a Holistic Approach for Inspection of Civil Infrastructures Based on Computer Vision Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Stentoumis, C.; Protopapadakis, E.; Doulamis, A.; Doulamis, N.

2016-06-01

In this work, it is examined the 2D recognition and 3D modelling of concrete tunnel cracks, through visual cues. At the time being, the structural integrity inspection of large-scale infrastructures is mainly performed through visual observations by human inspectors, who identify structural defects, rate them and, then, categorize their severity. The described approach targets at minimum human intervention, for autonomous inspection of civil infrastructures. The shortfalls of existing approaches in crack assessment are being addressed by proposing a novel detection scheme. Although efforts have been made in the field, synergies among proposed techniques are still missing. The holistic approach of this paper exploits the state of the art techniques of pattern recognition and stereo-matching, in order to build accurate 3D crack models. The innovation lies in the hybrid approach for the CNN detector initialization, and the use of the modified census transformation for stereo matching along with a binary fusion of two state-of-the-art optimization schemes. The described approach manages to deal with images of harsh radiometry, along with severe radiometric differences in the stereo pair. The effectiveness of this workflow is evaluated on a real dataset gathered in highway and railway tunnels. What is promising is that the computer vision workflow described in this work can be transferred, with adaptations of course, to other infrastructure such as pipelines, bridges and large industrial facilities that are in the need of continuous state assessment during their operational life cycle.

Integrated Modeling Approach for the Development of Climate-Informed, Actionable Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David R. Judi

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Flooding is a prevalent natural disaster with both short and long-term social, economic, and infrastructure impacts. Changes in intensity and frequency of precipitation (including rain, snow, and rain-on-snow events create challenges for the planning and management of resilient infrastructure and communities. While there is general acknowledgment that new infrastructure design should account for future climate change, no clear methods or actionable information are available to community planners and designers to ensure resilient designs considering an uncertain climate future. This research demonstrates an approach for an integrated, multi-model, and multi-scale simulation to evaluate future flood impacts. This research used regional climate projections to drive high-resolution hydrology and flood models to evaluate social, economic, and infrastructure resilience for the Snohomish Watershed, WA, USA. Using the proposed integrated modeling approach, the peaks of precipitation and streamflows were found to shift from spring and summer to the earlier winter season. Moreover, clear non-stationarities in future flood risk were discovered under various climate scenarios. This research provides a clear approach for the incorporation of climate science in flood resilience analysis and to also provides actionable information relative to the frequency and intensity of future precipitation events.

Determination of Infrastructure Development in the Integrated Management Planning of Firtina Basin throug Participatary Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cenap SANCAR

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Fırtına Basin (FB having natural temperate zone forests, rich biodiversity and high endemic variety is located in Caucasus Ecoregion which is among the most important 25 ecoregions on earth. Additionally, forest zones in FB are listed among “100 Forest Hotspots” in Europe by The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP WCMC. This study identified how and to what level existing land use pattern and related infrastructure, which compose basic inputs of sustainable basin management, influence ecology and biodiversity. Findings also revealed certain socio-economic and environmental effects of recent applications / projects which were not based on a holistic management plan. This study seeks to establish adequate technical infrastructure for the rational use and sustainable management of natural resources (water, soil, forest, etc. in Fırtına Basin and to provide coordination among the institutions. The Integrated Basin Management project also aims at designing a sustainable natural resource management and biodiversity conservation model for the piloting area, Fırtına Basin as well as for other basins. Moreover, IBM (Integrated Basin Management experiences will be opened to debate among scholars in academic and institutional circles who are also concerned with the basins in the same ecological corridor (Eastern Black Sea Mountains or other basins in the wider Caucasus Ecoregion.

Integrated Approach to a Resilient City: Associating Social, Environmental and Infrastructure Resilience in its Whole

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Birutė PITRĖNAITĖ-ŽILĖNIENĖ

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Rising complexity, numbers and severity of natural and manmade disasters enhance the importance of reducing vulnerability, or on contrary – increasing resilience, of different kind of systems, including those of social, engineering (infrastructure, and environmental (ecological nature. The goal of this research is to explore urban resilience as an integral system of social, environmental, and engineering resilience. This report analyses the concepts of each kind of resilience and identifies key factors influencing social, ecological, and infrastructure resilience discussing how these factors relate within urban systems. The achievement of resilience of urban and regional systems happens through the interaction of the different elements (social, psychological, physical, structural, and environmental, etc.; therefore, resilient city could be determined by synergy of resilient society, resilient infrastructure and resilient environment of the given area. Based on literature analysis, the current research provides some insights on conceptual framework for assessment of complex urban systems in terms of resilience. To be able to evaluate resilience and define effective measures for prevention and risk mitigation, and thereby strengthen resilience, we propose to develop an e-platform, joining risk parameters’ Monitoring Systems, which feed with data Resiliency Index calculation domain. Both these elements result in Multirisk Platform, which could serve for awareness and shared decision making for resilient people in resilient city.

Architectural Building A Public Key Infrastructure Integrated Information Space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vadim Ivanovich Korolev

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The article keeps under consideration the mattersto apply the cryptographic system having a public key to provide information security and to implya digital signature. It performs the analysis of trust models at the formation of certificates and their use. The article describes the relationships between the trust model and the architecture public key infrastructure. It contains conclusions in respect of the options for building the public key infrastructure for integrated informationspace.

An approach for modelling interdependent infrastructures in the context of vulnerability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johansson, Jonas; Hassel, Henrik

2010-01-01

Technical infrastructures of the society are becoming more and more interconnected and interdependent, i.e. the function of an infrastructure influences the function of other infrastructures. Disturbances in one infrastructure therefore often traverse to other dependent infrastructures and possibly even back to the infrastructure where the failure originated. It is becoming increasingly important to take these interdependencies into account when assessing the vulnerability of technical infrastructures. In the present paper, an approach for modelling interdependent technical infrastructures is proposed. The modelling approach considers structural properties, as employed in graph theory, as well as functional properties to increase its fidelity and usefulness. By modelling a fictional electrified railway network that consists of five systems and interdependencies between the systems, it is shown how the model can be employed in a vulnerability analysis. The model aims to capture both functional and geographic interdependencies. It is concluded that the proposed modelling approach is promising and suitable in the context of vulnerability analyses of interdependent systems.

A watershed-scale goals approach to assessing and funding wastewater infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahm, Brian G; Vedachalam, Sridhar; Shen, Jerry; Woodbury, Peter B; Riha, Susan J

2013-11-15

Capital needs during the next twenty years for public wastewater treatment, piping, combined sewer overflow correction, and storm-water management are estimated to be approximately $300 billion for the USA. Financing these needs is a significant challenge, as Federal funding for the Clean Water Act has been reduced by 70% during the last twenty years. There is an urgent need for new approaches to assist states and other decision makers to prioritize wastewater maintenance and improvements. We present a methodology for performing an integrated quantitative watershed-scale goals assessment for sustaining wastewater infrastructure. We applied this methodology to ten watersheds of the Hudson-Mohawk basin in New York State, USA that together are home to more than 2.7 million people, cover 3.5 million hectares, and contain more than 36,000 km of streams. We assembled data on 183 POTWs treating approximately 1.5 million m(3) of wastewater per day. For each watershed, we analyzed eight metrics: Growth Capacity, Capacity Density, Soil Suitability, Violations, Tributary Length Impacted, Tributary Capital Cost, Volume Capital Cost, and Population Capital Cost. These metrics were integrated into three goals for watershed-scale management: Tributary Protection, Urban Development, and Urban-Rural Integration. Our results demonstrate that the methodology can be implemented using widely available data, although some verification of data is required. Furthermore, we demonstrate substantial differences in character, need, and the appropriateness of different management strategies among the ten watersheds. These results suggest that it is feasible to perform watershed-scale goals assessment to augment existing approaches to wastewater infrastructure analysis and planning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Risk analysis of underground infrastructures in urban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cagno, Enrico; De Ambroggi, Massimiliano; Grande, Ottavio; Trucco, Paolo

2011-01-01

The paper presents an integrated approach for vulnerability and resilience analysis for underground infrastructures, i.e. a societal risk analysis of the failures of underground services for an urban area. The approach is based on the detailed study of (1) domino-effects for the components of a single infrastructure and for a given set of infrastructures interoperated and/or belonging to the same area; (2) risk and vulnerability analysis of a given area; (3) identification of a set of intervention guidelines, in order to improve the overall system resilience. The use of an integrated (interoperability and area) approach, breaking down the analysis area extent into sub-areas and assessing the dependencies among sub-areas both in terms of interoperability and damage propagation of critical infrastructures, demonstrates a useful advantage in terms of resilience analysis, more consistent with the 'zoned' nature of failures of the underground infrastructures. An applied case, describing the interoperability and damage propagation analysis with the evaluation of time-dependency for the infrastructures and targets and of different kinds of interventions of the underground infrastructures of a town, is presented for this purpose.

A HOLISTIC APPROACH FOR INSPECTION OF CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURES BASED ON COMPUTER VISION TECHNIQUES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Stentoumis

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In this work, it is examined the 2D recognition and 3D modelling of concrete tunnel cracks, through visual cues. At the time being, the structural integrity inspection of large-scale infrastructures is mainly performed through visual observations by human inspectors, who identify structural defects, rate them and, then, categorize their severity. The described approach targets at minimum human intervention, for autonomous inspection of civil infrastructures. The shortfalls of existing approaches in crack assessment are being addressed by proposing a novel detection scheme. Although efforts have been made in the field, synergies among proposed techniques are still missing. The holistic approach of this paper exploits the state of the art techniques of pattern recognition and stereo-matching, in order to build accurate 3D crack models. The innovation lies in the hybrid approach for the CNN detector initialization, and the use of the modified census transformation for stereo matching along with a binary fusion of two state-of-the-art optimization schemes. The described approach manages to deal with images of harsh radiometry, along with severe radiometric differences in the stereo pair. The effectiveness of this workflow is evaluated on a real dataset gathered in highway and railway tunnels. What is promising is that the computer vision workflow described in this work can be transferred, with adaptations of course, to other infrastructure such as pipelines, bridges and large industrial facilities that are in the need of continuous state assessment during their operational life cycle.

Vehicle infrastructure integration (VII) based road-condition warning system for highway collision prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-05-01

As a major ITS initiative, the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) program is to revolutionize : transportation by creating an enabling communication infrastructure that will open up a wide range of : safety applications. The road-condition warn...

A holistic approach to the integration of bicycle traffic into the urban landscape

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Polonca Andrejčič Mušič

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Qualitative and quantitative indicators can be used to assess the quality of public space. The coherence of cycling infrastructure connectivity is an indicator of a public space's attractiveness as a basis for the quality of the bicycle traffic operation. We would like to find an optimal balance between the space's form and its image to provide good conditions for cycling as one of the most important forms of sustainable mobility, and consequently a factor facilitating a healthy lifestyle. The new approach brings a completely different view on planning cycling infrastructure, while rather than physical infrastructure characteristics, humans are placed at the forefront of the cycling infrastructure design as the most important measure of its quality. Since the complexity of human beings cannot be controlled with only one science or profession, solving the problem of bicycle traffic is not just a technical problem, but its design and management also lend a multidisciplinary character. From the perspective of different cycling infrastructure users, the study will define integrated multidisciplinary methodology for evaluating the quality of cycling infrastructure, which will equally include the criteria of sensing and perceiving of space. The new approach seeks a system of criteria, which enables the integrated planning of cycling infrastructure in all spatial, organizational, sectoral, and professional levels. All theoretical findings will be tested and demonstrated on the pilot case of the long-distance cycling connection in the area of four Slovenian coastal municipalities, namely Koper, Izola, Piran, and Ankaran.

Integrating sea floor observatory data: the EMSO data infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Huber, Robert; Azzarone, Adriano; Carval, Thierry; Doumaz, Fawzi; Giovanetti, Gabriele; Marinaro, Giuditta; Rolin, Jean-Francois; Beranzoli, Laura; Waldmann, Christoph

2013-04-01

The European research infrastructure EMSO is a European network of fixed-point, deep-seafloor and water column observatories deployed in key sites of the European Continental margin and Arctic. It aims to provide the technological and scientific framework for the investigation of the environmental processes related to the interaction between the geosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere and for a sustainable management by long-term monitoring also with real-time data transmission. Since 2006, EMSO is on the ESFRI (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures) roadmap and has entered its construction phase in 2012. Within this framework, EMSO is contributing to large infrastructure integration projects such as ENVRI and COOPEUS. The EMSO infrastructure is geographically distributed in key sites of European waters, spanning from the Arctic, through the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea. It is presently consisting of thirteen sites which have been identified by the scientific community according to their importance respect to Marine Ecosystems, Climate Changes and Marine GeoHazards. The data infrastructure for EMSO is being designed as a distributed system. Presently, EMSO data collected during experiments at each EMSO site are locally stored and organized in catalogues or relational databases run by the responsible regional EMSO nodes. Three major institutions and their data centers are currently offering access to EMSO data: PANGAEA, INGV and IFREMER. In continuation of the IT activities which have been performed during EMSOs twin project ESONET, EMSO is now implementing the ESONET data architecture within an operational EMSO data infrastructure. EMSO aims to be compliant with relevant marine initiatives such as MyOceans, EUROSITES, EuroARGO, SEADATANET and EMODNET as well as to meet the requirements of international and interdisciplinary projects such as COOPEUS and ENVRI, EUDAT and iCORDI. A major focus is therefore set on standardization and

A Socio-Ecological Approach to GIS Least-Cost Modelling for Regional Mining Infrastructure Planning: A Case Study from South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia

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Alex M. Lechner

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Regional planning approaches to mining infrastructure aim to reduce the conflict associated with mining operations and existing land uses, such as urban areas and biodiversity conservation, as well as the cumulative impacts that occur offsite. In this paper, we describe a method for conducting Geographical Information System (GIS least-cost path and least-cost corridor analysis for linear mining infrastructure, such as roads. Least-cost path analysis identifies the optimal pathways between two locations as a function of the cost of traveling through different land use/cover types. In a case study from South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia, we identify potential linear networks for road infrastructure connecting mines, smelters, and ports. The method used interview data from government officials to characterise their orientation (perceived importance and positive/negative attitude toward the social and environmental factors associated with mining infrastructure. A cost-surface was constructed by integrating spatial layers representing the social and environmental factors to identify areas that should be avoided and areas that were compatible with linear infrastructure using the least-cost path analysis. We compared infrastructure scenario outputs from local and national government officials by the degree of spatial overlap and found broad spatial agreement for infrastructure corridors. We conclude by discussing this approach in relation to the wider social-ecological and mine planning literature and how quantitative approaches can reduce the conflict associated with infrastructure planning.

Collaborative Engagement Approaches For Delivering Sustainable Infrastructure Projects In The AEC Sector

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Adetola, Alaba

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The public sector has traditionally financed and operated infrastructure projects using resources from taxes and various levies (e.g. fuel taxes, road user charges. However, the rapid increase in human population growth coupled with extended globalisation complexities and associated social/political/economic challenges have placed new demands on the purveyors and operators of infrastructure projects. The importance of delivering quality infrastructure has been underlined by the United Nations declaration of the Millennium Development Goals; as has the provision of ‘adequate’ basic structures and facilities necessary for the well-being of urban populations in developing countries. Thus, in an effort to finance developing countries’ infrastructure needs, most countries have adopted some form of public-private collaboration strategy. This paper critically reviews these collaborative engagement approaches, identifies and highlights 10 critical themes that need to be appropriately captured and aligned to existing business models in order to successfully deliver sustainable infrastructure projects. Research findings show that infrastructure services can be delivered in many ways, and through various routes. For example, a purely public approach can cause problems such as slow and ineffective decision-making, inefficient organisational and institutional augmentation, and lack of competition and inefficiency (collectively known as government failure. On the other hand, adopting a purely private approach can cause problems such as inequalities in the distribution of infrastructure services (known as market failure. Thus, to overcome both government and market failures, a collaborative approach is advocated which incorporates the strengths of both of these polarised positions.

ICAT: Integrating data infrastructure for facilities based science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flannery, Damian; Matthews, Brian; Griffin, Tom; Bicarregui, Juan; Gleaves, Michael; Lerusse, Laurent; Downing, Roger; Ashton, Alun; Sufi, Shoaib; Drinkwater, Glen; Kleese van Dam, Kerstin

2009-01-01

ICAT: Integrating data infrastructure for facilities based science Damian Flannery, Brian Matthews, Tom Griffin, Juan Bicarregui, Michael Gleaves, Laurent Lerusse, Roger Downing, Alun Ashton, Shoaib Sufi, Glen Drinkwater, Kerstin Kleese Abstract Scientific facilities, in particular large-scale photon and neutron sources, have demanding requirements to manage the increasing quantities of experimental data they generate in a systematic and secure way. In this paper, we describe the ICAT infrastructure for cataloguing facility generated experimental data which has been in development within STFC and DLS for several years. We consider the factors which have influenced its design and describe its architecture and metadata model, a key tool in the management of data. We go on to give an outline of its current implementation and use, with plans for its future development.

Transport and environmental sustainability: An adapted SPE approach for modelling interactions between transport, infrastructure, economy and environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verhoef, Erik; Van den Bergh, Jeroen [Department of Spatial Economics, Faculty of Economics and Econometrics, Free University Amsterdam, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

1994-05-01

The present paper aims at shedding some light on the concept of `sustainable transport`. Within the context of a sustainable development, the consequences of interdependencies between transport, infrastructure, economy and environment for the formulation of optimal regulatory policies are investigated. The Spatial Price Equilibrium approach is adapted for the analysis of sustainable spatio-economic development, and for the evaluation of first-best and second-best regulatory policies on the issues at hand. The analysis demonstrates the need for integration of elements concerning economic structure, infrastructure, transportation, environment and space in one single analytical framework when considering questions on sustainability in relation to transport. 2 figs., 1 appendix, 10 refs.

A Serviced-based Approach to Connect Seismological Infrastructures: Current Efforts at the IRIS DMC

Science.gov (United States)

Ahern, Tim; Trabant, Chad

2014-05-01

As part of the COOPEUS initiative to build infrastructure that connects European and US research infrastructures, IRIS has advocated for the development of Federated services based upon internationally recognized standards using web services. By deploying International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks (FDSN) endorsed web services at multiple data centers in the US and Europe, we have shown that integration within seismological domain can be realized. By deploying identical methods to invoke the web services at multiple centers this approach can significantly ease the methods through which a scientist can access seismic data (time series, metadata, and earthquake catalogs) from distributed federated centers. IRIS has developed an IRIS federator that helps a user identify where seismic data from global seismic networks can be accessed. The web services based federator can build the appropriate URLs and return them to client software running on the scientists own computer. These URLs are then used to directly pull data from the distributed center in a very peer-based fashion. IRIS is also involved in deploying web services across horizontal domains. As part of the US National Science Foundation's (NSF) EarthCube effort, an IRIS led EarthCube Building Block's project is underway. When completed this project will aid in the discovery, access, and usability of data across multiple geoscienece domains. This presentation will summarize current IRIS efforts in building vertical integration infrastructure within seismology working closely with 5 centers in Europe and 2 centers in the US, as well as how we are taking first steps toward horizontal integration of data from 14 different domains in the US, in Europe, and around the world.

Problem of data quality and the limitations of the infrastructure approach

Science.gov (United States)

Behlen, Fred M.; Sayre, Richard E.; Rackus, Edward; Ye, Dingzhong

1998-07-01

The 'Infrastructure Approach' is a PACS implementation methodology wherein the archive, network and information systems interfaces are acquired first, and workstations are installed later. The approach allows building a history of archived image data, so that most prior examinations are available in digital form when workstations are deployed. A limitation of the Infrastructure Approach is that the deferred use of digital image data defeats many data quality management functions that are provided automatically by human mechanisms when data is immediately used for the completion of clinical tasks. If the digital data is used solely for archiving while reports are interpreted from film, the radiologist serves only as a check against lost films, and another person must be designated as responsible for the quality of the digital data. Data from the Radiology Information System and the PACS were analyzed to assess the nature and frequency of system and data quality errors. The error level was found to be acceptable if supported by auditing and error resolution procedures requiring additional staff time, and in any case was better than the loss rate of a hardcopy film archive. It is concluded that the problem of data quality compromises but does not negate the value of the Infrastructure Approach. The Infrastructure Approach should best be employed only to a limited extent, and that any phased PACS implementation should have a substantial complement of workstations dedicated to softcopy interpretation for at least some applications, and with full deployment following not long thereafter.

XML-based approaches for the integration of heterogeneous bio-molecular data.

Science.gov (United States)

Mesiti, Marco; Jiménez-Ruiz, Ernesto; Sanz, Ismael; Berlanga-Llavori, Rafael; Perlasca, Paolo; Valentini, Giorgio; Manset, David

2009-10-15

The today's public database infrastructure spans a very large collection of heterogeneous biological data, opening new opportunities for molecular biology, bio-medical and bioinformatics research, but raising also new problems for their integration and computational processing. In this paper we survey the most interesting and novel approaches for the representation, integration and management of different kinds of biological data by exploiting XML and the related recommendations and approaches. Moreover, we present new and interesting cutting edge approaches for the appropriate management of heterogeneous biological data represented through XML. XML has succeeded in the integration of heterogeneous biomolecular information, and has established itself as the syntactic glue for biological data sources. Nevertheless, a large variety of XML-based data formats have been proposed, thus resulting in a difficult effective integration of bioinformatics data schemes. The adoption of a few semantic-rich standard formats is urgent to achieve a seamless integration of the current biological resources.

Integration of RAMS in LCC analysis for linear transport infrastructures. A case study for railways.

Science.gov (United States)

Calle-Cordón, Álvaro; Jiménez-Redondo, Noemi; Morales-Gámiz, F. J.; García-Villena, F. A.; Garmabaki, Amir H. S.; Odelius, Johan

2017-09-01

Life-cycle cost (LCC) analysis is an economic technique used to assess the total costs associated with the lifetime of a system in order to support decision making in long term strategic planning. For complex systems, such as railway and road infrastructures, the cost of maintenance plays an important role in the LCC analysis. Costs associated with maintenance interventions can be more reliably estimated by integrating the probabilistic nature of the failures associated to these interventions in the LCC models. Reliability, Maintainability, Availability and Safety (RAMS) parameters describe the maintenance needs of an asset in a quantitative way by using probabilistic information extracted from registered maintenance activities. Therefore, the integration of RAMS in the LCC analysis allows obtaining reliable predictions of system maintenance costs and the dependencies of these costs with specific cost drivers through sensitivity analyses. This paper presents an innovative approach for a combined RAMS & LCC methodology for railway and road transport infrastructures being developed under the on-going H2020 project INFRALERT. Such RAMS & LCC analysis provides relevant probabilistic information to be used for condition and risk-based planning of maintenance activities as well as for decision support in long term strategic investment planning.

Building safeguards infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevens, Rebecca S.; McClelland-Kerr, John

2009-01-01

Much has been written in recent years about the nuclear renaissance - the rebirth of nuclear power as a clean and safe source of electricity around the world. Those who question the nuclear renaissance often cite the risk of proliferation, accidents or an attack on a facility as concerns, all of which merit serious consideration. The integration of these three areas - sometimes referred to as 3S, for safety, security and safeguards - is essential to supporting the growth of nuclear power, and the infrastructure that supports them should be strengthened. The focus of this paper will be on the role safeguards plays in the 3S concept and how to support the development of the infrastructure necessary to support safeguards. The objective of this paper has been to provide a working definition of safeguards infrastructure, and to discuss xamples of how building safeguards infrastructure is presented in several models. The guidelines outlined in the milestones document provide a clear path for establishing both the safeguards and the related infrastructures needed to support the development of nuclear power. The model employed by the INSEP program of engaging with partner states on safeguards-related topics that are of current interest to the level of nuclear development in that state provides another way of approaching the concept of building safeguards infrastructure. The Next Generation Safeguards Initiative is yet another approach that underscored five principal areas for growth, and the United States commitment to working with partners to promote this growth both at home and abroad.

HCP, grid and data infrastructures for astrophysics: an integrated view

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pasian, F.

2009-01-01

Also in the case of astrophysics, the capability of performing Big Science requires the availability of large Hcp facilities. But computational resources alone are far from being enough for the community: as a matter of fact, the whole set of e-infrastructures (network, computing nodes, data repositories, applications) need to work in an inter operable way. This implies the development of common (or at least compatible) user interfaces to computing resources, transparent access to observations and numerical simulations through the Virtual Observatory, integrated data processing pipelines, data mining and semantic web applications. Achieving this inter operability goal is a must to build a real Knowledge Infrastructure in the astrophysical domain.

Connectivity and Resilience: A Multidimensional Analysis of Infrastructure Impacts in the Southwestern Amazon

Science.gov (United States)

Perz, Stephen G.; Shenkin, Alexander; Barnes, Grenville; Cabrera, Liliana; Carvalho, Lucas A.; Castillo, Jorge

2012-01-01

Infrastructure is a worldwide policy priority for national development via regional integration into the global economy. However, economic, ecological and social research draws contrasting conclusions about the consequences of infrastructure. We present a synthetic approach to the study of infrastructure, focusing on a multidimensional treatment…

Green infrastructure: a natural systems approach to stormwater in the city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathaniel S. Cormier

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents diverse typologies of urban open space designed as green infrastructure in the american cities of Seattle and Portland. In these cities of the Pacific Northwest, landscape design is viewed as much more than mere beautification of the urban environment, but as pieces of a high-performance infrastructure that protects and even improves urban hydrology, climate, and ecology. Green infrastructure is a landscape approach that creates a distinctive local landscape identity and a more sustainable urban environment.

Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) Missions: The First Six Years

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-12-01

IAEA Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) missions are designed to assist Member States in evaluating the status of their national infrastructure for the introduction of a nuclear power programme. INIR missions are conducted upon request from the Member State. Each INIR mission is coordinated and led by the IAEA and conducted by a team of IAEA staff and international experts drawn from Member States which have experience in different aspects of developing and deploying nuclear infrastructure. INIR missions cover the 19 infrastructure issues described in Milestones in the Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power, IAEA Nuclear Energy Series No. NG-G-3.1, published in 2007 and revised in 2015, and the assessment is based on an analysis of a self-evaluation report prepared by the Member State, a review of the documents it provides and interviews with its key officials. Phase 1 INIR missions evaluate the status of the infrastructure to achieve Milestone 1 (Ready to make a knowledgeable commitment to a nuclear power programme). Phase 2 INIR missions evaluate the status of the infrastructure to achieve Milestone 2 (Ready to invite bids/negotiate a contract for the first nuclear power plant). From 2009 to 2014, 14 IAEA INIR missions and follow-ups were conducted in States embarking on a nuclear power programme and one State expanding its programme. During this time, considerable experience was gained by the IAEA on the conduct of INIR missions, and this feedback has been used to continually improve the overall INIR methodology. The INIR methodology has thus evolved and is far more comprehensive today than in 2009. Despite the limited number of INIR missions conducted, some common findings were identified in Member States embarking on nuclear power programmes. This publication summarizes the results of the missions and highlights the most significant areas in which recommendations were made

The Gulf Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Institute (GNEII) Four Years On

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finch, Robert J.; Mohagheghi, Amir H.; Solodov, Alexander; Beeley, Philip A.; Boyle, David R.

2014-01-01

Introduction: What is GNEII? • Regionally based Institution → human resource capability → Future decision makers → managers & regulators. • Education & Development → Nuclear energy infrastructure → Integrated safeguards, safety, and security (3S) → Nuclear power fundamentals. • Strategic effort → Coordinated partnership → Responsible national nuclear energy program → Regional context. Why GNEII? • Build indigenous human resources → Education, Research, Technical capacity → Integrated 3S Systems Approach - coupled with - Nuclear Energy Infrastructure. • GNEII Addresses a Need → Increased nuclear power demand → Regional Nuclear Infrastructure → GNEII is a sustainable mechanism for developing a responsible nuclear energy program

Sustainable Bridge Infrastructure Procurement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Safi, Mohammed; Du, Guangli; Simonsson, Peter

2016-01-01

The lack of a flexible but systematic approach for integrating lifecycle aspects into bridge investment decisions is a major obstacle hindering the procurement of sustainable bridge infrastructures. This paper addresses this obstacle by introducing a holistic approach that agencies could use...... to procure the most “sustainable” (lifecycle-efficient) bridge through a fair design-build (D-B) tendering process, considering all the main aspects: life-cycle cost (LCC), service life-span, aesthetic demands and environmental impacts (LCA)....

A New Approach to Feasibility Risk Assessment within Transport Infrastructure Appraisal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salling, Kim Bang

2013-01-01

This paper introduces a new approach of applying feasibility risk assessment within transport project infrastructure appraisal. The procedure is based upon quantitative risk analysis and Monte Carlo simulation in combination with conventional cost-benefit analysis converting deterministic benefit...... are, hereby, often basing their decisions on wrongful material. The presented approach to transport infrastructure appraisal is to include uncertainties and risks in the evaluation. Correspondingly, the handling of uncertainties and risk within transport project assessment are often made up...... by sensitivity tests producing deterministically based output values. Research has proven that traditional sensitivity analysis seldomnly captures the total variability especially as concerns the costs and demands estimated in the pre-stage of the evaluation. Therefore, this paper introduces an approach...

An integrated GIS-MARKAL toolbox for designing a CO2 infrastructure network in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Broek, M.A.; Brederode, E.; Ramirez, C.A.; Kramers, K.; van der Kuip, M.; Wildenborg, T.; Faaij, A.P.C.; Turkenburg, W.C.

2009-01-01

Large-scale implementation of carbon capture and storage needs a whole new infrastructure to transport and store CO2. Tools that can support planning and designing of such infrastructure require incorporation of both temporal and spatial aspects. Therefore, a toolbox that integrates ArcGIS, a

Integrated Nationwide Electronic Health Records system: Semi-distributed architecture approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Fragidis, Leonidas L; Chatzoglou, Prodromos D; Aggelidis, Vassilios P

2016-11-14

The integration of heterogeneous electronic health records systems by building an interoperable nationwide electronic health record system provides undisputable benefits in health care, like superior health information quality, medical errors prevention and cost saving. This paper proposes a semi-distributed system architecture approach for an integrated national electronic health record system incorporating the advantages of the two dominant approaches, the centralized architecture and the distributed architecture. The high level design of the main elements for the proposed architecture is provided along with diagrams of execution and operation and data synchronization architecture for the proposed solution. The proposed approach effectively handles issues related to redundancy, consistency, security, privacy, availability, load balancing, maintainability, complexity and interoperability of citizen's health data. The proposed semi-distributed architecture offers a robust interoperability framework without healthcare providers to change their local EHR systems. It is a pragmatic approach taking into account the characteristics of the Greek national healthcare system along with the national public administration data communication network infrastructure, for achieving EHR integration with acceptable implementation cost.

A Strategic Approach to Establishing and Strengthening National Infrastructure for Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mastauskas, A.

2016-01-01

authorization and control of the activities with the different sources of ionizing radiation. An annual integrated assessment and prediction of the exposure of the population and the environment are carried out and the actions to prevent and to respond in the case of the radiation emergencies, such as from orphan sources are implemented. In Lithuania, as in the other countries, particular attention is given to medical exposure, radon and its decay products and other natural radionuclides. However, even though the radiation safety infrastructure in the country is adequate, the Radiation Protection Centre of Lithuania is taking advantage of using the national strategic approach to make further improvements in order to become a role model for others. (author)

Smart Cities Intelligence System (SMACiSYS) Integrating Sensor Web with Spatial Data Infrastructures (sensdi)

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharya, D.; Painho, M.

2017-09-01

The paper endeavours to enhance the Sensor Web with crucial geospatial analysis capabilities through integration with Spatial Data Infrastructure. The objective is development of automated smart cities intelligence system (SMACiSYS) with sensor-web access (SENSDI) utilizing geomatics for sustainable societies. There has been a need to develop automated integrated system to categorize events and issue information that reaches users directly. At present, no web-enabled information system exists which can disseminate messages after events evaluation in real time. Research work formalizes a notion of an integrated, independent, generalized, and automated geo-event analysing system making use of geo-spatial data under popular usage platform. Integrating Sensor Web With Spatial Data Infrastructures (SENSDI) aims to extend SDIs with sensor web enablement, converging geospatial and built infrastructure, and implement test cases with sensor data and SDI. The other benefit, conversely, is the expansion of spatial data infrastructure to utilize sensor web, dynamically and in real time for smart applications that smarter cities demand nowadays. Hence, SENSDI augments existing smart cities platforms utilizing sensor web and spatial information achieved by coupling pairs of otherwise disjoint interfaces and APIs formulated by Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) keeping entire platform open access and open source. SENSDI is based on Geonode, QGIS and Java, that bind most of the functionalities of Internet, sensor web and nowadays Internet of Things superseding Internet of Sensors as well. In a nutshell, the project delivers a generalized real-time accessible and analysable platform for sensing the environment and mapping the captured information for optimal decision-making and societal benefit.

SMART CITIES INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM (SMACiSYS INTEGRATING SENSOR WEB WITH SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES (SENSDI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Bhattacharya

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The paper endeavours to enhance the Sensor Web with crucial geospatial analysis capabilities through integration with Spatial Data Infrastructure. The objective is development of automated smart cities intelligence system (SMACiSYS with sensor-web access (SENSDI utilizing geomatics for sustainable societies. There has been a need to develop automated integrated system to categorize events and issue information that reaches users directly. At present, no web-enabled information system exists which can disseminate messages after events evaluation in real time. Research work formalizes a notion of an integrated, independent, generalized, and automated geo-event analysing system making use of geo-spatial data under popular usage platform. Integrating Sensor Web With Spatial Data Infrastructures (SENSDI aims to extend SDIs with sensor web enablement, converging geospatial and built infrastructure, and implement test cases with sensor data and SDI. The other benefit, conversely, is the expansion of spatial data infrastructure to utilize sensor web, dynamically and in real time for smart applications that smarter cities demand nowadays. Hence, SENSDI augments existing smart cities platforms utilizing sensor web and spatial information achieved by coupling pairs of otherwise disjoint interfaces and APIs formulated by Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC keeping entire platform open access and open source. SENSDI is based on Geonode, QGIS and Java, that bind most of the functionalities of Internet, sensor web and nowadays Internet of Things superseding Internet of Sensors as well. In a nutshell, the project delivers a generalized real-time accessible and analysable platform for sensing the environment and mapping the captured information for optimal decision-making and societal benefit.

Critical infrastructures at risk: A need for a new conceptual approach and extended analytical tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kroeger, Wolfgang

2008-01-01

Recent decades have witnessed on the one hand a much greater and tighter integration of goods or services supply systems and growing interconnectedness as well as changing organizational and operational factors, and on the other hand an increased social vulnerability in the face of accidental or intentional disruption. The work of the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) in the field of critical infrastructures has focused on both the risks associated with five individual infrastructures and the issues associated with the increasing interdependence between them. This paper presents a selection of system weaknesses and a number of policy options that have been identified and highlights issues for further investigation and dialogue with stakeholders. Furthermore, the need to extend current modeling and simulation techniques in order to cope with the increasing system complexity is elaborated. An object-oriented, hybrid modeling approach promising to overcome some of the shortcomings of traditional methods is presented

The European cooperative approach to securing critical information infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Purser, Steve

2011-10-01

This paper provides an overview of the EU approach to securing critical information infrastructure, as defined in the Action Plan contained in the Commission Communication of March 2009, entitled 'Protecting Europe from large-scale cyber-attacks and disruptions: enhancing preparedness, security and resilience' and further elaborated by the Communication of May 2011 on critical Information infrastructure protection 'Achievements and next steps: towards global cyber-security'. After explaining the need for pan-European cooperation in this area, the CIIP Action Plan is explained in detail. Finally, the current state of progress is summarised together with the proposed next steps.

Integrating Urban Infrastructure and Health System Impact Modeling for Disasters and Mass-Casualty Events

Science.gov (United States)

Balbus, J. M.; Kirsch, T.; Mitrani-Reiser, J.

2017-12-01

Over recent decades, natural disasters and mass-casualty events in United States have repeatedly revealed the serious consequences of health care facility vulnerability and the subsequent ability to deliver care for the affected people. Advances in predictive modeling and vulnerability assessment for health care facility failure, integrated infrastructure, and extreme weather events have now enabled a more rigorous scientific approach to evaluating health care system vulnerability and assessing impacts of natural and human disasters as well as the value of specific interventions. Concurrent advances in computing capacity also allow, for the first time, full integration of these multiple individual models, along with the modeling of population behaviors and mass casualty responses during a disaster. A team of federal and academic investigators led by the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH) is develoing a platform for integrating extreme event forecasts, health risk/impact assessment and population simulations, critical infrastructure (electrical, water, transportation, communication) impact and response models, health care facility-specific vulnerability and failure assessments, and health system/patient flow responses. The integration of these models is intended to develop much greater understanding of critical tipping points in the vulnerability of health systems during natural and human disasters and build an evidence base for specific interventions. Development of such a modeling platform will greatly facilitate the assessment of potential concurrent or sequential catastrophic events, such as a terrorism act following a severe heat wave or hurricane. This presentation will highlight the development of this modeling platform as well as applications not just for the US health system, but also for international science-based disaster risk reduction efforts, such as the Sendai Framework and the WHO SMART hospital project.

An Institutional Approach to Developing Research Data Management Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James A. J. Wilson

2011-10-01

Full Text Available This article outlines the work that the University of Oxford is undertaking to implement a coordinated data management infrastructure. The rationale for the approach being taken by Oxford is presented, with particular attention paid to the role of each service division. This is followed by a consideration of the relative advantages and disadvantages of institutional data repositories, as opposed to national or international data centres. The article then focuses on two ongoing JISC-funded projects, ‘Embedding Institutional Data Curation Services in Research’ (Eidcsr and ‘Supporting Data Management Infrastructure for the Humanities’ (Sudamih. Both projects are intra-institutional collaborations and involve working with researchers to develop particular aspects of infrastructure, including: University policy, systems for the preservation and documentation of research data, training and support, software tools for the visualisation of large images, and creating and sharing databases via the Web (Database as a Service.

Transactional approach in assessment of operational performance of companies in transport infrastructure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dubrovsky, V.; Yaroshevich, N.; Kuzmin, E.

2016-07-01

Offer an alternative method to assess operational performance of companies in transport infrastructure of a region by making a comparison between transaction costs. The method is supposed to be a cross-functional and possibly applied to an analysis of economic entities of a different order (country, region, sector, companies) while evaluating “viscosity” / complexity of the outside and the inside. The paper includes an analysis of various methodological approaches to assess a development level of the transport infrastructure in a region. Within the author's approach and for purposed of the research, an index of transaction capacity or the transactionalness index is proposed, which determines a level of transaction costs calculated against the cost of production and revenue. The approach is piloted using the region-wise consolidated financial data of companies involved in the Russian transport infrastructure for 2005/2013. The proposed alternative way to measure corporate operating efficiency has proved its academic consistency. A specific comparison between the transaction costs using the transactionalness index allows first to identify companies or regions/sectors, where there is excess complexity of economical communication in bargaining. Secondly, the index does not only point out indirectly to a degree of development in the institutional environment, but also the infrastructure (the transport one in the example given). Third, the transactionalness level may say of uncertainty and risks. As an addition to theoretical and methodological aspects of transaction costs, the authors justify an approach to their size estimation, as well as their differentiation dividing them into two groups: those of a natural type and a background type. In a course of their discussion, the authors have concluded that there are such transaction costs in place, which are standard in a manner of speaking. There is a discussion whether it is scientifically reasonable to use an

An Open Computing Infrastructure that Facilitates Integrated Product and Process Development from a Decision-Based Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Hale, Mark A.

1996-01-01

Engineering Analysis Models and Specifications) has been developed which supports the activities of both meta-design and actual design execution. This is accomplished through a systematic process which is comprised of the stages of Formulation, Translation, and Evaluation. During this process, elements from a Design Specification are integrated into Design Processes. In addition, a software infrastructure was developed and is called IMAGE (Intelligent Multidisciplinary Aircraft Generation Environment). This represents a virtual apparatus in the Design Experiment conducted in this research. IMAGE is an innovative architecture because it explicitly supports design-related activities. This is accomplished through a GUI driven and Agent-based implementation of DREAMS. A HSCT design has been adopted from the Framework for Interdisciplinary Design Optimization (FIDO) and is implemented in IMAGE. This problem shows how Design Processes and Specification interact in a design system. In addition, the problem utilizes two different solution models concurrently: optimal and satisfying. The satisfying model allows for more design flexibility and allows a designer to maintain design freedom. As a result of following this experimental procedure, this infrastructure is an open system that it is robust to changes in both corporate needs and computer technologies. The development of this infrastructure leads to a number of significant intellectual contributions: 1) A new approach to implementing IPPD with the aid of a computer; 2) A formal Design Experiment; 3) A combined Process and Specification architecture that is language-based; 4) An infrastructure for exploring design; 5) An integration strategy for implementing computer resources; and 6) A seamless modeling language. The need for these contributions is emphasized by the demand by industry and government agencies for the development of these technologies.

Application of Systematic Approach to the Study of Financial and Credit Infrastructure of Agriculture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandr Vladimirovich Dorzhdeev

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The increasing value of development of financial and credit infrastructure of agriculture in reproduction activity of agricultural producers is caused by the need of continuous receipt of funds for financing the requirements of agriculture and limited opportunities of selffinancing as a result of rather high capital intensity at rather low level of profitability. The systematic approach to research of financial and credit infrastructure of agriculture assumes its consideration as a set of the interconnected and interdependent subsystems and their elements focused on performance of certain functions. The use of systematic approach deepens complete theoretical ideas about the financial and credit infrastructure of agriculture. In the present article the essence of financial and credit infrastructure of agriculture in the points of view of functional and institutional aspects is opened, its subsystems are characterized, their functions and elements are defined by the authors. The study of the systemic features of market infrastructure allowed the authors to reveal the signs peculiar to financial and credit infrastructure of agricultural sector.

Public Participation Procedure in Integrated Transport and Green Infrastructure Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Finka, Maroš; Ondrejička, Vladimír; Jamečný, Ľubomír; Husár, Milan

2017-10-01

The dialogue among the decision makers and stakeholders is a crucial part of any decision-making processes, particularly in case of integrated transportation planning and planning of green infrastructure where a multitude of actors is present. Although the theory of public participation is well-developed after several decades of research, there is still a lack of practical guidelines due to the specificity of public participation challenges. The paper presents a model of public participation for integrated transport and green infrastructure planning for international project TRANSGREEN covering the area of five European countries - Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Romania. The challenge of the project is to coordinate the efforts of public actors and NGOs in international environment in oftentimes precarious projects of transport infrastructure building and developing of green infrastructure. The project aims at developing and environmentally-friendly and safe international transport network. The proposed public participation procedure consists of five main steps - spread of information (passive), collection of information (consultation), intermediate discussion, engagement and partnership (empowerment). The initial spread of information is a process of communicating with the stakeholders, informing and educating them and it is based on their willingness to be informed. The methods used in this stage are public displays, newsletters or press releases. The second step of consultation is based on transacting the opinions of stakeholders to the decision makers. Pools, surveys, public hearings or written responses are examples of the multitude of ways to achieve this objective and the main principle of openness of stakeholders. The third step is intermediate discussion where all sides of are invited to a dialogue using the tools such as public meetings, workshops or urban walks. The fourth step is an engagement based on humble negotiation, arbitration and

INIR: Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review Missions. Guidance on Preparing and Conducting INIR Missions (Rev. 1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-04-01

The IAEA's Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) missions are designed to assist Member States, at their request, in evaluating the status of their national infrastructure for the introduction of a nuclear power programme. Each INIR mission is coordinated and led by the IAEA and conducted by a team of international experts drawn from Member States who have experience in different aspects of developing and deploying nuclear infrastructure. The IAEA publication Milestones in the Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power (IAEA Nuclear Energy Series No. NG-G-3.1) contains a description of 19 infrastructure issues to be considered during the different stages of development of a nuclear power programme. The starting point for an INIR mission is a self-evaluation performed by the Member State against these infrastructure issues. Following the self-evaluation, the INIR mission reviews the status of the national nuclear infrastructure, identifies existing gaps in specific infrastructure-related areas and proposes recommendations to fill these gaps. The INIR mission provides Member State representatives with an opportunity to have in depth discussions with international experts about experiences and best practices in different countries. In developing its recommendations, the INIR team takes into account the comments made by the relevant national organizations. Implementation of any of the team's recommendations is at the discretion of the Member State requesting the mission. The results of the INIR mission are expected to help the Member State to develop an action plan to fill any gaps, which in turn will help the development of the national nuclear infrastructure. The IAEA stands ready to assist, as requested and appropriate, in the different steps of this action plan. This guidance publication is directed to assist in preparing and conducting the INIR missions. It was developed under the coordination of the IAEA Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure

Multi Criteria Decision Support for Conceptual Integral Design of Flex(eble)(en)ergy Infrastructure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zeiler, W.; Savanovic, P.; Houten, van M.A.; Boxem, G.; Ehrgott, M; Naujoks, B; Stewart, T.J.; Wallenius, J

2009-01-01

The use of sustainable energy will soon be the major guiding principle for building and spatial planning practice. This asks for new sustainable energy infrastructures which need new design approaches. Design tools for the energy infrastructure of the built environment in the conceptual phase of

A novel critical infrastructure resilience assessment approach using dynamic Bayesian networks

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Baoping; Xie, Min; Liu, Yonghong; Liu, Yiliu; Ji, Renjie; Feng, Qiang

2017-10-01

The word resilience originally originates from the Latin word "resiliere", which means to "bounce back". The concept has been used in various fields, such as ecology, economics, psychology, and society, with different definitions. In the field of critical infrastructure, although some resilience metrics are proposed, they are totally different from each other, which are determined by the performances of the objects of evaluation. Here we bridge the gap by developing a universal critical infrastructure resilience metric from the perspective of reliability engineering. A dynamic Bayesian networks-based assessment approach is proposed to calculate the resilience value. A series, parallel and voting system is used to demonstrate the application of the developed resilience metric and assessment approach.

Infrastructure for Integration of Legacy Electrical Equipment into a Smart-Grid Using Wireless Sensor Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

de Araújo, Paulo Régis C; Filho, Raimir Holanda; Rodrigues, Joel J P C; Oliveira, João P C M; Braga, Stephanie A

2018-04-24

At present, the standardisation of electrical equipment communications is on the rise. In particular, manufacturers are releasing equipment for the smart grid endowed with communication protocols such as DNP3, IEC 61850, and MODBUS. However, there are legacy equipment operating in the electricity distribution network that cannot communicate using any of these protocols. Thus, we propose an infrastructure to allow the integration of legacy electrical equipment to smart grids by using wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In this infrastructure, each legacy electrical device is connected to a sensor node, and the sink node runs a middleware that enables the integration of this device into a smart grid based on suitable communication protocols. This middleware performs tasks such as the translation of messages between the power substation control centre (PSCC) and electrical equipment in the smart grid. Moreover, the infrastructure satisfies certain requirements for communication between the electrical equipment and the PSCC, such as enhanced security, short response time, and automatic configuration. The paper’s contributions include a solution that enables electrical companies to integrate their legacy equipment into smart-grid networks relying on any of the above mentioned communication protocols. This integration will reduce the costs related to the modernisation of power substations.

Infrastructure for Integration of Legacy Electrical Equipment into a Smart-Grid Using Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo Régis C. de Araújo

2018-04-01

Full Text Available At present, the standardisation of electrical equipment communications is on the rise. In particular, manufacturers are releasing equipment for the smart grid endowed with communication protocols such as DNP3, IEC 61850, and MODBUS. However, there are legacy equipment operating in the electricity distribution network that cannot communicate using any of these protocols. Thus, we propose an infrastructure to allow the integration of legacy electrical equipment to smart grids by using wireless sensor networks (WSNs. In this infrastructure, each legacy electrical device is connected to a sensor node, and the sink node runs a middleware that enables the integration of this device into a smart grid based on suitable communication protocols. This middleware performs tasks such as the translation of messages between the power substation control centre (PSCC and electrical equipment in the smart grid. Moreover, the infrastructure satisfies certain requirements for communication between the electrical equipment and the PSCC, such as enhanced security, short response time, and automatic configuration. The paper’s contributions include a solution that enables electrical companies to integrate their legacy equipment into smart-grid networks relying on any of the above mentioned communication protocols. This integration will reduce the costs related to the modernisation of power substations.

Beyond financial value capturing? Interactions between value capturing and cooperation at the interface of road infrastructure and land use planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heeres, Niels; Lenferink, Sander; Tillema, Taede; Arts, Jos

2016-01-01

To deal with tensions between functional interrelatedness and institutional fragmentation, road infrastructure planning is increasingly interested in integrated planning approaches. From a value capture (VC) perspective, integration offers possibilities for financially linking road infrastructure

Distributed optical fiber sensors for integrated monitoring of railway infrastructures

Science.gov (United States)

Minardo, Aldo; Coscetta, Agnese; Porcaro, Giuseppe; Giannetta, Daniele; Bernini, Romeo; Zeni, Luigi

2014-05-01

We propose the application of a distributed optical fiber sensor based on stimulated Brillouin scattering, as an integrated system for safety monitoring of railway infrastructures. The strain distribution was measured dynamically along a 60 meters length of rail track, as well as along a 3-m stone arch bridge. The results indicate that distributed sensing technology is able to provide useful information in railway traffic and safety monitoring.

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasile N. POPA

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The new dynamics and intensity of the risks and threats posed to societal functioning and citizens’ security have acquired new meanings. Consequently, an integrated approach to the concept of ”critical infrastructure” is necessary. The critical nature of some of the basic characteristics of the critical infrastructures has made them acquire new meanings within the national/transnational strategic planning. Moreover, the complexity and importance of critical infrastructure protection for social stability have generated the correlaton of the strategies developed by states and organizations.

Designing Green Stormwater Infrastructure for Hydrologic and Human Benefits: An Image Based Machine Learning Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, A.; Minsker, B. S.

2014-12-01

Urbanization over the last century has degraded our natural water resources by increasing storm-water runoff, reducing nutrient retention, and creating poor ecosystem health downstream. The loss of tree canopy and expansion of impervious area and storm sewer systems have significantly decreased infiltration and evapotranspiration, increased stream-flow velocities, and increased flood risk. These problems have brought increasing attention to catchment-wide implementation of green infrastructure (e.g., decentralized green storm water management practices such as bioswales, rain gardens, permeable pavements, tree box filters, cisterns, urban wetlands, urban forests, stream buffers, and green roofs) to replace or supplement conventional storm water management practices and create more sustainable urban water systems. Current green infrastructure (GI) practice aims at mitigating the negative effects of urbanization by restoring pre-development hydrology and ultimately addressing water quality issues at an urban catchment scale. The benefits of green infrastructure extend well beyond local storm water management, as urban green spaces are also major contributors to human health. Considerable research in the psychological sciences have shown significant human health benefits from appropriately designed green spaces, yet impacts on human wellbeing have not yet been formally considered in GI design frameworks. This research is developing a novel computational green infrastructure (GI) design framework that integrates hydrologic requirements with criteria for human wellbeing. A supervised machine learning model is created to identify specific patterns in urban green spaces that promote human wellbeing; the model is linked to RHESSYS model to evaluate GI designs in terms of both hydrologic and human health benefits. An application of the models to Dead Run Watershed in Baltimore showed that image mining methods were able to capture key elements of human preferences that could

INFRASTRUCTURE

CERN Multimedia

A. Gaddi

2012-01-01

The CMS Infrastructures teams are constantly ensuring the smooth operation of the different services during this critical period when the detector is taking data at full speed. A single failure would spoil hours of high luminosity beam and everything is put in place to avoid such an eventuality. In the meantime however, the fast approaching LS1 requires that we take a look at the various activities to take place from the end of the year onwards. The list of infrastructures consolidation and upgrade tasks is already long and will touch all the services (cooling, gas, inertion, powering, etc.). The definitive list will be available just before the LS1 start. One activity performed by the CMS cooling team that is worth mentioning is the maintenance of the cooling circuits at the CMS Electronics Integration Centre (EIC) at building 904. The old chiller has been replaced by a three-units cooling plant that also serves the HVAC system for the new CSC and RPC factories. The commissioning of this new plant has tak...

Integrating socio-economic and infrastructural dimension to reveal hazard vulnerability of coastal districts

Science.gov (United States)

Mazumdar, Jublee; Paul, Saikat

2015-04-01

Losses of life and property due to natural hazards have intensified in the past decade, motivating an alteration of disaster management away from simple post event resettlement and rehabilitation. The degree of exposure to hazard for a homogeneous population is not entirely reliant upon nearness to the source of hazard event. Socio-economic factors and infrastructural capability play an important role in determining the vulnerability of a place. This study investigates the vulnerability of eastern coastal states of India from tropical cyclones. The record of past hundred years shows that the physical vulnerability of eastern coastal states is four times as compared to the western coastal states in terms of frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones. Nevertheless, these physical factors played an imperative role in determining the vulnerability of eastern coast. However, the socio-economic and infrastructural factors influence the risk of exposure exponentially. Inclusion of these indicators would provide better insight regarding the preparedness and resilience of settlements to hazard events. In this regard, the present study is an effort to develop an Integrated Vulnerability Model (IVM) based on socio-economic and infrastructural factors for the districts of eastern coastal states of India. A method is proposed for quantifying the socio-economic and infrastructural vulnerability to tropical cyclone in these districts. The variables included in the study are extracted from Census of India, 2011 at district level administrative unit. In the analysis, a large number of variables are reduced to a smaller number of factors by using principal component analysis that represents the socio-economic and infrastructure vulnerability to tropical cyclone. Subsequently, the factor scores in socio-economic Vulnerability Index (SeVI) and Infrastructure Vulnerability Index (InVI) are standardized from 0 to 1, indicating the range from low to high vulnerability. The factor

Kenya's Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review Experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayacko, Ochilo G.M.

2015-01-01

Lessons learnt for INIR preparation: → A detailed Self Evaluation report is critical to proper evaluation of each infrastructure; → Involvement of all relevant organizations in preparation of self evaluation report and the main mission; → Meetings on individual infrastructure issues to consolidate the country position; → Openness during interviews and provision of adequate information

Integration of implant planning workflows into the PACS infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Gessat, Michael; Strauß, Gero; Burgert, Oliver

2008-03-01

The integration of imaging devices, diagnostic workstations, and image servers into Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) has had an enormous effect on the efficiency of radiology workflows. The standardization of the information exchange between the devices with the DICOM standard has been an essential precondition for that development. For surgical procedures, no such infrastructure exists. With the increasingly important role computerized planning and assistance systems play in the surgical domain, an infrastructure that unifies the communication between devices becomes necessary. In recent publications, the need for a modularized system design has been established. A reference architecture for a Therapy Imaging and Model Management System (TIMMS) has been proposed. It was accepted by the DICOM Working Group 6 as the reference architecture for DICOM developments for surgery. In this paper we propose the inclusion of implant planning systems into the PACS infrastructure. We propose a generic information model for the patient specific selection and positioning of implants from a repository according to patient image data. The information models are based on clinical workflows from ENT, cardiac, and orthopedic surgery as well as technical requirements derived from different use cases and systems. We show an exemplary implementation of the model for application in ENT surgery: the selection and positioning of an ossicular implant in the middle ear. An implant repository is stored in the PACS. It makes use of an experimental implementation of the Surface Mesh Module that is currently being developed as extension to the DICOM standard.

Deep Time Data Infrastructure: Integrating Our Current Geologic and Biologic Databases

Science.gov (United States)

Kolankowski, S. M.; Fox, P. A.; Ma, X.; Prabhu, A.

2016-12-01

As our knowledge of Earth's geologic and mineralogical history grows, we require more efficient methods of sharing immense amounts of data. Databases across numerous disciplines have been utilized to offer extensive information on very specific Epochs of Earth's history up to its current state, i.e. Fossil record, rock composition, proteins, etc. These databases could be a powerful force in identifying previously unseen correlations such as relationships between minerals and proteins. Creating a unifying site that provides a portal to these databases will aid in our ability as a collaborative scientific community to utilize our findings more effectively. The Deep-Time Data Infrastructure (DTDI) is currently being defined as part of a larger effort to accomplish this goal. DTDI will not be a new database, but an integration of existing resources. Current geologic and related databases were identified, documentation of their schema was established and will be presented as a stage by stage progression. Through conceptual modeling focused around variables from their combined records, we will determine the best way to integrate these databases using common factors. The Deep-Time Data Infrastructure will allow geoscientists to bridge gaps in data and further our understanding of our Earth's history.

A toolkit for integrated deterministic and probabilistic assessment for hydrogen infrastructure.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Groth, Katrina M.; Tchouvelev, Andrei V.

2014-03-01

There has been increasing interest in using Quantitative Risk Assessment [QRA] to help improve the safety of hydrogen infrastructure and applications. Hydrogen infrastructure for transportation (e.g. fueling fuel cell vehicles) or stationary (e.g. back-up power) applications is a relatively new area for application of QRA vs. traditional industrial production and use, and as a result there are few tools designed to enable QRA for this emerging sector. There are few existing QRA tools containing models that have been developed and validated for use in small-scale hydrogen applications. However, in the past several years, there has been significant progress in developing and validating deterministic physical and engineering models for hydrogen dispersion, ignition, and flame behavior. In parallel, there has been progress in developing defensible probabilistic models for the occurrence of events such as hydrogen release and ignition. While models and data are available, using this information is difficult due to a lack of readily available tools for integrating deterministic and probabilistic components into a single analysis framework. This paper discusses the first steps in building an integrated toolkit for performing QRA on hydrogen transportation technologies and suggests directions for extending the toolkit.

E-Infrastructure and Data Management for Global Change Research

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, M. L.; Gurney, R. J.; Cesar, R.; Cossu, R.; Gemeinholzer, B.; Koike, T.; Mokrane, M.; Peters, D.; Nativi, S.; Samors, R.; Treloar, A.; Vilotte, J. P.; Visbeck, M.; Waldmann, H. C.

2014-12-01

The Belmont Forum, a coalition of science funding agencies from 15 countries, is supporting an 18-month effort to assess the state of international of e-infrastructures and data management so that global change data and information can be more easily and efficiently exchanged internationally and across domains. Ultimately, this project aims to address the Belmont "Challenge" to deliver knowledge needed for action to avoid and adapt to detrimental environmental change, including extreme hazardous events. This effort emerged from conclusions by the Belmont Forum that transformative approaches and innovative technologies are needed for heterogeneous data/information to be integrated and made interoperable for researchers in disparate fields, and for myriad uses across international, institutional, disciplinary, spatial and temporal boundaries. The project will deliver a Community Strategy and Implementation Plan to prioritize international funding opportunities and long-term policy recommendations on how the Belmont Forum can implement a more coordinated, holistic, and sustainable approach to funding and supporting global change research. The Plan is expected to serve as the foundation of future Belmont Forum funding calls for proposals in support of research science goals as well as to establish long term e-infrastructure. More than 120 scientists, technologists, legal experts, social scientists, and other experts are participating in six Work Packages to develop the Plan by spring, 2015, under the broad rubrics of Architecture/Interoperability and Governance: Data Integration for Multidisciplinary Research; Improved Interface between Computation & Data Infrastructures; Harmonization of Global Data Infrastructure; Data Sharing; Open Data; and Capacity Building. Recommendations could lead to a more coordinated approach to policies, procedures and funding mechanisms to support e-infrastructures in a more sustainable way.

A Statistical Approach to Planning Reserved Electric Power for Railway Infrastructure Administration

OpenAIRE

Brabec, M. (Marek); Pelikán, E. (Emil); Konár, O. (Ondřej); Kasanický, I. (Ivan); Juruš, P. (Pavel); Sadil, J.; Blažek, P.

2013-01-01

One of the requirements on railway infrastructure administration is to provide electricity for day-to-day operation of railways. We propose a statistically based approach for the estimation of maximum 15-minute power within a calendar month for a given region. This quantity serves as a basis of contracts between railway infrastructure administration and electricity distribution system operator. We show that optimization of the prediction is possible, based on underlying loss function deriv...

Integration of research infrastructures and ecosystem models toward development of predictive ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Y.; Huang, Y.; Jiang, J.; MA, S.; Saruta, V.; Liang, G.; Hanson, P. J.; Ricciuto, D. M.; Milcu, A.; Roy, J.

2017-12-01

The past two decades have witnessed rapid development in sensor technology. Built upon the sensor development, large research infrastructure facilities, such as National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and FLUXNET, have been established. Through networking different kinds of sensors and other data collections at many locations all over the world, those facilities generate large volumes of ecological data every day. The big data from those facilities offer an unprecedented opportunity for advancing our understanding of ecological processes, educating teachers and students, supporting decision-making, and testing ecological theory. The big data from the major research infrastructure facilities also provides foundation for developing predictive ecology. Indeed, the capability to predict future changes in our living environment and natural resources is critical to decision making in a world where the past is no longer a clear guide to the future. We are living in a period marked by rapid climate change, profound alteration of biogeochemical cycles, unsustainable depletion of natural resources, and deterioration of air and water quality. Projecting changes in future ecosystem services to the society becomes essential not only for science but also for policy making. We will use this panel format to outline major opportunities and challenges in integrating research infrastructure and ecosystem models toward developing predictive ecology. Meanwhile, we will also show results from an interactive model-experiment System - Ecological Platform for Assimilating Data into models (EcoPAD) - that have been implemented at the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Climatic and Environmental change (SPRUCE) experiment in Northern Minnesota and Montpellier Ecotron, France. EcoPAD is developed by integrating web technology, eco-informatics, data assimilation techniques, and ecosystem modeling. EcoPAD is designed to streamline data transfer seamlessly from research infrastructure

Efficient strategies for the integration of renewable energy into future energy infrastructures in Europe – An analysis based on transnational modeling and case studies for nine European regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boie, Inga; Fernandes, Camila; Frías, Pablo; Klobasa, Marian

2014-01-01

As a result of the current international climate change strategy, the European Commission has agreed on ambitious targets to reduce CO 2 emissions by more than 80% until 2050 as compared to 1990 levels and to increase the share of renewable energy and improve energy efficiency by 20% until 2020. Under this framework, renewable energy generation has increased considerably in the EU and it is expected to keep growing in the future years. This paper presents long-term strategies for transmission infrastructure development to integrate increasing amounts of renewable generation in the time horizon of 2030–2050. These are part of the outcomes of the SUSPLAN project, which focuses on four possible future renewable deployment scenarios in different European regions taking into account the corresponding infrastructure needs, especially electricity and gas grids, both on regional and transnational level. The main objective of the project is the development of guidelines for the integration of renewable energy into future energy infrastructures while taking account of national and regional characteristics. Therefore, the analysis is based on a two-track approach: A transnational modeling exercise (“top-down”) and in-depth case studies for nine representative European regions (“bottom-up”). - Highlights: • We present the main outcomes of the SUSPLAN EU project. • It assesses long-term energy infrastructure needs to integrate RES in Europe. • Regional and transnational analyses are performed for 4 RES scenarios until 2050. • Major barriers to the integration of RES into energy infrastructure are identified. • Efficient strategies to mitigate these barriers are proposed

Infrastructuring When You Don’t

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolmsten, Johan; Dittrich, Yvonne

2011-01-01

infrastructures. Such infrastructures enable integration between different applications and tasks but, at the same time, introduce constraints to ensure interoperability. How can the ad vantages of End-User Development be kept without jeopardizing the integration between different applications? The article...

Anthropogenic infrastructure as a component of urbogeosystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleksii Chuiev

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the definition of the concept of "anthropogenic infrastructure" and attempts to find its place in the structure of urbogeosystems. The concept itself can not be called new, as many foreign authors have already used it, but the final definition never happened. The reasons why city studies are becoming more relevant in the face of ever-accelerating urbanization are briefly presented. Prerequisites for the emergence of the urban environment and approaches to its study are given. A special attention is paid to the consideration of urbosystems and their component structure. The main four components are described, which include the technosphere, biosphere, population and abiotic nature. The causes of the appearance of urban ecosystems and their specific features are analyzed. Based on the deficiencies of the "Urbosphere", "Urbosystem" and "Urboecosystem", the notion of "Urbogeosystem" is formed once again. Since architectural and construction objects are key components of such systems, their integration into anthropogenic infrastructure allows us to operate with a more general concept. Functional zones of the city, which are part of the anthropogenic infrastructure, are described. These include residential, industrial, forest and park areas. Examples of the use and functioning of each of the zones are given. An attempt has been made to estimate the boundaries of urbogeosystems. The existing approaches to the classification of anthropogenic infrastructure are analyzed. For one of them, it is advisable to allocate separately "hard" and "soft" infrastructure by the nature of the tasks of society, which they are called upon to satisfy. An alternative approach is to divide the anthropogenic infrastructure into "human" and "physical" ones. If the first satisfies the socio-cultural needs of people, the second is used for production, development, establishment of communications, transportation. It is proved why it is expedient to

Building Thematic and Integrated Services for European Solid Earth Sciences: the EPOS Integrated Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, M.; Cocco, M.

2017-12-01

EPOS (European Plate Observing System) has been designed with the vision of creating a pan-European infrastructure for solid Earth science to support a safe and sustainable society. In accordance with this scientific vision, the EPOS mission is to integrate the diverse and advanced European Research Infrastructures for solid Earth science relying on new e-science opportunities to monitor and unravel the dynamic and complex Earth System. EPOS will enable innovative multidisciplinary research for a better understanding of the Earth's physical and chemical processes that control earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, ground instability and tsunami as well as the processes driving tectonics and Earth's surface dynamics. To accomplish its mission, EPOS is engaging different stakeholders, to allow the Earth sciences to open new horizons in our understanding of the planet. EPOS also aims at contributing to prepare society for geo-hazards and to responsibly manage the exploitation of geo-resources. Through integration of data, models and facilities, EPOS will allow the Earth science community to make a step change in developing new concepts and tools for key answers to scientific and socio-economic questions concerning geo-hazards and geo-resources as well as Earth sciences applications to the environment and human welfare. The research infrastructures (RIs) that EPOS is coordinating include: i) distributed geophysical observing systems (seismological and geodetic networks); ii) local observatories (including geomagnetic, near-fault and volcano observatories); iii) analytical and experimental laboratories; iv) integrated satellite data and geological information services; v) new services for natural and anthropogenic hazards; vi) access to geo-energy test beds. Here we present the activities planned for the implementation phase focusing on the TCS, the ICS and on their interoperability. We will discuss the data, data-products, software and services (DDSS) presently under

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Orlando : FY99 results

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Building with Nature - an integrated approach for coastal zone solutions using natural, socio-economic and institutional processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wilms, T.; Goot, van der F.; Debrot, A.O.

2017-01-01

This paper presents Building with Nature as a viable alternative to the traditional engineering approach, making the services that nature provides an integral part of the design of hydraulic infrastructure, thereby creating benefits for nature and society. In it we describe the necessary steps with

Integrating multiple scientific computing needs via a Private Cloud infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagnasco, S; Berzano, D; Brunetti, R; Lusso, S; Vallero, S

2014-01-01

In a typical scientific computing centre, diverse applications coexist and share a single physical infrastructure. An underlying Private Cloud facility eases the management and maintenance of heterogeneous use cases such as multipurpose or application-specific batch farms, Grid sites catering to different communities, parallel interactive data analysis facilities and others. It allows to dynamically and efficiently allocate resources to any application and to tailor the virtual machines according to the applications' requirements. Furthermore, the maintenance of large deployments of complex and rapidly evolving middleware and application software is eased by the use of virtual images and contextualization techniques; for example, rolling updates can be performed easily and minimizing the downtime. In this contribution we describe the Private Cloud infrastructure at the INFN-Torino Computer Centre, that hosts a full-fledged WLCG Tier-2 site and a dynamically expandable PROOF-based Interactive Analysis Facility for the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC and several smaller scientific computing applications. The Private Cloud building blocks include the OpenNebula software stack, the GlusterFS filesystem (used in two different configurations for worker- and service-class hypervisors) and the OpenWRT Linux distribution (used for network virtualization). A future integration into a federated higher-level infrastructure is made possible by exposing commonly used APIs like EC2 and by using mainstream contextualization tools like CloudInit.

Integrating operation design into infrastructure planning to foster robustness of planned water systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bertoni, Federica; Giuliani, Matteo; Castelletti, Andrea

2017-04-01

Over the past years, many studies have looked at the planning and management of water infrastructure systems as two separate problems, where the dynamic component (i.e., operations) is considered only after the static problem (i.e., planning) has been resolved. Most recent works have started to investigate planning and management as two strictly interconnected faces of the same problem, where the former is solved jointly with the latter in an integrated framework. This brings advantages to multi-purpose water reservoir systems, where several optimal operating strategies exist and similar system designs might perform differently on the long term depending on the considered short-term operating tradeoff. An operationally robust design will be therefore one performing well across multiple feasible tradeoff operating policies. This work aims at studying the interaction between short-term operating strategies and their impacts on long-term structural decisions, when long-lived infrastructures with complex ecological impacts and multi-sectoral demands to satisfy (i.e., reservoirs) are considered. A parametric reinforcement learning approach is adopted for nesting optimization and control yielding to both optimal reservoir design and optimal operational policies for water reservoir systems. The method is demonstrated on a synthetic reservoir that must be designed and operated for ensuring reliable water supply to downstream users. At first, the optimal design capacity derived is compared with the 'no-fail storage' computed through Rippl, a capacity design function that returns the minimum storage needed to satisfy specified water demands without allowing supply shortfall. Then, the optimal reservoir volume is used to simulate the simplified case study under other operating objectives than water supply, in order to assess whether and how the system performance changes. The more robust the infrastructural design, the smaller the difference between the performances of

Final report for the Integrated and Robust Security Infrastructure (IRSI) laboratory directed research and development project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hutchinson, R.L.; Hamilton, V.A.; Istrail, G.G.; Espinoza, J.; Murphy, M.D.

1997-11-01

This report describes the results of a Sandia-funded laboratory-directed research and development project titled {open_quotes}Integrated and Robust Security Infrastructure{close_quotes} (IRSI). IRSI was to provide a broad range of commercial-grade security services to any software application. IRSI has two primary goals: application transparency and manageable public key infrastructure. IRSI must provide its security services to any application without the need to modify the application to invoke the security services. Public key mechanisms are well suited for a network with many end users and systems. There are many issues that make it difficult to deploy and manage a public key infrastructure. IRSI addressed some of these issues to create a more manageable public key infrastructure.

Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stottler, Gary

2012-02-08

General Motors, LLC and energy partner Shell Hydrogen, LLC, deployed a system of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles integrated with a hydrogen fueling station infrastructure to operate under real world conditions as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Validation and Demonstration Project. This technical report documents the performance and describes the learnings from progressive generations of vehicle fuel cell system technology and multiple approaches to hydrogen generation and delivery for vehicle fueling.

Medical device integration using mobile telecommunications infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Moorman, Bridget A; Cockle, Richard A

2013-01-01

Financial pressures, an aging population, and a rising number of patients with chronic diseases, have encouraged the use of remote monitoring technologies. This usually entails at least one physiological parameter measurement for a clinician. Mobile telecommunication technologies lend themselves to this functionality, and in some cases, avoid some of the issues encountered with device integration. Moreover, the inherent characteristics of the mobile telecommunications infrastructure allow a coupling of business and clinical functions that were not possible before. Table I compares and contrasts some key aspect of device integration in and out of a healthcare facility. An HTM professional may be part of the team that acquires and/or manages a system using a mobile telecommunications technology. It is important for HTM professionals to ensure the data is in a standard format so that the interfaces across this system don't become brittle and break easily if one part changes. Moreover, the security and safety considerations of the system and the data should be a primary consideration in and y purchase, with attention given to the proper environmental and encryption mechanisms. Clinical engineers and other HTM professionals are unique in that they understand the patient/clinician/device interface and the need to ensure its safety and effectiveness regardless of geographical environment.

The role of private developers in local infrastructure provision in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Salleh, Dani; Okinono, Otega

2016-08-01

Globally, the challenge of local infrastructure provision has attracted much debate amongst different nations including Malaysia, on how to achieve an effective and efficient infrastructural management. This approach therefore, has intensified the efforts of local authorities in incorporating private developers in their developmental agenda in attaining a sustainable infrastructural development in local areas. Basically, the knowledge of the need for adequate provision of local infrastructure is well understood by both local and private authorities. Likewise, the divergent opinions on the usage of private delivery services. Notwithstanding the common perception, significant loopholes have been identified on the most appropriate and ideal approach and practices to adopt in enhancing local infrastructure development. The study therefore examined the role of private developers in local infrastructure provision and procedure adopted by both local authorities and the privates sector in local infrastructure development. Data was obtained using the questionnaire through purposive sampling, administered to 22 local authorities and 16 developers which was descriptively analysed. Emanating from the study findings, the most frequently approved practices by local authorities are joint venture and complete public delivery systems. Likewise, negotiation was identified as a vital tool for stimulating the acquisition of local infrastructure provision. It was also discovered the one of the greatest challenge in promoting private sector involvement in local infrastructure development is due to unregulated-procedure. The study therefore recommends, there is need for local authorities to adopt a collective and integrated approach, nevertheless, cognisance and priority should be given to developing a well-structured and systematic process of local infrastructure provision and development.

SMART CITIES INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM (SMACiSYS) INTEGRATING SENSOR WEB WITH SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES (SENSDI)

OpenAIRE

D. Bhattacharya; M. Painho

2017-01-01

The paper endeavours to enhance the Sensor Web with crucial geospatial analysis capabilities through integration with Spatial Data Infrastructure. The objective is development of automated smart cities intelligence system (SMACiSYS) with sensor-web access (SENSDI) utilizing geomatics for sustainable societies. There has been a need to develop automated integrated system to categorize events and issue information that reaches users directly. At present, no web-enabled information system exists...

Enterprise integration. Upgrading the infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Cupito, M C

1998-02-01

As organizations increase the number of applications and users, they increase demands on their networks. There is no one one-size-fits-all infrastructure, no minimum requirements...except maybe speed.

Bringing ocean observations to the classroom - integrating research infrastructure into education

Science.gov (United States)

Proctor, R.; Hoenner, X.; Mancini, S.; Tattersall, K.; Everett, J. D.; Suthers, I. M.; Steinberg, P.; Doblin, M.; Moltmann, T.

2016-02-01

For the past 4 years the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, a partnership of four Australian Universities (Macquarie University, the University of NSW, the University of Sydney and the University of Technology Sydney) has been running a Master's degree course called Topics in Australian Marine Science (TAMS). This course is unique in that the core of the course is built around research infrastructure - the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS). IMOS, established in 2007, is collecting unprecedented volumes of multi-disciplinary oceanographic data in the ocean and on the continental shelf which is made freely available across the web; IMOS frequently runs `data user workshops' throughout Australia to introduce scientists and managers to the wealth of observations available at their fingertips. The Masters course gives students an understanding of how different measurement platforms work and they explore the data that these platforms collect. Students combine attending seminars and lectures with hands on practicals and personal assignments, all built around access to IMOS data and the many tools available to visualise and analyse. The course attracts a diverse class with many mature students (i.e. > 25 years old) from a range of backgrounds who find that the ease of discovering and accessing data, coupled with the available tools, enables them to easily study the marine environment without the need for high level computational skills. Since its inception the popularity of the course has increased with 38 students undertaking the subject in 2014. The consensus from students and lecturers is that integrating `real' observations into the classroom is beneficial to all, and IMOS is seeking to extend this approach to other university campuses. The talk will describe the experiences from the TAMS course and highlight the IMOS approach to data discovery, availability and access through course examples.

A systems approach to risk reduction of transportation infrastructure networks subject to multiple hazards : final report, December 31, 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

2008-12-31

Integrity, robustness, reliability, and resiliency of infrastructure networks are vital to the economy, : security and well-being of any country. Faced with threats caused by natural and man-made hazards, : transportation infrastructure network manag...

Family welfare programme calls for an integrated approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, P N

3 phases can be identified in India's family planning program in the 4 decades since the country achieved its independence: a stage designed to improve the infrastructure of family planning; a phase of integration of different health and family welfare services; and an attempt of community involvement and universal coverage. At this time there is a widespread infrastructure and a growing awareness of family planning services. The birthrate has declined from 41.2/1000 in the 1960s to 33.3/1000 in the 1980s; the mortality rate declined from 27.4 to 14.2. The current facilities of family welfare services are inadequate, particularly in rural areas. The present provision of auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMS) at the rate of 1/5000 can cover effectively only 1/3 of eligible couples. Further, in rural areas, communication and motivational efforts are lacking as well as easy availability of personnel and medical supplies. Finally, about 40% of the rural population lives below the poverty line and have not reached the economic threshold which is essential for adoption of the small family norm. The primary issue is to deal with the problem of social development. The emphasis needs to be on an integrated and package approach to economic progress and social transformation coupled with the family planning program. The best way to bring about the needed socioeconomic change is to provide educational and gainful employment opportunities.

An open, component-based information infrastructure for integrated health information networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsiknakis, Manolis; Katehakis, Dimitrios G; Orphanoudakis, Stelios C

2002-12-18

A fundamental requirement for achieving continuity of care is the seamless sharing of multimedia clinical information. Different technological approaches can be adopted for enabling the communication and sharing of health record segments. In the context of the emerging global information society, the creation of and access to the integrated electronic health record (I-EHR) of a citizen has been assigned high priority in many countries. This requirement is complementary to an overall requirement for the creation of a health information infrastructure (HII) to support the provision of a variety of health telematics and e-health services. In developing a regional or national HII, the components or building blocks that make up the overall information system ought to be defined and an appropriate component architecture specified. This paper discusses current international priorities and trends in developing the HII. It presents technological challenges and alternative approaches towards the creation of an I-EHR, being the aggregation of health data created during all interactions of an individual with the healthcare system. It also presents results from an ongoing Research and Development (R&D) effort towards the implementation of the HII in HYGEIAnet, the regional health information network of Crete, Greece, using a component-based software engineering approach. Critical design decisions and related trade-offs, involved in the process of component specification and development, are also discussed and the current state of development of an I-EHR service is presented. Finally, Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and security issues, which are important for the deployment and use of any I-EHR service, are considered.

Building safeguards infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClelland-Kerr, J.; Stevens, J.

2010-01-01

Much has been written in recent years about the nuclear renaissance - the rebirth of nuclear power as a clean and safe source of electricity around the world. Those who question the nuclear renaissance often cite the risk of proliferation, accidents or an attack on a facility as concerns, all of which merit serious consideration. The integration of three areas - sometimes referred to as 3S, for safety, security and safeguards - is essential to supporting the clean and safe growth of nuclear power, and the infrastructure that supports these three areas should be robust. The focus of this paper will be on the development of the infrastructure necessary to support safeguards, and the integration of safeguards infrastructure with other elements critical to ensuring nuclear energy security

Flood probability quantification for road infrastructure: Data-driven spatial-statistical approach and case study applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalantari, Zahra; Cavalli, Marco; Cantone, Carolina; Crema, Stefano; Destouni, Georgia

2017-03-01

Climate-driven increase in the frequency of extreme hydrological events is expected to impose greater strain on the built environment and major transport infrastructure, such as roads and railways. This study develops a data-driven spatial-statistical approach to quantifying and mapping the probability of flooding at critical road-stream intersection locations, where water flow and sediment transport may accumulate and cause serious road damage. The approach is based on novel integration of key watershed and road characteristics, including also measures of sediment connectivity. The approach is concretely applied to and quantified for two specific study case examples in southwest Sweden, with documented road flooding effects of recorded extreme rainfall. The novel contributions of this study in combining a sediment connectivity account with that of soil type, land use, spatial precipitation-runoff variability and road drainage in catchments, and in extending the connectivity measure use for different types of catchments, improve the accuracy of model results for road flood probability. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An Emergent Micro-Services Approach to Digital Curation Infrastructure

OpenAIRE

Abrams, Stephen; Kunze, John; Loy, David

2010-01-01

In order better to meet the needs of its diverse University of California (UC) constituencies, the California Digital Library UC Curation Center is re-envisioning its approach to digital curation infrastructure by devolving function into a set of granular, independent, but interoperable micro-services. Since each of these services is small and self-contained, they are more easily developed, deployed, maintained, and enhanced; at the same time, complex curation function can emerge from the str...

Sustainable infrastructure system modeling under uncertainties and dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yongxi

Infrastructure systems support human activities in transportation, communication, water use, and energy supply. The dissertation research focuses on critical transportation infrastructure and renewable energy infrastructure systems. The goal of the research efforts is to improve the sustainability of the infrastructure systems, with an emphasis on economic viability, system reliability and robustness, and environmental impacts. The research efforts in critical transportation infrastructure concern the development of strategic robust resource allocation strategies in an uncertain decision-making environment, considering both uncertain service availability and accessibility. The study explores the performances of different modeling approaches (i.e., deterministic, stochastic programming, and robust optimization) to reflect various risk preferences. The models are evaluated in a case study of Singapore and results demonstrate that stochastic modeling methods in general offers more robust allocation strategies compared to deterministic approaches in achieving high coverage to critical infrastructures under risks. This general modeling framework can be applied to other emergency service applications, such as, locating medical emergency services. The development of renewable energy infrastructure system development aims to answer the following key research questions: (1) is the renewable energy an economically viable solution? (2) what are the energy distribution and infrastructure system requirements to support such energy supply systems in hedging against potential risks? (3) how does the energy system adapt the dynamics from evolving technology and societal needs in the transition into a renewable energy based society? The study of Renewable Energy System Planning with Risk Management incorporates risk management into its strategic planning of the supply chains. The physical design and operational management are integrated as a whole in seeking mitigations against the

Designing a concept for an IT-infrastructure for an integrated research and treatment center.

Science.gov (United States)

Stäubert, Sebastian; Winter, Alfred; Speer, Ronald; Löffler, Markus

2010-01-01

Healthcare and medical research in Germany are heading to more interconnected systems. New initiatives are funded by the German government to encourage the development of Integrated Research and Treatment Centers (IFB). Within an IFB new organizational structures and infrastructures for interdisciplinary, translational and trans-sectoral working relationship between existing rigid separated sectors are intended and needed. This paper describes how an IT-infrastructure of an IFB could look like, what major challenges have to be solved and what methods can be used to plan such a complex IT-infrastructure in the field of healthcare. By means of project management, system analyses, process models, 3LGM2-models and resource plans an appropriate concept with different views is created. This concept supports the information management in its enterprise architecture planning activities and implies a first step of implementing a connected healthcare and medical research platform.

IRIS guidelines. 2014 ed. Integrated Review of Infrastructure for Safety (IRIS) for self-assessment when establishing the safety infrastructure for a nuclear power programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

The IAEA safety standards reflect an international consensus on what constitutes a high level of safety for protecting people and the environment, and therefore represent what all Member States should achieve, whilst recognizing the ultimate responsibility of each State to ensure safety when implementing a nuclear power programme. IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SSG-16, entitled Establishing the Safety Infrastructure for a Nuclear Power Programme was published in order to provide recommendations, presented in the form of sequential actions, on meeting safety requirements progressively during the initial three phases of the development of safety, as described in INSAG-22, Nuclear Safety Infrastructure for a National Nuclear Power Programme Supported by the IAEA Fundamental Safety Principles. To that end, the 200 safety related actions, which are proposed by SSG-16, constitute a roadmap to establish a foundation for promoting a high level of safety over the entire lifetime of the nuclear power plant. These actions reflect international consensus on good practice in order to achieve full implementation of IAEA safety standards. The IAEA has developed a methodology and tool, the Integrated Review of Infrastructure for Safety (IRIS), to assist States in undertaking self-assessment with respect to SSG-16 recommendations when establishing the safety infrastructure for a nuclear power programme, and to develop an action plan for improvement. The IRIS methodology and the associated tool are fully compatible with the IAEA safety standards and are also used, when appropriate, in the preparation of review missions, such as the Integrated Regulatory Review Service and advisory missions. The present guidelines describe the IRIS methodology for self-assessment against SSG-16 recommendations. Through IRIS implementation, every organization concerned with nuclear safety may gain proper awareness and engage in a continuous progressive process to develop the effective national

Integrating Thematic Web Portal Capabilities into the NASA Earthdata Web Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Minnie; Baynes, Kathleen E.; Huang, Thomas; McLaughlin, Brett

2015-01-01

This poster will present the process of integrating thematic web portal capabilities into the NASA Earth data web infrastructure, with examples from the Sea Level Change Portal. The Sea Level Change Portal will be a source of current NASA research, data and information regarding sea level change. The portal will provide sea level change information through articles, graphics, videos and animations, an interactive tool to view and access sea level change data and a dashboard showing sea level change indicators.

An integrated mission approach to the space exploration initiative will ensure success

Science.gov (United States)

Coomes, Edmund P.; Dagle, Jefferey E.; Bamberger, Judith A.; Noffsinger, Kent E.

1991-01-01

The direction of the American space program, as defined by President Bush and the National Commission on Space, is to expand human presence into the solar system. Landing an American on Mars by the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing is the goal. This challenge has produced a level of excitement among young Americans not seen for nearly three decades. The exploration and settlement of the space frontier will occupy the creative thoughts and energies of generations of Americans well into the next century. The return of Americans to the moon and beyond must be viewed as a national effort with strong public support if it is to become a reality. Key to making this an actuality is the mission approach selected. Developing a permanent presence in space requires a continual stepping outward from Earch in a logical progressive manner. If we seriously plan to go and to stay, then not only must we plan what we are to do and how we are to do it, we must address the logistic support infrastructure that will allow us to stay there once we arrive. A fully integrated approach to mission planning is needed if the Space exploration Initiative (SEI) is to be successful. Only in this way can a permanent human presence in space be sustained. An integrated infrastructure approach would reduce the number of new systems and technologies requiring development. The resultant horizontal commonality of systems and hardware would reduce the direct economic impact of SEI while an early return on investment through technology spin-offs would be an economic benefit by greatly enhancing our international technical competitiveness. If the exploration, development, and colonization of space is to be affordable and acceptable, careful consideration must be given to such things as ``return on investment'' and ``commercial product potential'' of the technologies developed. This integrated approach will win the Congressional support needed to secure the financial backing necessary to assure

Towards sustainability: An interoperability outline for a Regional ARC based infrastructure in the WLCG and EGEE infrastructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Field, L; Gronager, M; Johansson, D; Kleist, J

2010-01-01

Interoperability of grid infrastructures is becoming increasingly important in the emergence of large scale grid infrastructures based on national and regional initiatives. To achieve interoperability of grid infrastructures adaptions and bridging of many different systems and services needs to be tackled. A grid infrastructure offers services for authentication, authorization, accounting, monitoring, operation besides from the services for handling and data and computations. This paper presents an outline of the work done to integrate the Nordic Tier-1 and 2s, which for the compute part is based on the ARC middleware, into the WLCG grid infrastructure co-operated by the EGEE project. Especially, a throughout description of integration of the compute services is presented.

The EPOS e-Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffery, Keith; Bailo, Daniele

2014-05-01

The European Plate Observing System (EPOS) is integrating geoscientific information concerning earth movements in Europe. We are approaching the end of the PP (Preparatory Project) phase and in October 2014 expect to continue with the full project within ESFRI (European Strategic Framework for Research Infrastructures). The key aspects of EPOS concern providing services to allow homogeneous access by end-users over heterogeneous data, software, facilities, equipment and services. The e-infrastructure of EPOS is the heart of the project since it integrates the work on organisational, legal, economic and scientific aspects. Following the creation of an inventory of relevant organisations, persons, facilities, equipment, services, datasets and software (RIDE) the scale of integration required became apparent. The EPOS e-infrastructure architecture has been developed systematically based on recorded primary (user) requirements and secondary (interoperation with other systems) requirements through Strawman, Woodman and Ironman phases with the specification - and developed confirmatory prototypes - becoming more precise and progressively moving from paper to implemented system. The EPOS architecture is based on global core services (Integrated Core Services - ICS) which access thematic nodes (domain-specific European-wide collections, called thematic Core Services - TCS), national nodes and specific institutional nodes. The key aspect is the metadata catalog. In one dimension this is described in 3 levels: (1) discovery metadata using well-known and commonly used standards such as DC (Dublin Core) to enable users (via an intelligent user interface) to search for objects within the EPOS environment relevant to their needs; (2) contextual metadata providing the context of the object described in the catalog to enable a user or the system to determine the relevance of the discovered object(s) to their requirement - the context includes projects, funding, organisations

Infrastructure and industrial location : a dual technology approach

OpenAIRE

Bjorvatn, Kjetil

2001-01-01

The paper investigates how differences in infrastructure quality may affect industrial location between countries. Employing a dualtechnology model, the main result of the paper is the somewhat surprising conclusion that an improvement in a country’s infrastructure may weaken its locational advantage and induce a firm to locate production in a country with a less efficient infrastructure.

The integrated North American electricity market : investment in electricity infrastructure and supply : a North American concern

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Egan, T.

2006-03-01

Electricity supply and infrastructure solutions for the United States and Canada were discussed along with the availability of fuel supply and the diversity of fuel sources. This document focuses on investment in transmission infrastructure in order to assure sustainable generation sources for both countries while addressing constraints along the border, which will allow for enhanced cross-border trade. The Canadian Electricity Association has proposed 3 areas of bi-national cooperation to promote effective investment in electricity infrastructure and supply in the North American market: (1) cooperation in enhancing electricity supply, (2) cooperation in enhancing transmission infrastructure, and (3) cooperation in addressing air quality issues and climate change. The report discussed electricity generation by fuel source in Canada and the United States; status of restructuring in Canada; as well as the economic and environmental benefits of an integrated market. It also discussed regulatory and policy matters affecting the investment environment. Last, it discussed the need for opportunities for investment in the North American market, distribution and demand side measures, and cooperation in enhancing transmission infrastructure. It was concluded that growing electricity demand in both the United States and Canada requires investment in electricity infrastructure and supply in the future. Resolving electricity infrastructure and supply needs must be an international concern, requiring the full engagement and cooperation of both countries. 1 tab, 2 figs

Does infrastructure provision hinder energy integration? The case of natural gas in the southern cone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Navajas, Fernando

2010-09-15

This paper uses evidence on policies, markets and private transactions to discuss the experience of natural gas infrastructure integration in the Southern Cone of Latin America. The argument is that contracts on international exchanges supported by infrastructure may become incomplete due to contingencies related to policy-induced price distortions not anticipated at the moment of writing. Beyond regulatory risk mitigation, it calls for back-up contract provisions designed to cope with aggregate imbalances and for some supranational coordination related to information about market conditions and on energy planning dialogues that test consistency and stress situations in markets where exports originate.

Integrating Critical Disability Studies into the Historiography of Infrastructures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Galis, Vasilis; Tympas, Aristotle; Tzokas, Spyros

Infrastructures are habitually associated with enabling, with facilitating mobility. Attention to accidents and related failures of infrastructures, due to accidental or endemic reasons, has substantially enriched the historiography of infrastructures while, at the same time, pointing to limits...... infrastructures became sites for regulating and controlling certain groups. Seen like this, transport technologies, at remote national borders and in the heart of a national metropolis, were a key field for sociotechnical battles that produced dis/abled-displaced bodies, that is, a new corporeal subject. Dis...... idea of the human being “(Shildrick, 2010)....

The Skogaryd Research Catchment - an infrastructure to integrate terrestrial and aquatic greenhouse gas fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Klemedtsson, Leif; Weslien, Per; Bastviken, David; Natchimuthu, Sivakiruthika; Wallin, Marcus

2015-04-01

The Skogaryd Research Catchment (SRC; 58°23'N, 12°09'E, hemiboreal) is part of the Swedish Infrastructure for Ecosystem Science (SITES, www.fieldsites.se). SITES is a national coordinated infrastructure for terrestrial and limnological field research, consisting of nine research stations covering the different landscapes and climatic regions in Sweden. The SITES initiative is a long-term effort founded by the Swedish Research Council and the station owners. Researchers regardless of affiliation are welcome use the stations including the infrastructure in their research and perform experiments (after approval) or outsource tasks which are managed by the stations. Data collected in both background monitoring programs and previous and ongoing projects at the stations are also intended to support past, present and future research. Ecological, biogeochemical, and environmental research often focus on a specific ecosystem or have strict habitat boundaries. However, the growing awareness of systems interactions, feedbacks and large scale consequences calls for approaches that integrate across ecosystems and habitats to consider whole catchments, landscapes and regions. Thus there is an urgent need for long-term field sites that support integrative and cross-habitat-boundary research. Our aim at SRC is to develop methodologies to quantify GHG balances at the landscape scale in forested regions that include land-atmosphere, land-water, and water-atmosphere exchange of CO2, CH4 and N2O. Another aim is to promote investigations to elucidate the undelaying regulation of the biogeochemical processes. The SRC harbor several main habitats including mires, forests at different growth stages, lakes, and streams. The fluxes of greenhouse gases (GHG) are measured to a large extent according to ICOS protocol for the Eddy Covariance (EC) methodology for CO2, H2O, and CH4, as well as axillary data for habitats where such protocols exist. For aquatic habitats lacking such protocols

Climate change, water security and the need for integrated policy development: the case of on-farm infrastructure investment in the Australian irrigation sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maraseni, T N; Mushtaq, S; Reardon-Smith, K

2012-01-01

The Australian Government is currently addressing the challenge of increasing water scarcity through significant on-farm infrastructure investment to facilitate the adoption of new water-efficient pressurized irrigation systems. However, it is highly likely that conversion to these systems will increase on-farm energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, suggesting potential conflicts in terms of mitigation and adaptation policies. This study explored the trade-offs associated with the adoption of more water efficient but energy-intensive irrigation technologies by developing an integrated assessment framework. Integrated analysis of five case studies revealed trade-offs between water security and environmental security when conversion to pressurized irrigation systems was evaluated in terms of fuel and energy-related emissions, except in cases where older hand-shift sprinkler irrigation systems were replaced. These results suggest that priority should be given, in implementing on-farm infrastructure investment policy, to replacing inefficient and energy-intensive sprinkler irrigation systems such as hand-shift and roll-line. The results indicated that associated changes in the use of agricultural machinery and agrochemicals may also be important. The findings of this study support the use of an integrated approach to avoid possible conflicts in designing national climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, both of which are being developed in Australia. (letter)

The ISTIMES project: a new integrated system for monitoring critical transport infrastructures interested by natural hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Proto, Monica; Massimo, Bavusi; Francesco, Soldovieri

2010-05-01

measurements. The integration of electromagnetic technologies with new ICT information and telecommunications systems enables remotely controlled monitoring and surveillance and real time data imaging of the critical transport infrastructures. Thus, the proposal will concern also with the development of tools for handling, analysing and processing large data volume (Information Fusion) and then providing information and performing behaviour prediction in a quick, easy and intuitive way (Situation Awareness). The proposal is based on several independent non-invasive imaging technologies based on electromagnetic sensing. Sensor cross validation, synergy and new data fusion and correlation schemes will permit a multi-method, multi-resolution and multi-scale electromagnetic detection and monitoring of surface and subsurface changes of the infrastructure. According to GMES and European Spatial Data Infrastructure (ESDI) initiatives, the system will adopt open architectures and will make efforts to achieve full interoperability. The system will be tested on two very challenging test beds such as: a highway-bridge and a railway tunnel. The system will be based on clear end-user requirements, coming from representative end-users and technological choices will be based on a long term cost-benefit analysis. Then, a dissemination plan was included into the project to encourage a wide range of public institutions and private companies to evaluate and adopt our approach for real-time control and distributed monitoring also in the more general framework of critical and civil infrastructure management and protection. Finally, an exploitation plan will develop for the commercialization of any derived technology, software, or monitoring concepts. ISTIMES project is carried out by an international partnership formed by nine partners coming from seven countries: Tecnologie per le Osservazioni della Terra (TeRN), Elsag Datamat (ED) and Dipartimento della Protezione Civile (DPC) from Italy

A Disability and Health Institutional Research Capacity Building and Infrastructure Model Evaluation: A Tribal College-Based Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Corey L.; Manyibe, Edward O.; Sanders, Perry; Aref, Fariborz; Washington, Andre L.; Robertson, Cherjuan Y.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this multimethod study was to evaluate the institutional research capacity building and infrastructure model (IRCBIM), an emerging innovative and integrated approach designed to build, strengthen, and sustain adequate disability and health research capacity (i.e., research infrastructure and investigators' research skills)…

Integration in primary community care networks (PCCNs: examination of governance, clinical, marketing, financial, and information infrastructures in a national demonstration project in Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Blossom Yen-Ju

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Taiwan's primary community care network (PCCN demonstration project, funded by the Bureau of National Health Insurance on March 2003, was established to discourage hospital shopping behavior of people and drive the traditional fragmented health care providers into cooperate care models. Between 2003 and 2005, 268 PCCNs were established. This study profiled the individual members in the PCCNs to study the nature and extent to which their network infrastructures have been integrated among the members (clinics and hospitals within individual PCCNs. Methods The thorough questionnaire items, covering the network working infrastructures – governance, clinical, marketing, financial, and information integration in PCCNs, were developed with validity and reliability confirmed. One thousand five hundred and fifty-seven clinics that had belonged to PCCNs for more than one year, based on the 2003–2005 Taiwan Primary Community Care Network List, were surveyed by mail. Nine hundred and twenty-eight clinic members responded to the surveys giving a 59.6 % response rate. Results Overall, the PCCNs' members had higher involvement in the governance infrastructure, which was usually viewed as the most important for establishment of core values in PCCNs' organization design and management at the early integration stage. In addition, it found that there existed a higher extent of integration of clinical, marketing, and information infrastructures among the hospital-clinic member relationship than those among clinic members within individual PCCNs. The financial infrastructure was shown the least integrated relative to other functional infrastructures at the early stage of PCCN formation. Conclusion There was still room for better integrated partnerships, as evidenced by the great variety of relationships and differences in extent of integration in this study. In addition to provide how the network members have done for their initial work at

The integration of novel diagnostics techniques for multi-scale monitoring of large civil infrastructures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Soldovieri

2008-11-01

Full Text Available In the recent years, structural monitoring of large infrastructures (buildings, dams, bridges or more generally man-made structures has raised an increased attention due to the growing interest about safety and security issues and risk assessment through early detection. In this framework, aim of the paper is to introduce a new integrated approach which combines two sensing techniques acting on different spatial and temporal scales. The first one is a distributed optic fiber sensor based on the Brillouin scattering phenomenon, which allows a spatially and temporally continuous monitoring of the structure with a "low" spatial resolution (meter. The second technique is based on the use of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR, which can provide detailed images of the inner status of the structure (with a spatial resolution less then tens centimetres, but does not allow a temporal continuous monitoring. The paper describes the features of these two techniques and provides experimental results concerning preliminary test cases.

A relational conceptual framework for multidisciplinary health research centre infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johnson Joy L

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Although multidisciplinary and team-based approaches are increasingly acknowledged as necessary to address some of the most pressing contemporary health challenges, many researchers struggle with a lack of infrastructure to facilitate and formalise the requisite collaborations. Specialised research centres have emerged as an important organisational solution, yet centre productivity and sustainability are frequently dictated by the availability and security of infrastructure funds. Despite being widely cited as a core component of research capacity building, infrastructure as a discrete concept has been rather analytically neglected, often treated as an implicit feature of research environments with little specification or relegated to a narrow category of physical or administrative inputs. The terms research infrastructure, capacity, and culture, among others, are deployed in overlapping and inconsistent ways, further obfuscating the crucial functions of infrastructure specifically and its relationships with associated concepts. The case is made for an expanded conceptualisation of research infrastructure, one that moves beyond conventional 'hardware' notions. Drawing on a case analysis of NEXUS, a multidisciplinary health research centre based at the University of British Columbia, Canada, a conceptual framework is proposed that integrates the tangible and intangible structures that interactively underlie research centre functioning. A relational approach holds potential to allow for more comprehensive accounting of the returns on infrastructure investment. For those developing new research centres or seeking to reinvigorate existing ones, this framework may be a useful guide for both centre design and evaluation.

Managing the complexity of critical infrastructures a modelling and simulation approach

CERN Document Server

Rosato, Vittorio; Kyriakides, Elias; Rome, Erich

2016-01-01

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book summarizes work being pursued in the context of the CIPRNet (Critical Infrastructure Preparedness and Resilience Research Network) research project, co-funded by the European Union under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The project is intended to provide concrete and on-going support to the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) research communities, enhancing their preparedness for CI-related emergencies, while also providing expertise and technologies for other stakeholders to promote their understanding and mitigation of the consequences of CI disruptions, leading to enhanced resilience. The book collects the tutorial material developed by the authors for several courses on the modelling, simulation and analysis of CIs, representing extensive and integrated CIP expertise. It will help CI stakeholders, CI operators and civil protection authorities understand the complex system of CIs, and help them adapt to these changes and threats in or...

Water Quality Changes during Rapid Urbanization in the Shenzhen River Catchment: An Integrated View of Socio-Economic and Infrastructure Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hua-peng Qin

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Surface water quality deterioration is a serious problem in many rapidly urbanizing catchments in developing countries. There is currently a lack of studies that quantify water quality variation (deterioration or otherwise due to both socio-economic and infrastructure development in a catchment. This paper investigates the causes of water quality changes over the rapid urbanization period of 1985–2009 in the Shenzhen River catchment, China and examines the changes in relation to infrastructure development and socio-economic policies. The results indicate that the water quality deteriorated rapidly during the earlier urbanization stages before gradually improving over recent years, and that rapid increases in domestic discharge were the major causes of water quality deterioration. Although construction of additional wastewater infrastructure can significantly improve water quality, it was unable to dispose all of the wastewater in the catchment. However, it was found that socio-economic measures can significantly improve water quality by decreasing pollutant load per gross regional production (GRP or increasing labor productivity. Our findings suggest that sustainable development during urbanization is possible, provided that: (1 the wastewater infrastructure should be constructed timely and revitalized regularly in line with urbanization, and wastewater treatment facilities should be upgraded to improve their nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies; (2 administrative regulation policies, economic incentives and financial policies should be implemented to encourage industries to prevent or reduce the pollution at the source; (3 the environmental awareness and education level of local population should be increased; (4 planners from various sectors should consult each other and adapt an integrated planning approach for socio-economic and wastewater infrastructure development.

An integrated approach to place Green Infrastructure strategies in marginalized communities and evaluate stormwater mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Cuerva, Laura; Berglund, Emily Zechman; Rivers, Louie

2018-04-01

Increasing urbanization augments impervious surface area, which results in increased run off volumes and peak flows. Green Infrastructure (GI) approaches are a decentralized alternative for sustainable urban stormwater and provide an array of ecosystem services and foster community building by enhancing neighborhood aesthetics, increasing property value, and providing shared green spaces. While projects involving sustainability concepts and environmental design are favored in privileged communities, marginalized communities have historically been located in areas that suffer from environmental degradation. Underprivileged communities typically do not receive as many social and environmental services as advantaged communities. This research explores GI-based management strategies that are evaluated at the watershed scale to improve hydrological performance by mitigating storm water run off volumes and peak flows. GI deployment strategies are developed to address environmental justice issues by prioritizing placement in communities that are underprivileged and locations with high outreach potential. A hydrologic/hydraulic stormwater model is developed using the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM 5.1) to simulate the impacts of alternative management strategies. Management scenarios include the implementation of rain water harvesting in private households, the decentralized implementation of bioretention cells in private households, the centralized implementation of bioretention cells in municipally owned vacant land, and combinations of those strategies. Realities of implementing GI on private and public lands are taken into account to simulate various levels of coverage and routing for bioretention cell scenarios. The effects of these strategies are measured by the volumetric reduction of run off and reduction in peak flow; social benefits are not evaluated. This approach is applied in an underprivileged community within the Walnut Creek Watershed in Raleigh, North

Finding Practical Approaches to Integrated Water Resources Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Butterworth

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM has often been interpreted and implemented in a way that is only really suited to countries with the most developed water infrastructures and management capacities. While sympathetic to many of the criticisms levelled at the IWRM concept and recognising the often disappointing levels of adoption, this paper and the series of papers it introduces identify some alternative ways forward in a developmental context that place more emphasis on the practical in-finding solutions to water scarcity. A range of lighter, more pragmatic and context-adapted approaches, strategies and entry points are illustrated with examples from projects and initiatives in mainly 'developing' countries. The authors argue that a more service-orientated (WASH, irrigation and ecosystem services, locally rooted and balanced approach to IWRM that better matches contexts and capacities should build on such strategies, in addition to the necessary but long-term policy reforms and river basin institution-building at higher levels. Examples in this set of papers not only show that the 'lighter', more opportunistic and incremental approach has potential as well as limitations but also await wider piloting and adoption.

Making Infrastructure Work for Women and Men : A Review of World Bank Infrastructure Projects (1995-2009)

OpenAIRE

World Bank

2010-01-01

This report provides a gender review of a decade and a half of World Bank infrastructure lending for 1,246 projects. The objective of this review is to assess the status of and trends in gender integration in the World Bank infrastructure portfolio, and to establish a baseline for monitoring and enhancing gender integration in line with commitments made for the 2006 gender action plan. The ...

Elements for a Geopolitics of Infrastructure Megaprojects in Latin America and Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Vladimir Sánchez Calderón

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This paper develops a critical approach to projects and initiatives of supranational physical connection through infrastructure improvement for transport and energy, regarding specifically their socio-spatial implications at the national and local levels. With this purpose, we examined how infrastructure projects in Colombia are linked to two sub-continental initiatives that seek to build a physical platform for the region: the Plan Puebla Panama (PPP for Central America (including Colombia, and the Initiative for Regional Integration of South America (IIRSA.

Department of Energy's Virtual Lab Infrastructure for Integrated Earth System Science Data

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, D. N.; Palanisamy, G.; Shipman, G.; Boden, T.; Voyles, J.

2014-12-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Climate and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) produces a diversity of data, information, software, and model codes across its research and informatics programs and facilities. This information includes raw and reduced observational and instrumentation data, model codes, model-generated results, and integrated data products. Currently, most of this data and information are prepared and shared for program specific activities, corresponding to CESD organization research. A major challenge facing BER CESD is how best to inventory, integrate, and deliver these vast and diverse resources for the purpose of accelerating Earth system science research. This talk provides a concept for a CESD Integrated Data Ecosystem and an initial roadmap for its implementation to address this integration challenge in the "Big Data" domain. Towards this end, a new BER Virtual Laboratory Infrastructure will be presented, which will include services and software connecting the heterogeneous CESD data holdings, and constructed with open source software based on industry standards, protocols, and state-of-the-art technology.

LA PROTECTION DES INFRASTRUCTURES CRITIQUES – DEFIS ACTUELS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Fifoiu

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Considering that in the European Union's plan, it has not been identified a solution for surpassing the legal differences between states (derived from priorities and different interests, Romania continues the program of alignment towards increasing its own standards and interconnecting internal critical infrastructures with the European and regional ones. This process is a lasting one, fact revealed also by the distance, in terms of time, between the first approaches, at a European level, of the problems of critical infrastructures, at the implementation of Directive 114/2008 provisions. The steps taken by the authorities in Bucharest are intended to drive Romania towards a level of development compatible both with the integration in a single European space of critical infrastructures and the fulfillment of an important role in stating the future strategies of the European Union. Currently, Romania’s alignment to the European Union and international standards creates the optimum framework for developing and implementing some specific provisions which, at this time, are materialized as the steps of a single national plan for protecting critical infrastructures, on the way of being configured.

A Distributed Public Key Infrastructure Based on Threshold Cryptography for the HiiMap Next Generation Internet Architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oliver Hanka

2011-02-01

Full Text Available In this article, a security extension for the HiiMap Next Generation Internet Architecture is presented. We regard a public key infrastructure which is integrated into the mapping infrastructure of the locator/identifier-split addressing scheme. The security approach is based on Threshold Cryptography which enables a sharing of keys among the mapping servers. Hence, a more trustworthy and fair approach for a Next Generation Internet Architecture as compared to the state of the art approach is fostered. Additionally, we give an evaluation based on IETF AAA recommendations for security-related systems.

Productivity-based approach to valuation of transportation infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-10-01

Transportation infrastructure, a vital component to sustain economic prosperity, represents the largest public-owned : infrastructure asset in the U.S. With over a trillion invested dollars invested into long-lived physical assets such as : roads and...

Securing remote services by integrating SecurID strong authentication technology in EFDA-Federation infrastructure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castro, R., E-mail: rodrigo.castro@visite.es [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Madrid (Spain); Barbato, P. [Consorzio RFX, Euratom ENEA Association, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padova (Italy); Vega, J. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Madrid (Spain); Taliercio, C. [Consorzio RFX, Euratom ENEA Association, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padova (Italy)

2011-10-15

Remote participation facilities among fusion laboratories require access control solutions with two main objectives: to preserve the usability of the systems and to guaranty the required level of security for accessing to shared services. On one hand, this security solution has to be: single-sign-on, transparent for users, compatible with user mobility, and compatible with used client applications. On the other hand, it has to be compatible with shared services and resources among organisations, providing in each case the required access security level. EFDA-Federation is a security infrastructure that integrates a set of fusion laboratories and enables to share resources and services fulfilling the requirements previously described. In EFDA community, JET and RFX have security access policies to some of their services that require strong authentication mechanisms. In both cases, strong authentication is based on RSA SecurID tokens. This is a hardware device that is supplied to and generates a new password every minute. The job presents two main results. The first one is the integration of RSA SecurID into EFDA-Federation. Thanks to it, federated organisations are able to offer SecurID to their users as an alternative strong authentication mechanism, with the corresponding increase of security level. The second result is the development of a new access control mechanism based on port knocking techniques and its integration into EFDA-Federation. Additionally, a real application in RFX is presented and includes the integration of its SecurID infrastructure as federated authentication mechanism, and the application of the new access control mechanism to its MDSplus server.

Securing remote services by integrating SecurID strong authentication technology in EFDA-Federation infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castro, R.; Barbato, P.; Vega, J.; Taliercio, C.

2011-01-01

Remote participation facilities among fusion laboratories require access control solutions with two main objectives: to preserve the usability of the systems and to guaranty the required level of security for accessing to shared services. On one hand, this security solution has to be: single-sign-on, transparent for users, compatible with user mobility, and compatible with used client applications. On the other hand, it has to be compatible with shared services and resources among organisations, providing in each case the required access security level. EFDA-Federation is a security infrastructure that integrates a set of fusion laboratories and enables to share resources and services fulfilling the requirements previously described. In EFDA community, JET and RFX have security access policies to some of their services that require strong authentication mechanisms. In both cases, strong authentication is based on RSA SecurID tokens. This is a hardware device that is supplied to and generates a new password every minute. The job presents two main results. The first one is the integration of RSA SecurID into EFDA-Federation. Thanks to it, federated organisations are able to offer SecurID to their users as an alternative strong authentication mechanism, with the corresponding increase of security level. The second result is the development of a new access control mechanism based on port knocking techniques and its integration into EFDA-Federation. Additionally, a real application in RFX is presented and includes the integration of its SecurID infrastructure as federated authentication mechanism, and the application of the new access control mechanism to its MDSplus server.

Towards the integration of sustainable infrastructure into the existing built environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitrijević Branka

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The construction sector in the United Kingdom is dominated by small and medium size enterprises (SMEs which have less than 250 employees and usually do not have research capacities to develop a range of low carbon innovations applicable in the construction sector. Various European and national funding programmes have addressed this problem by providing funding for research collaboration between universities and SMEs. The paper provides a selection of the outputs of academic/industry research, undertaken by seven Scottish universities through the project CIC Start Online from September 2009 until February 2013, related to low carbon planning, building design, technologies, construction, refurbishment and performance. The studies either contributed to the further development of existing products or processes, or tested new products or processes, often developed for a specific project with a potential for application in future projects. Online dissemination of the project outcomes has assisted in attracting membership across Scotland, the United Kingdom and internationally. Along with the low carbon building products and technologies, new low carbon infrastructure is being planned and developed in order to provide connections and services for energy generation from renewables, energy storage and decentralised distribution, water management (harvesting, saving and reuse, waste management (reduction, reuse and to-energy, transport (electric vehicles, cycling and walking and information communication technology (ICT for monitoring and managing infrastructure systems. The second part of the paper outlines how innovations for integration of sustainable infrastructure into the existing built environment will be supported through the follow-on joint project of nine Scottish universities, named Mainstreaming Innovation.

Advanced Manufacturing - National Information Infrastructure (AM-NII) Final Report CRADA No. TO-4013-01

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vickers, Don [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2001-03-23

Advanced Manufacturing - National Information Infrastructure (AM-NII) was a multiyear DOE/DP program, involving multiple DOE laboratories and production facilities, focused on improving the manufacturing capabilities of the Nuclear Weapons Complex (NWC) through the application of modem information technologies. AM-NII's published mission states: "In partnership with the manufacturing business sector, AMNII will leverage DOE capabilities to develop, demonstrate, and pilot industrial information infrastructure and applications that enhance national security." LLNL's AM-NII project targeted two opportunities for improving NWC manufacturing capabilities. First was the link between the NWC and its outside suppliers of manufactured parts - web-based supply-chain integration. Second was the cross-site enterprise integration (EI) within the Complex itself. The general approach to supply-chain integration was to leverage the National Information Infrastructure (including Internet) to demonstrate the procurement of fabricated electrical and mechanical parts using a completely paperless procurement process. The general approach to NWC enterprise integration was to utilize SecureNet, a network that provides a secure, high-speed data link among the various NWC sites. If one looks at SecureNet as "the track," our goal was to get the trains running. Cross-site enterprise integration presupposes there is some level of local integration, so we worked both local and cross-site is sues simultaneously. Our EI work was in support of the LLNL Stockpile Life Extension Programs (SLEPs), the Submarine Launch Ballistic Missile Warhead Protection Program (SWPP), and the Laser Cutter Workstation installed at Y-12.

An integrated mission approach to the space exploration initiative will ensure success

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coomes, E.P.; Dagle, J.E.; Bamberger, J.A.; Noffsinger, K.E.

1991-01-01

The direction of the American space program, as defined by President Bush and the National Commission on Space, is to expand human presence into the solar system. Landing an American on Mars by the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing is the goal. This challenge has produced a level of excitement among young Americans not seen for nearly three decades. The exploration and settlement of the space frontier will occupy the creative thoughts and energies of generations of Americans well into the next century. The return of Americans to the moon and beyond must be viewed as a national effort with strong public support if it is to become a reality. Key to making this an actuality is the mission approach selected. Developing a permanent presence in space requires a continual stepping outward from Earch in a logical progressive manner. If we seriously plan to go and to stay, then not only must we plan what we are to do and how we are to do it, we must address the logistic support infrastructure that will allow us to stay there once we arrive. A fully integrated approach to mission planning is needed if the Space exploration Initiative (SEI) is to be successful. Only in this way can a permanent human presence in space be sustained. An integrated infrastructure approach would reduce the number of new systems and technologies requiring development. The resultant horizontal commonality of systems and hardware would reduce the direct economic impact of SEI while an early return on investment through technology spin-offs would be an economic benefit by greatly enhancing our international technical competitiveness. If the exploration, development, and colonization of space is to be affordable and acceptable, careful consideration must be given to such things as ''return on investment'' and ''commercial product potential'' of the technologies developed

Database modeling to integrate macrobenthos data in Spatial Data Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Alberto Quintanilha

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Coastal zones are complex areas that include marine and terrestrial environments. Besides its huge environmental wealth, they also attracts humans because provides food, recreation, business, and transportation, among others. Some difficulties to manage these areas are related with their complexity, diversity of interests and the absence of standardization to collect and share data to scientific community, public agencies, among others. The idea to organize, standardize and share this information based on Web Atlas is essential to support planning and decision making issues. The construction of a spatial database integrating the environmental business, to be used on Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI is illustrated by a bioindicator that indicates the quality of the sediments. The models show the phases required to build Macrobenthos spatial database based on Santos Metropolitan Region as a reference. It is concluded that, when working with environmental data the structuring of knowledge in a conceptual model is essential for their subsequent integration into the SDI. During the modeling process it can be noticed that methodological issues related to the collection process may obstruct or prejudice the integration of data from different studies of the same area. The development of a database model, as presented in this study, can be used as a reference for further research with similar goals.

Geographic Hotspots of Critical National Infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Thacker, Scott; Barr, Stuart; Pant, Raghav; Hall, Jim W; Alderson, David

2017-12-01

Failure of critical national infrastructures can result in major disruptions to society and the economy. Understanding the criticality of individual assets and the geographic areas in which they are located is essential for targeting investments to reduce risks and enhance system resilience. Within this study we provide new insights into the criticality of real-life critical infrastructure networks by integrating high-resolution data on infrastructure location, connectivity, interdependence, and usage. We propose a metric of infrastructure criticality in terms of the number of users who may be directly or indirectly disrupted by the failure of physically interdependent infrastructures. Kernel density estimation is used to integrate spatially discrete criticality values associated with individual infrastructure assets, producing a continuous surface from which statistically significant infrastructure criticality hotspots are identified. We develop a comprehensive and unique national-scale demonstration for England and Wales that utilizes previously unavailable data from the energy, transport, water, waste, and digital communications sectors. The testing of 200,000 failure scenarios identifies that hotspots are typically located around the periphery of urban areas where there are large facilities upon which many users depend or where several critical infrastructures are concentrated in one location. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

High-performance integrated virtual environment (HIVE): a robust infrastructure for next-generation sequence data analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Simonyan, Vahan; Chumakov, Konstantin; Dingerdissen, Hayley; Faison, William; Goldweber, Scott; Golikov, Anton; Gulzar, Naila; Karagiannis, Konstantinos; Vinh Nguyen Lam, Phuc; Maudru, Thomas; Muravitskaja, Olesja; Osipova, Ekaterina; Pan, Yang; Pschenichnov, Alexey; Rostovtsev, Alexandre; Santana-Quintero, Luis; Smith, Krista; Thompson, Elaine E; Tkachenko, Valery; Torcivia-Rodriguez, John; Voskanian, Alin; Wan, Quan; Wang, Jing; Wu, Tsung-Jung; Wilson, Carolyn; Mazumder, Raja

2016-01-01

The High-performance Integrated Virtual Environment (HIVE) is a distributed storage and compute environment designed primarily to handle next-generation sequencing (NGS) data. This multicomponent cloud infrastructure provides secure web access for authorized users to deposit, retrieve, annotate and compute on NGS data, and to analyse the outcomes using web interface visual environments appropriately built in collaboration with research and regulatory scientists and other end users. Unlike many massively parallel computing environments, HIVE uses a cloud control server which virtualizes services, not processes. It is both very robust and flexible due to the abstraction layer introduced between computational requests and operating system processes. The novel paradigm of moving computations to the data, instead of moving data to computational nodes, has proven to be significantly less taxing for both hardware and network infrastructure.The honeycomb data model developed for HIVE integrates metadata into an object-oriented model. Its distinction from other object-oriented databases is in the additional implementation of a unified application program interface to search, view and manipulate data of all types. This model simplifies the introduction of new data types, thereby minimizing the need for database restructuring and streamlining the development of new integrated information systems. The honeycomb model employs a highly secure hierarchical access control and permission system, allowing determination of data access privileges in a finely granular manner without flooding the security subsystem with a multiplicity of rules. HIVE infrastructure will allow engineers and scientists to perform NGS analysis in a manner that is both efficient and secure. HIVE is actively supported in public and private domains, and project collaborations are welcomed. Database URL: https://hive.biochemistry.gwu.edu. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Methodology for Analyzing and Developing Information Management Infrastructure to Support Telerehabilitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andi Saptono

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The proliferation of advanced technologies led researchers within the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telerehabilitation (RERC-TR to devise an integrated infrastructure for clinical services using the University of Pittsburgh (PITT model. This model describes five required characteristics for a telerehabilitation (TR infrastructure: openness, extensibility, scalability, cost-effectiveness, and security. The infrastructure is to deliver clinical services over distance to improve access to health services for people living in underserved or remote areas. The methodological approach to design, develop, and employ this infrastructure is explained and detailed for the remote wheelchair prescription project, a research task within the RERC-TR. The availability of this specific clinical service and personnel outside of metropolitan areas is limited due to the lack of specialty expertise and access to resources. The infrastructure is used to deliver expertise in wheeled mobility and seating through teleconsultation to remote clinics, and has been successfully deployed to five rural clinics in Western Pennsylvania. Keywords: Telerehabilitation, Information Management, Infrastructure Development Methodology, Videoconferencing, Online Portal, Database

Decision analysis and risk models for land development affecting infrastructure systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Thekdi, Shital A; Lambert, James H

2012-07-01

Coordination and layering of models to identify risks in complex systems such as large-scale infrastructure of energy, water, and transportation is of current interest across application domains. Such infrastructures are increasingly vulnerable to adjacent commercial and residential land development. Land development can compromise the performance of essential infrastructure systems and increase the costs of maintaining or increasing performance. A risk-informed approach to this topic would be useful to avoid surprise, regret, and the need for costly remedies. This article develops a layering and coordination of models for risk management of land development affecting infrastructure systems. The layers are: system identification, expert elicitation, predictive modeling, comparison of investment alternatives, and implications of current decisions for future options. The modeling layers share a focus on observable factors that most contribute to volatility of land development and land use. The relevant data and expert evidence include current and forecasted growth in population and employment, conservation and preservation rules, land topography and geometries, real estate assessments, market and economic conditions, and other factors. The approach integrates to a decision framework of strategic considerations based on assessing risk, cost, and opportunity in order to prioritize needs and potential remedies that mitigate impacts of land development to the infrastructure systems. The approach is demonstrated for a 5,700-mile multimodal transportation system adjacent to 60,000 tracts of potential land development. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

Decision support toolkit for integrated analysis and design of reclaimed water infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Eun Jung; Criddle, Craig S; Geza, Mengistu; Cath, Tzahi Y; Freyberg, David L

2018-05-01

Planning of water reuse systems is a complex endeavor. We have developed a software toolkit, IRIPT (Integrated Urban Reclaimed Water Infrastructure Planning Toolkit) that facilitates planning and design of reclaimed water infrastructure for both centralized and hybrid configurations that incorporate satellite treatment plants (STPs). The toolkit includes a Pipeline Designer (PRODOT) that optimizes routing and sizing of pipelines for wastewater capture and reclaimed water distribution, a Selector (SelWTP) that assembles and optimizes wastewater treatment trains, and a Calculator (CalcBenefit) that estimates fees, revenues, and subsidies of alternative designs. For hybrid configurations, a Locator (LocSTP) optimizes siting of STPs and associated wastewater diversions by identifying manhole locations where the flowrates are sufficient to ensure that wastewater extracted and treated at an adjacent STP can generate the revenue needed to pay for treatment and delivery to customers. Practical local constraints are also applied to screen and identify STP locations. Once suitable sites are selected, System Integrator (ToolIntegrator) identifies a set of centralized and hybrid configurations that: (1) maximize reclaimed water supply, (2) maximize reclaimed water supply while also ensuring a financial benefit for the system, and (3) maximize the net financial benefit for the system. The resulting configurations are then evaluated by an Analyst (SANNA) that uses monetary and non-monetary criteria, with weights assigned to appropriate metrics by a decision-maker, to identify a preferred configuration. To illustrate the structure, assumptions, and use of IRIPT, we apply it to a case study for the city of Golden, CO. The criteria weightings provided by a local decision-maker lead to a preference for a centralized configuration in this case. The Golden case study demonstrates that IRIPT can efficiently analyze centralized and hybrid water reuse configurations and rank them

Architecture of a fully integrated communication infrastructure for the smart home; Architektur einer vollintegrierten Kommunikationsinfrastruktur fuer das Smart Home

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schaefer, Falk-Moritz; Kays, Ruediger [TU Dortmund (Germany). Lehrstuhl fuer Kommunikationstechnik

2012-07-01

For some time, applications in the areas of home automation, ambient assisted living and e-health are discussed. These require reliable and energy-efficient communication solutions in the home environment. In addition, new concepts that go hand in hand with the concept of the smart grids need an access to devices within the home environment. In the realization of smart homes the diversity of market participants involved, the parallel existing business models, the application requirements and the available communication systems make special demands on the underlying network infrastructure. Different solutions should be able to communicate with each other and compatible. In addition, the user expects a simple operation and configuration as well as a long-term support of the products. In the best case, the user is confronted with a single, integrated network infrastructure. Instead of separate systems for reading out of smart meters for monitoring the solar system, for health monitoring and the settings of multimedia devices, the telephone system, or computer network, a fully integrated smart home communications infrastructure should come into operation. This smart home infrastructure should be free of unnecessary duplication of structures; all equipment should be taken into account with a communication interface. The authors of the contribution under consideration report on a possible architecture of such a network infrastructure. Different grades are identified. A protocol stack for different technologies and the linking of different network hierarchies are described.

Integrating thematic web portal capabilities into the NASA Earthdata Web Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, M. M.; McLaughlin, B. D.; Huang, T.; Baynes, K.

2015-12-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) acquires and distributes an abundance of Earth science data on a daily basis to a diverse user community worldwide. To assist the scientific community and general public in achieving a greater understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of Earth science and of key environmental and climate change topics, the NASA Earthdata web infrastructure is integrating new methods of presenting and providing access to Earth science information, data, research and results. This poster will present the process of integrating thematic web portal capabilities into the NASA Earthdata web infrastructure, with examples from the Sea Level Change Portal. The Sea Level Change Portal will be a source of current NASA research, data and information regarding sea level change. The portal will provide sea level change information through articles, graphics, videos and animations, an interactive tool to view and access sea level change data and a dashboard showing sea level change indicators. Earthdata is a part of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) project. EOSDIS is a key core capability in NASA's Earth Science Data Systems Program. It provides end-to-end capabilities for managing NASA's Earth science data from various sources - satellites, aircraft, field measurements, and various other programs. It is comprised of twelve Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs), Science Computing Facilities (SCFs), data discovery and service access client (Reverb and Earthdata Search), dataset directory (Global Change Master Directory - GCMD), near real-time data (Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS - LANCE), Worldview (an imagery visualization interface), Global Imagery Browse Services, the Earthdata Code Collaborative and a host of other discipline specific data discovery, data access, data subsetting and visualization tools.

Scaling Analysis Techniques to Establish Experimental Infrastructure for Component, Subsystem, and Integrated System Testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sabharwall, Piyush [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); O' Brien, James E. [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); McKellar, Michael G. [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Housley, Gregory K. [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M. [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-03-01

Hybrid energy system research has the potential to expand the application for nuclear reactor technology beyond electricity. The purpose of this research is to reduce both technical and economic risks associated with energy systems of the future. Nuclear hybrid energy systems (NHES) mitigate the variability of renewable energy sources, provide opportunities to produce revenue from different product streams, and avoid capital inefficiencies by matching electrical output to demand by using excess generation capacity for other purposes when it is available. An essential step in the commercialization and deployment of this advanced technology is scaled testing to demonstrate integrated dynamic performance of advanced systems and components when risks cannot be mitigated adequately by analysis or simulation. Further testing in a prototypical environment is needed for validation and higher confidence. This research supports the development of advanced nuclear reactor technology and NHES, and their adaptation to commercial industrial applications that will potentially advance U.S. energy security, economy, and reliability and further reduce carbon emissions. Experimental infrastructure development for testing and feasibility studies of coupled systems can similarly support other projects having similar developmental needs and can generate data required for validation of models in thermal energy storage and transport, energy, and conversion process development. Experiments performed in the Systems Integration Laboratory will acquire performance data, identify scalability issues, and quantify technology gaps and needs for various hybrid or other energy systems. This report discusses detailed scaling (component and integrated system) and heat transfer figures of merit that will establish the experimental infrastructure for component, subsystem, and integrated system testing to advance the technology readiness of components and systems to the level required for commercial

An Emergent Micro-Services Approach to Digital Curation Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen Abrams

2010-07-01

Full Text Available In order better to meet the needs of its diverse University of California (UC constituencies, the California Digital Library UC Curation Center is re-envisioning its approach to digital curation infrastructure by devolving function into a set of granular, independent, but interoperable micro-services. Since each of these services is small and self-contained, they are more easily developed, deployed, maintained, and enhanced; at the same time, complex curation function can emerge from the strategic combination of atomistic services. The emergent approach emphasizes the persistence of content rather than the systems in which that content is managemed, thus the paradigmatic archival culture is not unduly coupled to any particular technological context. This results in a curation environment that is comprehensive in scope, yet flexible with regard to local policies and practices and sustainable despite the inevitability of disruptive change in technology and user expectation.

Influence of governance structure on green stormwater infrastructure investment

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, Kristina G.; Grimm, Nancy B.; York, Abigail M.

2018-01-01

Communities are faced with the challenge of meeting regulatory requirements mandating reductions in water pollution from stormwater and combined sewer overflows (CSO). Green stormwater infrastructure and gray stormwater infrastructure are two types of water management strategies communities can use to address water pollution. In this study, we used long-term control plans from 25 U.S. cities to synthesize: the types of gray and green infrastructure being used by communities to address combined sewer overflows; the types of goals set; biophysical characteristics of each city; and factors associated with the governance of stormwater management. These city characteristics were then used to identify common characteristics of “green leader” cities—those that dedicated >20% of the control plan budget in green infrastructure. Five “green leader” cities were identified: Milwaukee, WI, Philadelphia, PA, Syracuse, NY, New York City, NY, and Buffalo, NY. These five cities had explicit green infrastructure goals targeting the volume of stormwater or percentage of impervious cover managed by green infrastructure. Results suggested that the management scale and complexity of the management system are less important factors than the ability to harness a “policy window” to integrate green infrastructure into control plans. Two case studies—Philadelphia, PA, and Milwaukee, WI—indicated that green leader cities have a long history of building momentum for green infrastructure through a series of phases from experimentation, demonstration, and finally—in the case of Philadelphia—a full transition in the approach used to manage CSOs.

Integrating data infrastructure to facilitate holistic approach to the investigations of anthropogenic hazards evoked by exploration and exploitation of geo-resources

Science.gov (United States)

Orlecka-Sikora, Beata; Kwiatek, Grzegorz; Olszewska, Dorota; Lasocki, Stanisław; Gasparini, Paolo; Kozlovskaya, Elena; Nevalainen, Jouni; Schmittbuhl, Jean; Grasso, Jean Robert; Schaming, Marc; Biggare, Pascal; Saccarotti, Gilberto; Garcia, Alexander; Cassidy, Nigel; Toon, Sam; Mutke, Grzegorz; Sterzel, Mariusz; Szepieniec, Tomasz

2016-04-01

The EPOS integration plan assumes a significant contribution to the research on anthropogenic hazards (AH) associated with the exploration and exploitation of geo-resources. These problems will be dealt in Thematic Core Service "Anthropogenic Hazards" (TCS AH). TCS AH is based on the prototype built in the framework of the IS-EPOS platform project (https://tcs.ah-epos.eu/), financed from Polish structural funds (POIG.02.03.00-14-090/13-00), with will be further developed within EPOS IP project (H2020-INFRADEV-1-2015-1, INFRADEV-3-2015). TCS AH aims to have a measurable impact on innovative research and development as well as on society by providing comprehensive, wide-scale and high quality AH research infrastructure. One of the main deliverables are numerous comprehensive induced seismicity datasets called "episodes". The episode is a comprehensive data description of a geophysical process, induced or triggered by technological activity, which under certain circumstances can become hazardous for people, infrastructure and the environment. In addition to the six episodes already implemented during the mentioned IS-EPOS project, at least 20 new episodes related to conventional hydrocarbon extraction, reservoir treatment, underground mining and geothermal energy production are being integrated into the e-environment of the TCS AH. The heterogeneous multi-disciplinary data are transformed to unified structures developed within IS-EPOS project, to form integrated and validated datasets. Dedicated visualization tools for multidisciplinary data comprising episodes are also implemented. These tools are capable to aggregate and combine different data types and facilitating specific visualization possibilities (e.g. combining seismic and technological information). The implementation process, tailored for each episode, consists of four steps: (i) Data revision, determination of its accuracy and limitations; (ii) Data preparation and homogenization to follow the TCS AH

Multi-stage crypto ransomware attacks: A new emerging cyber threat to critical infrastructure and industrial control systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron Zimba

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The inevitable integration of critical infrastructure to public networks has exposed the underlying industrial control systems to various attack vectors. In this paper, we model multi-stage crypto ransomware attacks, which are today an emerging cyber threat to critical infrastructure. We evaluate our modeling approach using multi-stage attacks by the infamous WannaCry ransomware. The static malware analysis results uncover the techniques employed by the ransomware to discover vulnerable nodes in different SCADA and production subnets, and for the subsequent network propagation. Based on the uncovered artifacts, we recommend a cascaded network segmentation approach, which prioritizes the security of production network devices. Keywords: Critical infrastructure, Cyber-attack, Industrial control system, Crypto ransomware, Vulnerability

Challenges in the vulnerability and risk analysis of critical infrastructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zio, Enrico

2016-01-01

The objective of this paper is to provide a systematic view on the problem of vulnerability and risk analysis of critical infrastructures. Reflections are made on the inherent complexities of these systems, related challenges are identified and possible ways forward for their analysis and management are indicated. Specifically: the framework of vulnerability and risk analysis is examined in relation to its application for the protection and resilience of critical infrastructures; it is argued that the complexity of these systems is a challenging characteristic, which calls for the integration of different modeling perspectives and new approaches of analysis; examples of are given in relation to the Internet and, particularly, the electric power grid, as representative of critical infrastructures and the associated complexity; the integration of different types of analyses and methods of system modeling is put forward for capturing the inherent structural and dynamic complexities of critical infrastructures and eventually evaluating their vulnerability and risk characteristics, so that decisions on protections and resilience actions can be taken with the required confidence. - Highlights: • The problem of the protection and resilience of CIs is the focus of the work. • The vulnerability and risk analysis framework for this is critically examined. • The complexity of CIs is presented as a challenge for system modeling and analysis. • The integration of different modeling perspectives of analysis is put forward as a solution. • The extension of the analysis framework to new methods for dealing with surprises and black swans is advocated.

National platform electromobility. Interim report of the working group 3 Load infrastructure and rid integration; Nationale Plattform Elektromobilitaet. Zwischenbericht der Arbeitsgruppe 3 Lade-Infrastruktur und Netzintegration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, Stefan [E.ON AG, Duesseldorf (Germany). Political Affairs and Communications Energy Mix, Environment, Efficiency; Ledwon, Martin [Siemens AG, Berlin (Germany). Government Affairs

2010-07-01

The contribution under consideration reports on the first intermediate results of the working group 3 ''Load infrastructure and grid integration'' of the national platform electromobility. Next to the representation of the general objective of this working group, the following aspects are considered: (a) Electromobility in the field of tension between the power supply system and renewable production; (b) Possible network loads due to the integration of electrically powered vehicles; (c) Requirements concerning the load infrastructure; (d) Technology development of the load point; (e) Potentials by the integration of electrical mobiles into the Smart Grid; (f) Research and Development roadmap. This contribution finishes with a presentation of a concrete conversion plan for the demand of infrastructure.

Pervasive Monitoring—An Intelligent Sensor Pod Approach for Standardised Measurement Infrastructures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Lippautz

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Geo-sensor networks have traditionally been built up in closed monolithic systems, thus limiting trans-domain usage of real-time measurements. This paper presents the technical infrastructure of a standardised embedded sensing device, which has been developed in the course of the Live Geography approach. The sensor pod implements data provision standards of the Sensor Web Enablement initiative, including an event-based alerting mechanism and location-aware Complex Event Processing functionality for detection of threshold transgression and quality assurance. The goal of this research is that the resultant highly flexible sensing architecture will bring sensor network applications one step further towards the realisation of the vision of a “digital skin for planet earth”. The developed infrastructure can potentially have far-reaching impacts on sensor-based monitoring systems through the deployment of ubiquitous and fine-grained sensor networks. This in turn allows for the straight-forward use of live sensor data in existing spatial decision support systems to enable better-informed decision-making.

Development Model for Research Infrastructures

Science.gov (United States)

Wächter, Joachim; Hammitzsch, Martin; Kerschke, Dorit; Lauterjung, Jörn

2015-04-01

. The maturity of individual scientific domains differs considerably. • Technologically and organisationally many different RI components have to be integrated. Individual systems are often complex and have a long-term history. Existing approaches are on different maturity levels, e.g. in relation to the standardisation of interfaces. • The concrete implementation process consists of independent and often parallel development activities. In many cases no detailed architectural blue-print for the envisioned system exists. • Most of the funding currently available for RI implementation is provided on a project basis. To increase the synergies in infrastructure development the authors propose a specific RI Maturity Model (RIMM) that is specifically qualified for open system-of-system environments. RIMM is based on the concepts of Capability Maturity Models for organisational development, concretely the Levels of Conceptual Interoperability Model (LCIM) specifying the technical, syntactical, semantic, pragmatic, dynamic, and conceptual layers of interoperation [1]. The model is complemented by the identification and integration of growth factors (according to the Nolan Stages Theory [2]). These factors include supply and demand factors. Supply factors comprise available resources, e.g., data, services and IT-management capabilities including organisations and IT-personal. Demand factors are the overall application portfolio for RIs but also the skills and requirements of scientists and communities using the infrastructure. RIMM thus enables a balanced development process of RI and RI components by evaluating the status of the supply and demand factors in relation to specific levels of interoperability. [1] Tolk, A., Diallo, A., Turnitsa, C. (2007): Applying the Levels of Conceptual Interoperability Model in Support of Integratability, Interoperability, and Composability for System-of-Systems Engineering. Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, Volume 5 - Number 5. [2

Strengthening of radiation and waste safety infrastructures in the countries of Eastern Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webb, G.A.M.; Mrabit, K.; Bilbao, A.V.

1998-01-01

The IAEA's integrated management approach and the establishment of a model project of technical cooperation to upgrade the radiation and waste safety infrastructures in its Member States is reviewed. The project today involves more than 50 countries many of which belong to Eastern Europe. (A.K.)

Sensing Models and Sensor Network Architectures for Transport Infrastructure Monitoring in Smart Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Simonis, Ingo

2015-04-01

Transport infrastructure monitoring and analysis is one of the focus areas in the context of smart cities. With the growing number of people moving into densely populated urban metro areas, precise tracking of moving people and goods is the basis for profound decision-making and future planning. With the goal of defining optimal extensions and modifications to existing transport infrastructures, multi-modal transport has to be monitored and analysed. This process is performed on the basis of sensor networks that combine a variety of sensor models, types, and deployments within the area of interest. Multi-generation networks, consisting of a number of sensor types and versions, are causing further challenges for the integration and processing of sensor observations. These challenges are not getting any smaller with the development of the Internet of Things, which brings promising opportunities, but is currently stuck in a type of protocol war between big industry players from both the hardware and network infrastructure domain. In this paper, we will highlight how the OGC suite of standards, with the Sensor Web standards developed by the Sensor Web Enablement Initiative together with the latest developments by the Sensor Web for Internet of Things community can be applied to the monitoring and improvement of transport infrastructures. Sensor Web standards have been applied in the past to pure technical domains, but need to be broadened now in order to meet new challenges. Only cross domain approaches will allow to develop satisfying transport infrastructure approaches that take into account requirements coming form a variety of sectors such as tourism, administration, transport industry, emergency services, or private people. The goal is the development of interoperable components that can be easily integrated within data infrastructures and follow well defined information models to allow robust processing.

Water supply infrastructure planning under multiple uncertainties: A differentiated approach

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, S.; Strzepek, K.

2017-12-01

desalination. Intense withdrawals for urban and agricultural use will lead to lowering of the water table in the aquifer at rapid but uncertain rates due to poor groundwater characterization. We assess the potential for additional groundwater data collection and a flexible infrastructure approach similar to that in Melbourne to mitigate risk.

System Dynamics Approach for Critical Infrastructure and Decision Support. A Model for a Potable Water System.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasqualini, D.; Witkowski, M.

2005-12-01

The Critical Infrastructure Protection / Decision Support System (CIP/DSS) project, supported by the Science and Technology Office, has been developing a risk-informed Decision Support System that provides insights for making critical infrastructure protection decisions. The system considers seventeen different Department of Homeland Security defined Critical Infrastructures (potable water system, telecommunications, public health, economics, etc.) and their primary interdependencies. These infrastructures have been modeling in one model called CIP/DSS Metropolitan Model. The modeling approach used is a system dynamics modeling approach. System dynamics modeling combines control theory and the nonlinear dynamics theory, which is defined by a set of coupled differential equations, which seeks to explain how the structure of a given system determines its behavior. In this poster we present a system dynamics model for one of the seventeen critical infrastructures, a generic metropolitan potable water system (MPWS). Three are the goals: 1) to gain a better understanding of the MPWS infrastructure; 2) to identify improvements that would help protect MPWS; and 3) to understand the consequences, interdependencies, and impacts, when perturbations occur to the system. The model represents raw water sources, the metropolitan water treatment process, storage of treated water, damage and repair to the MPWS, distribution of water, and end user demand, but does not explicitly represent the detailed network topology of an actual MPWS. The MPWS model is dependent upon inputs from the metropolitan population, energy, telecommunication, public health, and transportation models as well as the national water and transportation models. We present modeling results and sensitivity analysis indicating critical choke points, negative and positive feedback loops in the system. A general scenario is also analyzed where the potable water system responds to a generic disruption.

Investing in Natural and Nature-Based Infrastructure: Building Better Along Our Coasts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ariana E. Sutton-Grier

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Much of the United States’ critical infrastructure is either aging or requires significant repair, leaving U.S. communities and the economy vulnerable. Outdated and dilapidated infrastructure places coastal communities, in particular, at risk from the increasingly frequent and intense coastal storm events and rising sea levels. Therefore, investments in coastal infrastructure are urgently needed to ensure community safety and prosperity; however, these investments should not jeopardize the ecosystems and natural resources that underlie economic wealth and human well-being. Over the past 50 years, efforts have been made to integrate built infrastructure with natural landscape features, often termed “green” infrastructure, in order to sustain and restore valuable ecosystem functions and services. For example, significant advances have been made in implementing green infrastructure approaches for stormwater management, wastewater treatment, and drinking water conservation and delivery. However, the implementation of natural and nature-based infrastructure (NNBI aimed at flood prevention and coastal erosion protection is lagging. There is an opportunity now, as the U.S. government reacts to the recent, unprecedented flooding and hurricane damage and considers greater infrastructure investments, to incorporate NNBI into coastal infrastructure projects. Doing so will increase resilience and provide critical services to local communities in a cost-effective manner and thereby help to sustain a growing economy.

Infrastructure: concept, types and value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander E. Lantsov

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Researches of influence of infrastructure on the economic growth and development of the countries gained currency. However the majority of authors drop the problem of definition of accurate concept of studied object and its criteria out. In the given article various approaches in the definition of «infrastructure» concept, criterion and the characteristics of infrastructure distinguishing it from other capital assets are presented. Such types of infrastructure, as personal, institutional, material, production, social, etc. are considered. Author’s definition of infrastructure is given.

Analyzing water/wastewater infrastructure interdependencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gillette, J. L.; Fisher, R. E.; Peerenboom, J. P.; Whitfield, R. G.

2002-01-01

This paper describes four general categories of infrastructure interdependencies (physical, cyber, geographic, and logical) as they apply to the water/wastewater infrastructure, and provides an overview of one of the analytic approaches and tools used by Argonne National Laboratory to evaluate interdependencies. Also discussed are the dimensions of infrastructure interdependency that create spatial, temporal, and system representation complexities that make analyzing the water/wastewater infrastructure particularly challenging. An analytical model developed to incorporate the impacts of interdependencies on infrastructure repair times is briefly addressed

Energy efficiency of urban transportation system in Xiamen, China. An integrated approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meng, Fanxin; Liu, Gengyuan; Yang, Zhifeng; Casazza, Marco; Cui, Shenghui; Ulgiati, Sergio

2017-01-01

Highlights: • An integrated life cycle approach is used to study Urban Transport Metabolism (UTM). • A selection of different material, energy and environmental assessment methods is synergically applied. • The study is based on an accurate inventory of infrastructure, machinery and operative resource costs. • Results show that the different methods provide much needed insight into different aspects of UTM. • Innovative Bus Rapid Transport shows better resource and environmental performance than Normal Bus Transport system. - Abstract: An integrated life cycle approach framework, including material flow analysis (MFA), Cumulative Energy Demand (CED), exergy analysis (EXA), Emergy Assessment (EMA), and emissions (EMI) has been constructed and applied to examine the energy efficiency of high speed urban bus transportation systems compared to conventional bus transport in the city of Xiamen, Fujian province, China. This paper explores the consistency of the results achieved by means of several evaluation methods, and explores the sustainability of innovation in urban public transportation systems. The case study dealt with in this paper is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system compared to Normal Bus Transit (NBT). All the analyses have been performed based on a common yearly database of natural resources, material, labor, energy and fuel input flows used in all life cycle phases (resource extraction, processing and manufacturing, use and end of life) of the infrastructure, vehicle and vehicle fuel. Cumulative energy, material and environmental support demands of transport are accounted for. Selected pressure indicators are compared to yield a comprehensive picture of the public transportation system. Results show that Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT) shows much better energy and environmental performance than NBT, as indicated by the set of sustainability indicators calculated by means of our integrated approach. This is because of the higher efficiency of such

Nuclear hybrid energy infrastructure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agarwal, Vivek; Tawfik, Magdy S.

2015-02-01

The nuclear hybrid energy concept is becoming a reality for the US energy infrastructure where combinations of the various potential energy sources (nuclear, wind, solar, biomass, and so on) are integrated in a hybrid energy system. This paper focuses on challenges facing a hybrid system with a Small Modular Reactor at its core. The core of the paper will discuss efforts required to develop supervisory control center that collects data, supports decision-making, and serves as an information hub for supervisory control center. Such a center will also be a model for integrating future technologies and controls. In addition, advanced operations research, thermal cycle analysis, energy conversion analysis, control engineering, and human factors engineering will be part of the supervisory control center. Nuclear hybrid energy infrastructure would allow operators to optimize the cost of energy production by providing appropriate means of integrating different energy sources. The data needs to be stored, processed, analyzed, trended, and projected at right time to right operator to integrate different energy sources.

Strengthening of radiation and waste safety infrastructures in the countries of Eastern Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Webb, G A.M.; Mrabit, K; Bilbao, A V [International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)

1999-12-31

The IAEA`s integrated management approach and the establishment of a model project of technical cooperation to upgrade the radiation and waste safety infrastructures in its Member States is reviewed. The project today involves more than 50 countries many of which belong to Eastern Europe. (A.K.) 1 tab.

An Integrated Cyber Security Risk Management Approach for a Cyber-Physical System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Halima Ibrahim Kure

2018-05-01

Full Text Available A cyber-physical system (CPS is a combination of physical system components with cyber capabilities that have a very tight interconnectivity. CPS is a widely used technology in many applications, including electric power systems, communications, and transportation, and healthcare systems. These are critical national infrastructures. Cybersecurity attack is one of the major threats for a CPS because of many reasons, including complexity and interdependencies among various system components, integration of communication, computing, and control technology. Cybersecurity attacks may lead to various risks affecting the critical infrastructure business continuity, including degradation of production and performance, unavailability of critical services, and violation of the regulation. Managing cybersecurity risks is very important to protect CPS. However, risk management is challenging due to the inherent complex and evolving nature of the CPS system and recent attack trends. This paper presents an integrated cybersecurity risk management framework to assess and manage the risks in a proactive manner. Our work follows the existing risk management practice and standard and considers risks from the stakeholder model, cyber, and physical system components along with their dependencies. The approach enables identification of critical CPS assets and assesses the impact of vulnerabilities that affect the assets. It also presents a cybersecurity attack scenario that incorporates a cascading effect of threats and vulnerabilities to the assets. The attack model helps to determine the appropriate risk levels and their corresponding mitigation process. We present a power grid system to illustrate the applicability of our work. The result suggests that risk in a CPS of a critical infrastructure depends mainly on cyber-physical attack scenarios and the context of the organization. The involved risks in the studied context are both from the technical and

Multi-stage crypto ransomware attacks: A new emerging cyber threat to critical infrastructure and industrial control systems

OpenAIRE

Aaron Zimba; Zhaoshun Wang; Hongsong Chen

2018-01-01

The inevitable integration of critical infrastructure to public networks has exposed the underlying industrial control systems to various attack vectors. In this paper, we model multi-stage crypto ransomware attacks, which are today an emerging cyber threat to critical infrastructure. We evaluate our modeling approach using multi-stage attacks by the infamous WannaCry ransomware. The static malware analysis results uncover the techniques employed by the ransomware to discover vulnerable nodes...

Green Infrastructure, Groundwater and the Sustainable City

Science.gov (United States)

Band, L. E.

2014-12-01

The management of water is among the most important attributes of urbanization. Provision of sufficient quantities and quality of freshwater, treatment and disposal of wastewater and flood protection are critical for urban sustainability. Over the last century, two major shifts in water management paradigms have occurred, the first to improve public health with the provision of infrastructure for centralized sanitary effluent collection and treatment, and the rapid drainage and routing of stormwater. A current shift in paradigm is now occurring in response to the unintended consequences of sanitary and stormwater management, which have degraded downstream water bodies and shifted flood hazard downstream. Current infrastructure is being designed and implemented to retain, rather than rapidly drain, stormwater, with a focus on infiltration based methods. In urban areas, this amounts to a shift in hydrologic behavior to depression focused recharge. While stormwater is defined as surface flow resulting from developed areas, an integrated hydrologic systems approach to urban water management requires treatment of the full critical zone. In urban areas this extends from the top of the vegetation and building canopy, to a subsurface depth including natural soils, fill, saprolite and bedrock. In addition to matric and network flow in fracture systems, an urban "karst" includes multiple generations of current and past infrastructure, which has developed extensive subsurface pipe networks for supply and drainage, enhancing surface/groundwater flows and exchange. In this presentation, Band will discuss the need to focus on the urban critical zone, and the development and adaptation of new modeling and analytical approaches to understand and plan green infrastructure based on surface/groundwater/ecosystem interactions, and implications for the restoration and new design of cities.

The integration of natural and built environment data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Enemark, Stig

2006-01-01

This paper analyses the current situation in Europe with regard to the integration of natural and built environment data, and with a focus on the experience of Denmark. The European approach is based on the EU initiative known as INSPIRE that builds the overall concept for geospatial data...... integration, The Danish approach is presented in more details with a focus on institutional arrangements, land policies, land information infrastructure, and the four land administration functions: land tenure, land value, land-use, and land development. It is concluded that the European approach is well...... designed for setting a standard with regard to data integration. In the case of Denmark it is concluded that the Spatial Data Infrastructure works well even if there is no official policy in this area. Also the Land Administration System (LAS) works well in the sense that it supports sustainable...

A scalable infrastructure for CMS data analysis based on OpenStack Cloud and Gluster file system

Science.gov (United States)

Toor, S.; Osmani, L.; Eerola, P.; Kraemer, O.; Lindén, T.; Tarkoma, S.; White, J.

2014-06-01

The challenge of providing a resilient and scalable computational and data management solution for massive scale research environments requires continuous exploration of new technologies and techniques. In this project the aim has been to design a scalable and resilient infrastructure for CERN HEP data analysis. The infrastructure is based on OpenStack components for structuring a private Cloud with the Gluster File System. We integrate the state-of-the-art Cloud technologies with the traditional Grid middleware infrastructure. Our test results show that the adopted approach provides a scalable and resilient solution for managing resources without compromising on performance and high availability.

A scalable infrastructure for CMS data analysis based on OpenStack Cloud and Gluster file system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toor, S; Eerola, P; Kraemer, O; Lindén, T; Osmani, L; Tarkoma, S; White, J

2014-01-01

The challenge of providing a resilient and scalable computational and data management solution for massive scale research environments requires continuous exploration of new technologies and techniques. In this project the aim has been to design a scalable and resilient infrastructure for CERN HEP data analysis. The infrastructure is based on OpenStack components for structuring a private Cloud with the Gluster File System. We integrate the state-of-the-art Cloud technologies with the traditional Grid middleware infrastructure. Our test results show that the adopted approach provides a scalable and resilient solution for managing resources without compromising on performance and high availability.

Towards a more sustainable transport infrastructure: how spatial geological data can be utilized to improve early stage Life cycle assessment of road infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Karlsson, Caroline; Miliutenko, Sofiia; Björklund, Anna; Mörtberg, Ulla; Olofsson, Bo; Toller, Susanna

2017-04-01

Environmental impacts during the life cycle stages of transport infrastructure are substantial, including among other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as resource and energy use. For transport infrastructure to be sustainable, such issues need to be integrated in the planning process. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required by the European Union (EU) in order to ensure that all environmental aspects are considered during planning of road infrastructure projects. As a part of this process, the European Commission has suggested the use of the tool life cycle assessment (LCA) for assessing life cycle energy use and GHG emissions. When analyzing life cycle impacts of the road infrastructure itself, it was shown that earthworks and materials used for the road construction have a big share in the total energy use and GHG emissions. Those aspects are largely determined by the geological conditions at the site of construction: parameters such as soil thickness, slope, bedrock quality and soil type. The geological parameters determine the amounts of earthworks (i.e. volumes of soil and rock that will be excavated and blasted), transportation need for excavated materials as well as the availability of building materials. The study presents a new geographic information system (GIS)-based approach for utilizing spatial geological data in three dimensions (i.e. length, width and depth) in order to improve estimates on earthworks during the early stages of road infrastructure planning. Three main methodological steps were undertaken: mass balance calculation, life cycle inventory analysis and spatial mapping of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use. The proposed GIS-based approach was later evaluated by comparing with the actual values of extracted material of a real road construction project. The results showed that the estimate of filling material was the most accurate, while the estimate for excavated soil and blasted rock had a wide variation from

A Smart City Lighting Case Study on an OpenStack-Powered Infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Merlino, Giovanni; Bruneo, Dario; Distefano, Salvatore; Longo, Francesco; Puliafito, Antonio; Al-Anbuky, Adnan

2015-07-06

The adoption of embedded systems, mobile devices and other smart devices keeps rising globally, and the scope of their involvement broadens, for instance, in smart city-like scenarios. In light of this, a pressing need emerges to tame such complexity and reuse as much tooling as possible without resorting to vertical ad hoc solutions, while at the same time taking into account valid options with regard to infrastructure management and other more advanced functionalities. Existing solutions mainly focus on core mechanisms and do not allow one to scale by leveraging infrastructure or adapt to a variety of scenarios, especially if actuators are involved in the loop. A new, more flexible, cloud-based approach, able to provide device-focused workflows, is required. In this sense, a widely-used and competitive framework for infrastructure as a service, such as OpenStack, with its breadth in terms of feature coverage and expanded scope, looks to fit the bill, replacing current application-specific approaches with an innovative application-agnostic one. This work thus describes the rationale, efforts and results so far achieved for an integration of IoT paradigms and resource ecosystems with such a kind of cloud-oriented device-centric environment, by focusing on a smart city scenario, namely a park smart lighting example, and featuring data collection, data visualization, event detection and coordinated reaction, as example use cases of such integration.

A Smart City Lighting Case Study on an OpenStack-Powered Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Merlino, Giovanni; Bruneo, Dario; Distefano, Salvatore; Longo, Francesco; Puliafito, Antonio; Al-Anbuky, Adnan

2015-01-01

The adoption of embedded systems, mobile devices and other smart devices keeps rising globally, and the scope of their involvement broadens, for instance, in smart city-like scenarios. In light of this, a pressing need emerges to tame such complexity and reuse as much tooling as possible without resorting to vertical ad hoc solutions, while at the same time taking into account valid options with regard to infrastructure management and other more advanced functionalities. Existing solutions mainly focus on core mechanisms and do not allow one to scale by leveraging infrastructure or adapt to a variety of scenarios, especially if actuators are involved in the loop. A new, more flexible, cloud-based approach, able to provide device-focused workflows, is required. In this sense, a widely-used and competitive framework for infrastructure as a service, such as OpenStack, with its breadth in terms of feature coverage and expanded scope, looks to fit the bill, replacing current application-specific approaches with an innovative application-agnostic one. This work thus describes the rationale, efforts and results so far achieved for an integration of IoT paradigms and resource ecosystems with such a kind of cloud-oriented device-centric environment, by focusing on a smart city scenario, namely a park smart lighting example, and featuring data collection, data visualization, event detection and coordinated reaction, as example use cases of such integration. PMID:26153775

Chain-computerisation for interorganisational public policy implementation : A new approach to developing non-intrusive information infrastructures that improve public policy implementation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grijpink, J.H.A.M.

1999-01-01

In two articles the author presents some key elements from his recently completed thesis about functional, non-intrusive information infrastructures for interorganisational public policy implementation. The development of these information infrastructures requires a new approach,

Merging mobility and energy vision with hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle infrastructure integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Yiming; Chowdhury, Mashrur; Ma Yongchang; Pisu, Pierluigi

2012-01-01

As the U.S. federal government is seeking useful applications of Vehicle-Infrastructure Integration (VII) and encouraging a greener and more efficient automobile industry, this paper demonstrated a path to meet the national transportation goal via VII. An impact study was conducted in a midsize U.S. metropolitan area on the potential of utilizing VII communication in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) operations by simulating a VII-enabled vehicle framework for both conventional HEV and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). The data collection and communication capability of the VII system allowed the prediction of speed profiles at the vehicle level with an average error rate of 13.2%. With the prediction, at the individual vehicle level, VII technology allowed PHEV and HEV to achieve additional benefits with an approximately 3% decrease in total energy consumption and emission. At the network level, the benefit–cost analysis indicated that the benefit–cost ratios for PHEV and HEV of the VII vehicle network exceed one at the fleet penetration rate of 20% and 30%, respectively. Our findings encourage to support public and private investments in VII infrastructure and its integration with HEV and PHEV in order to reap the increased energy savings from these vehicles. - Highlights: ► A VII-HEV/PHEV framework was simulated for a midsized U.S. metropolitan area. ► A VII-based prediction algorithm was developed for the framework. ► Significant improvement in energy efficiency and emission was achieved at single vehicle level. ► Network analysis was conducted to show cost-effectiveness of this framework.

Dynamic Collaboration Infrastructure for Hydrologic Science

Science.gov (United States)

Tarboton, D. G.; Idaszak, R.; Castillo, C.; Yi, H.; Jiang, F.; Jones, N.; Goodall, J. L.

2016-12-01

Data and modeling infrastructure is becoming increasingly accessible to water scientists. HydroShare is a collaborative environment that currently offers water scientists the ability to access modeling and data infrastructure in support of data intensive modeling and analysis. It supports the sharing of and collaboration around "resources" which are social objects defined to include both data and models in a structured standardized format. Users collaborate around these objects via comments, ratings, and groups. HydroShare also supports web services and cloud based computation for the execution of hydrologic models and analysis and visualization of hydrologic data. However, the quantity and variety of data and modeling infrastructure available that can be accessed from environments like HydroShare is increasing. Storage infrastructure can range from one's local PC to campus or organizational storage to storage in the cloud. Modeling or computing infrastructure can range from one's desktop to departmental clusters to national HPC resources to grid and cloud computing resources. How does one orchestrate this vast number of data and computing infrastructure without needing to correspondingly learn each new system? A common limitation across these systems is the lack of efficient integration between data transport mechanisms and the corresponding high-level services to support large distributed data and compute operations. A scientist running a hydrology model from their desktop may require processing a large collection of files across the aforementioned storage and compute resources and various national databases. To address these community challenges a proof-of-concept prototype was created integrating HydroShare with RADII (Resource Aware Data-centric collaboration Infrastructure) to provide software infrastructure to enable the comprehensive and rapid dynamic deployment of what we refer to as "collaborative infrastructure." In this presentation we discuss the

A quantitative method for assessing resilience of interdependent infrastructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nan, Cen; Sansavini, Giovanni

2017-01-01

The importance of understanding system resilience and identifying ways to enhance it, especially for interdependent infrastructures our daily life depends on, has been recognized not only by academics, but also by the corporate and public sectors. During recent years, several methods and frameworks have been proposed and developed to explore applicable techniques to assess and analyze system resilience in a comprehensive way. However, they are often tailored to specific disruptive hazards/events, or fail to properly include all the phases such as absorption, adaptation, and recovery. In this paper, a quantitative method for the assessment of the system resilience is proposed. The method consists of two components: an integrated metric for system resilience quantification and a hybrid modeling approach for representing the failure behavior of infrastructure systems. The feasibility and applicability of the proposed method are tested using an electric power supply system as the exemplary infrastructure. Simulation results highlight that the method proves effective in designing, engineering and improving the resilience of infrastructures. Finally, system resilience is proposed as a proxy to quantify the coupling strength between interdependent infrastructures. - Highlights: • A method for quantifying resilience of interdependent infrastructures is proposed. • It combines multi-layer hybrid modeling and a time-dependent resilience metric. • The feasibility of the proposed method is tested on the electric power supply system. • The method provides insights to decision-makers for strengthening system resilience. • Resilience capabilities can be used to engineer interdependencies between subsystems.

Impact evaluation of green-grey infrastructure interaction on built-space integrity: an emerging perspective to urban ecosystem service.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwary, Abhishek; Kumar, Prashant

2014-07-15

This paper evaluates the role of urban green infrastructure (GI) in maintaining integrity of built-space. The latter is considered as a lateral ecosystem function, worth including in future assessments of integrated ecosystem services. The basic tenet is that integrated green-grey infrastructures (GGIs) would have three influences on built-spaces: (i) reduced wind withering from flow deviation; (ii) reduced material corrosion/degeneration from pollution removal; and (iii) act as a biophysical buffer in altering the micro-climate. A case study is presented, combining the features of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in micro-environmental modelling with the emerging science on interactions of GGIs. The coupled seasonal dynamics of the above three effects are assessed for two building materials (limestone and steel) using the following three scenarios: (i) business as usual (BAU), (ii) summer (REGEN-S), and (iii) winter (REGEN-W). Apparently, integrated ecosystem service from green-grey interaction, as scoped in this paper, has strong seasonal dependence. Compared to BAU our results suggest that REGEN-S leads to slight increment in limestone recession (<10%), mainly from exacerbation in ozone damage, while large reduction in steel recession (up to 37%) is observed. The selection of vegetation species, especially their bVOC emission potential and seasonal foliage profile, appears to play a vital role in determining the impact GI has on the integrity of the neighbouring built-up environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of Smart Infrastructure Systems approach to precision medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diddahally R. Govindaraju

2015-12-01

Full Text Available All biological variation is hierarchically organized dynamic network system of genomic components, organelles, cells, tissues, organs, individuals, families, populations and metapopulations. Individuals are axial in this hierarchy, as they represent antecedent, attendant and anticipated aspects of health, disease, evolution and medical care. Humans show individual specific genetic and clinical features such as complexity, cooperation, resilience, robustness, vulnerability, self-organization, latent and emergent behavior during their development, growth and senescence. Accurate collection, measurement, organization and analyses of individual specific data, embedded at all stratified levels of biological, demographic and cultural diversity – the big data – is necessary to make informed decisions on health, disease and longevity; which is a central theme of precision medicine initiative (PMI. This initiative also calls for the development of novel analytical approaches to handle complex multidimensional data. Here we suggest the application of Smart Infrastructure Systems (SIS approach to accomplish some of the goals set forth by the PMI on the premise that biological systems and the SIS share many common features. The latter has been successfully employed in managing complex networks of non-linear adaptive controls, commonly encountered in smart engineering systems. We highlight their concordance and discuss the utility of the SIS approach in precision medicine programs.

METHODICAL APPROACH TO DEFINING INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENT OF THE COSTS FOR THE PARTICULAR PASSENGER TRAIN TRAFFIC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu. S. Barash

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose. In the scientific paper a methodical approach concerning determining the infrastructure component of the costs for traffic of the particular passenger train should be developed. It takes into account the individual characteristics of the particular train traffic. Methodology. To achieve the research purposes was used a method which is based on apportionment of expenses for the traffic of a particular passenger train taking into account the factors affecting the magnitude of costs. This methodology allows allocating properly infrastructure costs for a particular train and, consequently, to determine the accurate profitability of each train. Findings. All expenditures relating to passenger traffic of a long distance were allocated from first cost of passenger and freight traffic. These costs are divided into four components. Three groups of expenses were allocated in infrastructure component, which are calculated according to the certain principle taking into account the individual characteristics of the particular train traffic. Originality. The allocation method of all passenger transportation costs of all Ukrzaliznytsia departments for a particular passenger train was improved. It is based on principles of general indicators formation of each department costs, which correspond to the main influential factors of operating trains. The methodical approach to determining the cost of infrastructure component is improved, which takes into account the effect of the speed and weight of a passenger train on the wear of the railway track superstructure and contact network. All this allows allocating to reasonably the costs of particular passenger train traffic and to determine its profitability. Practical value. Implementing these methods allows calculating the real, economically justified costs of a particular train that will correctly determine the profitability of a particular passenger train and on this basis it allows to make management

Integration of utilities infrastructures in a future internet enabled smart city framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez, Luis; Elicegui, Ignacio; Cuesta, Javier; Muñoz, Luis; Lanza, Jorge

2013-10-25

Improving efficiency of city services and facilitating a more sustainable development of cities are the main drivers of the smart city concept. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play a crucial role in making cities smarter, more accessible and more open. In this paper we present a novel architecture exploiting major concepts from the Future Internet (FI) paradigm addressing the challenges that need to be overcome when creating smarter cities. This architecture takes advantage of both the critical communications infrastructures already in place and owned by the utilities as well as of the infrastructure belonging to the city municipalities to accelerate efficient provision of existing and new city services. The paper highlights how FI technologies create the necessary glue and logic that allows the integration of current vertical and isolated city services into a holistic solution, which enables a huge forward leap for the efficiency and sustainability of our cities. Moreover, the paper describes a real-world prototype, that instantiates the aforementioned architecture, deployed in one of the parks of the city of Santander providing an autonomous public street lighting adaptation service. This prototype is a showcase on how added-value services can be seamlessly created on top of the proposed architecture.

Integration of Utilities Infrastructures in a Future Internet Enabled Smart City Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Sánchez

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Improving efficiency of city services and facilitating a more sustainable development of cities are the main drivers of the smart city concept. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT play a crucial role in making cities smarter, more accessible and more open. In this paper we present a novel architecture exploiting major concepts from the Future Internet (FI paradigm addressing the challenges that need to be overcome when creating smarter cities. This architecture takes advantage of both the critical communications infrastructures already in place and owned by the utilities as well as of the infrastructure belonging to the city municipalities to accelerate efficient provision of existing and new city services. The paper highlights how FI technologies create the necessary glue and logic that allows the integration of current vertical and isolated city services into a holistic solution, which enables a huge forward leap for the efficiency and sustainability of our cities. Moreover, the paper describes a real-world prototype, that instantiates the aforementioned architecture, deployed in one of the parks of the city of Santander providing an autonomous public street lighting adaptation service. This prototype is a showcase on how added-value services can be seamlessly created on top of the proposed architecture.

Integration of Utilities Infrastructures in a Future Internet Enabled Smart City Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez, Luis; Elicegui, Ignacio; Cuesta, Javier; Muñoz, Luis; Lanza, Jorge

2013-01-01

Improving efficiency of city services and facilitating a more sustainable development of cities are the main drivers of the smart city concept. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play a crucial role in making cities smarter, more accessible and more open. In this paper we present a novel architecture exploiting major concepts from the Future Internet (FI) paradigm addressing the challenges that need to be overcome when creating smarter cities. This architecture takes advantage of both the critical communications infrastructures already in place and owned by the utilities as well as of the infrastructure belonging to the city municipalities to accelerate efficient provision of existing and new city services. The paper highlights how FI technologies create the necessary glue and logic that allows the integration of current vertical and isolated city services into a holistic solution, which enables a huge forward leap for the efficiency and sustainability of our cities. Moreover, the paper describes a real-world prototype, that instantiates the aforementioned architecture, deployed in one of the parks of the city of Santander providing an autonomous public street lighting adaptation service. This prototype is a showcase on how added-value services can be seamlessly created on top of the proposed architecture. PMID:24233072

THE SECURITY OF CRITICAL ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE AGE OF MULTIPLE ATTACK VECTORS: NATO’S MULTI-FACETED APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sorin Dumitru Ducaru

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The current NATO threat landscape is characterized by a combination or “hybrid blend” of unconventional emerging challenges (like cyber and terrorist attacks and re-emerging conventional ones (like Russia’s recent military resurgence and assertiveness, that led to the illegal annexation of Crimea and destabilization in Eastern Ukraine. While the resurgence of the Russian military activity pushed the Alliance in the direction of re-discovering its deterrence and collective defence role, the new, not-traditional, trans-national and essentially non-military treats that generate effects below the threshold of an armed attack require a new paradigm shift with a focus on resilience although the protection of critical energy infrastructure is first and foremost a national responsibility, NATO can contribute to meeting the infrastructure protection challenge on many levels. Given the fact that its core deterrence and defence mandate relies in a great measure on the security of Allies’ energy infrastructure NATO’s role and actions in reducing the vulnerabilities and strengthening the resilience of such infrastructure can only increase. A multi-faceted, multi-stakeholder and networked approach is needed to be able to strengthen defences and resilience of critical infrastructure such as energy. Understanding and defending against cyber or terrorist threat vectors, increased situational awareness, education, training, exercises, trusted partnerships as well as increasing strategic security dialogue and cooperation are key for such a comprehensive/network approach to the challenge.

Some approaches to the effective functioning of the system model social infrastructure company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. S. Armashova-Telnik

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In today's economic conditions, characterized by a high degree of instability and uncertainty as the conditions for the functioning of economic entities, as well as political and economic conditions in general, in the management structure of the economy it is advisable to proceed from the position of the key concepts of management, optimally adapted to the real situation. In this context, it is necessary to use scientific innovation to improve the economic growth of economic entities through the effective functioning of the enterprise social infrastructure models. Lineup social infrastructure systems involves various models of a number of features of structure. In this regard, according to the strategic objectives of a business entity, on its socio-economic targets need to use all the resource capacity of the organization to achieve its objectives by means of integration in the social infrastructure system model that focuses on the efficient use of human resources in the process of increasing the economic performance of the company. So, guided by a number of basic principles of the successful implementation of social infrastructure mechanisms of enterprises, structure of the economy with a view to long-term effective operation, it is necessary to take into account the value of the vectors of the organizational culture of polarization in the motivation of personnel, which could be one of the levers of growth of efficiency of functioning of the enterprise, a powerful strategic tool to target all units and individual subjects for the organization, mobilize the initiative of employees and ensure productive interaction of subjects in the format “business-to-employee” rather than substantially predetermine the competitiveness and success of the organization in the long run.

Safeguarding information intensive critical infrastructures against novel types of emerging failures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balducelli, C.; Bologna, S.; Lavalle, L.; Vicoli, G.

2007-01-01

The complexity of information intensive critical infrastructures, like electricity networks, telecommunication networks and public transportation networks is today augmented much more than in the past: such complexity augments the number of possible failures and anomalous working conditions and consequently decreases the survivability of the infrastructures. In this paper, the possibility is investigated to detect early anomalies and failures inside information intensive critical infrastructures by the introduction of anomaly detectors being 'self-aware' about the normal working conditions of the infrastructure itself. This approach has the objective to improve the performance of the most popular signature-based algorithms for intrusion detection, and makes use of different classes of time-oriented algorithms based on artificial intelligence paradigm. It has the advantage to work also in presence of unknown and unexpected types of attacks or failures. The tests, to evaluate the performance of the utilised detectors, are executed inside an emulated supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system of an electrical power transmission grid, and a proposal for the future integration inside real SCADA systems is also reported

Safeguarding information intensive critical infrastructures against novel types of emerging failures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balducelli, C. [ENEA-Italian National Agency for new Technology, Energy and the Environment Via Anguillasere 301, 00060 Rome (Italy)]. E-mail: claudio.balducelli@casaccia.enea.it; Bologna, S. [ENEA-Italian National Agency for new Technology, Energy and the Environment Via Anguillasere 301, 00060 Rome (Italy); Lavalle, L. [ENEA-Italian National Agency for new Technology, Energy and the Environment Via Anguillasere 301, 00060 Rome (Italy); Vicoli, G. [ENEA-Italian National Agency for new Technology, Energy and the Environment Via Anguillasere 301, 00060 Rome (Italy)

2007-09-15

The complexity of information intensive critical infrastructures, like electricity networks, telecommunication networks and public transportation networks is today augmented much more than in the past: such complexity augments the number of possible failures and anomalous working conditions and consequently decreases the survivability of the infrastructures. In this paper, the possibility is investigated to detect early anomalies and failures inside information intensive critical infrastructures by the introduction of anomaly detectors being 'self-aware' about the normal working conditions of the infrastructure itself. This approach has the objective to improve the performance of the most popular signature-based algorithms for intrusion detection, and makes use of different classes of time-oriented algorithms based on artificial intelligence paradigm. It has the advantage to work also in presence of unknown and unexpected types of attacks or failures. The tests, to evaluate the performance of the utilised detectors, are executed inside an emulated supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system of an electrical power transmission grid, and a proposal for the future integration inside real SCADA systems is also reported.

Data Distribution Service-Based Interoperability Framework for Smart Grid Testbed Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tarek A. Youssef

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the design and implementation of a communication and control infrastructure for smart grid operation. The proposed infrastructure enhances the reliability of the measurements and control network. The advantages of utilizing the data-centric over message-centric communication approach are discussed in the context of smart grid applications. The data distribution service (DDS is used to implement a data-centric common data bus for the smart grid. This common data bus improves the communication reliability, enabling distributed control and smart load management. These enhancements are achieved by avoiding a single point of failure while enabling peer-to-peer communication and an automatic discovery feature for dynamic participating nodes. The infrastructure and ideas presented in this paper were implemented and tested on the smart grid testbed. A toolbox and application programing interface for the testbed infrastructure are developed in order to facilitate interoperability and remote access to the testbed. This interface allows control, monitoring, and performing of experiments remotely. Furthermore, it could be used to integrate multidisciplinary testbeds to study complex cyber-physical systems (CPS.

The urban forest cultivating green infrastructure for people and the environment

CERN Document Server

Calfapietra, Carlo; Samson, Roeland; O'Brien, Liz; Ostoić, Silvija; Sanesi, Giovanni; Amo, Rocío

2017-01-01

This book focuses on urban "green infrastructure" – the interconnected web of vegetated spaces like street trees, parks and peri-urban forests that provide essential ecosystem services in cities. The green infrastructure approach embodies the idea that these services, such as storm-water runoff control, pollutant filtration and amenities for outdoor recreation, are just as vital for a modern city as those provided by any other type of infrastructure. Ensuring that these ecosystem services are indeed delivered in an equitable and sustainable way requires knowledge of the physical attributes of trees and urban green spaces, tools for coping with the complex social and cultural dynamics, and an understanding of how these factors can be integrated in better governance practices. By conveying the findings and recommendations of COST Action FP1204 GreenInUrbs, this volume summarizes the collaborative efforts of researchers and practitioners from across Europe to address these challenges. .

Challenges in scaling up biofuels infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Richard, Tom L

2010-08-13

Rapid growth in demand for lignocellulosic bioenergy will require major changes in supply chain infrastructure. Even with densification and preprocessing, transport volumes by mid-century are likely to exceed the combined capacity of current agricultural and energy supply chains, including grain, petroleum, and coal. Efficient supply chains can be achieved through decentralized conversion processes that facilitate local sourcing, satellite preprocessing and densification for long-distance transport, and business models that reward biomass growers both nearby and afar. Integrated systems that are cost-effective and energy-efficient will require new ways of thinking about agriculture, energy infrastructure, and rural economic development. Implementing these integrated systems will require innovation and investment in novel technologies, efficient value chains, and socioeconomic and policy frameworks; all are needed to support an expanded biofuels infrastructure that can meet the challenges of scale.

A Smart City Lighting Case Study on an OpenStack-Powered Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Merlino

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The adoption of embedded systems, mobile devices and other smart devices keeps rising globally, and the scope of their involvement broadens, for instance, in smart city-like scenarios. In light of this, a pressing need emerges to tame such complexity and reuse as much tooling as possible without resorting to vertical ad hoc solutions, while at the same time taking into account valid options with regard to infrastructure management and other more advanced functionalities. Existing solutions mainly focus on core mechanisms and do not allow one to scale by leveraging infrastructure or adapt to a variety of scenarios, especially if actuators are involved in the loop. A new, more flexible, cloud-based approach, able to provide device-focused workflows, is required. In this sense, a widely-used and competitive framework for infrastructure as a service, such as OpenStack, with its breadth in terms of feature coverage and expanded scope, looks to fit the bill, replacing current application-specific approaches with an innovative application-agnostic one. This work thus describes the rationale, efforts and results so far achieved for an integration of IoT paradigms and resource ecosystems with such a kind of cloud-oriented device-centric environment, by focusing on a smart city scenario, namely a park smart lighting example, and featuring data collection, data visualization, event detection and coordinated reaction, as example use cases of such integration.

FOSS Tools for Research Infrastructures - A Success Story?

Science.gov (United States)

Stender, V.; Schroeder, M.; Wächter, J.

2015-12-01

Established initiatives and mandated organizations, e.g. the Initiative for Scientific Cyberinfrastructures (NSF, 2007) or the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI, 2008), promote and foster the development of sustainable research infrastructures. The basic idea behind these infrastructures is the provision of services supporting scientists to search, visualize and access data, to collaborate and exchange information, as well as to publish data and other results. Especially the management of research data is gaining more and more importance. In geosciences these developments have to be merged with the enhanced data management approaches of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI). The Centre for GeoInformationTechnology (CeGIT) at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences has the objective to establish concepts and standards of SDIs as an integral part of research infrastructure architectures. In different projects, solutions to manage research data for land- and water management or environmental monitoring have been developed based on a framework consisting of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) components. The framework provides basic components supporting the import and storage of data, discovery and visualization as well as data documentation (metadata). In our contribution, we present our data management solutions developed in three projects, Central Asian Water (CAWa), Sustainable Management of River Oases (SuMaRiO) and Terrestrial Environmental Observatories (TERENO) where FOSS components build the backbone of the data management platform. The multiple use and validation of tools helped to establish a standardized architectural blueprint serving as a contribution to Research Infrastructures. We examine the question of whether FOSS tools are really a sustainable choice and whether the increased efforts of maintenance are justified. Finally it should help to answering the question if the use of FOSS for Research Infrastructures is a

Scaling up climate finance for sustainable infrastructure in developing cities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Jun

2010-09-15

This article investigates the role of carbon finance and seeks to establish a policy framework that allows reorientation of upfront investment in urban infrastructure for facilitating transition towards low-carbon development trajectory in developing cities. It draws on an in-depth exploration of different climate finance mechanisms and their applicability in the context of fast urbanization. We suggest an integrated approach should be adopted to aggregate city-based multiple individual GHG mitigation projects dealing with buildings and transport efficiency. The sectoral approach and NAMAs-based financing schemes be included in post-Kyoto regime for shifting the current trajectories in fast growing developing cities.

Smart CCP. Integration of CCP data in the existing infrastructure of a grid operator; Smart KKS. Integration von KKS-Daten in die bestehende Infrastruktur eines Netzbetreibers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deiss, Rainer [EnBW Regional AG, Stuttgart (Germany); Mueller, Matthias [RBS wave GmbH, Stuttgart (Germany)

2012-07-01

The ever growing importance of the cathodic corrosion protection (CCP) requires a much greater integration of the CCP data in the existing infrastructure of a grid operator. The necessary technical adjustments to CCP current protection devices and CCP remote monitoring systems easily can be done with the help of embedded systems.

Integrated cloud infrastructure of the LIT JINR, PE "NULITS" and INP's Astana branch

Science.gov (United States)

Mazhitova, Yelena; Balashov, Nikita; Baranov, Aleksandr; Kutovskiy, Nikolay; Semenov, Roman

2018-04-01

The article describes the distributed cloud infrastructure deployed on the basis of the resources of the Laboratory of Information Technologies of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (LIT JINR) and some JINR Member State organizations. It explains a motivation of that work, an approach it is based on, lists of its participants among which there are private entity "Nazarbayev University Library and IT services" (PE "NULITS") Autonomous Education Organization "Nazarbayev University" (AO NU) and The Institute of Nuclear Physics' (INP's) Astana branch.

COOPEUS - connecting research infrastructures in environmental sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Koop-Jakobsen, Ketil; Waldmann, Christoph; Huber, Robert

2015-04-01

The COOPEUS project was initiated in 2012 bringing together 10 research infrastructures (RIs) in environmental sciences from the EU and US in order to improve the discovery, access, and use of environmental information and data across scientific disciplines and across geographical borders. The COOPEUS mission is to facilitate readily accessible research infrastructure data to advance our understanding of Earth systems through an international community-driven effort, by: Bringing together both user communities and top-down directives to address evolving societal and scientific needs; Removing technical, scientific, cultural and geopolitical barriers for data use; and Coordinating the flow, integrity and preservation of information. A survey of data availability was conducted among the COOPEUS research infrastructures for the purpose of discovering impediments for open international and cross-disciplinary sharing of environmental data. The survey showed that the majority of data offered by the COOPEUS research infrastructures is available via the internet (>90%), but the accessibility to these data differ significantly among research infrastructures; only 45% offer open access on their data, whereas the remaining infrastructures offer restricted access e.g. do not release raw data or sensible data, demand user registration or require permission prior to release of data. These rules and regulations are often installed as a form of standard practice, whereas formal data policies are lacking in 40% of the infrastructures, primarily in the EU. In order to improve this situation COOPEUS has installed a common data-sharing policy, which is agreed upon by all the COOPEUS research infrastructures. To investigate the existing opportunities for improving interoperability among environmental research infrastructures, COOPEUS explored the opportunities with the GEOSS common infrastructure (GCI) by holding a hands-on workshop. Through exercises directly registering resources

Network of Research Infrastructures for European Seismology (NERIES)—Web Portal Developments for Interactive Access to Earthquake Data on a European Scale

OpenAIRE

A. Spinuso; L. Trani; S. Rives; P. Thomy; F. Euchner; Danijel Schorlemmer; Joachim Saul; Andres Heinloo; R. Bossu; T. van Eck

2009-01-01

The Network of Research Infrastructures for European Seismology (NERIES) is European Commission (EC) project whose focus is networking together seismological observatories and research institutes into one integrated European infrastructure that provides access to data and data products for research. Seismological institutes and organizations in European and Mediterranean countries maintain large, geographically distributed data archives, therefore this scenario suggested a design approach bas...

Improving global data infrastructures for more effective and scalable analysis of Earth and environmental data: the Australian NCI NERDIP Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Ben; Wyborn, Lesley; Druken, Kelsey; Richards, Clare; Trenham, Claire; Wang, Jingbo; Rozas Larraondo, Pablo; Steer, Adam; Smillie, Jon

2017-04-01

The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) facility hosts one of Australia's largest repositories (10+ PBytes) of research data collections spanning datasets from climate, coasts, oceans, and geophysics through to astronomy, bioinformatics, and the social sciences domains. The data are obtained from national and international sources, spanning a wide range of gridded and ungridded (i.e., line surveys, point clouds) data, and raster imagery, as well as diverse coordinate reference projections and resolutions. Rather than managing these data assets as a digital library, whereby users can discover and download files to personal servers (similar to borrowing 'books' from a 'library'), NCI has built an extensive and well-integrated research data platform, the National Environmental Research Data Interoperability Platform (NERDIP, http://nci.org.au/data-collections/nerdip/). The NERDIP architecture enables programmatic access to data via standards-compliant services for high performance data analysis, and provides a flexible cloud-based environment to facilitate the next generation of transdisciplinary scientific research across all data domains. To improve use of modern scalable data infrastructures that are focused on efficient data analysis, the data organisation needs to be carefully managed including performance evaluations of projections and coordinate systems, data encoding standards and formats. A complication is that we have often found multiple domain vocabularies and ontologies are associated with equivalent datasets. It is not practical for individual dataset managers to determine which standards are best to apply to their dataset as this could impact accessibility and interoperability. Instead, they need to work with data custodians across interrelated communities and, in partnership with the data repository, the international scientific community to determine the most useful approach. For the data repository, this approach is essential to enable

CI-Miner: A Semantic Methodology to Integrate Scientists, Data and Documents through the Use of Cyber-Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Pinheiro da Silva, P.; CyberShARE Center of Excellence

2011-12-01

Scientists today face the challenge of rethinking the manner in which they document and make available their processes and data in an international cyber-infrastructure of shared resources. Some relevant examples of new scientific practices in the realm of computational and data extraction sciences include: large scale data discovery; data integration; data sharing across distinct scientific domains, systematic management of trust and uncertainty; and comprehensive support for explaining processes and results. This talk introduces CI-Miner - an innovative hands-on, open-source, community-driven methodology to integrate these new scientific practices. It has been developed in collaboration with scientists, with the purpose of capturing, storing and retrieving knowledge about scientific processes and their products, thereby further supporting a new generation of science techniques based on data exploration. CI-Miner uses semantic annotations in the form of W3C Ontology Web Language-based ontologies and Proof Markup Language (PML)-based provenance to represent knowledge. This methodology specializes in general-purpose ontologies, projected into workflow-driven ontologies(WDOs) and into semantic abstract workflows (SAWs). Provenance in PML is CI-Miner's integrative component, which allows scientists to retrieve and reason with the knowledge represented in these new semantic documents. It serves additionally as a platform to share such collected knowledge with the scientific community participating in the international cyber-infrastructure. The integrated semantic documents that are tailored for the use of human epistemic agents may also be utilized by machine epistemic agents, since the documents are based on W3C Resource Description Framework (RDF) notation. This talk is grounded upon interdisciplinary lessons learned through the use of CI-Miner in support of government-funded national and international cyber-infrastructure initiatives in the areas of geo

Capital Markets, Infrastructure Investment and Growth in the Asia Pacific Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Regan

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the relationship between infrastructure investment activity, capital market development, the role of public institutions and economic development in the Asia Pacific. It adopts a review approach drawing on empirical evidence over recent decades. Infrastructure is shown to be an important asset class playing a central role in a nation’s output, growth, productivity and microeconomic performance. Infrastructure investment also requires investment and predictions of a widening gap in the future supply of infrastructure in the Asia Pacific will require new forms of capital from both traditional and new sources including wider use of private participation, institutional investment, asset recycling and revenue bonds. Capital market development is also necessary to raise long-term local currency finance and evidence suggests that progress with regional capital market integration is slow and a continuing reform agenda is required. The dividend for regional countries is the prospect of higher levels of economic growth with infrastructure investment, capital market development, and foreign direct investment shown to have a strong and positive association with growth. A crucial link in this association identified in the review is the part played by national and regional institutions in improving the efficiency with which infrastructure is managed and providing promising ground for further research where the importance of these links can be researched in greater depth.

Chef infrastructure automation cookbook

CERN Document Server

Marschall, Matthias

2013-01-01

Chef Infrastructure Automation Cookbook contains practical recipes on everything you will need to automate your infrastructure using Chef. The book is packed with illustrated code examples to automate your server and cloud infrastructure.The book first shows you the simplest way to achieve a certain task. Then it explains every step in detail, so that you can build your knowledge about how things work. Eventually, the book shows you additional things to consider for each approach. That way, you can learn step-by-step and build profound knowledge on how to go about your configuration management

New infrastructures, new landscapes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiara Nifosì

2014-06-01

Full Text Available New infrastructures, new landscapes AbstractThe paper will discuss one recent Italian project that share a common background: the relevance of the existing maritime landscape as a non negotiable value. The studies will be discussed in details a feasibility study for the new port in Monfalcone. National infrastructural policies emphasize competitiveness and connection as a central issue incultural, economic and political development of communities . Based on networks and system development along passageways that make up the European infrastructural armor; the two are considered at the meantime as cause and effect of "territorialisation”. These two views are obviously mutually dependent. It's hard to think about a strong attractiveness out of the network, and to be part of the latter encourages competitiveness. Nonetheless this has proved to be conflictual when landscape values and the related attractiveness are considered.The presented case study project, is pursuing the ambition to promote a new approach in realizing large infrastructures; its double role is to improve connectivity and to generate lasting and positive impact on the local regions. It deal with issues of inter-modality and the construction of nodes and lines which connects Europe, and its markets.Reverting the usual approach which consider landscape project as as a way to mitigate or to compensate for the infrastructure, the goal is to succeed in realizing large infrastructural works by conceiving them as an occasion to reinterpret a region or, as extraordinary opportunities, to build new landscapes.The strategy proposed consists in achieving structural images based on the reinforcement of the environmental and historical-landscape systems. Starting from the reinterpretation of local maritime context and resources it is possible not just to preserve the attractiveness of a specific landscape but also to conceive infrastructure in a more efficient way. 

ALICE-ARC integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Anderlik, Csaba; Gregersen, Anders Rhod; Kleist, Josva

2008-01-01

Data Grid Facility (NDGF). In this paper we will present our approach to integrate AliEn and ARC, in the sense that ALICE data management and job processing can be carried out on the NDGF infrastructure, using the client tools available in AliEn. The interoperation has two aspects, one is the data...

Value creation of road infrastructure networks: a structural equation approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hartmann, Andreas; Ling, F.Y.Y.

2016-01-01

Although road agencies need to provide road infrastructure that is beneficial for road users, little is known about how the activities of the agencies influence the value creation of road infrastructure. From a service-dominant logic perspective, the importance of road maintenance and traffic

Identifying Green Infrastructure from Social Media and Crowdsourcing- An Image Based Machine-Learning Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, A.; Minsker, B. S.

2016-12-01

In this work we introduce a novel dataset GRID: GReen Infrastructure Detection Dataset and a framework for identifying urban green storm water infrastructure (GI) designs (wetlands/ponds, urban trees, and rain gardens/bioswales) from social media and satellite aerial images using computer vision and machine learning methods. Along with the hydrologic benefits of GI, such as reducing runoff volumes and urban heat islands, GI also provides important socio-economic benefits such as stress recovery and community cohesion. However, GI is installed by many different parties and cities typically do not know where GI is located, making study of its impacts or siting new GI difficult. We use object recognition learning methods (template matching, sliding window approach, and Random Hough Forest method) and supervised machine learning algorithms (e.g., support vector machines) as initial screening approaches to detect potential GI sites, which can then be investigated in more detail using on-site surveys. Training data were collected from GPS locations of Flickr and Instagram image postings and Amazon Mechanical Turk identification of each GI type. Sliding window method outperformed other methods and achieved an average F measure, which is combined metric for precision and recall performance measure of 0.78.

Development of multi-functional streetscape green infrastructure using a performance index approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiwary, A.; Williams, I.D.; Heidrich, O.; Namdeo, A.; Bandaru, V.; Calfapietra, C.

2016-01-01

This paper presents a performance evaluation framework for streetscape vegetation. A performance index (PI) is conceived using the following seven traits, specific to the street environments – Pollution Flux Potential (PFP), Carbon Sequestration Potential (CSP), Thermal Comfort Potential (TCP), Noise Attenuation Potential (NAP), Biomass Energy Potential (BEP), Environmental Stress Tolerance (EST) and Crown Projection Factor (CPF). Its application is demonstrated through a case study using fifteen street vegetation species from the UK, utilising a combination of direct field measurements and inventoried literature data. Our results indicate greater preference to small-to-medium size trees and evergreen shrubs over larger trees for streetscaping. The proposed PI approach can be potentially applied two-fold: one, for evaluation of the performance of the existing street vegetation, facilitating the prospects for further improving them through management strategies and better species selection; two, for planning new streetscapes and multi-functional biomass as part of extending the green urban infrastructure. - Highlights: • A performance evaluation framework for streetscape vegetation is presented. • Seven traits, relevant to street vegetation, are included in a performance index (PI). • The PI approach is applied to quantify and rank fifteen street vegetation species. • Medium size trees and evergreen shrubs are found more favourable for streetscapes. • The PI offers a metric for developing sustainable streetscape green infrastructure. - A performance index is developed and applied to fifteen vegetation species indicating greater preference to medium size trees and evergreen shrubs for streetscaping.

From integrated control to integrated farming, an experimental approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vereijken, P.H.

1989-01-01

Integrated control or integrated pest management (IPM), as envisaged originally, is not being practised to any large extent in arable farming, notwithstanding considerable research efforts. The reasons for this are discussed. A more basic approach called integrated farming is suggested. Preliminary

Narrating national geo information infrastructures : Balancing infrastructures and innovation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koerten, H.; Veenswijk, M.

2009-01-01

This paper examines narratives relating to the development of National Geo Information Infrastructures (NGII) in eth-nographic research on a Dutch NGII project which was monitored throughout its course. We used an approach which focuses on narratives concerning the environment, groups and practice

Policy Model of Sustainable Infrastructure Development (Case Study : Bandarlampung City, Indonesia)

Science.gov (United States)

Persada, C.; Sitorus, S. R. P.; Marimin; Djakapermana, R. D.

2018-03-01

Infrastructure development does not only affect the economic aspect, but also social and environmental, those are the main dimensions of sustainable development. Many aspects and actors involved in urban infrastructure development requires a comprehensive and integrated policy towards sustainability. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate an infrastructure development policy that considers various dimensions of sustainable development. The main objective of this research is to formulate policy of sustainable infrastructure development. In this research, urban infrastructure covers transportation, water systems (drinking water, storm water, wastewater), green open spaces and solid waste. This research was conducted in Bandarlampung City. This study use a comprehensive modeling, namely the Multi Dimensional Scaling (MDS) with Rapid Appraisal of Infrastructure (Rapinfra), it uses of Analytic Network Process (ANP) and it uses system dynamics model. The findings of the MDS analysis showed that the status of Bandarlampung City infrastructure sustainability is less sustainable. The ANP analysis produces 8 main indicators of the most influential in the development of sustainable infrastructure. The system dynamics model offered 4 scenarios of sustainable urban infrastructure policy model. The best scenario was implemented into 3 policies consist of: the integrated infrastructure management, the population control, and the local economy development.

Romanian contribution to research infrastructure database for EPOS

Science.gov (United States)

Ionescu, Constantin; Craiu, Andreea; Tataru, Dragos; Balan, Stefan; Muntean, Alexandra; Nastase, Eduard; Oaie, Gheorghe; Asimopolos, Laurentiu; Panaiotu, Cristian

2014-05-01

European Plate Observation System - EPOS is a long-term plan to facilitate integrated use of data, models and facilities from mainly distributed existing, but also new, research infrastructures for solid Earth Science. In EPOS Preparatory Phase were integrated the national Research Infrastructures at pan European level in order to create the EPOS distributed research infrastructures, structure in which, at the present time, Romania participates by means of the earth science research infrastructures of the national interest declared on the National Roadmap. The mission of EPOS is to build an efficient and comprehensive multidisciplinary research platform for solid Earth Sciences in Europe and to allow the scientific community to study the same phenomena from different points of view, in different time periods and spatial scales (laboratory and field experiments). At national scale, research and monitoring infrastructures have gathered a vast amount of geological and geophysical data, which have been used by research networks to underpin our understanding of the Earth. EPOS promotes the creation of comprehensive national and regional consortia, as well as the organization of collective actions. To serve the EPOS goals, in Romania a group of National Research Institutes, together with their infrastructures, gathered in an EPOS National Consortium, as follows: 1. National Institute for Earth Physics - Seismic, strong motion, GPS and Geomagnetic network and Experimental Laboratory; 2. National Institute of Marine Geology and Geoecology - Marine Research infrastructure and Euxinus integrated regional Black Sea observation and early-warning system; 3. Geological Institute of Romania - Surlari National Geomagnetic Observatory and National lithoteque (the latter as part of the National Museum of Geology) 4. University of Bucharest - Paleomagnetic Laboratory After national dissemination of EPOS initiative other Research Institutes and companies from the potential

Development of a lunar infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, J. D.

If humans are to reside continuously and productively on the Moon, they must be surrounded and supported there by an infrastructure having some attributes of the support systems that have made advanced civilization possible on Earth. Building this lunar infrastructure will, in a sense, be an investment. Creating it will require large resources from Earth, but once it exists it can do much to limit the further demands of a lunar base for Earthside support. What is needed for a viable lunar infrastructure? This question can be approached from two directions. The first is to examine history, which is essentially a record of growing information structures among humans on Earth (tribes, agriculture, specialization of work, education, ethics, arts and sciences, cities and states, technology). The second approach is much less secure but may provide useful insights: it is to examine the minimal needs of a small human community - not just for physical survival but for a stable existence with a net product output. This paper presents a summary, based on present knowledge of the Moon and of the likely functions of a human community there, of some of these infrastructure requirements, and also discusses possible ways to proceed toward meeting early infrastructure needs.

Information Infrastructure, Information Environments, and Long-Term Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, K. S.; Pennington, D. D.

2009-12-01

Information infrastructure that supports collaborative science is a complex system of people, organizational arrangements, and tools that require co-management. Contemporary studies are exploring how to establish and characterize effective collaborative information environments. Collaboration depends on the flow of information across the human and technical system components through mechanisms that create linkages, both conceptual and technical. This transcends the need for requirements solicitation and usability studies, highlighting synergistic interactions between humans and technology that can lead to emergence of group level cognitive properties. We consider the ramifications of placing priority on establishing new metaphors and new types of learning environments located near-to-data-origin for the field sciences. In addition to changes in terms of participant engagement, there are implications in terms of innovative contributions to the design of information systems and data exchange. While data integration occurs in the minds of individual participants, it may be facilitated by collaborative thinking and community infrastructure. Existing learning frameworks - from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to organizational learning - require modification and extension if effective approaches to decentralized information management and systems design are to emerge. Case studies relating to data integration include ecological community projects: development of cross-disciplinary conceptual maps and of a community unit registry.

Research and development of fusion grid infrastructure based on atomic energy grid infrastructure (AEGIS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Y.; Nakajima, K.; Kushida, N.; Kino, C.; Aoyagi, T.; Nakajima, N.; Iba, K.; Hayashi, N.; Ozeki, T.; Totsuka, T.; Nakanishi, H.; Nagayama, Y.

2008-01-01

In collaboration with the Naka Fusion Institute of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (NFI/JAEA) and the National Institute for Fusion Science of National Institute of Natural Science (NIFS/NINS), Center for Computational Science and E-systems of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (CCSE/JAEA) aims at establishing an integrated framework for experiments and analyses in nuclear fusion research based on the atomic energy grid infrastructure (AEGIS). AEGIS has been being developed by CCSE/JAEA aiming at providing the infrastructure that enables atomic energy researchers in remote locations to carry out R and D efficiently and collaboratively through the Internet. Toward establishing the integrated framework, we have been applying AEGIS to pre-existing three systems: experiment system, remote data acquisition system, and integrated analysis system. For the experiment system, the secure remote experiment system with JT-60 has been successfully accomplished. For the remote data acquisition system, it will be possible to equivalently operate experimental data obtained from LHD data acquisition and management system (LABCOM system) and JT-60 Data System. The integrated analysis system has been extended to the system executable in heterogeneous computers among institutes

Optimal planning of integrated multi-energy systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Beuzekom, I.; Gibescu, M.; Pinson, Pierre

2017-01-01

In this paper, a mathematical approach for the optimal planning of integrated energy systems is proposed. In order to address the challenges of future, RES-dominated energy systems, the model deliberates between the expansion of traditional energy infrastructures, the integration...... and sustainability goals for 2030 and 2045. Optimal green- and brownfield designs for a district's future integrated energy system are compared using a one-step, as well as a two-step planning approach. As expected, the greenfield designs are more cost efficient, as their results are not constrained by the existing...

Reliability and vulnerability analyses of critical infrastructures: Comparing two approaches in the context of power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johansson, Jonas; Hassel, Henrik; Zio, Enrico

2013-01-01

Society depends on services provided by critical infrastructures, and hence it is important that they are reliable and robust. Two main approaches for gaining knowledge required for designing and improving critical infrastructures are reliability analysis and vulnerability analysis. The former analyses the ability of the system to perform its intended function; the latter analyses its inability to withstand strains and the effects of the consequent failures. The two approaches have similarities but also some differences with respect to what type of information they generate about the system. In this view, the main purpose of this paper is to discuss and contrast these approaches. To strengthen the discussion and exemplify its findings, a Monte Carlo-based reliability analysis and a vulnerability analysis are considered in their application to a relatively simple, but representative, system the IEEE RTS96 electric power test system. The exemplification reveals that reliability analysis provides a good picture of the system likely behaviour, but fails to capture a large portion of the high consequence scenarios, which are instead captured in the vulnerability analysis. Although these scenarios might be estimated to have small probabilities of occurrence, they should be identified, considered and treated cautiously, as probabilistic analyses should not be the only input to decision-making for the design and protection of critical infrastructures. The general conclusion that can be drawn from the findings of the example is that vulnerability analysis should be used to complement reliability studies, as well as other forms of probabilistic risk analysis. Measures should be sought for reducing both the vulnerability, i.e. improving the system ability to withstand strains and stresses, and the reliability, i.e. improving the likely behaviour

Site Support Program Plan Infrastructure Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

The Fiscal Year 1996 Infrastructure Program Site Support Program Plan addresses the mission objectives, workscope, work breakdown structures (WBS), management approach, and resource requirements for the Infrastructure Program. Attached to the plan are appendices that provide more detailed information associated with scope definition. The Hanford Site's infrastructure has served the Site for nearly 50 years during defense materials production. Now with the challenges of the new environmental cleanup mission, Hanford's infrastructure must meet current and future mission needs in a constrained budget environment, while complying with more stringent environmental, safety, and health regulations. The infrastructure requires upgrading, streamlining, and enhancement in order to successfully support the site mission of cleaning up the Site, research and development, and economic transition

Infrastructural Fractals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bruun Jensen, Casper

2007-01-01

. Instead, I outline a fractal approach to the study of space, society, and infrastructure. A fractal orientation requires a number of related conceptual reorientations. It has implications for thinking about scale and perspective, and (sociotechnical) relations, and for considering the role of the social...... and a fractal social theory....

Enhancing Sustainable Communities With Green Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

This publication aims to help local governments, water utilities, nonprofit organizations, neighborhood groups, and other stakeholders integrate green infrastructure strategies into plans that can transform their communities.

Open geospatial infrastructure for data management and analytics in interdisciplinary research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeppesen, Jacob Høxbroe; Ebeid, Emad Samuel Malki; Jacobsen, Rune Hylsberg

2018-01-01

, and information and communications technology needed to promote the implementation of precision agriculture is limited by proprietary integrations and non-standardized data formats and connections. In this paper, an open geospatial data infrastructure is presented, based on standards defined by the Open...... software, and was complemented by open data from governmental offices along with ESA satellite imagery. Four use cases are presented, covering analysis of nearly 50 000 crop fields and providing seamless interaction with an emulated machine terminal. They act to showcase both for how the infrastructure......The terms Internet of Things and Big Data are currently subject to much attention, though the specific impact of these terms in our practical lives are difficult to apprehend. Data-driven approaches do lead to new possibilities, and significant improvements within a broad range of domains can...

Research-informed design, management and maintenance of infrastructure slopes: development of a multi-scalar approach

Science.gov (United States)

Glendinning, S.; Helm, P. R.; Rouainia, M.; Stirling, R. A.; Asquith, J. D.; Hughes, P. N.; Toll, D. G.; Clarke, D.; Powrie, W.; Smethurst, J.; Hughes, D.; Harley, R.; Karim, R.; Dixon, N.; Crosby, C.; Chambers, J.; Dijkstra, T.; Gunn, D.; Briggs, K.; Muddle, D.

2015-09-01

The UK's transport infrastructure is one of the most heavily used in the world. The performance of these networks is critically dependent on the performance of cutting and embankment slopes which make up £20B of the £60B asset value of major highway infrastructure alone. The rail network in particular is also one of the oldest in the world: many of these slopes are suffering high incidents of instability (increasing with time). This paper describes the development of a fundamental understanding of earthwork material and system behaviour, through the systematic integration of research across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Spatially these range from microscopic studies of soil fabric, through elemental materials behaviour to whole slope modelling and monitoring and scaling up to transport networks. Temporally, historical and current weather event sequences are being used to understand and model soil deterioration processes, and climate change scenarios to examine their potential effects on slope performance in futures up to and including the 2080s. The outputs of this research are being mapped onto the different spatial and temporal scales of infrastructure slope asset management to inform the design of new slopes through to changing the way in which investment is made into aging assets. The aim ultimately is to help create a more reliable, cost effective, safer and more resilient transport system.

Integration of Long term experiments on terrestrial ecosystem in AnaEE-France Research Infrastructure : concept and adding value

Science.gov (United States)

Chanzy, André; Chabbi, Abad; Houot, Sabine; Lafolie, François; Pichot, Christian; Raynal, Hélène; Saint-André, Laurent; Clobert, Jean; Greiveldinger, Lucile

2015-04-01

Continental ecosystems represent a critical zone that provide key ecological services to human populations like biomass production, that participate to the regulation of the global biogeochemical cycles and contribute and contribute to the maintenance of air and water quality. Global changes effects on continental ecosystems are likely to impact the fate of humanity, which is thus facing numerous challenges, such as an increasing demand for food and energy, competition for land and water use, or rapid climate warming. Hence, scientific progress in our understanding of the continental critical zone will come from studies that address how biotic and abiotic processes react to global changes. Long term experiments are required to take into account ecosystem inertia and feedback loops and to characterize trends and threshold in ecosystem dynamics. In France, 20 long-term experiments on terrestrial ecosystems are gathered within a single Research Infrastructure: ANAEE-France (http://www.anaee-s.fr), which is a part of AnaEE-Europe (http://www.anaee.com/). Each experiment consist in applying differentiated pressures on different plot over a long period (>20 years) representative of a range of management options. The originality of such infrastructure is a combination of experimental set up and long-term monitoring of simultaneous measurements of key ecosystem variables and parameters through a multi-disciplinary approach and replications of each treatment that improve the statistical strength of the results. The sites encompass gradients of climate conditions, ecosystem complexity and/or management, and can be used for calibration/validation of ecosystem functioning models as well as for the design of ecosystem management strategies. Gathering those experiments in a single research infrastructure is an important issue to enhance their visibility and increase the number of hosting scientific team by offering a range of services. These are: • Access to the ongoing long

Integrated corridor management (ICM) knowledge and technology transfer (KTT).

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

The ICM approach involves aggressive, : proactive integration of infrastructure : along major corridors so that : transportation professionals can fully : leverage all existing modal choices : and assets. ICM helps transportation : leaders improve tr...

An approach for quantifying geomorphological impacts for EIA of transportation infrastructures: a case study in northern Spain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bonachea, J.; Bruschi, V.M.; Remondo, J.; Alberto Gonzales-Diez, A.; Salas, L.; Bertens, J.; Cendrero, A.; Otero, C.; Giusti, C.; Fabbri, A.G.; Gonzalez-Lastra, J.R.; Aramburu, J.R.

2005-01-01

A methodological proposal for the assessment of impacts due to linear infrastructures such as motorways, railways, etc. is presented. The approach proposed includes a series of specific issues to be addressed for each geomorphological feature analysed - both 'static' and 'dynamic'- as well as a

LCG/AA build infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hodgkins, Alex Liam; Diez, Victor; Hegner, Benedikt

2012-01-01

The Software Process and Infrastructure (SPI) project provides a build infrastructure for regular integration testing and release of the LCG Applications Area software stack. In the past, regular builds have been provided using a system which has been constantly growing to include more features like server-client communication, long-term build history and a summary web interface using present-day web technologies. However, the ad-hoc style of software development resulted in a setup that is hard to monitor, inflexible and difficult to expand. The new version of the infrastructure is based on the Django Python framework, which allows for a structured and modular design, facilitating later additions. Transparency in the workflows and ease of monitoring has been one of the priorities in the design. Formerly missing functionality like on-demand builds or release triggering will support the transition to a more agile development process.

Integrative medicine approach to chronic pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Teets, Raymond Y; Dahmer, Stephen; Scott, Emilie

2010-06-01

Chronic pain can be a frustrating condition for patient and clinician. The integrative medicine approach to pain can offer hope, adding safe complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies to mitigate pain and suffering. Such CAM therapies include nutrition, supplements and herbs, manual medicine, acupuncture, yoga, and mind-body approaches. The evidence is heterogeneous regarding these approaches, but some evidence suggests efficacy and confirms safety. The integrative medicine approach can be beneficial in a patient with chronic pain. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Site Support Program Plan Infrastructure Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-09-26

The Fiscal Year 1996 Infrastructure Program Site Support Program Plan addresses the mission objectives, workscope, work breakdown structures (WBS), management approach, and resource requirements for the Infrastructure Program. Attached to the plan are appendices that provide more detailed information associated with scope definition. The Hanford Site`s infrastructure has served the Site for nearly 50 years during defense materials production. Now with the challenges of the new environmental cleanup mission, Hanford`s infrastructure must meet current and future mission needs in a constrained budget environment, while complying with more stringent environmental, safety, and health regulations. The infrastructure requires upgrading, streamlining, and enhancement in order to successfully support the site mission of cleaning up the Site, research and development, and economic transition.

Integrating scientific and local knowledge to inform risk-based management approaches for climate adaptation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathan P. Kettle

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Risk-based management approaches to climate adaptation depend on the assessment of potential threats, and their causes, vulnerabilities, and impacts. The refinement of these approaches relies heavily on detailed local knowledge of places and priorities, such as infrastructure, governance structures, and socio-economic conditions, as well as scientific understanding of climate projections and trends. Developing processes that integrate local and scientific knowledge will enhance the value of risk-based management approaches, facilitate group learning and planning processes, and support the capacity of communities to prepare for change. This study uses the Vulnerability, Consequences, and Adaptation Planning Scenarios (VCAPS process, a form of analytic-deliberative dialogue, and the conceptual frameworks of hazard management and climate vulnerability, to integrate scientific and local knowledge. We worked with local government staff in an urbanized barrier island community (Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina to consider climate risks, impacts, and adaptation challenges associated with sea level rise and wastewater and stormwater management. The findings discuss how the process increases understanding of town officials’ views of risks and climate change impacts to barrier islands, the management actions being considered to address of the multiple impacts of concern, and the local tradeoffs and challenges in adaptation planning. We also comment on group learning and specific adaptation tasks, strategies, and needs identified.

Infrastructure development to support the hydrocarbon industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mack, T.

1993-01-01

Tengiz and Jubail represent areas in which the exploitation of oil and gas resources have, and are, providing enormous opportunities for regional development. Each has required a vision of the future and an understanding that infrastructure input is very broadly defined. Tengiz and Jubail are extreme examples. There are probably no cases in the Americas that will exactly mirror these. But opportunities for oil and gas development here may share some of these projects characteristics - extraction from remote areas, challenging transportatoin needs, and perhaps most importantly, opportunities for related industrial and economic development. Just as Jubail's master plan was part of a larger Saudi vision, oil and gas infrastructure planning can support Latin and North American countries individual visions of their nation's future. Where regional economic integration and interaction is increasing, there are even greater opportunities for good infrastructure planning. In some cases, such economic integration will provide the key which will unlock oil and gas development. Once these keys are provided - be it through the intangible innovations of creative project finance or tangible links through roadways, pipeline and rail - the opening will provide real chances to develop the infrastructure of the entire region

Integration of XRootD into the cloud infrastructure for ALICE data analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Kompaniets, Mikhail; Shadura, Oksana; Svirin, Pavlo; Yurchenko, Volodymyr; Zarochentsev, Andrey

2015-12-01

Cloud technologies allow easy load balancing between different tasks and projects. From the viewpoint of the data analysis in the ALICE experiment, cloud allows to deploy software using Cern Virtual Machine (CernVM) and CernVM File System (CVMFS), to run different (including outdated) versions of software for long term data preservation and to dynamically allocate resources for different computing activities, e.g. grid site, ALICE Analysis Facility (AAF) and possible usage for local projects or other LHC experiments. We present a cloud solution for Tier-3 sites based on OpenStack and Ceph distributed storage with an integrated XRootD based storage element (SE). One of the key features of the solution is based on idea that Ceph has been used as a backend for Cinder Block Storage service for OpenStack, and in the same time as a storage backend for XRootD, with redundancy and availability of data preserved by Ceph settings. For faster and easier OpenStack deployment was applied the Packstack solution, which is based on the Puppet configuration management system. Ceph installation and configuration operations are structured and converted to Puppet manifests describing node configurations and integrated into Packstack. This solution can be easily deployed, maintained and used even in small groups with limited computing resources and small organizations, which usually have lack of IT support. The proposed infrastructure has been tested on two different clouds (SPbSU & BITP) and integrates successfully with the ALICE data analysis model.

Critical infrastructure system security and resiliency

CERN Document Server

Biringer, Betty; Warren, Drake

2013-01-01

Security protections for critical infrastructure nodes are intended to minimize the risks resulting from an initiating event, whether it is an intentional malevolent act or a natural hazard. With an emphasis on protecting an infrastructure's ability to perform its mission or function, Critical Infrastructure System Security and Resiliency presents a practical methodology for developing an effective protection system that can either prevent undesired events or mitigate the consequences of such events.Developed at Sandia National Labs, the authors' analytical approach and

Autonomous rendezvous and capture development infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Bryan, Thomas C.; Roe, Fred; Coker, Cindy; Nelson, Pam; Johnson, B.

1991-01-01

In the development of the technology for autonomous rendezvous and docking, key infrastructure capabilities must be used for effective and economical development. This involves facility capabilities, both equipment and personnel, to devise, develop, qualify, and integrate ARD elements and subsystems into flight programs. One effective way of reducing technical risks in developing ARD technology is the use of the ultimate test facility, using a Shuttle-based reusable free-flying testbed to perform a Technology Demonstration Test Flight which can be structured to include a variety of additional sensors, control schemes, and operational approaches. This conceptual testbed and flight demonstration will be used to illustrate how technologies and facilities at MSFC can be used to develop and prove an ARD system.

Directions of development of transport infrastructure of Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.I. Kopytko

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The trends of the transport infrastructure development as a basic factor of national security, the stable and dynamic economic growth, its integration into the European and world economic space are considered. The most important element of the transport infrastructure in the modern economy is a network of logistic providers, which reduce transaction costs and improve the quality of transport service. And the main direction of government policy according to infrastructure should be a gradual transition of activities for establishing and operating the infrastructure objects, that is a burden for the State, from a cost sphere to an efficient business based on the state-private partnership.

Developing an open source-based spatial data infrastructure for integrated monitoring of mining areas

Science.gov (United States)

Lahn, Florian; Knoth, Christian; Prinz, Torsten; Pebesma, Edzer

2014-05-01

allows an easy exploration of the data to assess its quality and suitability for a specific task. More complex remote sensing image analysis is performed through 3rd party software, which is dynamically integrated into a Web Processing Service (WPS). With an increasing data volume the transmission becomes a key problem for a WPS processing this raster data. Here the Moving Code principle embedded in the 52North WPS implementation (MÜLLER et al. 2013) is applied to engage this problem by flexibly sending processes to the WPS which is directly coupled with the data on a server. The required parameters to control the processing are entered via an interface within the web portal. The Moving Code approach not only contributes to improving web processing for big data sets but it also makes it easier to integrate external executable programs into a WPS. As a result the proposed framework of web services and a web portal successfully combines various open source technologies to integrate all of the gathered vector and raster data as well as the analysis methods developed during the GMES4Mining project into a spatial data infrastructure and to enable access to them through a web browser. References: BENECKE, N., ZIMMERMANN, K., MÜTERTHIES, A., PAKZAD, K., TEUWSEN, S., GARCÍA MILLÁN, V., KATELOE, J., PREUßE, A., PEBESMA, E. & T. PRINZ (2013): GMES4Mining: GMES-based geoservices for mining areas. In: Proceedings of the XV International ISM Congress, September 2013, Aachen, Germany. MÜLLER, M., BERNARD, L. & D. KADNER (2013): Moving code - Sharing geoprocessing logic on the Web. In: ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 83: 193-203.

Building thematic and integrated services for solid Earth sciences: the EPOS integrated approach

Science.gov (United States)

Cocco, Massimo; Consortium, Epos

2016-04-01

EPOS has been designed with the vision of creating a pan-European infrastructure for solid Earth science to support a safe and sustainable society. In accordance with this scientific vision, the EPOS mission is to integrate the diverse and advanced European Research Infrastructures for solid Earth science relying on new e-science opportunities to monitor and unravel the dynamic and complex Earth System. EPOS will enable innovative multidisciplinary research for a better understanding of the Earth's physical and chemical processes that control earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, ground instability and tsunami as well as the processes driving tectonics and Earth's surface dynamics. To accomplish its mission, EPOS is engaging different stakeholders, not limited to scientists, to allow the Earth sciences to open new horizons in our understanding of the planet. EPOS also aims at contributing to prepare society for geo-hazards and to responsibly manage the exploitation of geo-resources. Through integration of data, models and facilities, EPOS will allow the Earth science community to make a step change in developing new concepts and tools for key answers to scientific and socio-economic questions concerning geo-hazards and geo-resources as well as Earth sciences applications to the environment and human welfare. A long-term integration plan is necessary to accomplish the EPOS mission. EPOS is presently in its implementation phase further extending its pan-European dimension. The EPOS Implementation Phase builds on the achievements of the successful EPOS Preparatory Phase project and consists of two key activities: the legal establishment of the EPOS-ERIC and the EPOS IP project. The EPOS implementation phase will last from 2015 to 2019. Key objectives of the project are: implementing Thematic Core Services (TCS), the domain-specific service hubs for coordinating and harmonizing national resources/plans with the European dimension of EPOS; building the Integrated Core

Intelligent social infrastructure technology. Infrastructure technology support ultra-reliable society; Chiteki shakai kiban kogaku gijutsu. Choanshin shakai wo sasaeru kiban gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-03-01

This survey was conducted to construct the core of intelligent social infrastructure technology (ISIT), and to investigate its practical application to industries and society. For realizing the ultra-safe and ultra-reliable society, it is necessary to develop the ISIT which can integrate various social infrastructures, such as architecture, city, energy, and lifeline systems required for living. For the systematization of cities, it is necessary to process and control the intelligent information by holding integrated and transverse information in common, as to logistics, lifeline, communication, monitoring, and control. For the communication engineering, the centralized systems are acceleratingly to be converted into the distributed network systems. For the mechanical engineering, intelligent control and robot technology are required. For the architectural engineering, a concept exceeding the conventional antiseismic structure idea is investigated. It is necessary to develop a new information technology providing an intelligent social infrastructures by merging the information networks and the physical world seamlessly. Necessity of ISIT is large for constructing the intelligent and ultra-reliable society consisting of these integrated and organized networks. 84 refs., 68 figs., 6 tabs.

Developing Coastal Adaptation to Climate Change in the New York City Infrastructure-Shed: Process, Approach, Tools, and Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Solecki, William D.; Blake, Reginald; Bowman, Malcolm; Faris, Craig; Gornitz, Vivien; Horton, Radley; Jacob, Klaus; LeBlanc, Alice; Leichenko, Robin;

Road Infrastructure Safety Management in Poland

Science.gov (United States)

Budzynski, Marcin; Jamroz, Kazimierz; Kustra, Wojciech; Michalski, Lech; Gaca, Stanislaw

2017-10-01

The objective of road safety infrastructure management is to ensure that when roads are planned, designed, built and used road risks can be identified, assessed and mitigated. Road transport safety is significantly less developed than that of rail, water and air transport. The average individual risk of being a fatality in relation to the distance covered is thirty times higher in road transport that in the other modes. This is mainly because the different modes have a different approach to safety management and to the use of risk management methods and tools. In recent years Poland has had one of the European Union’s highest road death numbers. In 2016 there were 3026 fatalities on Polish roads with 40,766 injuries. Protecting road users from the risk of injury and death should be given top priority. While Poland’s national and regional road safety programmes address this problem and are instrumental in systematically reducing the number of casualties, the effects are far from the expectations. Modern approaches to safety focus on three integrated elements: infrastructure measures, safety management and safety culture. Due to its complexity, the process of road safety management requires modern tools to help with identifying road user risks, assess and evaluate the safety of road infrastructure and select effective measures to improve road safety. One possible tool for tackling this problem is the risk-based method for road infrastructure safety management. European Union Directive 2008/96/EC regulates and proposes a list of tools for managing road infrastructure safety. Road safety tools look at two criteria: the life cycle of a road structure and the process of risk management. Risk can be minimized through the application of the proposed interventions during design process as reasonable. The proposed methods of risk management bring together two stages: risk assessment and risk response occurring within the analyzed road structure (road network, road

A Strategic Project Appraisal framework for ecologically sustainable urban infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrissey, John; Iyer-Raniga, Usha; McLaughlin, Patricia; Mills, Anthony

2012-01-01

Actors in the built environment are progressively considering environmental and social issues alongside functional and economic aspects of development projects. Infrastructure projects represent major investment and construction initiatives with attendant environmental, economic and societal impacts across multiple scales. To date, while sustainability strategies and frameworks have focused on wider national aspirations and strategic objectives, they are noticeably weak in addressing micro-level integrated decision making in the built environment, particularly for infrastructure projects. The proposed approach of this paper is based on the principal that early intervention is the most cost-effective and efficient means of mitigating the environmental effects of development projects, particularly macro infrastructure developments. A strategic overview of the various project alternatives, taking account for stakeholder and expert input, could effectively reduce project impacts/risks at low cost to the project developers but provide significant benefit to wider communities, including communities of future stakeholders. This paper is the first exploratory step in developing a more systematic framework for evaluating strategic alternatives for major metropolitan infrastructure projects, based on key sustainability principles. The developed Strategic Project Appraisal (SPA) framework, grounded in the theory of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), provides a means of practically appraising project impacts and alternatives in terms of quantified ecological limits; addresses the neglected topic of metropolitan infrastructure as a means of delivering sustainability outcomes in the urban context and more broadly, seeks to open a debate on the potential for SEA methodology to be more extensively applied to address sustainability challenges in the built environment. Practically applied and timed appropriately, the SPA framework can enable better decision-making and more

Map Matching and Real World Integrated Sensor Data Warehousing (Presentation)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burton, E.

2014-02-01

The inclusion of interlinked temporal and spatial elements within integrated sensor data enables a tremendous degree of flexibility when analyzing multi-component datasets. The presentation illustrates how to warehouse, process, and analyze high-resolution integrated sensor datasets to support complex system analysis at the entity and system levels. The example cases presented utilizes in-vehicle sensor system data to assess vehicle performance, while integrating a map matching algorithm to link vehicle data to roads to demonstrate the enhanced analysis possible via interlinking data elements. Furthermore, in addition to the flexibility provided, the examples presented illustrate concepts of maintaining proprietary operational information (Fleet DNA) and privacy of study participants (Transportation Secure Data Center) while producing widely distributed data products. Should real-time operational data be logged at high resolution across multiple infrastructure types, map matched to their associated infrastructure, and distributed employing a similar approach; dependencies between urban environment infrastructures components could be better understood. This understanding is especially crucial for the cities of the future where transportation will rely more on grid infrastructure to support its energy demands.

Risk and Interdependencies in Critical Infrastructures A Guideline for Analysis

CERN Document Server

Utne, Ingrid; Vatn, Jørn

2012-01-01

Today’s society is completely dependent on critical networks such as  water supply, sewage, electricity, ICT and transportation. Risk and vulnerability analyses are needed to grasp the impact of threats and hazards. However, these become quite complex as there are strong interdependencies both within and between infrastructure systems. Risk and Interdependencies in Critical Infrastructures: A  guideline for analysis provides methods for analyzing risks and interdependencies of critical infrastructures.  A number of analysis approaches are described and are adapted to each of these infrastructures. Various approaches are also revised, and all are supported by several examples and illustrations. Particular emphasis is given to the analysis of various interdependencies that often exist between the infrastructures.  Risk and Interdependencies in Critical Infrastructures: A  guideline for analysis provides a good tool to identify the hazards that are threatening your infrastructures, and will enhance the un...

Integrated cloud infrastructure of the LIT JINR, PE “NULITS” and INP's Astana branch

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mazhitova Yelena

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The article describes the distributed cloud infrastructure deployed on the basis of the resources of the Laboratory of Information Technologies of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (LIT JINR and some JINR Member State organizations. It explains a motivation of that work, an approach it is based on, lists of its participants among which there are private entity “Nazarbayev University Library and IT services” (PE “NULITS” Autonomous Education Organization “Nazarbayev University” (AO NU and The Institute of Nuclear Physics’ (INP's Astana branch.

Model for Railway Infrastructure Management Organization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gordan Stojić

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The provision of appropriate quality rail services has an important role in terms of railway infrastructure: quality of infrastructure maintenance, regulation of railway traffic, line capacity, speed, safety, train station organization, the allowable lines load and other infrastructure parameters.The analysis of experiences in transforming the railway systems points to the conclusion that there is no unique solution in terms of choice for institutional rail infrastructure management modes, although more than nineteen years have passed from the beginning of the implementation of the Directive 91/440/EEC. Depending on the approach to the process of restructuring the national railway company, adopted regulations and caution in its implementation, the existence or absence of a clearly defined transport strategy, the willingness to liberalize the transport market, there are several different ways for institutional management of railway infrastructure.A hybrid model for selection of modes of institutional rail infrastructure management was developed based on the theory of artificial intelligence, theory of fuzzy sets and theory of multicriteria optimization.KEY WORDSmanagement, railway infrastructure, organizational structure, hybrid model

Infrastructure monitoring with spaceborne SAR sensors

CERN Document Server

ANGHEL, ANDREI; CACOVEANU, REMUS

2017-01-01

This book presents a novel non-intrusive infrastructure monitoring technique based on the detection and tracking of scattering centers in spaceborne SAR images. The methodology essentially consists of refocusing each available SAR image on an imposed 3D point cloud associated to the envisaged infrastructure element and identifying the reliable scatterers to be monitored by means of four dimensional (4D) tomography. The methodology described in this book provides a new perspective on infrastructure monitoring with spaceborne SAR images, is based on a standalone processing chain, and brings innovative technical aspects relative to conventional approaches. The book is intended primarily for professionals and researchers working in the area of critical infrastructure monitoring by radar remote sensing.

Arid Green Infrastructure for Water Control and Conservation ...

Science.gov (United States)

Green infrastructure is an approach to managing wet weather flows using systems and practices that mimic natural processes. It is designed to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible and protect the quality of receiving waters. Although most green infrastructure practices were first developed in temperate climates, green infrastructure also can be a cost-effective approach to stormwater management and water conservation in arid and semi-arid regions, such as those found in the western and southwestern United States. Green infrastructure practices can be applied at the site, neighborhood and watershed scales. In addition to water management and conservation, implementing green infrastructure confers many social and economic benefits and can address issues of environmental justice. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) commissioned a literature review to identify the state-of-the science practices dealing with water control and conservation in arid and semi-arid regions, with emphasis on these regions in the United States. The search focused on stormwater control measures or practices that slow, capture, treat, infiltrate and/or store runoff at its source (i.e., green infrastructure). The material in Chapters 1 through 3 provides background to EPA’s current activities related to the application of green infrastructure practices in arid and semi-arid regions. An introduction to the topic of green infrastructure in arid and semi-arid regions i

Integrating CAD modules in a PACS environment using a wide computing infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Suárez-Cuenca, Jorge J; Tilve, Amara; López, Ricardo; Ferro, Gonzalo; Quiles, Javier; Souto, Miguel

2017-04-01

The aim of this paper is to describe a project designed to achieve a total integration of different CAD algorithms into the PACS environment by using a wide computing infrastructure. The aim is to build a system for the entire region of Galicia, Spain, to make CAD accessible to multiple hospitals by employing different PACSs and clinical workstations. The new CAD model seeks to connect different devices (CAD systems, acquisition modalities, workstations and PACS) by means of networking based on a platform that will offer different CAD services. This paper describes some aspects related to the health services of the region where the project was developed, CAD algorithms that were either employed or selected for inclusion in the project, and several technical aspects and results. We have built a standard-based platform with which users can request a CAD service and receive the results in their local PACS. The process runs through a web interface that allows sending data to the different CAD services. A DICOM SR object is received with the results of the algorithms stored inside the original study in the proper folder with the original images. As a result, a homogeneous service to the different hospitals of the region will be offered. End users will benefit from a homogeneous workflow and a standardised integration model to request and obtain results from CAD systems in any modality, not dependant on commercial integration models. This new solution will foster the deployment of these technologies in the entire region of Galicia.

Developing a grid infrastructure in Cuba

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopez Aldama, D.; Dominguez, M.; Ricardo, H.; Gonzalez, A.; Nolasco, E.; Fernandez, E.; Fernandez, M.; Sanchez, M.; Suarez, F.; Nodarse, F.; Moreno, N.; Aguilera, L.

2007-07-01

A grid infrastructure was deployed at Centro de Gestion de la Informacion y Desarrollo de la Energia (CUBAENERGIA) in the frame of EELA project and of a national initiative for developing a Cuban Network for Science. A stand-alone model was adopted to overcome connectivity limitations. The e-infrastructure is based on gLite-3.0 middleware and is fully compatible with EELA-infrastructure. Afterwards, the work was focused on grid applications. The application GATE was deployed from the early beginning for biomedical users. Further, two applications were deployed on the local grid infrastructure: MOODLE for e-learning and AERMOD for assessment of local dispersion of atmospheric pollutants. Additionally, our local grid infrastructure was made interoperable with a Java based distributed system for bioinformatics calculations. This experience could be considered as a suitable approach for national networks with weak Internet connections. (Author)

Service-oriented infrastructure for scientific data mashups

Science.gov (United States)

Baru, C.; Krishnan, S.; Lin, K.; Moreland, J. L.; Nadeau, D. R.

2009-12-01

services based on standards such as WFS, WMS, WCS, and GeoSciML that allow integration of disparate data in a distributed, Web-based environment. Along these lines, we introduce the notion of a Web Volume Service (WVS) for modeling and manipulating 3D data. The Data Interaction Services provide services for rich interactions with the integrated 3D data. To provide efficient interactions with large-scale data in a distributed environment the architecture must include capabilities for caching and reuse of data, use of multi-level indexing, and the ability to orchestrate and coordinate execution of data processing and transformation routines as part of the data access and integration steps. The data mashup infrastructure is based on a service-oriented architecture. A range of alternatives are available for implementing these mashup services in a scalable fashion, using the cloud computing paradigm. We will describe the tradeoffs of each approach and provide an evaluation of which options are best suited to which types of services. We will describe security, privacy, performance, and price/performance issues and considerations in implementing services on dedicated servers versus private as well as public clouds, including systems such as Amazon Web Services.

{cross-disciplinary} Data CyberInfrastructure: A Different Approach to Developing Collaborative Earth and Environmental Science Research Platforms

Science.gov (United States)

Lenhardt, W. C.; Krishnamurthy, A.; Blanton, B.; Conway, M.; Coposky, J.; Castillo, C.; Idaszak, R.

2017-12-01

An integrated science cyberinfrastructure platform is fast becoming a norm in science, particularly where access to distributed resources, access to compute, data management tools, and collaboration tools are accessible to the end-user scientist without the need to spin up these services on their own. There platforms have various types of labels ranging from data commons to science-as-a-service. They tend to share common features, as outlined above. What tends to distinguish these platforms, however, is their affinity for particular domains, NanoHub - nanomaterials, iPlant - plant biology, Hydroshare - hydrology, and so on. The challenge still remains how to enable these platforms to be more easily adopted for use by other domains. This paper will provide an overview of RENCI's approach to creating a science platform that can be more easily adopted by new communities while also endeavoring to accelerate their research. At RENCI, we started with Hydroshare, but have now worked to generalize the methodology for application to other domains. This new effort is called xDCi, or {cross-disciplinary} Data CyberInfrastructure. We have adopted a broader approach to the challenge of domain adoption and includes two key elements in addition to the technology component. The first of these is how development is operationalized. RENCI implements a DevOps model of continuous development and deployment. This greatly increases the speed by which a new platform can come online and be refined to meet domain needs. DevOps also allows for migration over time, i.e. sustainability. The second element is a concierge model. In addition to the technical elements, and the more responsive development process, RENCI also supports domain adoption of the platform by providing a concierge service— dedicated expertise- in the following areas, Information Technology, Sustainable Software, Data Science, and Sustainability. The success of the RENCI methodology is illustrated by the adoption of the

New concepts of infrastructure for electromobility; Neue Infrastrukturkonzepte fuer Elektromobilitaet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hammerstein, Christian von; Hoff, Stefanie von [RAUE LLP, Berlin (Germany)

2011-06-15

The successful implementation of electromobility requires a greatest possible area-wide charging infrastructure. Current pilot projects use this charging infrastructure with an integrated measuring equipment. Alternative systems are explored for the charging of electric vehicles and developed based on mobile measurement technology. Under this aspect, the authors of the contribution report on new infrastructure concepts for electric vehicles. Two questions are discussed: (a) How can the charging infrastructure be implemented in the existing regulatory system of the Energy Economy Law?; (b) Is an implementation of mobile devices into existing energy-economic processes possible?.

Two Approaches for the Management of Virtual Machines on Grid Infrastructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tapiador, D.; Rubio-Montero, A. J.; Juedo, E.; Montero, R. S.; Llorente, I. M.

2007-01-01

Virtual machines are a promising technology to overcome some of the problems found in current Grid infrastructures, like heterogeneity, performance partitioning or application isolation. This work shows a comparison between two strategies to manage virtual machines in Globus Grids. The first alternative is a straightforward deployment that does not require additional middle ware to be installed. It is only based on standard Grid services and is not bound to a given virtualization technology. Although this option is fully functional, it is only suitable for single process batch jobs. The second solution makes use of the Virtual Workspace Service which allows a remote client to securely negotiate and manage a virtual resource. This approach better exploits the potential benefits offered by the virtualization technology and provides a wider application range. (Author)

An Integrated Computer-Aided Approach for Environmental Studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gani, Rafiqul; Chen, Fei; Jaksland, Cecilia

1997-01-01

A general framework for an integrated computer-aided approach to solve process design, control, and environmental problems simultaneously is presented. Physicochemical properties and their relationships to the molecular structure play an important role in the proposed integrated approach. The sco...... and applicability of the integrated approach is highlighted through examples involving estimation of properties and environmental pollution prevention. The importance of mixture effects on some environmentally important properties is also demonstrated....

Cyber Attacks and Energy Infrastructures: Anticipating Risks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desarnaud, Gabrielle

2017-01-01

This study analyses the likelihood of cyber-attacks against European energy infrastructures and their potential consequences, particularly on the electricity grid. It also delivers a comparative analysis of measures taken by different European countries to protect their industries and collaborate within the European Union. The energy sector experiences an unprecedented digital transformation upsetting its activities and business models. Our energy infrastructures, sometimes more than a decade old and designed to remain functional for many years to come, now constantly interact with light digital components. The convergence of the global industrial system with the power of advanced computing and analytics reveals untapped opportunities at every step of the energy value chain. However, the introduction of digital elements in old and unprotected industrial equipment also exposes the energy industry to the cyber risk. One of the most compelling example of the type of threat the industry is facing, is the 2015 cyber-attack on the Ukraine power grid, which deprived about 200 000 people of electricity in the middle of the winter. The number and the level of technical expertise of cyber-attacks rose significantly after the discovery of the Stuxnet worm in the network of Natanz uranium enrichment site in 2010. Energy transition policies and the growing integration of renewable sources of energy will intensify this tendency, if cyber security measures are not part of the design of our future energy infrastructures. Regulators try to catch up and adapt, like in France where the authorities collaborate closely with the energy industry to set up a strict and efficient regulatory framework, and protect critical operators. This approach is adopted elsewhere in Europe, but common measures applicable to the whole European Union are essential to protect strongly interconnected energy infrastructures against a multiform threat that defies frontiers

Enhancing infrastructure resilience through business continuity planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Ronald; Norman, Michael; Klett, Mary

2017-01-01

Critical infrastructure is crucial to the functionality and wellbeing of the world around us. It is a complex network that works together to create an efficient society. The core components of critical infrastructure are dependent on one another to function at their full potential. Organisations face unprecedented environmental risks such as increased reliance on information technology and telecommunications, increased infrastructure interdependencies and globalisation. Successful organisations should integrate the components of cyber-physical and infrastructure interdependencies into a holistic risk framework. Physical security plans, cyber security plans and business continuity plans can help mitigate environmental risks. Cyber security plans are becoming the most crucial to have, yet are the least commonly found in organisations. As the reliance on cyber continues to grow, it is imperative that organisations update their business continuity and emergency preparedness activities to include this.

Urban Green Infrastructure: German Experience

OpenAIRE

Diana Olegovna Dushkova; Sergey Nikolaevich Kirillov

2016-01-01

The paper presents a concept of urban green infrastructure and analyzes the features of its implementation in the urban development programmes of German cities. We analyzed the most shared articles devoted to the urban green infrastructure to see different approaches to definition of this term. It is based on materials of field research in the cities of Berlin and Leipzig in 2014-2015, international and national scientific publications. During the process of preparing the paper, consultations...

76 FR 48807 - Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Certificate Action Form

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-09

... Infrastructure (PKI) technology to support electronic commerce between the USPTO and its customers. PKI is a set... security for its electronic commerce systems, the USPTO uses PKI technology to protect the integrity and... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Public Key Infrastructure (PKI...

Alpine infrastructure in Central Europe: integral evaluation of wastewater treatment systems at mountain refuges.

Science.gov (United States)

Weissenbacher, N; Mayr, E; Niederberger, T; Aschauer, C; Lebersorger, S; Steinbacher, G; Haberl, R

2008-01-01

Planning, construction and operation of onsite wastewater treatment systems at mountain refuges is a challenge. Energy supply, costly transport, limited water resources, unfavourable climate and load variations are only some of the problems that have to be faced. Additionally, legal regulations are different between and even within countries of the Alps. To ensure sustainability, integrated management of the alpine infrastructure management is needed. The energy and water supply and the wastewater and waste disposal systems and the cross-relations between them were analysed for 100 mountain refuges. Wastewater treatment is a main part of the overall 'mountain refuge' system. The data survey and first analyses showed the complex interaction of the wastewater treatment with the other infrastructure. Main criteria for reliable and efficient operation are training, technical support, user friendly control and a relatively simple system set up. Wastewater temperature, alkalinity consumption and high peak loads have to be considered in the planning process. The availability of power in terms of duration and connexion is decisive for the choice of the system. Further, frequency fluctuations may lead to damages to the installed aerators. The type of water source and the type of sanitary equipment influence the wastewater quantity and quality. Biosolids are treated and disposed separately or together with primary or secondary sludge from wastewater treatment dependent on the legal requirements. IWA Publishing 2008.

Supporting context-aware mobile applications : an infrastructure approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Sinderen, Marten J.; van Halteren, Aart; Wegdam, M.; Meeuwissen, H.B.; Eertink, E.H.; Eertink, E.H.

Mobile phones and PDAs are converging into mobile lifestyle devices that offer a wide range of applications to end users. Many of these applications will have the ability to adapt themselves to the user’s situation, commonly referred to as context awareness. We argue that an infrastructure is needed

Infrastructure Quality, Local Government Spending and Corruption

OpenAIRE

Ig. Sigit Murwito; Boedi Rheza; Sri Mulyati; Elizabeth Karlinda; Ratnawati Muyanto

2012-01-01

We study on how a larger local government budget on infrastructure does not reflect into good quality of road in forty-one district/city across Indonesia given the fact of low infrastructure quality and low government spending on infrastructure. This study excels its preceded studies done by Tanzi and Davoodi (1997) at country level. The methodology used is a combination of quantitative and qualitative approach since our main research query is to seek facts on why a larger government spending...

An integrated approach to manage coastal ecosystems and prevent marine pollution effects

Science.gov (United States)

Marcelli, Marco; Bonamano, Simone; Carli, Filippo Maria; Giovacchini, Monica; Madonia, Alice; Mancini, Emanuele; Molino, Chiara; Piermattei, Viviana; Manfredi Frattarelli, Francesco

2016-04-01

This work focuses an integrated approach based on Sea-Use-Map (SUM), backed by a permanent monitoring system (C-CEMS-Civitavecchia Coastal Environmental Monitoring System). This tool supports the management of the marine coastal area, contributing substantially to ecosystem benefits evaluation and to minimize pollution impacts. Within the Blue Growth strategy, the protection of marine ecosystems is considered a priority for the sustainable growth of marine and maritime sectors. To face this issue, the European MSP and MSFD directives (2014/89/EU; 2008/56/EC) strongly promote the adoption of an ecosystem-based approach, paying particular attention to the support of monitoring networks that use L-TER (long-term ecological research) observations and integrate multi-disciplinary data sets. Although not largely used in Europe yet, the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI), developed in 1979 by NOAA (and promoted by IMO in 2010), can be considered an excellent example of ecosystem-based approach to reduce the environmental consequences of an oil spill event in a coastal area. SUM is an ecosystem oriented cartographic tool specifically designed to support the sustainable management of the coastal areas, such as the selection of the best sites for the introduction of new uses or the identification of the coastal areas subjected to potential impacts. It also enables a rapid evaluation of the benefits produced by marine areas as well as of their anthropogenic disturbance. SUM integrates C-CEMS dataset, geomorphological and ecological features and knowledge on the coastal and maritime space uses. The SUM appliance allowed to obtain relevant operational results in the Civitavecchia coastal area (Latium, Italy), characterized by high variability of marine and coastal environments, historical heritage and affected by the presence of a big harbour, relevant industrial infrastructures, and touristic features. In particular, the valuation of marine ecosystem services based on

Impacts of Permafrost on Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services

Science.gov (United States)

Trochim, E.; Schuur, E.; Schaedel, C.; Kelly, B. P.

2017-12-01

The Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) program developed knowledge pyramids as a tool for advancing scientific understanding and making this information accessible for decision makers. Knowledge pyramids are being used to synthesize, curate and disseminate knowledge of changing land ice, sea ice, and permafrost in the Arctic. Each pyramid consists of a one-two page summary brief in broadly accessible language and literature organized by levels of detail including synthesizes and scientific building blocks. Three knowledge pyramids have been produced related to permafrost on carbon, infrastructure, and ecosystem services. Each brief answers key questions with high societal relevance framed in policy-relevant terms. The knowledge pyramids concerning infrastructure and ecosystem services were developed in collaboration with researchers specializing in the specific topic areas in order to identify the most pertinent issues and accurately communicate information for integration into policy and planning. For infrastructure, the main issue was the need to build consensus in the engineering and science communities for developing improved methods for incorporating data applicable to building infrastructure on permafrost. In ecosystem services, permafrost provides critical landscape properties which affect basic human needs including fuel and drinking water availability, access to hunting and harvest, and fish and wildlife habitat. Translating these broad and complex topics necessitated a systematic and iterative approach to identifying key issues and relating them succinctly to the best state of the art research. The development of the knowledge pyramids provoked collaboration and synthesis across distinct research and engineering communities. The knowledge pyramids also provide a solid basis for policy development and the format allows the content to be regularly updated as the research community advances.

Exploring Bim for Operational Integrated Asset Management - a Preliminary Study Utilising Real-World Infrastructure Data

Science.gov (United States)

Boyes, G. A.; Ellul, C.; Irwin, D.

2017-10-01

The use of 3D information models within collaborative working environments and the practice of Building Information Modelling (BIM) are becoming more commonplace within infrastructure projects. Currently used predominantly during the design and construction phase, the use of BIM is capable in theory of providing the information at handover that will satisfy the Asset Information Requirements (AIRs) of the future Infrastructure Manager (IM). One particular challenge is establishing a link between existing construction-centric information and the asset-centric information needed for future operations. Crossrail, a project to build a new high-frequency railway underneath London, is handling many such challenges as they prepare to handover their digital information to the future operator, in particular the need to provide a two-way link between a federated 3D CAD model and an object-relational Asset Information Management System (AIMS). This paper focusses on the potential for improved Asset Management (AM) by integrating BIM and GIS systems and practices, and makes a preliminary report on how 3D spatial queries can be used to establish a two-way relational link between two information systems (3D geometry and asset lists), as well as the challenges being overcome to transform the data to be suitable for AM.

Determinants of farmers' participation in collective maintenance of irrigation infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal

Science.gov (United States)

Sharaunga, S.; Mudhara, M.

2018-06-01

The decentralization framework and the Dublin Principles on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) emphasize the need for a participatory approach to irrigation water management. This study identifies the factors influencing farmers' decision to, and extent of participation in the maintenance of irrigation infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa based on cross-section data collected from 320 randomly selected smallholder irrigating farmers. A two-step Heckman regression model was applied in the analysis. It was established that households whose heads were older, block committee members, with larger irrigation plots, good soil quality and experiencing severe irrigation water shortages are more likely to participate in maintenance of irrigation infrastructure. On the other hand, farmers with insecure land tenure and with no access to irrigation water were less likely to make the decision to participate. Farmers who were members of the farming cooperative as well as block committee members and those paying irrigation water costs were likely to intensively participate in maintaining irrigation infrastructure. Therefore, decentralization alone cannot lead to improved irrigation outcomes. Several factors are necessary for households to participate intensively in the maintenance of irrigation infrastructure. Governments should address these challenges before handing irrigation schemes to their beneficiaries.

A GIS Approach to Evaluate Infrastructure Variables Influencing the Occurrence of Traffic Accidents in Urban Roads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murat Selim Çepni

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Several studies worldwide have been developed that seek to explain the occurrence of traffic accidents from different perspectives. The analyses have addressed legal perspectives, technical attributes of vehicles and infrastructure as well as the psychological, behavioral and socio-economic components of the road system users. Recently, some analysis techniques based on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS have been used, which allow the generation of spatial distribution maps, models and risk estimates from a spatial perspective. Sometimes analyses of traffic accidents are performed using quantitative statistical techniques, which place significant importance on the evolution of accidents. Studies such as those in references have shown that conventional statistical models are sometimes inadequate to model the frequency of traffic accidents, as they may provide erroneous inferences. GIS approach has been used to explore different spatial and temporal visualization technologies to reveal accident patterns and significant factors relating to vehicle crashes, or as a management system for accident analysis and the determination of hot spots. This paper examines the relationship between urban road accidents and variables related to road infrastructure, environment and traffic volumes. Some accident-prone sections in the city of Kocaeli are specifically identified by GIS tools. Urban road accidents in Kocaeli are a serious problem and it is believed that accidents can be related to infrastructure characteristics. The study aimed to establish the relationship between urban road accidents and the road infrastructure variables and revealed some possible accident prone locations for the period of 2013 and 2015 in Kocaeli city

Understanding and enhancing future infrastructure resiliency: a socio-ecological approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Sage, Daniel; Sircar, Indraneel; Dainty, Andrew; Fussey, Pete; Goodier, Chris

2015-07-01

The resilience of any system, human or natural, centres on its capacity to adapt its structure, but not necessarily its function, to a new configuration in response to long-term socio-ecological change. In the long term, therefore, enhancing resilience involves more than simply improving a system's ability to resist an immediate threat or to recover to a stable past state. However, despite the prevalence of adaptive notions of resilience in academic discourse, it is apparent that infrastructure planners and policies largely continue to struggle to comprehend longer-term system adaptation in their understanding of resilience. Instead, a short-term, stable system (STSS) perspective on resilience is prevalent. This paper seeks to identify and problematise this perspective, presenting research based on the development of a heuristic 'scenario-episode' tool to address, and challenge, it in the context of United Kingdom infrastructure resilience. The aim is to help resilience practitioners to understand better the capacities of future infrastructure systems to respond to natural, malicious threats. © 2015 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2015.

The Water, Energy and Food Nexus: Finding the Balance in Infrastructure Investment

Science.gov (United States)

Huber-lee, A. T.; Wickel, B.; Kemp-Benedict, E.; Purkey, D. R.; Hoff, H.; Heaps, C.

2013-12-01

There is increasing evidence that single-sector infrastructure planning is leading to severely stressed human and ecological systems. There are a number of cross-sectoral impacts in these highly inter-linked systems. Examples include: - Promotion of biofuels that leads to conversion from food crops, reducing both food and water security. - Promotion of dams solely built for hydropower rather than multi-purpose uses, that deplete fisheries and affect saltwater intrusion dynamics in downstream deltas - Historical use of water for cooling thermal power plants, with increasing pressure from other water uses, as well as problems of increased water temperatures that affect the ability to cool plants efficiently. This list can easily be expanded, as these inter-linkages are increasing over time. As developing countries see a need to invest in new infrastructure to improve the livelihoods of the poor, developed countries face conditions of deteriorating infrastructure with an opportunity for new investment. It is crucial, especially in the face of uncertainty of climate change and socio-political realities, that infrastructure planning factors in the influence of multiple sectors and the potential impacts from the perspectives of different stakeholders. There is a need for stronger linkages between science and policy as well. The Stockholm Environment Institute is developing and implementing practical and innovative nexus planning approaches in Latin America, Africa and Asia that brings together stakeholders and ways of integrating uncertainty in a cross-sectoral quantitative framework using the tools WEAP (Water Evaluation and Planning) and LEAP (Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning). The steps used include: 1. Identify key actors and stakeholders via social network analysis 2. Work with these actors to scope out priority issues and decision criteria in both the short and long term 3. Develop quantitative models to clarify options and balances between the needs and

Infrastructure for Multiphysics Software Integration in High Performance Computing-Aided Science and Engineering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Campbell, Michael T. [Illinois Rocstar LLC, Champaign, IL (United States); Safdari, Masoud [Illinois Rocstar LLC, Champaign, IL (United States); Kress, Jessica E. [Illinois Rocstar LLC, Champaign, IL (United States); Anderson, Michael J. [Illinois Rocstar LLC, Champaign, IL (United States); Horvath, Samantha [Illinois Rocstar LLC, Champaign, IL (United States); Brandyberry, Mark D. [Illinois Rocstar LLC, Champaign, IL (United States); Kim, Woohyun [Illinois Rocstar LLC, Champaign, IL (United States); Sarwal, Neil [Illinois Rocstar LLC, Champaign, IL (United States); Weisberg, Brian [Illinois Rocstar LLC, Champaign, IL (United States)

2016-10-15

The project described in this report constructed and exercised an innovative multiphysics coupling toolkit called the Illinois Rocstar MultiPhysics Application Coupling Toolkit (IMPACT). IMPACT is an open source, flexible, natively parallel infrastructure for coupling multiple uniphysics simulation codes into multiphysics computational systems. IMPACT works with codes written in several high-performance-computing (HPC) programming languages, and is designed from the beginning for HPC multiphysics code development. It is designed to be minimally invasive to the individual physics codes being integrated, and has few requirements on those physics codes for integration. The goal of IMPACT is to provide the support needed to enable coupling existing tools together in unique and innovative ways to produce powerful new multiphysics technologies without extensive modification and rewrite of the physics packages being integrated. There are three major outcomes from this project: 1) construction, testing, application, and open-source release of the IMPACT infrastructure, 2) production of example open-source multiphysics tools using IMPACT, and 3) identification and engagement of interested organizations in the tools and applications resulting from the project. This last outcome represents the incipient development of a user community and application echosystem being built using IMPACT. Multiphysics coupling standardization can only come from organizations working together to define needs and processes that span the space of necessary multiphysics outcomes, which Illinois Rocstar plans to continue driving toward. The IMPACT system, including source code, documentation, and test problems are all now available through the public gitHUB.org system to anyone interested in multiphysics code coupling. Many of the basic documents explaining use and architecture of IMPACT are also attached as appendices to this document. Online HTML documentation is available through the gitHUB site

On the Development of a Computing Infrastructure that Facilitates IPPD from a Decision-Based Design Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Hale, Mark A.; Craig, James I.; Mistree, Farrokh; Schrage, Daniel P.

1995-01-01

Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD) embodies the simultaneous application of both system and quality engineering methods throughout an iterative design process. The use of IPPD results in the time-conscious, cost-saving development of engineering systems. Georgia Tech has proposed the development of an Integrated Design Engineering Simulator that will merge Integrated Product and Process Development with interdisciplinary analysis techniques and state-of-the-art computational technologies. To implement IPPD, a Decision-Based Design perspective is encapsulated in an approach that focuses on the role of the human designer in product development. The approach has two parts and is outlined in this paper. First, an architecture, called DREAMS, is being developed that facilitates design from a decision-based perspective. Second, a supporting computing infrastructure, called IMAGE, is being designed. The current status of development is given and future directions are outlined.

Research infrastructures in the LHC era: a scientometric approach

CERN Document Server

Carrazza, Stefano; Salini, Silvia

2016-01-01

When a research infrastructure is funded and implemented, new information and new publications are created. This new information is the measurable output of discovery process. In this paper, we describe the impact of infrastructure for physics experiments in terms of publications and citations. In particular, we consider the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments (ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, LHCb) and compare them to the Large Electron Positron Collider (LEP) experiments (ALEPH, DELPHI, L3, OPAL) and the Tevatron experiments (CDF, D0). We provide an overview of the scientific output of these projects over time and highlight the role played by remarkable project results in the publication-citation distribution trends. The methodological and technical contribution of this work provides a starting point for the development of a theoretical model of modern scientific knowledge propagation over time.

Rise of the build infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eulisse, Giulio; Muzaffar, Shahzad; Abdurachmanov, David; Mendez, David

2014-01-01

CMS Offline Software, CMSSW, is an extremely large software project, with roughly 3 millions lines of code, two hundreds of active developers and two to three active development branches. Given the scale of the problem, both from a technical and a human point of view, being able to keep on track such a large project, bug free, and to deliver builds for different architectures is a challenge in itself. Moreover the challenges posed by the future migration of CMSSW to multithreading also require adapting and improving our QA tools. We present the work done in the last two years in our build and integration infrastructure, particularly in the form of improvements to our build tools, in the simplification and extensibility of our build infrastructure and the new features added to our QA and profiling tools. Finally we present our plans for the future directions for code management and how this reflects on our workflows and the underlying software infrastructure.

Enabling European Archaeological Research: The ARIADNE E-Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola Aloia

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Research e-infrastructures, digital archives and data services have become important pillars of scientific enterprise that in recent decades has become ever more collaborative, distributed and data-intensive. The archaeological research community has been an early adopter of digital tools for data acquisition, organisation, analysis and presentation of research results of individual projects. However, the provision of e-infrastructure and services for data sharing, discovery, access and re-use has lagged behind. This situation is being addressed by ARIADNE: the Advanced Research Infrastructure for Archaeological Dataset Networking in Europe. This EU-funded network has developed an e-infrastructure that enables data providers to register and provide access to their resources (datasets, collections through the ARIADNE data portal, facilitating discovery, access and other services across the integrated resources. This article describes the current landscape of data repositories and services for archaeologists in Europe, and the issues that make interoperability between them difficult to realise. The results of the ARIADNE surveys on users' expectations and requirements are also presented. The main section of the article describes the architecture of the e-infrastructure, core services (data registration, discovery and access and various other extant or experimental services. The on-going evaluation of the data integration and services is also discussed. Finally, the article summarises lessons learned, and outlines the prospects for the wider engagement of the archaeological research community in sharing data through ARIADNE.

Damage assessment of bridge infrastructure subjected to flood-related hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Michalis, Panagiotis; Cahill, Paul; Bekić, Damir; Kerin, Igor; Pakrashi, Vikram; Lapthorne, John; Morais, João Gonçalo Martins Paulo; McKeogh, Eamon

2017-04-01

Transportation assets represent a critical component of society's infrastructure systems. Flood-related hazards are considered one of the main climate change impacts on highway and railway infrastructure, threatening the security and functionality of transportation systems. Of such hazards, flood-induced scour is a primarily cause of bridge collapses worldwide and one of the most complex and challenging water flow and erosion phenomena, leading to structural instability and ultimately catastrophic failures. Evaluation of scour risk under severe flood events is a particularly challenging issue considering that depth of foundations is very difficult to evaluate in water environment. The continual inspection, assessment and maintenance of bridges and other hydraulic structures under extreme flood events requires a multidisciplinary approach, including knowledge and expertise of hydraulics, hydrology, structural engineering, geotechnics and infrastructure management. The large number of bridges under a single management unit also highlights the need for efficient management, information sharing and self-informing systems to provide reliable, cost-effective flood and scour risk management. The "Intelligent Bridge Assessment Maintenance and Management System" (BRIDGE SMS) is an EU/FP7 funded project which aims to couple state-of-the art scientific expertise in multidisciplinary engineering sectors with industrial knowledge in infrastructure management. This involves the application of integrated low-cost structural health monitoring systems to provide real-time information towards the development of an intelligent decision support tool and a web-based platform to assess and efficiently manage bridge assets. This study documents the technological experience and presents results obtained from the application of sensing systems focusing on the damage assessment of water-hazards at bridges over watercourses in Ireland. The applied instrumentation is interfaced with an open

FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONS OF EFFICIENCY PRODUCTION INFRASTRUCTURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anzor H. Jankaziev

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article presents the methodological andmethodical bases of research and development institutes forming effi ciency production infrastructure. Focuses on the organizationalside of the issue as the comparative characteristics. It is proposed allocation of integraland differential approach to assessing the investment attractiveness of the industrial infrastructure of the enterprise. Consideredsectoral, regional, national and internationallevels of development of industrial infrastructure.

Lessons learned: Infrastructure development and financial management for large, publicly funded, international trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Gregg S; Carey, Cate; Grarup, Jesper; Hudson, Fleur; Sachi, Karen; Vjecha, Michael J; Gordin, Fred

2016-04-01

Randomized clinical trials are widely recognized as essential to address worldwide clinical and public health research questions. However, their size and duration can overwhelm available public and private resources. To remain competitive in international research settings, advocates and practitioners of clinical trials must implement practices that reduce their cost. We identify approaches and practices for large, publicly funded, international trials that reduce cost without compromising data integrity and recommend an approach to cost reporting that permits comparison of clinical trials. We describe the organizational and financial characteristics of The International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials, an infectious disease research network that conducts multiple, large, long-term, international trials, and examine challenges associated with simple and streamlined governance and an infrastructure and financial management model that is based on performance, transparency, and accountability. It is possible to reduce costs of participants' follow-up and not compromise clinical trial quality or integrity. The International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials network has successfully completed three large HIV trials using cost-efficient practices that have not adversely affected investigator enthusiasm, accrual rates, loss-to-follow-up, adherence to the protocol, and completion of data collection. This experience is relevant to the conduct of large, publicly funded trials in other disease areas, particularly trials dependent on international collaborations. New approaches, or creative adaption of traditional clinical trial infrastructure and financial management tools, can render large, international clinical trials more cost-efficient by emphasizing structural simplicity, minimal up-front costs, payments for performance, and uniform algorithms and fees-for-service, irrespective of location. However, challenges remain. They

Grids in Europe - a computing infrastructure for science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kranzlmueller, D.

2008-01-01

Grids provide sheer unlimited computing power and access to a variety of resources to todays scientists. Moving from a research topic of computer science to a commodity tool for science and research in general, grid infrastructures are built all around the world. This talk provides an overview of the developments of grids in Europe, the status of the so-called national grid initiatives as well as the efforts towards an integrated European grid infrastructure. The latter, summarized under the title of the European Grid Initiative (EGI), promises a permanent and reliable grid infrastructure and its services in a way similar to research networks today. The talk describes the status of these efforts, the plans for the setup of this pan-European e-Infrastructure, and the benefits for the application communities. (author)

Integrated approach to economical, reliable, safe nuclear power production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-06-01

An Integrated Approach to Economical, Reliable, Safe Nuclear Power Production is the latest evolution of a concept which originated with the Defense-in-Depth philosophy of the nuclear industry. As Defense-in-Depth provided a framework for viewing physical barriers and equipment redundancy, the Integrated Approach gives a framework for viewing nuclear power production in terms of functions and institutions. In the Integrated Approach, four plant Goals are defined (Normal Operation, Core and Plant Protection, Containment Integrity and Emergency Preparedness) with the attendant Functional and Institutional Classifications that support them. The Integrated Approach provides a systematic perspective that combines the economic objective of reliable power production with the safety objective of consistent, controlled plant operation

Corridor X in Serbia: Approach to spatial planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milijić Saša

2003-01-01

Full Text Available For the infrastructural corridor's area, of the national importance, is predicted making spatial plans of area of special use, as the most complex instruments for the developing and arranging management of these areas. These plans should have an integrative and problem-oriented approach towards development planning and arrangement of such an area, and it is obliged to include: a complex evaluation of state and function of infrastructural system in the corridor; an analysis of infrastructural corridor influence on the development of the planning area and its surrounding; an alternative conception of long-term protection, improvement, organization and use of the planning area; a choice of the priorities and assumption of the realization phases; instructions for the implementation of the plan etc. The approach in making of this category of plans, as well as, experiences in planning, arrangement and use of multimodal corridors, have been considered on the example of Spatial plan of the infrastructural corridor E-75 section Belgrade-Nis area.

Understanding the infrastructure of European Research Infrastructures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindstrøm, Maria Duclos; Kropp, Kristoffer

2017-01-01

European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERIC) are a new form of legal and financial framework for the establishment and operation of research infrastructures in Europe. Despite their scope, ambition, and novelty, the topic has received limited scholarly attention. This article analyses one ER....... It is also a promising theoretical framework for addressing the relationship between the ERIC construct and the large diversity of European Research Infrastructures.......European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERIC) are a new form of legal and financial framework for the establishment and operation of research infrastructures in Europe. Despite their scope, ambition, and novelty, the topic has received limited scholarly attention. This article analyses one ERIC...... became an ERIC using the Bowker and Star’s sociology of infrastructures. We conclude that focusing on ERICs as a European standard for organising and funding research collaboration gives new insights into the problems of membership, durability, and standardisation faced by research infrastructures...

Healing and Preventing Pain: Complementary and Integrative Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

... page please turn JavaScript on. Feature: Pain Management Healing and Preventing Pain, Complementary and Integrative Approaches Past ... Pain Management" Articles Putting A Pause In Pain / Healing and Preventing Pain Complementary and Integrative Approaches / Pain ...

Towards Shibboleth-based security in the e-infrastructure for social sciences

OpenAIRE

Jie, Wei; Daw, Michael; Procter, Rob; Voss, Alex

2007-01-01

The e-Infrastructure for e-Social Sciences project leverages Grid computing technology to provide an integrated platform which enables social science researchers to securely access a variety of e-Science resources. Security underpins the e-Infrastructure and a security framework with authentication and authorization functionality is a core component of the e-Infrastructure for social sciences. To build the security framework, we adopt Shibboleth as the basic authentication and authorization i...

Collaborative Access Control For Critical Infrastructures

Science.gov (United States)

Baina, Amine; El Kalam, Anas Abou; Deswarte, Yves; Kaaniche, Mohamed

A critical infrastructure (CI) can fail with various degrees of severity due to physical and logical vulnerabilities. Since many interdependencies exist between CIs, failures can have dramatic consequences on the entire infrastructure. This paper focuses on threats that affect information and communication systems that constitute the critical information infrastructure (CII). A new collaborative access control framework called PolyOrBAC is proposed to address security problems that are specific to CIIs. The framework offers each organization participating in a CII the ability to collaborate with other organizations while maintaining control of its resources and internal security policy. The approach is demonstrated on a practical scenario involving the electrical power grid.

STOCHASTIC COLOURED PETRINET BASED HEALTHCARE INFRASTRUCTURE INTERDEPENDENCY MODEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Nukavarapu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The Healthcare Critical Infrastructure (HCI protects all sectors of the society from hazards such as terrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and natural disasters. HCI plays a significant role in response and recovery across all other sectors in the event of a natural or manmade disaster. However, for its continuity of operations and service delivery HCI is dependent on other interdependent Critical Infrastructures (CI such as Communications, Electric Supply, Emergency Services, Transportation Systems, and Water Supply System. During a mass casualty due to disasters such as floods, a major challenge that arises for the HCI is to respond to the crisis in a timely manner in an uncertain and variable environment. To address this issue the HCI should be disaster prepared, by fully understanding the complexities and interdependencies that exist in a hospital, emergency department or emergency response event. Modelling and simulation of a disaster scenario with these complexities would help in training and providing an opportunity for all the stakeholders to work together in a coordinated response to a disaster. The paper would present interdependencies related to HCI based on Stochastic Coloured Petri Nets (SCPN modelling and simulation approach, given a flood scenario as the disaster which would disrupt the infrastructure nodes. The entire model would be integrated with Geographic information based decision support system to visualize the dynamic behaviour of the interdependency of the Healthcare and related CI network in a geographically based environment.

Stochastic Coloured Petrinet Based Healthcare Infrastructure Interdependency Model

Science.gov (United States)

Nukavarapu, Nivedita; Durbha, Surya

2016-06-01

The Healthcare Critical Infrastructure (HCI) protects all sectors of the society from hazards such as terrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and natural disasters. HCI plays a significant role in response and recovery across all other sectors in the event of a natural or manmade disaster. However, for its continuity of operations and service delivery HCI is dependent on other interdependent Critical Infrastructures (CI) such as Communications, Electric Supply, Emergency Services, Transportation Systems, and Water Supply System. During a mass casualty due to disasters such as floods, a major challenge that arises for the HCI is to respond to the crisis in a timely manner in an uncertain and variable environment. To address this issue the HCI should be disaster prepared, by fully understanding the complexities and interdependencies that exist in a hospital, emergency department or emergency response event. Modelling and simulation of a disaster scenario with these complexities would help in training and providing an opportunity for all the stakeholders to work together in a coordinated response to a disaster. The paper would present interdependencies related to HCI based on Stochastic Coloured Petri Nets (SCPN) modelling and simulation approach, given a flood scenario as the disaster which would disrupt the infrastructure nodes. The entire model would be integrated with Geographic information based decision support system to visualize the dynamic behaviour of the interdependency of the Healthcare and related CI network in a geographically based environment.

Implementation of green infrastructure concept in Citarum Watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Maryati, Sri; Humaira, An Nisaa'Siti

2017-03-01

Green infrastructure has several benefits compared to grey infrastructure in term of environmental services and sustainability, such as reducing energy consumption, improving air quality, providing carbon sequestration, and increasing property values. Nevertheless in practice, the implementation of the concept in Indonesia is still limited. Implementation of the certain concept has to be guided in planning document. In this paper, green infrastructure concept in the current spatial plan and other planning documents is assessed. The purpose of this research is to figure out how far the green infrastructure concept is integrated into planning system, based on the analysis of planning documents in Citarum Watershed and expert interviews with local stakeholders. Content analysis method is used to analyze the documents and result of interview. The result shows that green infrastructure concept has not been accommodated in spatial plan or other planning documents widely. There are some challenges in implementing the concept including reward and punishment system (incentive and disincentive), coordination, and lack of human resources.

Building an Economical and Sustainable Lunar Infrastructure to Enable Lunar Industrialization

Science.gov (United States)

Zuniga, Allison F.; Turner, Mark; Rasky, Daniel; Loucks, Mike; Carrico, John; Policastri, Daniel

2017-01-01

A new concept study was initiated to examine the architecture needed to gradually develop an economical, evolvable and sustainable lunar infrastructure using a public/private partnerships approach. This approach would establish partnership agreements between NASA and industry teams to develop a lunar infrastructure system that would be mutually beneficial. This approach would also require NASA and its industry partners to share costs in the development phase and then transfer operation of these infrastructure services back to its industry owners in the execution phase. These infrastructure services may include but are not limited to the following: lunar cargo transportation, power stations, communication towers and satellites, autonomous rover operations, landing pads and resource extraction operations. The public/private partnerships approach used in this study leveraged best practices from NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program which introduced an innovative and economical approach for partnering with industry to develop commercial cargo services to the International Space Station. This program was planned together with the ISS Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contracts which was responsible for initiating commercial cargo delivery services to the ISS for the first time. The public/private partnerships approach undertaken in the COTS program proved to be very successful in dramatically reducing development costs for these ISS cargo delivery services as well as substantially reducing operational costs. To continue on this successful path towards installing economical infrastructure services for LEO and beyond, this new study, named Lunar COTS (Commercial Operations and Transport Services), was conducted to examine extending the NASA COTS model to cis-lunar space and the lunar surface. The goals of the Lunar COTS concept are to: 1) develop and demonstrate affordable and commercial cis-lunar and surface capabilities, such as lunar cargo

Optimized distribution network work management by grid services of a rapid loading infrastructure; Optimierte Verteilnetzbetriebsfuehrung durch Netzdienstleistungen einer Schnellladeinfrastruktur

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krasselt, P.; Uhrig, M.; Leibfried, T. [Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie (KIT), Karlsruhe (Germany). Inst. fuer Elektroenergiesysteme und Hochspannungstechnik (IEH)

2012-07-01

The German Federal Government aims to reach one million electric vehicles in 2020 and up to five million by 2030 under its National Electromobility Development Plan. The integration of the necessary charging infrastructure in the distribution grid is considered in many research approaches by regarding charging time slots controlled by information and communications technology (ICT). In this approach, strategies for reactive power management and gridsupporting functions in medium voltage networks through the integration of large charging stations such as those in parking garages and public parking lots are considered. An urban distribution network in 2030 is modelled to evaluate different centralized and decentralized reactive power control schemes. (orig.)

Green infrastructure planning for cooling urban communities: Overview of the contemporary approaches with special reference to Serbian experiences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marić Igor

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates contemporary approaches defined by the policies, programs or standards that favor green infrastructure in urban planning for cooling urban environments with special reference to Serbian experiences. The research results reveal an increasing emphasis on the multifunctionality of green infrastructure as well the determination to the development of policies, guidelines and standards with the support of the overall community. Further, special importance is given to policies that promote ‘cool communities’ strategies resulting in the increase of vegetation-covered areas, what has contributed in adapting urban environments to the impacts of climate change. In addition, this research indicates the important role of local authorities and planners in Serbia in promoting planning policies and programs that take into consideration the role of green infrastructure in terms of improving climatic conditions, quality of life and reducing energy needed for cooling and heating. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 36035: Spatial, ecological, energy, and social aspects of developing settlements and climate change - mutual impacts i br. 43007: The investigation of climate change and its impacts, climate change adaptation and mitigation

Intelligent Structural Health Management of Civil Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-19

The collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge in Minneapolis has spawned a growing interest in the : development of reliable techniques for evaluating the structural integrity of civil infrastructure. Current inspection : techniques tailored to ...

Conservation for cities how to plan and build natural infrastructure

CERN Document Server

McDonald, Robert I

2015-01-01

With this book, Robert McDonald offers a comprehensive framework for maintaining and strengthening the supporting bonds between cities and nature through innovative infrastructure projects. It's time to think differently about cities and nature. More people than ever live in cities, and all of this urban growth, along with challenges of adapting to climate change, will require a new approach to infrastructure if we're going to create livable urban places. After presenting a broad approach to incorporating natural infrastructure priorities into urban planning, he focuses each following chapter on a specific ecosystem service. He describes a wide variety of benefits, and helps practitioners answer fundamental questions about how to use natural infrastructure to create communities that are more resilient and livable.

"Rights-based approaches": any new thing under the sun?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gaay Fortman, B. de

2000-01-01

After infra-structure development, community development, integrated rural development, basic needs, structural adjustment, human development and sustainable development -not to speak of "sustainable human development"- a new "approach" is gaining ground: human rights. The Human Development Report

Towards integrative risk management and more resilient societies

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Khudhairy, D.; Axhausen, K.; Bishop, S.; Herrmann, H.; Hu, B.; Kröger, W.; Lewis, T.; MacIntosh, J.; Nowak, A.; Pickl, S.; Stauffacher, D.; Tan, E.

2012-11-01

Society depends decisively on the availability of infrastructure systems such as energy, telecommunication, transportation, banking and finance, health care and governmental and public administration. Even selective damages of one of these infrastructures may result in disruptions of governmental, industrial or public functions. Vulnerability of infrastructures therefore provides spectacular leverage for natural disasters as well as criminal and terrorist actions. Threats and risks are part of the technological, economical, and societal development. This article focuses on the development and characterization of an integrative risk-management which, from the perspective of "resilient systems", can be seen as an innovative and pro-active crisis management approach dealing with the increasing amount of complexity in societies in a comprehensive, agile and adaptive way.

Genetic Algorithms for Agent-Based Infrastructure Interdependency Modeling and Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

May Permann

2007-03-01

Today’s society relies greatly upon an array of complex national and international infrastructure networks such as transportation, electric power, telecommunication, and financial networks. This paper describes initial research combining agent-based infrastructure modeling software and genetic algorithms (GAs) to help optimize infrastructure protection and restoration decisions. This research proposes to apply GAs to the problem of infrastructure modeling and analysis in order to determine the optimum assets to restore or protect from attack or other disaster. This research is just commencing and therefore the focus of this paper is the integration of a GA optimization method with a simulation through the simulation’s agents.

IAEA Strategic Approach to E and T in Nuclear Safety 2013-2020

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moracho Ramirez, Maria Josefa

2014-01-01

Integrated vision, common strategy - Education and training complementary approaches: Global approach - IAEA: Defining policies, frameworks and providing materials and support for E and T activities. Regional approach: Supporting IAEA Regional Networks, and Centres, providing E and T resources and expertise. National approach: Member States: Establishment and maintenance of HR and national E and T infrastructure

A Multifunctional Public Lighting Infrastructure, Design and Experimental Test

OpenAIRE

Marco Beccali; Valerio Lo Brano; Marina Bonomolo; Paolo Cicero; Giacomo Corvisieri; Marco Caruso; Francesco Gamberale

2017-01-01

Nowadays, the installation of efficient lighting sources and Information and Communications Technologies can provide economic benefits, energy efficiency, and visual comfort requirements. More advantages can be derived if the public lighting infrastructure integrates a smart grid. This study presents an experimental multifunctional infrastructure for public lighting, installed in Palermo. The system is able to provide smart lighting functions (hotspot Wi-Fi, video-surveillances, car and pedes...

Infrastructural requirements for local implementation of safety policies: the discordance between top-down and bottom-up systems of action.

Science.gov (United States)

Timpka, Toomas; Nordqvist, Cecilia; Lindqvist, Kent

2009-03-09

Safety promotion is planned and practised not only by public health organizations, but also by other welfare state agencies, private companies and non-governmental organizations. The term 'infrastructure' originally denoted the underlying resources needed for warfare, e.g. roads, industries, and an industrial workforce. Today, 'infrastructure' refers to the physical elements, organizations and people needed to run projects in different societal arenas. The aim of this study was to examine associations between infrastructure and local implementation of safety policies in injury prevention and safety promotion programs. Qualitative data on municipalities in Sweden designated as Safe Communities were collected from focus group interviews with municipal politicians and administrators, as well as from policy documents, and materials published on the Internet. Actor network theory was used to identify weaknesses in the present infrastructure and determine strategies that can be used to resolve these. The weakness identification analysis revealed that the factual infrastructure available for effectuating national strategies varied between safety areas and approaches, basically reflecting differences between bureaucratic and network-based organizational models. At the local level, a contradiction between safety promotion and the existence of quasi-markets for local public service providers was found to predispose for a poor local infrastructure diminishing the interest in integrated inter-agency activities. The weakness resolution analysis showed that development of an adequate infrastructure for safety promotion would require adjustment of the legal framework regulating injury data exchange, and would also require rational financial models for multi-party investments in local infrastructures. We found that the "silo" structure of government organization and assignment of resources was a barrier to collaborative action for safety at a community level. It may therefore be

Integration a functional approach

CERN Document Server

Bichteler, Klaus

1998-01-01

This book covers Lebesgue integration and its generalizations from Daniell's point of view, modified by the use of seminorms. Integrating functions rather than measuring sets is posited as the main purpose of measure theory. From this point of view Lebesgue's integral can be had as a rather straightforward, even simplistic, extension of Riemann's integral; and its aims, definitions, and procedures can be motivated at an elementary level. The notion of measurability, for example, is suggested by Littlewood's observations rather than being conveyed authoritatively through definitions of (sigma)-algebras and good-cut-conditions, the latter of which are hard to justify and thus appear mysterious, even nettlesome, to the beginner. The approach taken provides the additional benefit of cutting the labor in half. The use of seminorms, ubiquitous in modern analysis, speeds things up even further. The book is intended for the reader who has some experience with proofs, a beginning graduate student for example. It might...

EDGaR D1 : Integrating local and regional energy systems for enhancing sustainability. Work Package 3: Designing Institutions for Future Energy Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scholten, D.J.

2015-01-01

The integration of renewable energy into the Dutch energy infrastructure raises interrelated operational and market challenges. In their efforts to address them, engineers and economists approach the design of electricity infrastructures very differently, however. While economists focus on a market

The Information Technology Infrastructure for the Translational Genomics Core and the Partners Biobank at Partners Personalized Medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalie Boutin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The Biobank and Translational Genomics core at Partners Personalized Medicine requires robust software and hardware. This Information Technology (IT infrastructure enables the storage and transfer of large amounts of data, drives efficiencies in the laboratory, maintains data integrity from the time of consent to the time that genomic data is distributed for research, and enables the management of complex genetic data. Here, we describe the functional components of the research IT infrastructure at Partners Personalized Medicine and how they integrate with existing clinical and research systems, review some of the ways in which this IT infrastructure maintains data integrity and security, and discuss some of the challenges inherent to building and maintaining such infrastructure.

Tank waste remediation system retrieval and disposal mission infrastructure plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Root, R.W.

1998-01-01

This system plan presents the objectives, organization, and management and technical approaches for the Infrastructure Program. This Infrastructure Plan focuses on the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Project's Retrieval and Disposal Mission

Importance of biometrics to addressing vulnerabilities of the U.S. infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Arndt, Craig M.; Hall, Nathaniel A.

2004-08-01

Human identification technologies are important threat countermeasures in minimizing select infrastructure vulnerabilities. Properly targeted countermeasures should be selected and integrated into an overall security solution based on disciplined analysis and modeling. Available data on infrastructure value, threat intelligence, and system vulnerabilities are carefully organized, analyzed and modeled. Prior to design and deployment of an effective countermeasure; the proper role and appropriateness of technology in addressing the overall set of vulnerabilities is established. Deployment of biometrics systems, as with other countermeasures, introduces potentially heightened vulnerabilities into the system. Heightened vulnerabilities may arise from both the newly introduced system complexities and an unfocused understanding of the set of vulnerabilities impacted by the new countermeasure. The countermeasure's own inherent vulnerabilities and those introduced by the system's integration with the existing system are analyzed and modeled to determine the overall vulnerability impact. The United States infrastructure is composed of government and private assets. The infrastructure is valued by their potential impact on several components: human physical safety, physical/information replacement/repair cost, potential contribution to future loss (criticality in weapons production), direct productivity output, national macro-economic output/productivity, and information integrity. These components must be considered in determining the overall impact of an infrastructure security breach. Cost/benefit analysis is then incorporated in the security technology deployment decision process. Overall security risks based on system vulnerabilities and threat intelligence determines areas of potential benefit. Biometric countermeasures are often considered when additional security at intended points of entry would minimize vulnerabilities.

Can Economics Provide Insights into Trust Infrastructure?

Science.gov (United States)

Vishik, Claire

Many security technologies require infrastructure for authentication, verification, and other processes. In many cases, viable and innovative security technologies are never adopted on a large scale because the necessary infrastructure is slow to emerge. Analyses of such technologies typically focus on their technical flaws, and research emphasizes innovative approaches to stronger implementation of the core features. However, an observation can be made that in many cases the success of adoption pattern depends on non-technical issues rather than technology-lack of economic incentives, difficulties in finding initial investment, inadequate government support. While a growing body of research is dedicated to economics of security and privacy in general, few theoretical studies in this area have been completed, and even fewer that look at the economics of “trust infrastructure” beyond simple “cost of ownership” models. This exploratory paper takes a look at some approaches in theoretical economics to determine if they can provide useful insights into security infrastructure technologies and architectures that have the best chance to be adopted. We attempt to discover if models used in theoretical economics can help inform technology developers of the optimal business models that offer a better chance for quick infrastructure deployment.

Idaho National Laboratory Ten-year Site Plan (2012 through 2021) -- DOE-NE's National Nuclear Capability -- Developing and Maintaining the INL Infrastructure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cal Ozaki

2010-06-01

To meet long-term objectives to transform the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), we are providing an integrated, long-term vision of infrastructure requirements that support research, development and demonstration (RD&D) goals outlined in the DOE strategic plans, including the NE Roadmap and reports such as Facilities for the Future of Nuclear Energy Research: A Twenty-year Outlook. The goal of the INL Ten-year Site Plan (TYSP) is to clearly link RD&D mission goals and INL core capabilities with infrastructure requirements (single and multi-program), establish the 10-year end-state vision for INL complexes, identify and prioritize infrastructure and capability gaps, as well as the most efficient and economic approaches to closing those gaps.

Healthcare information technology infrastructures in Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Dogac, A; Yuksel, M; Ertürkmen, G L; Kabak, Y; Namli, T; Yıldız, M H; Ay, Y; Ceyhan, B; Hülür, U; Oztürk, H; Atbakan, E

2014-05-22

The objective of this paper is to describe some of the major healthcare information technology (IT) infrastructures in Turkey, namely, Sağlık-Net (Turkish for "Health-Net"), the Centralized Hospital Appointment System, the Basic Health Statistics Module, the Core Resources Management System, and the e-prescription system of the Social Security Institution. International collaboration projects that are integrated with Sağlık-Net are also briefly summarized. The authors provide a survey of the some of the major healthcare IT infrastructures in Turkey. Sağlık-Net has two main components: the National Health Information System (NHIS) and the Family Medicine Information System (FMIS). The NHIS is a nation-wide infrastructure for sharing patients' Electronic Health Records (EHRs). So far, EHRs of 78.9 million people have been created in the NHIS. Similarly, family medicine is operational in the whole country via FMIS. Centralized Hospital Appointment System enables the citizens to easily make appointments in healthcare providers. Basic Health Statistics Module is used for collecting information about the health status, risks and indicators across the country. Core Resources Management System speeds up the flow of information between the headquarters and Provincial Health Directorates. The e-prescription system is linked with Sağlık-Net and seamlessly integrated with the healthcare provider information systems. Finally, Turkey is involved in several international projects for experience sharing and disseminating national developments. With the introduction of the "Health Transformation Program" in 2003, a number of successful healthcare IT infrastructures have been developed in Turkey. Currently, work is going on to enhance and further improve their functionality.

Preparation of CAD infrastructure for ITER procurement packages allocated to Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, G.H.; Hwang, H.S.; Choi, J.H.; Lee, H.G.; Thomas, E.; Redon, F.; Wilhelm, B.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► It is necessary to use the same CAD platform between project partners for efficient design collaboration. ► Several unexpected problems were found during preparation of the CAD infrastructure. ► The problems have resulted in a waste of time and cost. ► The approach using the same configurations is effective to avoid IT-related problems. ► The design activities are steadily being performed on the prepared ITER CAD platform. -- Abstract: It is necessary to use the same CAD platform for standardization and efficient design collaboration between project partners. ITER has selected CATIA with ENOVIA as the primary CAD and integration tool. During the preparation of the CAD infrastructure, there were several difficulties with respect to information technology (IT). ITER design is classified as mechanical and plant. The procurement arrangement is divided into three types; functional specification, detailed design, and build to print. Therefore, it is important to prepare the suitable prerequisites according to the design type, and to comply with CAD methodologies to avoid trial and error. This paper presents how to overcome the difficulties and how to perform the CAD activities for ITER Korea procurement packages including important matters on a CAD infrastructure in a big project

Green-blue multifunctional infrastructure : An urban landscape system design new approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuzniecow Bacchin, T.; Ashley, R.; Sijmons, D.F.; Zevenbergen, C.; Van Timmeren, A.

2014-01-01

Cities exhibit unique and ever-changing spatial layouts formed by nested natural and socio-economic systems, sub-systems and components resulting from exchange, interaction, and interdependency processes. In this context, managing surface water in urban areas requires new approaches that integrate

Space-Based Information Infrastructure Architecture for Broadband Services

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Kent M.; Inukai, Tom; Razdan, Rajendev; Lazeav, Yvonne M.

1996-01-01

This study addressed four tasks: (1) identify satellite-addressable information infrastructure markets; (2) perform network analysis for space-based information infrastructure; (3) develop conceptual architectures; and (4) economic assessment of architectures. The report concludes that satellites will have a major role in the national and global information infrastructure, requiring seamless integration between terrestrial and satellite networks. The proposed LEO, MEO, and GEO satellite systems have satellite characteristics that vary widely. They include delay, delay variations, poorer link quality and beam/satellite handover. The barriers against seamless interoperability between satellite and terrestrial networks are discussed. These barriers are the lack of compatible parameters, standards and protocols, which are presently being evaluated and reduced.

EXPLORING BIM FOR OPERATIONAL INTEGRATED ASSET MANAGEMENT – A PRELIMINARY STUDY UTILISING REAL-WORLD INFRASTRUCTURE DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. A. Boyes

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The use of 3D information models within collaborative working environments and the practice of Building Information Modelling (BIM are becoming more commonplace within infrastructure projects. Currently used predominantly during the design and construction phase, the use of BIM is capable in theory of providing the information at handover that will satisfy the Asset Information Requirements (AIRs of the future Infrastructure Manager (IM. One particular challenge is establishing a link between existing construction-centric information and the asset-centric information needed for future operations. Crossrail, a project to build a new high-frequency railway underneath London, is handling many such challenges as they prepare to handover their digital information to the future operator, in particular the need to provide a two-way link between a federated 3D CAD model and an object-relational Asset Information Management System (AIMS. This paper focusses on the potential for improved Asset Management (AM by integrating BIM and GIS systems and practices, and makes a preliminary report on how 3D spatial queries can be used to establish a two-way relational link between two information systems (3D geometry and asset lists, as well as the challenges being overcome to transform the data to be suitable for AM.

Data Updating Methods for Spatial Data Infrastructure that Maintain Infrastructure Quality and Enable its Sustainable Operation

Science.gov (United States)

Murakami, S.; Takemoto, T.; Ito, Y.

2012-07-01

The Japanese government, local governments and businesses are working closely together to establish spatial data infrastructures in accordance with the Basic Act on the Advancement of Utilizing Geospatial Information (NSDI Act established in August 2007). Spatial data infrastructures are urgently required not only to accelerate computerization of the public administration, but also to help restoration and reconstruction of the areas struck by the East Japan Great Earthquake and future disaster prevention and reduction. For construction of a spatial data infrastructure, various guidelines have been formulated. But after an infrastructure is constructed, there is a problem of maintaining it. In one case, an organization updates its spatial data only once every several years because of budget problems. Departments and sections update the data on their own without careful consideration. That upsets the quality control of the entire data system and the system loses integrity, which is crucial to a spatial data infrastructure. To ensure quality, ideally, it is desirable to update data of the entire area every year. But, that is virtually impossible, considering the recent budget crunch. The method we suggest is to update spatial data items of higher importance only in order to maintain quality, not updating all the items across the board. We have explored a method of partially updating the data of these two geographical features while ensuring the accuracy of locations. Using this method, data on roads and buildings that greatly change with time can be updated almost in real time or at least within a year. The method will help increase the availability of a spatial data infrastructure. We have conducted an experiment on the spatial data infrastructure of a municipality using those data. As a result, we have found that it is possible to update data of both features almost in real time.

Public key infrastructure for DOE security research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aiken, R.; Foster, I.; Johnston, W.E. [and others

1997-06-01

This document summarizes the Department of Energy`s Second Joint Energy Research/Defence Programs Security Research Workshop. The workshop, built on the results of the first Joint Workshop which reviewed security requirements represented in a range of mission-critical ER and DP applications, discussed commonalties and differences in ER/DP requirements and approaches, and identified an integrated common set of security research priorities. One significant conclusion of the first workshop was that progress in a broad spectrum of DOE-relevant security problems and applications could best be addressed through public-key cryptography based systems, and therefore depended upon the existence of a robust, broadly deployed public-key infrastructure. Hence, public-key infrastructure ({open_quotes}PKI{close_quotes}) was adopted as a primary focus for the second workshop. The Second Joint Workshop covered a range of DOE security research and deployment efforts, as well as summaries of the state of the art in various areas relating to public-key technologies. Key findings were that a broad range of DOE applications can benefit from security architectures and technologies built on a robust, flexible, widely deployed public-key infrastructure; that there exists a collection of specific requirements for missing or undeveloped PKI functionality, together with a preliminary assessment of how these requirements can be met; that, while commercial developments can be expected to provide many relevant security technologies, there are important capabilities that commercial developments will not address, due to the unique scale, performance, diversity, distributed nature, and sensitivity of DOE applications; that DOE should encourage and support research activities intended to increase understanding of security technology requirements, and to develop critical components not forthcoming from other sources in a timely manner.

Lowering Entry Barriers for Multidisciplinary Cyber(e)-Infrastructures

Science.gov (United States)

Nativi, S.

2012-04-01

Multidisciplinarity is more and more important to study the Earth System and address Global Changes. To achieve that, multidisciplinary cyber(e)-infrastructures are an important instrument. In the last years, several European, US and international initiatives have been started to carry out multidisciplinary infrastructures, including: the Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE), the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES), the Data Observation Network for Earth (DataOne), and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The majority of these initiatives are developing service-based digital infrastructures asking scientific Communities (i.e. disciplinary Users and data Producers) to implement a set of standards for information interoperability. For scientific Communities, this has represented an entry barrier which has proved to be high, in several cases. In fact, both data Producers and Users do not seem to be willing to invest precious resources to become expert on interoperability solutions -on the contrary, they are focused on developing disciplinary and thematic capacities. Therefore, an important research topic is lowering entry barriers for joining multidisciplinary cyber(e)-Infrastructures. This presentation will introduce a new approach to achieve multidisciplinary interoperability underpinning multidisciplinary infrastructures and lowering the present entry barriers for both Users and data Producers. This is called the Brokering approach: it extends the service-based paradigm by introducing a new a Brokering layer or cloud which is in charge of managing all the interoperability complexity (e.g. data discovery, access, and use) thus easing Users' and Producers' burden. This approach was successfully experimented in the framework of several European FP7 Projects and in GEOSS.

UNH Data Cooperative: A Cyber Infrastructure for Earth System Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Braswell, B. H.; Fekete, B. M.; Prusevich, A.; Gliden, S.; Magill, A.; Vorosmarty, C. J.

2007-12-01

Earth system scientists and managers have a continuously growing demand for a wide array of earth observations derived from various data sources including (a) modern satellite retrievals, (b) "in-situ" records, (c) various simulation outputs, and (d) assimilated data products combining model results with observational records. The sheer quantity of data, and formatting inconsistencies make it difficult for users to take full advantage of this important information resource. Thus the system could benefit from a thorough retooling of our current data processing procedures and infrastructure. Emerging technologies, like OPeNDAP and OGC map services, open standard data formats (NetCDF, HDF) data cataloging systems (NASA-Echo, Global Change Master Directory, etc.) are providing the basis for a new approach in data management and processing, where web- services are increasingly designed to serve computer-to-computer communications without human interactions and complex analysis can be carried out over distributed computer resources interconnected via cyber infrastructure. The UNH Earth System Data Collaborative is designed to utilize the aforementioned emerging web technologies to offer new means of access to earth system data. While the UNH Data Collaborative serves a wide array of data ranging from weather station data (Climate Portal) to ocean buoy records and ship tracks (Portsmouth Harbor Initiative) to land cover characteristics, etc. the underlaying data architecture shares common components for data mining and data dissemination via web-services. Perhaps the most unique element of the UNH Data Cooperative's IT infrastructure is its prototype modeling environment for regional ecosystem surveillance over the Northeast corridor, which allows the integration of complex earth system model components with the Cooperative's data services. While the complexity of the IT infrastructure to perform complex computations is continuously increasing, scientists are often forced

Future opportunities and trends for e-infrastructures and life sciences: going beyond the grid to enable life science data analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Duarte, Afonso M S; Psomopoulos, Fotis E; Blanchet, Christophe; Bonvin, Alexandre M J J; Corpas, Manuel; Franc, Alain; Jimenez, Rafael C; de Lucas, Jesus M; Nyrönen, Tommi; Sipos, Gergely; Suhr, Stephanie B

2015-01-01

With the increasingly rapid growth of data in life sciences we are witnessing a major transition in the way research is conducted, from hypothesis-driven studies to data-driven simulations of whole systems. Such approaches necessitate the use of large-scale computational resources and e-infrastructures, such as the European Grid Infrastructure (EGI). EGI, one of key the enablers of the digital European Research Area, is a federation of resource providers set up to deliver sustainable, integrated and secure computing services to European researchers and their international partners. Here we aim to provide the state of the art of Grid/Cloud computing in EU research as viewed from within the field of life sciences, focusing on key infrastructures and projects within the life sciences community. Rather than focusing purely on the technical aspects underlying the currently provided solutions, we outline the design aspects and key characteristics that can be identified across major research approaches. Overall, we aim to provide significant insights into the road ahead by establishing ever-strengthening connections between EGI as a whole and the life sciences community.

Extensions to Traditional Spatial Data Infrastructures: Integration of Social Media, Synchronization of Datasets, and Data on the Go in GeoPackages

Science.gov (United States)

Simonis, Ingo

2015-04-01

Traditional Spatial Data Infrastructures focus on aspects such as description and discovery of geospatial data, integration of these data into processing workflows, and representation of fusion or other data analysis results. Though lots of interoperability agreements still need to be worked out to achieve a satisfying level of interoperability within large scale initiatives such as INSPIRE, new technologies, use cases and requirements are constantly emerging from the user community. This paper focuses on three aspects that came up recently: The integration of social media data into SDIs, synchronization aspects between datasets used by field workers in shared resources environments, and the generation and maintenance of data for mixed mode online/offline situations that can be easily packed, delivered, modified, and synchronized with reference data sets. The work described in this paper results from the latest testbed executed by the Open Geospatial Consortium, OGC. The testbed is part of the interoperability program (IP), which constitutes a significant part of the OGC standards development process. The IP has a number of instruments to enhance geospatial standards and technologies, such as Testbeds, Pilot Projects, Interoperability Experiments, and Interoperability Expert Services. These activities are designed to encourage rapid development, testing, validation, demonstration and adoption of open, consensus based standards and best practices. The latest global activity, testbed-11, aims at exploring new technologies and architectural approaches to enrich and extend traditional spatial data infrastructures with data from Social Media, improved data synchronization, and the capability to take data to the field in new synchronized data containers called GeoPackages. Social media sources are a valuable supplement to providing up to date information in distributed environments. Following an uncoordinated crowdsourcing approach, social media data can be both

Transactional Infrastructure of the Economy: the Evolution of Concepts and Synthesis of Definitions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maruschak Irina Valeryevna

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The overview of evolution of market infrastructure concepts is provided, the first concepts of institutional infrastructure are revealed in the paper. Evolutionarily developed narrowing of essence of infrastructure in connection with the priority analysis of its physical (material and technological components is proved. It ignores the fact that transactional resources, being drivers (driving forces of economic systems evolution, in turn evolve, becoming harder and harder, combining increase in efficiency of the elements and strengthening of heterogeneity and discrepancy of their structure. Transactional evolution of economy in general and evolution of separate transactional resources of production are the perspective directions of the special analysis. Transactional infrastructure is considered as the integrated complex of institutional, organizational (relational and information infrastructures. The problems of the first concepts of transactional infrastructure connected with difficulties of differentiation of its subsystems always operating jointly are revealed. Prospect of transition from the isolated analysis of separate resources of transactional type (institutes, organizations, information, social capital, trust, etc. to studying corresponding specific software infrastructures and to the system analysis of integrated transactional infrastructure of economy are argued. The transactional sector (as set of the specialized industries and the appropriate collective and individual subjects providing with resources market transaction is offered to be considered as transactional structure of economy. Transactional infrastructure is treated as critically significant factor of economic evolution which in the conditions of post-industrial type of economy gradually purchases transactional nature.

Flooding Risk for Coastal Infrastructure: a Stakeholder-Oriented Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Plater, A. J.; Prime, T.; Brown, J. M.; Knight, P. J.; Morrissey, K.

2015-12-01

A flood risk assessment for coastal energy infrastructure in the UK with respect to long-term sea-level rise and extreme water levels has been conducted using a combination of numerical modelling approaches (LISFLOOD-FP, SWAB, XBeach-G, POLCOMS). Model outputs have been incorporated into a decision-support tool that enables users from a wide spectrum of coastal stakeholders (e.g. nuclear energy, utility providers, local government, environmental regulators, communities) to explore the potential impacts of flooding on both operational (events to 10 years) and strategic (10 to 50 years) timescales. Examples illustrate the physical and economic impacts of flooding from combined extreme water levels, wave overtopping and high river flow for Fleetwood, NW England; changes in the extent of likely flooding arising from an extreme event due to sea-level rise for Oldbury, SW England; and the relative vulnerability to overtopping and breaching of sea defences for Dungeness, SE England. The impacts of a potential large-scale beach recharge scheme to mitigate coastal erosion and flood risk along the southern shoreline of Dungeness are also examined using a combination of coastal evolution and particle-tracking modelling. The research goal is to provide an evidence base for resource allocation, investment in interventions, and communication and dialogue in relation to sea-level rise to 2500 AD.

Evaluation of the status of national nuclear infrastructure development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

An appropriate infrastructure is essential for the safe, reliable and peaceful use of nuclear power. The IAEA was encouraged to assess ways to meet infrastructure needs and to provide guidance to Member States considering the introduction of nuclear power. All of these countries face the challenge of building the necessary nuclear infrastructure for the first nuclear power plant. The IAEA is responding to this demand through increased technical assistance, missions and workshops, and with new and updated technical publications. A holistic view of the infrastructure for nuclear power was published in Considerations to Launch a Nuclear Power Programme (GOV/INF/2007), targeted mainly at policy makers. Milestones in the Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power, an IAEA Nuclear Energy Series publication (No. NG-G-3.1) issued in 2007, provided more detailed guidance on the three phases of development outlined in Considerations to Launch a Nuclear Power Programme. It describes the sequential development through the three phases for each of 19 infrastructure issues, ranging from a government's national position on nuclear power to the procurement of items and services for the first nuclear power plant. Member States requested additional guidance on determining how to assess the progress of their infrastructure development for nuclear power programmes. This report was prepared in response to their request. It provides an evaluation approach for the status of national nuclear infrastructure development based upon the guidance presented in the Milestones publication mentioned above. The evaluation approach provides a comprehensive means to determine the status of the infrastructure conditions covering all of the 19 issues identified in the Milestones publication. This approach can be used by any interested Member State for self-evaluation in order to establish what additional work needs to be completed to develop the appropriate national infrastructure. In

Risk analysis of critical infrastructures emphasizing electricity supply and interdependencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kjølle, G.H.; Utne, I.B.; Gjerde, O.

2012-01-01

Failures in critical infrastructures can cause major damage to society. Wide-area interruptions (blackouts) in the electricity supply system have severe impacts on societal critical functions and other critical infrastructures, but there is no agreed-upon framework on how to analyze and predict the reliability of electricity supply. Thus, there is a need for an approach to cross-sector risk analyses, which facilitates risk analysis of outages in the electricity supply system and enables investigation of cascading failures and consequences in other infrastructures. This paper presents such an approach, which includes contingency analysis (power flow) and reliability analysis of power systems, as well as use of a cascade diagram for investigating interdependencies. A case study was carried out together with the Emergency Preparedness Group in the city of Oslo, Norway and the network company Hafslund Nett. The case study results highlight the need for cross-sector analyses by showing that the total estimated societal costs are substantially higher when cascading effects and consequences to other infrastructures are taken into account compared to only considering the costs of electricity interruptions as seen by the network company. The approach is a promising starting point for cross-sector risk analysis of electricity supply interruptions and consequences for dependent infrastructures.

TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE OF UKRAINE: THE MODERN REALITIES AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tetiana Stroiko

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to conduct a complex research of the state of transport structure of Ukraine and substantiate prospects of its development. The developed transport system and corresponding infrastructure are a guarantee of high level of the country’s development, increasing the level of its investing attractiveness. Moreover, transport infrastructure serves as a uniting factor in the process of integration. Thus, the main function of transport infrastructure is the formation of external conditions for the management of economic entities. It is determined that the development of a state directly depends on how efficiently it performs management in different spheres. First of all, it concerns transport infrastructure. Today, the global trends necessitate constant perfection of management of transport infrastructure, in particular, investment attraction. The state and development level of transport infrastructure is one of the most important factors of socio-economic development of both member states of the European Union and Ukraine. Transport infrastructure occupies a services market sector with a market share of 75%. And in the macroeconomic context, the share of transport infrastructure in the overall volume of gross domestic product of Ukraine is 7%. In the modern management conditions, a negative dynamics of transportation and its share in the gross domestic product of Ukraine are determined mostly by the influence of economic crisis processes and negative state of development of transport infrastructure of the country. For the evaluation of activities of transport of Ukraine, we used the main indicators of its performance as criteria. The main criteria of performance evaluation of transport are: the volume of cargo transportation, cargo turnover, the ratio of modes of transport in cargo transportation, the volume of passenger transportation, passenger turnover, the cost of transportation, the ratio of passenger and cargo

An infrastructure with a unified control plane to integrate IP into optical metro networks to provide flexible and intelligent bandwidth on demand for cloud computing

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Wei; Hall, Trevor

2012-12-01

The Internet is entering an era of cloud computing to provide more cost effective, eco-friendly and reliable services to consumer and business users and the nature of the Internet traffic will undertake a fundamental transformation. Consequently, the current Internet will no longer suffice for serving cloud traffic in metro areas. This work proposes an infrastructure with a unified control plane that integrates simple packet aggregation technology with optical express through the interoperation between IP routers and electrical traffic controllers in optical metro networks. The proposed infrastructure provides flexible, intelligent, and eco-friendly bandwidth on demand for cloud computing in metro areas.

High resolution integral holography using Fourier ptychographic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhaohui; Zhang, Jianqi; Wang, Xiaorui; Liu, Delian

2014-12-29

An innovative approach is proposed for calculating high resolution computer generated integral holograms by using the Fourier Ptychographic (FP) algorithm. The approach initializes a high resolution complex hologram with a random guess, and then stitches together low resolution multi-view images, synthesized from the elemental images captured by integral imaging (II), to recover the high resolution hologram through an iterative retrieval with FP constrains. This paper begins with an analysis of the principle of hologram synthesis from multi-projections, followed by an accurate determination of the constrains required in the Fourier ptychographic integral-holography (FPIH). Next, the procedure of the approach is described in detail. Finally, optical reconstructions are performed and the results are demonstrated. Theoretical analysis and experiments show that our proposed approach can reconstruct 3D scenes with high resolution.

The Role of Green Infrastructure Solutions in Urban Flood Risk Management

OpenAIRE

Soz, Salman Anees; Kryspin-Watson, Jolanta; Stanton-Geddes, Zuzana

2016-01-01

This Knowledge Note explores the role of green infrastructure solutions in urban flood risk management. Green infrastructure solutions represent an approach that focuses on using natural processes for managing wet weather impacts while delivering environmental, social, and economic benefits. Green infrastructure solutions, such as wetlands, bioshields, buffer zones, green roofing, street s...

Assessing equitable access to urban green space: the role of engineered water infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Wendel, Heather E Wright; Downs, Joni A; Mihelcic, James R

2011-08-15

Urban green space and water features provide numerous social, environmental, and economic benefits, yet disparities often exist in their distribution and accessibility. This study examines the link between issues of environmental justice and urban water management to evaluate potential improvements in green space and surface water access through the revitalization of existing engineered water infrastructures, namely stormwater ponds. First, relative access to green space and water features were compared for residents of Tampa, Florida, and an inner-city community of Tampa (East Tampa). Although disparities were not found in overall accessibility between Tampa and East Tampa, inequalities were apparent when quality, diversity, and size of green spaces were considered. East Tampa residents had significantly less access to larger, more desirable spaces and water features. Second, this research explored approaches for improving accessibility to green space and natural water using three integrated stormwater management development scenarios. These scenarios highlighted the ability of enhanced water infrastructures to increase access equality at a variety of spatial scales. Ultimately, the "greening" of gray urban water infrastructures is advocated as a way to address environmental justice issues while also reconnecting residents with issues of urban water management.

New infrastructures for knowledge production understanding e-science

CERN Document Server

Hine, Christine

2006-01-01

New Infrastructures for Knowledge Production: Understanding E-Science offers a distinctive understanding of new infrastructures for knowledge production based in science and technology studies. This field offers a unique potential to assess systematically the prospects for new modes of science enabled by information and communication technologies. The authors use varied methodological approaches, reviewing the origins of initiatives to develop e-science infrastructures, exploring the diversity of the various solutions and the scientific cultures which use them, and assessing the prospects for wholesale change in scientific structures and practices. New Infrastructures for Knowledge Production: Understanding E-Science contains practical advice for the design of appropriate technological solutions, and long range assessments of the prospects for change useful both to policy makers and those implementing institutional infrastructures. Readers interested in understanding contemporary science will gain a rich pict...

Analysis of Critical Infrastructure Dependencies and Interdependencies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petit, Frederic [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Verner, Duane [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Brannegan, David [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Buehring, William [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Dickinson, David [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Guziel, Karen [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Haffenden, Rebecca [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Phillips, Julia [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Peerenboom, James [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2015-06-01

The report begins by defining dependencies and interdependencies and exploring basic concepts of dependencies in order to facilitate a common understanding and consistent analytical approaches. Key concepts covered include; Characteristics of dependencies: upstream dependencies, internal dependencies, and downstream dependencies; Classes of dependencies: physical, cyber, geographic, and logical; and Dimensions of dependencies: operating environment, coupling and response behavior, type of failure, infrastructure characteristics, and state of operations From there, the report proposes a multi-phase roadmap to support dependency and interdependency assessment activities nationwide, identifying a range of data inputs, analysis activities, and potential products for each phase, as well as key steps needed to progress from one phase to the next. The report concludes by outlining a comprehensive, iterative, and scalable framework for analyzing dependencies and interdependencies that stakeholders can integrate into existing risk and resilience assessment efforts.

Modelling the impact of mining on socio-economic infrastructure development: a system dynamics approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maluleke, George

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The contribution of mining activities to social infrastructure and human development is a complex socio-economic development issue in South Africa. Complexity theory has introduced a new approach to solving problems in social systems, recognising them as complex systems. The socio-economic development system in South Africa falls into this category of complex systems. Analysing such a system requires that a number of feedback loops and details about the issues be analysed simultaneously. This level of complexity is above a human’s ability to comprehend without the aid of tools such as systems thinking and system dynamics. The causality between investment in infrastructure capacity and socio-economic development is dynamic. The relationship is influenced by exogenous feedback that, if not managed, is likely to reverse itself. This paper presents the results of a system dynamics modelling of the relationship, based on the principle of relative attractiveness developed in previous system dynamics research. A Monte Carlo analysis is used to determine the sensitivity of the system to changes in feedback. The paper concludes that the limits to growth in a socio-economic environment are determined by more factors than the availability of capital, and also include land capacity constraints and skills shortage.

Developing Sustainable Urban Water-Energy Infrastructures: Applying a Multi-Sectoral Social-Ecological-Infrastructural Systems (SEIS) Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Ramaswami, A.

2016-12-01

Urban infrastructure - broadly defined to include the systems that provide water, energy, food, shelter, transportation-communication, sanitation and green/public spaces in cities - have tremendous impact on the environment and on human well-being (Ramaswami et al., 2016; Ramaswami et al., 2012). Aggregated globally, these sectors contribute 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 96% of global water withdrawals. Urban infrastructure contributions to such impacts are beginning to dominate. Cities are therefore becoming the action arena for infrastructure transformations that can achieve high levels of service delivery while reducing environmental impacts and enhancing human well-being. Achieving sustainable urban infrastructure transitions requires: information about the engineered infrastructure, and its interaction with the natural (ecological-environmental) and the social sub-systems In this paper, we apply a multi-sector, multi-scalar Social-Ecological-Infrastructural Systems framework that describes the interactions among biophysical engineered infrastructures, the natural environment and the social system in a systems-approach to inform urban infrastructure transformations. We apply the SEIS framework to inform water and energy sector transformations in cities to achieve environmental and human health benefits realized at multiple scales - local, regional and global. Local scales address pollution, health, wellbeing and inequity within the city; regional scales address regional pollution, scarcity, as well as supply risks in the water-energy sectors; global impacts include greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts. Different actors shape infrastructure transitions including households, businesses, and policy actors. We describe the development of novel cross-sectoral strategies at the water-energy nexus in cities, focusing on water, waste and energy sectors, in a case study of Delhi, India. Ramaswami, A.; Russell, A.G.; Culligan, P.J.; Sharma, K

Siting Urban Agriculture as a Green Infrastructure Strategy for Land Use Planning in Austin, TX

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles M. Rogers

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Green infrastructure refers to a type of land use design that mimics the natural water cycle by using the infiltration capacities of vegetation, soils, and other natural processes to mitigate stormwater runoff. As a multifunctional landscape, urban agriculture should be seen as a highly beneficial tool for urban planning not only because of its ability to function as a green stormwater management strategy, but also due to the multiple social and environmental benefits it provides. In 2012, the city of Austin adopted a major planning approach titled the “Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan” (IACP outlining the city’s vision for future growth and land use up to 2039. The plan explicitly addresses the adoption of green infrastructure as a target for future land use with urban agriculture as a central component. Addressing this area of land use planning will require tools that can locate suitable areas within the city ideal for the development of green infrastructure. In this study, a process was developed to create a spatially explicit method of siting urban agriculture as a green infrastructure tool in hydrologically sensitive areas, or areas prone to runoff, in east Austin. The method uses geospatial software to spatially analyze open access datasets that include land use, a digital elevation model, and prime farmland soils. Through this method a spatial relationship can be made between areas of high surface runoff and where the priority placement of urban farms should be sited as a useful component of green infrastructure. Planners or geospatial analysts could use such information, along with other significant factors and community input, to aid decision makers in the placement of urban agriculture. This spatially explicit approach for siting potential urban farms, will support the integration of urban agriculture as part of the land use planning of Austin.

Security infrastructure for dynamically provisioned cloud infrastructure services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Demchenko, Y.; Ngo, C.; de Laat, C.; Lopez, D.R.; Morales, A.; García-Espín, J.A.; Pearson, S.; Yee, G.

2013-01-01

This chapter discusses conceptual issues, basic requirements and practical suggestions for designing dynamically configured security infrastructure provisioned on demand as part of the cloud-based infrastructure. This chapter describes general use cases for provisioning cloud infrastructure services

An Innovative Infrastructure with a Universal Geo-spatiotemporal Data Representation Supporting Cost-effective Integration of Diverse Earth Science Data

Science.gov (United States)

Kuo, K. S.; Rilee, M. L.

2017-12-01

Existing pathways for bringing together massive, diverse Earth Science datasets for integrated analyses burden end users with data packaging and management details irrelevant to their domain goals. The major data repositories focus on archival, discovery, and dissemination of products (files) in a standardized manner. End-users must download and then adapt these files using local resources and custom methods before analysis can proceed. This reduces scientific or other domain productivity, as scarce resources and expertise must be diverted to data processing. The Spatio-Temporal Adaptive Resolution Encoding (STARE) is a unifying scheme encoding geospatial and temporal information for organizing data on scalable computing/storage resources, minimizing expensive data transfers. STARE provides a compact representation that turns set-logic functions, e.g. conditional subsetting, into integer operations, that takes into account representative spatiotemporal resolutions of the data in the datasets, which is needed for data placement alignment of geo-spatiotemporally diverse data on massive parallel resources. Automating important scientific functions (e.g. regridding) and computational functions (e.g. data placement) allows scientists to focus on domain specific questions instead of expending their expertise on data processing. While STARE is not tied to any particular computing technology, we have used STARE for visualization and the SciDB array database to analyze Earth Science data on a 28-node compute cluster. STARE's automatic data placement and coupling of geometric and array indexing allows complicated data comparisons to be realized as straightforward database operations like "join." With STARE-enabled automation, SciDB+STARE provides a database interface, reducing costly data preparation, increasing the volume and variety of integrable data, and easing result sharing. Using SciDB+STARE as part of an integrated analysis infrastructure, we demonstrate the dramatic

An infrastructure for the integration of geoscience instruments and sensors on the Grid

Science.gov (United States)

Pugliese, R.; Prica, M.; Kourousias, G.; Del Linz, A.; Curri, A.

2009-04-01

The Grid, as a computing paradigm, has long been in the attention of both academia and industry[1]. The distributed and expandable nature of its general architecture result to scalability and more efficient utilisation of the computing infrastructures. The scientific community, including that of geosciences, often handles problems with very high requirements in data processing, transferring, and storing[2,3]. This has raised the interest on Grid technologies but these are often viewed solely as an access gateway to HPC. Suitable Grid infrastructures could provide the geoscience community with additional benefits like those of sharing, remote access and control of scientific systems. These systems can be scientific instruments, sensors, robots, cameras and any other device used in geosciences. The solution for practical, general, and feasible Grid-enabling of such devices requires non-intrusive extensions on core parts of the current Grid architecture. We propose an extended version of an architecture[4] that can serve as the solution to the problem. The solution we propose is called Grid Instrument Element (IE) [5]. It is an addition to the existing core Grid parts; the Computing Element (CE) and the Storage Element (SE) that serve the purposes that their name suggests. The IE that we will be referring to, and the related technologies have been developed in the EU project on the Deployment of Remote Instrumentation Infrastructure (DORII1). In DORII, partners of various scientific communities including those of Earthquake, Environmental science, and Experimental science, have adopted the technology of the Instrument Element in order to integrate to the Grid their devices. The Oceanographic and coastal observation and modelling Mediterranean Ocean Observing Network (OGS2), a DORII partner, is in the process of deploying the above mentioned Grid technologies on two types of observational modules: Argo profiling floats and a novel Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV

SMS: a linked open data infrastructure for science and innovation studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van den Besselaar, P.; Khalili, A.; Idrissou, A.; Loizou, A.; Schlobach, S.; Van Harmelen, F.

2016-07-01

In this paper we describe a data integration infrastructure for Science Technology and Innovation (STI) studies developed within the context of the RISIS project. We outline its architecture and functionalities. In the full paper, we will show the use of the infrastructure in a complex research project. At the conference we will give a demonstration. (Author)

Towards a reference architecture for a collaborative intelligent transport system infrastructure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Osório, A.L.; Afsarmanesh, H.; Camarinha-Matos, L.M.

2010-01-01

The intelligent transport systems, which aim at providing smarter transport infrastructures and sustainable mobility, are deeply grounded on the Information and Communication Technologies. Current trends in the development of integrated complex systems, such as integrated road/highway concessions

Analytical Hierarchy Process for the selection of strategic alternatives for introduction of infrastructure virtual desktop infrastructure in the university

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katerina A. Makoviy

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The task of choosing a strategy for implementing the virtual desktop infrastructure into the IT infrastructure of the university is considered. The infrastructure of virtual desktops is a technology that provides centralization of management of client workplaces, increase the service life of computers in classrooms. The analysis of strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities for introducing virtualization in the university. Alternatives to implementation based on the results of the pilot project have been developed. To obtain quantitative estimates in the SWOT - analysis of the pilot project, the analytical hierarchy process is used. The analysis of implementation of the pilot project by experts is carried out and the integral value of quantitative estimates of various alternatives is generated. The combination of the analytical hierarchy process and SWOT - analysis allows you to choose the optimal strategy for implementing desktop virtualization.

ORGANIZATION OF CLOUD COMPUTING INFRASTRUCTURE BASED ON SDN NETWORK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexey A. Efimenko

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The article presents the main approaches to cloud computing infrastructure based on the SDN network in present data processing centers (DPC. The main indexes of management effectiveness of network infrastructure of DPC are determined. The examples of solutions for the creation of virtual network devices are provided.

Integrating radiology vertically into an undergraduate medical education curriculum: a triphasic integration approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al Qahtani F

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Fahd Al Qahtani,1 Adel Abdelaziz2,31Radiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia; 2Medical Education Development Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia; 3Medical Education Department, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, EgyptAbstract: Fulfilling the goal of integrating radiology into undergraduate medical curricula is a real challenge due to the enduring faith assuming that traditional medical disciplines are worthy of consuming the available study time. In this manner, radiology is addressed occasionally and with relevance to these traditional disciplines. In Al-Baha University Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia, efforts have been made to integrate radiology vertically and in a structured manner into the undergraduate curriculum from the first year to the sixth year. For achieving convenient integration of radiology, a triphasic approach to integration is adopted. This approach consists of the integration of radiology foundations into the basic sciences phase, development of a distinct 4-week module in year 4, and finally, integration of clinical applications of radiology in the clinical phase modules. Feedback of students and inferences obtained through assessment and program evaluation are in favor of this approach to integration. Minor reform and some improvement related to time allocated and content balancing are still indicated.Keywords: radiology foundations, radiology module, students assessment

Dynamic integration of residential building design and green energies : the Bireth approach : building integrated renewable energy total harvest approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheung, K.P. [Hong Kong Univ., Hong Kong (China). Dept. of Architecture; Luk, C.L.P. [Chu Hai College of Higher Education, Hong Kong (China). Dept. of Architecture; Wong, S.T. [Hong Kong Univ., Hong Kong (China). Div. of Arts and Humanities, SPACE; Chung, S.L.; Fung, K.S.; Leung, M.F. [Hong Kong Inst. of Vocational Education, Hong Kong (China)

2006-07-01

Renewable energy sources that are commonly used in buildings include solar energy, wind energy and rainwater collection. High quality environmentally responsive residential buildings are designed to provide good insulation in winter and solar shading in summer. However, this study demonstrated that the green energy design in residential buildings is not usually well integrated. For example, windows with clear double or triple glazed glass, allow good penetration of sunlight during the day in winter, but are not further dynamically insulated for when the sun goes down to avoid heat loss from the building. Additionally, good solar static shading devices often block much needed daylight on cloudy winter days. These examples emphasize the lack of an integrated approach to gain the best advantage of green energies and to minimize energy costs in residential buildings. This study addressed issues facing the integrated approach with particular reference to the design of a small residential building in rural Beijing. The design included a new approach for interpreting a traditional Beijing court yard house in the modern Beijing rural context, while integrating multi-responding innovative green energy applications derived from first principles. This paper also presented a proposal for a village house in Hong Kong to harvest as much renewable energies as possible, primarily wind energy and solar energy, that come into contact with the building. The purpose was to work towards a renewable energy approach for buildings, namely the Bireth approach, which will benefit practically all houses by making them zero energy houses. The paper described the feasibility of integrating renewable energies in buildings to fulfill performance requirements such improving ventilation, providing warm interiors, drying clothes, or storing solar and wind energies into power batteries. The challenges facing the development of a proposed micro solar hot air turbine were also presented. 15 refs., 6

Coupling Adaptation Tipping Points and Engineering Options: New Insights for Resilient Water Infrastructure Replacement Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Smet, K.; de Neufville, R.; van der Vlist, M.

2017-12-01

This work presents an innovative approach for replacement planning for aging water infrastructure given uncertain future conditions. We draw upon two existing methodologies to develop an integrated long-term replacement planning framework. We first expand the concept of Adaptation Tipping Points to generate long-term planning timelines that incorporate drivers of investment related to both internal structural processes as well as changes in external operating conditions. Then, we use Engineering Options to explore different actions taken at key moments in this timeline. Contrasting to the traditionally more static approach to infrastructure design, designing the next generation of infrastructure so it can be changed incrementally is a promising method to safeguard current investments given future uncertainty. This up-front inclusion of structural options in the system actively facilitates future adaptation, transforming uncertainty management in infrastructure planning from reactive to more proactive. A two-part model underpins this approach. A simulation model generates diverse future conditions, allowing development of timelines of intervention moments in the structure's life. This feeds into an economic model, evaluating the lifetime performance of different replacement strategies, making explicit the value of different designs and their flexibility. A proof of concept study demonstrates this approach for a pumping station. The strategic planning timelines for this structure demonstrate that moments when capital interventions become necessary due to reduced functionality from structural degradation or changed operating conditions are widely spread over the structure's life. The disparate timing of these necessary interventions supports an incremental, adaptive mindset when considering end-of-life and replacement decisions. The analysis then explores different replacement decisions, varying the size and specific options included in the proposed new structure

Challenges in Coastal Spatial Data Infrastructure implementation: A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Idrees

concept of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) was advanced in ... Infrastructure (CSDI) through the exploration of literature sources with a view to identify ... that surrounds all kinds of natural water masses such as sea, lake, or river”.

Buildings'energy flexibility : a bottom-up, multi agent, user-based approach to system integration of energy infrastructures to support the smart grid

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zeiler, Wim; Labeodan, Timilehin; Aduda, Kennedy; Boxem, Gert; Sayigh, Ali

2016-01-01

Using the flexibility within energy generation, distribution infrastructure, renewable energy sources, and the built environment is the ultimate sustainable strategy within the built environment. However, at the moment this flexibility on the building level has yet to be defined. The new IEA Annex

Flood vulnerability of critical infrastructure in Cork, Ireland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

de Bruijn Karin M.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Recent flood events in Ireland and particularly in County Cork have caused significant disruption to health service provisions, interruption of water and power supplies, and damage to roads and other transportation infrastructure, affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people over a prolonged period of weeks. These events clearly reveal- the vulnerability of the critical infrastructure to flooding and the dependence of society on critical infrastructure. In order to reduce the flood vulnerability and increase the resilience of the critical infrastructure networks in the future, detailed evidence-based analysis and assessment is essential. To this end a case study has been carried out on Cork City which analyses this vulnerability as it was in 2009, and as it is currently, and identifies adaptation options to reduce the future vulnerability of critical infrastructure to flooding and to build a more resilient society. This paper describes the storyline approach and CIrcle tool and their application to Cork City which focused on the analysis of the flood vulnerability of critical infrastructure and the impacts of failure of the infrastructure for other critical functions and on society.

Time-dependent resilience assessment and improvement of urban infrastructure systems

Science.gov (United States)

Ouyang, Min; Dueñas-Osorio, Leonardo

2012-09-01

This paper introduces an approach to assess and improve the time-dependent resilience of urban infrastructure systems, where resilience is defined as the systems' ability to resist various possible hazards, absorb the initial damage from hazards, and recover to normal operation one or multiple times during a time period T. For different values of T and its position relative to current time, there are three forms of resilience: previous resilience, current potential resilience, and future potential resilience. This paper mainly discusses the third form that takes into account the systems' future evolving processes. Taking the power transmission grid in Harris County, Texas, USA as an example, the time-dependent features of resilience and the effectiveness of some resilience-inspired strategies, including enhancement of situational awareness, management of consumer demand, and integration of distributed generators, are all simulated and discussed. Results show a nonlinear nature of resilience as a function of T, which may exhibit a transition from an increasing function to a decreasing function at either a threshold of post-blackout improvement rate, a threshold of load profile with consumer demand management, or a threshold number of integrated distributed generators. These results are further confirmed by studying a typical benchmark system such as the IEEE RTS-96. Such common trends indicate that some resilience strategies may enhance infrastructure system resilience in the short term, but if not managed well, they may compromise practical utility system resilience in the long run.

Infrastructural requirements for local implementation of safety policies: the discordance between top-down and bottom-up systems of action

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lindqvist Kent

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Safety promotion is planned and practised not only by public health organizations, but also by other welfare state agencies, private companies and non-governmental organizations. The term 'infrastructure' originally denoted the underlying resources needed for warfare, e.g. roads, industries, and an industrial workforce. Today, 'infrastructure' refers to the physical elements, organizations and people needed to run projects in different societal arenas. The aim of this study was to examine associations between infrastructure and local implementation of safety policies in injury prevention and safety promotion programs. Methods Qualitative data on municipalities in Sweden designated as Safe Communities were collected from focus group interviews with municipal politicians and administrators, as well as from policy documents, and materials published on the Internet. Actor network theory was used to identify weaknesses in the present infrastructure and determine strategies that can be used to resolve these. Results The weakness identification analysis revealed that the factual infrastructure available for effectuating national strategies varied between safety areas and approaches, basically reflecting differences between bureaucratic and network-based organizational models. At the local level, a contradiction between safety promotion and the existence of quasi-markets for local public service providers was found to predispose for a poor local infrastructure diminishing the interest in integrated inter-agency activities. The weakness resolution analysis showed that development of an adequate infrastructure for safety promotion would require adjustment of the legal framework regulating injury data exchange, and would also require rational financial models for multi-party investments in local infrastructures. Conclusion We found that the "silo" structure of government organization and assignment of resources was a barrier to

An approach for quantifying geomorphological impacts for EIA of transportation infrastructures: a case study in northern Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Bonachea, Jaime; Bruschi, Viola Maria; Remondo, Juan; González-Díez, Alberto; Salas, Luis; Bertens, Jurjen; Cendrero, Antonio; Otero, César; Giusti, Cecilia; Fabbri, Andrea; González-Lastra, José Ramón; Aramburu, José María

2005-03-01

A methodological proposal for the assessment of impacts due to linear infrastructures such as motorways, railways, etc. is presented. The approach proposed includes a series of specific issues to be addressed for each geomorphological feature analysed—both 'static' and 'dynamic'—as well as a series of steps to be followed in the process. Geomorphic characteristics potentially affected were initially identified on the basis of a conceptual activities/impacts model that helps to single out geomorphic impacts related to environmental concerns for the area. The following issues were addressed for each individual impact: nature of potential effects; indicators that can be used to measure impacts; criteria of 'geomorphologic performance'; procedure for measurement/prediction of changes; translation of geomorphologic impacts into significant terms from the viewpoint of human concerns; possible mitigation and/or compensation measures. The procedure has been applied to a case study corresponding to a new motorway in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Geomorphological impacts considered in this analysis included: (1) consumable resources; (2) sites of geomorphological interest; (3) land units with high potential for use, high productivity or value for conservation; (4) visual landscape; (5) slope instability processes. The procedure has been designed for implementation in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. Details are given on the application of the method to each individual impact analysed and results are presented in both numerical and map form. Impacts assessed were initially expressed by means of heterogeneous magnitudes, depending on the geomorphological feature considered. Those geomorphological impacts were then translated into significant terms and homogeneous magnitudes. Integration was carried out on the basis of impact values thus obtained. Final integrated results were also expressed in numerical and map form. The method proposed enables

Service-oriented advanced metering infrastructure for smart grids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, S.; Lukkien, J.J.; Zhang, L.

2011-01-01

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) enables smart grids to involve power consumers in the business process of power generation transmission, distribution and consumption. However, the participant of consumers challenges the current power systems with system integration and cooperation and

Service-oriented advanced metering infrastructure for smart grids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, S.; Lukkien, J.J.; Zhang, L.

2010-01-01

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) enables smart grids to involve power consumers in the business process of power generation, transmission, distribution and consumption. However, the participant of consumers challenges the current power systems with system integration and cooperation and

Adding Semantic Support to Existing UDDI Infrastructure

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Luo, Jim; Montrose, Bruce; Kang, Myong

2005-01-01

.... The advantage is that it is completely backward compatible. The add-on modules only need to be installed on the clients of users who wish to take advantage of semantic markups. They can be integrated seamlessly into existing systems and operations without any modification of the infrastructure.

An integrated artificial neural networks approach for predicting global radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azadeh, A.; Maghsoudi, A.; Sohrabkhani, S.

2009-01-01

This article presents an integrated artificial neural network (ANN) approach for predicting solar global radiation by climatological variables. The integrated ANN trains and tests data with multi layer perceptron (MLP) approach which has the lowest mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The proposed approach is particularly useful for locations where no available measurement equipment. Also, it considers all related climatological and meteorological parameters as input variables. To show the applicability and superiority of the integrated ANN approach, monthly data were collected for 6 years (1995-2000) in six nominal cities in Iran. Separate model for each city is considered and the quantity of solar global radiation in each city is calculated. Furthermore an integrated ANN model has been introduced for prediction of solar global radiation. The acquired results of the integrated model have shown high accuracy of about 94%. The results of the integrated model have been compared with traditional angstrom's model to show its considerable accuracy. Therefore, the proposed approach can be used as an efficient tool for prediction of solar radiation in the remote and rural locations with no direct measurement equipment.

Accelerators for Society - TIARA 2012 Test Infrastructure and Accelerator Research Area (in Polish)

CERN Document Server

Romaniuk, R S

2013-01-01

TIARA (Test Infrastructure and Accelerator Research Area - Preparatory Phae) is an European Collaboration of Accelerator Technology, which by running research projects, technical, networks and infrastructural has a duty to integrate the research and technical communities and infrastructures in the global scale of Europe. The Collaboration gathers all research centers with large accelerator infrastructures. Other ones, like universities, are affiliated as associate members. TIARA-PP (preparatory phase) is an European infrastructural project run by this Consortium and realized inside EU-FP7. The paper presents a general overview of TIARA activities, with an introduction containing a portrait of contemporary accelerator technology and a digest of its applications in modern society.

Eco-logical : an ecosystem approach to developing transportation infrastructure projects in a changing environment

Science.gov (United States)

2009-09-13

The development of infrastructure facilities can negatively impact critical habitat and essential ecosystems. There are a variety of techniques available to avoid, minimize, and mitigate negative impacts of existing infrastructure as well as future i...

Evaluating green infrastructure in urban environments using a multi-taxa and functional diversity approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinho, Pedro; Correia, Otília; Lecoq, Miguel; Munzi, Silvana; Vasconcelos, Sasha; Gonçalves, Paula; Rebelo, Rui; Antunes, Cristina; Silva, Patrícia; Freitas, Catarina; Lopes, Nuno; Santos-Reis, Margarida; Branquinho, Cristina

2016-05-01

Forested areas within cities host a large number of species, responsible for many ecosystem services in urban areas. The biodiversity in these areas is influenced by human disturbances such as atmospheric pollution and urban heat island effect. To ameliorate the effects of these factors, an increase in urban green areas is often considered sufficient. However, this approach assumes that all types of green cover have the same importance for species. Our aim was to show that not all forested green areas are equal in importance for species, but that based on a multi-taxa and functional diversity approach it is possible to value green infrastructure in urban environments. After evaluating the diversity of lichens, butterflies and other-arthropods, birds and mammals in 31 Mediterranean urban forests in south-west Europe (Almada, Portugal), bird and lichen functional groups responsive to urbanization were found. A community shift (tolerant species replacing sensitive ones) along the urbanization gradient was found, and this must be considered when using these groups as indicators of the effect of urbanization. Bird and lichen functional groups were then analyzed together with the characteristics of the forests and their surroundings. Our results showed that, contrary to previous assumptions, vegetation density and more importantly the amount of urban areas around the forest (matrix), are more important for biodiversity than forest quantity alone. This indicated that not all types of forested green areas have the same importance for biodiversity. An index of forest functional diversity was then calculated for all sampled forests of the area. This could help decision-makers to improve the management of urban green infrastructures with the goal of increasing functionality and ultimately ecosystem services in urban areas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interoperation of World-Wide Production e-Science Infrastructures

CERN Document Server

Riedel, M; Soddemann, T; Field, L; Navarro, JP; Casey, J; Litmaath, M; Baud, J; Koblitz, B; Catlett, C; Skow, D; Wang, S; Saeki, Y; Sato, H; Matsuoka, S; Geddes, N

Many production Grid and e-Science infrastructures have begun to offer services to end-users during the past several years with an increasing number of scientific applications that require access to a wide variety of resources and services in multiple Grids. Therefore, the Grid Interoperation Now—Community Group of the Open Grid Forum—organizes and manages interoperation efforts among those production Grid infrastructures to reach the goal of a world-wide Grid vision on a technical level in the near future. This contribution highlights fundamental approaches of the group and discusses open standards in the context of production e-Science infrastructures.

Closed-loop approach for situation awareness of medical devices and operating room infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rockstroh Max

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In recent years, approaches for information and control integration in the digital operating room have emerged. A major step towards an intelligent operating room and a cooperative technical environment would be autonomous adaptation of medical devices and systems to the surgical workflow. The OR staff should be freed from information seeking and maintenance tasks. We propose a closed-loop concept integrating workflow monitoring, processing and (semi-automatic interaction to bridge the gap between OR integration of medical devices and workflow-related information management.

An evidence-based approach for investment in rapid-charging infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serradilla, Javier; Wardle, Josey; Blythe, Phil; Gibbon, Jane

2017-01-01

To date, real cost data for Electric Vehicle (EV) rapid charging infrastructure is largely missing in the literature, preventing development of economic models to encourage private investment and limiting policy decisions. A business model has been constructed using actual capital expenditure, operating costs and usage data from the Rapid Charge Network project (RCN) which can be used to assist future investment and policy decisions. The model is run under a wide spectrum of EV uptake scenarios to provide plausible answers to a variety of research, policy and investment questions, including minimum growth rates to break even under current policy. Using real-world data we have confirmed that a financial business opportunity does exist for investment in rapid chargers on main highways and have identified the operating area in which a profit can be made. However, since UK EV adoption is still at the Innovators stage in a niche market where innovations in technology, user practices, supporting infrastructure and functionality are still required to achieve wide user acceptance, the case is also made for continued fiscal incentives to encourage investment in rapid-charging infrastructure. - Highlights: • Uses actual cost and use data to propose credible business model for EV rapid charging. • Identifies a profit area for successful operation. • Applying 3.3 electricity mark-up over 10 year investment period gives financial return. • EV uptake and Drivers’ willingness to pay remain key constraints. • Fiscal incentives would encourage private investment where demand is uncertain.

Natural Assurance Scheme: A level playing field framework for Green-Grey infrastructure development.

Science.gov (United States)

Denjean, Benjamin; Altamirano, Mónica A; Graveline, Nina; Giordano, Raffaele; van der Keur, Peter; Moncoulon, David; Weinberg, Josh; Máñez Costa, María; Kozinc, Zdravko; Mulligan, Mark; Pengal, Polona; Matthews, John; van Cauwenbergh, Nora; López Gunn, Elena; Bresch, David N

2017-11-01

This paper proposes a conceptual framework to systematize the use of Nature-based solutions (NBS) by integrating their resilience potential into Natural Assurance Scheme (NAS), focusing on insurance value as corner stone for both awareness-raising and valuation. As such one of its core goal is to align research and pilot projects with infrastructure development constraints and priorities. Under NAS, the integrated contribution of natural infrastructure to Disaster Risk Reduction is valued in the context of an identified growing need for climate robust infrastructure. The potential of NAS benefits and trade-off are explored by through the alternative lens of Disaster Resilience Enhancement (DRE). Such a system requires a joint effort of specific knowledge transfer from research groups and stakeholders to potential future NAS developers and investors. We therefore match the knowledge gaps with operational stages of the development of NAS from a project designer perspective. We start by highlighting the key role of the insurance industry in incentivizing and assessing disaster and slow onset resilience enhancement strategies. In parallel we place the public sector as potential kick-starters in DRE initiatives through the existing initiatives and constraints of infrastructure procurement. Under this perspective the paper explores the required alignment of Integrated Water resources planning and Public investment systems. Ultimately this will provide the possibility for both planners and investors to design no regret NBS and mixed Grey-Green infrastructures systems. As resources and constraints are widely different between infrastructure development contexts, the framework does not provide explicit methodological choices but presents current limits of knowledge and know-how. In conclusion the paper underlines the potential of NAS to ease the infrastructure gap in water globally by stressing the advantages of investment in the protection, enhancement and restoration of

A method for the efficient prioritization of infrastructure renewal projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karydas, D.M.; Gifun, Joe

2006-01-01

The infrastructure renewal program at MIT consists of a large number of projects with an estimated budget that could approach $1 billion. Infrastructure renewal at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the process of evaluating and investing in the maintenance of facility systems and

Vehicle-to-Grid Integration | Energy Systems Integration Facility | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Vehicle-to-Grid Integration Vehicle-to-Grid Integration NREL's research stands at the forefront of vehicle charging station Our work focuses on building the infrastructure and integration needed for benefit each other. Electric Vehicles NREL's research on electric vehicle (EV) grid integration examines

Evaluation of Service Level Agreement Approaches for Portfolio Management in the Financial Industry

Science.gov (United States)

Pontz, Tobias; Grauer, Manfred; Kuebert, Roland; Tenschert, Axel; Koller, Bastian

The idea of service-oriented Grid computing seems to have the potential for fundamental paradigm change and a new architectural alignment concerning the design of IT infrastructures. There is a wide range of technical approaches from scientific communities which describe basic infrastructures and middlewares for integrating Grid resources in order that by now Grid applications are technically realizable. Hence, Grid computing needs viable business models and enhanced infrastructures to move from academic application right up to commercial application. For a commercial usage of these evolutions service level agreements are needed. The developed approaches are primary of academic interest and mostly have not been put into practice. Based on a business use case of the financial industry, five service level agreement approaches have been evaluated in this paper. Based on the evaluation, a management architecture has been designed and implemented as a prototype.

Critical perspectives of pedagogical approaches to reversing the order of integration in double integrals

Science.gov (United States)

Tisdell, Christopher C.

2017-11-01

This paper presents some critical perspectives regarding pedagogical approaches to the method of reversing the order of integration in double integrals from prevailing educational literature on multivariable calculus. First, we question the message found in popular textbooks that the traditional process of reversing the order of integration is necessary when solving well-known problems. Second, we illustrate that the method of integration by parts can be directly applied to many of the classic pedagogical problems in the literature concerning double integrals, without taking the well-worn steps associated with reversing the order of integration. Third, we examine the benefits and limitations of such a method. In our conclusion, we advocate for integration by parts to be a part of the pedagogical conversation in the learning and teaching of double integral methods; and call for more debate around its use in the learning and teaching of other areas of mathematics. Finally, we emphasize the need for critical approaches in the pedagogy of mathematics more broadly.

Development of a Pilot Data Management Infrastructure for Biomedical Researchers at University of Manchester – Approach, Findings, Challenges and Outlook of the MaDAM Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meik Poschen

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Management and curation of digital data has been becoming ever more important in a higher education and research environment characterised by large and complex data, demand for more interdisciplinary and collaborative work, extended funder requirements and use of e-infrastructures to facilitate new research methods and paradigms. This paper presents the approach, technical infrastructure, findings, challenges and outlook (including future development within the successor project, MiSS of the ‘MaDAM: Pilot data management infrastructure for biomedical researchers at University of Manchester’ project funded under the infrastructure strand of the JISC Managing Research Data (JISCMRD programme. MaDAM developed a pilot research data management solution at the University of Manchester based on biomedical researchers’ requirements, which includes technical and governance components with the flexibility to meet future needs across multiple research groups and disciplines.

Sustainable Urban (re-Development with Building Integrated Energy, Water and Waste Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae-Goo Lee

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The construction and service of urban infrastructure systems and buildings involves immense resource consumption. Cities are responsible for the largest component of global energy, water, and food consumption as well as related sewage and organic waste production. Due to ongoing global urbanization, in which the largest sector of the global population lives in cities which are already built, global level strategies need to be developed that facilitate both the sustainable construction of new cities and the re-development of existing urban environments. A very promising approach in this regard is the decentralization and building integration of environmentally sound infrastructure systems for integrated resource management. This paper discusses such new and innovative building services engineering systems, which could contribute to increased energy efficiency, resource productivity, and urban resilience. Applied research and development projects in Germany, which are based on integrated system approaches for the integrated and environmentally sound management of energy, water and organic waste, are used as examples. The findings are especially promising and can be used to stimulate further research and development, including economical aspects which are crucial for sustainable urban (re-development.

Assessing the Bicycle Network in St. Louis: A PlaceBased User-Centered Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bram Boettge

2017-02-01

Full Text Available To transition towards sustainability and increase low-impact transportation, city planners are integrating bicycle infrastructure in urban landscapes. Yet, this infrastructure only promotes cycling according to how well it is sited within a specific city. How to best site bicycle facilities is essential for sustainability planning. We review approaches to assessing and siting new bicycle facilities. Following sustainability science, we argue that active cyclists should be consulted to incorporate users’ site-specific knowledge into bicycle infrastructure assessments. We then pilot an approach that surveys cyclists concerning level of stress along routes ridden in St. Louis, MO, USA. Among the active cyclists surveyed (n = 89, we found stress correlates with speed limit, roadway classification, and number of lanes. Although cyclists surveyed in St. Louis prefer roads with bike lanes over roads with sharrows or no infrastructure, the presence of bicycle infrastructure had no correlation with reported levels of stress. The piloted survey and spatial analytic tool are transferable to other localities. For planners, the maps generated by this participant data approach identify high-stress routes as targets of new infrastructure or information to direct cyclists to safer routes. For bicyclists, the maps generated identify low-stress routes for recreation and commuting.

Sustaining Participatory Design in the organization - Infrastructuring with Participatory Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolmsten, Johan

Modern organizations need to be able to change to seize opportunities and meet challenges, which are ever more rapidly presenting themselves. In doing so, they need to make use of the creativity and innovations of their employees. At the same time Information Technology applications today...... are likely to take the form of complex, integrated infrastructures, supporting collaboration within and across organizations. This places requirements on the development of IT infrastructures. As the work practices within an organization change, the supporting infrastructure also needs to evolve. This Ph......D thesis is about sustaining Participatory Design in the organization to enable users to influence the development of the IT infrastructure that supports their work practices. The empirical research is based on a long-term action research study, where this researcher works as an embedded researcher...

Urban Green Infrastructure: German Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Olegovna Dushkova

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a concept of urban green infrastructure and analyzes the features of its implementation in the urban development programmes of German cities. We analyzed the most shared articles devoted to the urban green infrastructure to see different approaches to definition of this term. It is based on materials of field research in the cities of Berlin and Leipzig in 2014-2015, international and national scientific publications. During the process of preparing the paper, consultations have been held with experts from scientific institutions and Administrations of Berlin and Leipzig as well as local experts from environmental organizations of both cities. Using the German cities of Berlin and Leipzig as examples, this paper identifies how the concept can be implemented in the program of urban development. It presents the main elements of green city model, which include mitigation of negative anthropogenic impact on the environment under the framework of urban sustainable development. Essential part of it is a complex ecological policy as a major necessary tool for the implementation of the green urban infrastructure concept. This ecological policy should embody not only some ecological measurements, but also a greening of all urban infrastructure elements as well as implementation of sustainable living with a greater awareness of the resources, which are used in everyday life, and development of environmental thinking among urban citizens. Urban green infrastructure is a unity of four main components: green building, green transportation, eco-friendly waste management, green transport routes and ecological corridors. Experience in the development of urban green infrastructure in Germany can be useful to improve the environmental situation in Russian cities.

CERIF-CRIS for the European e-Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K Jeffery

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The European e-infrastructure is the ICT support for research although the infrastructure will be extended for commercial/business use. It supports the research process across funding agencies to research institutions to innovation. It supports experimental facilities, modelling and simulation, communication between researchers, and workflow of research processes and research management. We propose the core should be CERIF: an EU recommendation to member states for exchanging research information and for homogeneous access to heterogeneous information. CERIF can also integrate associated systems (such as finance, human resource, project management, and library services and provides interoperation among research institutions, research funders, and innovators.

The potential of the infrastructural system of Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm, Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iveroth, Sofie Pandis; Johansson, Stefan; Brandt, Nils

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore to what extent the integrated infrastructural system in Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm, also named the Hammarby Model, reduces the metabolic flows of the district, and to what extent the district is self-sufficient, in terms of generated energy. Furthermore, the paper aspires to help create a deeper understanding of the system in order to guide the implementation of similar models in other districts, creating more sustainable cities. The method has been to quantify the local mass and energy flows of the model, using the secondary energy generated within Hammarby Sjöstad as basis when creating the system boundaries of the calculations. The findings demonstrate that the Hammarby Model reduces the metabolic flows of Hammarby Sjöstad but that the district is far from self-sufficient in terms of secondary energy. The conclusions of the paper are that the development of integrated infrastructural systems is one way to help create more sustainable cities. However, in order to reduce metabolic flows even further, the efficiency of the system must be improved by integrating more renewable energy sources. At the same time less energy has to be used in the households. - Highlights: • The integrated infrastructural system reduces the metabolic flows of the district. • Integrated infrastructural systems helps creating sustainable cities. • However, Hammarby Sjöstad is far from self-sufficient. • To reduce metabolic flows further, integrate more renewables. • At the same time less energy has to be used in the households

RISK INTEGRATION MECHANISMS AND APPROACHES IN BANKING INDUSTRY

OpenAIRE

JIANPING LI; JICHUANG FENG; XIAOLEI SUN; MINGLU LI

2012-01-01

Recently, the number of consultative documents and research papers that discuss risk integration has grown considerably. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the work done on risk integration in the banking industry. This survey includes: (1) risk integration methods within regulatory frameworks and the banking industry; (2) challenges of risk integration; (3) risk interaction mechanisms; (4) development of risk integration approaches; (5) risk interaction results: diversification ve...

Development and Integration of a HEMS with an Advanced Smart Metering Infrastructure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Diaz, Enrique Rodriguez; Palacios-Garcia, Emilio; Savaghebi, Mehdi

2016-01-01

Advanced metering infrastructures (AMI) are required for the future smart grid operation by providing useful information about users’ behavior as well as grid performance such as the consumption and power quality. This paper is focused on the development of a LabVIEW application for user-interfac......Advanced metering infrastructures (AMI) are required for the future smart grid operation by providing useful information about users’ behavior as well as grid performance such as the consumption and power quality. This paper is focused on the development of a LabVIEW application for user......-interface and implementation of a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) based on AMI....

Managing Transportation Infrastructure for Sustainable Development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Akinyemi, Edward O.; Zuidgeest, M.H.P.

Major requirements for operationalization of the concept of sustainable development in urban transportation infrastructure operations management are presented. In addition, it is shown that the current approach to management is incompatible with the requirements for sustainable urban development.

HeartMath and Ubuntu integral healing approaches for social ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HeartMath and Ubuntu integral healing approaches for social coherence and physical activity. Stephen D. Edwards. Abstract. This research was motivated by many social health problems confronting planet earth. Its aim is to introduce HeartMath and Ubuntu as complimentary, integral healing approaches for promoting ...

The Evolving Genetics of Green Infrastructure Implementation (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Ballestero, T. P.; Watts, A. W.; Houle, J. J.; Puls, T. A.

2013-12-01

Urbanization radically alters hydrology, with impacts from very local to regional scales. Green Infrastructure techniques use natural processes to restore hydrologic function, and provide multiple companion benefits such as energy savings, increased green space, improved ecosystems, etc. Although science can clearly demonstrate the benefits and cost saving associated with Green Infrastructure (see for example Forging The Link http://www.unh.edu/unhsc/forgingthelink ), many community decision makers continue to be reluctant to incorporate these more effective methods into standard planning practices. In spite of the wealth of evidence, communities are very slow to codify and adopt the practices, commonly waiting for regulatory or legal directives to force them down the path. Barriers to implementation include misconceptions of performance, reliability and cost, often fed by a local ';expert' who is trusted member of the community. For Green Infrastructure to be effective, implementation must become a standard practice, rather than an innovation; the methods and concepts must be integrated into planning DNA. Fundamentally, successful green infrastructure implementation comes down to changing behavior, perceptions, and priorities, and fostering trust in the science. We will present: data on the cost and effectiveness of using Green Infrastructure to restore damaged urban hydrology, incorporating methods into urban planning tools, and an ongoing science collaborative project engaging stakeholders directly in the development and optimization of Green Infrastructure tools.

Towards a 3d Spatial Urban Energy Modelling Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Bahu, J.-M.; Koch, A.; Kremers, E.; Murshed, S. M.

2013-09-01

Today's needs to reduce the environmental impact of energy use impose dramatic changes for energy infrastructure and existing demand patterns (e.g. buildings) corresponding to their specific context. In addition, future energy systems are expected to integrate a considerable share of fluctuating power sources and equally a high share of distributed generation of electricity. Energy system models capable of describing such future systems and allowing the simulation of the impact of these developments thus require a spatial representation in order to reflect the local context and the boundary conditions. This paper describes two recent research approaches developed at EIFER in the fields of (a) geo-localised simulation of heat energy demand in cities based on 3D morphological data and (b) spatially explicit Agent-Based Models (ABM) for the simulation of smart grids. 3D city models were used to assess solar potential and heat energy demand of residential buildings which enable cities to target the building refurbishment potentials. Distributed energy systems require innovative modelling techniques where individual components are represented and can interact. With this approach, several smart grid demonstrators were simulated, where heterogeneous models are spatially represented. Coupling 3D geodata with energy system ABMs holds different advantages for both approaches. On one hand, energy system models can be enhanced with high resolution data from 3D city models and their semantic relations. Furthermore, they allow for spatial analysis and visualisation of the results, with emphasis on spatially and structurally correlations among the different layers (e.g. infrastructure, buildings, administrative zones) to provide an integrated approach. On the other hand, 3D models can benefit from more detailed system description of energy infrastructure, representing dynamic phenomena and high resolution models for energy use at component level. The proposed modelling strategies

Functional integral approach to classical statistical dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jensen, R.V.

1980-04-01

A functional integral method is developed for the statistical solution of nonlinear stochastic differential equations which arise in classical dynamics. The functional integral approach provides a very natural and elegant derivation of the statistical dynamical equations that have been derived using the operator formalism of Martin, Siggia, and Rose

Life-cycle Economic and Environmental Effects of Green, Gray and Hybrid Stormwater Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Stokes-Draut, J. R.; Taptich, M. N.; Horvath, A.

2016-12-01

Cities throughout the U.S. are seeking efficient ways to manage stormwater for many reasons, including flood control, pollution management, water supply augmentation and to prepare for a changing climate. Traditionally, cities have relied primarily on gray infrastructure, namely sewers, storage and treatment facilities. In these systems, urban runoff, its volume increasing as impervious surfaces expand, is channeled to a wastewater plant where it is mixed with raw sewage prior to treatment or it is discharged, generally untreated, to local water bodies. These facilities are inflexible and expensive to build and maintain. Many systems are deteriorating and/or approaching, if not exceeding, their design capacity. Increasingly, more innovative approaches that integrate stormwater management into the natural environment and that make sense at both local and regional scales are sought. Identifying the best stormwater solution will require evaluating the life-cycle economic costs associated with these alternatives, including costs associated with construction, operation, and maintenance including regulatory and permitting costs, financing, as well as other indirect costs (e.g., avoided wastewater processing or system capacity expansion, increased property value) and non-economic co-benefits (i.e, aesthetics, habitat provision). Beyond conventional life-cycle costing, applying life-cycle assessment (LCA) will contribute to more holistic and sustainable decision-making. LCA can be used to quantitatively track energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental effects associated with constructing, operating, and maintaining green and gray infrastructure, including supply chain contributions. We will present the current state of knowledge for implementing life-cycle costing and LCA into stormwater management decisions for green, gray and hybrid infrastructure.

Regional Integrated Silvopastoral Approaches to Ecosystem Management Project

OpenAIRE

CIPAV (Centre For Research on Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems); CATIE (Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza); NITLAPAN

2007-01-01

Metadata only record The Regional Integrated Silvopastoral Approaches to Ecosystem Management Project introduces the payment for environmental services approach to silvopastoral farmers in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. The objectives of the project are to "demonstrate and measure a) the effects the introduction of payment incentives for environmental services to farmers on their adoption of integrated silvopastoral farming systems in degraded pasture lands; and b) the resulting impr...

DESIGN FOR CONNECTING SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES WITH SENSOR WEB (SENSDI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Bhattacharya

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Integrating Sensor Web With Spatial Data Infrastructures (SENSDI aims to extend SDIs with sensor web enablement, converging geospatial and built infrastructure, and implement test cases with sensor data and SDI. It is about research to harness the sensed environment by utilizing domain specific sensor data to create a generalized sensor webframework. The challenges being semantic enablement for Spatial Data Infrastructures, and connecting the interfaces of SDI with interfaces of Sensor Web. The proposed research plan is to Identify sensor data sources, Setup an open source SDI, Match the APIs and functions between Sensor Web and SDI, and Case studies like hazard applications, urban applications etc. We take up co-operative development of SDI best practices to enable a new realm of a location enabled and semantically enriched World Wide Web - the "Geospatial Web" or "Geosemantic Web" by setting up one to one correspondence between WMS, WFS, WCS, Metadata and 'Sensor Observation Service' (SOS; 'Sensor Planning Service' (SPS; 'Sensor Alert Service' (SAS; a service that facilitates asynchronous message interchange between users and services, and between two OGC-SWE services, called the 'Web Notification Service' (WNS. Hence in conclusion, it is of importance to geospatial studies to integrate SDI with Sensor Web. The integration can be done through merging the common OGC interfaces of SDI and Sensor Web. Multi-usability studies to validate integration has to be undertaken as future research.

Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Proof of Concept Executive Summary – Vehicle Submitted

Science.gov (United States)

2009-05-19

This report summarizes a program of work resulting from a Cooperative Agreement between USDOT and the VII Consortium to develop and test a Proof of Concept VII system based on DSRC wireless communication between an infrastructure and mobile terminals...

Statistical inference an integrated Bayesianlikelihood approach

CERN Document Server

Aitkin, Murray

2010-01-01

Filling a gap in current Bayesian theory, Statistical Inference: An Integrated Bayesian/Likelihood Approach presents a unified Bayesian treatment of parameter inference and model comparisons that can be used with simple diffuse prior specifications. This novel approach provides new solutions to difficult model comparison problems and offers direct Bayesian counterparts of frequentist t-tests and other standard statistical methods for hypothesis testing.After an overview of the competing theories of statistical inference, the book introduces the Bayes/likelihood approach used throughout. It pre

Spatial policy, planning and infrastructure investment: Lessons from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dr Louis J. Waldeck, Manager, Urban Dynamics Laboratory, CSIR Built ... funded Integrated Planning and Development Modelling (IPDM) project, the article ... areas ought to be grounded in robust and rigorous analysis and scenario evaluation. ... Partnership Infrastructure Grants ... in water supply and regional bulk.

A new Gauss quadrature for multicentre integrals over STOs in the Gaussian integral transform approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouferguene, Ahmed

2005-01-01

When computing multicentre integrals over Slater-type orbitals (STOs) by means of the Shavitt and Karplus Gaussian integral transforms (Shavitt and Karplus 1962 J. Chem. Phys. 36 550), one usually ends up with a multiple integral of the form ∫ 0 1 du ∫ 0 1 dv ...∫ 0 ∞ dz F(u, v, ..., z) (Shavitt and Karplus 1965 J. Chem. Phys. 43 398) in which all the integrals are inter-related. The most widely used approach for computing such an integral is to apply a product of Gauss-Legendre quadratures for the integrals over [0, 1] while the semi-infinite term is evaluated by a special procedure. Although numerous approaches have been developed to accurately perform the integration over [0, ∞) efficiently, it is the aim of this work to add a new tool that could be of some benefit in carrying out the hard task of multicentre integrals over STOs. The new approach relies on a special Gauss quadrature referred to as Gauss-Bessel to accurately evaluate the semi-infinite integral of interest. In this work, emphasis is put on accuracy rather than efficiency since its aim is essentially to bring a proof of concept showing that Gauss-Bessel quadrature can successfully be applied in the context of multicentre integrals over STOs. The obtained accuracy is comparable to that obtained with other methods available in the literature

A systems engineering approach for realizing sustainability in infrastructure projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Matar

2017-08-01

The developed model addresses an identified gap within the current body of knowledge by considering infrastructure projects. Through the ability to simulate different scenarios, the model enables identifying which activities, products, and processes impact the environment more, and hence potential areas for optimization and improvement.

Assessing Vulnerabilities, Risks, and Consequences of Damage to Critical Infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suski, N.; Wuest, C.

2011-01-01

Since the publication of 'Critical Foundations: Protecting America's Infrastructure,' there has been a keen understanding of the complexity, interdependencies, and shared responsibility required to protect the nation's most critical assets that are essential to our way of life. The original 5 sectors defined in 1997 have grown to 18 Critical Infrastructures and Key Resources (CIKR), which are discussed in the 2009 National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) and its supporting sector-specific plans. The NIPP provides the structure for a national program dedicated to enhanced protection and resiliency of the nation's infrastructure. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) provides in-depth, multi-disciplinary assessments of threat, vulnerability, and consequence across all 18 sectors at scales ranging from specific facilities to infrastructures spanning multi-state regions, such as the Oil and Natural Gas (ONG) sector. Like many of the CIKR sectors, the ONG sector is comprised of production, processing, distribution, and storage of highly valuable and potentially dangerous commodities. Furthermore, there are significant interdependencies with other sectors, including transportation, communication, finance, and government. Understanding the potentially devastating consequences and collateral damage resulting from a terrorist attack or natural event is an important element of LLNL's infrastructure security programs. Our work began in the energy sector in the late 1990s and quickly expanded other critical infrastructure sectors. We have performed over 600 physical assessments with a particular emphasis on those sectors that utilize, store, or ship potentially hazardous materials and for whom cyber security is important. The success of our approach is based on building awareness of vulnerabilities and risks and working directly with industry partners to collectively advance infrastructure protection. This approach consists of three phases: The Pre

High available and fault tolerant mobile communications infrastructure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beiroumi, Mohammad Zib

2006-01-01

using rollback or replication techniques inapplicable. This dissertation presents a novel failure recovery approach based on a behavioral model of the communication protocols. The new recovery method is able to deal with software and hardware faults and is particularly suitable for mobile communications...... as it is the case for many recovery techniques. In addition, the method does not require any modification to mobile clients. The Communicating Extended Finite State Machine (CEFSM) is used to model the behavior of the infrastructure applications. The model based recovery scheme is integrated in the application...... and uses the client/server model to save the application state information during failure-free execution on a stable storage and retrieve them when needed during recovery. When and what information to be saved/retrieved is determined by the behavioral model of the application. To practically evaluate...

Coastal Vulnerability and risk assessment of infrastructures, natural and cultural heritage sites in Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexandrakis, George; Kampanis, Nikolaos

2016-04-01

The majority of human activities are concentrated around coastal areas, making coastline retreat, a significant threat to coastal infrastructure, thus increasing protection cost and investment revenue losses. In this study the management of coastal areas in terms of protecting coastal infrastructures, cultural and environmental heritage sites, through risk assessment analysis is been made. The scope is to provide data for spatial planning for future developments in the coastal zone and the protection of existing ones. Also to determine the impact of coastal changes related to the loss of natural resources, agricultural land and beaches. The analysis is based on a multidisciplinary approach, combining environmental, spatial and economic data. This can be implemented by integrating the assessment of vulnerability of coasts, the spatial distribution and structural elements of coastal infrastructure (transport, tourism, and energy) and financial data by region, in a spatial database. The approach is based on coastal vulnerability estimations, considering sea level rise, land loss, extreme events, safety, adaptability and resilience of infrastructure and natural sites. It is based on coupling of environmental indicators and econometric models to determine the socio-economic impact in coastal infrastructure, cultural and environmental heritage sites. The indicators include variables like the coastal geomorphology; coastal slope; relative sea-level rise rate; shoreline erosion/accretion rate; mean tidal range and mean wave height. The anthropogenic factors include variables like settlements, sites of cultural heritage, transport networks, land uses, significance of infrastructure (e.g. military, power plans) and economic activities. The analysis in performed by a GIS application. The forcing variables are determined with the use of sub-indices related to coastal geomorphology, climate and wave variables and the socioeconomics of the coastal zone. The Greek coastline in

Data interoperabilty between European Environmental Research Infrastructures and their contribution to global data networks

Science.gov (United States)

Kutsch, W. L.; Zhao, Z.; Hardisty, A.; Hellström, M.; Chin, Y.; Magagna, B.; Asmi, A.; Papale, D.; Pfeil, B.; Atkinson, M.

2017-12-01

Environmental Research Infrastructures (ENVRIs) are expected to become important pillars not only for supporting their own scientific communities, but also a) for inter-disciplinary research and b) for the European Earth Observation Program Copernicus as a contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) or global thematic data networks. As such, it is very important that data-related activities of the ENVRIs will be well integrated. This requires common policies, models and e-infrastructure to optimise technological implementation, define workflows, and ensure coordination, harmonisation, integration and interoperability of data, applications and other services. The key is interoperating common metadata systems (utilising a richer metadata model as the `switchboard' for interoperation with formal syntax and declared semantics). The metadata characterises data, services, users and ICT resources (including sensors and detectors). The European Cluster Project ENVRIplus has developed a reference model (ENVRI RM) for common data infrastructure architecture to promote interoperability among ENVRIs. The presentation will provide an overview of recent progress and give examples for the integration of ENVRI data in global integration networks.

Toward an Integrated Psychological Approach - Phase II

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

Trauma, Development and Peacebuilding : Toward an Integrated Psychological Approach - Phase II. Over the past decade, the peace, conflict and development community has begun to question the value of medicalized approaches such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in dealing with aftermath of political violence ...

Engendering Change within a Water Infrastructure Client Organisation: A Participatory Action Research Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Potts

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Continuing demands by stakeholders for improved service delivery has caused Infrastructure Client Organisations (ICO in the UK to embark upon organisational restructuring. It is expected that such restructuring would enhance cost-effectiveness and quality in asset management and service delivery. However, this change, if not properly managed and sustained, could result in the inability of the ICO to achieve these targets. This study outlines the use of systemic thinking and Participatory Action Research (PAR in driving and managing such change within a UK-based Water and Wastewater ICO (UK WASC. Besides highlighting the context for change in response to policy, austerity and regulatory pressures, this study portrays how the PAR approach can assist in the management of change within ICOs. Furthermore, it provides an insight into the evolution of an external researcher, from novice to expert within the ICO, imbued with the required knowledge to encourage other stakeholders to participate in driving the change management process. Preliminary findings indicate the usefulness of this phased approach toward PAR. This study provides a platform for researchers wishing to engage with ICOs to improve service delivery, identifying the value of engagement, change and systemic thinking.

Development of multi-functional streetscape green infrastructure using a performance index approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwary, A; Williams, I D; Heidrich, O; Namdeo, A; Bandaru, V; Calfapietra, C

2016-01-01

This paper presents a performance evaluation framework for streetscape vegetation. A performance index (PI) is conceived using the following seven traits, specific to the street environments - Pollution Flux Potential (PFP), Carbon Sequestration Potential (CSP), Thermal Comfort Potential (TCP), Noise Attenuation Potential (NAP), Biomass Energy Potential (BEP), Environmental Stress Tolerance (EST) and Crown Projection Factor (CPF). Its application is demonstrated through a case study using fifteen street vegetation species from the UK, utilising a combination of direct field measurements and inventoried literature data. Our results indicate greater preference to small-to-medium size trees and evergreen shrubs over larger trees for streetscaping. The proposed PI approach can be potentially applied two-fold: one, for evaluation of the performance of the existing street vegetation, facilitating the prospects for further improving them through management strategies and better species selection; two, for planning new streetscapes and multi-functional biomass as part of extending the green urban infrastructure. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Security infrastructure for on-demand provisioned Cloud infrastructure services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Demchenko, Y.; Ngo, C.; de Laat, C.; Wlodarczyk, T.W.; Rong, C.; Ziegler, W.

2011-01-01

Providing consistent security services in on-demand provisioned Cloud infrastructure services is of primary importance due to multi-tenant and potentially multi-provider nature of Clouds Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) environment. Cloud security infrastructure should address two aspects of the

Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Integrated Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Adi Putra, M. J.; Widodo, A.; Sopandi, W.

2017-09-01

The integrated approach refers to the stages of pupils’ psychological development. Unfortunately, the competences which are designed into the curriculum is not appropriate with the child development. This Manuscript presents PCK (pedagogical content knowledge) of teachers who teach science content utilizing an integrated approach. The data has been collected by using CoRe, PaP-eR, and interviews from six elementary teachers who teach science. The paper informs that high and stable teacher PCKs have an impact on how teachers present integrated teaching. Because it is influenced by the selection of important content that must be submitted to the students, the depth of the content, the reasons for choosing the teaching procedures and some other things. So for teachers to be able to integrate teaching, they should have a balanced PCK.

Assessment of Logistics effects from Transport Infrastructure Investments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holvad, Torben; Salling, Kim Bang

2004-01-01

on the basis of the importance of this research area from a societal and economic viewpoint. This paper aims to identify a framework for assessment of logistic effects from transport infrastructure investment such that these effects can be integrated into the appraisal methodologies. Particular attention...

Integrated parasite management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Jesper Hedegaard; Madsen, Henry; Van, Phan Thi

2015-01-01

communities at risk through mass drug administration. However, we argue that treatment alone will not reduce the risk from eating infected fish and that sustainable effective control must adopt an integrated FZT control approach based on education, infrastructure improvements, and management practices...... that target critical control points in the aquaculture production cycle identified from a thorough understanding of FZT and host biology and epidemiology. We present recommendations for an integrated parasite management (IPM) program for aquaculture farms.......Fishborne zoonotic trematodes (FZT) are an emerging problem and there is now a consensus that, in addition to wild-caught fish, fish produced in aquaculture present a major food safety risk, especially in Southeast Asia where aquaculture is important economically. Current control programs target...

Integrated, regional approach to risk management of industrial systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chakraborty, S.

1992-01-01

This paper focuses on the following four main issues: (1) necessity for an integrated, regional approach to risk management of industrial systems; (2) principles of risk management; (3) integrated approach and overall methodology; and (4) implementation of risk management strategies on a regional basis. The U.N. Interagency project on risk management for large industrial areas, which is a pioneer type of international initiative for an integrated approach to risk management, is discussed in this context. Another encouraging activity for further development of overall methodologies for risk management is the ongoing project on the risk and safety of technical systems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Aurich. The concept of integral risk management takes into account multidimensional factors including technical, economic, political, social, and ethical considerations to allow a well-balanced decision-making process

Developing Spatial Data Infrastructure in Croatia – Incorporating National and Regional Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Željko Bačić

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Although still not a member State of the European Union, Croatia has recognized in the spatial data infrastructure a concept that can significantly incite the modernization and effectiveness of the State administration, and create preconditions for the accelerated economic growth. Given this fact, Croatia has defined, after preparations which lasted several years, the legal framework for the national spatial data infrastructure establishment by adopting the Law on State Survey and Real Property Cadastre in 2007. During the adoption of this Law, great attention was paid to it being in line with the EU INSPIRE Directive (European Union, 2007 that was being adopted at the time, so the adopted provisions were fully compatible with the INSPIRE provisions. Regarding the model that Croatia has chosen in the establishment of its National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI, the role of the State Geodetic Administration (SGA, the Croatian National Mapping and Cadastre Agency (NMCA, is significant. The SGA acts as a coordination body for the NSDI establishment, giving technical support to the NSDI bodies. One of the obligations is the establishment of a metadata catalogue through the national geoportal. Significant activities have been undertaken in the field of raising the awareness. The most important studies describing the manner of the NSDI establishment and current national as well as European situation have been translated into Croatian language and distributed to more than 1,000 NSDI stakeholders. Several workshops have been organised in order to transfer the best practices from the countries that have achieved big progress in this field. In parallel with the national activities, Croatia, or rather the SGA, has recognized that the spatial data infrastructure (SDI development cannot be based on isolated national activities connected exclusively to the INSPIRE Directive but that the Croatian spatial data infrastructure development activities must be

European environmental research infrastructures are going for common 30 years strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Asmi, Ari; Konjin, Jacco; Pursula, Antti

2014-05-01

Environmental Research infrastructures are facilities, resources, systems and related services that are used by research communities to conduct top-level research. Environmental research is addressing processes at very different time scales, and supporting research infrastructures must be designed as long-term facilities in order to meet the requirements of continuous environmental observation, measurement and analysis. This longevity makes the environmental research infrastructures ideal structures to support the long-term development in environmental sciences. ENVRI project is a collaborative action of the major European (ESFRI) Environmental Research Infrastructures working towards increased co-operation and interoperability between the infrastructures. One of the key products of the ENVRI project is to combine the long-term plans of the individual infrastructures towards a common strategy, describing the vision and planned actions. The envisaged vision for environmental research infrastructures toward 2030 is to support the holistic understanding of our planet and it's behavior. The development of a 'Standard Model of the Planet' is a common ambition, a challenge to define an environmental standard model; a framework of all interactions within the Earth System, from solid earth to near space. Indeed scientists feel challenged to contribute to a 'Standard Model of the Planet' with data, models, algorithms and discoveries. Understanding the Earth System as an interlinked system requires a systems approach. The Environmental Sciences are rapidly moving to become a one system-level science. Mainly since modern science, engineering and society are increasingly facing complex problems that can only be understood in the context of the full overall system. The strategy of the supporting collaborating research infrastructures is based on developing three key factors for the Environmental Sciences: the technological, the cultural and the human capital. The technological

Combining Wired and Wireless Networks for a QoS-Aware Broadband Infrastructure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Jens Myrup; Riaz, Muhammad Tahir; Knudsen, Thomas Phillip

2004-01-01

We show how integrated planning of wired and wireless infrastructures can be used to build a QoS-aware broadband infrastructure. The outset is a case study of the municipality of Hals, a rural community in Denmark, where the objective is to establish a broadband infrastructure reaching all househ...... To The Home for primary connections and Fixed Wireless Access for backup. This is implemented over 15 years, during which temporary solutions ensure sufficient QoS and reliability for all users. These temporary solutions form parts of the final solutions....

INTEGRATION OF THE FOOD INDUSTRY AND RELATED SECTORS BASED ON THE CLUSTER APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. M. Bautin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In a diversified agro-industrial complex structure of the Voronezh region there are more than 200 enterprises of food and processing industry. However, due to the growth disparity in prices for agricultural and industrial products, the collapse of a single process has been a sharp decline in the production of final products of agribusiness. In the conditions of Russia's accession to the WTO and the growth in this regard competition in the market of raw materials and finished products, problems of high relevance of search for effective strategies for the development of the food industry. The emphasis of these reforms should be a priori biased towards the crea tion of favorable conditions for the formation of optimal institutional innovation structures and prospects of development of the national agro-food system at all levels. In this regard, the formation of institutional models of integration in the agricultural sector, we regard the system approach, where the newly created integrated structure is defined as a social institution, characterized by composition, structure, objectives, functions, internal and external bounding box defined inputs and outputs. Under these conditions, there is a need to develop partnerships and coo peration between enterprises of the technological chain of the final product agribusiness, finds its expression in a variety of forms, one of which is the formation of clusters, creating the conditions for effective interaction of producers of raw materials and finished products, research and educational institutions, service infrastructure of organizations and representatives of other areas to ensure. However, the analysis showed that, across a variety of alternative strategies for the development of the food industry, the most optimal in today's economic conditions appear to integration strategies that involve the union of disparate market participants on the principles of economic integr ation, which results in a synergy

The technopolitics of big infrastructure and the Chinese water machine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Britt Crow-Miller

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Despite widespread recognition of the problems caused by relying on engineering approaches to water management issues, since 2000 China has raised its commitment to a concrete-heavy approach to water management. While, historically, China’s embrace of modernist water management could be understood as part of a broader set of ideas about controlling nature, in the post-reform era this philosophical view has merged with a technocratic vision of national development. In the past two decades, a Chinese Water Machine has coalesced: the institutional embodiment of China’s commitment to large infrastructure. The technocratic vision of the political and economic elite at the helm of this Machine has been manifest in the form of some of the world’s largest water infrastructure projects, including the Three Gorges Dam and the South-North Water Transfer Project, and in the exporting of China’s vision of concrete-heavy development beyond its own borders. This paper argues that China’s approach to water management is best described as a techno-political regime that extends well beyond infrastructure, and is fundamentally shaped by both past choices and current political-economic conditions. Emerging from this regime, the Chinese Water Machine is one of the forces driving the (return to big water infrastructure globally.

Beyond Information Architecture: A Systems Integration Approach to Web-site Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krisellen Maloney

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Users' needs and expectations regarding access to information have fundamentally changed, creating a disconnect between how users expect to use a library Web site and how the site was designed. At the same time, library technical infrastructures include legacy systems that were not designedf or the Web environment. The authors propose a framework that combines elements of information architecture with approaches to incremental system design and implementation. The framework allows for the development of a Web site that is responsive to changing user needs, while recognizing the need for libraries to adopt a cost-effective approach to implementation and maintenance.

SWIFF: Space weather integrated forecasting framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frederiksen Jacob Trier

2013-02-01

Full Text Available SWIFF is a project funded by the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission to study the mathematical-physics models that form the basis for space weather forecasting. The phenomena of space weather span a tremendous scale of densities and temperature with scales ranging 10 orders of magnitude in space and time. Additionally even in local regions there are concurrent processes developing at the electron, ion and global scales strongly interacting with each other. The fundamental challenge in modelling space weather is the need to address multiple physics and multiple scales. Here we present our approach to take existing expertise in fluid and kinetic models to produce an integrated mathematical approach and software infrastructure that allows fluid and kinetic processes to be modelled together. SWIFF aims also at using this new infrastructure to model specific coupled processes at the Solar Corona, in the interplanetary space and in the interaction at the Earth magnetosphere.

Securing Quality in Journalism on a European Scale. An Infrastructure Analysis.

OpenAIRE

Anger, Heike

2010-01-01

The study at hand shows that in the course of European integration not only politics have been transnationalised and Europeanised but also the infrastructures securing quality in journalism. Infrastructures in journalism can be defined as those institutions and initiatives whose activities are shaping journalism regarding its quality without directly being a part of the media production: European journalism training, European media industry and trade associations and European associations of ...

FOREWORD: Structural Health Monitoring and Intelligent Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Zhishen; Fujino, Yozo

2005-06-01

quality standards as for any paper in a regular issue. The papers cover a wide spectrum of topics including smart and effective sensing technologies, reliable approaches to signal processing, rational data gathering and interpretation methods, advanced damage characterization, modeling feature selection and diagnosis methods, and system integration technologies, etc. This special issue contains the most up-to-date achievements in SHM and intelligent technologies and provides information pertaining to their current and potential applications in infrastructure. It is our hope that this special issue makes a significant contribution in advancing awareness and acceptance of SHM and intelligent technologies for the maintenance and construction of different kinds of infrastructure. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Professor Varadan (Editor-in-Chief), Professor Matsuzaki (Regional Editor), the Editorial Assistants and the staff at Institute of Physics Publishing for their great support and advice in publishing this special issue. Special thanks are due to all the reviewers for their willingness to share their time and expertise. Final but important thanks go to Ms Suzhen Li (Doctorate Candidate at Ibaraki University) for her assistance in editing this special issue.

An Integrated Approach to Biology

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 16; Issue 8. An Integrated Approach to Biology. Aniket Bhattacharya. General Article Volume 16 Issue 8 August 2011 pp 742-753. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/016/08/0742-0753 ...

Advanced Metering Infrastructure based on Smart Meters

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Hiroshi

By specifically designating penetrations rates of advanced meters and communication technologies, devices and systems, this paper introduces that the penetration of advanced metering is important for the future development of electric power system infrastructure. It examines the state of the technology and the economical benefits of advanced metering. One result of the survey is that advanced metering currently has a penetration of about six percent of total installed electric meters in the United States. Applications to the infrastructure differ by type of organization. Being integrated with emerging communication technologies, smart meters enable several kinds of features such as, not only automatic meter reading but also distribution management control, outage management, remote switching, etc.

Financing Trans-European Energy Infrastructures - Past, Present and Perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirschhausen, Christian von

2011-01-01

The transformation of the European energy system towards a low carbon industry requires substantial investment and financing. According to the Energy Infrastructure Package (EIP), around one trillion euros must be invested in the European energy system until 2020. Out of the euro 200 billion required investment for transmission networks, only half of the capital will be provided by markets. This leaves a financial gap of ca. euro 100 bn. and poses a question on the EU role in financing European energy infrastructures. This policy paper by Christian Von Hirschhausen focuses on the future financing of trans-European energy infrastructures. After providing an overview of the long-term infrastructure needs and of the various instruments that currently exist to finance these infrastructures, the author discusses various aspects related with the planning and financing of cross border energy infrastructures with the help of a case study: the North Sea Grid Project. On the basis of the North Sea example, he highlights the importance of adopting a regulatory approach balancing European and Member States' interests as well as of streamlining and expanding the EU financial support to sustainable energy infrastructures

Engineering issues on the diagnostic port integration in ITER upper port 18

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pak, Sunil, E-mail: paksunil@nfri.re.kr [National Fusion Research Institute, Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Bertalot, Luciano [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul-lez-Durance (France); Cheon, Mun Seong [National Fusion Research Institute, Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Giacomin, Thibaud [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul-lez-Durance (France); Heemskerk, Cock J.M.; Koning, Jarich F. [Heemskerk Innovative Technology, Merelhof 2, 2172 HZ Sassenheim (Netherlands); Lee, Hyeon Gon [National Fusion Research Institute, Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Nemtcev, Grigorii [Institution “PROJECT CENTER ITER”, Akademika Kurchatova sq., Moscow (Russian Federation); Ronden, Dennis M.S. [FOM Institute DIFFER, P.O. Box 1207, 3430 BE Nieuwegein (Netherlands); Seon, Chang Rae [National Fusion Research Institute, Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Udintsev, Victor; Yukhnov, Nikolay [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul-lez-Durance (France); Zvonkov, Alexander [Institution “PROJECT CENTER ITER”, Akademika Kurchatova sq., Moscow (Russian Federation)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • Diagnostic port integration in the upper port 18 of ITER is presented in order to house the three diagnostic systems. • Issue on the neutron shielding in the upper port 18 is addressed and the shut-down dose rate in the interspace is summarized. • The maintenance strategy in the upper port 18 is described. - Abstract: The upper port #18 (UP18) in ITER hosts three diagnostic systems: the neutron activation system, the Vacuum Ultra-Violet spectrometer system, and the vertical neutron camera. These diagnostics are integrated into three infrastructures in the port: the upper port plug, interspace support structure and port cell support structure. The port integration in UP18 is at the preliminary design stage and the current design of the infrastructure as well as the diagnostic integration is described here. The engineering issues related to neutron shielding and maintenance are addressed and the design approach is suggested.

Integrated at the neighbourhood level

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Putri, Prathiwi Widyatmi

2017-01-01

Cities in the Global South are generally vast due to urban sprawl. They are characterised by a varying level of density, and enclaves of informal settlements. Within this context, this article addresses the limits of large-scale and centralised water systems. It seeks to understand, qualitatively......-spatial characteristics of local communities can be accommodated. Smaller-scale development intervention also means stimulating creativity in planning and policy-making processes to address water-infrastructure needs at local levels and opens possibilities for integrating water-infrastructures with public space....... Such a decentralised approach matters to improve the overall socio-spatial quality of a neighbourhood, however it requires, in parallel, new institutional mechanisms to provide a coherent water and environmental management system at the urban level. This article argues for a synergy of two axes: the water sector...

New approaches to screening infrastructure investments in multi-reservoir systems- Evaluating proposed dams in Ethiopia and Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Harou, J. J.; Geressu, R. T.; Hurford, A. P.

2014-12-01

Two approaches have been used traditionally to screen infrastructure investments in multi-reservoir systems: scenario analysis of a few simulated designs and deterministic optimization, sometimes using hydro-economic models or screening optimization models. Simulation models realistically represent proposed water systems and can easily include multiple performance metrics; however each prospective system operating rules need to be formulated and simulated for each proposed design (time consuming. Optimization models have been used to overcome this burden. Screening optimization models use integer or non-linear programming and can be challenging to apply to large and/or multi-objective systems. Hydro-economic models that use deterministic (implicit stochastic) optimization must be modified to examine each different plan and they cannot always reproduce realistic or politically acceptable system operations. In this presentation we demonstrate the application of a new screening approach to multi-reservoir systems where operating rules and new assets (dams) are simultaneously optimized in a multi-criteria context. Results are not least cost investment plans that satisfy reliability or other engineering constraints, but rather Pareto-optimal sets of asset portfolios that work well under historical and/or future scenarios. This is achieved by using stakeholder-built simulation models linked to multi-criteria search algorithms (e.g. many objective evolutionary algorithms, MOEA). Typical output is demonstrated through two case-studies on the Tana and Blue Nile rivers where operating rules and reservoir assets are efficiently screened together considering stakeholder-defined metrics. The focus on the Tana system is how reservoir operating rules and new irrigation schemes should be co-managed to limit ecological damages. On the Nile system, we identify Blue Nile river reservoir capacities that least negatively impact downstream Nile nations. Limitations and new directions of

Electronic signature for medical documents--integration and evaluation of a public key infrastructure in hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandner, R; van der Haak, M; Hartmann, M; Haux, R; Schmücker, P

2002-01-01

Our objectives were to determine the user-oriented and legal requirements for a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for electronic signatures for medical documents, and to translate these requirements into a general model for a signature system. A prototype of this model was then implemented and evaluated in clinical routine use. Analyses of documents, processes, interviews, observations, and of the available literature supplied the foundations for the development of the signature system model. Eight participants of the Department of Dermatology of the Heidelberg University Medical Center evaluated the implemented prototype from December 2000 to January 2001, during the course of an intervention study. By means of questionnaires, interviews, observations and database analyses, the usefulness and user acceptance of the electronic signature and its integration into electronic discharge letters were established. Since the major part of medical documents generated in a hospital are signature-relevant, they will require electronic signatures in the future. A PKI must meet the multitude of responsibilities and security needs required in a hospital. Also, the signature functionality must be integrated directly into the workflow surrounding document creation. A developed signature model, fulfilling user-oriented and legal requirements, was implemented using hard and software components that conform to the German Signature Law. It was integrated into the existing hospital information system of the Heidelberg University Medical Center. At the end of the intervention study, the average acceptance scores achieved were mean = 3.90; SD = 0.42 on a scale of 1 (very negative attitude) to 5 (very positive attitude) for the electronic signature procedure. Acceptance of the integration into computer-supported discharge letter writing reached mean = 3.91; SD = 0.47. On average, the discharge letters were completed 7.18 days earlier. The electronic signature is indispensable for the

The Swedish Research Infrastructure for Ecosystem Science - SITES

Science.gov (United States)

Lindroth, A.; Ahlström, M.; Augner, M.; Erefur, C.; Jansson, G.; Steen Jensen, E.; Klemedtsson, L.; Langenheder, S.; Rosqvist, G. N.; Viklund, J.

2017-12-01

The vision of SITES is to promote long-term field-based ecosystem research at a world class level by offering an infrastructure with excellent technical and scientific support and services attracting both national and international researchers. In addition, SITES will make data freely and easily available through an advanced data portal which will add value to the research. During the first funding period, three innovative joint integrating facilities were established through a researcher-driven procedure: SITES Water, SITES Spectral, and SITES AquaNet. These new facilities make it possible to study terrestrial and limnic ecosystem processes across a range of ecosystem types and climatic gradients, with common protocols and similar equipment. In addition, user-driven development at the nine individual stations has resulted in e.g. design of a long-term agricultural systems experiment, and installation of weather stations, flux systems, etc. at various stations. SITES, with its integrative approach and broad coverage of climate and ecosystem types across Sweden, constitutes an excellent platform for state-of-the-art research projects. SITES' support the development of: A better understanding of the way in which key ecosystems function and interact with each other at the landscape level and with the climate system in terms of mass and energy exchanges. A better understanding of the role of different organisms in controlling different processes and ultimately the functioning of ecosystems. New strategies for forest management to better meet the many and varied requirements from nature conservation, climate and wood, fibre, and energy supply points of view. Agricultural systems that better utilize resources and minimize adverse impacts on the environment. Collaboration with other similar infrastructures and networks is a high priority for SITES. This will enable us to make use of each others' experiences, harmonize metadata for easier exchange of data, and support each

The responsive approach: an integrated socially-sustainable technically-optimal decision model

OpenAIRE

Birdsall, James Denman; Brühwiler, Eugen

2009-01-01

Motivation Over the past 30 years, within the field of infrastructure management, as infrastructure systems have grown more complex, the level of managerial and financial oversight has increased, and the computation power has become less expensive and more readily available, infrastructure managers have increasingly turned to computerized infrastructure management systems to aid in the management of the built infrastructure. An infrastructure management system acts as an infrastructure manage...

Critical Perspectives of Pedagogical Approaches to Reversing the Order of Integration in Double Integrals

Science.gov (United States)

Tisdell, Christopher C.

2017-01-01

This paper presents some critical perspectives regarding pedagogical approaches to the method of reversing the order of integration in double integrals from prevailing educational literature on multivariable calculus. First, we question the message found in popular textbooks that the traditional process of reversing the order of integration is…

THE FEMINIST APPROACH TO PSYCHOTHERAPY INTEGRATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorena Božac Deležan

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The goal of Integrative Psychotherapy is to establish full inner and external contact (Moursund & Erskine, 2004. The most important goal in feminist therapy is the transformation of an individual as well as the transformation of the society as a whole (Herlihy & Corey, 2004. In my work I attempt to integrate both: to help the client establish inner and external contact, but also help him/her to become aware and recognize inner messages connected with his/her gender and replace them with constructive beliefs of his/her own, as well as for him/her to learn, regardless of his/her gender, to trust his/her intuition and experience. In this article I present my approach to integration in psychotherapy and the way I use feminist principles in Integrative Psychotherapy.

Social infrastructure to integrate science and practice: the experience of the Long Tom Watershed Council

Science.gov (United States)

Rebecca L. Flitcroft; Dana C. Dedrick; Courtland L. Smith; Cynthia A. Thieman; John P. Bolte

2009-01-01

Ecological problem solving requires a flexible social infrastructure that can incorporate scientific insights and adapt to changing conditions. As applied to watershed management, social infrastructure includes mechanisms to design, carry out, evaluate, and modify plans for resource protection or restoration. Efforts to apply the best science will not bring anticipated...

Overcoming Blockages to Collective Innovation in Digital Infrastructures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rukanova, Boriana; Reuver, Mark; Henningsson, Stefan

2017-01-01

Decentralized digital technologies increasingly enable multiple organizations to co-create digital infrastructures. However, collective innovation processes often come to a stand-still because of conflicting interests and business models. While existing research suggests various factors that block...... collective innovation processes, there is still little understanding of how organizations can overcome these blockages. In this paper, we identify patterns that explain how organizations overcome blockages of collective innovation processes for digital infrastructures. We follow a processual approach...... and develop a conceptual framework based on collective action theory. We evaluate the framework through a longitudinal case study on mobile payment infrastructure development. We find various reconfiguration processes that organizations use to overcome blockages of collective innovation. Theoretically...

Converged Optical Network and Data Center Virtual Infrastructure Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Georgakilas, Konstantinos; Tzanakaki, Anna; Anastasopoulos, Markos

2012-01-01

This paper presents a detailed study of planning virtual infrastructures (VIs) over a physical infrastructure comprising integrated optical network and data center resources with the aim of enabling sharing of physical resources among several virtual operators and services. Through the planning...... process, the VI topology and virtual resources are identified and mapped to the physical resources. Our study assumes a practical VI demand model without any in advance global knowledge of the VI requests that are handled sequentially. Through detailed integer linear program modeling, two objective...... functions—one that minimizes the overall power consumption of the infrastructure and one that minimizes the wavelength utilization—are compared. Both are evaluated for the virtual wavelength path and wavelength path optical network architectures. The first objective results in power consumption savings...

Bike Infrastructures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Silva, Victor; Harder, Henrik; Jensen, Ole B.

Bike Infrastructures aims to identify bicycle infrastructure typologies and design elements that can help promote cycling significantly. It is structured as a case study based research where three cycling infrastructures with distinct typologies were analyzed and compared. The three cases......, the findings of this research project can also support bike friendly design and planning, and cyclist advocacy....

Enterprise infocommunication infrastructure in training of IT-professionals

Science.gov (United States)

Eminov, F. I.; Golitsyna, I. N.; Eminov, B. F.

2018-05-01

The paper presents the enterprise infocommunication infrastructure and its management features as the influenced factors to the training of IT-professionals within the traditional educational process. The paper presents how the educational content of modern IT specialists can be developed on the basis of the infocommunication infrastructure of a modern enterprise and the interdisciplinary connections. Such approach needs to develop special forms and methods of training, adapted to the level of development of the professional environment of IT professionals.

An integrated view of complex landscapes: a big data-model integration approach to trans-disciplinary science

Science.gov (United States)

The Earth is a complex system comprised of many interacting spatial and temporal scales. Understanding, predicting, and managing for these dynamics requires a trans-disciplinary integrated approach. Although there have been calls for this integration, a general approach is needed. We developed a Tra...

Modular Architecture for Integrated Model-Based Decision Support.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaebel, Jan; Schreiber, Erik; Oeser, Alexander; Oeltze-Jafra, Steffen

2018-01-01

Model-based decision support systems promise to be a valuable addition to oncological treatments and the implementation of personalized therapies. For the integration and sharing of decision models, the involved systems must be able to communicate with each other. In this paper, we propose a modularized architecture of dedicated systems for the integration of probabilistic decision models into existing hospital environments. These systems interconnect via web services and provide model sharing and processing capabilities for clinical information systems. Along the lines of IHE integration profiles from other disciplines and the meaningful reuse of routinely recorded patient data, our approach aims for the seamless integration of decision models into hospital infrastructure and the physicians' daily work.

Building infrastructure for new nuclear power programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Starz, A.; Aoki, M.

2010-01-01

In recent years, more than sixty countries have indicated that they are considering or launching nuclear power programmes. It has been more than a decade since a country commissioned its first nuclear power plant. In meantime, the global nuclear community has faced greater concerns about safety, security and non-proliferation, resulting in increased international obligations and a greater expectation for transparency and openness regarding nuclear power programmes. Many of these 'nuclear newcomers' are turning to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to understand the implications of the nuclear power option and to receive advice about how to proceed with implementing a national programme. In response to growing demand for assistance, the IAEA developed a comprehensive, phased approach to establishing the infrastructure necessary to support a national nuclear power programme. This 'Milestones' approach is described in Nuclear Energy Series Guide NG-G-3.1 'Milestones in the Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power' (2007). From establishing the national position and legal framework to nuclear safety, security and safeguards, the Milestones covers 19 issues that need to be addressed. This approach also places special emphasis on the need for involvement of the Government, utility, industry, academic, and other stakeholders in a national decision-making process. The IAEA is also helping 'newcomers' to better understand its Safety Standards, which were written from the perspective of operating nuclear power programmes. A new safety guide is in development which provides a Road-map to the safety standards and identifies the standards that are relevant for each phase consistent with the Milestones. Several countries in the Europe region are working with the IAEA to understand the issues associated with a nuclear power programme in preparation for making a knowledgeable commitment. The starting points and approaches vary widely: some are European

Integrating Infrastructure and Institutions for Water Security in Large Urban Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Padowski, J.; Jawitz, J. W.; Carrera, L.

2015-12-01

Urban growth has forced cities to procure more freshwater to meet demands; however the relationship between urban water security, water availability and water management is not well understood. This work quantifies the urban water security of 108 large cities in the United States (n=50) and Africa (n=58) based on their hydrologic, hydraulic and institutional settings. Using publicly available data, urban water availability was estimated as the volume of water available from local water resources and those captured via hydraulic infrastructure (e.g. reservoirs, wellfields, aqueducts) while urban water institutions were assessed according to their ability to deliver, supply and regulate water resources to cities. When assessing availability, cities relying on local water resources comprised a minority (37%) of those assessed. The majority of cities (55%) instead rely on captured water to meet urban demands, with African cities reaching farther and accessing a greater number and variety of sources for water supply than US cities. Cities using captured water generally had poorer access to local water resources and maintained significantly more complex strategies for water delivery, supply and regulatory management. Eight cities, all African, are identified in this work as having water insecurity issues. These cities lack sufficient infrastructure and institutional complexity to capture and deliver adequate amounts of water for urban use. Together, these findings highlight the important interconnection between infrastructure investments and management techniques for urban areas with a limited or dwindling natural abundance of water. Addressing water security challenges in the future will require that more attention be placed not only on increasing water availability, but on developing the institutional support to manage captured water supplies.

Dedicated IT infrastructure for Smart Levee Monitoring and Flood Decision Support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Balis Bartosz

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Smart levees are being increasingly investigated as a flood protection technology. However, in large-scale emergency situations, a flood decision support system may need to collect and process data from hundreds of kilometers of smart levees; such a scenario requires a resilient and scalable IT infrastructure, capable of providing urgent computing services in order to perform frequent data analyses required in decision making, and deliver their results in a timely fashion. We present the ISMOP IT infrastructure for smart levee monitoring, designed to support decision making in large-scale emergency situations. Most existing approaches to urgent computing services in decision support systems dealing with natural disasters focus on delivering quality of service for individual, isolated subsystems of the IT infrastructure (such as computing, storage, or data transmission. We propose a holistic approach to dynamic system management during both urgent (emergency and normal (non-emergency operation. In this approach, we introduce a Holistic Computing Controller which calculates and deploys a globally optimal configuration for the entire IT infrastructure, based on cost-of-operation and quality-of-service (QoS requirements of individual IT subsystems, expressed in the form of Service Level Agreements (SLAs. Our approach leads to improved configuration settings and, consequently, better fulfilment of the system’s cost and QoS requirements than would have otherwise been possible had the configuration of all subsystems been managed in isolation.

Approaches to the summability of divergent multidimensional integrals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vainikko, G M; Lifanov, I K

2003-01-01

Under discussion are various approaches to the concept of summability (finding the finite part - (f.p.)) of divergent integrals with integrand represented as a product of two functions, one with a parameter-dependent non-integrable singularity at one point of the integration and the other absolutely integrable. A study is made of summability methods which are based on the expansion of the absolutely integrable function in a Taylor series with centre at the singular point (f.p.), on the analytic continuation with respect to the parameter of the singularity (a.f.p.), and on integration by parts (f.p.p.). Formulae of changes of variables in such integrals are presented

AARC: First draft of the Blueprint Architecture for Authentication and Authorisation Infrastructures

OpenAIRE

Biancini, A.; Florio, L.; Haase, M.; Hardt, M.; Jankowski, M.; Jensen, J.; Kanellopoulos, C.; Liampotis, N.; Licehammer, S.; Memon, S.; van Dijk, N.; Paetow, S.; Prochazka, M.; Sallé, M.; Solagna, P.

2016-01-01

AARC (Authentication and Authorisation for Research Communities) is a two-year EC-funded project to develop and pilot an integrated cross-discipline authentication and authorisation framework, building on existing authentication and authorisation infrastructures (AAIs) and production federated infrastructure. AARC also champions federated access and offers tailored training to complement the actions needed to test AARC results and to promote AARC outcomes. This article describes a high-level ...

The Integration Movement in the Caribbean at Crossroads: Towards a New Approach of Integration

OpenAIRE

Uziel Nogueira

1997-01-01

The Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (INTAL) has inaugurated a Working Papers Series with the publication of a study by Uziel Nogueira, the Institute's Economist. Entitled "The Integration Movement in the Caribbean at the Crossroads: Towards a New Approach to Integration", the study opens with an overview of the movement towards integration among the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean. It continues with an analysis of the integration process during thi...

R and D non-destructive damage monitoring and diagnosing system for civil infrastructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren Weixin; Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah; Cheng Hao

1998-01-01

Since civil infrastructures serve as the underpinnings of our highly industrialized society, and much of them are now decaying, it is the time to consider how to maintain these widely spread infrastructures in order to prevent potential catastrophic events. Changes in use and the need to maintain an ageing system require improvements in instrumentation for sensing and recording, data acquisition for diagnosing the possible damage, and algorithm for identifying and monitoring the changes in structural characteristics. Researching and developing a real-time, in-serve health detection and monitoring system has drawn a worldwide attention recently for various types of structures. The paper conceives an integrated non-destructive damage monitoring and diagnosing system for civil infrastructures. The system is a high technology and high-commercialised industrial integrated product involved in research and development. The research activities of the system cover three core parts: structural modelling, structural system identification and damage criterion establishment. The development activities of the system include experimental measurements, data acquisition and processing, instrumentation set-up, computer visualisation, and software development. The state-of -the art theories and practices are systematically merged and integrated in the development of the system, and the system will be verified through the real world application for civil infrastructures. Our research results on the damage criterion based on the changes in structural dynamic properties are also reported in the paper. (Author)

Recent developments in the path integral approach to anomalies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujikawa, Kazuo.

1986-08-01

After a brief summary of the path integral approach to anomalous identities, some of the recent developments in this approach are discussed. The topics discussed include (i) Construction of the effective action by means of the covariant current, (ii) Gauss law constraint in anomalous gauge theories, (iii) Path integral approach to anomalies in superconformal transformations, (iv) Conformal and ghost number anomalies in string theory in analogy with the instanton calculation, (v) Covariant local Lorentz anomaly and its connection with the mathematical construction of the consistent anomaly. (author)

Modelling efficient innovative work: integration of economic and social psychological approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babanova Yulia

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the relevance of integration of economic and social psychological approaches to the solution of enhancing the efficiency of innovation management. The content, features and specifics of the modelling methods within each of approaches are unfolded and options of integration are considered. The economic approach lies in the generation of the integrated matrix concept of management of innovative development of an enterprise in line with the stages of innovative work and the use of the integrated vector method for the evaluation of the innovative enterprise development level. The social psychological approach lies in the development of a system of psychodiagnostic indexes of activity resources within the scope of psychological innovative audit of enterprise management and development of modelling methods for the balance of activity trends. Modelling the activity resources is based on the system of equations accounting for the interaction type of psychodiagnostic indexes. Integration of two approaches includes a methodological level, a level of empirical studies and modelling methods. There are suggested options of integrating the economic and psychological approaches to analyze available material and non-material resources of the enterprises’ innovative work and to forecast an optimal option of development based on the implemented modelling methods.

Modular Infrastructure for Rapid Flight Software Development

Science.gov (United States)

Pires, Craig

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the use of modular infrastructure to assist in the development of flight software. A feature of this program is the use of model based approach for application unique software. A review of two programs that this approach was use on are: the development of software for Hover Test Vehicle (HTV), and Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Experiment (LADEE).

Integrating Adult Learning and Technologies for Effective Education: Strategic Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Victor C. X.

2010-01-01

As adult learners and educators pioneer the use of technology in the new century, attention has been focused on developing strategic approaches to effectively integrate adult learning and technology in different learning environments. "Integrating Adult Learning and Technologies for Effective Education: Strategic Approaches" provides innovative…

Integrating grey and green infrastructure to improve the health and well-being of urban populations

Science.gov (United States)

Erika S. Svendsen; Mary E. Northridge; Sara S. Metcalf

2012-01-01

One of the enduring lessons of cities is the essential relationship between grey infrastructure (e.g., streets and buildings) and green infrastructure (e.g., parks and open spaces). The design and management of natural resources to enhance human health and well-being may be traced back thousands of years to the earliest urban civilizations. From the irrigation projects...

Infrastructure Joint Venture Projects in Malaysia: A Preliminary Study

Science.gov (United States)

Romeli, Norsyakilah; Muhamad Halil, Faridah; Ismail, Faridah; Sufian Hasim, Muhammad

2018-03-01

As many developed country practise, the function of the infrastructure is to connect the each region of Malaysia holistically and infrastructure is an investment network projects such as transportation water and sewerage, power, communication and irrigations system. Hence, a billions allocations of government income reserved for the sake of the infrastructure development. Towards a successful infrastructure development, a joint venture approach has been promotes by 2016 in one of the government thrust in Construction Industry Transformation Plan which encourage the internationalisation among contractors. However, there is depletion in information on the actual practise of the infrastructure joint venture projects in Malaysia. Therefore, this study attempt to explore the real application of the joint venture in Malaysian infrastructure projects. Using the questionnaire survey, a set of survey question distributed to the targeted respondents. The survey contained three section which the sections are respondent details, organizations background and project capital in infrastructure joint venture project. The results recorded and analyse using SPSS software. The contractors stated that they have implemented the joint venture practice with mostly the client with the usual construction period of the infrastructure project are more than 5 years. Other than that, the study indicates that there are problems in the joint venture project in the perspective of the project capital and the railway infrastructure should be given a highlights in future study due to its high significant in term of cost and technical issues.

Infrastructure Joint Venture Projects in Malaysia: A Preliminary Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romeli Norsyakilah

2018-01-01

Full Text Available As many developed country practise, the function of the infrastructure is to connect the each region of Malaysia holistically and infrastructure is an investment network projects such as transportation water and sewerage, power, communication and irrigations system. Hence, a billions allocations of government income reserved for the sake of the infrastructure development. Towards a successful infrastructure development, a joint venture approach has been promotes by 2016 in one of the government thrust in Construction Industry Transformation Plan which encourage the internationalisation among contractors. However, there is depletion in information on the actual practise of the infrastructure joint venture projects in Malaysia. Therefore, this study attempt to explore the real application of the joint venture in Malaysian infrastructure projects. Using the questionnaire survey, a set of survey question distributed to the targeted respondents. The survey contained three section which the sections are respondent details, organizations background and project capital in infrastructure joint venture project. The results recorded and analyse using SPSS software. The contractors stated that they have implemented the joint venture practice with mostly the client with the usual construction period of the infrastructure project are more than 5 years. Other than that, the study indicates that there are problems in the joint venture project in the perspective of the project capital and the railway infrastructure should be given a highlights in future study due to its high significant in term of cost and technical issues.

IAEA Reviews Niger’s Nuclear Power Infrastructure Development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2018-01-01

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts has concluded an eight-day mission to Niger to review its infrastructure development for a nuclear power programme. The Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) was carried out at the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Niger. Niger, whose economic development is hampered by a lack of consistent electricity supply, is considering a potential role for nuclear power in its energy mix. A country of about 21 million people in Western Africa, Niger is currently ranked as the world’s fourth largest producer of uranium ore. The INIR team observed a strong Government commitment to developing the infrastructure for a nuclear power programme. The Government has established a Strategic Orientation Committee for the Nuclear Power Programme chaired by the Prime Minister, and a National Technical Committee for the Nuclear Power Programme chaired by the President of the Nigerien High Authority for Atomic Energy (HANEA). Those two committees form the Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organization (NEPIO). Niger has already completed or initiated several studies related to nuclear infrastructure development, and prepared a comprehensive report summarizing the results.

Incorporating Human Movement Behavior into the Analysis of Spatially Distributed Infrastructure.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lihua Wu

Full Text Available For the first time in human history, the majority of the world's population resides in urban areas. Therefore, city managers are faced with new challenges related to the efficiency, equity and quality of the supply of resources, such as water, food and energy. Infrastructure in a city can be viewed as service points providing resources. These service points function together as a spatially collaborative system to serve an increasing population. To study the spatial collaboration among service points, we propose a shared network according to human's collective movement and resource usage based on data usage detail records (UDRs from the cellular network in a city in western China. This network is shown to be not scale-free, but exhibits an interesting triangular property governed by two types of nodes with very different link patterns. Surprisingly, this feature is consistent with the urban-rural dualistic context of the city. Another feature of the shared network is that it consists of several spatially separated communities that characterize local people's active zones but do not completely overlap with administrative areas. According to these features, we propose the incorporation of human movement into infrastructure classification. The presence of well-defined spatially separated clusters confirms the effectiveness of this approach. In this paper, our findings reveal the spatial structure inside a city, and the proposed approach provides a new perspective on integrating human movement into the study of a spatially distributed system.

Incorporating Human Movement Behavior into the Analysis of Spatially Distributed Infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Lihua; Leung, Henry; Jiang, Hao; Zheng, Hong; Ma, Li

2016-01-01

For the first time in human history, the majority of the world's population resides in urban areas. Therefore, city managers are faced with new challenges related to the efficiency, equity and quality of the supply of resources, such as water, food and energy. Infrastructure in a city can be viewed as service points providing resources. These service points function together as a spatially collaborative system to serve an increasing population. To study the spatial collaboration among service points, we propose a shared network according to human's collective movement and resource usage based on data usage detail records (UDRs) from the cellular network in a city in western China. This network is shown to be not scale-free, but exhibits an interesting triangular property governed by two types of nodes with very different link patterns. Surprisingly, this feature is consistent with the urban-rural dualistic context of the city. Another feature of the shared network is that it consists of several spatially separated communities that characterize local people's active zones but do not completely overlap with administrative areas. According to these features, we propose the incorporation of human movement into infrastructure classification. The presence of well-defined spatially separated clusters confirms the effectiveness of this approach. In this paper, our findings reveal the spatial structure inside a city, and the proposed approach provides a new perspective on integrating human movement into the study of a spatially distributed system.

INTEGRATION OF MULTICRITERIA ANALYSIS INTO DECISION SUPPORT CONCEPT FOR URBAN ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niksa Jajac

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Urban road infrastructure management deals with complex decision making process. There are several reasons for a complexity such as: multi-disciplinarity, lots of participants, huge quantity of information, limited budget, conflict goals and criteria. These facts indicate that decision making processes in urban road infrastructure management belong to ill-defined problems. In order to cope with such complexity and to help managers during decision making processes this research proposes an application of multicriteria methods. Therefore, a generic concept of decision support for urban road infrastructure management based on multicriteria analysis is proposed. Three multicriteria methods: AHP, SAW and PROMETHHE, in a combination with 0-1 programming are used. The main advantage of an application of multicriteria analysis is that all stakeholders could be objectively included into decision process. Therefore, setting up of criteria weights involves opinions from all stakeholders’ groups (stakeholders are divided into three characteristic groups. Evaluation of criteria importance (weights is based on three sets of opinions processed by Analytic Hierarchic Processing (AHP method. Three sets of criteria are then processed by Simple Additive Weighting (SAW method resulting in a final set of criteria weights. By using SAW method, relative importance of opinions of all three stakeholders’ groups is introduced. Collected data are then processed by PROMETHEE multicriteria methods. Proposed decision support concept is validated on the problem of improvement of one part of an urban road infrastructure system for a large urban area of town of Split. The concept is efficiently applied on several problems regarding parking garages: location selection, sub-project ranking, definition of an investment strategy.

Wireless intelligent network: infrastructure before services?

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Narisa N.

1996-01-01

The Wireless Intelligent Network (WIN) intends to take advantage of the Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) concepts and products developed from wireline communications. However, progress of the AIN deployment has been slow due to the many barriers that exist in the traditional wireline carriers' deployment procedures and infrastructure. The success of AIN has not been truly demonstrated. The AIN objectives and directions are applicable to the wireless industry although the plans and implementations could be significantly different. This paper points out WIN characteristics in architecture, flexibility, deployment, and value to customers. In order to succeed, the technology driven AIN concept has to be reinforced by the market driven WIN services. An infrastructure suitable for the WIN will contain elements that are foreign to the wireline network. The deployment process is expected to seed with the revenue generated services. Standardization will be achieved by simplifying and incorporating the IS-41C, AIN, and Intelligent Network CS-1 recommendations. Integration of the existing and future systems impose the biggest challenge of all. Service creation has to be complemented with service deployment process which heavily impact the carriers' infrastructure. WIN deployment will likely start from an Intelligent Peripheral, a Service Control Point and migrate to a Service Node when sufficient triggers are implemented in the mobile switch for distributed call control. The struggle to move forward will not be based on technology, but rather on the impact to existing infrastructure.

The Intersystem Model of Psychotherapy: An Integrated Systems Treatment Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Weeks, Gerald R.; Cross, Chad L.

2004-01-01

This article introduces the intersystem model of psychotherapy and discusses its utility as a truly integrative and comprehensive approach. The foundation of this conceptually complex approach comes from dialectic metatheory; hence, its derivation requires an understanding of both foundational and integrational constructs. The article provides a…

Structure to self-structuring: infrastructures and processes in neurobehavioural rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Howard F; Hague, Gemma; Daniels, Leanne; Aguilar, Ralph; Carr, Darren; Kenyon, William

2014-01-01

The importance of structure in post-acute brain injury rehabilitation is repeatedly mentioned in clinical practice. However, there has been little exploration of the key elements of structure that promote greater levels of functioning and emotional/behavioural stability and how these elements are optimally integrated within the infrastructure of a rehabilitation service. The nature of structure and why it is helpful is explored initially. Thereafter, the processes involved in transition from externally supported structure to the client 'self-structuring' are described. The infrastructure for facilitating these transitional processes are considered in terms of the design of services for systemic neurorehabilitation encompassing environmental factors (e.g. living environments, vocational and recreational options, step-up services and social milieus), therapeutic alliances (rehabilitation professionals, family, friends), organisational structures (service delivery, rehabilitation coaching, transdisciplinary teams) and rehabilitation philosophies and practice. It is concluded that the process of supporting individuals to transition from the 'structure' of the environment and other people towards self-structuring skills is a critical process in rehabilitation. This is reliant upon a comprehensive and robust organisational infrastructure that can successfully and flexibly integrate the core elements of structure across a transitional pathway towards increased independence and self-structuring.

Securing the United States' power infrastructure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Happenny, Sean F. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-08-01

The United States’ power infrastructure is aging, underfunded, and vulnerable to cyber attack. Emerging smart grid technologies may take some of the burden off of existing systems and make the grid as a whole more efficient, reliable, and secure. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is funding research into several aspects of smart grid technology and grid security, creating a software simulation tool that will allow researchers to test power distribution networks utilizing different smart grid technologies to determine how the grid and these technologies react under different circumstances. Demonstrating security in embedded systems is another research area PNNL is tackling. Many of the systems controlling the U.S. critical infrastructure, such as the power grid, lack integrated security and the networks protecting them are becoming easier to breach. Providing a virtual power substation network to each student team at the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, thereby supporting the education of future cyber security professionals, is another way PNNL is helping to strengthen the security of the nation’s power infrastructure.

Development of our laser fusion integration simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, J.; Zhai, C.; Li, S.; Li, X.; Zheng, W.; Yong, H.; Zeng, Q.; Hang, X.; Qi, J.; Yang, R.; Cheng, J.; Song, P.; Gu, P.; Zhang, A.; An, H.; Xu, X.; Guo, H.; Cao, X.; Mo, Z.; Pei, W.; Jiang, S.; Zhu, S. P.

2013-01-01

In the target design of the Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) program, it is common practice to apply radiation hydrodynamics code to study the key physical processes happening in ICF process, such as hohlraum physics, radiation drive symmetry, capsule implosion physics in the radiation-drive approach of ICF. Recently, many efforts have been done to develop our 2D integrated simulation capability of laser fusion with a variety of optional physical models and numerical methods. In order to effectively integrate the existing codes and to facilitate the development of new codes, we are developing an object-oriented structured-mesh parallel code-supporting infrastructure, called JASMIN. Based on two-dimensional three-temperature hohlraum physics code LARED-H and two-dimensional multi-group radiative transfer code LARED-R, we develop a new generation two-dimensional laser fusion code under the JASMIN infrastructure, which enable us to simulate the whole process of laser fusion from the laser beams' entrance into the hohlraum to the end of implosion. In this paper, we will give a brief description of our new-generation two-dimensional laser fusion code, named LARED-Integration, especially in its physical models, and present some simulation results of holhraum. (authors)

LHCb - Automated Testing Infrastructure for the Software Framework Gaudi

CERN Multimedia

Clemencic, M

2009-01-01

An extensive test suite is the first step towards the delivery of robust software, but it is not always easy to implement it, especially in projects with many developers. An easy to use and flexible infrastructure to use to write and execute the tests reduces the work each developer has to do to instrument his packages with tests. At the same time, the infrastructure gives the same look and feel to the tests and allows automated execution of the test suite. For Gaudi, we decided to develop the testing infrastructure on top of the free tool QMTest, used already in LCG Application Area for the routine tests run in the nightly build system. The high flexibility of QMTest allowed us to integrate it in the Gaudi package structure. A specialized test class and some utility functions have been developed to simplify the definition of a test for a Gaudi-based application. Thanks to the testing infrastructure described here, we managed to quickly extend the standard Gaudi test suite and add tests to the main LHCb appli...

Information infrastructure development in NRU «MPEI»

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. G. Gridina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article describes the work on support and development of information infrastructure NRU «MPEI». Information infrastructure have different approaches to the defi nition. The authors defi ne the information infrastructure as a set of basic information services, computing, storage and data transmission systems that provide user access to information resources. New conditions dictate new approaches to building the education system in general and the educational process in each educational institution. NRU «MPEI» working to create a modern information infrastructure, including automated control systems, information resources and services, modular systems disciplines. This article describes the requirements for a modern information infrastructure of the NRU «MPEI», that provides students and teachers with the necessary services. Information infrastructure includes a set of software and hardware to ensure interaction between the participants of the educational process. All services and NRU «MPEI» system included in the unifi ed information educational environment (UIEE. Architecture UIEE NRU «MPEI» is displayed in the article. UIEE NRU «MPEI» is deployed on the basis of information network NRU «MPEI» and enables a comprehensive optimization of university management in various areas. Information and Computing Center supporting information and computer network NRU «MPEI», bought more than 4800 licenses in 43 different license versions of the software manufacturers. The server segment information network NRU «MPEI» contains a complex infrastructure and application servers for processing and storing information.The segment there are 20 high-performance server and storage system capacity of over 30 TB. In the server segment deployed complex systems to meet the needs in the various fi elds of activity NRU «MPEI», and the educational system to support the economic , scientifi c and human complex. Currently, ICC also pays great

SimWIND: A geospatial infrastructure model for optimizing wind power generation and transmission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, Benjamin R.; Middleton, Richard S.

2012-01-01

Wind is a clean, enduring energy resource with the capacity to satisfy 20% or more of U.S. electricity demand. Presently, wind potential is limited by a paucity of electrical transmission lines and/or capacity between promising wind resources and primary load centers. We present the model SimWIND to address this shortfall. SimWIND is an integrated optimization model for the geospatial arrangement and cost minimization of wind-power generation–transmission–delivery infrastructure. Given a set of possible wind-farm sites, the model simultaneously determines (1) where and how much power to generate and (2) where to build new transmission infrastructure and with what capacity in order to minimize the cost for delivering a targeted amount of power to load. Costs and routing of transmission lines consider geographic and social constraints as well as electricity losses. We apply our model to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Interconnection, considering scenarios that deliver up to 20 GW of new wind power. We show that SimWIND could potentially reduce ERCOT's projected ∼$5B transmission network upgrade line length and associated costs by 50%. These results suggest that SimWIND's coupled generation–transmission–delivery modeling approach could play a critical role in enhancing planning efforts and reducing costs for wind energy integration. - Highlights: ► Wind power is limited by transmission capacity between resources and demands. ► SimWIND is a coupled generation-transmission-delivery model for wind infrastructure. ► The model minimizes costs considering realistic transmission routing and networking. ► We show that SimWIND could save 50% of $5B costs for expanding the Texas grid. ► Results suggest SimWIND may play a critical role in enhancings wind planning efforts.

Developing a concept of social-ecological-technological systems to characterize resilience of urban areas and infrastructure to extreme events

Science.gov (United States)

Chester, M.; Grimm, N. B.; Redman, C.; Miller, T.; McPherson, T.; Munoz-Erickson, T.; Chandler, D. G.

2015-12-01

Climate change is widely considered one of the greatest challenges to global sustainability, with extreme events being the most immediate way that people experience this phenomenon. Urban areas are particularly vulnerable to these events given their location, concentration of people, and increasingly complex and interdependent infrastructure. We are developing a conceptual framework for urban social-ecological-technological systems (SETS) that will allow researchers and practitioners to assess how infrastructure can be resilient, provide ecosystem services, improve social well being, and exploit new technologies in ways that benefit urban populations. The framework integrates the three domains of social and equity issues, environmental quality and protection, and technical/engineering aspects, to form a concept of infrastructure that occurs at the intersection of the domains. Examples show how the more common socioecological systems and socially sensitive engineering approaches that fail to incorporate the third dimension may elevate vulnerability to climate-related disaster. The SETS conceptual framework bridges currently siloed social science, environmental science, and engineering approaches to significantly advance research into the structure, function, and emergent properties of SETS. Extreme events like heat waves in Phoenix; coastal and urban flooding in the wake of superstorm Sandy and following hurricanes in Miami, FL; drought in Mexico; and urban flooding in Baltimore, Portland, San Juan PR, Syracuse, and Valdivia, Chile provide examples of the impacts of and vulnerability to extreme events that demand a new approach. The infrastructure of the future must be resilient, leverage ecosystem services, improve social well being, and exploit new technologies in ways that benefit all segments of urban populations and are appropriate to the particular urban contexts. These contexts are defined not only by the biophysical environment but also by culture and