencies and private ventures will pave the way for future business models. As an illustration, the presentation proposes to use some recent non-traditional monitoring applications, that may lead to significant use of earth observation data, value added products and services: flood monitoring, ship detection, marine oil pollution deterrent systems and rice acreage monitoring.

Application of GO methodology in reliability analysis of offsite power supply of Daya Bay NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Zupei; Li Xiaodong; Huang Xiangrui

2003-01-01

The author applies the GO methodology to reliability analysis of the offsite power supply system of Daya Bay NPP. The direct quantitative calculation formulas of the stable reliability target of the system with shared signals and the dynamic calculation formulas of the state probability for the unit with two states are derived. The method to solve the fault event sets of the system is also presented and all the fault event sets of the outer power supply system and their failure probability are obtained. The resumption reliability of the offsite power supply system after the stability failure of the power net is also calculated. The result shows that the GO methodology is very simple and useful in the stable and dynamic reliability analysis of the repairable system

Executive functioning in pre-school children with autism spectrum disorders: The relationship between executive functioning and language

OpenAIRE

Linnerud, Ida Cathrine Wang

2014-01-01

Background: Executive function difficulties are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and there are several indications of a modifying relationship between executive functions and language in children. However, there is limited research on the relationship between executive functioning and language in young children with ASD. The current study compared real-world executive functioning between groups of children with ASD, language disorders (LD), and typical development (T...

Television and children's executive function.

Science.gov (United States)

Lillard, Angeline S; Li, Hui; Boguszewski, Katie

2015-01-01

Children spend a lot of time watching television on its many platforms: directly, online, and via videos and DVDs. Many researchers are concerned that some types of television content appear to negatively influence children's executive function. Because (1) executive function predicts key developmental outcomes, (2) executive function appears to be influenced by some television content, and (3) American children watch large quantities of television (including the content of concern), the issues discussed here comprise a crucial public health issue. Further research is needed to reveal exactly what television content is implicated, what underlies television's effect on executive function, how long the effect lasts, and who is affected. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Load power device and system for real-time execution of hierarchical load identification algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yi; Madane, Mayura Arun; Zambare, Prachi Suresh

2017-11-14

A load power device includes a power input; at least one power output for at least one load; and a plurality of sensors structured to sense voltage and current at the at least one power output. A processor is structured to provide real-time execution of: (a) a plurality of load identification algorithms, and (b) event detection and operating mode detection for the at least one load.

ATLAS EventIndex Data Collection Supervisor and Web Interface

CERN Document Server

Garcia Montoro, Carlos; The ATLAS collaboration; Sanchez, Javier

2016-01-01

The EventIndex project consists in the development and deployment of a complete catalogue of events for the ATLAS experiment [1][2] at the LHC accelerator at CERN. In 2015 the ATLAS experiment has produced 12 billion real events in 1 million files, and 5 billion simulated events in 8 million files. The ATLAS EventIndex is running in production since mid-2015, reliably collecting information worldwide about all produced events and storing them in a central Hadoop infrastructure. A subset of this information is copied to an Oracle relational database. This paper presents two components of the ATLAS EventIndex [3]: its data collection supervisor and its web interface partner.

ATLAS EventIndex Data Collection Supervisor and Web Interface

CERN Document Server

Garcia Montoro, Carlos; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The EventIndex project consists in the development and deployment of a complete catalogue of events for the ATLAS experiment at the LHC accelerator at CERN. In 2015 the ATLAS experiment has produced 12 billion real events in 1 million files, and 5 billion simulated events in 8 million files. The ATLAS EventIndex is running in production since mid- 2015, reliably collecting information worldwide about all produced events and storing them in a central Hadoop infrastructure. A subset of this information is copied to an Oracle relational database. These slides present two components of the ATLAS EventIndex: its data collection supervisor and its web interface partner.

Improvement of the reliability graph with general gates to analyze the reliability of dynamic systems that have various operation modes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shin, Seung Ki [Div. of Research Reactor System Design, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); No, Young Gyu; Seong, Poong Hyun [Dept. of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-04-15

The safety of nuclear power plants is analyzed by a probabilistic risk assessment, and the fault tree analysis is the most widely used method for a risk assessment with the event tree analysis. One of the well-known disadvantages of the fault tree is that drawing a fault tree for a complex system is a very cumbersome task. Thus, several graphical modeling methods have been proposed for the convenient and intuitive modeling of complex systems. In this paper, the reliability graph with general gates (RGGG) method, one of the intuitive graphical modeling methods based on Bayesian networks, is improved for the reliability analyses of dynamic systems that have various operation modes with time. A reliability matrix is proposed and it is explained how to utilize the reliability matrix in the RGGG for various cases of operation mode changes. The proposed RGGG with a reliability matrix provides a convenient and intuitive modeling of various operation modes of complex systems, and can also be utilized with dynamic nodes that analyze the failure sequences of subcomponents. The combinatorial use of a reliability matrix with dynamic nodes is illustrated through an application to a shutdown cooling system in a nuclear power plant.

Improvement of the reliability graph with general gates to analyze the reliability of dynamic systems that have various operation modes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Seung Ki; No, Young Gyu; Seong, Poong Hyun

2016-01-01

The safety of nuclear power plants is analyzed by a probabilistic risk assessment, and the fault tree analysis is the most widely used method for a risk assessment with the event tree analysis. One of the well-known disadvantages of the fault tree is that drawing a fault tree for a complex system is a very cumbersome task. Thus, several graphical modeling methods have been proposed for the convenient and intuitive modeling of complex systems. In this paper, the reliability graph with general gates (RGGG) method, one of the intuitive graphical modeling methods based on Bayesian networks, is improved for the reliability analyses of dynamic systems that have various operation modes with time. A reliability matrix is proposed and it is explained how to utilize the reliability matrix in the RGGG for various cases of operation mode changes. The proposed RGGG with a reliability matrix provides a convenient and intuitive modeling of various operation modes of complex systems, and can also be utilized with dynamic nodes that analyze the failure sequences of subcomponents. The combinatorial use of a reliability matrix with dynamic nodes is illustrated through an application to a shutdown cooling system in a nuclear power plant

Common Elements in Operational Events across Technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bley, Dennis C.; Wreathall, John; Cooper, Susan E.

1998-01-01

The ATHEANA project, sponsored by the US NRC, began as a study of operational events during low power and shutdown conditions at US commercial nuclear power plants. The purpose was to develop an approach for human reliability analysis that is supported by the experience; i.e., with the history of operational events. As the analysis of operational events progressed, a multidisciplinary framework evolved that can structure the analysis, highlighting significant aspects of each event. The ATHEANA multidisciplinary framework has been used as the basis for retrospective analysis of human performance in operational events in the nuclear power, chemical process, aviation, and medical technologies. The results of these analyses are exemplified by three operational events from different industries. Attention is drawn to those common elements in serious operational events that have negative impacts on human performance. (authors)

A Fast Optimization Method for Reliability and Performance of Cloud Services Composition Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhao Wu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available At present the cloud computing is one of the newest trends of distributed computation, which is propelling another important revolution of software industry. The cloud services composition is one of the key techniques in software development. The optimization for reliability and performance of cloud services composition application, which is a typical stochastic optimization problem, is confronted with severe challenges due to its randomness and long transaction, as well as the characteristics of the cloud computing resources such as openness and dynamic. The traditional reliability and performance optimization techniques, for example, Markov model and state space analysis and so forth, have some defects such as being too time consuming and easy to cause state space explosion and unsatisfied the assumptions of component execution independence. To overcome these defects, we propose a fast optimization method for reliability and performance of cloud services composition application based on universal generating function and genetic algorithm in this paper. At first, a reliability and performance model for cloud service composition application based on the multiple state system theory is presented. Then the reliability and performance definition based on universal generating function is proposed. Based on this, a fast reliability and performance optimization algorithm is presented. In the end, the illustrative examples are given.

Working memory capacity and the top-down control of visual search: Exploring the boundaries of "executive attention".

Science.gov (United States)

Kane, Michael J; Poole, Bradley J; Tuholski, Stephen W; Engle, Randall W

2006-07-01

The executive attention theory of working memory capacity (WMC) proposes that measures of WMC broadly predict higher order cognitive abilities because they tap important and general attention capabilities (R. W. Engle & M. J. Kane, 2004). Previous research demonstrated WMC-related differences in attention tasks that required restraint of habitual responses or constraint of conscious focus. To further specify the executive attention construct, the present experiments sought boundary conditions of the WMC-attention relation. Three experiments correlated individual differences in WMC, as measured by complex span tasks, and executive control of visual search. In feature-absence search, conjunction search, and spatial configuration search, WMC was unrelated to search slopes, although they were large and reliably measured. Even in a search task designed to require the volitional movement of attention (J. M. Wolfe, G. A. Alvarez, & T. S. Horowitz, 2000), WMC was irrelevant to performance. Thus, WMC is not associated with all demanding or controlled attention processes, which poses problems for some general theories of WMC. Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

Assessing Executive Functioning: A Pragmatic Review

Science.gov (United States)

Hass, Michael R.; Patterson, Ashlea; Sukraw, Jocelyn; Sullivan, Brianna M.

2014-01-01

Despite the common usage of the term "executive functioning" in neuropsychology, several aspects of this concept remain unsettled. In this paper, we will address some of the issues surrounding the notion of executive functioning and how an understanding of executive functioning and its components might assist school-based practitioners…

Guidelines for Automation Project Execution

OpenAIRE

Takkinen, Heidi

2011-01-01

The purpose of this Master’s thesis was to create instructions for executing an automation project. Sarlin Oy Ab needed directions on how to execute an automation project. Sarlin is starting up a new business area offering total project solutions for customers. Sarlin focuses on small and minor automation projects on domestic markets. The thesis represents issues related to project execution starting from the theory of the project to its kick-off and termination. Site work is one importan...

Design of Korean nuclear reliability data-base network using a two-stage Bayesian concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, T.W.; Jeong, K.S.; Chae, S.K.

1987-01-01

In an analysis of probabilistic risk, safety, and reliability of a nuclear power plant, the reliability data base (DB) must be established first. As the importance of the reliability data base increases, event reporting systems such as the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Licensee Event Report and the International Atomic Energy Agency's Incident Reporting System have been developed. In Korea, however, the systematic reliability data base is not yet available. Therefore, foreign data bases have been directly quoted in reliability analyses of Korean plants. In order to develop a reliability data base for Korean plants, the problem is which methodology is to be used, and the application limits of the selected method must be solved and clarified. After starting the commercial operation of Korea Nuclear Unit-1 (KNU-1) in 1978, six nuclear power plants have begun operation. Of these, only KNU-3 is a Canada Deuterium Uranium pressurized heavy-water reactor, and the others are all pressurized water reactors. This paper describes the proposed reliability data-base network (KNRDS) for Korean nuclear power plants in the context of two-stage Bayesian (TSB) procedure of Kaplan. It describes the concept of TSB to obtain the Korean-specific plant reliability data base, which is updated with the incorporation of both the reported generic reliability data and the operation experiences of similar plants

A Correlated Model for Evaluating Performance and Energy of Cloud System Given System Reliability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongli Zhang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The serious issue of energy consumption for high performance computing systems has attracted much attention. Performance and energy-saving have become important measures of a computing system. In the cloud computing environment, the systems usually allocate various resources (such as CPU, Memory, Storage, etc. on multiple virtual machines (VMs for executing tasks. Therefore, the problem of resource allocation for running VMs should have significant influence on both system performance and energy consumption. For different processor utilizations assigned to the VM, there exists the tradeoff between energy consumption and task completion time when a given task is executed by the VMs. Moreover, the hardware failure, software failure and restoration characteristics also have obvious influences on overall performance and energy. In this paper, a correlated model is built to analyze both performance and energy in the VM execution environment given the reliability restriction, and an optimization model is presented to derive the most effective solution of processor utilization for the VM. Then, the tradeoff between energy-saving and task completion time is studied and balanced when the VMs execute given tasks. Numerical examples are illustrated to build the performance-energy correlated model and evaluate the expected values of task completion time and consumed energy.

The Influence of Executive Functioning on Facial and Subjective Pain Responses in Older Adults

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

Cognitive decline is known to reduce reliability of subjective pain reports. Although facial expressions of pain are generally considered to be less affected by this decline, empirical support for this assumption is sparse. The present study therefore examined how cognitive functioning relates to facial expressions of pain and whether cognition acts as a moderator between nociceptive intensity and facial reactivity. Facial and subjective responses of 51 elderly participants to mechanical stimulation at three intensities levels (50 kPa, 200 kPa, and 400 kPa) were assessed. Moreover, participants completed a neuropsychological examination of executive functioning (planning, cognitive inhibition, and working memory), episodic memory, and psychomotor speed. The results showed that executive functioning has a unique relationship with facial reactivity at low pain intensity levels (200 kPa). Moreover, cognitive inhibition (but not other executive functions) moderated the effect of pressure intensity on facial pain expressions, suggesting that the relationship between pressure intensity and facial reactivity was less pronounced in participants with high levels of cognitive inhibition. A similar interaction effect was found for cognitive inhibition and subjective pain report. Consequently, caution is needed when interpreting facial (as well as subjective) pain responses in individuals with a high level of cognitive inhibition. PMID:27274618

A dynamic discretization method for reliability inference in Dynamic Bayesian Networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Jiandao; Collette, Matthew

2015-01-01

The material and modeling parameters that drive structural reliability analysis for marine structures are subject to a significant uncertainty. This is especially true when time-dependent degradation mechanisms such as structural fatigue cracking are considered. Through inspection and monitoring, information such as crack location and size can be obtained to improve these parameters and the corresponding reliability estimates. Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBNs) are a powerful and flexible tool to model dynamic system behavior and update reliability and uncertainty analysis with life cycle data for problems such as fatigue cracking. However, a central challenge in using DBNs is the need to discretize certain types of continuous random variables to perform network inference while still accurately tracking low-probability failure events. Most existing discretization methods focus on getting the overall shape of the distribution correct, with less emphasis on the tail region. Therefore, a novel scheme is presented specifically to estimate the likelihood of low-probability failure events. The scheme is an iterative algorithm which dynamically partitions the discretization intervals at each iteration. Through applications to two stochastic crack-growth example problems, the algorithm is shown to be robust and accurate. Comparisons are presented between the proposed approach and existing methods for the discretization problem. - Highlights: • A dynamic discretization method is developed for low-probability events in DBNs. • The method is compared to existing approaches on two crack growth problems. • The method is shown to improve on existing methods for low-probability events

Analysis of adverse events occurred at overseas nuclear power plants in 2003

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyazaki, Takamasa; Sato, Masahiro; Takagawa, Kenichi; Fushimi, Yasuyuki; Shimada, Hiroki; Shimada, Yoshio

2004-01-01

The adverse events that have occurred in the overseas nuclear power plants can be studied to provide an indication of how to improve the safety and the reliability of nuclear power plants in Japan. The Institute of Nuclear Safety Systems (INSS) obtains information related to overseas adverse events and incidents, and by evaluating them proposes improvements to prevent similar occurrences in Japanese PWR plants. In 2003, INSS obtained approximately 2800 pieces of information and, by evaluating them, proposed nine recommendations to Japanese utilities. This report shows a summary of the evaluation activity and of the tendency analysis based on individual event analyzed in 2003. The tendency analysis was undertaken on about 1600 analyzed events, from the view point of Mechanics, Electrics, Instruments and Controls and Operations, about the causes, countermeasures, troubled equipments and the possible of lessons learnt from overseas events. This report is to show the whole tendency of overseas events and incidents for the improvement of the safety and reliability of domestic PWR plants. (author)

40 CFR 68.155 - Executive summary.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Executive summary. 68.155 Section 68...) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.155 Executive summary. The owner or operator shall provide in the RMP an executive summary that includes a brief description of the following...

Executions in The Bahamas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lofquist, William Steele

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The stories of those who have been executed in the Bahamas are heretofore untold. In telling these stories and in linking them to the changing course of Bahamian history, the present research adds an important dimension to our understanding of Bahamian history and politics. The major theme of this effort is that the changing practice of the death penalty is much more than a consequence of changes in crime. The use of the death penalty parallels the changing interests of colonial rulers, the changing practice of slavery, and the changing role of the Bahamas in colonial and regional affairs. Four distinctive eras of death penalty practice can be identified: (1 the slave era, where executions and commutations were used liberally and with a clear racial patterning; (2 a long era of stable colonialism, a period of marginalization and few executions; (3 an era of unstable colonialism characterized by intensive and efficient use of the death penalty; and (4 the current independence era of high murder rates and equally high impediments to the use of executions.

Mathematical foundations of event trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Papazoglou, Ioannis A.

1998-01-01

A mathematical foundation from first principles of event trees is presented. The main objective of this formulation is to offer a formal basis for developing automated computer assisted construction techniques for event trees. The mathematical theory of event trees is based on the correspondence between the paths of the tree and the elements of the outcome space of a joint event. The concept of a basic cylinder set is introduced to describe joint event outcomes conditional on specific outcomes of basic events or unconditional on the outcome of basic events. The concept of outcome space partition is used to describe the minimum amount of information intended to be preserved by the event tree representation. These concepts form the basis for an algorithm for systematic search for and generation of the most compact (reduced) form of an event tree consistent with the minimum amount of information the tree should preserve. This mathematical foundation allows for the development of techniques for automated generation of event trees corresponding to joint events which are formally described through other types of graphical models. Such a technique has been developed for complex systems described by functional blocks and it is reported elsewhere. On the quantification issue of event trees, a formal definition of a probability space corresponding to the event tree outcomes is provided. Finally, a short discussion is offered on the relationship of the presented mathematical theory with the more general use of event trees in reliability analysis of dynamic systems

Specification and Design of a Fault Recovery Model for the Reliable Multicast Protocol

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, Todd; Callahan, John R.; Whetten, Brian

1996-01-01

The Reliable Multicast Protocol (RMP) provides a unique, group-based model for distributed programs that need to handle reconfiguration events at the application layer. This model, called membership views, provides an abstraction in which events such as site failures, network partitions, and normal join-leave events are viewed as group reformations. RMP provides access to this model through an application programming interface (API) that notifies an application when a group is reformed as the result of a some event. RMP provides applications with reliable delivery of messages using an underlying IP Multicast media to other group members in a distributed environment even in the case of reformations. A distributed application can use various Quality of Service (QoS) levels provided by RMP to tolerate group reformations. This paper explores the implementation details of the mechanisms in RMP that provide distributed applications with membership view information and fault recovery capabilities.

Measuring the performance of attention networks with the Dalhousie Computerized Attention Battery (DalCAB: Methodology and reliability in healthy adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephanie Anne Holland Jones

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Attention is an important, multifaceted cognitive domain that has been linked to three distinct, yet interacting, networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control. The measurement of attention and deficits of attention within these networks is critical to the assessment of many neurological and psychiatric conditions in both research and clinical settings. The Dalhousie Computerized Attention Battery (DalCAB was created to assess attentional functions related to the three attention networks using a range of tasks including: simple reaction time, go/no-go, choice reaction time, dual task, flanker, item and location working memory and visual search. The current study provides preliminary normative data, test-retest reliability (intraclass correlations and practice effects in DalCAB performance 24-hours after baseline for healthy young adults (n = 96, 18-31 years. Performance on the DalCAB tasks demonstrated Good to Excellent test-retest reliability for mean reaction time, while accuracy and difference measures (e.g., switch costs, interference effects and working memory load effects were most reliable for tasks that require more extensive cognitive processing (e.g., choice reaction time, flanker, dual task, and conjunction search. Practice effects were common and pronounced at the 24-hour interval. In addition, performance related to specific within-task parameters of the DalCAB sub-tests provides preliminary support for future formal assessment of the convergent validity of our interpretation of the DalCAB as a potential clinical and research assessment tool for measuring aspects of attention related to the alerting, orienting and executive control networks.Keywords: computerized assessment; attention; orienting; alerting; executive function

Reliability Analysis of Core Protection Calculator System by Combining Petri Net and Fault Tree

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyejin; Kim, Jonghyun

2013-01-01

This paper proposes an approach to analyzing the reliability of digital systems by combining Petri net (PN) and Fault tree. The Petri net allows modeling event dependencies and interaction, to represent the time sequence, and to model assumptions for dynamic events. The Petri net model can be straightforwardly transformed to fault tree using the gate. Then, the FT can be integrated into the existing PSA. This paper applies the approach to the reliability analysis of Core Protection Calculator System (CPCS). Digital technology is replacing the analog instrumentation and control (I and C) systems in both new and upgraded nuclear power plants. As digital systems are introduced to nuclear power plants, issues related with reliability analyses of these digital systems are being raised. One of these issues is that static fault tree (FT) and event tree (ET) approach cannot properly account for dynamic interactions in the digital systems, such as multiple top events, logic loops and time delay. Many methods have been proposed to solve the problems, but there is no single method that is universally accepted for the application to the current generation probabilistic safety analysis (PSA)

Reliability Analysis of Core Protection Calculator System by Combining Petri Net and Fault Tree

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hyejin; Kim, Jonghyun [KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2013-10-15

This paper proposes an approach to analyzing the reliability of digital systems by combining Petri net (PN) and Fault tree. The Petri net allows modeling event dependencies and interaction, to represent the time sequence, and to model assumptions for dynamic events. The Petri net model can be straightforwardly transformed to fault tree using the gate. Then, the FT can be integrated into the existing PSA. This paper applies the approach to the reliability analysis of Core Protection Calculator System (CPCS). Digital technology is replacing the analog instrumentation and control (I and C) systems in both new and upgraded nuclear power plants. As digital systems are introduced to nuclear power plants, issues related with reliability analyses of these digital systems are being raised. One of these issues is that static fault tree (FT) and event tree (ET) approach cannot properly account for dynamic interactions in the digital systems, such as multiple top events, logic loops and time delay. Many methods have been proposed to solve the problems, but there is no single method that is universally accepted for the application to the current generation probabilistic safety analysis (PSA)

How Do South Korean Female Executives' Definitions of Career Success Differ from Those of Male Executives?

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Yonjoo; Park, Jiwon; Han, Soo Jeoung; Ju, Boreum; You, Jieun; Ju, Ahreum; Park, Chan Kyun; Park, Hye Young

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare South Korean female executives' definitions of career success with those of male executives, identify their career development strategies for success and provide implications for research and practice. Two research questions guiding our inquiry included: How do female executives' definitions of…

Methodology for reliability based condition assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Y.; Ellingwood, B.

1993-08-01

Structures in nuclear power plants may be exposed to aggressive environmental effects that cause their strength to decrease over an extended period of service. A major concern in evaluating the continued service for such structures is to ensure that in their current condition they are able to withstand future extreme load events during the intended service life with a level of reliability sufficient for public safety. This report describes a methodology to facilitate quantitative assessments of current and future structural reliability and performance of structures in nuclear power plants. This methodology takes into account the nature of past and future loads, and randomness in strength and in degradation resulting from environmental factors. An adaptive Monte Carlo simulation procedure is used to evaluate time-dependent system reliability. The time-dependent reliability is sensitive to the time-varying load characteristics and to the choice of initial strength and strength degradation models but not to correlation in component strengths within a system. Inspection/maintenance strategies are identified that minimize the expected future costs of keeping the failure probability of a structure at or below an established target failure probability during its anticipated service period

Component-Based Data-Driven Predictive Maintenance to Reduce Unscheduled Maintenance Events

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhagen, W.J.C.; Curran, R.; de Boer, L.W.M.; Chen, C.H.; Trappey, A.C.; Peruzzini, M.; Stjepandić, J.; Wognum, N.

2017-01-01

Costs associated with unscheduled and preventive maintenance can contribute significantly to an airline's expenditure. Reliability analysis can help to identify and plan for maintenance events. Reliability analysis in industry is often limited to statistically based

Exclusive Interview with Dr. Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hautecouverture, Benjamin

2013-01-01

Dr Lassina Zerbo, the new Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO), was invited to speak at the Foundation for Strategic Research on 19 December 2013. Before the event, Dr. Zerbo spoke to Non-Proliferation Monthly, outlining the major axes of his strategy for the CTBTO over the coming years, his thoughts on the prospects for the Treaty's entry into force and on the role that he believes this instrument should fulfil in the political inter-State dialogue and in bilateral and multilateral diplomatic negotiation processes

Reliability and Probabilistic Risk Assessment - How They Play Together

Science.gov (United States)

Safie, Fayssal M.; Stutts, Richard G.; Zhaofeng, Huang

2015-01-01

PRA methodology is one of the probabilistic analysis methods that NASA brought from the nuclear industry to assess the risk of LOM, LOV and LOC for launch vehicles. PRA is a system scenario based risk assessment that uses a combination of fault trees, event trees, event sequence diagrams, and probability and statistical data to analyze the risk of a system, a process, or an activity. It is a process designed to answer three basic questions: What can go wrong? How likely is it? What is the severity of the degradation? Since 1986, NASA, along with industry partners, has conducted a number of PRA studies to predict the overall launch vehicles risks. Planning Research Corporation conducted the first of these studies in 1988. In 1995, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) conducted a comprehensive PRA study. In July 1996, NASA conducted a two-year study (October 1996 - September 1998) to develop a model that provided the overall Space Shuttle risk and estimates of risk changes due to proposed Space Shuttle upgrades. After the Columbia accident, NASA conducted a PRA on the Shuttle External Tank (ET) foam. This study was the most focused and extensive risk assessment that NASA has conducted in recent years. It used a dynamic, physics-based, integrated system analysis approach to understand the integrated system risk due to ET foam loss in flight. Most recently, a PRA for Ares I launch vehicle has been performed in support of the Constellation program. Reliability, on the other hand, addresses the loss of functions. In a broader sense, reliability engineering is a discipline that involves the application of engineering principles to the design and processing of products, both hardware and software, for meeting product reliability requirements or goals. It is a very broad design-support discipline. It has important interfaces with many other engineering disciplines. Reliability as a figure of merit (i.e. the metric) is the probability that an item will

Performance Evaluation of Wireless Sensor Networks for Event-Detection with Shadowing-Induced Radio Irregularities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giuseppe De Marco

2007-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we study a particular application of wireless sensor networks for event-detection and tracking. In this kind of application, the transport of data is simplified, and guaranteeing a minimum number of packets at the monitoring node is the only constraint on the performance of the sensor network. This minimum number of packets is called event-reliability. Contrary to other studies on the subject, here we consider the behavior of such a network in presence of a realistic radio model, such as the shadowing of the radio signal. With this setting, we extend our previous analysis of the event-reliability approach for the transport of data. In particular, both regular and random networks are considered. The contribute of this work is to show via simulations that, in the presence of randomness or irregularities in the radio channel, the event-reliability can be jeopardized, that is the constraint on the minimum number of packets at the sink node could not be satisfied.

Uncertainties related to the fault tree reliability data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apostol, Minodora; Nitoi, Mirela; Farcasiu, M.

2003-01-01

Uncertainty analyses related to the fault trees evaluate the system variability which appears from the uncertainties of the basic events probabilities. Having a logical model which describes a system, to obtain outcomes means to evaluate it, using estimations for each basic event of the model. If the model has basic events that incorporate uncertainties, then the results of the model should incorporate the uncertainties of the events. Uncertainties estimation in the final result of the fault tree means first the uncertainties evaluation for the basic event probabilities and then combination of these uncertainties, to calculate the top event uncertainty. To calculate the propagating uncertainty, a knowledge of the probability density function as well as the range of possible values of the basic event probabilities is required. The following data are defined, using suitable probability density function: the components failure rates; the human error probabilities; the initiating event frequencies. It was supposed that the possible value distribution of the basic event probabilities is given by the lognormal probability density function. To know the range of possible value of the basic event probabilities, the error factor or the uncertainty factor is required. The aim of this paper is to estimate the error factor for the failure rates and for the human errors probabilities from the reliability data base used in Cernavoda Probabilistic Safety Evaluation. The top event chosen as an example is FEED3, from the Pressure and Inventory Control System. The quantitative evaluation of this top event was made by using EDFT code, developed in Institute for Nuclear Research Pitesti (INR). It was supposed that the error factors for the component failures are the same as for the failure rates. Uncertainty analysis was made with INCERT application, which uses the moment method and Monte Carlo method. The reliability data base used at INR Pitesti does not contain the error factors (ef

Autism Spectrum Disorder and intact executive functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrara, R; Ansermet, F; Massoni, F; Petrone, L; Onofri, E; Ricci, P; Archer, T; Ricci, S

2016-01-01

Earliest notions concerning autism (Autism Spectrum Disorders, ASD) describe the disturbance in executive functioning. Despite altered definition, executive functioning, expressed as higher cognitive skills required complex behaviors linked to the prefrontal cortex, are defective in autism. Specific difficulties in children presenting autism or verbal disabilities at executive functioning levels have been identified. Nevertheless, the developmental deficit of executive functioning in autism is highly diversified with huge individual variation and may even be absent. The aim of the present study to examine the current standing of intact executive functioning intact in ASD. Analysis of ASD populations, whether high-functioning, Asperger's or autism Broad Phenotype, studied over a range of executive functions including response inhibition, planning, cognitive flexibility, cognitive inhibition, and alerting networks indicates an absence of damage/impairment compared to the typically-developed normal control subjects. These findings of intact executive functioning in ASD subjects provide a strong foundation on which to construct applications for growth environments and the rehabilitation of autistic subjects.

Reliable Rescue Routing Optimization for Urban Emergency Logistics under Travel Time Uncertainty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiuping Li

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The reliability of rescue routes is critical for urban emergency logistics during disasters. However, studies on reliable rescue routing under stochastic networks are still rare. This paper proposes a multiobjective rescue routing model for urban emergency logistics under travel time reliability. A hybrid metaheuristic integrating ant colony optimization (ACO and tabu search (TS was designed to solve the model. An experiment optimizing rescue routing plans under a real urban storm event, was carried out to validate the proposed model. The experimental results showed how our approach can improve rescue efficiency with high travel time reliability.

EMI Execution Service (EMI-ES) Specification

CERN Document Server

Schuller, B

2010-01-01

This document provides the interface specification, including related data models such as state model, activity description, resource and activity information, of an execution service, matching the needs of the EMI production middleware stack composed of ARC, gLite and UNICORE components. This service therefore is referred to as the EMI Execution Service (or “ES” for short). This document is a continuation of the work previously know as the GENEVA, then AGU (“ARC, gLite UNICORE”), then PGI execution service. As a starting point, the v0.42 of the “PGI Execution Service Specification” (doc15839) was used.

French power system reliability report 2008

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tesseron, J.M.

2009-06-01

/ consumption), structure of the system and its design rules, other material measures contributing to operation; 5 - Evolution of measures contributing to reliability in the organizational and human domain: reliability culture, management of the human factor, training, iso 9001 certification - management system, feedback (organisation of feedback, evolution of the ESS scale), performance monitoring, crisis organisation, other organizational measures contributing to reliability; 6 - Lessons drawn from the year's events: lessons drawn from the ESS and from their analysis, feedback other than ESS, noteworthy facts concerning other power systems; 7 - reliability-related indicators: CRE chart of key indicators, RTE internal indicators, indicators for external communication on reliability; 8 - Progress actions underway: actions with the partners concerned (TSOS, users, etc.), main lines of research; 9 - RTE regulation and monitoring system: reliability audit programme, reliability audits; 10 - Conclusion and recommendations

Use of PRA methodology for enhancing operational safety and reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, B.; Rumble, E.; Najafi, B.; Putney, B.; Young, J.

1985-01-01

This paper describes a broad scope, on-going R and D study, sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to utilize key features of the state-of-the-art plant information management and system analysis techniques to develop and demonstrate a practical engineering tool for assisting plant engineering and operational staff to perform their activities more effectively. The study is foreseen to consist of two major activities: to develop a user-friendly, integrated software system; and to demonstrate the applications of this software on-site. This integrated software, Reliability Analysis Program with In-Plant Data (RAPID), will consist of three types of interrelated elements: an Executive Controller which will provide engineering and operations staff users with interface and control of the other two software elements, a Data Base Manager which can acquire, store, select, and transfer data, and Applications Modules which will perform the specific reliability-oriented functions. A broad range of these functions has been envisaged. The immediate emphasis will be focused on four application modules: a Plant Status Module, a Technical Specification Optimization Module, a Reliability Assessment Module, and a Utility Module for acquiring plant data

Performance of the CMS Event Builder

CERN Document Server

Andre, Jean-Marc Olivier; Branson, James; Brummer, Philipp Maximilian; Chaze, Olivier; Cittolin, Sergio; Contescu, Cristian; Craigs, Benjamin Gordon; Darlea, Georgiana Lavinia; Deldicque, Christian; Demiragli, Zeynep; Dobson, Marc; Doualot, Nicolas; Erhan, Samim; Fulcher, Jonathan Richard; Gigi, Dominique; Gladki, Maciej Szymon; Glege, Frank; Gomez Ceballos, Guillelmo; Hegeman, Jeroen Guido; Holzner, Andre Georg; Janulis, Mindaugas; Jimenez Estupinan, Raul; Masetti, Lorenzo; Meijers, Franciscus; Meschi, Emilio; Mommsen, Remigius; Morovic, Srecko; O'Dell, Vivian; Orsini, Luciano; Paus, Christoph Maria Ernst; Petrova, Petia; Pieri, Marco; Racz, Attila; Reis, Thomas; Sakulin, Hannes; Schwick, Christoph; Simelevicius, Dainius; Zejdl, Petr

2017-01-01

The data acquisition system (DAQ) of the CMS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) assembles events at a rate of 100 kHz. It transports event data at an aggregate throughput of ~100 GB/s to the high-level trigger (HLT) farm. The CMS DAQ system has been completely rebuilt during the first long shutdown of the LHC in 2013/14. The new DAQ architecture is based on state-of-the-art network technologies for the event building. For the data concentration, 10/40 Gb/s Ethernet technologies are used together with a reduced TCP/IP protocol implemented in FPGA for a reliable transport between custom electronics and commercial computing hardware. A 56 Gb/s Infiniband FDR CLOS network has been chosen for the event builder. We report on the performance of the event builder system and the steps taken to exploit the full potential of the network technologies.

Reliability analysis of containment isolation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pelto, P.J.; Ames, K.R.; Gallucci, R.H.

1985-06-01

This report summarizes the results of the Reliability Analysis of Containment Isolation System Project. Work was performed in five basic areas: design review, operating experience review, related research review, generic analysis and plant specific analysis. Licensee Event Reports (LERs) and Integrated Leak Rate Test (ILRT) reports provided the major sources of containment performance information used in this study. Data extracted from LERs were assembled into a computer data base. Qualitative and quantitative information developed for containment performance under normal operating conditions and design basis accidents indicate that there is room for improvement. A rough estimate of overall containment unavailability for relatively small leaks which violate plant technical specifications is 0.3. An estimate of containment unavailability due to large leakage events is in the range of 0.001 to 0.01. These estimates are dependent on several assumptions (particularly on event duration times) which are documented in the report

Probabilistic risk assessment course documentation. Volume 5. System reliability and analysis techniques Session D - quantification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lofgren, E.V.

1985-08-01

This course in System Reliability and Analysis Techniques focuses on the probabilistic quantification of accident sequences and the link between accident sequences and consequences. Other sessions in this series focus on the quantification of system reliability and the development of event trees and fault trees. This course takes the viewpoint that event tree sequences or combinations of system failures and success are available and that Boolean equations for system fault trees have been developed and are available. 93 figs., 11 tabs

Risk and reliability analyses (LURI) and expert judgement techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pyy, P.; Pulkkinen, U.

1998-01-01

Probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) is currently used as a regulatory licensing tool in risk informed and plant performance based regulation. More often also utility safety improvements are based on PSA calculations as one criterion. PSA attempts to comprehensively identify all important risk contributors, compare them with each other, assess the safety level and suggest improvements based on its findings. The strength of PSA is that it is capable to provide decision makers with numerical estimates of risks. This makes decision making easier than the comparison of purely qualitative results. PSA is the only comprehensive tool that compactly attempts to include all the important risk contributors in its scope. Despite the demonstrated strengths of PSA, there are some features that have reduced its uses. For example, the PSA scope has been limited to the power operation and process internal events (transients and LOCAs). Only lately, areas such as shutdown, external events and severe accidents have been included in PSA models in many countries. Problems related to modelling are, e.g., that rather static fault and event tree models are commonly used in PSA to model dynamic event sequences. Even if a valid model may be generated, there may not be any other data sources to be used than expert judgement. Furthermore, there are a variety of different techniques for human reliability assessment (HRA) giving varying results. In the project Reliability and Risk Analyses (LURI) these limitations and shortcomings have been studied. In the decision making area, case studies on the application of decision analysis and a doctoral thesis have been published. Further, practical aid has been given to utilities and regulatory decision making. Model uncertainty effect on PSA results has been demonstrated by two case studies. Human reliability has been studied both in the integrated safety analysis study and in the study of maintenance originated NPP component faults based on the

New advances in human reliability using the EPRIHRA calculator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Julius, J. A.; Grobbelaar, J. F.

2006-01-01

This paper describes new advances in human reliability associated with the integration of HRA methods, lessons learned during the first few years of operation of the EPRI HRA / PRA Tools Users Group, and application of human reliability techniques in areas beyond the more traditional Level 1 internal events PRA. This paper is organized as follows. 1. EPRI HRA Users Group Overview (mission, membership, activities, approach) 2. HRA Methods Currently Used (selection, integration, and addressing dependencies) 3. New Advances in HRA Methods 4. Conclusions. (authors)

Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and structural invariance with age of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF)--French version.

Science.gov (United States)

Fournet, Nathalie; Roulin, Jean-Luc; Monnier, Catherine; Atzeni, Thierry; Cosnefroy, Olivier; Le Gall, Didier; Roy, Arnaud

2015-01-01

The parent and teacher forms of the French version of the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) were used to evaluate executive function in everyday life in a large sample of healthy children (N = 951) aged between 5 and 18. Several psychometric methods were applied, with a view to providing clinicians with tools for score interpretation. The parent and teacher forms of the BRIEF were acceptably reliable. Demographic variables (such as age and gender) were found to influence the BRIEF scores. Confirmatory factor analysis was then used to test five competing models of the BRIEF's latent structure. Two of these models (a three-factor model and a two-factor model, both based on a nine-scale structure) had a good fit. However, structural invariance with age was only obtained with the two-factor model. The French version of the BRIEF provides a useful measure of everyday executive function and can be recommended for use in clinical research and practice.

Availability, reliability and downtime of systems with repairable components

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiureghian, Armen Der; Ditlevsen, Ove Dalager; Song, J.

2007-01-01

Closed-form expressions are derived for the steady-state availability, mean rate of failure, mean duration of downtime and lower bound reliability of a general system with randomly and independently failing repairable components. Component failures are assumed to be homogeneous Poisson events in ...

Robustness of reliable change indices to variability in Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, T H; Renfroe, J B; Elm, J; Duppstadt-Delambo, A; Hinson, V K

2016-01-01

Ability to identify change is crucial for measuring response to interventions and tracking disease progression. Beyond psychometrics, investigations of Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) must consider fluctuating medication, motor, and mental status. One solution is to employ 90% reliable change indices (RCIs) from test manuals to account for account measurement error and practice effects. The current study examined robustness of 90% RCIs for 19 commonly used executive function tests in 14 PD-MCI subjects assigned to the placebo arm of a 10-week randomized controlled trial of atomoxetine in PD-MCI. Using 90% RCIs, the typical participant showed spurious improvement on one measure, and spurious decline on another. Reliability estimates from healthy adults standardization samples and PD-MCI were similar. In contrast to healthy adult samples, practice effects were minimal in this PD-MCI group. Separate 90% RCIs based on the PD-MCI sample did not further reduce error rate. In the present study, application of 90% RCIs based on healthy adults in standardization samples effectively reduced misidentification of change in a sample of PD-MCI. Our findings support continued application of 90% RCIs when using executive function tests to assess change in neurological populations with fluctuating status.

Disciplining and Screening Top Executives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S. Dominguez Martinez (Silvia); O.H. Swank (Otto); B. Visser (Bauke)

2006-01-01

textabstractBoards of directors face the twin task of disciplining and screening executives. To perform these tasks directors do not have detailed information about executives' behaviour, and only infrequently have information about the success or failure of initiated strategies, reorganizations,

Nurse executive transformational leadership found in participative organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunham-Taylor, J

2000-05-01

The study examined a national sample of 396 randomly selected hospital nurse executives to explore transformational leadership, stage of power, and organizational climate. Results from a few nurse executive studies have found nurse executives were transformational leaders. As executives were more transformational, they achieved better staff satisfaction and higher work group effectiveness. This study integrates Bass' transformational leadership model with Hagberg's power stage theory and Likert's organizational climate theory. Nurse executives (396) and staff reporting to them (1,115) rated the nurse executives' leadership style, staff extra effort, staff satisfaction, and work group effectiveness using Bass and Avolio's Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Executives' bosses (360) rated executive work group effectiveness. Executives completed Hagberg's Personal Power Profile and ranked their organizational climate using Likert's Profile of Organizational Characteristics. Nurse executives used transformational leadership fairly often; achieved fairly satisfied staff levels; were very effective according to bosses; were most likely at stage 3 (power by achievement) or stage 4 (power by reflection); and rated their hospital as a Likert System 3 Consultative Organization. Staff satisfaction and work group effectiveness decreased as nurse executives were more transactional. Higher transformational scores tended to occur with higher educational degrees and within more participative organizations. Transformational qualities can be enhanced by further education, by achieving higher power stages, and by being within more participative organizations.

A simple hypothesis of executive function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno eKopp

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Executive function is traditionally conceptualized as a set of abilities required to guide behavior toward goals. Here, an integrated theoretical framework for executive function is developed which has its roots in the notion of hierarchical mental models. Further following Duncan (2010a,b, executive function is construed as a hierarchical recursive system of test-operation-test-exit units (Miller, Galanter, and Pribram, 1960. Importantly, it is shown that this framework can be used to model the main regional prefrontal syndromes, which are characterized by apathetic, disinhibited and dysexecutive cognition and behavior, respectively. Implications of these considerations for the neuropsychological assessment of executive function are discussed.

Hemispheric Lateralization of Event-Related Brain Potentials in Different Processing Phases during Unimanual Finger Movements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi-Wen Li

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Previous functional MRI and brain electrophysiology studies have studied the left-right differences during the tapping tasks and found that the activation of left hemisphere was more significant than that of right hemisphere. In this study, we wanted to delineate this lateralization phenomenon not only in the execution phase but also in other processing phases, such as early visual, pre-executive and post-executive phases. We have designed a finger-tapping task to delineate the left-right differences of event related potentials (ERPs to right finger movement in sixteen right handed college students. The mean amplitudes of ERPs were analyzed to examine the left-right dominance of cortical activity in the phase of early visual process (75-120ms, pre-execution (175-260ms, execution (310-420ms and post-execution (420-620ms. In the execution phase, ERPs at the left electrodes were significantly more pronounced than those at the right electrodes (F3 > F4, C3 > C4, P3 > P4, O1 > O2 under the situation without comparing the central electrodes (Fz, Cz, Pz, and Oz. No difference was found between left and right electrodes in other three phases except the C3 electrode still showed more dominant than C4 in the pre- and post-execution phase. In conclusion, the phenomenon of brain lateralization occur major in the execution phase. The central area also showed the lateralization in the pre- and post-execution to demonstrate its unique lateralized contributions to unilateral simple finger movements.

Validity and Reliability of the Upper Extremity Work Demands Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Nora W; Berduszek, Redmar J; Dijkstra, Pieter U; van der Sluis, Corry K

2017-12-01

Purpose To evaluate validity and reliability of the upper extremity work demands (UEWD) scale. Methods Participants from different levels of physical work demands, based on the Dictionary of Occupational Titles categories, were included. A historical database of 74 workers was added for factor analysis. Criterion validity was evaluated by comparing observed and self-reported UEWD scores. To assess structural validity, a factor analysis was executed. For reliability, the difference between two self-reported UEWD scores, the smallest detectable change (SDC), test-retest reliability and internal consistency were determined. Results Fifty-four participants were observed at work and 51 of them filled in the UEWD twice with a mean interval of 16.6 days (SD 3.3, range = 10-25 days). Criterion validity of the UEWD scale was moderate (r = .44, p = .001). Factor analysis revealed that 'force and posture' and 'repetition' subscales could be distinguished with Cronbach's alpha of .79 and .84, respectively. Reliability was good; there was no significant difference between repeated measurements. An SDC of 5.0 was found. Test-retest reliability was good (intraclass correlation coefficient for agreement = .84) and all item-total correlations were >.30. There were two pairs of highly related items. Conclusion Reliability of the UEWD scale was good, but criterion validity was moderate. Based on current results, a modified UEWD scale (2 items removed, 1 item reworded, divided into 2 subscales) was proposed. Since observation appeared to be an inappropriate gold standard, we advise to investigate other types of validity, such as construct validity, in further research.

An Event-Triggered Online Energy Management Algorithm of Smart Home: Lyapunov Optimization Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Fan

2016-05-01

Full Text Available As an important component of the smart grid on the user side, a home energy management system is the core of optimal operation for a smart home. In this paper, the energy scheduling problem for a household equipped with photovoltaic devices was investigated. An online energy management algorithm based on event triggering was proposed. The Lyapunov optimization method was adopted to schedule controllable load in the household. Without forecasting related variables, real-time decisions were made based only on the current information. Energy could be rapidly regulated under the fluctuation of distributed generation, electricity demand and market price. The event-triggering mechanism was adopted to trigger the execution of the online algorithm, so as to cut down the execution frequency and unnecessary calculation. A comprehensive result obtained from simulation shows that the proposed algorithm could effectively decrease the electricity bills of users. Moreover, the required computational resource is small, which contributes to the low-cost energy management of a smart home.

History of Reliability and Quality Assurance at Kennedy Space Center

Science.gov (United States)

Childers, Frank M.

2004-01-01

This Kennedy Historical Document (KHD) provides a unique historical perspective of the organizational and functional responsibilities for the manned and un-manned programs at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. As systems become more complex and hazardous, the attention to detailed planning and execution continues to be a challenge. The need for a robust reliability and quality assurance program will always be a necessity to ensure mission success. As new space missions are defined and technology allows for continued access to space, these programs cannot be compromised. The organizational structure that has provided the reliability and quality assurance functions for both the manned and unmanned programs has seen many changes since the first group came to Florida in the 1950's. The roles of government and contractor personnel have changed with each program and organizational alignment has changed based on that responsibility. The organizational alignment of the personnel performing these functions must ensure independent assessment of the processes.

A Key Event Path Analysis Approach for Integrated Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingjing Liao

2012-01-01

Full Text Available By studying the key event paths of probabilistic event structure graphs (PESGs, a key event path analysis approach for integrated system models is proposed. According to translation rules concluded from integrated system architecture descriptions, the corresponding PESGs are constructed from the colored Petri Net (CPN models. Then the definitions of cycle event paths, sequence event paths, and key event paths are given. Whereafter based on the statistic results after the simulation of CPN models, key event paths are found out by the sensitive analysis approach. This approach focuses on the logic structures of CPN models, which is reliable and could be the basis of structured analysis for discrete event systems. An example of radar model is given to characterize the application of this approach, and the results are worthy of trust.

Reliability evaluation of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rondiris, I.L.

1978-10-01

The research described in this thesis is concerned with the reliability/safety analysis of complex systems, such as nuclear power stations, basically using the event tree methodology. The thesis introduces and assesses a computational technique which applies the methodology to complex systems by simulating their topology and operational logic. The technique develops the system event tree and relates each branch of this tree to its qualitative and quantitative impact on specified system outcomes following an abnormal operating condition. Then, the thesis aims at deducing the critical failure modes of complex systems. This is achieved by a new technique for deducing the minimal cut or tie sets of various system outcomes. The technique is, furthermore, expanded to identify potential common mode failures and cut or tie sets containing dependent failures of some components. After dealing with the qualitative part of a reliability study, the thesis introduces two methods for calculating the probability of a component being either in the failure or in the partial failure state. The first method deals with revealed faults and makes use of the concept of Markov processes. The second one deals with unrevealed faults and can be used to calculate the relevant probability of component taking into account its inspection and replacement process. (author)

Executive Functioning Heterogeneity in Pediatric ADHD.

Science.gov (United States)

Kofler, Michael J; Irwin, Lauren N; Soto, Elia F; Groves, Nicole B; Harmon, Sherelle L; Sarver, Dustin E

2018-04-28

Neurocognitive heterogeneity is increasingly recognized as a valid phenomenon in ADHD, with most estimates suggesting that executive dysfunction is present in only about 33%-50% of these children. However, recent critiques question the veracity of these estimates because our understanding of executive functioning in ADHD is based, in large part, on data from single tasks developed to detect gross neurological impairment rather than the specific executive processes hypothesized to underlie the ADHD phenotype. The current study is the first to comprehensively assess heterogeneity in all three primary executive functions in ADHD using a criterion battery that includes multiple tests per construct (working memory, inhibitory control, set shifting). Children ages 8-13 (M = 10.37, SD = 1.39) with and without ADHD (N = 136; 64 girls; 62% Caucasian/Non-Hispanic) completed a counterbalanced series of executive function tests. Accounting for task unreliability, results indicated significantly improved sensitivity and specificity relative to prior estimates, with 89% of children with ADHD demonstrating objectively-defined impairment on at least one executive function (62% impaired working memory, 27% impaired inhibitory control, 38% impaired set shifting; 54% impaired on one executive function, 35% impaired on two or all three executive functions). Children with working memory deficits showed higher parent- and teacher-reported ADHD inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms (BF 10  = 5.23 × 10 4 ), and were slightly younger (BF 10  = 11.35) than children without working memory deficits. Children with vs. without set shifting or inhibitory control deficits did not differ on ADHD symptoms, age, gender, IQ, SES, or medication status. Taken together, these findings confirm that ADHD is characterized by neurocognitive heterogeneity, while suggesting that contemporary, cognitively-informed criteria may provide improved precision for identifying a

Validity and Reliability of the U.S. National Cancer Institute's Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE)

Science.gov (United States)

Dueck, Amylou C.; Mendoza, Tito R.; Mitchell, Sandra A.; Reeve, Bryce B.; Castro, Kathleen M.; Rogak, Lauren J.; Atkinson, Thomas M.; Bennett, Antonia V.; Denicoff, Andrea M.; O'Mara, Ann M.; Li, Yuelin; Clauser, Steven B.; Bryant, Donna M.; Bearden, James D.; Gillis, Theresa A.; Harness, Jay K.; Siegel, Robert D.; Paul, Diane B.; Cleeland, Charles S.; Schrag, Deborah; Sloan, Jeff A.; Abernethy, Amy P.; Bruner, Deborah W.; Minasian, Lori M.; Basch, Ethan

2016-01-01

Importance Symptomatic adverse events (AEs) in cancer trials are currently reported by clinicians using the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). To integrate the patient perspective, the NCI developed a patient-reported outcomes version of the CTCAE (PRO-CTCAE) to capture symptomatic AEs directly from patients. Objective To assess the construct validity, test-retest reliability, and responsiveness of PRO-CTCAE items. Design Participants completed PRO-CTCAE items on tablet computers in clinic waiting rooms at two visits 1-6 weeks apart. A subset completed PRO-CTCAE items during an additional visit one business day after the first visit. Setting Nine U.S. cancer centers and community oncology practices. Participants 975 adult cancer patients undergoing outpatient chemotherapy and/or radiation enrolled between January 2011 and February 2012. Eligibility required participants to read English and be without clinically significant cognitive impairment. Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s) Primary comparators were clinician-reported Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30). Results 940/975 (96%) and 852/940 (91%) participants completed PRO-CTCAE items at each visit. 938/940 (99.8%) participants (53% female, median age 59, 32% high school education or less, 17% ECOG PS 2-4) reported having at least one symptom. All PRO-CTCAE items had at least one correlation in the expected direction with a QLQ-C30 scale (111/124 P<.05). Stronger correlations were seen between PRO-CTCAE items and conceptually-related QLQ-C30 domains. Scores for 94/124 PRO-CTCAE items were higher in the ECOG PS 2-4 versus 0-1 group (58/124 P<.05). Overall, 119/124 items met at least one construct validity criterion. Test-retest reliability was acceptable for 36/49 pre-specified items (median intra-class correlation coefficient

A study of the recovery from 120 events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumont, Genevieve; Menage, F.; Bigot, F.

1998-01-01

The author reports a study which aimed at providing additional information for improving safety by using event analysis. The approach concentrates on the dynamics of error detection and the way errors and shortcomings are managed. The study is based on a systematic analysis of 120 events in nuclear power plants. The authors first outline the differences between the activities described in significant events and that which is assumed to take place during event and accident situations. They describe the methods used to transpose human reliability PSA model to event analysis, report the analysis (event selection, data studied during event analysis, types of errors). Studies concern events during power operation or plant outage. Results are analyzed in terms of number of events, percentage of error type, percentage of activation of engineered safety features before operators recovered the situation. They comment who recovers the error and how it is recovered, and more precisely discuss the case of multiple error situations

Discretely Integrated Condition Event (DICE) Simulation for Pharmacoeconomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Caro, J Jaime

2016-07-01

Several decision-analytic modeling techniques are in use for pharmacoeconomic analyses. Discretely integrated condition event (DICE) simulation is proposed as a unifying approach that has been deliberately designed to meet the modeling requirements in a straightforward transparent way, without forcing assumptions (e.g., only one transition per cycle) or unnecessary complexity. At the core of DICE are conditions that represent aspects that persist over time. They have levels that can change and many may coexist. Events reflect instantaneous occurrences that may modify some conditions or the timing of other events. The conditions are discretely integrated with events by updating their levels at those times. Profiles of determinant values allow for differences among patients in the predictors of the disease course. Any number of valuations (e.g., utility, cost, willingness-to-pay) of conditions and events can be applied concurrently in a single run. A DICE model is conveniently specified in a series of tables that follow a consistent format and the simulation can be implemented fully in MS Excel, facilitating review and validation. DICE incorporates both state-transition (Markov) models and non-resource-constrained discrete event simulation in a single formulation; it can be executed as a cohort or a microsimulation; and deterministically or stochastically.

Parallel Execution of Functional Mock-up Units in Buildings Modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ozmen, Ozgur [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Nutaro, James J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); New, Joshua Ryan [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2016-06-30

A Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) defines a standardized interface to be used in computer simulations to develop complex cyber-physical systems. FMI implementation by a software modeling tool enables the creation of a simulation model that can be interconnected, or the creation of a software library called a Functional Mock-up Unit (FMU). This report describes an FMU wrapper implementation that imports FMUs into a C++ environment and uses an Euler solver that executes FMUs in parallel using Open Multi-Processing (OpenMP). The purpose of this report is to elucidate the runtime performance of the solver when a multi-component system is imported as a single FMU (for the whole system) or as multiple FMUs (for different groups of components as sub-systems). This performance comparison is conducted using two test cases: (1) a simple, multi-tank problem; and (2) a more realistic use case based on the Modelica Buildings Library. In both test cases, the performance gains are promising when each FMU consists of a large number of states and state events that are wrapped in a single FMU. Load balancing is demonstrated to be a critical factor in speeding up parallel execution of multiple FMUs.

Operational reliability testing of FBR fuel in EBR-II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asaga, Takeo; Ukai, Shigeharu; Nomura, Shigeo; Shikakura, Sakae

1991-01-01

The operational reliability testing of FBR fuel has been conducting in EBR-II as a DOE/PNC collaboration program. This paper reviews the achieved summary of Phase-I test as well as outline of progressing Phase-II test. In Phase-I test, the reliability of FBR fuel pins including 'MONJU' fuel was demonstrated at the event of operational transient. Continued operation of the failed pins was also shown to be feasible without affecting the plant operation. The objectives of the Phase-II test is to extend the data base relating with the operational reliability for long life fuel, and to supply the highly quantitative evaluation. The valuable insight obtained in Phase-II test are considerably expected to be useful toward the achievement of commercial FBR. (author)

Building the blocks of executive functioning: differentiating early developing processes contributing to executive functioning skills

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mandell, D.J.; Ward, S.E.

2011-01-01

The neural processes that underlie executive function begin to develop in infancy. However, it is unclear how the behavior manifested by these processes are related or if they can be differentiated early in development. This study seeks to examine early emerging executive functioning skills in

A Novel Approach For Event-By-Event Early Gluon Fields

Science.gov (United States)

Fries, Rainer J.; Rose, Steven

2017-08-01

We report on efforts to construct an event generator that calculates the classical gluon field generated at early times in high energy nuclear collisions. Existing approaches utilize numerical solutions of the Yang-Mills equations after the collision. In contrast we employ the analytically known recursion relation in the forward light cone. The few lowest orders are expected to lead to reliable results for times of up to the inverse saturation scale, τ0 ∼ 1 /Qs. In these proceedings we sketch some calculational details, and show some preliminary results.

Self-report measures of prospective memory are reliable but not valid.

Science.gov (United States)

Uttl, Bob; Kibreab, Mekale

2011-03-01

Are self-report measures of prospective memory (ProM) reliable and valid? To examine this question, 240 undergraduate student volunteers completed several widely used self-report measures of ProM including the Prospective Memory Questionnaire (PMQ), the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), the Comprehensive Assessment of Prospective Memory (CAPM) questionnaire, self-reports of retrospective memory (RetM), objective measures of ProM and RetM, and measures of involvement in activities and events, memory strategies and aids use, personality and verbal intelligence. The results showed that both convergent and divergent validity of ProM self-reports are poor, even though we assessed ProM using a newly developed, reliable continuous measure. Further analyses showed that a substantial proportion of variability in ProM self-report scores was due to verbal intelligence, personality (conscientiousness, neuroticism), activities and event involvement (busyness), and use of memory strategies and aids. ProM self-reports have adequate reliability, but poor validity and should not be interpreted as reflecting ProM ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).

Sexual Harassment and Organizational Outcomes Executive Summary

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-01

quid pro quo type of Sexual harassment and Organizational, 4 sexual harassment (e.g., sexual coercion). This should drive organizational efforts to... Sexual Harassment and Organizational Outcomes Executive Summary Charlie L. Law DEFENSE EQUAL...Executive Summary] No. 99-11 Sexual harassment and Organizational, 2 Executive Summary Issue

Brain levels of high-energy phosphate metabolites and executive function in geriatric depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, David G; Joe, Elizabeth B; Jensen, J Eric; Ravichandran, Caitlin; Forester, Brent P

2016-11-01

Depression in late life has been associated with difficulties in cognitive processing, particularly in the domains of executive function, processing speed and memory, and increases the risk of developing dementia suggesting a neurodegenerative phenotype. Mitochondrial dysfunction is frequently an early event in neurodegenerative illnesses and may be operative in patients with late life depression. Phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P MRS) allows for the quantification of bioenergetic molecules produced by mitochondria. Ten patients with late life depression and eight normal elderly controls were studied with Stroop color and interference tests, which are widely used measures of processing speed and executive function, respectively, followed by (31P) MRS 3-dimensional chemical-shift imaging measuring levels of adenosine triphosphate, phosphocreatine, inorganic phosphate, and pH over the whole brain. In all subjects, gray matter phosphocreatine was positively associated with Stroop interference. Levels of white matter adenosine triphosphate were associated with Stroop interference in subjects with late life depression but not normal elderly. There was also a complementary association between white matter inorganic phosphate and Stroop interference in late life depression patients. These findings suggest two independent sources of executive function dependence on bioenergetic state in the aging brain. The dependence of executive function performance in subjects with late life depression on ATP in white matter may be associated with mitochondrial impairment and is consistent with predictions of the vascular depression hypothesis. Further research with wider neuropsychological testing targeting bioenergetic markers could help clarify the scope of these effects. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Executive function, episodic memory, and Medicare expenditures.

Science.gov (United States)

Bender, Alex C; Austin, Andrea M; Grodstein, Francine; Bynum, Julie P W

2017-07-01

We examined the relationship between health care expenditures and cognition, focusing on differences across cognitive systems defined by global cognition, executive function, or episodic memory. We used linear regression models to compare annual health expenditures by cognitive status in 8125 Nurses' Health Study participants who completed a cognitive battery and were enrolled in Medicare parts A and B. Adjusting for demographics and comorbidity, executive impairment was associated with higher total annual expenditures of $1488 per person (P episodic memory impairment was found. Expenditures exhibited a linear relationship with executive function, but not episodic memory ($584 higher for every 1 standard deviation decrement in executive function; P < .01). Impairment in executive function is specifically and linearly associated with higher health care expenditures. Focusing on management strategies that address early losses in executive function may be effective in reducing costly services. Copyright © 2017 the Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Independence and executive remuneration for supervisory board members and non-executive directors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hana Horak

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the author analyses the issues of independence and rewarding members of supervisory boards and non-executive directors in administrative boards. The question of independence was developed as one of the fundamental issues of corporative administration. Members of these organs of society should have the appropriate qualifications, specific knowledge and skills in order to reasonably and impartially weigh up social business and reach decisions in the best interests of society, its members and other interest holders. So that they can act in accordance with this, the presumption is that they are independent. Recently, after financial crises, it is precisely the independence of supervisory members, that is, non-executive directors, which is considered to be the foundation of the fight against the opportunism of administration and main shareholders. The authors analyse the Recommendations on Independence and Executive Remuneration for members of supervisory and administrative boards of the European Union, together with their implementation in Croatian law and practice.

Fifty Years of THERP and Human Reliability Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ronald L. Boring

2012-06-01

In 1962 at a Human Factors Society symposium, Alan Swain presented a paper introducing a Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction (THERP). This was followed in 1963 by a Sandia Laboratories monograph outlining basic human error quantification using THERP and, in 1964, by a special journal edition of Human Factors on quantification of human performance. Throughout the 1960s, Swain and his colleagues focused on collecting human performance data for the Sandia Human Error Rate Bank (SHERB), primarily in connection with supporting the reliability of nuclear weapons assembly in the US. In 1969, Swain met with Jens Rasmussen of Risø National Laboratory and discussed the applicability of THERP to nuclear power applications. By 1975, in WASH-1400, Swain had articulated the use of THERP for nuclear power applications, and the approach was finalized in the watershed publication of the NUREG/CR-1278 in 1983. THERP is now 50 years old, and remains the most well known and most widely used HRA method. In this paper, the author discusses the history of THERP, based on published reports and personal communication and interviews with Swain. The author also outlines the significance of THERP. The foundations of human reliability analysis are found in THERP: human failure events, task analysis, performance shaping factors, human error probabilities, dependence, event trees, recovery, and pre- and post-initiating events were all introduced in THERP. While THERP is not without its detractors, and it is showing signs of its age in the face of newer technological applications, the longevity of THERP is a testament of its tremendous significance. THERP started the field of human reliability analysis. This paper concludes with a discussion of THERP in the context of newer methods, which can be seen as extensions of or departures from Swain’s pioneering work.

Reliability-based failure cause assessment of collapsed bridge during construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Hyun-Ho; Lee, Sang-Yoon; Choi, Il-Yoon; Cho, Hyo-Nam; Mahadevan, Sankaran

2006-01-01

Until now, in many forensic reports, the failure cause assessments are usually carried out by a deterministic approach so far. However, it may be possible for the forensic investigation to lead to unreasonable results far from the real collapse scenario, because the deterministic approach does not systematically take into account any information on the uncertainties involved in the failures of structures. Reliability-based failure cause assessment (reliability-based forensic engineering) methodology is developed which can incorporate the uncertainties involved in structural failures and structures, and to apply them to the collapsed bridge in order to identify the most critical failure scenario and find the cause that triggered the bridge collapse. Moreover, to save the time and cost of evaluation, an algorithm of automated event tree analysis (ETA) is proposed and possible to automatically calculate the failure probabilities of the failure events and the occurrence probabilities of failure scenarios. Also, for reliability analysis, uncertainties are estimated more reasonably by using the Bayesian approach based on the experimental laboratory testing data in the forensic report. For the applicability, the proposed approach is applied to the Hang-ju Grand Bridge, which collapsed during construction, and compared with deterministic approach

The item level psychometrics of the behaviour rating inventory of executive function-adult (BRIEF-A) in a TBI sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Waid-Ebbs, J Kay; Wen, Pey-Shan; Heaton, Shelley C; Donovan, Neila J; Velozo, Craig

2012-01-01

To determine whether the psychometrics of the BRIEF-A are adequate for individuals diagnosed with TBI. A prospective observational study in which the BRIEF-A was collected as part of a larger study. Informant ratings of the 75-item BRIEF-A on 89 individuals diagnosed with TBI were examined to determine items level psychometrics for each of the two BRIEF-A indexes: Behaviour Rating Index (BRI) and Metacognitive Index (MI). Patients were either outpatients or at least 1 year post-injury. Each index measured a latent trait, separating individuals into five-to-six ability levels and demonstrated good reliability (0.94 and 0.96). Four items were identified that did not meet the infit criteria. The results provide support for the use of the BRIEF-A as a supplemental assessment of executive function in TBI populations. However, further validation is needed with other measures of executive function. Recommendations include use of the index scores over the Global Executive Composite score and use of the difficulty hierarchy for setting therapy goals.

Assessing Executive Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Disorders: A Critical Review of Brief Neuropsychological Tools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helena S. Moreira

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Executive function (EF has been defined as a multifaceted construct that involves a variety of high-level cognitive abilities such as planning, working memory, mental flexibility, and inhibition. Being able to identify deficits in EF is important for the diagnosis and monitoring of several neurodegenerative disorders, and thus their assessment is a topic of much debate. In particular, there has been a growing interest in the development of neuropsychological screening tools that can potentially provide a reliable quick measure of EF. In this review, we critically discuss the four screening tools of EF currently available in the literature: Executive Interview-25 (EXIT 25, Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB, INECO Frontal Screening (IFS, and FRONTIER Executive Screen (FES. We first describe their features, and then evaluate their psychometric properties, the existing evidence on their neural correlates, and the empirical work that has been conducted in clinical populations. We conclude that the four screening tools generally present appropriate psychometric properties, and are sensitive to impairments in EF in several neurodegenerative conditions. However, more research will be needed mostly with respect to normative data and neural correlates, and to determine the extent to which these tools add specific information to the one provided by global cognition screening tests. More research directly comparing the available tools with each other will also be important to establish in which conditions each of them can be most useful.

Intelligent Transportation Control based on Proactive Complex Event Processing

OpenAIRE

Wang Yongheng; Geng Shaofeng; Li Qian

2016-01-01

Complex Event Processing (CEP) has become the key part of Internet of Things (IoT). Proactive CEP can predict future system states and execute some actions to avoid unwanted states which brings new hope to intelligent transportation control. In this paper, we propose a proactive CEP architecture and method for intelligent transportation control. Based on basic CEP technology and predictive analytic technology, a networked distributed Markov decision processes model with predicting states is p...

Reliability of the emergency AC power system at nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Battle, R.E.; Campbell, D.J.; Baranowsky, P.W.

1983-01-01

The reliability of the emergency ac power systems typical of most nuclear power plants was estimated, and the cost and increase in reliability for several improvements were estimated. Fault trees were constructed based on a detailed design review of the emergency ac power systems of 18 nuclear plants. The failure probabilities used in the fault trees were calculated from extensive historical data collected from Licensee Event Reports (LERs) and from operating experience information obtained from nuclear plant licensees. No one or two improvements can be made at all plants to significantly increase the industry-average emergency ac power system reliability; rather the most beneficial improvements are varied and plant specific. Improvements in reliability and the associated costs are estimated using plant specific designs and failure probabilities

Reliability analysis of diverse safety logic systems of fast breeder reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravi Kumar, Bh.; Apte, P.R.; Srivani, L.; Ilango Sambasivan, S.; Swaminathan, P.

2006-01-01

Safety Logic for Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) is designed to initiate safety action against Design Basis Events. Based on the outputs of various processing circuits, Safety logic system drives the control rods of the shutdown system. So, Safety Logic system is classified as safety critical system. Therefore, reliability analysis has to be performed. This paper discusses the Reliability analysis of Diverse Safety logic systems of FBRs. For this literature survey on safety critical systems, system reliability approach and standards to be followed like IEC-61508 are discussed in detail. For Programmable Logic device based systems, Hardware Description Languages (HDL) are used. So this paper also discusses the Verification and Validation for HDLs. Finally a case study for the Reliability analysis of Safety logic is discussed. (author)

The contribution of executive control to semantic cognition: Convergent evidence from semantic aphasia and executive dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Hannah E; Almaghyuli, Azizah; Noonan, Krist A; Barak, Ohr; Lambon Ralph, Matthew A; Jefferies, Elizabeth

2018-01-03

Semantic cognition, as described by the controlled semantic cognition (CSC) framework (Rogers et al., , Neuropsychologia, 76, 220), involves two key components: activation of coherent, generalizable concepts within a heteromodal 'hub' in combination with modality-specific features (spokes), and a constraining mechanism that manipulates and gates this knowledge to generate time- and task-appropriate behaviour. Executive-semantic goal representations, largely supported by executive regions such as frontal and parietal cortex, are thought to allow the generation of non-dominant aspects of knowledge when these are appropriate for the task or context. Semantic aphasia (SA) patients have executive-semantic deficits, and these are correlated with general executive impairment. If the CSC proposal is correct, patients with executive impairment should not only exhibit impaired semantic cognition, but should also show characteristics that align with those observed in SA. This possibility remains largely untested, as patients selected on the basis that they show executive impairment (i.e., with 'dysexecutive syndrome') have not been extensively tested on tasks tapping semantic control and have not been previously compared with SA cases. We explored conceptual processing in 12 patients showing symptoms consistent with dysexecutive syndrome (DYS) and 24 SA patients, using a range of multimodal semantic assessments which manipulated control demands. Patients with executive impairments, despite not being selected to show semantic impairments, nevertheless showed parallel patterns to SA cases. They showed strong effects of distractor strength, cues and miscues, and probe-target distance, plus minimal effects of word frequency on comprehension (unlike semantic dementia patients with degradation of conceptual knowledge). This supports a component process account of semantic cognition in which retrieval is shaped by control processes, and confirms that deficits in SA patients reflect

ATLAS EventIndex General Dataflow and Monitoring Infrastructure

CERN Document Server

Barberis, Dario; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The ATLAS EventIndex has been running in production since mid-2015, reliably collecting information worldwide about all produced events and storing them in a central Hadoop infrastructure at CERN. A subset of this information is copied to an Oracle relational database for fast datasets discovery, event-picking, crosschecks with other ATLAS systems and checks for event duplication. The system design and its optimization is serving event picking from requests of a few events up to scales of tens of thousand of events, and in addition, data consistency checks are performed for large production campaigns. Detecting duplicate events with a scope of physics collections has recently arisen as an important use case. This paper describes the general architecture of the project and the data flow and operation issues, which are addressed by recent developments to improve the throughput of the overall system. In this direction, the data collection system is reducing the usage of the messaging infrastructure to overcome t...

ATLAS EventIndex general dataflow and monitoring infrastructure

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)638886; The ATLAS collaboration; Barberis, Dario; Favareto, Andrea; Garcia Montoro, Carlos; Gonzalez de la Hoz, Santiago; Hrivnac, Julius; Prokoshin, Fedor; Salt, Jose; Sanchez, Javier; Toebbicke, Rainer; Yuan, Ruijun

2017-01-01

The ATLAS EventIndex has been running in production since mid-2015, reliably collecting information worldwide about all produced events and storing them in a central Hadoop infrastructure at CERN. A subset of this information is copied to an Oracle relational database for fast dataset discovery, event-picking, crosschecks with other ATLAS systems and checks for event duplication. The system design and its optimization is serving event picking from requests of a few events up to scales of tens of thousand of events, and in addition, data consistency checks are performed for large production campaigns. Detecting duplicate events with a scope of physics collections has recently arisen as an important use case. This paper describes the general architecture of the project and the data flow and operation issues, which are addressed by recent developments to improve the throughput of the overall system. In this direction, the data collection system is reducing the usage of the messaging infrastructure to overcome th...

People consider reliability and cost when verifying their autobiographical memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Wade, Kimberley A; Nash, Robert A; Garry, Maryanne

2014-02-01

Because memories are not always accurate, people rely on a variety of strategies to verify whether the events that they remember really did occur. Several studies have examined which strategies people tend to use, but none to date has asked why people opt for certain strategies over others. Here we examined the extent to which people's beliefs about the reliability and the cost of different strategies would determine their strategy selection. Subjects described a childhood memory and then suggested strategies they might use to verify the accuracy of that memory. Next, they rated the reliability and cost of each strategy, and the likelihood that they might use it. Reliability and cost each predicted strategy selection, but a combination of the two ratings provided even greater predictive value. Cost was significantly more influential than reliability, which suggests that a tendency to seek and to value "cheap" information more than reliable information could underlie many real-world memory errors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Construction and updating of a public events questionnaire for repeated measures longitudinal studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martha eNoone

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Impairments of retrospective memory and cases of retrograde amnesia are often seen in clinical settings. A measure of the proportion of memories retained over a specified time can be useful in clinical situations and public events questionnaires may be valuable in this respect. However, consistency of retention of public events memory has rarely been studied in the same participants. In addition, when used in a research context, public events questionnaires require updating to ensure questions are of equivalent age with respect to when the test is taken. This paper describes an approach to constructing and updating a Public Events Questionnaire (PEQ for use with a sample that is recruited and followed-up over a long time-period. Internal consistency, parallel-form reliability, test-retest reliability and secondary validity analyses were examined for three versions of the PEQ that were updated every six months. Versions 2 and 3 of the questionnaire were reliable across and within versions and for recall and recognition. Change over time was comparable across each version of the PEQ. These results show that PEQs can be regularly updated in a standardised fashion to allow use throughout studies with long recruitment periods.

Construction and updating of a public events questionnaire for repeated measures longitudinal studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Noone, Martha; Semkovska, Maria; Carton, Mary; Dunne, Ross; Horgan, John-Paul; O'Kane, Breige; McLoughlin, Declan M

2014-01-01

Impairments of retrospective memory and cases of retrograde amnesia are often seen in clinical settings. A measure of the proportion of memories retained over a specified time can be useful in clinical situations and public events questionnaires may be valuable in this respect. However, consistency of retention of public events memory has rarely been studied in the same participants. In addition, when used in a research context, public events questionnaires require updating to ensure questions are of equivalent age with respect to when the test is taken. This paper describes an approach to constructing and updating a Public Events Questionnaire (PEQ) for use with a sample that is recruited and followed-up over a long time-period. Internal consistency, parallel-form reliability, test-retest reliability, and secondary validity analyses were examined for three versions of the PEQ that were updated every 6 months. Versions 2 and 3 of the questionnaire were reliable across and within versions and for recall and recognition. Change over time was comparable across each version of the PEQ. These results show that PEQs can be regularly updated in a standardized fashion to allow use throughout studies with long recruitment periods.

Culture, executive function, and social understanding.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Charlie; Koyasu, Masuo; Oh, Seungmi; Ogawa, Ayako; Short, Benjamin; Huang, Zhao

2009-01-01

Much of the evidence from the West has shown links between children's developing self-control (executive function), their social experiences, and their social understanding (Carpendale & Lewis, 2006, chapters 5 and 6), across a range of cultures including China. This chapter describes four studies conducted in three Oriental cultures, suggesting that the relationships among social interaction, executive function, and social understanding are different in these cultures, implying that social and executive skills are underpinned by key cultural processes.

Reliability of Offshore Wind Turbine Drivetrains based on Measured Shut-down Events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Natarajan, Anand; Buhl, Thomas

2015-01-01

by initiating blade pitching to feather and also sometimes using the generator torqueas a brake mechanism. The shutdowns due to wind speed variation nearcut-out are predicted using an Inverse First Order Reliability Model(IFORM) whereby an expected annual frequency of normal shutdownsat cut-out is put forth...... normal operation and with shutdowns. The maximum coefficient of variation (CoV) due to varying wind conditions was found on the low speed shaft torsion, but the shutdowns by themselves were not seento significantly change the fatigue loads....

Human reliability analysis for steam generator feed-and-bleed accident in Bushehr NPP-1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jafarian, Reza; Sepanloo, Kamran

2006-01-01

According to the incident/accident reports, unsuccessful implementation of steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure is one of the most important events in nuclear power plants operation which greatly contributes to the level of risk of the plants. Generally, the loss of all feed water pumps flow (as one of the precursors) results in failure to maintain adequate cooling of the reactor core unless the operating crew initiate and follow the feed-and-bleed procedure correctly and timely. In this paper, firstly, a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) event tree is presented delineating the major human activities and errors in the implementation of the steam generator (SG) feed-and-bleed procedure following the loss of (both normal and emergency) water feed to four SGs of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 (BNPP-1). Secondly, the graphical method of task analysis as a part of HRA is used as a means of delineating correct and incorrect human actions. To be used in the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), the outputs of the HRA event trees are fed into the system event trees, functional event trees or system fault trees. As a part of a probabilistic risk assessment of BNPP-1 and to assess the reliability of control room operators, a human reliability analysis model is applied based on the THERP (Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction) technique. The THERP method is used in the form of event trees named as the probability tree diagrams. In this research the Human Reliability Analysis event tree is constructed based on the background information and assumptions made and on a similar NPP task analysis. It is done so because the BNPP-1 is not an operational nuclear power plant. Thirdly, based on NUREG/CR-1278 Handbook, a computer program has been developed in Visual Basic language and used to illustrate the major human activities and determination of error rates of operators in the course of the implementation of the steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure. Finally, total

Human Reliability Analysis for steam generator feed-and-bleed accident in Bushehr NPP-1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jafarian, R.; Sepanloo, K.

2005-01-01

According to the incident/accident reports, unsuccessful implementation of steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure is one of the most important events in nuclear power plants operation which greatly contributes to the level of risk of the plants. Generally, the loss of all feed water pumps flow (as one of the precursors) results in failure to maintain adequate cooling of the reactor core unless the operating crew initiate and follow the feed-and-bleed procedure correctly and timely. In this paper, firstly, a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) event tree is presented delineating the major human activities and errors in the implementation of the steam generator (SG) feed-and-bleed procedure following the loss of (both normal and emergency) water feed to four SGs of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant unit1 (BNPP-1). Secondly, the graphical method of task analysis as a part of HRA is used as a means of delineating correct and incorrect human actions. To be used in the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), the outputs of the HRA event trees are fed into the system event trees, functional event trees or system fault trees. As a part of a probabilistic risk assessment of BNPP-1 and to assess the reliability of control room operators, a human reliability analysis model is applied based on the THERP (Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction) technique. The THERP method is used in the form of event trees named as the probability tree diagrams. In this research the Human Reliability Analysis event tree is constructed based on the background information and assumptions made and on a similar NPP task analysis. It is done so because the BNPP-1 is not an operational nuclear power plant. Thirdly, based on NUREG/CR-1278 Handbook, a computer program has been developed in Visual Basic language and used to illustrate the major human activities and determination of error rates of operators in the course of the implementation of the steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure. Finally, total

Developmental Changes in Executive Functioning

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kerry; Bull, Rebecca; Ho, Ringo M. H.

2013-01-01

Although early studies of executive functioning in children supported Miyake et al.'s (2000) three-factor model, more recent findings supported a variety of undifferentiated or two-factor structures. Using a cohort-sequential design, this study examined whether there were age-related differences in the structure of executive functioning among…

ARC Code TI: IPG Execution Service

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Execution Service allows users to submit, monitor, and cancel complex jobs. Each job consists of a set of tasks that perform actions such as executing...

Executive Competencies of Nurses within the Veterans Health Administration: Comparison of Current and Future Nurse Executive Views

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sutto, Natalie B

2006-01-01

...). Using the Delphi method for executive decision-making, 144 current nurse executives, as well as 168 nurses identified for potential selection to this position, judged the relative importance of SKAs...

Reliability engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Chi Woo; Kim, Sun Jin; Lee, Seung Woo; Jeong, Sang Yeong

1993-08-01

This book start what is reliability? such as origin of reliability problems, definition of reliability and reliability and use of reliability. It also deals with probability and calculation of reliability, reliability function and failure rate, probability distribution of reliability, assumption of MTBF, process of probability distribution, down time, maintainability and availability, break down maintenance and preventive maintenance design of reliability, design of reliability for prediction and statistics, reliability test, reliability data and design and management of reliability.

Quantitative reliability assessment for safety critical system software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Dae Won; Kwon, Soon Man

2005-01-01

An essential issue in the replacement of the old analogue I and C to computer-based digital systems in nuclear power plants is the quantitative software reliability assessment. Software reliability models have been successfully applied to many industrial applications, but have the unfortunate drawback of requiring data from which one can formulate a model. Software which is developed for safety critical applications is frequently unable to produce such data for at least two reasons. First, the software is frequently one-of-a-kind, and second, it rarely fails. Safety critical software is normally expected to pass every unit test producing precious little failure data. The basic premise of the rare events approach is that well-tested software does not fail under normal routine and input signals, which means that failures must be triggered by unusual input data and computer states. The failure data found under the reasonable testing cases and testing time for these conditions should be considered for the quantitative reliability assessment. We will present the quantitative reliability assessment methodology of safety critical software for rare failure cases in this paper

Toward synthesizing executable models in biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Jasmin; Piterman, Nir; Bodik, Rastislav

2014-01-01

Over the last decade, executable models of biological behaviors have repeatedly provided new scientific discoveries, uncovered novel insights, and directed new experimental avenues. These models are computer programs whose execution mechanistically simulates aspects of the cell's behaviors. If the observed behavior of the program agrees with the observed biological behavior, then the program explains the phenomena. This approach has proven beneficial for gaining new biological insights and directing new experimental avenues. One advantage of this approach is that techniques for analysis of computer programs can be applied to the analysis of executable models. For example, one can confirm that a model agrees with experiments for all possible executions of the model (corresponding to all environmental conditions), even if there are a huge number of executions. Various formal methods have been adapted for this context, for example, model checking or symbolic analysis of state spaces. To avoid manual construction of executable models, one can apply synthesis, a method to produce programs automatically from high-level specifications. In the context of biological modeling, synthesis would correspond to extracting executable models from experimental data. We survey recent results about the usage of the techniques underlying synthesis of computer programs for the inference of biological models from experimental data. We describe synthesis of biological models from curated mutation experiment data, inferring network connectivity models from phosphoproteomic data, and synthesis of Boolean networks from gene expression data. While much work has been done on automated analysis of similar datasets using machine learning and artificial intelligence, using synthesis techniques provides new opportunities such as efficient computation of disambiguating experiments, as well as the ability to produce different kinds of models automatically from biological data.

EMI Execution Service Specification 1.0

CERN Document Server

Schuller, B. (JUELICH); Smirnova, O (Lund University); Konstantinov, A. (Oslo University); Skou Andersen, M. (University of Copenhagen); Riedel, M. (JUELICH); Memon, A.S. (JUELICH); Memon, M.S. (JUELICH); Zangrando, L. (INFN); Sgaravatto, M. (INFN); Frizziero, E. (INFN)

2010-01-01

This document provides the interface specification, including related data models such as state model, activity description, resource and activity information, of an execution service, matching the needs of the EMI production middleware stack composed of ARC, gLite and UNICORE components. This service therefore is referred to as the EMI Execution Service (or “ES” for short). This document is a continuation of the work previously known as the GENEVA, then AGU (“ARC, gLite UNICORE”), then PGI execution service.

PERCEPTIONS OF EXECUTIVE PAYMENT ABUSE IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tudor Pendiuc

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In the aftermath of the financial crisis, executive compensation abuse has been deeply criticized. Thus, the actuality of research is undeniable. The article highlights the importance of learning from other institutions’ past and present executive compensation abuse experiences by presenting the participants’ shared experiences (having to do with executive compensation abuse and by studying how participants perceive executive compensation abuse. The main objective of this research lies in exploring participants’ shared experiences concerning executive compensation abuse, as well as their perceptions, discrepancies and unsolved questions – presented within an ample, interconnected qualitative and quantitative methodological approach. A sample of 20 individuals was chosen for the triangulation method. From the resultant triangulation six new themes derive from the interview/questionnaire questions specifically referring to executive payment abuse namely: (a ethics means distinguishing between right and wrong, (b perspectives of ethical behaviour, (c types of executive payment abuse, (d the participant’s perceptions of institution and colleagues.

An Embodied Account of Early Executive-Function Development

Science.gov (United States)

Gottwald, Janna M.; Achermann, Sheila; Marciszko, Carin; Lindskog, Marcus; Gredebäck, Gustaf

2016-01-01

The importance of executive functioning for later life outcomes, along with its potential to be positively affected by intervention programs, motivates the need to find early markers of executive functioning. In this study, 18-month-olds performed three executive-function tasks—involving simple inhibition, working memory, and more complex inhibition—and a motion-capture task assessing prospective motor control during reaching. We demonstrated that prospective motor control, as measured by the peak velocity of the first movement unit, is related to infants’ performance on simple-inhibition and working memory tasks. The current study provides evidence that motor control and executive functioning are intertwined early in life, which suggests an embodied perspective on executive-functioning development. We argue that executive functions and prospective motor control develop from a common source and a single motive: to control action. This is the first demonstration that low-level movement planning is related to higher-order executive control early in life. PMID:27765900

Reliability importance analysis of Markovian systems at steady state using perturbation analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phuc Do Van [Institut Charles Delaunay - FRE CNRS 2848, Systems Modeling and Dependability Group, Universite de technologie de Troyes, 12, rue Marie Curie, BP 2060-10010 Troyes cedex (France); Barros, Anne [Institut Charles Delaunay - FRE CNRS 2848, Systems Modeling and Dependability Group, Universite de technologie de Troyes, 12, rue Marie Curie, BP 2060-10010 Troyes cedex (France)], E-mail: anne.barros@utt.fr; Berenguer, Christophe [Institut Charles Delaunay - FRE CNRS 2848, Systems Modeling and Dependability Group, Universite de technologie de Troyes, 12, rue Marie Curie, BP 2060-10010 Troyes cedex (France)

2008-11-15

Sensitivity analysis has been primarily defined for static systems, i.e. systems described by combinatorial reliability models (fault or event trees). Several structural and probabilistic measures have been proposed to assess the components importance. For dynamic systems including inter-component and functional dependencies (cold spare, shared load, shared resources, etc.), and described by Markov models or, more generally, by discrete events dynamic systems models, the problem of sensitivity analysis remains widely open. In this paper, the perturbation method is used to estimate an importance factor, called multi-directional sensitivity measure, in the framework of Markovian systems. Some numerical examples are introduced to show why this method offers a promising tool for steady-state sensitivity analysis of Markov processes in reliability studies.

Reliability importance analysis of Markovian systems at steady state using perturbation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phuc Do Van; Barros, Anne; Berenguer, Christophe

2008-01-01

Sensitivity analysis has been primarily defined for static systems, i.e. systems described by combinatorial reliability models (fault or event trees). Several structural and probabilistic measures have been proposed to assess the components importance. For dynamic systems including inter-component and functional dependencies (cold spare, shared load, shared resources, etc.), and described by Markov models or, more generally, by discrete events dynamic systems models, the problem of sensitivity analysis remains widely open. In this paper, the perturbation method is used to estimate an importance factor, called multi-directional sensitivity measure, in the framework of Markovian systems. Some numerical examples are introduced to show why this method offers a promising tool for steady-state sensitivity analysis of Markov processes in reliability studies

The collection, storage and use of equipment performance data for the safety and reliability assessment of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fothergill, C.D.H.

1975-01-01

It has been characteristic of the Nuclear Industry that it should grow up in an atmosphere where reliability and operational safety considerations have been of vital importance. Consequently all aspects of Nuclear Power Reactor design, construction and operation (in the U.K.A.E.A.) are subjected to rigorous reliability assessments, beginning with the automatic protective devices and the safety shut-down systems. This has resulted in the setting up of large and small private data stores to support this upsurgence of Safety and Reliability assessment work. Unfortunately, much of the information being stored and published falls short of the minimum requirements of Safety Assessors and Reliability Analysts who need to make use of it. That there is still an urgent need for more work to be done in the Reliability Data field is universally acknowledged. The characteristics which make up good quality reliability data must be defined and achievable minimum standards must be set for its identification, collection, storage and retrieval. To this end the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority have set up the Systems Reliability Service Data Bank. This includes a computerized storage facility comprised of two principal data stores: (i) Reliability Data Store, (ii) Event Data Store. The figures available in the Reliability Data Store range from those relating to the lifetimes of minute components to those obtained from the assessment of whole plants and complete assemblies. These data have been accumulated from many reliable sources both inside and outside the Nuclear Industry, including the transfer of 'live' data generated from the results of reliability surveillance exercises associated with Event Data collection. Computer techniques developed specifically for the Reliability Data Store enable further 'processing' of these data to be carried out. The Event Data Store consists of three discrete computerized data stores, each one providing the necessary storage, retrieval and

Questionnaire-based assessment of executive functioning: Case studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Kronenberger, William G; Castellanos, Irina; Pisoni, David B

2018-01-01

Delays in the development of executive functioning skills are frequently observed in pediatric neuropsychology populations and can have a broad and significant impact on quality of life. As a result, assessment of executive functioning is often relevant for the development of formulations and recommendations in pediatric neuropsychology clinical work. Questionnaire-based measures of executive functioning behaviors in everyday life have unique advantages and complement traditional neuropsychological measures of executive functioning. Two case studies of children with spina bifida are presented to illustrate the clinical use of a new questionnaire measure of executive and learning-related functioning, the Learning, Executive, and Attention Functioning Scale (LEAF). The LEAF emphasizes clinical utility in assessment by incorporating four characteristics: brevity in administration, breadth of additional relevant content, efficiency of scoring and interpretation, and ease of availability for use. LEAF results were consistent with another executive functioning checklist in documenting everyday behavior problems related to working memory, planning, and organization while offering additional breadth of assessment of domains such as attention, processing speed, and novel problem-solving. These case study results demonstrate the clinical utility of questionnaire-based measurement of executive functioning in pediatric neuropsychology and provide a new measure for accomplishing this goal.

Human Factors Reliability Analysis for Assuring Nuclear Safety Using Fuzzy Fault Tree

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eisawy, E.A.-F. I.; Sallam, H.

2016-01-01

In order to ensure effective prevention of harmful events, the risk assessment process cannot ignore the role of humans in the dynamics of accidental events and thus the seriousness of the consequences that may derive from them. Human reliability analysis (HRA) involves the use of qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the human contribution to risk. HRA techniques have been developed in order to provide human error probability values associated with operators’ tasks to be included within the broader context of system risk assessment, and are aimed at reducing the probability of accidental events. Fault tree analysis (FTA) is a graphical model that displays the various combinations of equipment failures and human errors that can result in the main system failure of interest. FTA is a risk analysis technique to assess likelihood (in a probabilistic context) of an event. The objective data available to estimate the likelihood is often missing, and even if available, is subject to incompleteness and imprecision or vagueness. Without addressing incompleteness and imprecision in the available data, FTA and subsequent risk analysis give a false impression of precision and correctness that undermines the overall credibility of the process. To solve this problem, qualitative justification in the context of failure possibilities can be used as alternative for quantitative justification. In this paper, we introduce the approach of fuzzy reliability as solution for fault tree analysis drawbacks. A new fuzzy fault tree method is proposed for the analysis of human reliability based on fuzzy sets and fuzzy operations t-norms, co-norms, defuzzification, and fuzzy failure probability. (author)

The reliability and validity of patient-reported chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohan, Arjun; Sethi, Sanjay

2014-03-01

Despite the increasing awareness of their pathogenesis and clinical consequences, research on and clinical management of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive lung disease (AECOPDs) have been hindered by the lack of a consistent and reliable definition. Symptom-based definitions of exacerbations are sensitive to events and account for unreported exacerbations. Event (healthcare utilization)-based definitions are somewhat more definitive but miss unreported events. Objective quantification of symptoms in AECOPD is now possible with the development of the Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Tool (EXACT-PRO), a patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure. Several studies have revealed that unreported AECOPDs are more frequent than reported events and are associated with long-term adverse consequences. New antibiotic development for AECOPD has been hampered by the lack of validated measures for resolution of exacerbations. As a result of these observations, a unique collaborative effort between academia, industry and regulatory agencies resulted in the development of the EXACT-PRO. It consists of 14 questions that generate a score between 0 and 100, and it has been shown to have excellent reliability and validity. In the absence of a reliable biomarker, the definition and measurement of exacerbations has been subjective and imprecise. PRO measures such as EXACT can provide much needed objectivity in assessing symptom-defined exacerbations, which may translate into a uniform outcome measure in clinical trials. With further development and validation, it may have a role in clinical practice in the earlier detection of exacerbations, stratification of an exacerbation severity and the assessment of clinical response to treatment.

An empirical analysis of executive behaviour with hospital executive information systems in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Wei-Min

2013-01-01

Existing health information systems largely only support the daily operations of a medical centre, and are unable to generate the information required by executives for decision-making. Building on past research concerning information retrieval behaviour and learning through mental models, this study examines the use of information systems by hospital executives in medical centres. It uses a structural equation model to help find ways hospital executives might use information systems more effectively. The results show that computer self-efficacy directly affects the maintenance of mental models, and that system characteristics directly impact learning styles and information retrieval behaviour. Other results include the significant impact of perceived environmental uncertainty on scan searches; information retrieval behaviour and focused searches on mental models and perceived efficiency; scan searches on mental model building; learning styles and model building on perceived efficiency; and finally the impact of mental model maintenance on perceived efficiency and effectiveness.

Vectorization vs. compilation in query execution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Sompolski (Juliusz); M. Zukowski (Marcin); P.A. Boncz (Peter)

2011-01-01

textabstractCompiling database queries into executable (sub-) programs provides substantial benefits comparing to traditional interpreted execution. Many of these benefits, such as reduced interpretation overhead, better instruction code locality, and providing opportunities to use SIMD

Sodium component reliability data collection at CREDO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bott, T.F.; Haas, P.M.; Manning, J.J.

1979-01-01

The Centralized Reliability Data Organization (CREDO) has been established at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) by the Department of Energy to provide a national center for collection, evaluation and dissemination of reliability data for advanced reactors. While the system is being developed and continuous data collection at the two U.S. reactor sites (EBR-II and FFTF) is being established, data on advanced reactor components which have been in use at U.S. test loops and experimental reactors have been collected and analyzed. Engineering, operating and event data on sodium valves, pumps, flow meters, rupture discs, heat exchangers and cold traps have been collected from more than a dozen sites. The results of analyses of the data performed to date are presented

Compilation of the calculation elements of the electronic equipments reliability; Recueil des elements de calcul de la fiabilite des equipements electroniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lefevre, R.; D' Harcourt, A.; Dupuy, G. [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1968-07-01

The aim of this work is to allow the practical execution of the estimated calculation of the electronic devices reliability and to standardize the source and the approach of the calculations while giving a systematic character to their execution mode. The systematic character of the calculations allows a comparison of the reliability of different materials and a rapid control of the calculations validity; at last, it brings out the use conditions of all the components of a set. A reliability calculation made according to the method described here reveals: -components badly used -the relative influence on the reliability of the set, of a component or a components group taking into account of the number, of the characteristics and of the use of these ones. At last, the results of the calculation allows to organize the exploitation (availability) and the maintenance (staff, stock of components) of the materials. The failure rates given in this book are only relating to the components service-life and do not correspond to precocious failures. (authors) [French] L'objet du present recueil est d'une part de permettre l'execution pratique du calcul previsionnel de la fiabilite des equipements electroniques et d'autre part d'uniformiser l'origine et la presentation de calculs en donnant un caractere systematique a leur mode d'execution. Le caractere systematique des calculs permet une comparaison de la fiabilite de differents materiels et un controle rapide de la validite des calculs; enfin il met en relief les conditions d'utilisation de tous les composants d'un ensemble. Un calcul de fiabilite realise selon la methode preconise par ce document permet la mise en evidence: -des composants mal utilises -de l'influence relative sur la fiabilite de l'ensemble, d'un composant ou d'un groupe de composants compte tenu du nombre, des caracteristiques et de l'utilisation de ceux-ci. Enfin, les resultats du

AN ANALYSIS OF RISK EVENTS IN THE OIL-TANKER MAINTENANCE BUSINESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roque Rabechini Junior

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This work presents the results of an investigation into risk events and their respective causes, carried out in ship maintenance undertakings in the logistical sector of the Brazilian oil industry. Its theoretical, conceptual positioning lies in those aspects related to risk management of the undertakings as instruments of support in decision making by executives in the tanker-maintenance business. The case-study method was used as an alternative methodology with a qualitative approach of an exploratory nature and, for the presentation of data, a descriptive format was chosen. Through the analysis of 75 risk events in projects of tanker docking it was possible to extract eight of the greatest relevance. The risk analysis facilitated the identification of actions aimed at their mitigation. As a conclusion it was possible to propose a risk-framework model in four categories, HSE (health, safety and the environment, technicians, externalities and management, designed to provide tanker-docking business executives and administrators, with evidence of actions to assist in their decision-making processes. Finally, the authors identified proposals for further study as well as showing the principal limitations of the study.

39 CFR 211.3 - Executive orders and other executive pronouncements; circulars, bulletins, and other issuances of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Executive orders and other executive pronouncements; circulars, bulletins, and other issuances of the Office of Management and Budget. 211.3 Section 211.3 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION APPLICATION OF...

Executive summary

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Nimwegen, N.; van Nimwegen, N.; van der Erf, R.

2009-01-01

The Demography Monitor 2008 gives a concise overview of current demographic trends and related developments in education, the labour market and retirement for the European Union and some other countries. This executive summary highlights the major findings of the Demography Monitor 2008 and further

SENT SMS : School Event Notification Through SMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramil G. Lumauag

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Mobile phones are now considered as an essential part of people’s daily lives which is used for communication and provides diversified information. The use of mobile phone is not only limited to communication alone, but now used for subscription to value-added services like disaster warning, alert systems, and notifications. The development of School Event Notification Through SMS (SENT SMS is beneficial to students, teachers, and parents in receiving first-hand information from the school right into their mobile phone. With the use of SMS Notification, students will be notified with the upcoming events of the school, changes in schedule of events, and suspension of classes due to bad weather. Teachers will be notified for schedule of meetings, emergency meetings, and deadlines of requirements. Parents will also be informed about the school activities and be aware of the activities of their children in school. The system was tested and evaluated using ISO 9126 standard questionnaire for software quality characteristics such as functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, maintainability, and portability. The result implies that the overall usefulness of the system is very effective, that is, it is highly functional, highly reliable, highly usable, highly efficient, highly maintainable and highly portable.

Towards Synthesizing Executable Models in Biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasmin eFisher

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Over the last decade, executable models of biological behaviors have repeatedly provided new scientific discoveries, uncovered novel insights, and directed new experimental avenues. These models are computer programs whose execution mechanistically simulates aspects of the cell’s behaviors. If the observed behavior of the program agrees with the observed biological behavior, then the program explains the phenomena. This approach has proven beneficial for gaining new biological insights and directing new experimental avenues. One advantage of this approach is that techniques for analysis of computer programs can be applied to the analysis of executable models. For example, one can confirm that a model agrees with experiments for all possible executions of the model (corresponding to all environmental conditions, even if there are a huge number of executions. Various formal methods have been adapted for this context, for example, model checking or symbolic analysis of state spaces. To avoid manual construction of executable models, one can apply synthesis, a method to produce programs automatically from high-level specifications. In the context of biological modelling, synthesis would correspond to extracting executable models from experimental data. We survey recent results about the usage of the techniques underlying synthesis of computer programs for the inference of biological models from experimental data. We describe synthesis of biological models from curated mutation experiment data, inferring network connectivity models from phosphoproteomic data, and synthesis of Boolean networks from gene expression data. While much work has been done on automated analysis of similar datasets using machine learning and artificial intelligence, using synthesis techniques provides new opportunities such as efficient computation of disambiguating experiments, as well as the ability to produce different kinds of models automatically from biological data.

Brazilian adaptation of the Hotel Task: A tool for the ecological assessment of executive functions

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Caroline de Oliveira; Zimmermann, Nicolle; Paraná, Camila Borges; Gindri, Gigiane; de Pereira, Ana Paula Almeida; Fonseca, Rochele Paz

2015-01-01

Over recent years, neuropsychological research has been increasingly concerned with the need to develop more ecologically valid instruments for the assessment of executive functions. The Hotel Task is one of the most widely used ecological measures of executive functioning, and provides an assessment of planning, organization, self-monitoring and cognitive flexibility. Objective The goal of this study was to adapt the Hotel Task for use in the Brazilian population. Methods The sample comprised 27 participants (three translators, six expert judges, seven healthy adults, ten patients with traumatic brain injuries and one hotel manager). The adaptation process consisted of five steps, which were repeated until a satisfactory version of the task was produced. The steps were as follows: (1) Translation; (2) Development of new stimuli and brainstorming among the authors; (3) Analysis by expert judges; (4) Pilot studies; (5) Assessment by an expert in business administration and hotel management. Results The adapted version proved adequate and valid for the assessment of executive functions. However, further research must be conducted to obtain evidence of the reliability, as well as the construct and criterion validity, sensitivity and specificity, of the Hotel Task. Conclusion Many neurological and/or psychiatric populations may benefit from the adapted task, since it may make significant contributions to the assessment of dysexecutive syndromes and their impact on patient functioning. PMID:29213957

Brazilian adaptation of the Hotel Task: A tool for the ecological assessment of executive functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Caroline de Oliveira; Zimmermann, Nicolle; Paraná, Camila Borges; Gindri, Gigiane; de Pereira, Ana Paula Almeida; Fonseca, Rochele Paz

2015-01-01

Over recent years, neuropsychological research has been increasingly concerned with the need to develop more ecologically valid instruments for the assessment of executive functions. The Hotel Task is one of the most widely used ecological measures of executive functioning, and provides an assessment of planning, organization, self-monitoring and cognitive flexibility. The goal of this study was to adapt the Hotel Task for use in the Brazilian population. The sample comprised 27 participants (three translators, six expert judges, seven healthy adults, ten patients with traumatic brain injuries and one hotel manager). The adaptation process consisted of five steps, which were repeated until a satisfactory version of the task was produced. The steps were as follows:(1) Translation;(2) Development of new stimuli and brainstorming among the authors;(3) Analysis by expert judges;(4) Pilot studies;(5) Assessment by an expert in business administration and hotel management. The adapted version proved adequate and valid for the assessment of executive functions. However, further research must be conducted to obtain evidence of the reliability, as well as the construct and criterion validity, sensitivity and specificity, of the Hotel Task. Many neurological and/or psychiatric populations may benefit from the adapted task, since it may make significant contributions to the assessment of dysexecutive syndromes and their impact on patient functioning.

Modern Shale Gas Horizontal Drilling: Review of Best Practices for Exploration Phase Planning and Execution

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Nathaniel Harding; Stephen Smith; John Shelton; Mike D. Bumaman

2009-01-01

The challenging characteristics of shale formations often require horizontal drilling to economically develop their potential. While every shale gas play is unique, there are several best practices for the proper planning and execution of a horizontal well. In planning a horizontal well, the optimal method and technology for building inclination and extending the lateral section must be determined. Properly specified logging-while-drilling tools are essential to keep the wellbore within the target formation. Planning must also focus on casing design. Doing so will help ensure stability and enable reliable and productive completions. Shales pose a challenge for these elements of well planning due to their thin strata and potentially low mechanical competence when foreign fluids are introduced. Once a plan is developed, executing it is even more important to prove a viable exploration program. Fast, efficient drilling with wellbore control and minimal torque and drag should be the priority. This may be achieved by focusing on fluid hydraulics and rheology and bottom hole assembly. Managed pressure drilling (MPD) will help fast drilling, well control and stability. If MPD can be combined with new generation rotary steerable systems that allow the drill string to maintain rotation, impressive efficiencies are possible. Modern drilling parameter analysis represents the newest opportunity for executing shale gas horizontal wells. A method for ROP analysis to improve operational parameters and equipment selection is also proposed.

Integrated Reliability Estimation of a Nuclear Maintenance Robot including a Software

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eom, Heung Seop; Kim, Jae Hee; Jeong, Kyung Min [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2011-10-15

Conventional reliability estimation techniques such as Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Reliability Block Diagram (RBD), Markov Model, and Event Tree Analysis (ETA) have been used widely and approved in some industries. Then there are some limitations when we use them for a complicate robot systems including software such as intelligent reactor inspection robots. Therefore an expert's judgment plays an important role in estimating the reliability of a complicate system in practice, because experts can deal with diverse evidence related to the reliability and then perform an inference based on them. The proposed method in this paper combines qualitative and quantitative evidences and performs an inference like experts. Furthermore, it does the work in a formal and in a quantitative way unlike human experts, by the benefits of Bayesian Nets (BNs)

Execute-Only Attacks against Execute-Only Defenses

Science.gov (United States)

2016-02-18

strongest implementations of execute-only defenses: it exploits novel hardware features to incorporate non-readable code to prevent direct information...build two proof-of- concept exploits that can achieve control flow hijacking on a system protected by full- featured Readactor. • We evaluate the...According to the CVE [31], 123 such arbitrary read vulnerabilities were reported between January and September of 2015, in Firefox (CVE-2015-4495

ECLSS Reliability for Long Duration Missions Beyond Lower Earth Orbit

Science.gov (United States)

Sargusingh, Miriam J.; Nelson, Jason

2014-01-01

Reliability has been highlighted by NASA as critical to future human space exploration particularly in the area of environmental controls and life support systems. The Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) projects have been encouraged to pursue higher reliability components and systems as part of technology development plans. However, there is no consensus on what is meant by improving on reliability; nor on how to assess reliability within the AES projects. This became apparent when trying to assess reliability as one of several figures of merit for a regenerable water architecture trade study. In the Spring of 2013, the AES Water Recovery Project (WRP) hosted a series of events at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) with the intended goal of establishing a common language and understanding of our reliability goals and equipping the projects with acceptable means of assessing our respective systems. This campaign included an educational series in which experts from across the agency and academia provided information on terminology, tools and techniques associated with evaluating and designing for system reliability. The campaign culminated in a workshop at JSC with members of the ECLSS and AES communities with the goal of developing a consensus on what reliability means to AES and identifying methods for assessing our low to mid-technology readiness level (TRL) technologies for reliability. This paper details the results of the workshop.

Preserved re-experience of discrete emotions: Amnesia and executive function.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanciu, Marian Andrei; Rafal, Robert D; Turnbull, Oliver H

2018-02-07

Amnesic patients can re-experience emotions elicited by forgotten events, suggesting that brain systems for episodic and emotional memory are independent. However, the range of such emotional memories remains under-investigated (most studies employing just positive-negative emotion dyads), and executive function may also play a role in the re-experience of emotions. This is the first investigation of the intensity of the emotional re-experience of a range of discrete emotions (anger, fear, sadness, and happiness) for a group of amnesic patients. Twenty Korsakoff syndrome (KS) patients and 20 neurologically normal controls listened to four novel emotional vignettes selectively eliciting the four basic emotions. Emotional experience was measured using pen-and-paper Visual Analogue Mood Scales and episodic memory using verbal recollections. After 30 min, the recollection of stories was severely impaired for the patient group, but the emotional re-experience was no different from that of controls. Notably, there was no relationship between episodic recall and the intensity of the four emotions, such that even profoundly amnesic patients reported moderate levels of the target emotion. Exploratory analyses revealed negative correlations between the intensity of basic emotions and executive functions (e.g., cognitive flexibility and response inhibition) for controls but not patients. The results suggest that discrete emotions can be re-experienced independently of episodic memory, and that the re-experience of certain discrete emotions appears to be dampened by executive control. KS patients with absent or mild cognitive symptoms should benefit from emotion-regulation interventions aimed at reducing the recognized affective burden associated with their episodic memory deficit. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Grid workflow job execution service 'Pilot'

Science.gov (United States)

Shamardin, Lev; Kryukov, Alexander; Demichev, Andrey; Ilyin, Vyacheslav

2011-12-01

'Pilot' is a grid job execution service for workflow jobs. The main goal for the service is to automate computations with multiple stages since they can be expressed as simple workflows. Each job is a directed acyclic graph of tasks and each task is an execution of something on a grid resource (or 'computing element'). Tasks may be submitted to any WS-GRAM (Globus Toolkit 4) service. The target resources for the tasks execution are selected by the Pilot service from the set of available resources which match the specific requirements from the task and/or job definition. Some simple conditional execution logic is also provided. The 'Pilot' service is built on the REST concepts and provides a simple API through authenticated HTTPS. This service is deployed and used in production in a Russian national grid project GridNNN.

Grid workflow job execution service 'Pilot'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shamardin, Lev; Kryukov, Alexander; Demichev, Andrey; Ilyin, Vyacheslav

2011-01-01

'Pilot' is a grid job execution service for workflow jobs. The main goal for the service is to automate computations with multiple stages since they can be expressed as simple workflows. Each job is a directed acyclic graph of tasks and each task is an execution of something on a grid resource (or 'computing element'). Tasks may be submitted to any WS-GRAM (Globus Toolkit 4) service. The target resources for the tasks execution are selected by the Pilot service from the set of available resources which match the specific requirements from the task and/or job definition. Some simple conditional execution logic is also provided. The 'Pilot' service is built on the REST concepts and provides a simple API through authenticated HTTPS. This service is deployed and used in production in a Russian national grid project GridNNN.

Helping Behavior in Executives' Global Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miller, Stewart; Mors, Marie Louise; McDonald, Michael

2014-01-01

Drawing on research on helping behavior in networks at the upper echelons, we develop and test theory about helping behavior in senior executive networks. We examine the location and relational dependence of the network contact. Our results reveal that executives are more likely to perceive...... insiders in their network to be helpful, but geographic location has no effect on expectations of receiving help. With regards to relational dependence: executives who are more dependent on their contacts are more likely to perceive them to be helpful. We also look at whether perceived helpfulness affects...... an executive’s willingness to engage in risky new business development -- an important performance indicator - and indeed find that those executives that perceive their networks to be helpful are more likely to be willing to take risky decisions. We test these arguments using primary data on 1845 relationships...

MIV Project: Executive Summary

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravazzotti, Mariolina T.; Jørgensen, John Leif; Neefs, Marc

1997-01-01

Under the ESA contract #11453/95/NL/JG(SC), aiming at assessing the feasibility of Rendez-vous and docking of unmanned spacecrafts, a reference mission scenario was defined. This report gives an executive summary of the achievements and results from the project.......Under the ESA contract #11453/95/NL/JG(SC), aiming at assessing the feasibility of Rendez-vous and docking of unmanned spacecrafts, a reference mission scenario was defined. This report gives an executive summary of the achievements and results from the project....

Reliability assessment of power pole infrastructure incorporating deterioration and network maintenance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryan, Paraic C.; Stewart, Mark G.; Spencer, Nathan; Li, Yue

2014-01-01

There is considerable investment in timber utility poles worldwide, and there is a need to examine the structural reliability and probability based management optimisation of these power distribution infrastructure elements. The work presented in this paper builds on the existing studies in this area through assessment of both treated and untreated timber power poles, with the effects of deterioration and network maintenance incorporated in the analysis. This more realistic assessment approach, with deterioration and maintenance considered, was achieved using event-based Monte Carlo simulation. The output from the probabilistic model is used to illustrate the importance of considering network maintenance in the time-dependent structural reliability assessment of timber power poles. Under wind load, treated and untreated poles designed and maintained in accordance with existing Australian standards were found to have similar failure rates. However, untreated pole networks required approximately twice as many maintenance based pole replacements to sustain the same level of reliability. The effect of four different network maintenance strategies on infrastructure performance was also investigated herein. This assessment highlighted the fact that slight alterations to network maintenance practices can lead to significant changes in performance of timber power pole networks. - Highlights: • A time-dependent structural reliability model was developed for timber power poles. • Deterioration and network maintenance were incorporated into this event based model. • Network maintenance had a significant impact on power pole wind vulnerability. • Treated and untreated poles designed to Australian standards had similar reliability. • Minor alterations to maintenance strategies had large effects on network performance

Supramodal Executive Control of Attention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ALFREDO eSPAGNA

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The human attentional system can be subdivided into three functional networks of alerting, orienting, and executive control. Although these networks have been extensively studied in the visuospatial modality, whether the same mechanisms are deployed across different sensory modalities remains unclear. In this study we used the attention network test for visuospatial modality, in addition to two auditory variants with spatial and frequency manipulations to examine cross-modal correlations between network functions. Results showed that among the visual and auditory tasks the effects of executive control, but not effects of alerting and orienting were significantly correlated. These findings suggest that while alerting and orienting functions rely more upon modality specific processes, the executive control of attention coordinates complex behavior via supramodal mechanisms.

Executive functions and self-regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmann, Wilhelm; Schmeichel, Brandon J; Baddeley, Alan D

2012-03-01

Self-regulation is a core aspect of adaptive human behavior that has been studied, largely in parallel, through the lenses of social and personality psychology as well as cognitive psychology. Here, we argue for more communication between these disciplines and highlight recent research that speaks to their connection. We outline how basic facets of executive functioning (working memory operations, behavioral inhibition, and task-switching) may subserve successful self-regulation. We also argue that temporary reductions in executive functions underlie many of the situational risk factors identified in the social psychological research on self-regulation and review recent evidence that the training of executive functions holds significant potential for improving poor self-regulation in problem populations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of reliability databases and the particular requirements of probabilistic risk analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meslin, T.

1989-01-01

Nuclear utilities have an increasing need to develop reliability databases for their operating experience. The purposes of these databases are often multiple, including both equipment maintenance aspects and probabilistic risk analyses. EDF has therefore been developing experience feedback databases, including the Reliability Data Recording System (SRDF) and the Event File, as well as the history of numerous operating documents. Furthermore, since the end of 1985, EDF has been preparing a probabilistic safety analysis applied to one 1,300 MWe unit, for which a large amount of data of French origin is necessary. This data concerns both component reliability parameters and initiating event frequencies. The study has thus been an opportunity for trying out the performance databases for a specific application, as well as in-depth audits of a number of nuclear sites to make it possible to validate numerous results. Computer aided data collection is also on trial in a number of plants. After describing the EDF operating experience feedback files, we discuss the particular requirements of probabilistic risk analyses, and the resources implemented by EDF to satisfy them. (author). 5 refs

Transformation of Graphical ECA Policies into Executable PonderTalk Code

Science.gov (United States)

Romeikat, Raphael; Sinsel, Markus; Bauer, Bernhard

Rules are becoming more and more important in business modeling and systems engineering and are recognized as a high-level programming paradigma. For the effective development of rules it is desired to start at a high level, e.g. with graphical rules, and to refine them into code of a particular rule language for implementation purposes later. An model-driven approach is presented in this paper to transform graphical rules into executable code in a fully automated way. The focus is on event-condition-action policies as a special rule type. These are modeled graphically and translated into the PonderTalk language. The approach may be extended to integrate other rule types and languages as well.

A mediation skills model to manage disclosure of errors and adverse events to patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Liebman, Carol B; Hyman, Chris Stern

2004-01-01

In 2002 Pennsylvania became the first state to impose on hospitals a statutory duty to notify patients in writing of a serious event. If the disclosure conversations are carefully planned, properly executed, and responsive to patients' needs, this new requirement creates possible benefits for both patient safety and litigation risk management. This paper describes a model for accomplishing these goals that encourages health care providers to communicate more effectively with patients following an adverse event or medical error, learn from mistakes, respond to the concerns of patients and families after an adverse event, and arrive at a fair and cost-effective resolution of valid claims.

EVENT GENERATOR FOR RHIC SPIN PHYSICS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

SAITO, N.; SCHAEFER, A.

1999-01-01

This volume archives the reports from the RIKEN BNL Research Center workshop on ''Event Generator for RHIC Spin Physics II'' held during the week March 15, 1999 at Brookhaven National Laboratory. It was the second meeting on the subject following a first one in last September. This workshop has been initiated to establish a firm collaboration between theorists and experimentalists involved in RHIC spin physics with the aim of developing a reliable, high-precision event generator for RHIC spin physics. Needless to say, adequate event generators are indispensable tools for high energy physics programs in general, especially in the process of: planning the experimental programs; developing algorithms to extract the physics signals of interest; estimating the background in the extracted results, and connecting the final particle kinematics to the fundamental i.e. partonic level processes. Since RHIC is the first polarized collider, dedicated efforts are required to obtain a full-fledged event generator which describes spin dependent reactions in great detail

8 CFR 1003.0 - Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 8 Aliens and Nationality 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Executive Office for Immigration Review. 1003.0 Section 1003.0 Aliens and Nationality EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION REVIEW, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GENERAL PROVISIONS EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION REVIEW § 1003.0 Executive Office for...

Reliable Approximation of Long Relaxation Timescales in Molecular Dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Zhang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Many interesting rare events in molecular systems, like ligand association, protein folding or conformational changes, occur on timescales that often are not accessible by direct numerical simulation. Therefore, rare event approximation approaches like interface sampling, Markov state model building, or advanced reaction coordinate-based free energy estimation have attracted huge attention recently. In this article we analyze the reliability of such approaches. How precise is an estimate of long relaxation timescales of molecular systems resulting from various forms of rare event approximation methods? Our results give a theoretical answer to this question by relating it with the transfer operator approach to molecular dynamics. By doing so we also allow for understanding deep connections between the different approaches.

Grid collector: An event catalog with automated file management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Kesheng; Zhang, Wei-Ming; Sim, Alexander; Gu, Junmin; Shoshani, Arie

2003-01-01

High Energy Nuclear Physics (HENP) experiments such as STAR at BNL and ATLAS at CERN produce large amounts of data that are stored as files on mass storage systems in computer centers. In these files, the basic unit of data is an event. Analysis is typically performed on a selected set of events. The files containing these events have to be located, copied from mass storage systems to disks before analysis, and removed when no longer needed. These file management tasks are tedious and time consuming. Typically, all events contained in the files are read into memory before a selection is made. Since the time to read the events dominate the overall execution time, reading the unwanted event needlessly increases the analysis time. The Grid Collector is a set of software modules that works together to address these two issues. It automates the file management tasks and provides ''direct'' access to the selected events for analyses. It is currently integrated with the STAR analysis framework. The users can select events based on tags, such as, ''production date between March 10 and 20, and the number of charged tracks > 100.'' The Grid Collector locates the files containing relevant events, transfers the files across the Grid if necessary, and delivers the events to the analysis code through the familiar iterators. There has been some research efforts to address the file management issues, the Grid Collector is unique in that it addresses the event access issue together with the file management issues. This makes it more useful to a large variety of users

Time domain series system definition and gear set reliability modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie, Liyang; Wu, Ningxiang; Qian, Wenxue

2016-01-01

Time-dependent multi-configuration is a typical feature for mechanical systems such as gear trains and chain drives. As a series system, a gear train is distinct from a traditional series system, such as a chain, in load transmission path, system-component relationship, system functioning manner, as well as time-dependent system configuration. Firstly, the present paper defines time-domain series system to which the traditional series system reliability model is not adequate. Then, system specific reliability modeling technique is proposed for gear sets, including component (tooth) and subsystem (tooth-pair) load history description, material priori/posterior strength expression, time-dependent and system specific load-strength interference analysis, as well as statistically dependent failure events treatment. Consequently, several system reliability models are developed for gear sets with different tooth numbers in the scenario of tooth root material ultimate tensile strength failure. The application of the models is discussed in the last part, and the differences between the system specific reliability model and the traditional series system reliability model are illustrated by virtue of several numerical examples. - Highlights: • A new type of series system, i.e. time-domain multi-configuration series system is defined, that is of great significance to reliability modeling. • Multi-level statistical analysis based reliability modeling method is presented for gear transmission system. • Several system specific reliability models are established for gear set reliability estimation. • The differences between the traditional series system reliability model and the new model are illustrated.

[Ecological executive function characteristics and effects of executive function on social adaptive function in school-aged children with epilepsy].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, X J; Wang, L L; Zhou, N

2016-02-23

To explore the characteristics of ecological executive function in school-aged children with idiopathic or probably symptomatic epilepsy and examine the effects of executive function on social adaptive function. A total of 51 school-aged children with idiopathic or probably symptomatic epilepsy aged 5-12 years at our hospital and 37 normal ones of the same gender, age and educational level were included. The differences in ecological executive function and social adaptive function were compared between the two groups with the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and Child Adaptive Behavior Scale, the Pearson's correlation test and multiple stepwise linear regression were used to explore the impact of executive function on social adaptive function. The scores of school-aged children with idiopathic or probably symptomatic epilepsy in global executive composite (GEC), behavioral regulation index (BRI) and metacognition index (MI) of BRIEF ((62±12), (58±13) and (63±12), respectively) were significantly higher than those of the control group ((47±7), (44±6) and (48±8), respectively))(Pchildren with idiopathic or probably symptomatic epilepsy in adaptive behavior quotient (ADQ), independence, cognition, self-control ((86±22), (32±17), (49±14), (41±16), respectively) were significantly lower than those of the control group ((120±12), (59±14), (59±7) and (68±10), respectively))(Pchildren with idiopathic or probably symptomatic epilepsy. School-aged children with idiopathic or probably symptomatic epilepsy may have significantly ecological executive function impairment and social adaptive function reduction. The aspects of BRI, inhibition and working memory in ecological executive function are significantly related with social adaptive function in school-aged children with epilepsy.

Event Based Simulator for Parallel Computing over the Wide Area Network for Real Time Visualization

Science.gov (United States)

Sundararajan, Elankovan; Harwood, Aaron; Kotagiri, Ramamohanarao; Satria Prabuwono, Anton

As the computational requirement of applications in computational science continues to grow tremendously, the use of computational resources distributed across the Wide Area Network (WAN) becomes advantageous. However, not all applications can be executed over the WAN due to communication overhead that can drastically slowdown the computation. In this paper, we introduce an event based simulator to investigate the performance of parallel algorithms executed over the WAN. The event based simulator known as SIMPAR (SIMulator for PARallel computation), simulates the actual computations and communications involved in parallel computation over the WAN using time stamps. Visualization of real time applications require steady stream of processed data flow for visualization purposes. Hence, SIMPAR may prove to be a valuable tool to investigate types of applications and computing resource requirements to provide uninterrupted flow of processed data for real time visualization purposes. The results obtained from the simulation show concurrence with the expected performance using the L-BSP model.

Executive Headteachers: What's in a Name? Executive Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Theobald, Katy; Lord, Pippa

2016-01-01

Executive headteachers (EHTs) are becoming increasingly prevalent as the self-improving school system matures; there are over 620 EHTs in the school workforce today; and the number recorded in the School Workforce Census (SWC) has increased by 240 per cent between 2010 and 2014. The role is still evolving locally and nationally and, as EHTs take…

Executive functions in anorexia nervosa

OpenAIRE

Jauregui-Lobera, Ignacio

2014-01-01

Introduction: The pathophysiologic mechanisms that account for the development and persistence of anorexia nervosa (AN) remain unclear. With respect to the neuropsychological functioning, the executive functions have been reported to be altered, especially cognitive flexibility and decision-making processes. Objectives: The aim of this study was to review the current state of the neuropsychological studies focused on anorexia nervosa, especially those highlighting the executive functions. Met...

Self-assembled software and method of overriding software execution

Science.gov (United States)

Bouchard, Ann M.; Osbourn, Gordon C.

2013-01-08

A computer-implemented software self-assembled system and method for providing an external override and monitoring capability to dynamically self-assembling software containing machines that self-assemble execution sequences and data structures. The method provides an external override machine that can be introduced into a system of self-assembling machines while the machines are executing such that the functionality of the executing software can be changed or paused without stopping the code execution and modifying the existing code. Additionally, a monitoring machine can be introduced without stopping code execution that can monitor specified code execution functions by designated machines and communicate the status to an output device.

8 CFR 3.0 - Executive Office for Immigration Review

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 8 Aliens and Nationality 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Executive Office for Immigration Review 3.0 Section 3.0 Aliens and Nationality DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY GENERAL PROVISIONS EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION REVIEW § 3.0 Executive Office for Immigration Review Regulations of the Executive Office for...

Executive Functions in Premanifest Huntington’s Disease

Science.gov (United States)

You, S. Christine; Geschwind, Michael D.; Sha, Sharon J.; Apple, Alexandra; Satris, Gabriella; Wood, Kristie A.; Johnson, Erica T.; Gooblar, Jonathan; Feuerstein, Jeanne S.; Finkbeiner, Steven; Kang, Gail A.; Miller, Bruce L.; Hess, Christopher P.; Kramer, Joel H.; Possin, Katherine L.

2014-01-01

Objective We investigated the viability of psychometrically robust executive function measures as markers for premanifest Huntington’s disease (HD). Methods Fifteen premanifest HD subjects and 42 controls were compared on the NIH EXAMINER executive function battery. This battery yields an overall Executive Composite score, plus Working Memory, Cognitive Control, and Fluency Scores that are measured on psychometrically matched scales. The scores were correlated with two disease markers, disease burden and striatal volumes, in the premanifest HD subjects. Results The premanifest HD subjects scored significantly lower on the Working Memory Score. The Executive Composite positively correlated with striatal volumes, and Working Memory Score negatively correlated with disease burden. The Cognitive Control and Fluency Scores did not differ between the groups or correlate significantly with the disease markers. Conclusions The NIH EXAMINER Executive Composite and Working Memory Score are sensitive markers of cognitive dysfunction, striatal volume, and disease burden in premanifest HD. PMID:24375511

On the reliability evaluation of communication equipment for SMART using FMEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, D. H.; Suh, Y. S.; Koo, I. S.; Song, Ki Sang; Han, Byung Rae

2000-07-01

This report describes the reliability analysis method for communication equipment using FMEA and FTA. The major equipments to be applicable for SMART communication networks are repeater, bridge, router and gateway and we can apply the FMEA or FTA technique. In the FMEA process, analysis of tagged system, decision of the level of analysis of the target system, drawing reliability block diagram according to the function, decision of failure mode, writing the fault reasons, writing on the FMEA sheet and FMEA level decision are included. Also, the FTA, it is possible to figure out top event reasons and system reliability. We have considered these in mind and we did the FMEA and FTA for NIC, hub, client server and router. Also, we suggested and integrated network model for nuclear power plant and we have shown the reliability analysis procedure according to FTA. If any proprietary communication device is developed, the reliability can be easily determined with proposed procedures

On the reliability evaluation of communication equipment for SMART using FMEA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, D. H.; Suh, Y. S.; Koo, I. S.; Song, Ki Sang; Han, Byung Rae

2000-07-01

This report describes the reliability analysis method for communication equipment using FMEA and FTA. The major equipments to be applicable for SMART communication networks are repeater, bridge, router and gateway and we can apply the FMEA or FTA technique. In the FMEA process, analysis of tagged system, decision of the level of analysis of the target system, drawing reliability block diagram according to the function, decision of failure mode, writing the fault reasons, writing on the FMEA sheet and FMEA level decision are included. Also, the FTA, it is possible to figure out top event reasons and system reliability. We have considered these in mind and we did the FMEA and FTA for NIC, hub, client server and router. Also, we suggested and integrated network model for nuclear power plant and we have shown the reliability analysis procedure according to FTA. If any proprietary communication device is developed, the reliability can be easily determined with proposed procedures.

Can measures of the consumer debt burden reliably predict an economic slowdown?

OpenAIRE

C. Alan Garner

1996-01-01

Some analysts and business executives are becoming concerned that recent increases in the consumer debt burden may foreshadow an economic slowdown. Higher debt increases the risk that a household may experience financial distress in the event of an adverse economic shock, such as the loss of a job or large uninsured medical expenses. As the risk of financial distress rises, households may become less willing to spend on consumer goods, particularly big ticket items such as automobiles and hom...

Inter-rater reliability of case-note audit: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lilford, Richard; Edwards, Alex; Girling, Alan; Hofer, Timothy; Di Tanna, Gian Luca; Petty, Jane; Nicholl, Jon

2007-07-01

The quality of clinical care is often assessed by retrospective examination of case-notes (charts, medical records). Our objective was to determine the inter-rater reliability of case-note audit. We conducted a systematic review of the inter-rater reliability of case-note audit. Analysis was restricted to 26 papers reporting comparisons of two or three raters making independent judgements about the quality of care. Sixty-six separate comparisons were possible, since some papers reported more than one measurement of reliability. Mean kappa values ranged from 0.32 to 0.70. These may be inflated due to publication bias. Measured reliabilities were found to be higher for case-note reviews based on explicit, as opposed to implicit, criteria and for reviews that focused on outcome (including adverse effects) rather than process errors. We found an association between kappa and the prevalence of errors (poor quality care), suggesting alternatives such as tetrachoric and polychoric correlation coefficients be considered to assess inter-rater reliability. Comparative studies should take into account the relationship between kappa and the prevalence of the events being measured.

Challenging executive dominance in European democracy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Curtin, D.

2014-01-01

Executive dominance in the contemporary EU is part of a wider migration of executive power towards types of decision making that eschew electoral accountability and popular democratic control. This democratic gap is fed by far-going secrecy arrangements and practices exercised in a concerted fashion

Challenging Executive Dominance in European Democracy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Curtin, D.

2013-01-01

Executive dominance in the contemporary EU is part of a wider migration of executive power towards types of decision making that eschew electoral accountability and popular democratic control. This democratic gap is fed by far‐going secrecy arrangements and practices exercised in a concerted fashion

Electrical system design and reliability at Ontario Hydro nuclear generating stations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Royce, C. J. [Ontario Hydro, 700 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X6 (Canada)

1986-02-15

This paper provides an overview of design practice and the predicted and actual reliability of electrical station service Systems at Ontario Nuclear Generating Stations. Operational experience and licensing changes have indicated the desirability of improving reliability in certain instances. For example, the requirement to start large emergency coolant injection pumps resulted in the turbine generator units in a multi-unit station being used as a back-up power supply. Results of reliability analyses are discussed. To mitigate the effects of common mode events Ontario Hydro adopted a 'two group' approach to the design of safety related Systems. This 'two group' approach is reviewed and a single fully environmentally qualified standby power supply is proposed for future use. (author)

File Managing and Program Execution in Web Operating Systems

OpenAIRE

Bravetti, Mario

2010-01-01

Web Operating Systems can be seen as an extension of traditional Operating Systems where the addresses used to manage files and execute programs (via the basic load/execution mechanism) are extended from local filesystem path-names to URLs. A first consequence is that, similarly as in traditional web technologies, executing a program at a given URL, can be done in two modalities: either the execution is performed client-side at the invoking machine (and relative URL addressing in the executed...

Recommendations for the tuning of rare event probability estimators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balesdent, Mathieu; Morio, Jérôme; Marzat, Julien

2015-01-01

Being able to accurately estimate rare event probabilities is a challenging issue in order to improve the reliability of complex systems. Several powerful methods such as importance sampling, importance splitting or extreme value theory have been proposed in order to reduce the computational cost and to improve the accuracy of extreme probability estimation. However, the performance of these methods is highly correlated with the choice of tuning parameters, which are very difficult to determine. In order to highlight recommended tunings for such methods, an empirical campaign of automatic tuning on a set of representative test cases is conducted for splitting methods. It allows to provide a reduced set of tuning parameters that may lead to the reliable estimation of rare event probability for various problems. The relevance of the obtained result is assessed on a series of real-world aerospace problems

ATLAS EventIndex General Dataflow and Monitoring Infrastructure

CERN Document Server

Fernandez Casani, Alvaro; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The ATLAS EventIndex has been running in production since mid-2015, reliably collecting information worldwide about all produced events and storing them in a central Hadoop infrastructure at CERN. A subset of this information is copied to an Oracle relational database for fast access. The system design and its optimization is serving event picking from requests of a few events up to scales of tens of thousand of events, and in addition, data consistency checks are performed for large production campaigns. Detecting duplicate events with a scope of physics collections has recently arisen as an important use case. This paper describes the general architecture of the project and the data flow and operation issues, which are addressed by recent developments to improve the throughput of the overall system. In this direction, the data collection system is reducing the usage of the messaging infrastructure to overcome the performance shortcomings detected during production peaks; an object storage approach is instea...

Matrix-based system reliability method and applications to bridge networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, W.-H.; Song Junho; Gardoni, Paolo

2008-01-01

Using a matrix-based system reliability (MSR) method, one can estimate the probabilities of complex system events by simple matrix calculations. Unlike existing system reliability methods whose complexity depends highly on that of the system event, the MSR method describes any general system event in a simple matrix form and therefore provides a more convenient way of handling the system event and estimating its probability. Even in the case where one has incomplete information on the component probabilities and/or the statistical dependence thereof, the matrix-based framework enables us to estimate the narrowest bounds on the system failure probability by linear programming. This paper presents the MSR method and applies it to a transportation network consisting of bridge structures. The seismic failure probabilities of bridges are estimated by use of the predictive fragility curves developed by a Bayesian methodology based on experimental data and existing deterministic models of the seismic capacity and demand. Using the MSR method, the probability of disconnection between each city/county and a critical facility is estimated. The probability mass function of the number of failed bridges is computed as well. In order to quantify the relative importance of bridges, the MSR method is used to compute the conditional probabilities of bridge failures given that there is at least one city disconnected from the critical facility. The bounds on the probability of disconnection are also obtained for cases with incomplete information

Executable Behaviour and the π-Calculus (extended abstract

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bas Luttik

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Reactive Turing machines extend classical Turing machines with a facility to model observable interactive behaviour. We call a behaviour executable if, and only if, it is behaviourally equivalent to the behaviour of a reactive Turing machine. In this paper, we study the relationship between executable behaviour and behaviour that can be specified in the pi-calculus. We establish that all executable behaviour can be specified in the pi-calculus up to divergence-preserving branching bisimilarity. The converse, however, is not true due to (intended limitations of the model of reactive Turing machines. That is, the pi-calculus allows the specification of behaviour that is not executable up to divergence-preserving branching bisimilarity. Motivated by an intuitive understanding of executability, we then consider a restriction on the operational semantics of the pi-calculus that does associate with every pi-term executable behaviour, at least up to the version of branching bisimilarity that does not require the preservation of divergence.

Reliability Engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sang Yong

1992-07-01

This book is about reliability engineering, which describes definition and importance of reliability, development of reliability engineering, failure rate and failure probability density function about types of it, CFR and index distribution, IFR and normal distribution and Weibull distribution, maintainability and movability, reliability test and reliability assumption in index distribution type, normal distribution type and Weibull distribution type, reliability sampling test, reliability of system, design of reliability and functionality failure analysis by FTA.

Human reliability analysis for steam generator feed-and-bleed accident in Bushehr NPP-1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jafarian, Reza [Valiasr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, 28 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sepanloo, Kamran [Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), external link End of North Karegar Av., Tehran 14155-1339 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2006-07-01

According to the incident/accident reports, unsuccessful implementation of steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure is one of the most important events in nuclear power plants operation which greatly contributes to the level of risk of the plants. Generally, the loss of all feed water pumps flow (as one of the precursors) results in failure to maintain adequate cooling of the reactor core unless the operating crew initiate and follow the feed-and-bleed procedure correctly and timely. In this paper, firstly, a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) event tree is presented delineating the major human activities and errors in the implementation of the steam generator (SG) feed-and-bleed procedure following the loss of (both normal and emergency) water feed to four SGs of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 (BNPP-1). Secondly, the graphical method of task analysis as a part of HRA is used as a means of delineating correct and incorrect human actions. To be used in the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), the outputs of the HRA event trees are fed into the system event trees, functional event trees or system fault trees. As a part of a probabilistic risk assessment of BNPP-1 and to assess the reliability of control room operators, a human reliability analysis model is applied based on the THERP (Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction) technique. The THERP method is used in the form of event trees named as the probability tree diagrams. In this research the Human Reliability Analysis event tree is constructed based on the background information and assumptions made and on a similar NPP task analysis. It is done so because the BNPP-1 is not an operational nuclear power plant. Thirdly, based on NUREG/CR-1278 Handbook, a computer program has been developed in Visual Basic language and used to illustrate the major human activities and determination of error rates of operators in the course of the implementation of the steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure. Finally, total

Conceptualization and Operationalization of Executive Function

Science.gov (United States)

Baggetta, Peter; Alexander, Patricia A.

2016-01-01

Executive function is comprised of different behavioral and cognitive elements and is considered to play a significant role in learning and academic achievement. Educational researchers frequently study the construct. However, because of its complexity functionally, the research on executive function can at times be both confusing and…

32 CFR 724.702 - Executive management.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Executive management. 724.702 Section 724.702 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY PERSONNEL NAVAL DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD Organization of the Naval Discharge Review Board § 724.702 Executive management. The...

Effect of practice and span length on the dual-task coordination executive test

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sylwan R.P.

1999-01-01

Full Text Available The measure "mu", proposed as an index of the ability to coordinate concurrent box-crossing (BC and digit-span (DS tasks in the dual task (DT, should reflect the capacity of the executive component of the working memory system. We investigated the effect of practice in BC and of a change in the digit span on mu by adding previous practice trials in BC and diminishing, maintaining or increasing the digit sequence length. The mu behavior was evaluated throughout three trials of the test. Reported strategies in digit tasks were also analyzed. Subjects with diminished span showed the best performance in DT due to a stable performance in DS and BC in the single- and dual-task conditions. These subjects also showed a more stable performance throughout trials. Subjects with diminished span tended to employ effortless strategies, whereas subjects with increased span employed effort-requiring strategies and showed the lowest means of mu. Subjects with initial practice trials showed the best performance in BC and the most differentiated performance between the single- and dual-task conditions in BC. The correlation coefficient between the mu values obtained in the first and second trials was 0.814 for subjects with diminished span and practice trials in BC. It seems that the within-session practice in BC and the performance variability in DS affect the reliability of the index mu. To control these factors we propose the introduction of previous practice trials in BC and a modification of the current method to determine the digit sequence length. This proposal should contribute to the development of a more reliable method to evaluate the executive capacity of coordination in the dual-task paradigm.

A science-based executive for autonomous planetary vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, S.

2001-01-01

If requests for scientific observations, rather than specific plans, are uplinked to an autonomous execution system on the vehicle, it would be able to adjust its execution based upon actual performance. Such a science-based executive control system had been developed and demonstrated for the Rocky7 research rover.

Human reliability analysis of Lingao Nuclear Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Li; Huang Shudong; Yang Hong; He Aiwu; Huang Xiangrui; Zheng Tao; Su Shengbing; Xi Haiying

2001-01-01

The necessity of human reliability analysis (HRA) of Lingao Nuclear Power Station are analyzed, and the method and operation procedures of HRA is briefed. One of the human factors events (HFE) is analyzed in detail and some questions of HRA are discussed. The authors present the analytical results of 61 HFEs, and make a brief introduction of HRA contribution to Lingao Nuclear Power Station

Executive control of attention in narcolepsy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sophie Bayard

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Narcolepsy with cataplexy (NC is a disabling sleep disorder characterized by early loss of hypocretin neurons that project to areas involved in the attention network. We characterized the executive control of attention in drug-free patients with NC to determine whether the executive deficits observed in patients with NC are specific to the disease itself or whether they reflect performance changes due to the severity of excessive daytime sleepiness. METHODOLOGY: Twenty-two patients with NC compared to 22 patients with narcolepsy without cataplexy (NwC matched for age, gender, intellectual level, objective daytime sleepiness and number of sleep onset REM periods (SOREMPs were studied. Thirty-two matched healthy controls were included. All participants underwent a standardized interview, completed questionnaires, and neuropsychological tests. All patients underwent a polysomnography followed by multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT, with neuropsychological evaluation performed the same day between MSLT sessions. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Irrespective of diagnosis, patients reported higher self-reported attentional complaints associated with the intensity of depressive symptoms. Patients with NC performed slower and more variably on simple reaction time tasks than patients with NwC, who did not differ from controls. Patients with NC and NwC generally performed slower, reacted more variably, and made more errors than controls on executive functioning tests. Individual profile analyses showed a clear heterogeneity of the severity of executive deficit. This severity was related to objective sleepiness, higher number of SOREMPs on the MSLT, and lower intelligence quotient. The nature and severity of the executive deficits were unrelated to NC and NwC diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that drug-free patients with NC and NwC complained of attention deficit, with altered executive control of attention being explained by the severity of objective

Human performance analysis of industrial radiography radiation exposure events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reece, W.J.; Hill, S.G.

1995-01-01

A set of radiation overexposure event reports were reviewed as part of a program to examine human performance in industrial radiography for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Incident records for a seven year period were retrieved from an event database. Ninety-five exposure events were initially categorized and sorted for further analysis. Descriptive models were applied to a subset of severe overexposure events. Modeling included: (1) operational sequence tables to outline the key human actions and interactions with equipment, (2) human reliability event trees, (3) an application of an information processing failures model, and (4) an extrapolated use of the error influences and effects diagram. Results of the modeling analyses provided insights into the industrial radiography task and suggested areas for further action and study to decrease overexposures

29 CFR 541.100 - General rule for executive employees.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... REGULATIONS DEFINING AND DELIMITING THE EXEMPTIONS FOR EXECUTIVE, ADMINISTRATIVE, PROFESSIONAL, COMPUTER AND OUTSIDE SALES EMPLOYEES Executive Employees § 541.100 General rule for executive employees. (a) The term...

Kozloduy NPP units 3 and 4 rest life time program execution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Genov, S.

2005-01-01

In this paper the following tasks are considered: Kozloduy NPP units 3 and 4 life time evaluation; programme for the units life time assuring; units 3 and 4 renewals. The main activities for the programme implementation are described and the obtained results are presented. In conclusion, the executed activities of program for assuring the life time of units 3 and 4 of Kozloduy NPP, cogently prove that the lifetime of structures, systems and components, is assured duly and those structures, systems and components will be in service safely, economically effectively and mostly reliable till the end of the 30 years design lifetime. For some of them it has been proved even for 35 and 40 years. Program activities continue during 2005, although the early shutdown of units 3 and 4 is possible

Reliable software systems via chains of object models with provably correct behavior

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yakhnis, A.; Yakhnis, V.

1996-01-01

This work addresses specification and design of reliable safety-critical systems, such as nuclear reactor control systems. Reliability concerns are addressed in complimentary fashion by different fields. Reliability engineers build software reliability models, etc. Safety engineers focus on prevention of potential harmful effects of systems on environment. Software/hardware correctness engineers focus on production of reliable systems on the basis of mathematical proofs. The authors think that correctness may be a crucial guiding issue in the development of reliable safety-critical systems. However, purely formal approaches are not adequate for the task, because they neglect the connection with the informal customer requirements. They alleviate that as follows. First, on the basis of the requirements, they build a model of the system interactions with the environment, where the system is viewed as a black box. They will provide foundations for automated tools which will (a) demonstrate to the customer that all of the scenarios of system behavior are presented in the model, (b) uncover scenarios not present in the requirements, and (c) uncover inconsistent scenarios. The developers will work with the customer until the black box model will not possess scenarios (b) and (c) above. Second, the authors will build a chain of several increasingly detailed models, where the first model is the black box model and the last model serves to automatically generated proved executable code. The behavior of each model will be proved to conform to the behavior of the previous one. They build each model as a cluster of interactive concurrent objects, thus they allow both top-down and bottom-up development

32 CFR 700.320 - The Civilian Executive Assistants.