WorldWideScience

Sample records for integrates existing approaches

  1. A District Approach to Building Renovation for the Integral Energy Redevelopment of Existing Residential Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mira Conci

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Building energy renovation quotas are not currently being met due to unfavorable conditions such as complex building regulations, limited investment incentives, historical preservation priorities, and technical limitations. The traditional strategy has been to incrementally lower the energy consumption of the building stock, instead of raising the efficiency of the energy supply through a broader use of renewable sources. This strategy requires an integral redefinition of the approach to energy building renovations. The joint project SWIVT elaborates on a district redevelopment strategy that combines a reduction in the energy demand of existing buildings and their physical interconnection within a local micro-grid and heating network. The district is equipped with energy generation and distribution technologies as well as hybrid thermal and electrical energy storage systems, steered by an optimizing energy management controller. This strategy is explored through three scenarios designed for an existing residential area in Darmstadt, Germany, and benchmarked against measured data. Presented findings show that a total primary energy balance at least 30% lower than that of a standard building renovation can be achieved by a cluster of buildings with different thermal qualities and connected energy generation, conversion, and storage systems, with only minimal physical intervention to existing buildings.

  2. Twelve recommendations for integrating existing systematic reviews into new reviews: EPC guidance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Karen A; Chou, Roger; Berkman, Nancy D; Newberry, Sydne J; Fu, Rongwei; Hartling, Lisa; Dryden, Donna; Butler, Mary; Foisy, Michelle; Anderson, Johanna; Motu'apuaka, Makalapua; Relevo, Rose; Guise, Jeanne-Marie; Chang, Stephanie

    2016-02-01

    As time and cost constraints in the conduct of systematic reviews increase, the need to consider the use of existing systematic reviews also increases. We developed guidance on the integration of systematic reviews into new reviews. A workgroup of methodologists from Evidence-based Practice Centers developed consensus-based recommendations. Discussions were informed by a literature scan and by interviews with organizations that conduct systematic reviews. Twelve recommendations were developed addressing selecting reviews, assessing risk of bias, qualitative and quantitative synthesis, and summarizing and assessing body of evidence. We provide preliminary guidance for an efficient and unbiased approach to integrating existing systematic reviews with primary studies in a new review. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Non-existence criteria for Laurent polynomial first integrals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaoyun Shi

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we derived some simple criteria for non-existence and partial non-existence Laurent polynomial first integrals for a general nonlinear systems of ordinary differential equations $\\dot x = f(x$, $x \\in \\mathbb{R}^n$ with $f(0 = 0$. We show that if the eigenvalues of the Jacobi matrix of the vector field $f(x$ are $\\mathbb{Z}$-independent, then the system has no nontrivial Laurent polynomial integrals.

  4. Integrated systems approach to meet the insider threat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnes, L.D.

    1985-01-01

    This paper describes an approach to mitigating the insider threat by integrating and supplementing existing data systems and procedures without placing an undue burden on plant management and operating personnel. Nuclear facilities have plans to deal with any forseeable chain of events, and long-term records of activities are maintained to verify that the requirements are met. The integrated systems approach proposed in this paper does not change established facility practices; rather, the approach attempts to utilize the information generated by the system. This will provide real-time interaction between the documented work permits, the operating procedure system, and the security system so that controlled access authorizations are based on a need to enter and access is limited to specific times and places

  5. Existing Approaches to Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Education and Training for Health Professionals: Findings from an Integrative Literature Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kako, Mayumi; Hammad, Karen; Mitani, Satoko; Arbon, Paul

    2018-04-01

    This review was conducted to explore the literature to determine the availability, content, and evaluation of existing chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) education programs for health professionals. An integrative review of the international literature describing disaster education for CBRN (2004-2016) was conducted. The following relevant databases were searched: Proquest, Pubmed, Science Direct, Scopus, Journals @ OVID, Google Scholar, Medline, and Ichuschi ver. 5 (Japanese database for health professionals). The search terms used were: "disaster," "chemical," "biological," "radiological," "nuclear," "CBRN," "health professional education," and "method." The following Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms, "education," "nursing," "continuing," "disasters," "disaster planning," and "bioterrorism," were used wherever possible and appropriate. The retrieved articles were narratively analyzed according to availability, content, and method. The content was thematically analyzed to provide an overview of the core content of the training. The literature search identified 619 potentially relevant articles for this study. Duplicates (n=104) were removed and 87 articles were identified for title review. In total, 67 articles were discarded, yielding 20 articles for all-text review, following 11 studies were retained for analysis, including one Japanese study. All articles published in English were from the USA, apart from the two studies located in Japan and Sweden. The most typical content in the selected literature was CBRN theory (n=11), followed by studies based on incident command (n=8), decontamination (n=7), disaster management (n=7), triage (n=7), personal protective equipment (PPE) use (n = 5), and post-training briefing (n=3). While the CBRN training course requires the participants to gain specific skills and knowledge, proposed training courses should be effectively constructed to include approaches such as scenario-based simulations

  6. Connecting the Dots Downunder Towards An Integrated Institutional Approach To Digital Content Management

    CERN Document Server

    Harboe-Ree, Cathrine

    2004-01-01

    There is a growing interest among academic institutions in managing institutional digital content produced in and for research, teaching and learning. This article argues for an integrated approach to this activity and examines the role of libraries in facilitating this. It then considers some existing approaches to providing software to support this. Australian initiatives consistent with this integrated model are then discussed.

  7. Integrating existing software toolkits into VO system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Chenzhou; Zhao, Yong-Heng; Wang, Xiaoqian; Sang, Jian; Luo, Ze

    2004-09-01

    Virtual Observatory (VO) is a collection of interoperating data archives and software tools. Taking advantages of the latest information technologies, it aims to provide a data-intensively online research environment for astronomers all around the world. A large number of high-qualified astronomical software packages and libraries are powerful and easy of use, and have been widely used by astronomers for many years. Integrating those toolkits into the VO system is a necessary and important task for the VO developers. VO architecture greatly depends on Grid and Web services, consequently the general VO integration route is "Java Ready - Grid Ready - VO Ready". In the paper, we discuss the importance of VO integration for existing toolkits and discuss the possible solutions. We introduce two efforts in the field from China-VO project, "gImageMagick" and "Galactic abundance gradients statistical research under grid environment". We also discuss what additional work should be done to convert Grid service to VO service.

  8. Evaluation of the integrity of existing NFS waste tanks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1977-12-01

    Various means of investigating the integrity of the existing NFS waste tanks are presented, including: visual inspection, ultrasonic testing, acoustic-emission monitoring, radiography, and forced-vibration testing. The experience that exists in performing such investigations of high-level radioactive waste tanks is documented, including: visual inspections, photography, wall-thickness measurements, and forced-vibration testing. An evaluation is made on the relative merits of the presented inspection and testing alternatives

  9. An integrated graphic–taxonomic–associative approach to analyze human factors in aviation accidents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gong Lei

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Human factors are critical causes of modern aviation accidents. However, existing accident analysis methods encounter limitations in addressing aviation human factors, especially in complex accident scenarios. The existing graphic approaches are effective for describing accident mechanisms within various categories of human factors, but cannot simultaneously describe inadequate human–aircraft–environment interactions and organizational deficiencies effectively, and highly depend on analysts’ skills and experiences. Moreover, the existing methods do not emphasize latent unsafe factors outside accidents. This paper focuses on the above three limitations and proposes an integrated graphic–taxonomic–associative approach. A new graphic model named accident tree (AcciTree, with a two-mode structure and a reaction-based concept, is developed for accident modeling and safety defense identification. The AcciTree model is then integrated with the well-established human factors analysis and classification system (HFACS to enhance both reliability of the graphic part and logicality of the taxonomic part for improving completeness of analysis. An associative hazard analysis technique is further put forward to extend analysis to factors outside accidents, to form extended safety requirements for proactive accident prevention. Two crash examples, a research flight demonstrator by our team and an industrial unmanned aircraft, illustrate that the integrated approach is effective for identifying more unsafe factors and safety requirements.

  10. STAR Online Meta-Data Collection Framework: Integration with the Pre-existing Controls Infrastructure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arkhipkin, D.; Lauret, J.

    2017-10-01

    One of the STAR experiment’s modular Messaging Interface and Reliable Architecture framework (MIRA) integration goals is to provide seamless and automatic connections with the existing control systems. After an initial proof of concept and operation of the MIRA system as a parallel data collection system for online use and real-time monitoring, the STAR Software and Computing group is now working on the integration of Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) with MIRA’s interfaces. This integration goals are to allow functional interoperability and, later on, to replace the existing/legacy Detector Control System components at the service level. In this report, we describe the evolutionary integration process and, as an example, will discuss the EPICS Alarm Handler conversion. We review the complete upgrade procedure starting with the integration of EPICS-originated alarm signals propagation into MIRA, followed by the replacement of the existing operator interface based on Motif Editor and Display Manager (MEDM) with modern portable web-based Alarm Handler interface. To achieve this aim, we have built an EPICS-to-MQTT [8] bridging service, and recreated the functionality of the original Alarm Handler using low-latency web messaging technologies. The integration of EPICS alarm handling into our messaging framework allowed STAR to improve the DCS alarm awareness of existing STAR DAQ and RTS services, which use MIRA as a primary source of experiment control information.

  11. Integration of 128 channels for monitoring, acquisition and control with existing LHCD DAC system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joshi, Ramesh; Virani, Chetan; Wadhwani, Archana; Sharma, P.K.

    2015-01-01

    Lower Hybrid Current Drive (LHCD) data acquisition system needs to be upgraded for additional channel requirement. The existing VME based DAC has been used since long with 32 analog input channels for data monitoring and control. Additional 128 channels require integrating with existing DAC. There are four layers of waveguides which deliver final output power into tokamak. Each layer requires 32 channels for power measurement. For the same requirement 128 analog input channels have been integrated with the help of carrier board and IP modules. Acromag IP330 modules have been procured and finally integrated with additional carrier board with existing VME hardware. Each module provides 32 analog input channels. Device driver has been developed for each module and integrated with existing program. LHCD DAC system has been upgraded with additional 128 channels requirement. It has been successfully testing with recent SST-1 campaign. (author)

  12. Spatial Data Integration Using Ontology-Based Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasani, S.; Sadeghi-Niaraki, A.; Jelokhani-Niaraki, M.

    2015-12-01

    In today's world, the necessity for spatial data for various organizations is becoming so crucial that many of these organizations have begun to produce spatial data for that purpose. In some circumstances, the need to obtain real time integrated data requires sustainable mechanism to process real-time integration. Case in point, the disater management situations that requires obtaining real time data from various sources of information. One of the problematic challenges in the mentioned situation is the high degree of heterogeneity between different organizations data. To solve this issue, we introduce an ontology-based method to provide sharing and integration capabilities for the existing databases. In addition to resolving semantic heterogeneity, better access to information is also provided by our proposed method. Our approach is consisted of three steps, the first step is identification of the object in a relational database, then the semantic relationships between them are modelled and subsequently, the ontology of each database is created. In a second step, the relative ontology will be inserted into the database and the relationship of each class of ontology will be inserted into the new created column in database tables. Last step is consisted of a platform based on service-oriented architecture, which allows integration of data. This is done by using the concept of ontology mapping. The proposed approach, in addition to being fast and low cost, makes the process of data integration easy and the data remains unchanged and thus takes advantage of the legacy application provided.

  13. SPATIAL DATA INTEGRATION USING ONTOLOGY-BASED APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Hasani

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In today's world, the necessity for spatial data for various organizations is becoming so crucial that many of these organizations have begun to produce spatial data for that purpose. In some circumstances, the need to obtain real time integrated data requires sustainable mechanism to process real-time integration. Case in point, the disater management situations that requires obtaining real time data from various sources of information. One of the problematic challenges in the mentioned situation is the high degree of heterogeneity between different organizations data. To solve this issue, we introduce an ontology-based method to provide sharing and integration capabilities for the existing databases. In addition to resolving semantic heterogeneity, better access to information is also provided by our proposed method. Our approach is consisted of three steps, the first step is identification of the object in a relational database, then the semantic relationships between them are modelled and subsequently, the ontology of each database is created. In a second step, the relative ontology will be inserted into the database and the relationship of each class of ontology will be inserted into the new created column in database tables. Last step is consisted of a platform based on service-oriented architecture, which allows integration of data. This is done by using the concept of ontology mapping. The proposed approach, in addition to being fast and low cost, makes the process of data integration easy and the data remains unchanged and thus takes advantage of the legacy application provided.

  14. Complementarities of two existing intermediate conservation approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergei Volis

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The need for integration of ex situ and in situ approaches in conservation of plants has long been recognized. However, ex situ collections have numerous limitations that reduce their utility for conservation, necessitating the introduction of new, more appropriate, flexible and less costly approaches. Two new approaches that can be called “intermediate” between in situ and ex situ, and bridging them in some way have been proposed over the last two decades. In these approaches material collected in natural populations is planted and maintained outside the original location, but with a different purpose. While the purpose of the inter situs approach is reintroduction, the concern of the quasi in situ approach is long-term storage of species genetic diversity. I view these two approaches as complementary and necessary components of conservation-oriented restoration. In restoration of a degraded habitat using threatened species (i.e. inter situs, quasi in situ collections can serve an important role in providing long-term preservation of these species’ genetic diversity and production of seeds needed for restoration.

  15. Project INTEGRATE - a common methodological approach to understand integrated health care in Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucinda Cash-Gibson

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: The use of case studies in health services research has proven to be an excellent methodology for gaining in-depth understanding of the organisation and delivery of health care. This is particularly relevant when looking at the complexity of integrated healthcare programmes, where multifaceted interactions occur at the different levels of care and often without a clear link between the interventions (new and/or existing and their impact on outcomes (in terms of patients health, both patient and professional satisfaction and cost-effectiveness. Still, integrated care is seen as a core strategy in the sustainability of health and care provision in most societies in Europe and beyond. More specifically, at present, there is neither clear evidence on transferable factors of integrated care success nor a method for determining how to establish these specific success factors. The drawback of case methodology in this case, however, is that the in-depth results or lessons generated are usually highly context-specific and thus brings the challenge of transferability of findings to other settings, as different health care systems and different indications are often not comparable. Project INTEGRATE, a European Commission-funded project, has been designed to overcome these problems; it looks into four chronic conditions in different European settings, under a common methodology framework (taking a mixed-methods approach to try to overcome the issue of context specificity and limited transferability. The common methodological framework described in this paper seeks to bring together the different case study findings in a way that key lessons may be derived and transferred between countries, contexts and patient-groups, where integrated care is delivered in order to provide insight into generalisability and build on existing evidence in this field.Methodology: To compare the different integrated care experiences, a mixed-methods approach has

  16. Integration of existing systematic reviews into new reviews: identification of guidance needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background An exponential increase in the number of systematic reviews published, and constrained resources for new reviews, means that there is an urgent need for guidance on explicitly and transparently integrating existing reviews into new systematic reviews. The objectives of this paper are: 1) to identify areas where existing guidance may be adopted or adapted, and 2) to suggest areas for future guidance development. Methods We searched documents and websites from healthcare focused systematic review organizations to identify and, where available, to summarize relevant guidance on the use of existing systematic reviews. We conducted informational interviews with members of Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs) to gather experiences in integrating existing systematic reviews, including common issues and challenges, as well as potential solutions. Results There was consensus among systematic review organizations and the EPCs about some aspects of incorporating existing systematic reviews into new reviews. Current guidance may be used in assessing the relevance of prior reviews and in scanning references of prior reviews to identify studies for a new review. However, areas of challenge remain. Areas in need of guidance include how to synthesize, grade the strength of, and present bodies of evidence composed of primary studies and existing systematic reviews. For instance, empiric evidence is needed regarding how to quality check data abstraction and when and how to use study-level risk of bias assessments from prior reviews. Conclusions There remain areas of uncertainty for how to integrate existing systematic reviews into new reviews. Methods research and consensus processes among systematic review organizations are needed to develop guidance to address these challenges. PMID:24956937

  17. The Effect of Integrated Learning-Teaching Approach on Reading Comprehension and Narration Skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ergün Hamzadayı

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the effects of integrated learning-teaching approach on reading comprehension and narration skills. Considerations regarding how to overcome difficulties in the teaching of Turkish language through multi-theoretical perspectives have resulted in this approach to come into the existence. For the purpose of forming theoretical foundations of the research, behaviourist, cognitive and constructivist learning theories with their philosophical foundations were introduced, their principals and assumptions with regard to instructional design were compared, and their strengths and weakness were delineated. These considerations were then associated with the components of Turkish language program (content, objectives, teaching strategies and methods, assessment and that paved way for “integrative learning and teaching approach” to come into being. This study aimed to investigate whether there is a significant difference between the performance of the experimental group students who were exposed to integrative learning and teaching approach and that of control group students who were not exposed to integrative learning and teaching approach in terms of reading comprehension and written expression skills in Turkish language

  18. How to Deliver Open Sustainable Innovation: An Integrated Approach for a Sustainable Marketable Product

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Cappa

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The adoption of open innovation and peer production, powered by 3D printing technology, is transforming traditional manufacturing methods towards a “third industrial revolution”. The purpose of this research is to provide empirical evidence for an integrated approach, based on collaborative product development and peer production, combined with 3D printing, to deliver more sustainable, yet competitive, marketable products. In particular, this experimental study is conducted in the context of mobile forensics, an emerging market where limited expensive products exist and alternative solutions are needed. The technical viability and economic feasibility of the prototype developed in this research validate the proposed integrated approach, which could be a game-changer in the field of mobile forensics, as well as in other sectors. The sustainability improvements with this approach are a reduction of the total cost, thereby making it affordable for lower income users, and a decrease in energy consumption and pollutant emissions. The validated integrated approach offers start-up opportunities to develop and deliver more sustainable, marketable products, towards the paradigm of Open Sustainable Innovation. While the device developed and tested in this research has similar features to existing products, the methodology, implementation, and motivation are original.

  19. An Adaptive Intelligent Integrated Lighting Control Approach for High-Performance Office Buildings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karizi, Nasim

    An acute and crucial societal problem is the energy consumed in existing commercial buildings. There are 1.5 million commercial buildings in the U.S. with only about 3% being built each year. Hence, existing buildings need to be properly operated and maintained for several decades. Application of integrated centralized control systems in buildings could lead to more than 50% energy savings. This research work demonstrates an innovative adaptive integrated lighting control approach which could achieve significant energy savings and increase indoor comfort in high performance office buildings. In the first phase of the study, a predictive algorithm was developed and validated through experiments in an actual test room. The objective was to regulate daylight on a specified work plane by controlling the blind slat angles. Furthermore, a sensor-based integrated adaptive lighting controller was designed in Simulink which included an innovative sensor optimization approach based on genetic algorithm to minimize the number of sensors and efficiently place them in the office. The controller was designed based on simple integral controllers. The objective of developed control algorithm was to improve the illuminance situation in the office through controlling the daylight and electrical lighting. To evaluate the performance of the system, the controller was applied on experimental office model in Lee et al.'s research study in 1998. The result of the developed control approach indicate a significantly improvement in lighting situation and 1-23% and 50-78% monthly electrical energy savings in the office model, compared to two static strategies when the blinds were left open and closed during the whole year respectively.

  20. A strategic approach for existing buildings to withstand climate change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn

    2012-01-01

    Buildings play a vital economic and social role in society and are vulnerable to climate change. This paper suggests a strategic approach for existing buildings to withstand climate change. It emphasises the most likely climate impacts, including the change in mean year values as well as the exte...... based on the results of a vulnerability analysis. In addition, this paper describes some issues that must be addressed in case a strategic approach is not developed, as the building sector is continuously investing in measures to adapt to climate change.......Buildings play a vital economic and social role in society and are vulnerable to climate change. This paper suggests a strategic approach for existing buildings to withstand climate change. It emphasises the most likely climate impacts, including the change in mean year values as well as the extent......, the uncertainty of the scenarios leaves major challenges that will grow far more serious, if not addressed and taken into account in building design and into a strategy for the adaptation of existing buildings. An outline of the actions needed for developing a broad strategic approach to the adaptation to climate...

  1. Introduction to solid mechanics an integrated approach

    CERN Document Server

    Lubliner, Jacob

    2014-01-01

    This textbook presents for the first time in one text the concepts and processes covered in statics and mechanics of materials curricula following a systematic, topically integrated approach. Since the turn of the millennium, it has become common in engineering schools to combine the traditional undergraduate offerings in rigid-body statics (usually called “statics”) and deformable body mechanics (known traditionally as “strength of materials” or, more recently, “mechanics of materials”) into a single, introductory course in solid mechanics. Many textbooks for the new course sequentially meld pieces of existing, discrete books—sometimes, but not always, acknowledging the origin—into two halves covering Statics and Mechanics of Materials. In this volume, Professors Lubliner and Papadopoulos methodically combine the essentials of statics and mechanics of materials, illustrating the relationship of concepts throughout, into one "integrated" text. This book also: ·         Offers thorough...

  2. Science based integrated approach to advanced nuclear fuel development - vision, approach, and overview

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Unal, Cetin [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Pasamehmetoglu, Kemal [IDAHO NATIONAL LAB; Carmack, Jon [IDAHO NATIONAL LAB

    2010-01-01

    Advancing the performance of Light Water Reactors, Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles, and Advanced Rcactors, such as the Next Generation Nuclear Power Plants, requires enhancing our fundamental understanding of fuel and materials behavior under irradiation. The capability to accurately model the nuclear fuel systems is critical. In order to understand specific aspects of the nuclear fuel, fully coupled fuel simulation codes are required to achieve licensing of specific nuclear fuel designs for operation. The backbone of these codes, models, and simulations is a fundamental understanding and predictive capability for simulating the phase and microstructural behavior of the nuclear fuel system materials and matrices. The purpose of this paper is to identify the modeling and simulation approach in order to deliver predictive tools for advanced fuels development. The coordination between experimental nuclear fuel design, development technical experts, and computational fuel modeling and simulation technical experts is a critical aspect of the approach and naturally leads to an integrated, goal-oriented science-based R & D approach and strengthens both the experimental and computational efforts. The Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) and Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Fuels Integrated Performance and Safety Code (IPSC) are working together to determine experimental data and modeling needs. The primary objective of the NEAMS fuels IPSC project is to deliver a coupled, three-dimensional, predictive computational platform for modeling the fabrication and both normal and abnormal operation of nuclear fuel pins and assemblies, applicable to both existing and future reactor fuel designs. The science based program is pursuing the development of an integrated multi-scale and multi-physics modeling and simulation platform for nuclear fuels. This overview paper discusses the vision, goals and approaches how to develop and implement the new approach.

  3. Science based integrated approach to advanced nuclear fuel development - vision, approach, and overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Unal, Cetin; Pasamehmetoglu, Kemal; Carmack, Jon

    2010-01-01

    Advancing the performance of Light Water Reactors, Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles, and Advanced Rcactors, such as the Next Generation Nuclear Power Plants, requires enhancing our fundamental understanding of fuel and materials behavior under irradiation. The capability to accurately model the nuclear fuel systems is critical. In order to understand specific aspects of the nuclear fuel, fully coupled fuel simulation codes are required to achieve licensing of specific nuclear fuel designs for operation. The backbone of these codes, models, and simulations is a fundamental understanding and predictive capability for simulating the phase and microstructural behavior of the nuclear fuel system materials and matrices. The purpose of this paper is to identify the modeling and simulation approach in order to deliver predictive tools for advanced fuels development. The coordination between experimental nuclear fuel design, development technical experts, and computational fuel modeling and simulation technical experts is a critical aspect of the approach and naturally leads to an integrated, goal-oriented science-based R and D approach and strengthens both the experimental and computational efforts. The Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) and Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Fuels Integrated Performance and Safety Code (IPSC) are working together to determine experimental data and modeling needs. The primary objective of the NEAMS fuels IPSC project is to deliver a coupled, three-dimensional, predictive computational platform for modeling the fabrication and both normal and abnormal operation of nuclear fuel pins and assemblies, applicable to both existing and future reactor fuel designs. The science based program is pursuing the development of an integrated multi-scale and multi-physics modeling and simulation platform for nuclear fuels. This overview paper discusses the vision, goals and approaches how to develop and implement the new approach.

  4. Integrating UML, the Q-model and a Multi-Agent Approach in Process Specifications and Behavioural Models of Organisations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raul Savimaa

    2005-08-01

    Full Text Available Efficient estimation and representation of an organisation's behaviour requires specification of business processes and modelling of actors' behaviour. Therefore the existing classical approaches that concentrate only on planned processes are not suitable and an approach that integrates process specifications with behavioural models of actors should be used instead. The present research indicates that a suitable approach should be based on interactive computing. This paper examines the integration of UML diagrams for process specifications, the Q-model specifications for modelling timing criteria of existing and planned processes and a multi-agent approach for simulating non-deterministic behaviour of human actors in an organisation. The corresponding original methodology is introduced and some of its applications as case studies are reviewed.

  5. Large-scale integration of wind power into the existing Chinese energy system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Wen; Lund, Henrik; Mathiesen, Brian Vad

    2011-01-01

    stability, the maximum feasible wind power penetration in the existing Chinese energy system is approximately 26% from both technical and economic points of view. A fuel efficiency decrease occurred when increasing wind power penetration in the system, due to its rigid power supply structure and the task......This paper presents the ability of the existing Chinese energy system to integrate wind power and explores how the Chinese energy system needs to prepare itself in order to integrate more fluctuating renewable energy in the future. With this purpose in mind, a model of the Chinese energy system has...... been constructed by using EnergyPLAN based on the year 2007, which has then been used for investigating three issues. Firstly, the accuracy of the model itself has been examined and then the maximum feasible wind power penetration in the existing energy system has been identified. Finally, barriers...

  6. 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

  7. A unifying approach to existence of Nash equilibria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Balder, E.J.

    1997-01-01

    An approach initiated in [4] is shown to unify results about the existence of (i) Nash equilibria in games with at most countably many players, (ii) Cournot-Nash equilibrium distributions for large, anonymous games, and (iii) Nash equilibria (both mixed and pure) for continuum games. A new, central

  8. Integrated Approach Model of Risk, Control and Auditing of Accounting Information Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudiu BRANDAS

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The use of IT in the financial and accounting processes is growing fast and this leads to an increase in the research and professional concerns about the risks, control and audit of Ac-counting Information Systems (AIS. In this context, the risk and control of AIS approach is a central component of processes for IT audit, financial audit and IT Governance. Recent studies in the literature on the concepts of risk, control and auditing of AIS outline two approaches: (1 a professional approach in which we can fit ISA, COBIT, IT Risk, COSO and SOX, and (2 a research oriented approach in which we emphasize research on continuous auditing and fraud using information technology. Starting from the limits of existing approaches, our study is aimed to developing and testing an Integrated Approach Model of Risk, Control and Auditing of AIS on three cycles of business processes: purchases cycle, sales cycle and cash cycle in order to improve the efficiency of IT Governance, as well as ensuring integrity, reality, accuracy and availability of financial statements.

  9. Integrated approaches to perceptual learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Robert A

    2010-04-01

    New technologies and new ways of thinking have recently led to rapid expansions in the study of perceptual learning. We describe three themes shared by many of the nine articles included in this topic on Integrated Approaches to Perceptual Learning. First, perceptual learning cannot be studied on its own because it is closely linked to other aspects of cognition, such as attention, working memory, decision making, and conceptual knowledge. Second, perceptual learning is sensitive to both the stimulus properties of the environment in which an observer exists and to the properties of the tasks that the observer needs to perform. Moreover, the environmental and task properties can be characterized through their statistical regularities. Finally, the study of perceptual learning has important implications for society, including implications for science education and medical rehabilitation. Contributed articles relevant to each theme are summarized. Copyright © 2010 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  10. An Integrated Approach for RNA-seq Data Normalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Shengping; Mercante, Donald E; Zhang, Kun; Fang, Zhide

    2016-01-01

    DNA copy number alteration is common in many cancers. Studies have shown that insertion or deletion of DNA sequences can directly alter gene expression, and significant correlation exists between DNA copy number and gene expression. Data normalization is a critical step in the analysis of gene expression generated by RNA-seq technology. Successful normalization reduces/removes unwanted nonbiological variations in the data, while keeping meaningful information intact. However, as far as we know, no attempt has been made to adjust for the variation due to DNA copy number changes in RNA-seq data normalization. In this article, we propose an integrated approach for RNA-seq data normalization. Comparisons show that the proposed normalization can improve power for downstream differentially expressed gene detection and generate more biologically meaningful results in gene profiling. In addition, our findings show that due to the effects of copy number changes, some housekeeping genes are not always suitable internal controls for studying gene expression. Using information from DNA copy number, integrated approach is successful in reducing noises due to both biological and nonbiological causes in RNA-seq data, thus increasing the accuracy of gene profiling.

  11. Integrated testing strategies for toxicity employing new and existing technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Combes, Robert D; Balls, Michael

    2011-07-01

    We have developed individual, integrated testing strategies (ITS) for predicting the toxicity of general chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, inhaled chemicals, and nanoparticles. These ITS are based on published schemes developed previously for the risk assessment of chemicals to fulfil the requirements of REACH, which have been updated to take account of the latest developments in advanced in chemico modelling and in vitro technologies. In addition, we propose an ITS for neurotoxicity, based on the same principles, for incorporation in the other ITS. The technologies are deployed in a step-wise manner, as a basis for decision-tree approaches, incorporating weight-of-evidence stages. This means that testing can be stopped at the point where a risk assessment and/or classification can be performed, with labelling in accordance with the requirements of the regulatory authority concerned, rather than following a checklist approach to hazard identification. In addition, the strategies are intelligent, in that they are based on the fundamental premise that there is no hazard in the absence of exposure - which is why pharmacokinetic modelling plays a key role in each ITS. The new technologies include the use of complex, three-dimensional human cell tissue culture systems with in vivo-like structural, physiological and biochemical features, as well as dosing conditions. In this way, problems of inter-species extrapolation and in vitro/in vivo extrapolation are minimised. This is reflected in the ITS placing more emphasis on the use of volunteers at the whole organism testing stage, rather than on existing animal testing, which is the current situation. 2011 FRAME.

  12. Reframing Our Approach to Doctoral Programs: An Integrative Framework for Action and Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAlpine, Lynn; Norton, Judith

    2006-01-01

    A serious problem exists in the academic world, namely doctoral education attrition rates that approach 50% in some disciplines. Yet, calls for action have generally been "ad hoc" rather than theory driven. Further, research has not been conceived and implemented with sufficient breadth to integrate factors influencing the outcomes across the…

  13. The potential of landscape labelling approaches for integrated landscape management in Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mann, Carsten; Plieninger, Tobias

    2017-01-01

    This paper combines conceptual thinking and empirical analysis of landscape labelling as a new governance approach. With the help of a literature review and qualitative interviews, we (1) explore the conceptual orientation of landscape labelling, (2) analyse existing approaches in Europe and (3......) elaborate its potential for integrated landscape management on a regional scale. Governance analysis to identify fostering and hindering factors is carried out for regional brands in biosphere reserves in Germany, geographic indication in Spain, organic agriculture in France and a community forest...... approach within policy mixes that depend on supportive governance structures and stakeholders....

  14. Regulatory Approaches for Adding Capacity to Existing Hydropower Facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levine, Aaron L. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Curtis, Taylor L. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Kazerooni, Borna [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2017-10-24

    In 2015, hydroelectric generation accounted for more than 6 percent of total net electricity generation in the United States and 46 percent of electricity generation from all renewables. The United States has considerable hydroelectric potential beyond what is already being developed. Nearly 7 GW of this potential is found by adding capacity to existing hydropower facilities. To optimize the value of hydroelectric generation, the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydropower Vision Study highlights the importance of adding capacity to existing facilities. This report provides strategic approaches and considerations for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensed and exempt hydropower facilities seeking to increase generation capacity, which may include increases from efficiency upgrades. The regulatory approaches reviewed for this report include capacity and non-capacity amendments, adding capacity during relicensing, and adding capacity when converting a license to a 10-MW exemption.

  15. 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.

  16. Field visit placements: An integrated and community approach to learning in children's nursing.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Cummins, Ann

    2010-03-01

    This paper reports on the development of a new initiative, field visit placements towards and integrated and community approach to learning for nursing students. To date, limited literature exists on the potential of community field visits as meaningful learning opportunities for nursing students. Drawing on our experiences, the structure and processes involved in implementing field visits are described in this paper. Students evaluated the field visits positively indicating that they provided a wealth of learning opportunities that enhanced their knowledge and awareness of services available to children and their families in the community. The potential of field visits to promote an integrated and community approach to placements in children\\'s nursing is discussed.

  17. The disposition of nuclear waste: an integrated international approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waltar, A.E.

    2001-01-01

    This paper proposes the establishment of a new, globally integrated approach for dealing with spent nuclear fuel (SNF), high-level waste, and plutonium supplies. The end product is envisioned to be a new global agency (tentatively called the International Nuclear Waste Authority, or INWA), which would have the authority to establish and enforce all nuclear waste disposal standards and subsequently execute all financial arrangements appropriate for obtaining full-scale global implementation. We suggest the IAEA as the logical existing organization to facilitate generating the structure for the INWA. (author)

  18. Overview of integrative assessment of marine systems: the Ecosystem Approach in practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angel eBorja

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Traditional and emerging human activities are increasingly putting pressures on marine ecosystems and impacting their ability to sustain ecological and human communities. To evaluate the health status of marine ecosystems we need a science-based, integrated Ecosystem Approach, that incorporates knowledge of ecosystem function and services provided that can be used to track how management decisions change the health of marine ecosystems. Although many methods have been developed to assess the status of single components of the ecosystem, few exist for assessing multiple ecosystem components in a holistic way. To undertake such an integrative assessment, it is necessary to understand the response of marine systems to human pressures. Hence, innovative monitoring is needed to obtain data to determine the health of large marine areas, and in an holistic way. Here we review five existing methods that address both of these needs (monitoring and assessment: the Ecosystem Health Assessment Tool; a method for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in the Bay of Biscay; the Ocean Health Index; the Marine Biodiversity Assessment Tool; and the Nested Environmental status Assessment Tool. We have highlighted their main characteristics and analyzing their commonalities and differences, in terms of: use of the Ecosystem Approach; inclusion of multiple components in the assessment; use of reference conditions; use of integrative assessments; use of a range of values to capture the status; weighting ecosystem components when integrating; determine the uncertainty; ensure spatial and temporal comparability; use of robust monitoring approaches; and address pressures and impacts. Ultimately, for any ecosystem assessment to be effective it needs to be: transparent and repeatable and, in order to inform marine management, the results should be easy to communicate to wide audiences, including scientists, managers and policymakers.

  19. The Integration of DCS I/O to an Existing PLC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadhukhan, Debashis; Mihevic, John

    2013-01-01

    At the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), Existing Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) I/O was replaced with Distributed Control System (DCS) I/O, while keeping the existing PLC sequence Logic. The reason for integration of the PLC logic and DCS I/O, along with the evaluation of the resulting system is the subject of this paper. The pros and cons of the old system and new upgrade are described, including operator workstation screen update times. Detail of the physical layout and the communication between the PLC, the DCS I/O and the operator workstations are illustrated. The complex characteristics of a central process control system and the plan to remove the PLC processors in future upgrades is also discussed.

  20. A Planning Approach of Engineering Characteristics Based on QFD-TRIZ Integrated

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shang; Shi, Dongyan; Zhang, Ying

    Traditional QFD planning method compromises contradictions between engineering characteristics to achieve higher customer satisfaction. However, this compromise trade-off can not eliminate the contradictions existing among the engineering characteristics which limited the overall customer satisfaction. QFD (Quality function deployment) integrated with TRIZ (the Russian acronym of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) becomes hot research recently for TRIZ can be used to solve contradictions between engineering characteristics which construct the roof of HOQ (House of quality). But, the traditional QFD planning approach is not suitable for QFD integrated with TRIZ for that TRIZ requires emphasizing the contradictions between engineering characteristics at problem definition stage instead of compromising trade-off. So, a new planning approach based on QFD / TRIZ integration is proposed in this paper, which based on the consideration of the correlation matrix of engineering characteristics and customer satisfaction on the basis of cost. The proposed approach suggests that TRIZ should be applied to solve contradictions at the first step, and the correlation matrix of engineering characteristics should be amended at the second step, and at next step IFR (ideal final result) must be validated, then planning execute. An example is used to illustrate the proposed approach. The application indicated that higher customer satisfaction can be met and the contradictions between the characteristic parameters are eliminated.

  1. Ray-based approach to integrated 3D visual communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naemura, Takeshi; Harashima, Hiroshi

    2001-02-01

    For a high sense of reality in the next-generation communications, it is very important to realize three-dimensional (3D) spatial media, instead of existing 2D image media. In order to comprehensively deal with a variety of 3D visual data formats, the authors first introduce the concept of "Integrated 3D Visual Communication," which reflects the necessity of developing a neutral representation method independent of input/output systems. Then, the following discussions are concentrated on the ray-based approach to this concept, in which any visual sensation is considered to be derived from a set of light rays. This approach is a simple and straightforward to the problem of how to represent 3D space, which is an issue shared by various fields including 3D image communications, computer graphics, and virtual reality. This paper mainly presents the several developments in this approach, including some efficient methods of representing ray data, a real-time video-based rendering system, an interactive rendering system based on the integral photography, a concept of virtual object surface for the compression of tremendous amount of data, and a light ray capturing system using a telecentric lens. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques.

  2. Fast mapping rapidly integrates information into existing memory networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coutanche, Marc N; Thompson-Schill, Sharon L

    2014-12-01

    Successful learning involves integrating new material into existing memory networks. A learning procedure known as fast mapping (FM), thought to simulate the word-learning environment of children, has recently been linked to distinct neuroanatomical substrates in adults. This idea has suggested the (never-before tested) hypothesis that FM may promote rapid incorporation into cortical memory networks. We test this hypothesis here in 2 experiments. In our 1st experiment, we introduced 50 participants to 16 unfamiliar animals and names through FM or explicit encoding (EE) and tested participants on the training day, and again after sleep. Learning through EE produced strong declarative memories, without immediate lexical competition, as expected from slow-consolidation models. Learning through FM, however, led to almost immediate lexical competition, which continued to the next day. Additionally, the learned words began to prime related concepts on the day following FM (but not EE) training. In a 2nd experiment, we replicated the lexical integration results and determined that presenting an already-known item during learning was crucial for rapid integration through FM. The findings presented here indicate that learned items can be integrated into cortical memory networks at an accelerated rate through fast mapping. The retrieval of a related known concept, in order to infer the target of the FM question, is critical for this effect. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  3. Integrating the bottom-up and top-down approach to energy economy modelling. The case of Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klinge Jacobsen, Henrik

    1998-01-01

    This paper presents results from an integration project covering Danish models based on bottom-up and top-down approaches to energy]economy modelling. The purpose of the project was to identify theoretical and methodological problems for integrating existing models for Denmark and to implement...... an integration of the models. The integration was established through a number of links between energy bottom-up modules and a macroeconomic model. In this integrated model it is possible to analyse both top-down instruments, such as taxes along with bottom-up instruments, such as regulation of technology...

  4. Sustaining high energy efficiency in existing processes with advanced process integration technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Nan; Smith, Robin; Bulatov, Igor; Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Process integration with better modelling and more advanced solution methods. ► Operational changes for better environmental performance through optimisation. ► Identification of process integration technology for operational optimisation. ► Systematic implementation procedure of process integration technology. ► A case study with crude oil distillation to demonstrate the operational flexibility. -- Abstract: To reduce emissions in the process industry, much emphasis has been put on making step changes in emission reduction, by developing new process technology and making renewable energy more affordable. However, the energy saving potential of existing systems cannot be simply ignored. In recent years, there have been significant advances in process integration technology with better modelling techniques and more advanced solution methods. These methods have been applied to the new design and retrofit studies in the process industry. Here attempts are made to apply these technologies to improve the environmental performance of existing facilities with operational changes. An industrial project was carried out to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of exploiting the operational flexibility for energy conservation. By applying advanced optimisation technique to integrate the operation of distillation and heat recovery in a crude oil distillation unit, the energy consumption was reduced by 8% without capital expenditure. It shows that with correctly identified technology and the proper execution procedure, significant energy savings and emission reduction can be achieved very quickly without major capital expenditure. This allows the industry to improve its economic and environment performance at the same time.

  5. Existence and computation of equilibria of first-price auctions with integral valuations and bids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Escamocher, Guillaume; Miltersen, Peter Bro; Santillan, Rocio

    2009-01-01

    We consider existence and computation of symmetric Pure Strategy Nash Equilibrium (PSNE) in single-item, sealed-bid, first-price auctions with integral valuations and bids. For the most general case, we show that existence of PSNE is NP-hard. Then, we present algorithmic results for the case...

  6. Variational Approaches for the Existence of Multiple Periodic Solutions of Differential Delay Equations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rong Cheng

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The existence of multiple periodic solutions of the following differential delay equation (=−((− is established by applying variational approaches directly, where ∈ℝ, ∈(ℝ,ℝ and >0 is a given constant. This means that we do not need to use Kaplan and Yorke's reduction technique to reduce the existence problem of the above equation to an existence problem for a related coupled system. Such a reduction method introduced first by Kaplan and Yorke in (1974 is often employed in previous papers to study the existence of periodic solutions for the above equation and its similar ones by variational approaches.

  7. Evaluating Information System Integration approaches for fixed asset management framework in Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Theophil Assey

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Information systems are developed based on different requirements and different technologies. Integration of these systems is of vital importance as they cannot work in isolation, they need to share and exchange data with other information systems. The Information Systems handle data of different types and formats’, finding a way to make them communicate is important as they need to exchange data during transactions, communication and different aspects which may require their interactions. In Tanzanian Local Government Authorities (LGAs, fixed asset data are not centralized, individual Local Government Authority stores their own data in isolation yet accountability is required through the provision of centralized storage for easy data access and easier data integration with other Information Systems in order to enhance fixed asset accountability. The study was carried out through reviewing of literature on the existing Information System integration approaches in order to identify and propose the best approach to be used in fixed asset management systems in LGA’s in Tanzania. The different approaches which are used for systems integration such as Service Oriented Architecture (SOA, Common Object Request Broker (CORBA, Common Object Model (COM and eXtensible Markup Language (XML were evaluated under the factors considered at the LGA. The XML was preferred over SOA, CORBA and COM because of some challenges in governance, data security, availability of expertise for support, maintenance, implementation cost, performance, compliance with government changing policies and service reliability. The proposed approach integrates data for all the Local Government Authorities at a centralized location and middleware transforms the centralized data into XML so it can easily be used by other Information Systems.

  8. Advancing early detection of autism spectrum disorder by applying an integrated two-stage screening approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oosterling, Iris J.; Wensing, Michel; Swinkels, Sophie H.; van der Gaag, Rutger Jan; Visser, Janne C.; Woudenberg, Tim; Minderaa, Ruud; Steenhuis, Mark-Peter; Buitelaar, Jan K.

    Background: Few field trials exist on the impact of implementing guidelines for the early detection of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The aims of the present study were to develop and evaluate a clinically relevant integrated early detection programme based on the two-stage screening approach of

  9. U.S. and French approaches to reactor pressure vessel integrity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griesbach, T.J.; Buchalet, C.; Server, W.L.

    1990-01-01

    The effects of radiation embrittlement on the reactor pressure vessel must be considered for continued safe operation of nuclear power plants. The consequences of radiation embrittlement require detailed assessments of the margins of safety against brittle fracture of the vessel. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and U.S. Regulations often use conservative approaches for these assessments which can eventually lead to severe operational hardships for some plants. Taking a look at alternative integrity approaches, such as those demonstrated in France, could ultimately result in improved ASME Code and Regulatory limits. The French studies have shown the significance of performing proper in- service inspections to reliably show that no defects larger than a predetermined size (or class) exist in the inspected region of a vessel. The predetermined size is based upon previous studies on the types of manufacturing defects which can potentially exist in French vessels. Enhanced linear elastic and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics methodologies can be applied to evaluate such defects to assure that brittle fracture will not occur

  10. AN ACTIVITY THEORY APPROACH TO STUDY BARRIERS OF FACULTY REGARDING TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Castro Guzman, Willy

    2016-01-01

    technology. Ertmer’s approach establishes first-order and second-orders barriers as hinderers for teacher’s adoption of technology. The study intends to answer what are the barriers existing in the socalled enthusiastic faculty teachers regarding technology integration in Education? Findings call...... dichotomies between enthusiastic-resistant teachers, the intrinsic-extrinsic barriers, and claims for passing from an individual to a collective approach to ICT integration in education......Information and communication technologies are instruments for supporting new ways of teaching and learning. Nevertheless, its impact concerning scope has not reached the expected level. This strain between benefits and impact has been inquired from the perspective of barriers of teachers to use...

  11. 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....

  12. Existence Results for Some Nonlinear Functional-Integral Equations in Banach Algebra with Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lakshmi Narayan Mishra

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In the present manuscript, we prove some results concerning the existence of solutions for some nonlinear functional-integral equations which contains various integral and functional equations that considered in nonlinear analysis and its applications. By utilizing the techniques of noncompactness measures, we operate the fixed point theorems such as Darbo's theorem in Banach algebra concerning the estimate on the solutions. The results obtained in this paper extend and improve essentially some known results in the recent literature. We also provide an example of nonlinear functional-integral equation to show the ability of our main result.

  13. Challenges and opportunities for integrating lake ecosystem modelling approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mooij, Wolf M.; Trolle, Dennis; Jeppesen, Erik; Arhonditsis, George; Belolipetsky, Pavel V.; Chitamwebwa, Deonatus B.R.; Degermendzhy, Andrey G.; DeAngelis, Donald L.; Domis, Lisette N. De Senerpont; Downing, Andrea S.; Elliott, J. Alex; Ruberto, Carlos Ruberto; Gaedke, Ursula; Genova, Svetlana N.; Gulati, Ramesh D.; Hakanson, Lars; Hamilton, David P.; Hipsey, Matthew R.; Hoen, Jochem 't; Hulsmann, Stephan; Los, F. Hans; Makler-Pick, Vardit; Petzoldt, Thomas; Prokopkin, Igor G.; Rinke, Karsten; Schep, Sebastiaan A.; Tominaga, Koji; Van Dam, Anne A.; Van Nes, Egbert H.; Wells, Scott A.; Janse, Jan H.

    2010-01-01

    A large number and wide variety of lake ecosystem models have been developed and published during the past four decades. We identify two challenges for making further progress in this field. One such challenge is to avoid developing more models largely following the concept of others ('reinventing the wheel'). The other challenge is to avoid focusing on only one type of model, while ignoring new and diverse approaches that have become available ('having tunnel vision'). In this paper, we aim at improving the awareness of existing models and knowledge of concurrent approaches in lake ecosystem modelling, without covering all possible model tools and avenues. First, we present a broad variety of modelling approaches. To illustrate these approaches, we give brief descriptions of rather arbitrarily selected sets of specific models. We deal with static models (steady state and regression models), complex dynamic models (CAEDYM, CE-QUAL-W2, Delft 3D-ECO, LakeMab, LakeWeb, MyLake, PCLake, PROTECH, SALMO), structurally dynamic models and minimal dynamic models. We also discuss a group of approaches that could all be classified as individual based: super-individual models (Piscator, Charisma), physiologically structured models, stage-structured models and trait-based models. We briefly mention genetic algorithms, neural networks, Kalman filters and fuzzy logic. Thereafter, we zoom in, as an in-depth example, on the multi-decadal development and application of the lake ecosystem model PCLake and related models (PCLake Metamodel, Lake Shira Model, IPH-TRIM3D-PCLake). In the discussion, we argue that while the historical development of each approach and model is understandable given its 'leading principle', there are many opportunities for combining approaches. We take the point of view that a single 'right' approach does not exist and should not be strived for. Instead, multiple modelling approaches, applied concurrently to a given problem, can help develop an integrative

  14. The Kembs project: environmental integration of a large existing hydropower scheme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garnier, Alain; Barillier, Agnes

    2015-01-01

    The environment was a major issue for the Kembs re-licensing process on the upper Rhine River. Since 1932, Kembs dam derives water from the Rhine River to the 'Grand Canal d'Alsace' (GCA) which is equipped with four hydropower plants (max. diverted flow: 1400 m 3 /s, 630 MW, 3760 GWh/y). The Old Rhine River downstream of the dam is 50 km long and has been strongly affected by works (dikes) since the 19. century for flood protection and navigation, and then by the construction of the dam. Successive engineering works induced morphological simplification and stabilization of the channel pattern from a formerly braided form to a single incised channel, generating ecological alterations. As the Kembs hydroelectric scheme concerns three countries (France, Germany and Switzerland) with various regulations and views on how to manage with environment, EDF undertook an integrated environmental approach instead of a strict 'impact/mitigation' balance that took 10 years to develop. Therefore, the project simultaneously acts on complementary compartments of the aquatic, riparian and terrestrial environment, to benefit from the synergies that exist between them; a new power plant (8,5 MW, 28 GWh/y) is built to limit the energetic losses and to ensure various functions thereby increasing the overall environmental gain. (authors)

  15. Studying integrated health care systems with a structurationist approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demers, Louis; Arseneault, Stéphane; Couturier, Yves

    2010-01-01

    Introduction To implement an integrated health care system is not an easy task and to ensure its sustainability is yet more difficult. Aim Discuss how a structurationist approach can shed light on the stakes of these processes and guide the managers of such endeavours. Theory and method Structuration theory [1] has been used by numerous authors to cast new light on complex organizational phenomena. One of the central tenets of this theory is that social systems, such as integrated health care systems, are recurrent social practices across time-space and are characterized by structural properties which simultaneously constrain and enable the constitutive social actors who reproduce and transform the system through their practices. We will illustrate our theoretical standpoint with empirical material gathered during the study of an integrated health care system for the frail elderly in Quebec, Canada. This system has been implemented in 1997 and is still working well in 2010. Results and conclusion To implement an integrated health care system that is both effective and sustainable, its managers must shrewdly allow for the existing system and progressively introduce changes in the way managers and practitioners at work in the system view their role and act on a daily basis.

  16. Integrating existing radiation monitors into a microprocessor-based display system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalita, R, S.; Bartucci, C.M.; Mason, R.G.; Greaves, C.

    1992-01-01

    Plantwide digital radiation monitoring systems (RMSs) have been generally installed as part of the original design for newer nuclear reactors. For older plants, area and process radiation monitors were either analog or a combination of analog and digital but were not part of an integrated system design. At some plants, individual monitors have been replaced or modified, resulting in a rainbow of different monitors and vendors being represented at the plant. Usually at some point, consideration is given to replacing these monitors with a state-of-the-art RMS to improve overall reliability and achieve the benefits of sound human factors engineering. This can be a very costly project in terms of expenditures for engineering, equipment, construction, startup, and time. When human engineering deficiencies (HEDs) became an issue at Zion station, Commonwealth Edison elected to install a computer-based radiation monitoring display system (RMDS) that would interface existing raidation monitors. After reviewing the existing as-built RMS configuration and internal circuits of the various monitors, it was concluded that a microprocessor-based RMDS could be successfully designed and installed that would solve the HEDs and would tie the older analog channels into a system configuration. Although in many cases, internal modifications were made to existing RMS monitors, the RMDS upgrade allowed the existing RMS monitors to retain their original functionality and location

  17. 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

  18. 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 ...

  19. An integrative approach to apprehend desistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    F-Dufour, Isabelle; Brassard, Renée; Martel, Joane

    2015-05-01

    The process underlying desistance is still a strong subject of debate. This article seeks to introduce several core concepts of Archer's morphogenic approach to study how people desist from crime. At first, it discusses the primary existing theories of desistance. Then, this article demonstrates the usefulness of this approach by presenting empirical evidence drawn from semistructured interviews collected with 29 men who desisted from crime in an eastern province of Canada. The study demonstrates how this alternative approach allows for the consolidation of existing knowledge on desistance. Then implication of these findings for both theory and practice are discussed. © The Author(s) 2013.

  20. Infill architecture: Design approaches for in-between buildings and 'bond' as integrative element

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfirević Đorđe

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to draw attention to the view that the two key elements in achieving good quality of architecture infill in immediate, current surroundings, are the selection of optimal creative method of infill architecture and adequate application of 'the bond' as integrative element, The success of achievement and the quality of architectural infill mainly depend on the assessment of various circumstances, but also on the professionalism, creativity, sensibility, and finally innovativeness of the architect, In order for the infill procedure to be carried out adequately, it is necessary to carry out the assessment of quality of the current surroundings that the object will be integrated into, and then to choose the creative approach that will allow the object to establish an optimal dialogue with its surroundings, On a wider scale, both theory and the practice differentiate thee main creative approaches to infill objects: amimetic approach (mimesis, bassociative approach and ccontrasting approach, Which of the stated approaches will be chosen depends primarily on the fact whether the existing physical structure into which the object is being infilled is 'distinct', 'specific' or 'indistinct', but it also depends on the inclination of the designer, 'The bond' is a term which in architecture denotes an element or zone of one object, but in some instances it can refer to the whole object which has been articulated in a specific way, with an aim of reaching the solution for the visual conflict as is often the case in situations when there is a clash between the existing objects and the newly designed or reconstructed object, This paper provides in-depth analysis of different types of bonds, such as 'direction as bond', 'cornice as bond', 'structure as bond', 'texture as bond' and 'material as bond', which indicate complexity and multiple layers of the designing process of object interpolation.

  1. Modeling integrated biomass gasification business concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peter J. Ince; Ted Bilek; Mark A. Dietenberger

    2011-01-01

    Biomass gasification is an approach to producing energy and/or biofuels that could be integrated into existing forest product production facilities, particularly at pulp mills. Existing process heat and power loads tend to favor integration at existing pulp mills. This paper describes a generic modeling system for evaluating integrated biomass gasification business...

  2. A Blog-Integrated Grammar Instruction Approach: Structure-Andragogy-Blog (SAB

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yonca ÖZKAN

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Although history of grammar instruction dates back far in time, it is only since the sixties that we see various methods through which this subject is taught. What was done took place as an in-class activity with almost no tasks performed out of class except for assignments. Thus, this descriptive case study aims to add one new dimension to the already existing methodology introducing a blog-integrated approach emphasizing individual-generated learning. Unlike its predecessors, the approach requires individuals to select texts, analyze targeted structural points in authentic texts, and produce similar structures through modelling, all performed on weblogs, with full participation and collaboration of learners embracing the notion of “self-directed” learning. Although the designed approach aims to teach and reinforce English grammar to English learners, it does not limit itself to this field. All subjects, requiring activation of latent knowledge can certainly benefit from it, notably the L2 domain

  3. 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...

  4. Applied immuno-epidemiological research: an approach for integrating existing knowledge into the statistical analysis of multiple immune markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genser, Bernd; Fischer, Joachim E; Figueiredo, Camila A; Alcântara-Neves, Neuza; Barreto, Mauricio L; Cooper, Philip J; Amorim, Leila D; Saemann, Marcus D; Weichhart, Thomas; Rodrigues, Laura C

    2016-05-20

    Immunologists often measure several correlated immunological markers, such as concentrations of different cytokines produced by different immune cells and/or measured under different conditions, to draw insights from complex immunological mechanisms. Although there have been recent methodological efforts to improve the statistical analysis of immunological data, a framework is still needed for the simultaneous analysis of multiple, often correlated, immune markers. This framework would allow the immunologists' hypotheses about the underlying biological mechanisms to be integrated. We present an analytical approach for statistical analysis of correlated immune markers, such as those commonly collected in modern immuno-epidemiological studies. We demonstrate i) how to deal with interdependencies among multiple measurements of the same immune marker, ii) how to analyse association patterns among different markers, iii) how to aggregate different measures and/or markers to immunological summary scores, iv) how to model the inter-relationships among these scores, and v) how to use these scores in epidemiological association analyses. We illustrate the application of our approach to multiple cytokine measurements from 818 children enrolled in a large immuno-epidemiological study (SCAALA Salvador), which aimed to quantify the major immunological mechanisms underlying atopic diseases or asthma. We demonstrate how to aggregate systematically the information captured in multiple cytokine measurements to immunological summary scores aimed at reflecting the presumed underlying immunological mechanisms (Th1/Th2 balance and immune regulatory network). We show how these aggregated immune scores can be used as predictors in regression models with outcomes of immunological studies (e.g. specific IgE) and compare the results to those obtained by a traditional multivariate regression approach. The proposed analytical approach may be especially useful to quantify complex immune

  5. Migrating an Existing Business to a New Approach to Revenue Generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Howard Rosenblum

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Traditional development and commercialization models take too long, cost too much, and expose founders to excessive risk. A new approach for small technology companies to generate revenue has been proposed by Bailetti. In the new approach, the top management team of a small technology company uses a a platform to co-create value by collaborating with all the stakeholders of its development and commercialization decisions and builds trust on its work practices and market offers. The purpose of this article is to provide the lessons learned from working with a top management team of a profitable business that uses a traditional approach to development and commercialization and wishes to migrate to the new approach. The article will be useful to managers and owners of existing small companies and vendor-neutral, non-profit organizations that wish to grow their businesses. The article is organized as follows. First, a hypothetical situation of a musical band illustrates the options available to a company that wishes to increase its revenue. This example is based on our work with a local technology. Next, we describe the lessons we learned while preparing the plan to migrate the existing company to the new approach to generate revenue. The hypothetical situation is used to illustrate the lessons learned. Finally, conclusions are provided.

  6. An integrated approach to model strain localization bands in magnesium alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baxevanakis, K. P.; Mo, C.; Cabal, M.; Kontsos, A.

    2018-02-01

    Strain localization bands (SLBs) that appear at early stages of deformation of magnesium alloys have been recently associated with heterogeneous activation of deformation twinning. Experimental evidence has demonstrated that such "Lüders-type" band formations dominate the overall mechanical behavior of these alloys resulting in sigmoidal type stress-strain curves with a distinct plateau followed by pronounced anisotropic hardening. To evaluate the role of SLB formation on the local and global mechanical behavior of magnesium alloys, an integrated experimental/computational approach is presented. The computational part is developed based on custom subroutines implemented in a finite element method that combine a plasticity model with a stiffness degradation approach. Specific inputs from the characterization and testing measurements to the computational approach are discussed while the numerical results are validated against such available experimental information, confirming the existence of load drops and the intensification of strain accumulation at the time of SLB initiation.

  7. 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.

  8. A systematic approach to the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of integrated health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, Heidi W; Sutherland, Elizabeth G

    2013-05-06

    Because of the current emphasis and enthusiasm focused on integration of health systems, there is a risk of piling resources into integrated strategies without the necessary systems in place to monitor their progress adequately or to measure impact, and to learn from these efforts. The rush to intervene without adequate monitoring and evaluation will continue to result in a weak evidence base for decision making and resource allocation. Program planning and implementation are inextricability linked to monitoring and evaluation. Country level guidance is needed to identify country-specific integrated strategies, thereby increasing country ownership. This paper focuses on integrated health services but takes into account how health services are influenced by the health system, managed by programs, and made up of interventions. We apply the principles in existing comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks in order to outline a systematic approach to the M&E of integration for the country level. The approach is grounded by first defining the country-specific health challenges that integration is intended to affect. Priority points of contact for care can directly influence health, and essential packages of integration for all major client presentations need to be defined. Logic models are necessary to outline the plausible causal pathways and define the inputs, roles and responsibilities, indicators, and data sources across the health system. Finally, we recommend improvements to the health information system and in data use to ensure that data are available to inform decisions, because changes in the M&E function to make it more integrated will also facilitate integration in the service delivery, planning, and governance components. This approach described in the paper is the ideal, but its application at the country level can help reveal gaps and guide decisions related to what health services to prioritize for integration, help plan for how to

  9. 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

  10. 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

  11. Quantum gravitation. The Feynman path integral approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamber, Herbert W.

    2009-01-01

    The book covers the theory of Quantum Gravitation from the point of view of Feynman path integrals. These provide a manifestly covariant approach in which fundamental quantum aspects of the theory such as radiative corrections and the renormalization group can be systematically and consistently addressed. The path integral method is suitable for both perturbative as well as non-perturbative studies, and is known to already provide a framework of choice for the theoretical investigation of non-abelian gauge theories, the basis for three of the four known fundamental forces in nature. The book thus provides a coherent outline of the present status of the theory gravity based on Feynman's formulation, with an emphasis on quantitative results. Topics are organized in such a way that the correspondence to similar methods and results in modern gauge theories becomes apparent. Covariant perturbation theory are developed using the full machinery of Feynman rules, gauge fixing, background methods and ghosts. The renormalization group for gravity and the existence of non-trivial ultraviolet fixed points are investigated, stressing a close correspondence with well understood statistical field theory models. Later the lattice formulation of gravity is presented as an essential tool towards an understanding of key features of the non-perturbative vacuum. The book ends with a discussion of contemporary issues in quantum cosmology such as scale dependent gravitational constants and quantum effects in the early universe. (orig.)

  12. Designing medical technology for resilience: integrating health economics and human factors approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borsci, Simone; Uchegbu, Ijeoma; Buckle, Peter; Ni, Zhifang; Walne, Simon; Hanna, George B

    2018-01-01

    The slow adoption of innovation into healthcare calls into question the manner of evidence generation for medical technology. This paper identifies potential reasons for this including a lack of attention to human factors, poor evaluation of economic benefits, lack of understanding of the existing healthcare system and a failure to recognise the need to generate resilient products. Areas covered: Recognising a cross-disciplinary need to enhance evidence generation early in a technology's life cycle, the present paper proposes a new approach that integrates human factors and health economic evaluation as part of a wider systems approach to the design of technology. This approach (Human and Economic Resilience Design for Medical Technology or HERD MedTech) supports early stages of product development and is based on the recent experiences of the National Institute for Health Research London Diagnostic Evidence Co-operative in the UK. Expert commentary: HERD MedTech i) proposes a shift from design for usability to design for resilience, ii) aspires to reduce the need for service adaptation to technological constraints iii) ensures value of innovation at the time of product development, and iv) aims to stimulate discussion around the integration of pre- and post-market methods of assessment of medical technology.

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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...

  16. 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 ...

  17. Integrative biology approach identifies cytokine targeting strategies for psoriasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perera, Gayathri K; Ainali, Chrysanthi; Semenova, Ekaterina; Hundhausen, Christian; Barinaga, Guillermo; Kassen, Deepika; Williams, Andrew E; Mirza, Muddassar M; Balazs, Mercedesz; Wang, Xiaoting; Rodriguez, Robert Sanchez; Alendar, Andrej; Barker, Jonathan; Tsoka, Sophia; Ouyang, Wenjun; Nestle, Frank O

    2014-02-12

    Cytokines are critical checkpoints of inflammation. The treatment of human autoimmune disease has been revolutionized by targeting inflammatory cytokines as key drivers of disease pathogenesis. Despite this, there exist numerous pitfalls when translating preclinical data into the clinic. We developed an integrative biology approach combining human disease transcriptome data sets with clinically relevant in vivo models in an attempt to bridge this translational gap. We chose interleukin-22 (IL-22) as a model cytokine because of its potentially important proinflammatory role in epithelial tissues. Injection of IL-22 into normal human skin grafts produced marked inflammatory skin changes resembling human psoriasis. Injection of anti-IL-22 monoclonal antibody in a human xenotransplant model of psoriasis, developed specifically to test potential therapeutic candidates, efficiently blocked skin inflammation. Bioinformatic analysis integrating both the IL-22 and anti-IL-22 cytokine transcriptomes and mapping them onto a psoriasis disease gene coexpression network identified key cytokine-dependent hub genes. Using knockout mice and small-molecule blockade, we show that one of these hub genes, the so far unexplored serine/threonine kinase PIM1, is a critical checkpoint for human skin inflammation and potential future therapeutic target in psoriasis. Using in silico integration of human data sets and biological models, we were able to identify a new target in the treatment of psoriasis.

  18. 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

  19. 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...

  20. 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

  1. 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

  2. Integration of a PAFC-Cogeneration Plant into an existing District-Heating-System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, Ulrich; Geiger, Bernd; Grohmann, Juergen

    1999-01-01

    The Studiengesellschaft Brennstoffzellen e. V. assigned in the middle of 1995 the Institutions ''Lehrstuhl fir Energiewirtschaft mid Kraftwerkstechnik (IfE)'' to design a concept to integrate an ONSI-PAFC Model C in an existing district heating system. The fuel cell generates about 200 kW electrical and 215 kW thermal power consuming 500 kW natural gas. In the case of complete use of thermal power the fuel cell surpasses the efficiency of conventional systems by about 30 %. The possibilities to install the fuel cell were investigated at three locations, two housing areas, one with 36.000 m2 the other with 60.000 m2 heated area, and one indoor pool. The heating systems are representative of the Federal Republic of Germany. It turned out that the integration of the fuel cell into the existing heating system might be difficult at each location, either the annual consumption of thermal energy was too low or the heating system was operating at a temperature level reducing the usable thermal power of the fuel cell. After further studies the larger housing area was selected, with the intention of using the thermal power of the fuel cell during the whole year and to get high thermal load factors. Some difficulties are caused by the temperature level of the heating system, which is 70/55 o C. (author)

  3. Can existing mobile apps support healthier food purchasing behaviour? Content analysis of nutrition content, behaviour change theory and user quality integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flaherty, Sarah-Jane; McCarthy, Mary; Collins, Alan; McAuliffe, Fionnuala

    2018-02-01

    To assess the quality of nutrition content and the integration of user quality components and behaviour change theory relevant to food purchasing behaviour in a sample of existing mobile apps. Descriptive comparative analysis of eleven mobile apps comprising an assessment of their alignment with existing evidence on nutrition, behaviour change and user quality, and their potential ability to support healthier food purchasing behaviour. Mobile apps freely available for public use in GoogePlay were assessed and scored according to agreed criteria to assess nutrition content quality and integration of behaviour change theory and user quality components. A sample of eleven mobile apps that met predefined inclusion criteria to ensure relevance and good quality. The quality of the nutrition content varied. Improvements to the accuracy and appropriateness of nutrition content are needed to ensure mobile apps support a healthy behaviour change process and are accessible to a wider population. There appears to be a narrow focus towards behaviour change with an overemphasis on behavioural outcomes and a small number of behaviour change techniques, which may limit effectiveness. A significant effort from the user was required to use the mobile apps appropriately which may negatively influence user acceptability and subsequent utilisation. Existing mobile apps may offer a potentially effective approach to supporting healthier food purchasing behaviour but improvements in mobile app design are required to maximise their potential effectiveness. Engagement of mobile app users and nutrition professionals is recommended to support effective design.

  4. 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 ...

  5. 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.

  6. A numerical integration approach suitable for simulating PWR dynamics using a microcomputer system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhiwei, L.; Kerlin, T.W.

    1983-01-01

    It is attractive to use microcomputer systems to simulate nuclear power plant dynamics for the purpose of teaching and/or control system design. An analysis and a comparison of feasibility of existing numerical integration methods have been made. The criteria for choosing the integration step using various numerical integration methods including the matrix exponential method are derived. In order to speed up the simulation, an approach is presented using the Newton recursion calculus which can avoid convergence limitations in choosing the integration step size. The accuracy consideration will dominate the integration step limited. The advantages of this method have been demonstrated through a case study using CBM model 8032 microcomputer to simulate a reduced order linear PWR model under various perturbations. It has been proven theoretically and practically that the Runge-Kutta method and Adams-Moulton method are not feasible. The matrix exponential method is good at accuracy and fairly good at speed. The Newton recursion method can save 3/4 to 4/5 time compared to the matrix exponential method with reasonable accuracy. Vertical Barhis method can be expanded to deal with nonlinear nuclear power plant models and higher order models as well

  7. 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

  8. On integration of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles into existing power system structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galus, Matthias D.; Zima, Marek; Andersson, Goeran

    2010-01-01

    Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) represent one option for the electrification of private mobility. In order to efficiently integrate PHEVs into power systems, existing organizational structures need to be considered. Based on procedures of power systems planning and operation, actors are identified whose operational activities will be affected by PHEV integration. Potential changes and challenges in the actors' long- and short term planning activities are discussed. Further, a PHEV operation state description is developed which defines vehicle operation states from the power system point of view integrating uncontrolled, controlled recharging and vehicle to grid (V2G) utilization in one single framework. Future PHEV managing entities, such as aggregators, can use this framework for planning and operation activities including load management and V2G. This operational state description could provide a solution for future short term planning challenges of PHEVs and an aegis for various routes of current research, which to date have been weakly linked to each other.

  9. Systematic Approach to Better Understanding Integration Costs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stark, Gregory B. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2015-09-01

    This research presents a systematic approach to evaluating the costs of integrating new generation and operational procedures into an existing power system, and the methodology is independent of the type of change or nature of the generation. The work was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy and performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to investigate three integration cost-related questions: (1) How does the addition of new generation affect a system's operational costs, (2) How do generation mix and operating parameters and procedures affect costs, and (3) How does the amount of variable generation (non-dispatchable wind and solar) impact the accuracy of natural gas orders? A detailed operational analysis was performed for seven sets of experiments: variable generation, large conventional generation, generation mix, gas prices, fast-start generation, self-scheduling, and gas supply constraints. For each experiment, four components of integration costs were examined: cycling costs, non-cycling VO&M costs, fuel costs, and reserves provisioning costs. The investigation was conducted with PLEXOS production cost modeling software utilizing an updated version of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 118-bus test system overlaid with projected operating loads from the Western Electricity Coordinating Council for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Puget Sound Energy, and Public Service Colorado in the year 2020. The test system was selected in consultation with an industry-based technical review committee to be a reasonable approximation of an interconnection yet small enough to allow the research team to investigate a large number of scenarios and sensitivity combinations. The research should prove useful to market designers, regulators, utilities, and others who want to better understand how system changes can affect production costs.

  10. 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 ...

  11. 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…

  12. 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.

  13. 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...

  14. 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

  15. On the existence of solutions for Volterra integral inclusions in Banach spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evgenios P. Avgerinos

    1993-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we examine a class of nonlinear integral inclusions defined in a separable Banach space. For this class of inclusions of Volterra type we establish two existence results, one for inclusions with a convex-valued orientor field and the other for inclusions with nonconvex-valued orientor field. We present conditions guaranteeing that the multivalued map that represents the right-hand side of the inclusion is α-condensing using for the proof of our results a known fixed point theorem for α-condensing maps.

  16. 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...

  17. 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)

  18. 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.

  19. 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…

  20. INEL Waste and Environmental Information Integration Project approach and concepts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dean, L.A.; Fairbourn, P.J.; Randall, V.C.; Riedesel, A.M.

    1994-06-01

    The Idaho National Engineering, Laboratory (INEL) Waste and Environmental Information integration Project (IWEIIP) was established in December 1993 to address issues related to INEL waste and environmental information including: Data quality; Data redundancy; Data accessibility; Data integration. This effort includes existing information, new development, and acquisition activities. Existing information may not be a database record; it may be an entire document (electronic, scanned, or hard-copy), a video clip, or a file cabinet of information. The IWEIIP will implement an effective integrated information framework to manage INEL waste and environmental information as an asset. This will improve data quality, resolve data redundancy, and increase data accessibility; therefore, providing more effective utilization of the dollars spent on waste and environmental information

  1. Evaluation of mobile systems: an integrative framework.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Högler, T.; Versendaal, J.; Batenburg, R.

    2015-01-01

    This work presents an integrative framework for the evaluation of mobile systems. In comparison to stationary systems, mobile systems have a bundle of specific singularities that should be considered for evaluation. Further analysis of existing approaches clarifies that an integrative approach for

  2. 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…

  3. Curriculum Integration Using Enterprise Resource Planning: An Integrative Case Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cannon, David M.; Klein, Helen A; Koste, Lori L.; Magal, Simha R.

    2004-01-01

    Efforts to achieve greater curriculum integration in schools of business have included team teaching, student group projects, multidisciplinary cases, and, more recently, the use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Although these approaches are beneficial, they tend to be implemented on an ad hoc basis rather than through curriculum…

  4. The Impact of Technology Integration through a Transformative Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cubillos, Jo Ann

    2013-01-01

    The integration of technology into classroom instruction in K-12 schools remains problematic. The problems associated with this integration are troubling, as technology integration may change a teacher's pedagogy toward more innovative approaches that increase student achievement. The purpose of this study was to document teachers' experiences as…

  5. Availability objectives integration to design. The CIDEM approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Degrave, C.; Martin-Onraet, M.

    1994-01-01

    Considering the operation experience feedback from its nuclear park and from foreign parks, and considering new approaches and design tools such as concurrent engineering, total quality, etc., EDF (Electricite de France) has decided to start the CIDEM approach (integration of availability, operating experience feedback and maintenance into design), an analytical and systematical study process for new projects (REP2000 (or PWR2000)), in order to optimize as much as possible the design phase while integrating maintenance, availability and safety objectives, with the view of a minimized kWh cost. This process, already used in other industries, employs concepts such as RAM (Reliability Availability Maintainability), RCM (Reliability Centered Maintenance) and ILS (Integrated Logistic Support). The availability and maintenance scheduling studies for the REP2000 project are detailed. 10 fig., 6 tab

  6. Conceptual information processing: A robust approach to KBS-DBMS integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazzara, Allen V.; Tepfenhart, William; White, Richard C.; Liuzzi, Raymond

    1987-01-01

    Integrating the respective functionality and architectural features of knowledge base and data base management systems is a topic of considerable interest. Several aspects of this topic and associated issues are addressed. The significance of integration and the problems associated with accomplishing that integration are discussed. The shortcomings of current approaches to integration and the need to fuse the capabilities of both knowledge base and data base management systems motivates the investigation of information processing paradigms. One such paradigm is concept based processing, i.e., processing based on concepts and conceptual relations. An approach to robust knowledge and data base system integration is discussed by addressing progress made in the development of an experimental model for conceptual information processing.

  7. Open architecture design and approach for the Integrated Sensor Architecture (ISA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moulton, Christine L.; Krzywicki, Alan T.; Hepp, Jared J.; Harrell, John; Kogut, Michael

    2015-05-01

    Integrated Sensor Architecture (ISA) is designed in response to stovepiped integration approaches. The design, based on the principles of Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) and Open Architectures, addresses the problem of integration, and is not designed for specific sensors or systems. The use of SOA and Open Architecture approaches has led to a flexible, extensible architecture. Using these approaches, and supported with common data formats, open protocol specifications, and Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) system architecture documents, an integration-focused architecture has been developed. ISA can help move the Department of Defense (DoD) from costly stovepipe solutions to a more cost-effective plug-and-play design to support interoperability.

  8. CANDU plant life management - An integrated approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hopkins, J.R.

    1998-01-01

    An integrated approach to plant life management has been developed for CANDU reactors. Strategies, methods, and procedures have been developed for assessment of critical systems structures and components and for implementing a reliability centred maintenance program. A Technology Watch program is being implemented to eliminate 'surprises'. Specific work has been identified for 1998. AECL is working on the integrated program with CANDU owners and seeks participation from other CANDU owners

  9. BEopt-CA (Ex): A Tool for Optimal Integration of EE, DR and PV in Existing California Homes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christensen, Craig [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Horowitz, Scott [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Maguire, Jeff [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Velasco, Paulo Tabrares [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Springer, David [Davis Energy Group, Davis, CA (United States); Coates, Peter [Davis Energy Group, Davis, CA (United States); Bell, Christy [Davis Energy Group, Davis, CA (United States); Price, Snuller [Energy & Environmental Economics, San Francisco, CA (United States); Sreedharan, Priya [Energy & Environmental Economics, San Francisco, CA (United States); Pickrell, Katie [Energy & Environmental Economics, San Francisco, CA (United States)

    2014-04-01

    This project targeted the development of a software tool, BEopt-CA (Ex) (Building Energy Optimization Tool for California Existing Homes), that aims to facilitate balanced integration of energy efficiency (EE), demand response (DR), and photovoltaics (PV) in the residential retrofit1 market. The intent is to provide utility program managers and contractors in the EE/DR/PV marketplace with a means of balancing the integration of EE, DR, and PV

  10. Narrative Financial Therapy: Integrating a Financial Planning Approach with Therapeutic Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan A. McCoy

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The article serves as one of the first attempts to develop an integrated theoretical approach to financial therapy that can be used by practitioners from multiple disciplines. The presented approach integrates the components of the six-step financial planning process with components of empirically-supported therapeutic methods. This integration provides the foundation for a manualized approach to financial therapy, shaped by the writings of narrative theorists and select cognitive-behavioral interventions that can be used both by mental health and financial professionals.

  11. An integrated approach for integrated intelligent instrumentation and control system (I3CS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, C.H.; Kim, J.T.; Kwon, K.C.

    1997-01-01

    Nuclear power plants to guarantee the safety of public should be designed to reduce the operator intervention resulting in operating human errors, identify the process states in transients, and aid to make a decision of their tasks and guide operator actions. For the sake of this purpose, MMIS(MAN-Machine Interface System) in NPPs should be the integrated top-down approach tightly focused on the function-based task analysis including an advanced digital technology, an operator support function, and so on. The advanced I and C research team in KAERI has embarked on developing an Integrated Intelligent Instrumentation and Control System (I 3 CS) for Korea's next generation nuclear power plants. I 3 CS bases the integrated top-down approach on the function-based task analysis, modern digital technology, standardization and simplification, availability and reliability, and protection of investment. (author). 4 refs, 6 figs

  12. Psychotherapy integration under scrutiny: investigating the impact of integrating emotion-focused components into a CBT-based approach: a study protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babl, Anna; Grosse Holtforth, Martin; Heer, Sara; Lin, Mu; Stähli, Annabarbara; Holstein, Dominique; Belz, Martina; Egenolf, Yvonne; Frischknecht, Eveline; Ramseyer, Fabian; Regli, Daniel; Schmied, Emma; Flückiger, Christoph; Brodbeck, Jeannette; Berger, Thomas; Caspar, Franz

    2016-11-24

    This currently recruiting randomized controlled trial investigates the effects of integrating components of Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) into Psychological Therapy (PT), an integrative form of cognitive-behavioral therapy in a manner that is directly mirroring common integrative practice in the sense of assimilative integration. Aims of the study are to understand how both, an existing therapy approach as well as the elements to be integrated, are affected by the integration and to clarify the role of emotional processing as a mediator of therapy outcome. A total of 130 adults with a diagnosed unipolar depressive, anxiety or adjustment disorder (seeking treatment at a psychotherapy outpatient clinic) are randomized to either treatment as usual (PT) with integrated emotion-focused components (TAU + EFT) or PT (TAU). Primary outcome variables are psychopathology and symptom severity at the end of therapy and at follow up; secondary outcome variables are interpersonal problems, psychological wellbeing, quality of life, attainment of individual therapy goals, and emotional competency. Furthermore, process variables such as the quality of the therapeutic relationship are studied as well as aptitude-treatment interactions. Variables are assessed at baseline, after 8 and 16 sessions, at the end of therapy, after 25 ± 3 sessions, and at 6, 12 and 36 month follow-up. Underlying mechanisms of change are investigated. Statistical analyses will be conducted using the appropriate multilevel approaches, mainly two-level regression and growth analysis. The results of this study will indicate whether the integration of emotion-focused elements into treatment as usual increases the effectiveness of Psychological Therapy. If advantages are found, which may be limited to particular variables or subgroups of patients, recommendations for a systematic integration, and caveats if also disadvantages are detected, can be formulated. On a more abstract level, a cognitive

  13. Posterior Approach to Kidney Dissection: An Old Surgical Approach for Integrated Medical Curricula

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daly, Frank J.; Bolender, David L.; Jain, Deepali; Uyeda, Sheryl; Hoagland, Todd M.

    2015-01-01

    Integrated medical curricular changes are altering the historical regional anatomy approach to abdominal dissection. The renal system is linked physiologically and biochemically to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems; yet, anatomists often approach the urinary system as part of the abdomen and pelvic regions. As part of an integrated…

  14. Preregularization and the path integral approach to the chiral anomaly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elias, V.; McKeon, G.; Steele, T.; Mann, R.B.; Treml, T.F.; Sherry, T.N.

    1987-01-01

    We explore the connection between perturbative and non-perturbative (path-integral) approaches to the axial anomaly. In particular, we show how the Jacobian associated with the fermionic measure corresponding to local axial transformations may be calculated directly from shift-of-integration-variable surface terms in four Euclidean dimensions. No regularization (explicit parametrization of UV infinities) is required in this approach, but invariance of the Jacobian under vector gauge transformations (i.e. preregularization) is required to remove a variable-of-integration ambiguity within the expression for the Jacobian of the fermionic measure. (orig.)

  15. Integrating Food-Water-Energy Research through a Socio-Ecosystem Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Maass

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The nexus approach helps in recognizing the link between water, energy, and food production systems, emphasizing the need to manage them in a more integrated way. The socio-ecosystem (SES approach, however, goes beyond that, by incorporating the regulation and supporting services in the management equation. Changes in ecosystem integrity affect the delivery of ecosystem services to society, which affects local people's well-being, creating a feedback mechanism regarding management strategies. The SES approach makes explicit the “human-bio-physical” nature of our interaction with ecosystems, highlighting the need for a more integrated and interconnected social-ecological research perspective. In addition, the SES approach makes more explicit the multi-scale character of the ecological processes that structure and maintain social-ecological systems. Water dynamics have an important role in shaping ecosystem's structure and functioning, as well as determining the systems capacity for delivering provisioning services. The tropical dry-deciduous forest (TDF, is particularly useful in studying water-food-energy trade-off interactions. Recently, a category 5 hurricane landed in the study area (Mexico's Pacific coast, triggering various social and ecological problems. This event is challenging the current forest management strategies in the region. The extreme hydrometeorological event created an excellent opportunity to test and promote the SES approach for more integrated food-water-energy research. By using the SES approach within our long-term socio-ecological research project, it was easier to identify opportunities for tackling trade-offs between maintaining the transformation of the system and a more sustainable alternative: promoting the maintenance of the ecosystem's integrity and its capacity to deliver provisioning and regulating services.

  16. Integrated NPP life cycle management - Agency's approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gueorguiev, B.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: The number of nuclear power plants (NPPs) operating in the world has been roughly constant for the past seven years. There are 438 reactors of 353,489 MW(e) capacity in the world and they generated 2448.9 TWh in 2001 giving a total world operating experience with nuclear power of 10,363 years. About 230 units have reached already over 15 years of operation and significant number of these plants are fully depreciated. Share of nuclear power in electricity production sector in Member States utilising nuclear power plants represents a meaningful amount and in 14 countries it exceeds 30%. Therefore, a loss of this share should be covered by new installed capacities either from conventional or alternative sources of electricity generation. Recent forecasts, for nuclear power use over the next two decades range from ∼350 to ∼500 GW(e) worldwide. While assessing the need for any nuclear power related programmes there are several important factors that must be considered since even 350 GW(e) is a very large programme requiring several hundred thousand highly qualified personnel and a substantial infrastructure to assure its continued safe, reliable and cost-effective operation. It is important to assure reliable, safe and economic beneficial performance of the plant, which requires in turn an appropriated management of any activity connected with any taken period of a plant life starting from design and ending by the decided mode of decommissioning. The period between the first and the last payment for the activities connected with the existence of a plant could be defined as a life cycle of the plant. Such integrated approach requires considering the life cycle of the plant in a much broader sense than just operational life and is characterized by the variety of activities and their management represents in a whole a plant life management programme (PLIM). Therefore PLIM could be defined as an aggregate (totality) of technical, financial, economical and

  17. Difference between the Approach of Aristotle and Avicenna in Proof of the Existence of God

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Saeedimehr

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Comparing between approach of Aristotle and Avicenna in proof of the existence of God, is a sign of basic difference between Peripatetic idea of Aristotle and Avicenna, also the different way that has been gone in the Muslim world compared to the west, in proof of the existence of God.   Aristotle in “Philosophies”, has been mentioned to the two arguments: "degrees of perfection argument" and "teleological argument", but his main argument on the existence of God, is “the argument from motion” that has explained details of it in the Lambda Book of Metaphysics and Physics. Each of the three above arguments has a cosmological approach and is categorized as the posteriori arguments.   For Avicenna, acceptance of that Aristotle had wanted to prove the existence of God by natural things, such as world motion, is very hard. According to this thinking, he focused all his efforts on not using the cosmological arguments to prove the existence of God. Avicenna used “the proof of middle and the end” and “the proof from contingency and necessity” in several of his books and his latest exposition of the proof from contingency and necessity has named “proof of the truthful”. His argument is ontological and priori too.

  18. Difference between the Approach of Aristotle and Avicenna in Proof of the Existence of God

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saleh Tayebnia, M

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Comparing between approach of Aristotle and Avicenna in proof of the existence of God, is a sign of basic difference between Peripatetic idea of Aristotle and Avicenna, also the different way that has been gone in the Muslim world compared to the west, in proof of the existence of God.Aristotle in “On Philosophies”, has been mentioned to the two arguments: "degrees of perfection argument" and "teleological argument", but his main argument on the existence of God, is “the argument from motion” that has explained details of it in the Lambda Book of Metaphysics and Physics. Each of the three above arguments has a cosmological approach and is categorized as the posteriori arguments.For Avicenna, acceptance of that Aristotle had wanted to prove the existence of God by natural things, such as world motion, is very hard. According to this thinking, he focused all his efforts on not using the cosmological arguments to prove the existence of God. Avicenna used “the proof of middle and the end” and “the proof from contingency and necessity” in several of his books and his latest exposition of the proof from contingency and necessity has named “proof of the truthful”. His argument is ontological and priori too

  19. Difference between the Approach of Aristotle and Avicenna in Proof of the Existence of God

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammadsaleh Tayebnia

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available   Comparing between approach of Aristotle and Avicenna in proof of the existence of God, is a sign of basic difference between Peripatetic idea of Aristotle and Avicenna, also the different way that has been gone in the Muslim world compared to the west, in proof of the existence of God.   Aristotle in “Philosophies”, has been mentioned to the two arguments: "degrees of perfection argument" and "teleological argument", but his main argument on the existence of God, is “the argument from motion” that has explained details of it in the Lambda Book of Metaphysics and Physics. Each of the three above arguments has a cosmological approach and is categorized as the posteriori arguments.   For Avicenna, acceptance of that Aristotle had wanted to prove the existence of God by natural things, such as world motion, is very hard. According to this thinking, he focused all his efforts on not using the cosmological arguments to prove the existence of God. Avicenna used “the proof of middle and the end” and “the proof from contingency and necessity” in several of his books and his latest exposition of the proof from contingency and necessity has named “proof of the truthful”. His argument is ontological and priori too.

  20. A Key Event Path Analysis Approach for Integrated Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingjing Liao

    2012-01-01

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

  1. A design approach for integrating thermoelectric devices using topology optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soprani, Stefano; Haertel, Jan Hendrik Klaas; Lazarov, Boyan Stefanov

    2016-01-01

    Efficient operation of thermoelectric devices strongly relies on the thermal integration into the energy conversion system in which they operate. Effective thermal integration reduces the temperature differences between the thermoelectric module and its thermal reservoirs, allowing the system...... to operate more efficiently. This work proposes and experimentally demonstrates a topology optimization approach as a design tool for efficient integration of thermoelectric modules into systems with specific design constraints. The approach allows thermal layout optimization of thermoelectric systems...... for different operating conditions and objective functions, such as temperature span, efficiency, and power recoveryrate. As a specific application, the integration of a thermoelectric cooler into the electronics section ofa downhole oil well intervention tool is investigated, with the objective of minimizing...

  2. Linking Science and Language Arts: A Review of the Literature Which Compares Integrated versus Non-Integrated Approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradbury, Leslie U.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to review the literature published during the last 20 years that investigates the impact of approaches that describe themselves as integrating science and language arts on student learning and/or attitude at the elementary level. The majority of papers report that integrated approaches led to greater student…

  3. Addressing uncertainties in the ERICA Integrated Approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oughton, D.H.; Agueero, A.; Avila, R.; Brown, J.E.; Copplestone, D.; Gilek, M.

    2008-01-01

    Like any complex environmental problem, ecological risk assessment of the impacts of ionising radiation is confounded by uncertainty. At all stages, from problem formulation through to risk characterisation, the assessment is dependent on models, scenarios, assumptions and extrapolations. These include technical uncertainties related to the data used, conceptual uncertainties associated with models and scenarios, as well as social uncertainties such as economic impacts, the interpretation of legislation, and the acceptability of the assessment results to stakeholders. The ERICA Integrated Approach has been developed to allow an assessment of the risks of ionising radiation, and includes a number of methods that are intended to make the uncertainties and assumptions inherent in the assessment more transparent to users and stakeholders. Throughout its development, ERICA has recommended that assessors deal openly with the deeper dimensions of uncertainty and acknowledge that uncertainty is intrinsic to complex systems. Since the tool is based on a tiered approach, the approaches to dealing with uncertainty vary between the tiers, ranging from a simple, but highly conservative screening to a full probabilistic risk assessment including sensitivity analysis. This paper gives on overview of types of uncertainty that are manifest in ecological risk assessment and the ERICA Integrated Approach to dealing with some of these uncertainties

  4. Existence principles for inclusions of Hammerstein type involving noncompact acyclic multivalued maps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Francois Couchouron

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available We apply Monch type fixed point theorems for acyclic multivalued maps to the solvability of inclusions of Hammerstein type in Banach spaces. Our approach makes possible to unify and improve the existence theories for nonlinear evolution problems and abstract integral inclusions of Volterra and Fredholm type.

  5. Introduction to solid mechanics an integrated approach

    CERN Document Server

    Lubliner, Jacob

    2017-01-01

    This expanded second edition presents in one text the concepts and processes covered in statics and mechanics of materials curricula following a systematic, topically integrated approach. Building on the novel pedagogy of fusing concepts covered in traditional undergraduate courses in rigid-body statics and deformable body mechanics, rather than simply grafting them together, this new edition develops further the authors’ very original treatment of solid mechanics with additional figures, an elaboration on selected solved problems, and additional text as well as a new subsection on viscoelasticity in response to students’ feedback. Introduction to Solid Mechanics: An Integrated Approach, Second Edition, offers a holistic treatment of the depth and breadth of solid mechanics and the inter-relationships of its underlying concepts. Proceeding from first principles to applications, the book stands as a whole greater than the sum of its parts.  .

  6. The integrated approach methodology for operator information evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stroube, K.; Modarres, M.; Roush, M.; Hunt, N.; Pearce, R.

    1986-01-01

    The Integrated Approach has developed a complete method for evaluating the relative importance of operation information improvements. By use of decision trees the impact of information on success probability of a function or system can be evaluated. This approach couples goal trees and human success likelihoods to estimate anticipated consequences of a given information system

  7. Integrated Approach to User Account Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesselman, Glenn; Smith, William

    2007-01-01

    IT environments consist of both Windows and other platforms. Providing user account management for this model has become increasingly diffi cult. If Microsoft#s Active Directory could be enhanced to extend a W indows identity for authentication services for Unix, Linux, Java and Macintosh systems, then an integrated approach to user account manag ement could be realized.

  8. Integrating pixel- and polygon-based approaches to wildfire risk assessment: Application to a high-value watershed on the Pike and San Isabel National Forests, Colorado, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthew P. Thompson; Julie W. Gilbertson-Day; Joe H. Scott

    2015-01-01

    We develop a novel risk assessment approach that integrates complementary, yet distinct, spatial modeling approaches currently used in wildfire risk assessment. Motivation for this work stems largely from limitations of existing stochastic wildfire simulation systems, which can generate pixel-based outputs of fire behavior as well as polygon-based outputs of simulated...

  9. A Note on the First Integrals of Vector Fields with Integrating Factors and Normalizers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaume Llibre

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available We prove a sufficient condition for the existence of explicit first integrals for vector fields which admit an integrating factor. This theorem recovers and extends previous results in the literature on the integrability of vector fields which are volume preserving and possess nontrivial normalizers. Our approach is geometric and coordinate-free and hence it works on any smooth orientable manifold.

  10. Workplace mental health: developing an integrated intervention approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Mental health problems are prevalent and costly in working populations. Workplace interventions to address common mental health problems have evolved relatively independently along three main threads or disciplinary traditions: medicine, public health, and psychology. In this Debate piece, we argue that these three threads need to be integrated to optimise the prevention of mental health problems in working populations. Discussion To realise the greatest population mental health benefits, workplace mental health intervention needs to comprehensively 1) protect mental health by reducing work–related risk factors for mental health problems; 2) promote mental health by developing the positive aspects of work as well as worker strengths and positive capacities; and 3) address mental health problems among working people regardless of cause. We outline the evidence supporting such an integrated intervention approach and consider the research agenda and policy developments needed to move towards this goal, and propose the notion of integrated workplace mental health literacy. Summary An integrated approach to workplace mental health combines the strengths of medicine, public health, and psychology, and has the potential to optimise both the prevention and management of mental health problems in the workplace. PMID:24884425

  11. 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.

  12. An integrated approach for facilities planning by ELECTRE method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elbishari, E. M. Y.; Hazza, M. H. F. Al; Adesta, E. Y. T.; Rahman, Nur Salihah Binti Abdul

    2018-01-01

    Facility planning is concerned with the design, layout, and accommodation of people, machines and activities of a system. Most of the researchers try to investigate the production area layout and the related facilities. However, few of them try to investigate the relationship between the production space and its relationship with service departments. The aim of this research to is to integrate different approaches in order to evaluate, analyse and select the best facilities planning method that able to explain the relationship between the production area and other supporting departments and its effect on human efforts. To achieve the objective of this research two different approaches have been integrated: Apple’s layout procedure as one of the effective tools in planning factories, ELECTRE method as one of the Multi Criteria Decision Making methods (MCDM) to minimize the risk of getting poor facilities planning. Dalia industries have been selected as a case study to implement our integration the factory have been divided two main different area: the whole facility (layout A), and the manufacturing area (layout B). This article will be concerned with the manufacturing area layout (Layout B). After analysing the data gathered, the manufacturing area was divided into 10 activities. There are five factors that the alternative were compared upon which are: Inter department satisfactory level, total distance travelled for workers, total distance travelled for the product, total time travelled for the workers, and total time travelled for the product. Three different layout alternatives have been developed in addition to the original layouts. Apple’s layout procedure was used to study and evaluate the different alternatives layouts, the study and evaluation of the layouts was done by calculating scores for each of the factors. After obtaining the scores from evaluating the layouts, ELECTRE method was used to compare the proposed alternatives with each other and with

  13. ABOUT APPROACHES OF CREATION OF INTEGRATED INFORMATION SYSTEM PDM-ERP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. G. Mikhailov

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The problems which has added in the field of creation of systems PDM and their integration with ERP is considered. The analysis of the reasons of low efficiency existing PDM is carried out: insufficiency of the primary information brought in PDM unit, structures of a DB, entering of designations in one field, application of referential character of guiding of composition that leads to lowering of its functionality and creates problems with integration with ERP.It is shown that the uniform integrated information system created on uniform databases is necessary for the enterprises with a full stroke, using as the primary document card part-bom-unit, instead of a file. For it other is necessary in difference from databases existing the general-purpose structure in which it is possible to bring any information.Implementation of the new system CDRP, uniting on functional PDM-ERP and providing enterprise basic needs is offered.

  14. Integrated approach to natural gas utilization in the Asia Pacific region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hovdestad, W.R.; Egbogah, E.O.

    1995-01-01

    The rapidly expanding economies in the Pacific Rim have placed increasing demands upon indigenous natural gas supplies in South East Asia and Australia. Competing demands include exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), domestic consumption, and potential use for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to extend the useful life of maturing oil fields. An additional competing demand for gas exports may emerge as the interstate pipeline grid is expanded. An integrated approach incorporating the evolving nature of gas demands and discrete physical supplies would provide a means to mitigate against potential mismatching of supply and demand. The consideration of the evolving nature of gas demands could promote economically beneficial changes to gas field development. The development of high carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) content gas fields has been slowed by the lack of a market for CO 2 . Utilization of by-product CO 2 for EOR could improve development economics, thus facilitating earlier development of gas supplies to satisfy gas demands including domestic use and LNG exports. End users would also benefit from the assurance that gas supplies would become available as needed. The maturity and increasingly complex natural gas industry in the Asia Pacific Region has led to a qualitative change. The model of single projects to satisfy single markets is no longer valid. The current environment is more dynamic, creating the need to anticipate changes to market demands and to find value-added markets for by-products. The integrated approach to gas utilization discussed in this paper presents a new model more appropriate to the gas industry existing today in the Asia Pacific Region. This approach is particularly significant to widely discussed proposals for an Asia Pacific energy grid extending to Australia

  15. Malaysia implements the integrated approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1977-01-01

    Malaysia has implemented an integrated approach in providing family planning services to eligible couples. In 1964 the government of Malaysia adopted a national family planning program, and implementation began in the urban areas and extended into the rural areas. Other agencies are involved in providing family planning services and information including the Federation of Family Planning Associations, the Ministry of Health, the National Family Planning Board, and the Federal Land Development Authority. The number of women practicing contraception has increased from 20,726 in 1967 to 533,646 by 1976. and other methods, 3.9%, respectively. There has been an increase in the percentage of acceptors between ages 15-29 from 56% in 1968 to 71.3% in 1975. The 2nd Malaysian national plan will use a multidisciplinary approach to the problem.

  16. Exploring EFL Learners' Perceptions of Integrated Skills Approach: A Grounded Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tajzad, Maryam; Ostovar-Namaghi, Seyyed Ali

    2014-01-01

    This qualitative study aims at exploring EFL learners' perceptions of the integrated skills approach to language teaching. To this end, the researchers presented the integrated skills approach to a group of 30 participants and interviewed those who were willing to share their views and experience with the researchers. The researchers used grounded…

  17. Science of Integrated Approaches to Natural Resources Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tengberg, Anna; Valencia, Sandra

    2017-04-01

    To meet multiple environmental objectives, integrated programming is becoming increasingly important for the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the financial mechanism of the multilateral environmental agreements, including the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Integration of multiple environmental, social and economic objectives also contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a timely and cost-effective way. However, integration is often not well defined. This paper therefore focuses on identifying key aspects of integration and assessing their implementation in natural resources management (NRM) projects. To that end, we draw on systems thinking literature, and carry out an analysis of a random sample of GEF integrated projects and in-depth case studies demonstrating lessons learned and good practices in addressing land degradation and other NRM challenges. We identify numerous challenges and opportunities of integrated approaches that need to be addressed in order to maximise the catalytic impact of the GEF during problem diagnosis, project design, implementation and governance. We highlight the need for projects to identify clearer system boundaries and main feedback mechanisms within those boundaries, in order to effectively address drivers of environmental change. We propose a theory of change for Integrated Natural Resources Management (INRM) projects, where short-term environmental and socio-economic benefits will first accrue at the local level. Implementation of improved INRM technologies and practices at the local level can be extended through spatial planning, strengthening of innovation systems, and financing and incentive mechanisms at the watershed and/or landscape/seascape level to sustain and enhance ecosystem services at larger scales and longer time spans. We conclude that the evolving scientific understanding of factors influencing social, technical and institutional innovations and

  18. Integrating UNIX workstation into existing online data acquisition systems for Fermilab experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oleynik, G.

    1991-03-01

    With the availability of cost effective computing prior from multiple vendors of UNIX workstations, experiments at Fermilab are adding such computers to their VMS based online data acquisition systems. In anticipation of this trend, we have extended the software products available in our widely used VAXONLINE and PANDA data acquisition software systems, to provide support for integrating these workstations into existing distributed online systems. The software packages we are providing pave the way for the smooth migration of applications from the current Data Acquisition Host and Monitoring computers running the VMS operating systems, to UNIX based computers of various flavors. We report on software for Online Event Distribution from VAXONLINE and PANDA, integration of Message Reporting Facilities, and a framework under UNIX for experiments to monitor and view the raw event data produced at any level in their DA system. We have developed software that allows host UNIX computers to communicate with intelligent front-end embedded read-out controllers and processor boards running the pSOS operating system. Both RS-232 and Ethernet control paths are supported. This enables calibration and hardware monitoring applications to be migrated to these platforms. 6 refs., 5 figs

  19. SESSION V: INTEGRATED APPROACHES IN LAND AND WATER ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SESSION V: INTEGRATED APPROACHES IN LAND AND WATER MANAGEMENT RESEARCH/LAND AND WATER MANAGEMENT ECONOMICS AND POLICY - Socioeconomic implications of improved forage species on smallholder farms in Kenya.

  20. Evaluating airline energy efficiency: An integrated approach with Network Epsilon-based Measure and Network Slacks-based Measure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Xin; Cui, Qiang

    2017-01-01

    This paper focuses on evaluating airline energy efficiency, which is firstly divided into four stages: Operations Stage, Fleet Maintenance Stage, Services Stage and Sales Stage. The new four-stage network structure of airline energy efficiency is a modification of existing models. A new approach, integrated with Network Epsilon-based Measure and Network Slacks-based Measure, is applied to assess the overall energy efficiency and divisional efficiency of 19 international airlines from 2008 to 2014. The influencing factors of airline energy efficiency are analyzed through the regression analysis. The results indicate the followings: 1. The integrated model can identify the benchmarking airlines in the overall system and stages. 2. Most airlines' energy efficiencies keep steady during the period, except for some sharply fluctuations. The efficiency decreases mainly centralized in the year 2008–2011, affected by the financial crisis in the USA. 3. The average age of fleet is positively correlated with the overall energy efficiency, and each divisional efficiency has different significant influencing factors. - Highlights: • An integrated approach with Network Epsilon-based Measure and Network Slacks-based Measure is developed. • 19 airlines' energy efficiencies are evaluated. • Garuda Indonesia has the highest overall energy efficiency.

  1. Ares I Integrated Test Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Jim

    2008-01-01

    This slide presentation reviews the testing approach that NASA is developing for the Ares I launch vehicle. NASA is planning a complete series of development, qualification and verification tests. These include: (1) Upper stage engine sea-level and altitude testing (2) First stage development and qualification motors (3) Upper stage structural and thermal development and qualification test articles (4) Main Propulsion Test Article (MPTA) (5) Upper stage green run testing (6) Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Testing (IVGVT) and (7) Aerodynamic characterization testing.

  2. An integrated approach for integrated intelligent instrumentation and control system (I{sup 3}CS)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jung, C H; Kim, J T; Kwon, K C [Korea Atomic Energy Research Inst., Yusong, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1997-07-01

    Nuclear power plants to guarantee the safety of public should be designed to reduce the operator intervention resulting in operating human errors, identify the process states in transients, and aid to make a decision of their tasks and guide operator actions. For the sake of this purpose, MMIS(MAN-Machine Interface System) in NPPs should be the integrated top-down approach tightly focused on the function-based task analysis including an advanced digital technology, an operator support function, and so on. The advanced I and C research team in KAERI has embarked on developing an Integrated Intelligent Instrumentation and Control System (I{sup 3}CS) for Korea`s next generation nuclear power plants. I{sup 3}CS bases the integrated top-down approach on the function-based task analysis, modern digital technology, standardization and simplification, availability and reliability, and protection of investment. (author). 4 refs, 6 figs.

  3. Integrating Volcanic Hazard Data in a Systematic Approach to Develop Volcanic Hazard Maps in the Lesser Antilles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan M. Lindsay

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available We report on the process of generating the first suite of integrated volcanic hazard zonation maps for the islands of Dominica, Grenada (including Kick ‘em Jenny and Ronde/Caille, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent in the Lesser Antilles. We developed a systematic approach that accommodated the range in prior knowledge of the volcanoes in the region. A first-order hazard assessment for each island was used to develop one or more scenario(s of likely future activity, for which scenario-based hazard maps were generated. For the most-likely scenario on each island we also produced a poster-sized integrated volcanic hazard zonation map, which combined the individual hazardous phenomena depicted in the scenario-based hazard maps into integrated hazard zones. We document the philosophy behind the generation of this suite of maps, and the method by which hazard information was combined to create integrated hazard zonation maps, and illustrate our approach through a case study of St. Vincent. We also outline some of the challenges we faced using this approach, and the lessons we have learned by observing how stakeholders have interacted with the maps over the past ~10 years. Based on our experience, we recommend that future map makers involve stakeholders in the entire map generation process, especially when making design choices such as type of base map, use of colour and gradational boundaries, and indeed what to depict on the map. We also recommend careful consideration of how to evaluate and depict offshore hazard of island volcanoes, and recommend computer-assisted modelling of all phenomena to generate more realistic hazard footprints. Finally, although our systematic approach to integrating individual hazard data into zones generally worked well, we suggest that a better approach might be to treat the integration of hazards on a case-by-case basis to ensure the final product meets map users' needs. We hope that

  4. Integrated assessment of the global warming problem: A decision-analytical approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Lenthe, J.; Hendrickx, L.; Vlek, C.A.J.

    1994-12-01

    The multi-disciplinary character of the global warming problem asks for an integrated assessment approach for ordering and combining the various physical, ecological, economical, and sociological results. The Netherlands initiated their own National Research Program (NRP) on Global Air Pollution and Climate Change (NRP). The first phase (NRP-1) identified the integration theme as one of five central research themes. The second phase (NRP-2) shows a growing concern for integrated assessment issues. The current two-year research project 'Characterizing the risks: a comparative analysis of the risks of global warming and of relevant policy options, which started in September 1993, comes under the integrated assessment part of the Dutch NRP. The first part of the interim report describes the search for an integrated assessment methodology. It starts with emphasizing the need for integrated assessment at a relatively high level of aggregation and from a policy point of view. The conclusion will be that a decision-analytical approach might fit the purpose of a policy-oriented integrated modeling of the global warming problem. The discussion proceeds with an account on decision analysis and its explicit incorporation and analysis of uncertainty. Then influence diagrams, a relatively recent development in decision analysis, are introduced as a useful decision-analytical approach for integrated assessment. Finally, a software environment for creating and analyzing complex influence diagram models is discussed. The second part of the interim report provides a first, provisional integrated modeling of the global warming problem, emphasizing on the illustration of the decision-analytical approach. Major problem elements are identified and an initial problem structure is developed. The problem structure is described in terms of hierarchical influence diagrams. At some places the qualitative structure is filled with quantitative data

  5. On the functional integral approach in quantum statistics. 1. Some approximations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dai Xianxi.

    1990-08-01

    In this paper the susceptibility of a Kondo system in a fairly wide temperature region is calculated in the first harmonic approximation in a functional integral approach. The comparison with that of the renormalization group theory shows that in this region the two results agree quite well. The expansion of the partition function with infinite independent harmonics for the Anderson model is studied. Some symmetry relations are generalized. It is a challenging problem to develop a functional integral approach including diagram analysis, mixed mode effects and some exact relations in the Anderson system proved in the functional integral approach. These topics will be discussed in the next paper. (author). 22 refs, 1 fig

  6. Integrated Approaches to Occupational Health and Safety: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooklin, A; Joss, N; Husser, E; Oldenburg, B

    2017-09-01

    The study objective was to conduct a systematic review of the effectiveness of integrated workplace interventions that combine health promotion with occupational health and safety. Electronic databases (n = 8), including PsychInfo and MEDLINE, were systematically searched. Studies included were those that reported on workplace interventions that met the consensus definition of an "integrated approach," published in English, in the scientific literature since 1990. Data extracted were occupation, worksite, country, sample size, intervention targets, follow-up period, and results reported. Quality was assessed according to American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Practice Guidelines. Heterogeneity precluded formal meta-analyses. Results were classified according to the outcome(s) assessed into five categories (health promotion, injury prevention, occupational health and safety management, psychosocial, and return-on-investment). Narrative synthesis of outcomes was performed. A total of 31 eligible studies were identified; 23 (74%) were (quasi-)experimental trials. Effective interventions were most of those aimed at improving employee physical or mental health. Less consistent results were reported from integrated interventions targeting occupational health and safety management, injury prevention, or organizational cost savings. Integrated approaches have been posed as comprehensive solutions to complex issues. Empirical evidence, while still emerging, provides some support for this. Continuing investment in, and evaluation of, integrated approaches are worthwhile.

  7. An integrated management systems approach to corporate social responsibility.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Asif, M.; Searcy, C.; Zutshi, A.; Fisscher, O.A.M.

    2011-01-01

    A great deal of research has emphasized the strategic management of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, gaps remain on how CSR can be effectively integrated with existing business processes. One key question remaining is how to design business processes so that they accommodate

  8. 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.

  9. An integrated lean-methods approach to hospital facilities redesign.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholas, John

    2012-01-01

    Lean production methods for eliminating waste and improving processes in manufacturing are now being applied in healthcare. As the author shows, the methods are appropriate for redesigning hospital facilities. When used in an integrated manner and employing teams of mostly clinicians, the methods produce facility designs that are custom-fit to patient needs and caregiver work processes, and reduce operational costs. The author reviews lean methods and an approach for integrating them in the redesign of hospital facilities. A case example of the redesign of an emergency department shows the feasibility and benefits of the approach.

  10. Consequence Based Design. An approach for integrating computational collaborative models (Integrated Dynamic Models) in the building design phase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Negendahl, Kristoffer

    relies on various advancements in the area of integrated dynamic models. It also relies on the application and test of the approach in practice to evaluate the Consequence based design and the use of integrated dynamic models. As a result, the Consequence based design approach has been applied in five...... and define new ways to implement integrated dynamic models for the following project. In parallel, seven different developments of new methods, tools and algorithms have been performed to support the application of the approach. The developments concern: Decision diagrams – to clarify goals and the ability...... affect the design process and collaboration between building designers and simulationists. Within the limits of applying the approach of Consequence based design to five case studies, followed by documentation based on interviews, surveys and project related documentations derived from internal reports...

  11. Learning about the Weather through an Integrated STEM Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serin, Gokhan

    2014-01-01

    Introducing concepts through an integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) approach can promote interest and motivation (Bennett, Lubben and Hogarth, 2007; Bybee, 2010). However, implementing such an approach effectively in a classroom setting, with relevant links, is a challenging task. Some concepts lend themselves more…

  12. Integrated Giant Magnetoresistance Technology for Approachable Weak Biomagnetic Signal Detections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Hui-Min; Hu, Liang; Fu, Xin

    2018-01-07

    With the extensive applications of biomagnetic signals derived from active biological tissue in both clinical diagnoses and human-computer-interaction, there is an increasing need for approachable weak biomagnetic sensing technology. The inherent merits of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) and its high integration with multiple technologies makes it possible to detect weak biomagnetic signals with micron-sized, non-cooled and low-cost sensors, considering that the magnetic field intensity attenuates rapidly with distance. This paper focuses on the state-of-art in integrated GMR technology for approachable biomagnetic sensing from the perspective of discipline fusion between them. The progress in integrated GMR to overcome the challenges in weak biomagnetic signal detection towards high resolution portable applications is addressed. The various strategies for 1/ f noise reduction and sensitivity enhancement in integrated GMR technology for sub-pT biomagnetic signal recording are discussed. In this paper, we review the developments of integrated GMR technology for in vivo/vitro biomagnetic source imaging and demonstrate how integrated GMR can be utilized for biomagnetic field detection. Since the field sensitivity of integrated GMR technology is being pushed to fT/Hz 0.5 with the focused efforts, it is believed that the potential of integrated GMR technology will make it preferred choice in weak biomagnetic signal detection in the future.

  13. A generic, time-resolved, integrated digital image correlation, identification approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoefnagels, J.P.M.; Neggers, J.; Blaysat, Benoît; Hild, François; Geers, M.G.D.; Jin, H.; Sciammarella, C.; Yoshida, S.; Lamberti, L.

    2015-01-01

    A generic one-step Integrated Digital Image Correlation (I-DIC) inverse parameter identification approach is introduced that enables direct identification of constitutive model parameters by intimately integrating a Finite Elements Method (FEM) with Digital Image Correlation (DIC), directly

  14. A Triangular Approach to Integrate Research, Education and Practice in Higher Engineering Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heikkinen, Eetu-Pekka; Jaako, Juha; Hiltunen, Jukka

    2017-01-01

    Separate approaches in engineering education, research and practice are not very useful when preparing students for working life; instead, integration of education, research and industrial practices is needed. A triangular approach (TA) as a method to accomplish this integration and as a method to provide students with integrated expertise is…

  15. A participatory and integrative approach to improve productivity and ergonomics in assembly

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Looze, M.P. de; Rhijn, J.W. van; Deursen, J. van; Tuinzaad, G.H.; Reijneveld, C.N.

    2003-01-01

    A participatory and integrative approach was applied to improve the productivity and ergonomics of the assembly lines in two factories, producing magnetic stop valves and office furniture, respectively. Main elements of the approach are the active participation of the company and the integration of

  16. The Site Approach - Lessons Learned from the Integrated Safeguards Approach for JNC-1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kikuchi, M.; Iso, S.; Tomine, K.; Hirato, Y.; Namekawa, M.; Takasugi, N.; Watanabe, M.; Tsutaki, Y.; Asano, T.; Nagatani, T.; Ninagawa, J.; Fujiwara, S.; Takahashi, S.; Kimura, T.; Kodani, Y.; Fukuhara, J.; Miyaji, N.; Kawakami, Y.; Koizumi, A.; Yamazaki, Y.; Nishinosono, S.; Sasaki, K.

    2010-01-01

    Integrated safeguards approaches for specific sites are recognized important elements in the design of a State-level approach under the concept of grouping facilities. Japan and the IAEA agreed further improvement of integrated safeguards implementation in effective and efficient manner, particularly at large complex nuclear sites in Japan. Japan and the IAEA developed the integrated safeguards approach for specific sites defined at Article 18 of Additional Protocol. In 2008, the IAEA started the three-year test implementation of JNC-1 site approach for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the safeguards implementation of UDU material handling facilities. Japan and IAEA agreed to adopt the sector concept in order to make clear of subjected nuclear material to be verified. The sector is defined as spatial assignment that treats the same material stratum beyond MBAs in the site. The arrangement of MBAs and related material balance calculations as well as statistical analysis is maintained as a fundamental safeguards measure. At the boundaries of each sector, appropriate unattended NDA system and/or C/S system are installed, and material flows across the boundaries are verified by the system or attendance of resident inspectors. For inventory verification of the nuclear material stayed in sectors, an appropriate numbers of randomly scheduled inspections will be implemented. IAEA can access to the randomly selected sectors within 2 hours after notification. NRTA based on frequent operator's declaration will be performed for achievement of timeliness detection goal. The JNC-1 site approach has been implemented under the enhanced co-operation between the IAEA and SSAC through joint use of equipment and arrangements for DA analysis. Especially, national inspectors are working with IAEA together for coordination with operators. Because NMCC lab analyses all DA samples taken from facilities and the analysis results will be shared by the IAEA, certain numbers of DA

  17. Exploring multifunctional agriculture. A review of conceptual approaches and prospects for an integrative transitional framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renting, H; Rossing, W A H; Groot, J C J; Van der Ploeg, J D; Laurent, C; Perraud, D; Stobbelaar, D J; Van Ittersum, M K

    2009-05-01

    In the last decade the multifunctional agriculture (MFA) concept has emerged as a key notion in scientific and policy debates on the future of agriculture and rural development. Broadly speaking, MFA refers to the fact that agricultural activity beyond its role of producing food and fibre may also have several other functions such as renewable natural resources management, landscape and biodiversity conservation and contribution to the socio-economic viability of rural areas. The use of the concept can be traced to a number of wider societal and political transformation processes, which have influenced scientific and policy approaches in different ways amongst countries and disciplines. This paper critically discusses various existing research approaches to MFA, both from natural and social sciences. To this aim different strands of literature are classified according to their focus on specific governance mechanisms and levels of analysis into four main categories of research approaches (market regulation, land-use approaches, actor-oriented and public regulation approaches). For each category an overview of the state-of-the-art of research is given and an assessment is made of its strengths and weaknesses. The review demonstrates that the multifunctionality concept has attracted a wealth of scientific contributions, which have considerably improved our understanding of key aspects of MFA. At the same time approaches in the four categories have remained fragmented and each has limitations to understand MFA in all its complexity due to inherent constraints of applied conceptualizations and associated disciplinary backgrounds. To go beyond these limitations, we contend, new meta-level frameworks of analysis are to be developed that enable a more integrated approach. The paper concludes by presenting the main lines of an integrative, transitional framework for the study of MFA, which analyses multifunctional agriculture against the background of wider societal change

  18. A manufacturable process integration approach for graphene devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaziri, Sam; Lupina, Grzegorz; Paussa, Alan; Smith, Anderson D.; Henkel, Christoph; Lippert, Gunther; Dabrowski, Jarek; Mehr, Wolfgang; Östling, Mikael; Lemme, Max C.

    2013-06-01

    In this work, we propose an integration approach for double gate graphene field effect transistors. The approach includes a number of process steps that are key for future integration of graphene in microelectronics: bottom gates with ultra-thin (2 nm) high-quality thermally grown SiO2 dielectrics, shallow trench isolation between devices and atomic layer deposited Al2O3 top gate dielectrics. The complete process flow is demonstrated with fully functional GFET transistors and can be extended to wafer scale processing. We assess, through simulation, the effects of the quantum capacitance and band bending in the silicon substrate on the effective electric fields in the top and bottom gate oxide. The proposed process technology is suitable for other graphene-based devices such as graphene-based hot electron transistors and photodetectors.

  19. Transporting existing VSC-24 canisters using a risk-based licensing approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Srinivasan, R.; Sisley, S.E.; Hopf, J.E. [BNFL Fuel Solutions, Campbell, CA (United States)

    2004-07-01

    The eventual disposition of the spent fuel assemblies loaded in canisters and casks currently designed and licensed only for on-site storage is an industry-wide issue. The canister-specific BUC evaluation approach developed by BFS can be used to license many of these storage canisters and casks for transportation. This will allow these storage canisters and casks to be transported intact to a long-term storage facility or repository, thereby minimizing fuel handling operations, impact on plant operations, and occupational exposure, as well as total infrastructure costs. Application of the proposed canister-specific BUC analysis approach to a preliminary evaluation of the 58 loaded MSBs demonstrates the benefits of this approach. The results of this preliminary evaluation show that a more rigorous analysis based on the known characteristics of the loaded spent fuel, rather than the design-basis fuel parameters, produces significantly lower maximum keff values and can be used to qualify many of the existing loaded storage canisters for transportation. Transportation certification for storage canisters having more reactive spent fuel payloads may require reliance on BUC approaches that are more aggressive than current NRC guidelines allow. Credit may be required for fission- product isotopes that do not have sufficient chemical assay data for benchmarking. In addition, reduced criticality safety margins may be required. For these more-aggressive BUC approaches, a risk assessment should be provided to support the NRC-approval basis. The risk assessment should evaluate the possibility and consequences of an accidental criticality event based upon inaccuracies in the characterization of the spent-fuel payloads.

  20. Transporting existing VSC-24 canisters using a risk-based licensing approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Srinivasan, R.; Sisley, S.E.; Hopf, J.E.

    2004-01-01

    The eventual disposition of the spent fuel assemblies loaded in canisters and casks currently designed and licensed only for on-site storage is an industry-wide issue. The canister-specific BUC evaluation approach developed by BFS can be used to license many of these storage canisters and casks for transportation. This will allow these storage canisters and casks to be transported intact to a long-term storage facility or repository, thereby minimizing fuel handling operations, impact on plant operations, and occupational exposure, as well as total infrastructure costs. Application of the proposed canister-specific BUC analysis approach to a preliminary evaluation of the 58 loaded MSBs demonstrates the benefits of this approach. The results of this preliminary evaluation show that a more rigorous analysis based on the known characteristics of the loaded spent fuel, rather than the design-basis fuel parameters, produces significantly lower maximum keff values and can be used to qualify many of the existing loaded storage canisters for transportation. Transportation certification for storage canisters having more reactive spent fuel payloads may require reliance on BUC approaches that are more aggressive than current NRC guidelines allow. Credit may be required for fission- product isotopes that do not have sufficient chemical assay data for benchmarking. In addition, reduced criticality safety margins may be required. For these more-aggressive BUC approaches, a risk assessment should be provided to support the NRC-approval basis. The risk assessment should evaluate the possibility and consequences of an accidental criticality event based upon inaccuracies in the characterization of the spent-fuel payloads

  1. Maximizing economic and environmental performance of existing coal-fired assets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bartley, Pat; Foucher, Jean-Claude; Hestermann, Rolf; Hilton, Bob; Keegan, Bill; Stephen, Don

    2007-07-01

    In recent years, Plant Owners and innovative suppliers such as ALSTOM have come to realize that existing coal-fired assets have in many cases hidden capacity. This largely results from the conservative nature of their original design, but also from the possibility of integrating the latest advances in technology without the need to buy complete power plant components. ALSTOM's Optimized Plant Retrofit (OPR) process is a proven method to identify the full potential of existing equipment, taking a systemic and holistic approach to achieve full optimisation. OPRs are supported by ALSTOM's comprehensive portfolio of available technologies and a proven capability to integrate retrofit opportunities encompassing innovative solutions for a variety of plant components such as coal mills, boiler, air pollution control equipment, turbogenerator, feedheating and condensing plant. By teaming utility representatives with ALSTOM's technical experts we can collectively identify solutions for enhancing both heat rate and net output, to maximise the value of existing assets. This often gives a return on investment significantly better than greenfield construction for supply margin improvement. This paper introduces the OPR concept in detail and presents case studies and insights into future developments, in particular retrofitting existing assets in an emissions constrained environment. (auth)

  2. An Overview of Modeling Approaches Applied to Aggregation-Based Fleet Management and Integration of Plug-in Electric Vehicles †

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shi You

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The design and implementation of management policies for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs need to be supported by a holistic understanding of the functional processes, their complex interactions, and their response to various changes. Models developed to represent different functional processes and systems are seen as useful tools to support the related studies for different stakeholders in a tangible way. This paper presents an overview of modeling approaches applied to support aggregation-based management and integration of PEVs from the perspective of fleet operators and grid operators, respectively. We start by explaining a structured modeling approach, i.e., a flexible combination of process models and system models, applied to different management and integration studies. A state-of-the-art overview of modeling approaches applied to represent several key processes, such as charging management, and key systems, such as the PEV fleet, is then presented, along with a detailed description of different approaches. Finally, we discuss several considerations that need to be well understood during the modeling process in order to assist modelers and model users in the appropriate decisions of using existing, or developing their own, solutions for further applications.

  3. Integrative Analysis of Transcription Factor Combinatorial Interactions Using a Bayesian Tensor Factorization Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Yusen; Gao, Lin; Zhang, Shihua

    2017-01-01

    Transcription factors play a key role in transcriptional regulation of genes and determination of cellular identity through combinatorial interactions. However, current studies about combinatorial regulation is deficient due to lack of experimental data in the same cellular environment and extensive existence of data noise. Here, we adopt a Bayesian CANDECOMP/PARAFAC (CP) factorization approach (BCPF) to integrate multiple datasets in a network paradigm for determining precise TF interaction landscapes. In our first application, we apply BCPF to integrate three networks built based on diverse datasets of multiple cell lines from ENCODE respectively to predict a global and precise TF interaction network. This network gives 38 novel TF interactions with distinct biological functions. In our second application, we apply BCPF to seven types of cell type TF regulatory networks and predict seven cell lineage TF interaction networks, respectively. By further exploring the dynamics and modularity of them, we find cell lineage-specific hub TFs participate in cell type or lineage-specific regulation by interacting with non-specific TFs. Furthermore, we illustrate the biological function of hub TFs by taking those of cancer lineage and blood lineage as examples. Taken together, our integrative analysis can reveal more precise and extensive description about human TF combinatorial interactions. PMID:29033978

  4. Intergovernmental approach of the new liberalism in the development of integration processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. P. Stadnyk

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Investigated intergovernmental theory approach to understanding the new liberalism integration processes. Determined the nature of the liberal intergovernmental approach that Andrew Moravchik developed within the new liberalism. Emphasized that the intergovernmental approach of the new liberalism theory considers national preferences in international relations as being primarily determined by domestic political processes. Liberal intergovernmental approach rejects the rhetoric of so­called national interests and instead focuses on interest groups that define a specific government policy regarding foreign partners. Specified on crucial economic lobbying pressure defined interest groups in the formation of national preferences. The features considering interest groups that determine foreign policy under the intergovernmental approach a theory of new liberalism. Singled out a number of critical approaches to the liberal intergovernmental approach given the nature explanation integration processes. Clarified the value of the intergovernmental approach within theories of political integration by taking into account the theoretical and conceptual foundations of his liberal variety ­ liberal intergovernmental approach as part of a new theory of liberalism, which involves the formation of national preferences in international relations through domestic contexts interaction of national interest groups and their lobbying pressure.

  5. A Comparative Study on Sugeno Integral Approach to Aggregation of Experts' Opinion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Seong Ho; Kim, Kil Yoo; Kim, Tae Woon

    2007-01-01

    A multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) problem of preference ranking of various alternatives is common in science and engineering fields. Usually, the MCDM problem is characterized in terms of two factors: relative importance of each evaluation criterion and appropriateness of each alternative. The ranking is determined by a relative degree of appropriateness of decision alternatives. In reality, there are different grades of interaction among decision criteria. One of well-known approaches to aggregation of those two factors is the weighted arithmetic mean (WAM) approach. Here, importance weights for criteria are viewed as probability measures. The weights are linearly aggregated with appropriateness values. In the present work, the main objective is to study an aggregation model with various grades of interactions among the decision elements. The successful applications of fuzzy integral aggregation operators to subjective MCDM problems have been motivating this work. On the basis of λ-fuzzy measures and Sugeno integral (SI), the SI aggregation approach is proposed. Here, interaction among criteria is dealt with λ-fuzzy measures. Aggregation of these measures and appropriateness values is implemented, especially, by the Sugeno integral as one of fuzzy integrals. Aggregated values obtained by the SI approach are viewed as decision maker's pessimistic (or conservative) attitude towards information aggregation, compared to the WAM approach. Firstly, the concepts of the λ-fuzzy measure and the Sugeno fuzzy integral are introduced. Then, as an application of the SI approach, an illustrative example is given

  6. Positioning oneself within an epistemology: refining our thinking about integrative approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickerson, Victoria C

    2010-09-01

    Integrative approaches seem to be paramount in the current climate of family therapy and other psychotherapies. However, integration between and among theories and practices can only occur within a specific epistemology. This article makes a distinction between three different epistemologies: individualizing, systems, and poststructural. It then makes the argument that one can integrate theories within epistemologies and one can adopt practices and some theoretical concepts across theories and across epistemologies, but that it is impossible to integrate theories across epistemologies. It further states that although social constructionism has influenced much of contemporary psychological thinking, because of the divergence between a structural and a poststructural approach, constructionism looks different depending upon one's epistemological stance. Examples of integration within epistemologies and of what looks like integration across epistemologies (but is not) further illustrate these important distinctions. The conclusions reached here are crucial to our philosophical considerations, our pedagogical assumptions, and implications for both research and a reflexive clinical practice. 2010 © FPI, Inc.

  7. System level approaches for mainstreaming tobacco control into existing health programs in India: Perspectives from the field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajmohan Panda

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: India is the second largest consumer of tobacco in the world, and varieties of both smoked and smokeless tobacco products are widely available. The national program for tobacco control is run like a vertical stand-alone program. There is a lack of understanding of existing opportunities and barriers within the health programs that influence the integration of tobacco control messages into them. The present formative research identifies such opportunities and barriers. Methods: We conducted a multi-step, mixed methodological study of primary care personnel and policy-makers in two Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The primary purpose of our study was to investigate health worker and policy-maker perceptions on the integration of tobacco control intervention. We systematically collected data in three steps: In Step I, we conducted in-depth interviews (IDIs and focus group discussions with primary care health personnel, Step II consists of a quantitative survey among health care providers (n = 1457 to test knowledge, attitudes and practices in tobacco control and Step III we conducted 75 IDIs with program heads and policy-makers to evaluate the relative congruence of their views on integration of the tobacco control program. Results: Majority of the health care providers recognized tobacco use as a major health problem. There was a general consensus for the need of training for effective dissemination of information from health care providers to patients. Almost 92% of the respondents opined that integration of tobacco control with other health programs will be highly effective to downscale the tobacco epidemic. Conclusions: Our findings suggest the need for integration of tobacco control program into existing health programs. Integration of tobacco control strategies into the health care system within primary and secondary care will be more effective and counseling for tobacco cessation should be available for population

  8. Implementing an Interdisciplinary Student Centric Approach to Work-Integrated Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchioro, Gary; Ryan, Maria M.; Perkins, Tim

    2014-01-01

    This paper describes the implementation of an innovative approach to work-integrated learning using interdisciplinary projects within a university Faculty of Business. Further, it discusses the implementation of integrated and authentic assessments involving academic units in the marketing, urban planning and business communication disciplines.…

  9. A novel virtual hub approach for multisource downstream service integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Previtali, Mattia; Cuca, Branka; Barazzetti, Luigi

    2016-08-01

    A large development of downstream services is expected to be stimulated starting from earth observations (EO) datasets acquired by Copernicus satellites. An important challenge connected with the availability of downstream services is the possibility for their integration in order to create innovative applications with added values for users of different categories level. At the moment, the world of geo-information (GI) is extremely heterogeneous in terms of standards and formats used, thus preventing a facilitated access and integration of downstream services. Indeed, different users and data providers have also different requirements in terms of communication protocols and technology advancement. In recent years, many important programs and initiatives have tried to address this issue even on trans-regional and international level (e.g. INSPIRE Directive, GEOSS, Eye on Earth and SEIS). However, a lack of interoperability between systems and services still exists. In order to facilitate the interaction between different downstream services, a new architectural approach (developed within the European project ENERGIC OD) is proposed in this paper. The brokering-oriented architecture introduces a new mediation layer (the Virtual Hub) which works as an intermediary to bridge the gaps linked to interoperability issues. This intermediation layer de-couples the server and the client allowing a facilitated access to multiple downstream services and also Open Data provided by national and local SDIs. In particular, in this paper an application is presented integrating four services on the topic of agriculture: (i) the service given by Space4Agri (providing services based on MODIS and Landsat data); (ii) Gicarus Lab (providing sample services based on Landsat datasets) and (iii) FRESHMON (providing sample services for water quality) and services from a several regional SDIs.

  10. An Integrated Neuroscience and Engineering Approach to Classifying Human Brain-States

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-12-22

    AFRL-AFOSR-VA-TR-2016-0037 An Integrated Neuroscience and Engineering Approach to Classifying Human Brain-States Adrian Lee UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON...to 14-09-2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE An Integrated Neuroscience and Engineering Approach to Classifying Human Brain- States 5a.  CONTRACT NUMBER 5b...specific cognitive states remains elusive, owing perhaps to limited crosstalk between the fields of neuroscience and engineering. Here, we report a

  11. Ruminant Nutrition Symposium: a systems approach to integrating genetics, nutrition, and metabolic efficiency in dairy cattle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNamara, J P

    2012-06-01

    The role of the dairy cow is to help provide high-quality protein and other nutrients for humans. We must select and manage cows with the goal of reaching the greatest possible efficiency for any given environment. We have increased efficiency tremendously over the years, yet the variation in productive and reproductive efficiency among animals is still quite large. In part this is because of a lack of full integration of genetic, nutritional, and reproductive biology into management decisions. However, integration across these disciplines is increasing as biological research findings show more specific control points at which genetics, nutrition, and reproduction interact. An ordered systems biology approach that focuses on why and how cells regulate energy and N use and on how and why organs interact by endocrine and neurocrine mechanisms will speed improvements in efficiency. More sophisticated dairy managers will demand better information to improve the efficiency of their animals. Using genetic improvement and proper animal management to improve milk productive and reproductive efficiency requires a deeper understanding of metabolic processes during the transition period. Using existing metabolic models, we can design experiments specifically to integrate new data from transcriptional arrays into models that describe nutrient use in farm animals. A systems modeling approach can help focus our research to make faster and large advances in efficiency and show directly how this can be applied on the farms.

  12. Path integral approach to eikonal and next-to-eikonal exponentiation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Laenen, E.; Stavenga, G.; White, C.D.

    2009-01-01

    We approach the issue of exponentiation of soft gauge boson corrections to scattering amplitudes from a path integral point of view. We show that if one represents the amplitude as a first quantized path integral in a mixed coordinate-momentum space representation, a charged particle interacting

  13. Performance improvement integration: a whole systems approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Page, C K

    1999-02-01

    Performance improvement integration in health care organizations is a challenge for health care leaders. Required for accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (Joint Commission), performance improvement (PI) can be designed as a sustainable model for performance to survive in a turbulent period. Central Baptist Hospital developed a model for PI that focused on strategy established by the leadership team, delineated responsibility through the organizational structure of shared governance, and accountability for outcomes evidenced through the organization's profitability. Such an approach integrated into the culture of the organization can produce positive financial margins, positive customer satisfaction, and commendations from the Joint Commission.

  14. From Physical Process to Economic Cost - Integrated Approaches of Landslide Risk Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klose, M.; Damm, B.

    2014-12-01

    The nature of landslides is complex in many respects, with landslide hazard and impact being dependent on a variety of factors. This obviously requires an integrated assessment for fundamental understanding of landslide risk. Integrated risk assessment, according to the approach presented in this contribution, implies combining prediction of future landslide occurrence with analysis of landslide impact in the past. A critical step for assessing landslide risk in integrated perspective is to analyze what types of landslide damage affected people and property in which way and how people contributed and responded to these damage types. In integrated risk assessment, the focus is on systematic identification and monetization of landslide damage, and analytical tools that allow deriving economic costs from physical landslide processes are at the heart of this approach. The broad spectrum of landslide types and process mechanisms as well as nonlinearity between landslide magnitude, damage intensity, and direct costs are some main factors explaining recent challenges in risk assessment. The two prevailing approaches for assessing the impact of landslides in economic terms are cost survey (ex-post) and risk analysis (ex-ante). Both approaches are able to complement each other, but yet a combination of them has not been realized so far. It is common practice today to derive landslide risk without considering landslide process-based cause-effect relationships, since integrated concepts or new modeling tools expanding conventional methods are still widely missing. The approach introduced in this contribution is based on a systematic framework that combines cost survey and GIS-based tools for hazard or cost modeling with methods to assess interactions between land use practices and landslides in historical perspective. Fundamental understanding of landslide risk also requires knowledge about the economic and fiscal relevance of landslide losses, wherefore analysis of their

  15. Tiered Approach to Resilience Assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linkov, Igor; Fox-Lent, Cate; Read, Laura; Allen, Craig R; Arnott, James C; Bellini, Emanuele; Coaffee, Jon; Florin, Marie-Valentine; Hatfield, Kirk; Hyde, Iain; Hynes, William; Jovanovic, Aleksandar; Kasperson, Roger; Katzenberger, John; Keys, Patrick W; Lambert, James H; Moss, Richard; Murdoch, Peter S; Palma-Oliveira, Jose; Pulwarty, Roger S; Sands, Dale; Thomas, Edward A; Tye, Mari R; Woods, David

    2018-04-25

    Regulatory agencies have long adopted a three-tier framework for risk assessment. We build on this structure to propose a tiered approach for resilience assessment that can be integrated into the existing regulatory processes. Comprehensive approaches to assessing resilience at appropriate and operational scales, reconciling analytical complexity as needed with stakeholder needs and resources available, and ultimately creating actionable recommendations to enhance resilience are still lacking. Our proposed framework consists of tiers by which analysts can select resilience assessment and decision support tools to inform associated management actions relative to the scope and urgency of the risk and the capacity of resource managers to improve system resilience. The resilience management framework proposed is not intended to supplant either risk management or the many existing efforts of resilience quantification method development, but instead provide a guide to selecting tools that are appropriate for the given analytic need. The goal of this tiered approach is to intentionally parallel the tiered approach used in regulatory contexts so that resilience assessment might be more easily and quickly integrated into existing structures and with existing policies. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  16. 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.

  17. An integrated approach towards future ballistic neck protection materials selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breeze, John; Helliker, Mark; Carr, Debra J

    2013-05-01

    Ballistic protection for the neck has historically taken the form of collars attached to the ballistic vest (removable or fixed), but other approaches, including the development of prototypes incorporating ballistic material into the collar of an under body armour shirt, are now being investigated. Current neck collars incorporate the same ballistic protective fabrics as the soft armour of the remaining vest, reflecting how ballistic protective performance alone has historically been perceived as the most important property for neck protection. However, the neck has fundamental differences from the thorax in terms of anatomical vulnerability, flexibility and equipment integration, necessitating a separate solution from the thorax in terms of optimal materials selection. An integrated approach towards the selection of the most appropriate combination of materials to be used for each of the two potential designs of future neck protection has been developed. This approach requires evaluation of the properties of each potential material in addition to ballistic performance alone, including flexibility, mass, wear resistance and thermal burden. The aim of this article is to provide readers with an overview of this integrated approach towards ballistic materials selection and an update of its current progress in the development of future ballistic neck protection.

  18. Integrating community-based participatory research and informatics approaches to improve the engagement and health of underserved populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unertl, Kim M; Schaefbauer, Chris L; Campbell, Terrance R; Senteio, Charles; Siek, Katie A; Bakken, Suzanne; Veinot, Tiffany C

    2016-01-01

    We compare 5 health informatics research projects that applied community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches with the goal of extending existing CBPR principles to address issues specific to health informatics research. We conducted a cross-case analysis of 5 diverse case studies with 1 common element: integration of CBPR approaches into health informatics research. After reviewing publications and other case-related materials, all coauthors engaged in collaborative discussions focused on CBPR. Researchers mapped each case to an existing CBPR framework, examined each case individually for success factors and barriers, and identified common patterns across cases. Benefits of applying CBPR approaches to health informatics research across the cases included the following: developing more relevant research with wider impact, greater engagement with diverse populations, improved internal validity, more rapid translation of research into action, and the development of people. Challenges of applying CBPR to health informatics research included requirements to develop strong, sustainable academic-community partnerships and mismatches related to cultural and temporal factors. Several technology-related challenges, including needs to define ownership of technology outputs and to build technical capacity with community partners, also emerged from our analysis. Finally, we created several principles that extended an existing CBPR framework to specifically address health informatics research requirements. Our cross-case analysis yielded valuable insights regarding CBPR implementation in health informatics research and identified valuable lessons useful for future CBPR-based research. The benefits of applying CBPR approaches can be significant, particularly in engaging populations that are typically underserved by health care and in designing patient-facing technology. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical

  19. An integrated approach for microstructure simulation: Application to nickel-aluminum-molybdenum alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Tao

    The properties and performance of a material are strongly dependent on its microstructure. For example, the gamma' precipitate coherently embedded in the gamma matrix is the primary strengthening phase in Ni-base superalloys, and its volume fraction, morphology and size distribution largely determine the strength, fatigue and creep properties of an alloy. In the present study, a multiscale computational approach was proposed to predict the microstructure evolution in Ni-base superalloys. It integrated a quantitative phase-field model with first-principles calculations as well as the CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagram) technique. Fundamental materials property databases such as lattice parameters and atomic mobility were developed. A phenomenological model was developed to describe the lattice parameter in solid states as a function of temperature and composition, and successfully applied to Ni-Al binary system by evaluating the model parameters using experimental data. An integrated computational approach was also proposed for evaluating the lattice misfit between the matrix and precipitates by combining first-principles calculations, existing experimental data and phenomenological modeling when the experimental data is limited. The lattice parameters and the local lattice distortions around solute atoms in gamma-Ni solutions were studied using first-principles calculations. The solute atoms considered include Al, Co, Cr, Hf, Mo, Nb, Re, Ru, Ta, Ti and W. The effects of the atomic size and the electronic and magnetic interactions on lattice distortion have been discussed. Atomic mobility in disordered gamma and ordered gamma' phases was modeled for the Ni-Al-Mo ternary system, and a kinetic database was developed. The diffusion of Al in gamma' was simulated, and the formation energies of vacancy in different sublattices were calculated by first-principles approach, both of which indicate the anti-site diffusion mechanism being dominant for diffusion of Al. The

  20. Integrability conditions for the existence of a Lagrangian in Newtonian mechanics and field theory. Annual progress report, March 1, 1978-May 31, 1979

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sternberg, S.; Santilli, R.M.

    1979-01-01

    Studies of general covariance and its application to particle motion and continuum mechanics were continued. Also developed was a new method in microlocal analysis which has applications to integral geometry, geometrical quantization and the fine structure of certain types of spectra. The classical aspect of a program was studied by a comprehensive analysis of the integrability conditions for the existence of a Lagrangian or, independently, of a Hamiltonian for the representation of given Newtonian systems with forces nonderivable from a potential, as well as the methods for the computation of these functions from the equations of motion. The study of a classical, complementary, methodological approach to the same class of systems was also initiated. It consists of the representation of systems with forces nonderivable from a potential via a generalization of Hamilton's equations posessing a Lie-admissible algebraic structure. The problem of the quantization of forces nonderivable from a potential was then studied via the use of these complementary methods. The use of the integrability conditions for the existence of a Hamiltonian representation (the inverse problem) yielded, under certain restrictions, the conventional Heisenberg's equations, but expressed in terms of a generalized Hamiltonian structure. The use of the Lie-admissible formulations yielded a generalization of Heisenberg's equations possessing a generalized (Lie-admissible) algebraic structure, but expressed in terms of a conventional Hamiltonian structure. These preliminary studies were then applied to the investigation of the old idea that the strong interactions are of the type considered, local and nonderivable from a potential, as an approximation of expected nonlocal settings. The experimental verification of Pauli's exclusion principle and other basic physical laws for the nuclear and the hadronic structure was proposed. A list of publications is included

  1. A new, integrated, approach to mineralization-based CCS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hunwick, R.J. [Integrated Carbon Sequestration Pty Ltd., Lindfield, NSW (Australia)

    2009-11-15

    Mineralization is an attractive concept for carbon capture and storage as it can avoid some of the potential public acceptance problems of geosequestering pressurised CO{sub 2}. But there are major cost and energy penalty concerns. A new integrated approach to mineralisation, avoiding the intermediate step of CO{sub 2} extraction and promising considerable benefits, is outlined here. The ICS process integrates two operation in the first, an ammonia-rich aqueous solution of ammonium bicarbonate is used to scrub carbon dioxide from flue gases to form a solution enriched in carbon dioxide. In the second, pretreated serpentinite or other suitable ultramafic rock is blended directly into this rich solution prior to the mixture being held under controlled conditions in a purpose-built reactor. The silicate minerals react with ammonium carbonate to form magnesium carbonate and silica, thereby directly removing frrm solution the carbon dioxide that was absorbed in the flue gas scrubbers as insoluble precipitates. The capture solution is regenerated for its recycle to the flue gas scrubbers. Trials at Lucas Hights have demonstrated the direct conversion of silicates to magnesite, and work continues to establish optimum conditions for this reaction to allow a continuous pilot plant to be designed. Their thermodynamic modeling has confirmed the energy efficiency of the process. Pre-feasibility studies into retrofitting ICS to major existing coal-fired power stations to capture at least 90% of their carbon dioxide emissions suggest a total cost of US$50 to capture and store each tonne of the gas permanently. Since the tonnage of rock required for this mineralisation process is six times the tonnage of coal to be fired in the host power station logic dictates that any new power station should be nearer the rock deposit than the coal field that furnishes its fuel. 2 figs.

  2. Integrated assessment of the global warming problem. A decision-analytical approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Lenthe, J.; Hendrickx, L.; Vlek, C.A.J.

    1995-01-01

    The project on the title subject aims at developing a policy-oriented methodology for the integrated assessment of the global warming problem. Decision analysis in general and influence diagrams in particular appear to constitute an appropriate integrated assessment methodology. The influence-diagram approach is illustrated at a preliminary integrated modeling of the global warming problem. In next stages of the research, attention will be shifted from the methodology of integrated assessment to the contents of integrated models. 4 figs., 5 refs

  3. Towards an integrated, multiple constraint approach. Assessing the regional carbon balance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kruijt, B.; Dolman, A.J.; Lloyd, J.; Ehleringer, J.; Raupach, M.; Finnigan, J.

    2001-01-01

    Full carbon accounting for regions as a whole, considering all fluxes and transports, is ultimately the only real hope if we are to manage global CO2 emissions. Many methods exist to estimate parts of the carbon budget, but none is yet available to measure carbon fluxes directly at regional scales. Atmospheric Boundary-Layer budgeting methods do have this potential. In the winter of 2000, an international workshop was held in Gubbio, Italy, to discuss ways to advance from the pilot experiments that have been carried out on these methods. First, the meeting helped to advance the methodology and clarify its objectives, requirements and merits. But more importantly, the outcome of the meeting was that atmospheric budget methods should be part of an integrative approach, in which data and model results of very different kinds and from very different scales all provide constraints for estimating the net carbon exchange of a region. Several international projects are now operating to achieve this goal

  4. The paradigm of consumer-driven and responsive supply chains: An integrated project approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zimmermann, K.L.; Lans, van der I.A.

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes an integrated project approach that forms the basis of the studies on consumer-driven innovative and responsive supply chains in ISAFRUIT Pillar 1. This integrated approach leads to a wide range of indepth results on trends, preferences, and innovativeness of the European

  5. 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...

  6. Workshop on Current Issues in Predictive Approaches to Intelligence and Security Analytics: Fostering the Creation of Decision Advantage through Model Integration and Evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanfilippo, Antonio P.

    2010-05-23

    The increasing asymmetric nature of threats to the security, health and sustainable growth of our society requires that anticipatory reasoning become an everyday activity. Currently, the use of anticipatory reasoning is hindered by the lack of systematic methods for combining knowledge- and evidence-based models, integrating modeling algorithms, and assessing model validity, accuracy and utility. The workshop addresses these gaps with the intent of fostering the creation of a community of interest on model integration and evaluation that may serve as an aggregation point for existing efforts and a launch pad for new approaches.

  7. Towards an integrated approach to health and medicine in Africa

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2016-08-18

    Aug 18, 2016 ... As such, a social approach to health-seeking behaviour questions how decisions ... In conclusion, the paper proposes that medicine and the humanities should engage seriously .... mental questions: What story does the integration or separation .... approach which has taken an interest in traditional healing.

  8. A multimetric approach for predicting the ecological integrity of New Zealand streams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clapcott J.E.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Integrating multiple measures of stream health into a combined metric can provide a holistic assessment of the ecological integrity of a stream. The aim of this study was to develop a multimetric index (MMI of stream integrity based on predictive modelling of national data sets of water quality, macroinvertebrates, fish and ecosystem process metrics. We used a boosted regression tree approach to calculate an observed/expected score for each metric prior to combining metrics in a MMI based on data availability and the strength of predictive models. The resulting MMI provides a geographically meaningful prediction of the ecological integrity of rivers in New Zealand, but identifies limitations in data and approach, providing focus for ongoing research.

  9. Strategic Integration: The Practical Politics of Integrated Research in Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorrae van Kerkhoff

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Designing an integrative research program requires that research leaders negotiate a balance between the scientific interest of research and the practical interests of non-scientific partners. This paper examines the ways integrated research is formally categorised, and analyses the tangible expressions of the practical politics involved in reconciling scientific and practical interests. Drawing on a comparative study of two Australian Cooperative Research Centres, I argue that categories used by the research leaders to describe the research programs embody three different strategies for structuring the relationships between researchers and their partners. These include matching research program categories to partners’ implementation program categories, reproducing existing integrative partnership models, and filling gaps in understanding with new technical approaches. These strategies offer different advantages and disadvantages. The cases suggest that the integrative approach favoured by each Centre depended on issues such as the geographic scope of policy arenas, sources of scientific credibility, and the political risks facing partners. The practical politics of research organisation offers a new lens for understanding both the practice and theory of integrated research.

  10. Integration of case study approach, project design and computer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Integration of case study approach, project design and computer modeling in managerial accounting education ... Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences ... in the Laboratory of Management Accounting and Controlling Systems at the ...

  11. Probabilistic approach to requalification of existing NPPs under aircraft crash loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Birbraer, A.N.; Roleder, A.J.; Shulman, G.S.

    1993-01-01

    A probabilistic approach to the analysis of NPP safety under aircraft impact is discussed. It may be used both for requalification of existing NPPs and in the process of NPP design. NPP is considered as a system of components: structures, pipes, different kinds of equipment, soil, foundation. The exceeding of the limit probability of the radioactive products release out of containment (i.e. of the NPP safety requirements non-fulfilment) is taken as a system failure criterion. An example of an event tree representing the consequence of events causing the failure is given. Described are the methods of estimate of elementary events probabilities through which a composite probability of the failure is evaluated. (author)

  12. Implementing Digital Storytelling as a Technology Integration Approach with Primary School Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nuala Sweeney-Burt

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Irish educational policy acknowledges the importance of integrating technology meaningfully into teaching and learning at the primary level. Much remains to be done, however, in terms of developing, practically implementing and evaluating the use of technology in the Irish primary classroom. This paper describes a study on the use of a structured approach to digital storytelling as a tool for meaningful technology integration with children at primary level. In this study, the researcher developed a structured approach for implementing digital storytelling with primary school children, and collaborated with a class teacher in an Irish primary school to prepare to implement the approach. Multiple qualitative methods were used to evaluate the implementation, including interviews with the teacher, classroom observation, and focus group interviews with participating children. The results suggested that this structured approach to digital storytelling has the potential to be used successfully as a meaningful technology integration approach with this cohort. The findings also explored implications for the implementation of digital storytelling at primary level, and identified aspects on which further research should be undertaken to enhance and extend the approach that was used.

  13. Graph-based sequence annotation using a data integration approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesch, Robert; Lysenko, Artem; Hindle, Matthew; Hassani-Pak, Keywan; Thiele, Ralf; Rawlings, Christopher; Köhler, Jacob; Taubert, Jan

    2008-08-25

    The automated annotation of data from high throughput sequencing and genomics experiments is a significant challenge for bioinformatics. Most current approaches rely on sequential pipelines of gene finding and gene function prediction methods that annotate a gene with information from different reference data sources. Each function prediction method contributes evidence supporting a functional assignment. Such approaches generally ignore the links between the information in the reference datasets. These links, however, are valuable for assessing the plausibility of a function assignment and can be used to evaluate the confidence in a prediction. We are working towards a novel annotation system that uses the network of information supporting the function assignment to enrich the annotation process for use by expert curators and predicting the function of previously unannotated genes. In this paper we describe our success in the first stages of this development. We present the data integration steps that are needed to create the core database of integrated reference databases (UniProt, PFAM, PDB, GO and the pathway database Ara-Cyc) which has been established in the ONDEX data integration system. We also present a comparison between different methods for integration of GO terms as part of the function assignment pipeline and discuss the consequences of this analysis for improving the accuracy of gene function annotation. The methods and algorithms presented in this publication are an integral part of the ONDEX system which is freely available from http://ondex.sf.net/.

  14. [Integrative approach in the psychotherapy of borderline personality disorder].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuritárné Szabó, Ildikó

    2012-01-01

    In the last 20 years six psychotherapy methods have been developed specifically for borderline personality disorder. Solid RCT evidences suggests the efficacy of all the methods. Roughly equivalent improvement was obtained from the different types of psychotherapies. Today we have reached a new phase of the borderline "psychotherapy boom", the integrative approach. According to the integrative treatment advocates we should not choose among these effective treatments but we can incorporate in the therapy all the components that work. The integrative approach uses general factors common to all effective therapies, combined with specific treatment techniques taken from different therapies in order to treat the given patient's psychopathology. These common factors are: coherent framework; attention to strategies for building strong positive alliance and maintaining patient motivation; creating a safe and structured therapeutic environment; clear treatment frame; transparency of the goals and roles; focus upon presenting problems; higher level therapeutic activity; here-and-now focus; and facilitating self-reflection. Treatment focuses on change while maintaining a validating and supportive stance. General strategies can be supplemented by more specific techniques such as cognitive-behavioral interventions for reducing maladaptive behavior, training for developing emotion regulation skills and interpersonal skills coming from dialectical behavior therapy. Methods drawn from psychodynamic approaches can be used for the modification of underlying interpersonal cognitive-emotional schemas.

  15. Integrated care: wellness-oriented peer approaches: a key ingredient for integrated care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swarbrick, Margaret A

    2013-08-01

    People with lived experience of mental illness have become leaders of an influential movement to help the mental health system embrace the notion of whole health and wellness in the areas of advocacy, policy, and care delivery. Wellness-oriented peer approaches delivered by peer-support whole-health specialists and wellness coaches can play an important role in integrated care models. This column examines the wellness definitions and peer models and some specific benefits and tensions between the peer-oriented wellness approach and the medical model. These models can work in unison to improve health and wellness among people with mental and substance use disorders.

  16. A new data integration approach for AutoCAD and GIS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Hongmei; Li, Yuhong; Wang, Cheng; Li, Lijun

    2006-10-01

    GIS has its advantages both on spatial data analysis and management, particularly on the geometric and attributive information management, which has also attracted lots attentions among researchers around world. AutoCAD plays more and more important roles as one of the main data sources of GIS. Various work and achievements can be found in the related literature. However, the conventional data integration from AutoCAD to GIS is time-consuming, which also can cause the information loss both in the geometric aspects and the attributive aspects for a large system. It is necessary and urgent to sort out new approach and algorithm for the efficient high-quality data integration. In this paper, a novel data integration approach from AutoCAD to GIS will be introduced based on the spatial data mining technique through the data structure analysis both in the AutoCAD and GIS. A practicable algorithm for the data conversion from CAD to GIS will be given as well. By a designed evaluation scheme, the accuracy of the conversion both in the geometric and the attributive information will be demonstrated. Finally, the validity and feasibility of the new approach will be shown by an experimental analysis.

  17. Interventions to promote an integrated approach to public health problems : an application to childhood obesity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hendriks, Anna-Marie; Gubbels, Jessica S; De Vries, Nanne K.; Seidell, Jaap C; Kremers, Stef P J; Jansen, Maria W J

    2012-01-01

    Experts stress the need to bring the childhood obesity epidemic under control by means of an integrated approach. The implementation of such an approach requires the development of integrated enabling policies on public health by local governments. A prerequisite for developing such integrated

  18. 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.

  19. DOE systems approach and integration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logan, J.A.

    1987-01-01

    Six sites are now disposing of most of DOE's currently generated waste. These are: Hanford, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Nevada Test Site, Oak Ridge, and Savannah River. Within DOE, experience with disposal of solid LLW has been that arid site disposal facilities (first four) appear to have performed well, while humid site disposal facilities (last two) have experienced some waste migration. DOE's intent, of course, is to operate all its waste disposal facilities so that public health and safety are not adversely affected. To ensure that this continues to be the case, activities are underway to increase use of waste form stabilization and engineered barriers where appropriate. For the sake of overall economy, these measures are to be applied as and where needed, through use of the systems approach. In this paper the author discusses two topics: the system approach, which DOE has decided to use for resolving waste disposal problems in the management of DOE's low-level wastes; and DOE's intended integration of activities underway at the waste management systems throughout DOE facilities. 2 figures

  20. Babenko’s Approach to Abel’s Integral Equations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chenkuan Li

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this paper is to investigate the following Abel’s integral equation of the second kind: y ( t + λ Γ ( α ∫ 0 t ( t − τ α − 1 y ( τ d τ = f ( t , ( t > 0 and its variants by fractional calculus. Applying Babenko’s approach and fractional integrals, we provide a general method for solving Abel’s integral equation and others with a demonstration of different types of examples by showing convergence of series. In particular, we extend this equation to a distributional space for any arbitrary α ∈ R by fractional operations of generalized functions for the first time and obtain several new and interesting results that cannot be realized in the classical sense or by the Laplace transform.

  1. Designing to target cost: one approach to design/construction integration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Bo

    2005-01-01

    One approach to a more integrated construction delivery process is the concept of ‘designing to target cost’ of which the first examples of application within a lean construction framework have recently been seen. This paper introduces the main principles of the design to target cost method...... and discusses the applicability of this approach to construction. The low degree of organizational and technical continuity from one construction project to the next limits the applicability of the design for target cost approach when compared to its origin in product development of mass manufactured artefacts....... It can be argued that design to target cost may also provide a frame for developing the supply chain towards better coordination and collaboration. Thus methods of design to target cost may serve to facilitate the development of a more integrated supply chain....

  2. Integral equation approach to time-dependent kinematic dynamos in finite domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Mingtian; Stefani, Frank; Gerbeth, Gunter

    2004-01-01

    The homogeneous dynamo effect is at the root of cosmic magnetic field generation. With only a very few exceptions, the numerical treatment of homogeneous dynamos is carried out in the framework of the differential equation approach. The present paper tries to facilitate the use of integral equations in dynamo research. Apart from the pedagogical value to illustrate dynamo action within the well-known picture of the Biot-Savart law, the integral equation approach has a number of practical advantages. The first advantage is its proven numerical robustness and stability. The second and perhaps most important advantage is its applicability to dynamos in arbitrary geometries. The third advantage is its intimate connection to inverse problems relevant not only for dynamos but also for technical applications of magnetohydrodynamics. The paper provides the first general formulation and application of the integral equation approach to time-dependent kinematic dynamos, with stationary dynamo sources, in finite domains. The time dependence is restricted to the magnetic field, whereas the velocity or corresponding mean-field sources of dynamo action are supposed to be stationary. For the spherically symmetric α 2 dynamo model it is shown how the general formulation is reduced to a coupled system of two radial integral equations for the defining scalars of the poloidal and toroidal field components. The integral equation formulation for spherical dynamos with general stationary velocity fields is also derived. Two numerical examples - the α 2 dynamo model with radially varying α and the Bullard-Gellman model - illustrate the equivalence of the approach with the usual differential equation method. The main advantage of the method is exemplified by the treatment of an α 2 dynamo in rectangular domains

  3. Monetary policy and financial (in)stability : An integrated micro-macro approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Graeve, F.; Kick, T.; Koetter, M.; DeGraeve, F.

    Evidence on central banks' twin objective, monetary and financial stability, is scarce. We suggest an integrated micro macro approach with two core virtues. First, we measure financial stability directly at the bank level as the probability of distress. Second, we integrate a microeconomic hazard

  4. Designing a strategic plan development approach for integrated area development projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Kort, Inge

    2009-01-01

    Increasingly, it has become evident that spatial problems can no longer be resolved in isolation, but should be solved in conjunction with other development-related issues. Interest in integrated area development is growing, and a more integrated planning approach is desired. In this design-based

  5. Integrating cell biology and proteomic approaches in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takáč, Tomáš; Šamajová, Olga; Šamaj, Jozef

    2017-10-03

    Significant improvements of protein extraction, separation, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics nurtured advancements of proteomics during the past years. The usefulness of proteomics in the investigation of biological problems can be enhanced by integration with other experimental methods from cell biology, genetics, biochemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology and other omics approaches including transcriptomics and metabolomics. This review aims to summarize current trends integrating cell biology and proteomics in plant science. Cell biology approaches are most frequently used in proteomic studies investigating subcellular and developmental proteomes, however, they were also employed in proteomic studies exploring abiotic and biotic stress responses, vesicular transport, cytoskeleton and protein posttranslational modifications. They are used either for detailed cellular or ultrastructural characterization of the object subjected to proteomic study, validation of proteomic results or to expand proteomic data. In this respect, a broad spectrum of methods is employed to support proteomic studies including ultrastructural electron microscopy studies, histochemical staining, immunochemical localization, in vivo imaging of fluorescently tagged proteins and visualization of protein-protein interactions. Thus, cell biological observations on fixed or living cell compartments, cells, tissues and organs are feasible, and in some cases fundamental for the validation and complementation of proteomic data. Validation of proteomic data by independent experimental methods requires development of new complementary approaches. Benefits of cell biology methods and techniques are not sufficiently highlighted in current proteomic studies. This encouraged us to review most popular cell biology methods used in proteomic studies and to evaluate their relevance and potential for proteomic data validation and enrichment of purely proteomic analyses. We also provide examples of

  6. Pedagogic process modeling: Humanistic-integrative approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boritko Nikolaj M.

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with some current problems of modeling the dynamics of the subject-features development of the individual. The term "process" is considered in the context of the humanistic-integrative approach, in which the principles of self education are regarded as criteria for efficient pedagogic activity. Four basic characteristics of the pedagogic process are pointed out: intentionality reflects logicality and regularity of the development of the process; discreteness (stageability in dicates qualitative stages through which the pedagogic phenomenon passes; nonlinearity explains the crisis character of pedagogic processes and reveals inner factors of self-development; situationality requires a selection of pedagogic conditions in accordance with the inner factors, which would enable steering the pedagogic process. Offered are two steps for singling out a particular stage and the algorithm for developing an integrative model for it. The suggested conclusions might be of use for further theoretic research, analyses of educational practices and for realistic predicting of pedagogical phenomena. .

  7. Graph-based sequence annotation using a data integration approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pesch Robert

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available The automated annotation of data from high throughput sequencing and genomics experiments is a significant challenge for bioinformatics. Most current approaches rely on sequential pipelines of gene finding and gene function prediction methods that annotate a gene with information from different reference data sources. Each function prediction method contributes evidence supporting a functional assignment. Such approaches generally ignore the links between the information in the reference datasets. These links, however, are valuable for assessing the plausibility of a function assignment and can be used to evaluate the confidence in a prediction. We are working towards a novel annotation system that uses the network of information supporting the function assignment to enrich the annotation process for use by expert curators and predicting the function of previously unannotated genes. In this paper we describe our success in the first stages of this development. We present the data integration steps that are needed to create the core database of integrated reference databases (UniProt, PFAM, PDB, GO and the pathway database Ara- Cyc which has been established in the ONDEX data integration system. We also present a comparison between different methods for integration of GO terms as part of the function assignment pipeline and discuss the consequences of this analysis for improving the accuracy of gene function annotation.

  8. Psychological Contract Development: An Integration of Existing Knowledge to Form a Temporal Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kelly Windle

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The psychological contract has received substantial theoretical attention over the past two decades as a popular framework within which to examine contemporary employment relationships. Previous research mostly examines breach and violation of the psychological contract and its impact on employee organization outcomes. Few studies have employed longitudinal, prospective research designs to investigate the psychological contract and as a result, psychological contract content and formation are incompletely understood. It is argued that employment relationships may be better proactively managed with greater understanding of formation and changes in the psychological contract. We examine existing psychological contract literature to identify five key factors proposed to contribute to the formation of psychological contracts. We extend the current research by integrating these factors for the first time into a temporal model of psychological contract development.

  9. Integrating New Technologies and Existing Tools to Promote Programming Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Álvaro Santos

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, many tools have been proposed to reduce programming learning difficulties felt by many students. Our group has contributed to this effort through the development of several tools, such as VIP, SICAS, OOP-Anim, SICAS-COL and H-SICAS. Even though we had some positive results, the utilization of these tools doesn’t seem to significantly reduce weaker student’s difficulties. These students need stronger support to motivate them to get engaged in learning activities, inside and outside classroom. Nowadays, many technologies are available to create contexts that may help to accomplish this goal. We consider that a promising path goes through the integration of solutions. In this paper we analyze the features, strengths and weaknesses of the tools developed by our group. Based on these considerations we present a new environment, integrating different types of pedagogical approaches, resources, tools and technologies for programming learning support. With this environment, currently under development, it will be possible to review contents and lessons, based on video and screen captures. The support for collaborative tasks is another key point to improve and stimulate different models of teamwork. The platform will also allow the creation of various alternative models (learning objects for the same subject, enabling personalized learning paths adapted to each student knowledge level, needs and preferential learning styles. The learning sequences will work as a study organizer, following a suitable taxonomy, according to student’s cognitive skills. Although the main goal of this environment is to support students with more difficulties, it will provide a set of resources supporting the learning of more advanced topics. Software engineering techniques and representations, object orientation and event programming are features that will be available in order to promote the learning progress of students.

  10. An integrated approach to evaluate food antioxidant capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, T; Tanumihardjo, S A

    2007-11-01

    Many methods are available for determining food antioxidant capacity, which is an important topic in food and nutrition research and marketing. However, the results and inferences from different methods may vary substantially because each complex chemical reaction generates unique values. To get a complete and dynamic picture of the ranking of food antioxidant capacity, relative antioxidant capacity index (RACI), a hypothetical concept, is created from the perspective of statistics by integrating the antioxidant capacity values generated from different in vitro methods. RACI is the mean value of standard scores transformed from the initial data generated with different methods for each food item. By comparing the antioxidant capacity of 20 commonly consumed vegetables in the U.S. market that were measured with 7 chemical methods, we demonstrated that the RACI correlated strongly with each method. The significant correlation of RACI with an independent data set further confirmed that RACI is a valid tool to assess food antioxidant capacity. The key advantage of this integrated approach is that RACI is in a numerical scale with no units and has consistent agreement with chemical methods. Although it is a relative index and may not represent a specific antioxidant property of different food items, RACI provides a reasonably accurate rank of antioxidant capacity among foods. Therefore, it can be used as an integrated approach to evaluate food antioxidant capacity.

  11. The Saale-Project -A multidisciplinary approach towards sustainable integrative catchment management -

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bongartz, K.; Flügel, W. A.

    2003-04-01

    In the joint research project “Development of an integrated methodology for the sustainable management of river basins The Saale River Basin example”, coordinated by the Centre of Environmental Research (UFZ), concepts and tools for an integrated management of large river basins are developed and applied for the Saale river basin. The ultimate objective of the project is to contribute to the holistic assessment and benchmarking approaches in water resource planning, as required by the European Water Framework Directive. The study presented here deals (1) with the development of a river basin information and modelling system, (2) with the refinement of a regionalisation approach adapted for integrated basin modelling. The approach combines a user friendly basin disaggregation method preserving the catchment’s physiographic heterogeneity with a process oriented hydrological basin assessment for scale bridging integrated modelling. The well tested regional distribution concept of Response Units (RUs) will be enhanced by landscape metrics and decision support tools for objective, scale independent and problem oriented RU delineation to provide the spatial modelling entities for process oriented and distributed simulation of vertical and lateral hydrological transport processes. On basis of this RUs suitable hydrological modelling approaches will be further developed with strong respect to a more detailed simulation of the lateral surface and subsurface flows as well as the channel flow. This methodical enhancement of the well recognised RU-concept will be applied to the river basin of the Saale (Ac: 23 179 km2) and validated by a nested catchment approach, which allows multi-response-validation and estimation of uncertainties of the modelling results. Integrated modelling of such a complex basin strongly influenced by manifold human activities (reservoirs, agriculture, urban areas and industry) can only be achieved by coupling the various modelling approaches

  12. Location optimization of solar plants by an integrated hierarchical DEA PCA approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azadeh, A.; Ghaderi, S.F.; Maghsoudi, A.

    2008-01-01

    Unique features of renewable energies such as solar energy has caused increasing demands for such resources. In order to use solar energy as a natural resource, environmental circumstances and geographical location related to solar intensity must be considered. Different factors may affect on the selection of a suitable location for solar plants. These factors must be considered concurrently for optimum location identification of solar plants. This article presents an integrated hierarchical approach for location of solar plants by data envelopment analysis (DEA), principal component analysis (PCA) and numerical taxonomy (NT). Furthermore, an integrated hierarchical DEA approach incorporating the most relevant parameters of solar plants is introduced. Moreover, 2 multivariable methods namely, PCA and NT are used to validate the results of DEA model. The prescribed approach is tested for 25 different cities in Iran with 6 different regions within each city. This is the first study that considers an integrated hierarchical DEA approach for geographical location optimization of solar plants. Implementation of the proposed approach would enable the energy policy makers to select the best-possible location for construction of a solar power plant with lowest possible costs

  13. P05.03. Integrative Primary Care Approach to Irritable Bowel Syndrome

    OpenAIRE

    Locke, Amy

    2013-01-01

    Focus Area: Integrative Approaches to Care Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is thought to affect 5% to 10% of the population and is likely a constellation of disorders resulting in abdominal pain, diarrhea, and/or constipation. This presentation will review the scientific evidence for common integrative treatments. A comprehensive integrative history often elucidates underlying factors contributing to symptoms. Assessment of the foundations of health, as with most conditions, is important for I...

  14. An Integrated Open Approach to Capturing Systematic Knowledge for Manufacturing Process Innovation Based on Collective Intelligence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gangfeng Wang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Process innovation plays a vital role in the manufacture realization of increasingly complex new products, especially in the context of sustainable development and cleaner production. Knowledge-based innovation design can inspire designers’ creative thinking; however, the existing scattered knowledge has not yet been properly captured and organized according to Computer-Aided Process Innovation (CAPI. Therefore, this paper proposes an integrated approach to tackle this non-trivial issue. By analyzing the design process of CAPI and technical features of open innovation, a novel holistic paradigm of process innovation knowledge capture based on collective intelligence (PIKC-CI is constructed from the perspective of the knowledge life cycle. Then, a multi-source innovation knowledge fusion algorithm based on semantic elements reconfiguration is applied to form new public knowledge. To ensure the credibility and orderliness of innovation knowledge refinement, a collaborative editing strategy based on knowledge lock and knowledge–social trust degree is explored. Finally, a knowledge management system MPI-OKCS integrating the proposed techniques is implemented into the pre-built CAPI general platform, and a welding process innovation example is provided to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed approach. It is expected that our work would lay the foundation for the future knowledge-inspired CAPI and smart process planning.

  15. Computational Approaches for Integrative Analysis of the Metabolome and Microbiome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jasmine Chong

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The study of the microbiome, the totality of all microbes inhabiting the host or an environmental niche, has experienced exponential growth over the past few years. The microbiome contributes functional genes and metabolites, and is an important factor for maintaining health. In this context, metabolomics is increasingly applied to complement sequencing-based approaches (marker genes or shotgun metagenomics to enable resolution of microbiome-conferred functionalities associated with health. However, analyzing the resulting multi-omics data remains a significant challenge in current microbiome studies. In this review, we provide an overview of different computational approaches that have been used in recent years for integrative analysis of metabolome and microbiome data, ranging from statistical correlation analysis to metabolic network-based modeling approaches. Throughout the process, we strive to present a unified conceptual framework for multi-omics integration and interpretation, as well as point out potential future directions.

  16. A simple integrated assessment approach to global change simulation and evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogutu, Keroboto; D'Andrea, Fabio; Ghil, Michael

    2016-04-01

    We formulate and study the Coupled Climate-Economy-Biosphere (CoCEB) model, which constitutes the basis of our idealized integrated assessment approach to simulating and evaluating global change. CoCEB is composed of a physical climate module, based on Earth's energy balance, and an economy module that uses endogenous economic growth with physical and human capital accumulation. A biosphere model is likewise under study and will be coupled to the existing two modules. We concentrate on the interactions between the two subsystems: the effect of climate on the economy, via damage functions, and the effect of the economy on climate, via a control of the greenhouse gas emissions. Simple functional forms of the relation between the two subsystems permit simple interpretations of the coupled effects. The CoCEB model is used to make hypotheses on the long-term effect of investment in emission abatement, and on the comparative efficacy of different approaches to abatement, in particular by investing in low carbon technology, in deforestation reduction or in carbon capture and storage (CCS). The CoCEB model is very flexible and transparent, and it allows one to easily formulate and compare different functional representations of climate change mitigation policies. Using different mitigation measures and their cost estimates, as found in the literature, one is able to compare these measures in a coherent way.

  17. Leisure market segmentation : an integrated preferences/constraints-based approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stemerding, M.P.; Oppewal, H.; Beckers, T.A.M.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

    1996-01-01

    Traditional segmentation schemes are often based on a grouping of consumers with similar preference functions. The research steps, ultimately leading to such segmentation schemes, are typically independent. In the present article, a new integrated approach to segmentation is introduced, which

  18. A robust and hierarchical approach for the automatic co-registration of intensity and visible images

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Aguilera, Diego; Rodríguez-Gonzálvez, Pablo; Hernández-López, David; Luis Lerma, José

    2012-09-01

    This paper presents a new robust approach to integrate intensity and visible images which have been acquired with a terrestrial laser scanner and a calibrated digital camera, respectively. In particular, an automatic and hierarchical method for the co-registration of both sensors is developed. The approach integrates several existing solutions to improve the performance of the co-registration between range-based and visible images: the Affine Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (A-SIFT), the epipolar geometry, the collinearity equations, the Groebner basis solution and the RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC), integrating a voting scheme. The approach presented herein improves the existing co-registration approaches in automation, robustness, reliability and accuracy.

  19. Auditory-Verbal Music Play Therapy: An Integrated Approach (AVMPT).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammad Esmaeilzadeh, Sahar; Sharifi, Shahla; Tayarani Niknezhad, Hamid

    2013-09-01

    Hearing loss occurs when there is a problem with one or more parts of the ear or ears and causes children to have a delay in the language-learning process. Hearing loss affects children's lives and their development. Several approaches have been developed over recent decades to help hearing-impaired children develop language skills. Auditory-verbal therapy (AVT) is one such approach. Recently, researchers have found that music and play have a considerable effect on the communication skills of children, leading to the development of music therapy (MT) and play therapy (PT). There have been several studies which focus on the impact of music on hearing-impaired children. The aim of this article is to review studies conducted in AVT, MT, and PT and their efficacy in hearing-impaired children. Furthermore, the authors aim to introduce an integrated approach of AVT, MT, and PT which facilitates language and communication skills in hearing-impaired children. In this article we review studies of AVT, MT, and PT and their impact on hearing-impaired children. To achieve this goal, we searched databases and journals including Elsevier, Chor Teach, and Military Psychology, for example. We also used reliable websites such as American Choral Directors Association and Joint Committee on Infant Hearing websites. The websites were reviewed and key words in this article used to find appropriate references. Those articles which are related to ours in content were selected. VT, MT, and PT enhance children's communication and language skills from an early age. Each method has a meaningful impact on hearing loss, so by integrating them we have a comprehensive method in order to facilitate communication and language learning. To achieve this goal, the article offers methods and techniques to perform AVT and MT integrated with PT leading to an approach which offers all advantages of these three types of therapy.

  20. A computational approach to finding novel targets for existing drugs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yvonne Y Li

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Repositioning existing drugs for new therapeutic uses is an efficient approach to drug discovery. We have developed a computational drug repositioning pipeline to perform large-scale molecular docking of small molecule drugs against protein drug targets, in order to map the drug-target interaction space and find novel interactions. Our method emphasizes removing false positive interaction predictions using criteria from known interaction docking, consensus scoring, and specificity. In all, our database contains 252 human protein drug targets that we classify as reliable-for-docking as well as 4621 approved and experimental small molecule drugs from DrugBank. These were cross-docked, then filtered through stringent scoring criteria to select top drug-target interactions. In particular, we used MAPK14 and the kinase inhibitor BIM-8 as examples where our stringent thresholds enriched the predicted drug-target interactions with known interactions up to 20 times compared to standard score thresholds. We validated nilotinib as a potent MAPK14 inhibitor in vitro (IC50 40 nM, suggesting a potential use for this drug in treating inflammatory diseases. The published literature indicated experimental evidence for 31 of the top predicted interactions, highlighting the promising nature of our approach. Novel interactions discovered may lead to the drug being repositioned as a therapeutic treatment for its off-target's associated disease, added insight into the drug's mechanism of action, and added insight into the drug's side effects.

  1. Application of integrated QFD and fuzzy AHP approach in selection of suppliers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bojana Jovanović

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Supplier selection is a widely considered issue in the field of management, especially in quality management. In this paper, in the selection of suppliers of electronic components we used the integrated QFD and fuzzy AHP approaches. The QFD method is used as a tool for translating stakeholder needs into evaluating criteria for suppliers. The fuzzy AHP approach is used as a tool for prioritizing stakeholders, stakeholders’ requirements, evaluating criteria and, finally, for prioritizing suppliers. The paper showcases a case study of implementation of the integrated QFD and fuzzy AHP approaches in the selection of the electronic components supplier in one Serbian company that produces electronic devices. Also presented is the algorithm of implementation of the proposed approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first implementation of the proposed approach in a Serbian company.

  2. Path-integral approach to resonant electron-molecule scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winterstetter, M.; Domcke, W.

    1993-01-01

    A path-integral formulation of resonant electron-molecule scattering is developed within the framework of the projection-operator formalism of scattering theory. The formation and decay of resonances is treated in real time as a quantum-mechanical electronic-tunneling process, modified by the coupling of the electronic motion with the nuclear degrees of freedom. It is shown that the electronic continuum can be summed over in the path-integral formulation, resulting formally in the path integral for an effective two-state system with coupling to vibrations. The harmonic-oscillator approximation is adopted for the vibrational motion in the present work. Approximation methods are introduced which render the numerical evaluation of the sum over paths feasible for up to ∼10 3 elementary time slices. The theory is numerically realized for simple but nontrivial models representing the 2 Π g d-wave shape resonance in e - +N 2 collisions and the 2 Σ u + p-wave shape resonance in e - +H 2 collisions, respectively. The accuracy of the path-integral results is assessed by comparison with exact numerical reference data for these models. The essential virtue of the path-integral approach is the fact that the computational effort scales at most linearly with the number of vibrational degrees of freedom. The path-integral method is thus well suited to treat electron collisions with polyatomic molecules and molecular aggregates

  3. The algebraic locus of Feynman integrals

    OpenAIRE

    Kol, Barak

    2016-01-01

    In the Symmetries of Feynman Integrals (SFI) approach, a diagram's parameter space is foliated by orbits of a Lie group associated with the diagram. SFI is related to the important methods of Integrations By Parts and of Differential Equations. It is shown that sometimes there exist a locus in parameter space where the set of SFI differential equations degenerates into an algebraic equation, thereby enabling a solution in terms of integrals associated with degenerations of the diagram. This i...

  4. An Integrated Approach to Indoor and Outdoor Localization

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-04-17

    TITLE AND SUBTITLE An Integrated Approach to Indoor and Outdoor Localization 5a.  CONTRACT NUMBER 5b.  GRANT NUMBER FA9550-12-1-0299 5c.   PROGRAM ELEMENT...Distribution approved for public release. Figure 5: A flowchart of the method of computing an initial position estimate by comparing a single WiFi scan

  5. Optimising design and cost-effective implementation of future pan-African dietary studies: a review of existing economic integration and nutritional indicators for scenario-based profiling and clustering of countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aglago, Elom K; Landais, Edwige; Zotor, Francis; Nicolas, Genevieve; Gunter, Marc J; Amuna, Paul; Slimani, Nadia

    2018-02-01

    Most of the African countries are undergoing a complex nutrition and epidemiologic transition associated with a rapid increase in the prevalence of diverse non-communicable diseases. Despite this alarming situation, the still limited and fragmented resources available in Africa impede the implementation of effective action plans to tackle the current and projected diet-disease burden. In order to address these common needs and challenges, the African Union is increasingly supporting continental approaches and strategies as reflected in the launching of the Agenda 2063 and the African regional nutrition strategy 2015-2025, among others. To assure the successful implementation of pan-African nutritional and health initiatives, cost-effective approaches considering similarities/disparities in economy, regional integration, development and nutritional aspects between countries are needed. In the absence of pre-existing models, we reviewed regional economic integration and nutritional indicators (n 13) available in international organisations databases or governmental agencies websites, for fifty-two African countries. These indicators were used to map the countries according to common languages (e.g. Arabic, English, French, Portuguese), development status (e.g. human development index), malnutrition status (e.g. obesity) and diet (e.g. staples predominantly based on either cereals or tubers). The review of the indicators showed that there exist similarities between African countries that can be exploited to benefit the continent with cross-national experiences in order to avoid duplication of efforts in the implementation of future pan-African health studies. In addition, including present and future nutrition surveillance programmes in Africa into national statistical systems might be cost-effective and sustainable in the longer term.

  6. A Nonparametric, Multiple Imputation-Based Method for the Retrospective Integration of Data Sets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrig, Madeline M.; Manrique-Vallier, Daniel; Ranby, Krista W.; Reiter, Jerome P.; Hoyle, Rick H.

    2015-01-01

    Complex research questions often cannot be addressed adequately with a single data set. One sensible alternative to the high cost and effort associated with the creation of large new data sets is to combine existing data sets containing variables related to the constructs of interest. The goal of the present research was to develop a flexible, broadly applicable approach to the integration of disparate data sets that is based on nonparametric multiple imputation and the collection of data from a convenient, de novo calibration sample. We demonstrate proof of concept for the approach by integrating three existing data sets containing items related to the extent of problematic alcohol use and associations with deviant peers. We discuss both necessary conditions for the approach to work well and potential strengths and weaknesses of the method compared to other data set integration approaches. PMID:26257437

  7. A system and approach for total pipeline integrity management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Porter, Todd; Neidhardt, Dietmar [Tuboscope Pipeline Services, Houston, TX (United States); Gonzalez, Oscar [Tuboscope Mexico S.A. de C.V., Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)

    2005-07-01

    Pipeline rehabilitation and maintenance decisions are made using a wide variety of data, criteria, and expertise. The goal is to arrive at an optimal plan that considers risk and best return on Repair and Maintenance (R and M) expenditures for aging pipeline systems in both regulated and non-regulated environments. In order to achieve these goals, historical, operations, and assessment data is gathered, aligned and integrated as part of a baseline assessment. Integrity threats are identified based on operations and industry experience, and combined with potential consequences to public safety, the environment, and business to clearly delineate high risk exposure segments in the system. Integrity assessments are conducted in a prioritized manner, using the most appropriate technology and methods to address the threats. These include In Line Inspection technologies: MFL, Deformation, UT, INS (combinations thereof), Direct Assessment for EC and SCC threats, Hydro testing, and other indirect methods. From these results, decisions are made and R and M plans developed. To arrive at an optimal R and M plan, proper use of existing data, new integrity assessment data, and decision risk models is required. This paper presentation will detail the tactical aspect of an effective integrity management platform. Experience in decision support, operations priorities and execution of a rehabilitation plan using LinaView Pro{sup TM} integrity management system with risk-based integrity tools and maintenance planning will be presented. A process overview, results, and benefits will be given using these examples from operating oil and gas transmission pipelines. (author)

  8. [The Common Risk Factor Approach - An Integrated Population- and Evidence-Based Approach for Reducing Social Inequalities in Oral Health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heilmann, A; Sheiham, A; Watt, R G; Jordan, R A

    2016-10-01

    Worldwide, non-communicable diseases including dental caries and periodontal diseases, remain a major public health problem. Moreover, there is a social gradient in health across society that runs from the top to the bottom in a linear, stepwise fashion. Health promoting behaviours become more difficult to sustain further down the social ladder. Oral health inequalities also exist in Germany. Earlier explanations of social inequalities have mainly focused on individual lifestyle factors, ignoring the broader social determinants of health and disease. Until recently, the dominant approaches to general health promotion focused on actions to reduce specific diseases, separating oral health from general health. An alternative approach is the common risk factor approach (CRFA) where risk factors common to a number of major chronic diseases, including diseases of the mouth and teeth, are tackled. The CRFA focuses on the common underlying determinants of health to improve the overall health of populations, thereby reducing social inequalities. The main implication of the CRFA for oral health policies is to work in partnership with a range of other sectors and disciplines. Oral health issues need to be integrated with recommendations to promote general health. Improvements in oral health and a reduction in oral health inequalities are more likely by working in partnership across sectors and disciplines using strategies that focus upstream on the underlying determinants of oral diseases. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  9. A Belief-Space Approach to Integrated Intelligence - Research Area 10.3: Intelligent Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-05

    A Belief-Space Approach to Integrated Intelligence- Research Area 10.3: Intelligent Networks The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this...Technology (MIT) Title: A Belief-Space Approach to Integrated Intelligence- Research Area 10.3: Intelligent Networks Report Term: 0-Other Email: tlp...students presented progress and received feedback from the research group . o wrote papers on their research and submitted them to leading conferences

  10. Integrated approaches to long-term studies of urban ecological systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nancy B. Grimm; J. Morgan Grove; Steward T.A. Pickett; Charles L. Redman

    2000-01-01

    Urban ecological systems present multiple challenges to ecologists—pervasive human impact and extreme heterogeneity of cities, and the need to integrate social and ecological approaches, concepts, and theory.

  11. A transdisciplinary approach for supporting the integration of ecosystem services into land and water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatt Siew, Tuck; Döll, Petra

    2015-04-01

    Transdisciplinary approaches are useful for supporting integrated land and water management. However, the implementation of the approach in practice to facilitate the co-production of useable socio-hydrological (and -ecological) knowledge among scientists and stakeholders is challenging. It requires appropriate methods to bring individuals with diverse interests and needs together and to integrate their knowledge for generating shared perspectives/understanding, identifying common goals, and developing actionable management strategies. The approach and the methods need, particularly, to be adapted to the local political and socio-cultural conditions. To demonstrate how knowledge co-production and integration can be done in practice, we present a transdisciplinary approach which has been implemented and adapted for supporting land and water management that takes ecosystem services into account in an arid region in northwestern China. Our approach comprises three steps: (1) stakeholder analysis and interdisciplinary knowledge integration, (2) elicitation of perspectives of scientists and stakeholders, scenario development, and identification of management strategies, and (3) evaluation of knowledge integration and social learning. Our adapted approach has enabled interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral communication among scientists and stakeholders. Furthermore, the application of a combination of participatory methods, including actor modeling, Bayesian Network modeling, and participatory scenario development, has contributed to the integration of system, target, and transformation knowledge of involved stakeholders. The realization of identified management strategies is unknown because other important and representative decision makers have not been involved in the transdisciplinary research process. The contribution of our transdisciplinary approach to social learning still needs to be assessed.

  12. Integration models: multicultural and liberal approaches confronted

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janicki, Wojciech

    2012-01-01

    European societies have been shaped by their Christian past, upsurge of international migration, democratic rule and liberal tradition rooted in religious tolerance. Boosting globalization processes impose new challenges on European societies, striving to protect their diversity. This struggle is especially clearly visible in case of minorities trying to resist melting into mainstream culture. European countries' legal systems and cultural policies respond to these efforts in many ways. Respecting identity politics-driven group rights seems to be the most common approach, resulting in creation of a multicultural society. However, the outcome of respecting group rights may be remarkably contradictory to both individual rights growing out from liberal tradition, and to reinforced concept of integration of immigrants into host societies. The hereby paper discusses identity politics upturn in the context of both individual rights and integration of European societies.

  13. FUPOL: an Integrated Approach to Participative Policies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvana Tomic Rotim

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The Future Policy Modelling Project (FUPOL is a research project funded by the 7th framework program of the European Union. Its research focus are new technologies and methods for e-governance, e-participation and policy modelling. The FUPOL consortium consists of partners from European countries, China and Kenya. and comprises innovative multinational companies, leading research institutes, high-level political organizations as well as strong pilot partners. This paper describes the FUPOL new integrated approach to policy design and implementation including also specific examples from real life pilots in cities from different countries. FUPOL consists of an advanced policy lifecycle and an IT-solution with features supporting all phases of the proposed lifecycle. The FUPOL concept and functional modules as well as the technical architecture to achieve such a complete integration are described.

  14. Interventions to Promote an Integrated Approach to Public Health Problems: An Application to Childhood Obesity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna-Marie Hendriks

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Experts stress the need to bring the childhood obesity epidemic under control by means of an integrated approach. The implementation of such an approach requires the development of integrated enabling policies on public health by local governments. A prerequisite for developing such integrated public health policies is intersectoral collaboration. Since the development of integrated policies is still in its early stages, this study aimed to answer the following research question: “What interventions can promote intersectoral collaboration and the development of integrated health policies for the prevention of childhood obesity?” Data were collected through a literature search and observations of and interviews with stakeholders. Based on a theoretical framework, we categorized potential interventions that could optimize an integrated approach regarding children's physical activity and diet. The intervention categories included education, persuasion, incentivization, coercion, training, restriction, environmental restructuring, modeling, and enablement.

  15. Application of the ERICA Integrated Approach to the Drigg coastal sand dunes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wood, M.D.; Marshall, W.A.; Beresford, N.A.; Jones, S.R.; Howard, B.J.; Copplestone, D.; Leah, R.T.

    2008-01-01

    The EC-funded project 'Environmental Risks from Ionising Contaminants: Assessment and Management' (ERICA) developed an 'Integrated Approach' for assessing the impact of ionising radiation on ecosystems. This paper presents the application of the ERICA Integrated Approach, supported by a software programme (the ERICA Tool) and guidance documentation, to an assessment of the Drigg coastal sand dunes (Cumbria, UK). Targeted sampling provided site-specific data for sand dune biota, including amphibians and reptiles. Radionuclides reported included 90 Sr, 99 Tc, 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 239+240 Pu and 241 Am. Site-specific data were compared to predictions derived using the ERICA Tool. Some under- and over-predictions of biota activity concentrations were identified but can be explained by the specific ecological characteristics and contamination mechanism of the dunes. Overall, the results indicated no significant impact of ionising radiation on the sand dune biota and the Integrated Approach was found to be a flexible and effective means of conducting a radiation impact assessment

  16. Global integrability of cosmological scalar fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maciejewski, Andrzej J.; Przybylska, Maria; Stachowiak, Tomasz; Szydłowski, Marek

    2008-11-01

    We investigate the Liouvillian integrability of Hamiltonian systems describing a universe filled with a scalar field (possibly complex). The tool used is the differential Galois group approach, as introduced by Morales-Ruiz and Ramis. The main result is that the generic systems with minimal coupling are non-integrable, although there still exist some values of parameters for which integrability remains undecided; the conformally coupled systems are only integrable in four known cases. We also draw a connection with the chaos present in such cosmological models, and the issues of the integrability restricted to the real domain.

  17. Global integrability of cosmological scalar fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maciejewski, Andrzej J; Przybylska, Maria; Stachowiak, Tomasz; Szydlowski, Marek

    2008-01-01

    We investigate the Liouvillian integrability of Hamiltonian systems describing a universe filled with a scalar field (possibly complex). The tool used is the differential Galois group approach, as introduced by Morales-Ruiz and Ramis. The main result is that the generic systems with minimal coupling are non-integrable, although there still exist some values of parameters for which integrability remains undecided; the conformally coupled systems are only integrable in four known cases. We also draw a connection with the chaos present in such cosmological models, and the issues of the integrability restricted to the real domain

  18. Integral equation methods for electromagnetics

    CERN Document Server

    Volakis, John

    2012-01-01

    This text/reference is a detailed look at the development and use of integral equation methods for electromagnetic analysis, specifically for antennas and radar scattering. Developers and practitioners will appreciate the broad-based approach to understanding and utilizing integral equation methods and the unique coverage of historical developments that led to the current state-of-the-art. In contrast to existing books, Integral Equation Methods for Electromagnetics lays the groundwork in the initial chapters so students and basic users can solve simple problems and work their way up to the mo

  19. Intergovernmental approach of the new liberalism in the development of integration processes

    OpenAIRE

    O. P. Stadnyk; R. Y. Romaniuk

    2013-01-01

    Investigated intergovernmental theory approach to understanding the new liberalism integration processes. Determined the nature of the liberal intergovernmental approach that Andrew Moravchik developed within the new liberalism. Emphasized that the intergovernmental approach of the new liberalism theory considers national preferences in international relations as being primarily determined by domestic political processes. Liberal intergovernmental approach rejects the rhetoric of so­called na...

  20. Integrated management system - management standards evolution and the IAEA new approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, Dirceu Paulo de; Zouain, Desiree Moraes

    2007-01-01

    The management standards application began in military and nuclear areas towards the end of Second World War, when some westerns countries developed quality standards to improve their means to assess suppliers' conditions to assure their products conformance, which was increasingly complex and required a higher degree of reliability. Afterwards, the quality standards application was extended to the consumer market focused on consumers' requirements satisfaction. Coming along the society crescent concern about quality of life, other management standards were developed, such as those dealing with environmental and sustainable development, occupational health and safety, social accountability and so on. As a consequence, the management process became complex. The management system integrated form approach makes possible the compatibility of distinct and complementary interests from several functions and disciplines involved and supply the absence of the organizations' holistic approach. According to this integrated management approach, the Agency - 'International Atomic Energy Agency' (IAEA) - decided to review the structure of the 50-C-Q standard - 'Quality Assurance for Safety in Nuclear Power Plants and Other Nuclear Installations', from 1996, publishing in 2006 the new GS-R-3 standard - 'The Management System for Facilities and Activities - Safety Requirements'. This work presents a brief evolution of management standards and integrated management approach, showing the Agency's new vision concerning this issue with the GS-R-3 standard publication. (author)

  1. An integrated risk assessment approach: Risk assessment in the programmatic environmental impact statement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morris, J.M.

    1994-01-01

    The following paper is an informal summary of salient points made in the presentation entitled open-quotes An Integrated Risk Assessment Approach: Risk Assessment in the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).close quotes. This presentation was given at the U.S. DOE Integrated Planning Workshop in Denver, Colorado on June 2, 1994. Integrated decision analysis is very important in environmental restoration and waste management in the evaluation of such things as land use planning, waste load forecasting, cost analyses, and technology development activities. Integrated risk assessment is an approach that addresses multiple components of risk, including: risks from surplus facilities as well as typical environmental restoration sites, risks to the public, risks to workers, ecological risk, risks before, during and after remediation activities, and others

  2. Does bioethics exist?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, L

    2009-12-01

    Bioethicists disagree over methods, theories, decision-making guides, case analyses and public policies. Thirty years ago, the thinking of many scholars coalesced around a principlist approach to bioethics. That mid-level mode of moral reasoning is now one of many approaches to moral deliberation. Significant variation in contemporary approaches to the study of ethical issues related to medicine, biotechnology and health care raises the question of whether bioethics exists as widely shared method, theory, normative framework or mode of moral reasoning.

  3. An Integrative Approach to Treatment-Resistant Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woon, Luke Sy-Cherng; Kanapathy, Anita; Zakaria, Hazli; Alfonso, César A

    2017-01-01

    Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder that often runs a chronic unremitting course. Treatment outcomes can be unsatisfactory despite the availability of various somatic and psychological therapies. Psychodynamic psychotherapy in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP) could help patients with treatment-resistant OCD achieve better outcomes. An integrative approach can help patients gain insight, strengthen the therapeutic alliance, improve treatment adherence, and provide symptomatic relief when other treatments seem insufficient or have failed. We describe the treatment process of a person with treatment-resistant OCD who received pharmacotherapy, concurrent CBT/ERP, and a brief course of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Case formulations from cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic perspectives are presented. The authors discuss the advantages of doing a psychodynamic assessment and formulation in treatment refractory cases and the wisdom of integrating psychotherapy interventions for OCD, as well as the unique clinical features of cases that warrant a multimodal treatment approach.

  4. An Approach to Formalizing Ontology Driven Semantic Integration: Concepts, Dimensions and Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Wenlong

    2012-01-01

    The ontology approach has been accepted as a very promising approach to semantic integration today. However, because of the diversity of focuses and its various connections to other research domains, the core concepts, theoretical and technical approaches, and research areas of this domain still remain unclear. Such ambiguity makes it difficult to…

  5. Integrated System Health Management: Foundational Concepts, Approach, and Implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Figueroa, Fernando; Schmalzel, John; Walker, Mark; Venkatesh, Meera; Kapadia, Ravi; Morris, Jon; Turowski, Mark; Smith, Harvey

    2009-01-01

    Implementation of integrated system health management (ISHM) capability is fundamentally linked to the management of data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) with the purposeful objective of determining the health of a system. It is akin to having a team of experts who are all individually and collectively observing and analyzing a complex system, and communicating effectively with each other in order to arrive to an accurate and reliable assessment of its health. We present concepts, procedures, and a specific approach as a foundation for implementing a credible ISHM capability. The capability stresses integration of DIaK from all elements of a system. The intent is also to make possible implementation of on-board ISHM capability, in contrast to a remote capability. The information presented is the result of many years of research, development, and maturation of technologies, and of prototype implementations in operational systems (rocket engine test facilities). The paper will address the following topics: 1. ISHM Model of a system 2. Detection of anomaly indicators. 3. Determination and confirmation of anomalies. 4. Diagnostic of causes and determination of effects. 5. Consistency checking cycle. 6. Management of health information 7. User Interfaces 8. Example implementation ISHM has been defined from many perspectives. We define it as a capability that might be achieved by various approaches. We describe a specific approach that has been matured throughout many years of development, and pilot implementations. ISHM is a capability that is achieved by integrating data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) that might be distributed throughout the system elements (which inherently implies capability to manage DIaK associated with distributed sub-systems). DIaK must be available to any element of a system at the right time and in accordance with a meaningful context. ISHM Functional Capability Level (FCL) is measured by how well a system performs the following

  6. What can a participatory approach to evaluation contribute to the field of integrated care?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eyre, Laura; Farrelly, Michael; Marshall, Martin

    2017-07-01

    Better integration of care within the health sector and between health and social care is seen in many countries as an essential way of addressing the enduring problems of dwindling resources, changing demographics and unacceptable variation in quality of care. Current research evidence about the effectiveness of integration efforts supports neither the enthusiasm of those promoting and designing integrated care programmes nor the growing efforts of practitioners attempting to integrate care on the ground. In this paper we present a methodological approach, based on the principles of participatory research, that attempts to address this challenge. Participatory approaches are characterised by a desire to use social science methods to solve practical problems and a commitment on the part of researchers to substantive and sustained collaboration with relevant stakeholders. We describe how we applied an emerging practical model of participatory research, the researcher-in-residence model, to evaluate a large-scale integrated care programme in the UK. We propose that the approach added value to the programme in a number of ways: by engaging stakeholders in using established evidence and with the benefits of rigorously evaluating their work, by providing insights for local stakeholders that they were either not familiar with or had not fully considered in relation to the development and implementation of the programme and by challenging established mindsets and norms. While there is still much to learn about the benefits and challenges of applying participatory approaches in the health sector, we demonstrate how using such approaches have the potential to help practitioners integrate care more effectively in their daily practice and help progress the academic study of integrated care. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  7. A Hydro-Economic Approach to Representing Water Resources Impacts in Integrated Assessment Models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kirshen, Paul H.; Strzepek, Kenneth, M.

    2004-01-14

    Grant Number DE-FG02-98ER62665 Office of Energy Research of the U.S. Department of Energy Abstract Many Integrated Assessment Models (IAM) divide the world into a small number of highly aggregated regions. Non-OECD countries are aggregated geographically into continental and multiple-continental regions or economically by development level. Current research suggests that these large scale aggregations cannot accurately represent potential water resources-related climate change impacts. In addition, IAMs do not explicitly model the flow regulation impacts of reservoir and ground water systems, the economics of water supply, or the demand for water in economic activities. Using the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT) model of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) as a case study, this research implemented a set of methodologies to provide accurate representation of water resource climate change impacts in Integrated Assessment Models. There were also detailed examinations of key issues related to aggregated modeling including: modeling water consumption versus water withdrawals; ground and surface water interactions; development of reservoir cost curves; modeling of surface areas of aggregated reservoirs for estimating evaporation losses; and evaluating the importance of spatial scale in river basin modeling. The major findings include: - Continental or national or even large scale river basin aggregation of water supplies and demands do not accurately capture the impacts of climate change in the water and agricultural sector in IAMs. - Fortunately, there now exist gridden approaches (0.5 X 0.5 degrees) to model streamflows in a global analysis. The gridded approach to hydrologic modeling allows flexibility in aligning basin boundaries with national boundaries. This combined with GIS tools, high speed computers, and the growing availability of socio-economic gridded data bases allows assignment of

  8. Integrating network, sequence and functional features using machine learning approaches towards identification of novel Alzheimer genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamal, Salma; Goyal, Sukriti; Shanker, Asheesh; Grover, Abhinav

    2016-10-18

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex progressive neurodegenerative disorder commonly characterized by short term memory loss. Presently no effective therapeutic treatments exist that can completely cure this disease. The cause of Alzheimer's is still unclear, however one of the other major factors involved in AD pathogenesis are the genetic factors and around 70 % risk of the disease is assumed to be due to the large number of genes involved. Although genetic association studies have revealed a number of potential AD susceptibility genes, there still exists a need for identification of unidentified AD-associated genes and therapeutic targets to have better understanding of the disease-causing mechanisms of Alzheimer's towards development of effective AD therapeutics. In the present study, we have used machine learning approach to identify candidate AD associated genes by integrating topological properties of the genes from the protein-protein interaction networks, sequence features and functional annotations. We also used molecular docking approach and screened already known anti-Alzheimer drugs against the novel predicted probable targets of AD and observed that an investigational drug, AL-108, had high affinity for majority of the possible therapeutic targets. Furthermore, we performed molecular dynamics simulations and MM/GBSA calculations on the docked complexes to validate our preliminary findings. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study of its kind for identification of putative Alzheimer-associated genes using machine learning approaches and we propose that such computational studies can improve our understanding on the core etiology of AD which could lead to the development of effective anti-Alzheimer drugs.

  9. A new approach and computational algorithm for sensitivity/uncertainty analysis for SED and SAD with applications to beryllium integral experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, P.M.; Youssef, M.Z.; Abdou, M.A.

    1993-01-01

    A new approach for treating the sensitivity and uncertainty in the secondary energy distribution (SED) and the secondary angular distribution (SAD) has been developed, and the existing two-dimensional sensitivity/uncertainty analysis code, FORSS, was expanded to incorporate the new approach. The calculational algorithm was applied to the 9 Be(n,2n) cross section to study the effect of the current uncertainties in the SED and SAD of neutrons emitted from this reaction on the prediction accuracy of the tritium production rate from 6 Li(T 6 ) and 7 Li(T 7 ) in an engineering-oriented fusion integral experiment of the US Department of Energy/Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute Collaborative Program on Fusion Neutronics in which beryllium was used as a neutron multiplier. In addition, the analysis was extended to include the uncertainties in the integrated smooth cross sections of beryllium and other materials that constituted the test assembly used in the experiment. This comprehensive two-dimensional cross-section sensitivity/uncertainty analysis aimed at identifying the sources of discrepancies between calculated and measured values for T 6 and T 7

  10. The bottom-up approach to integrative validity: a new perspective for program evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Huey T

    2010-08-01

    The Campbellian validity model and the traditional top-down approach to validity have had a profound influence on research and evaluation. That model includes the concepts of internal and external validity and within that model, the preeminence of internal validity as demonstrated in the top-down approach. Evaluators and researchers have, however, increasingly recognized that in an evaluation, the over-emphasis on internal validity reduces that evaluation's usefulness and contributes to the gulf between academic and practical communities regarding interventions. This article examines the limitations of the Campbellian validity model and the top-down approach and provides a comprehensive, alternative model, known as the integrative validity model for program evaluation. The integrative validity model includes the concept of viable validity, which is predicated on a bottom-up approach to validity. This approach better reflects stakeholders' evaluation views and concerns, makes external validity workable, and becomes therefore a preferable alternative for evaluation of health promotion/social betterment programs. The integrative validity model and the bottom-up approach enable evaluators to meet scientific and practical requirements, facilitate in advancing external validity, and gain a new perspective on methods. The new perspective also furnishes a balanced view of credible evidence, and offers an alternative perspective for funding. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Integration of the primary health care approach into a community nursing science curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vilakazi, S S; Chabeli, M M; Roos, S D

    2000-12-01

    The purpose of this article is to explore and describe guidelines for integration of the primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum in a Nursing College in Gauteng. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was utilized. The focus group interviews were conducted with community nurses and nurse educators as respondents. Data were analysed by a qualitative descriptive method of analysis as described in Creswell (1994: 155). Respondents in both groups held similar perceptions regarding integration of primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum. Five categories, which are in line with the curriculum cycle, were identified as follows: situation analysis, selection and organisation of objectives/goals, content, teaching methods and evaluation. Guidelines and recommendations for the integration of the primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum were described.

  12. Integration of the primary health care approach into a community nursing science curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SS Vilakazi

    2000-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to explore and describe guidelines for integration of the primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum in a Nursing College in Gauteng. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was utilized. The focus group interviews were conducted with community nurses and nurse educators as respondents. Data were analysed by a qualitative descriptive method of analysis as described in Creswell (1994:155. Respondents in both groups held similar perceptions regarding integration of primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum. Five categories, which are in line with the curriculum cycle, were identified as follows: situation analysis, selection and organisation of objectives/ goals, content, teaching methods and evaluation. Guidelines and recommendations for the integration of the primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum were described.

  13. From Indoctrination to Initiation: A Non-Coercive Approach to Faith-Learning Integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reichard, Joshua D.

    2013-01-01

    This article contributes to ongoing discussions related to the nature, scope, and methods of faith-learning integration. The "initiation" approach developed by Tim McDonough (2011) is adapted to faith-learning integration in an attempt to bridge polarizing discussions regarding indoctrination versus rational autonomy and critical…

  14. Report on Integration of Existing Grid Models for N-R HES Interaction Focused on Balancing Authorities for Sub-hour Penalties and Opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McJunkin, Timothy; Epiney, Aaron; Rabiti, Cristian

    2017-01-01

    This report provides a summary of the effort in the Nuclear-Renewable Hybrid Energy System (N-R HES) project on the level 4 milestone to consider integration of existing grid models into the factors for optimization on shorter time intervals than the existing electric grid models with the Risk Analysis Virtual Environment (RAVEN) and Modelica [1] optimizations and economic analysis that are the focus of the project to date.

  15. Report on Integration of Existing Grid Models for N-R HES Interaction Focused on Balancing Authorities for Sub-hour Penalties and Opportunities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McJunkin, Timothy [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Epiney, Aaron [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Rabiti, Cristian [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2017-06-01

    This report provides a summary of the effort in the Nuclear-Renewable Hybrid Energy System (N-R HES) project on the level 4 milestone to consider integration of existing grid models into the factors for optimization on shorter time intervals than the existing electric grid models with the Risk Analysis Virtual Environment (RAVEN) and Modelica [1] optimizations and economic analysis that are the focus of the project to date.

  16. Integrated approach in the development of competencies valeological students - medical doctor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y.F. Ostafijchuk

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The analysis of the scientific - methodical sources. We prove the feasibility of using an integrative approach in the training of future health professionals. Scientists are perspectives on the essence of the concept of integration, their position relative to integrative learning in higher education. Integrative learning is seen as a new educational technology. The basic components of the integration of modern science: Interscience synthesis, synthesis of methodological, social synthesis. It is found that an integrative technology is based on the principles of integrative and personal - oriented education. Reveals the main ways of implementing these principles: the design of interdisciplinary integration, the identification of the same type of interdisciplinary topics; orientation training content on the personality of the student, the formation integrity valeological knowledge and practical skills (in the context valeological behavior. Lit their own opinions of the authors on the formation valeological competence of students of medical colleges in the integration environment. Predicted the final result of this process - a methodological willingness of future health professionals to use valeological component in professional activities.

  17. 2. Gestaltdrama as an Integrative Psychotherapeutic Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Polínek Martin Dominik

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The following text is an overview study which defines the basic phenomena and effective factors of Gestalt drama and outlines some of the researches carried out in this area by the author during recent years. Gestalt drama is the name of a specific psychotherapeutic approach applied by the author in his practice, which combines Gestalt therapy with expressive approaches (especially with dramatherapy, theatrotherapy and fairytale-therapy. Linking Gestalt therapy and expressive techniques results in a specific psychotherapeutic approach whose versatility and holistic conception makes it suitable not only for psychotherapy but also for self-development of people with special needs, as it has the potential to meet the higher psychological needs even when the lower needs are not sufficiently saturated. The article further presents the interpretation of the partial results of research focusing on the analysis of integration performance where gestaltdrama techniques have been applied. These performances resulted from one-day dramatherapy workshops with clients suffering from mental retardation and with clients with behavioural disorders. This includes the analysis of differences between dramatical expression within the above target groups.

  18. Linking geodiversity and biodiversity in protected area management: developing a more integrated approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, John

    2014-05-01

    The ecosystem approach is now a key driver for conservation policy globally. By definition an ecosystem includes both abiotic and biotic components interacting as a functional unit. However, the role of geodiversity generally remains poorly recognised both at a policy level and in the practical management of protected areas. This presentation examines key links between geodiversity and biodiversity, and demonstrates the benefits of better integration both to enhance conservation of geoheritage and the role of geodiversity in ecosystem management. Geodiversity contributes essentially to most of the ecosystem services recognised in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. It underpins biodiversity from micro- to macro-scales through the influence of factors such as lithology, topography, sediments, soils and hydrology. Most habitats and species depend on the abiotic 'stage' on which they exist. Active geological processes also help to determine the heterogeneity of the physical environment, creating mosaics of landforms, surface deposits and dynamic environments that support a range of biodiversity. In the face of climate change and other human pressures, maintaining and enhancing geodiversity should help to 'future-proof' biodiversity in the longer term. Learning from the past through palaeoenvironmental records can also enable better understanding of ecosystem dynamics. As well as recognising the value of geoheritage in its own right, a more integrated approach to conservation in protected areas would benefit both biodiversity and geodiversity, incorporating the concept of 'conserving the stage' (Anderson & Ferree, 2010) and the maintenance of natural processes. As part of developing the scientific framework of geodiversity, this requires geoscience engagement in the ecosystem approach, including evidence-based interdisciplinary research on the functional links between geodiversity and biodiversity across a range of spatial and temporal scales both to inform policy and

  19. Efficient Integrity Checking for Databases with Recursive Views

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martinenghi, Davide; Christiansen, Henning

    2005-01-01

    Efficient and incremental maintenance of integrity constraints involving recursive views is a difficult issue that has received some attention in the past years, but for which no widely accepted solution exists yet. In this paper a technique is proposed for compiling such integrity constraints in...... approaches have not achieved comparable optimization with the same level of generality....

  20. Nuclear safety, security and safeguards. An application of an integrated approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chapman, Howard; Edwards, Jeremy; Fitzpatrick, Joshua; Grundy, Colette; Rodger, Robert; Scott, Jonathan [National Nuclear Laboratory, Warrington (United Kingdom)

    2018-01-15

    National Nuclear Laboratory has recently produced a paper regarding the integrated approach of nuclear safety, security and safeguards. The paper considered the international acknowledgement of the inter-relationships and potential benefits to be gained through improved integration of the nuclear '3S'; Safety, Security and Safeguards. It considered that combining capabilities into one synergistic team can provide improved performance and value. This approach to integration has been adopted, and benefits realised by the National Nuclear Laboratory through creation of a Safety, Security and Safeguards team. In some instances the interface is clear and established, as is the case between safety and security in the areas of Vital Area Identification. In others the interface is developing such as the utilisation of safeguards related techniques such as nuclear material accountancy and control to enhance the security of materials. This paper looks at a practical example of the progress to date in implementing Triple S by a duty holder.

  1. Application of the ERICA Integrated Approach to the Drigg coastal sand dunes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wood, M.D. [Institute for Sustainable Water Integrated Management and Ecosystem Research (SWIMMER)/School of Biological Sciences, Nicholson Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, Merseyside L69 3GP (United Kingdom)], E-mail: mwood@liv.ac.uk; Marshall, W.A. [Westlakes Scientific Consulting Ltd., Princess Royal Building, Westlakes Science and Technology Park, Moor Row, Cumbria CA24 3LN (United Kingdom); Beresford, N.A. [Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, Lancashire LA1 4AP (United Kingdom); Jones, S.R. [Westlakes Scientific Consulting Ltd., Princess Royal Building, Westlakes Science and Technology Park, Moor Row, Cumbria CA24 3LN (United Kingdom); Howard, B.J. [Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, Lancashire LA1 4AP (United Kingdom); Copplestone, D. [Environment Agency, P.O. Box 12, Richard Fairclough House, Knutsford Road, Latchford, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 1HG (United Kingdom); Leah, R.T. [Institute for Sustainable Water Integrated Management and Ecosystem Research (SWIMMER)/School of Biological Sciences, Nicholson Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, Merseyside L69 3GP (United Kingdom)

    2008-09-15

    The EC-funded project 'Environmental Risks from Ionising Contaminants: Assessment and Management' (ERICA) developed an 'Integrated Approach' for assessing the impact of ionising radiation on ecosystems. This paper presents the application of the ERICA Integrated Approach, supported by a software programme (the ERICA Tool) and guidance documentation, to an assessment of the Drigg coastal sand dunes (Cumbria, UK). Targeted sampling provided site-specific data for sand dune biota, including amphibians and reptiles. Radionuclides reported included {sup 90}Sr, {sup 99}Tc, {sup 137}Cs, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239+240}Pu and {sup 241}Am. Site-specific data were compared to predictions derived using the ERICA Tool. Some under- and over-predictions of biota activity concentrations were identified but can be explained by the specific ecological characteristics and contamination mechanism of the dunes. Overall, the results indicated no significant impact of ionising radiation on the sand dune biota and the Integrated Approach was found to be a flexible and effective means of conducting a radiation impact assessment.

  2. Challenges in integrative approaches to modelling the marine ecosystems of the North Atlantic: Physics to fish and coasts to ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, Jason; Icarus Allen, J.; Anderson, Thomas R.; Brewin, Robert; Butenschön, Momme; Harle, James; Huse, Geir; Lehodey, Patrick; Lindemann, Christian; Memery, Laurent; Salihoglu, Baris; Senina, Inna; Yool, Andrew

    2014-12-01

    It has long been recognised that there are strong interactions and feedbacks between climate, upper ocean biogeochemistry and marine food webs, and also that food web structure and phytoplankton community distribution are important determinants of variability in carbon production and export from the euphotic zone. Numerical models provide a vital tool to explore these interactions, given their capability to investigate multiple connected components of the system and the sensitivity to multiple drivers, including potential future conditions. A major driver for ecosystem model development is the demand for quantitative tools to support ecosystem-based management initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to review approaches to the modelling of marine ecosystems with a focus on the North Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent shelf seas, and to highlight the challenges they face and suggest ways forward. We consider the state of the art in simulating oceans and shelf sea physics, planktonic and higher trophic level ecosystems, and look towards building an integrative approach with these existing tools. We note how the different approaches have evolved historically and that many of the previous obstacles to harmonisation may no longer be present. We illustrate this with examples from the on-going and planned modelling effort in the Integrative Modelling Work Package of the EURO-BASIN programme.

  3. Use of spatial symmetry in atomic--integral calculations: an efficient permutational approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rouzo, H.L.

    1979-01-01

    The minimal number of independent nonzero atomic integrals that occur over arbitrarily oriented basis orbitals of the form R(r).Y/sub lm/(Ω) is theoretically derived. The corresponding method can be easily applied to any point group, including the molecular continuous groups C/sub infinity v/ and D/sub infinity h/. On the basis of this (theoretical) lower bound, the efficiency of the permutational approach in generating sets of independent integrals is discussed. It is proved that lobe orbitals are always more efficient than the familiar Cartesian Gaussians, in the sense that GLOS provide the shortest integral lists. Moreover, it appears that the new axial GLOS often lead to a number of integrals, which is the theoretical lower bound previously defined. With AGLOS, the numbers of two-electron integrals to be computed, stored, and processed are divided by factors 2.9 (NH 3 ), 4.2 (C 5 H 5 ), and 3.6 (C 6 H 6 ) with reference to the corresponding CGTOS calculations. Remembering that in the permutational approach, atomic integrals are directly computed without any four-indice transformation, it appears that its utilization in connection with AGLOS provides one of the most powerful tools for treating symmetrical species. 34 references

  4. A website evaluation model by integration of previous evaluation models using a quantitative approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Moeini

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Regarding the ecommerce growth, websites play an essential role in business success. Therefore, many authors have offered website evaluation models since 1995. Although, the multiplicity and diversity of evaluation models make it difficult to integrate them into a single comprehensive model. In this paper a quantitative method has been used to integrate previous models into a comprehensive model that is compatible with them. In this approach the researcher judgment has no role in integration of models and the new model takes its validity from 93 previous models and systematic quantitative approach.

  5. Conceptual integrated approach for the magnet system of a tokamak reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duchateau, J.-L.; Hertout, P.; Saoutic, B.; Artaud, J.-F.; Zani, L.; Reux, C.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We give a conceptual approach of a fusion reactor magnet system based on analytical formula. • We give design criteria for the CS and TF cable in conduit conductors and for the magnet system structural description. • We apply this conceptual approach to ITER and we crosscheck with actual characteristics. • We apply this conceptual approach to a possible version of DEMO. - Abstract: In the framework of the reflexion about DEMO, a conceptual integrated approach for the magnet system of a tokamak reactor is presented. This objective is reached using analytical formulas which are presented in this paper, coupled to a Fortran code ESCORT (Electromagnetic Superconducting System for the Computation of Research Tokamaks), to be integrated into SYCOMORE, a code for reactor modelling presently in development at CEA/IRFM in Cadarache, using the tools of the EFDA Integrated Tokamak Modelling task force. The analytical formulas deal with all aspects of the magnet system, starting from the derivation of the TF system general geometry, from the plasma main characteristics. The design criteria for the cable current density and the structural design of the toroidal field and central solenoid systems are presented, enabling to deliver the radial thicknesses of the magnets and enabling also to estimate the plasma duration of the plateau. As a matter of fact, a pulsed version DEMO is presently actively considered in the European programmes. Considerations regarding the cryogenics and the protection are given, affecting the general design. An application of the conceptual approach is presented, allowing a comparison between ESCORT output data and actual ITER parameters and giving the main characteristics of a possible version for DEMO

  6. Synergistic Integration of Experimental and Simulation Approaches for the de Novo Design of Silk-Based Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Wenwen; Ebrahimi, Davoud; Dinjaski, Nina; Tarakanova, Anna; Buehler, Markus J; Wong, Joyce Y; Kaplan, David L

    2017-04-18

    Tailored biomaterials with tunable functional properties are crucial for a variety of task-specific applications ranging from healthcare to sustainable, novel bio-nanodevices. To generate polymeric materials with predictive functional outcomes, exploiting designs from nature while morphing them toward non-natural systems offers an important strategy. Silks are Nature's building blocks and are produced by arthropods for a variety of uses that are essential for their survival. Due to the genetic control of encoded protein sequence, mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and biodegradability, silk proteins have been selected as prototype models to emulate for the tunable designs of biomaterial systems. The bottom up strategy of material design opens important opportunities to create predictive functional outcomes, following the exquisite polymeric templates inspired by silks. Recombinant DNA technology provides a systematic approach to recapitulate, vary, and evaluate the core structure peptide motifs in silks and then biosynthesize silk-based polymers by design. Post-biosynthesis processing allows for another dimension of material design by controlled or assisted assembly. Multiscale modeling, from the theoretical prospective, provides strategies to explore interactions at different length scales, leading to selective material properties. Synergy among experimental and modeling approaches can provide new and more rapid insights into the most appropriate structure-function relationships to pursue while also furthering our understanding in terms of the range of silk-based systems that can be generated. This approach utilizes nature as a blueprint for initial polymer designs with useful functions (e.g., silk fibers) but also employs modeling-guided experiments to expand the initial polymer designs into new domains of functional materials that do not exist in nature. The overall path to these new functional outcomes is greatly accelerated via the integration of

  7. An integrated Boltzmann+hydrodynamics approach to heavy ion collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petersen, Hannah

    2009-01-01

    In this thesis the first fully integrated Boltzmann+hydrodynamics approach to relativistic heavy ion reactions has been developed. After a short introduction that motivates the study of heavy ion reactions as the tool to get insights about the QCD phase diagram, the most important theoretical approaches to describe the system are reviewed. The hadron-string transport approach that this work is based on is the Ultra-relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (UrQMD) approach. Predictions for the charged particle multiplicities at LHC energies are made. The next step is the development of a new framework to calculate the baryon number density in a transport approach. Time evolutions of the net baryon number and the quark density have been calculated at AGS, SPS and RHIC energies. Studies of phase diagram trajectories using hydrodynamics are performed. The hybrid approach that has been developed as the main part of this thesis is based on the UrQMD transport approach with an intermediate hydrodynamical evolution for the hot and dense stage of the collision. The full (3+1) dimensional ideal relativistic one fluid dynamics evolution is solved using the SHASTA algorithm. Three different equations of state have been used, namely a hadron gas equation of state without a QGP phase transition, a chiral EoS and a bag model EoS including a strong first order phase transition. For the freeze-out transition from hydrodynamics to the cascade calculation two different set-ups are employed. The parameter dependences of the model are investigated and the time evolution of different quantities is explored. The hybrid model calculation is able to reproduce the experimentally measured integrated as well as transverse momentum dependent v 2 values for charged particles. The multiplicity and mean transverse mass excitation function is calculated for pions, protons and kaons in the energy range from E lab =2-160 A GeV. The HBT correlation of the negatively charged pion source created in

  8. An integrated Boltzmann+hydrodynamics approach to heavy ion collisions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petersen, Hannah

    2009-04-22

    In this thesis the first fully integrated Boltzmann+hydrodynamics approach to relativistic heavy ion reactions has been developed. After a short introduction that motivates the study of heavy ion reactions as the tool to get insights about the QCD phase diagram, the most important theoretical approaches to describe the system are reviewed. The hadron-string transport approach that this work is based on is the Ultra-relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (UrQMD) approach. Predictions for the charged particle multiplicities at LHC energies are made. The next step is the development of a new framework to calculate the baryon number density in a transport approach. Time evolutions of the net baryon number and the quark density have been calculated at AGS, SPS and RHIC energies. Studies of phase diagram trajectories using hydrodynamics are performed. The hybrid approach that has been developed as the main part of this thesis is based on the UrQMD transport approach with an intermediate hydrodynamical evolution for the hot and dense stage of the collision. The full (3+1) dimensional ideal relativistic one fluid dynamics evolution is solved using the SHASTA algorithm. Three different equations of state have been used, namely a hadron gas equation of state without a QGP phase transition, a chiral EoS and a bag model EoS including a strong first order phase transition. For the freeze-out transition from hydrodynamics to the cascade calculation two different set-ups are employed. The parameter dependences of the model are investigated and the time evolution of different quantities is explored. The hybrid model calculation is able to reproduce the experimentally measured integrated as well as transverse momentum dependent v{sub 2} values for charged particles. The multiplicity and mean transverse mass excitation function is calculated for pions, protons and kaons in the energy range from E{sub lab}=2-160 A GeV. The HBT correlation of the negatively charged pion source

  9. A cost-efficient expansion of renewable energy sources in the European electricity system. An integrated modelling approach with a particular emphasis on diurnal and seasonal patterns

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Golling, Christiane

    2012-11-01

    This thesis determines a cost-efficient expansion of electricity generated by renewable energy sources (RES-E) in the European power generation system. It is an integrated modelling approach with a particular emphasis on diurnal and seasonal patterns of renewable energy sources (RES). An integrated modelling approach optimizes the overall European electricity system while comprising fossil, nuclear, and renewable generation as well as storage capacities. The integrated model approach corresponds to a situation in which renewable generation is subject to electricity price signals. In sensitivity scenarios cases of the integrated model approach are compared to situations in which renewable generation is granted priority feed-in and is decoupled from electricity price signals. In addition, the role of different flexibility options, which can be provided by storage capacities and grid expansion are scrutinized. The methodology of the thesis consists of two parts. First, it develops an integrative model approach by extending an existing European electricity model only comprising conventional power generating technologies. Second, an appropriate representation of intermittent RES for electricity market models is established by the determination of corresponding typedays. The typeday modelling takes the spatial correlation of RES and the correlation between wind and solar power into account. Moreover, the typeday modelling captures average dispatch-relevant, diurnal and seasonal RES characteristics such as the level, the variance, and the gradient. The scenario analysis shows that separate developments of renewable and conventional technologies imply several inefficiencies. These increase with higher RES-E penetration. Inefficiencies such as an increased wind power curtailment, an augmented capital turnover, or a higher cumulative installed power generating capacity are revealed and quantified.

  10. A stochastic approach for quantifying immigrant integration: the Spanish test case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agliari, Elena; Barra, Adriano; Contucci, Pierluigi; Sandell, Richard; Vernia, Cecilia

    2014-10-01

    We apply stochastic process theory to the analysis of immigrant integration. Using a unique and detailed data set from Spain, we study the relationship between local immigrant density and two social and two economic immigration quantifiers for the period 1999-2010. As opposed to the classic time-series approach, by letting immigrant density play the role of ‘time’ and the quantifier the role of ‘space,’ it becomes possible to analyse the behavior of the quantifiers by means of continuous time random walks. Two classes of results are then obtained. First, we show that social integration quantifiers evolve following diffusion law, while the evolution of economic quantifiers exhibits ballistic dynamics. Second, we make predictions of best- and worst-case scenarios taking into account large local fluctuations. Our stochastic process approach to integration lends itself to interesting forecasting scenarios which, in the hands of policy makers, have the potential to improve political responses to integration problems. For instance, estimating the standard first-passage time and maximum-span walk reveals local differences in integration performance for different immigration scenarios. Thus, by recognizing the importance of local fluctuations around national means, this research constitutes an important tool to assess the impact of immigration phenomena on municipal budgets and to set up solid multi-ethnic plans at the municipal level as immigration pressures build.

  11. A stochastic approach for quantifying immigrant integration: the Spanish test case

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agliari, Elena; Barra, Adriano; Contucci, Pierluigi; Sandell, Richard; Vernia, Cecilia

    2014-01-01

    We apply stochastic process theory to the analysis of immigrant integration. Using a unique and detailed data set from Spain, we study the relationship between local immigrant density and two social and two economic immigration quantifiers for the period 1999–2010. As opposed to the classic time-series approach, by letting immigrant density play the role of ‘time’ and the quantifier the role of ‘space,’ it becomes possible to analyse the behavior of the quantifiers by means of continuous time random walks. Two classes of results are then obtained. First, we show that social integration quantifiers evolve following diffusion law, while the evolution of economic quantifiers exhibits ballistic dynamics. Second, we make predictions of best- and worst-case scenarios taking into account large local fluctuations. Our stochastic process approach to integration lends itself to interesting forecasting scenarios which, in the hands of policy makers, have the potential to improve political responses to integration problems. For instance, estimating the standard first-passage time and maximum-span walk reveals local differences in integration performance for different immigration scenarios. Thus, by recognizing the importance of local fluctuations around national means, this research constitutes an important tool to assess the impact of immigration phenomena on municipal budgets and to set up solid multi-ethnic plans at the municipal level as immigration pressures build. (paper)

  12. Integrated Transport Planning Framework Involving Combined Utility Regret Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Yang; Monzon, Andres; Di Ciommo, Floridea

    2014-01-01

    Sustainable transport planning requires an integrated approach involving strategic planning, impact analysis, and multicriteria evaluation. This study aimed at relaxing the utility-based decision-making assumption by newly embedding anticipated-regret and combined utility regret decision mechanisms...... in a framework for integrated transport planning. The framework consisted of a two-round Delphi survey, integrated land use and transport model for Madrid, and multicriteria analysis. Results show that (a) the regret-based ranking has a similar mean but larger variance than the utility-based ranking does, (b......) the least-regret scenario forms a compromise between the desired and the expected scenarios, (c) the least-regret scenario can lead to higher user benefits in the short term and lower user benefits in the long term, (d) the utility-based, the regret-based, and the combined utility- and regret...

  13. Incorporation of Markov reliability models for digital instrumentation and control systems into existing PRAs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bucci, P.; Mangan, L. A.; Kirschenbaum, J.; Mandelli, D.; Aldemir, T.; Arndt, S. A.

    2006-01-01

    Markov models have the ability to capture the statistical dependence between failure events that can arise in the presence of complex dynamic interactions between components of digital instrumentation and control systems. One obstacle to the use of such models in an existing probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) is that most of the currently available PRA software is based on the static event-tree/fault-tree methodology which often cannot represent such interactions. We present an approach to the integration of Markov reliability models into existing PRAs by describing the Markov model of a digital steam generator feedwater level control system, how dynamic event trees (DETs) can be generated from the model, and how the DETs can be incorporated into an existing PRA with the SAPHIRE software. (authors)

  14. APPROACH FOR IMPROVING THE INTEGRATED SENSOR ORIENTATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Mitishita

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The direct determination of exterior orientation parameters (EOP of aerial images via integration of the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU and GPS is often used in photogrammetric mapping nowadays. The accuracies of the EOP depend on the accurate parameters related to sensors mounting when the job is performed (offsets of the IMU relative to the projection centre and the angles of boresigth misalignment between the IMU and the photogrammetric coordinate system. In principle, when the EOP values do not achieve the required accuracies for the photogrammetric application, the approach, known as Integrated Sensor Orientation (ISO, is used to refine the direct EOP. ISO approach requires accurate Interior Orientation Parameters (IOP and standard deviation of the EOP under flight condition. This paper investigates the feasibility of use the in situ camera calibration to obtain these requirements. The camera calibration uses a small sub block of images, extracted from the entire block. A digital Vexcel UltraCam XP camera connected to APPLANIX POS AVTM system was used to get two small blocks of images that were use in this study. The blocks have different flight heights and opposite flight directions. The proposed methodology improved significantly the vertical and horizontal accuracies of the 3D point intersection. Using a minimum set of control points, the horizontal and vertical accuracies achieved nearly one image pixel of resolution on the ground (GSD. The experimental results are shown and discussed.

  15. Advances in Ecological Speciation: an integrative approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faria, Rui; Renaut, Sebastien; Galindo, Juan; Pinho, Catarina; Melo-Ferreira, José; Melo, Martim; Jones, Felicity; Salzburger, Walter; Schluter, Dolph; Butlin, Roger

    2014-02-01

    The role of natural selection in promoting reproductive isolation has received substantial renewed interest within the last two decades. As a consequence, the study of ecological speciation has become an extremely productive research area in modern evolutionary biology. Recent innovations in sequencing technologies offer an unprecedented opportunity to study the mechanisms involved in ecological speciation. Genome scans provide significant insights but have some important limitations; efforts are needed to integrate them with other approaches to make full use of the sequencing data deluge. An international conference 'Advances in Ecological Speciation' organized by the University of Porto (Portugal) aimed to review current progress in ecological speciation. Using some of the examples presented at the conference, we highlight the benefits of integrating ecological and genomic data and discuss different mechanisms of parallel evolution. Finally, future avenues of research are suggested to advance our knowledge concerning the role of natural selection in the establishment of reproductive isolation during ecological speciation. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Integrated sustainable urban infrastructures in building projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Quitzau, Maj-Britt; Elle, Morten

    2007-01-01

    Current strategies in urban planning and development merely promote standardized building solutions, while failing to prioritize innovative approaches of integration between building projects and sustainable urban infrastructures. As a result of this, urban infrastructures – the urban veins...... – are outdated from a sustainability perspective. This paper looks into more holistic ways of approaching building projects and discuss whether this provide a basis for an increased integration of urban infrastructures within building projects. In our study, we especially emphasise how conventional ways...... of approaching building projects are influenced by lock-in of existing infrastructural systems and compare this with two examples of more holistic ways of approaching building projects, developed by two architecture firms. The paper points out that such holistic perspective in building projects provide...

  17. The Integrated Approach to the Accident Evaluation for Advanced LWRs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oriolo, F.; Paci, S.

    1998-01-01

    The present paper discusses some relevant phenomena occurring in advanced LWRs during postulated accident scenarios. In particular, the operation of ESF is the starting point for analysis of those phenomena that cause the mutual influence between PS and containment in these plants. As a consequence, it is highlighted as accident analyses which treat PS and containment phenomena completely separated may be not adequate when applied to innovate reactors. Exemplified thermal-hydraulic analysis are presented for AP600 and SBWR, using the FUMO integrated model, for highlight accident evolution taking into account these interactions. The architecture of this integrated code is presented highlighting the importance of an integrated approach to the safety analysis in innovative reactors. (author)

  18. An integrated approach to prevent the erosion of salt marshes in the lagoon of Venice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alberto Barausse

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The loss of coastal habitats is a widespread problem in Europe. To protect the intertidal salt marshes of the lagoon of Venice from the erosion due to natural and human causes which is diffusely and intensely impacting them, the European Commission has funded the demonstrative project LIFE VIMINE. LIFE VIMINE aims to protect the most interior, hard-to-access salt marshes in the northern lagoon of Venice through an integrated approach, whose core is the prevention of erosion through numerous, small but spatially-diffuse soil-bioengineering protections works, mainly placed through semi-manual labour and with low impact on the environment and the landscape. The effectiveness of protection works in the long term is ensured through routine, temporally-continuous and spatially-diffuse actions of monitoring and maintenance. This method contrasts the common approach to managing hydraulic risk and erosion in Italy which is based on large, one-off and irreversible protection actions. The sustainability of the LIFE VIMINE approach is ensured by the participatory involvement of stakeholders and the recognition that protecting salt marshes means defending the benefits they provide to society through their ecological functions, as well as protecting the jobs linked to the existence or conservation of this habitat.

  19. A new approach to preparing safety cases for existing nuclear plant (COSR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rice, S.A.; Buchan, A.B.

    2000-01-01

    BNFL is committed to achieving world class safety performance, through a process of continuously reviewing and improving its safety practices. In the mid 1990s, as part of this process, the company began to develop a new type of safety case, for existing non-reactor nuclear plants, called the continued operation safety report (COSR). Following a significant amount of development work from experts within BNFL and important contributions from its regulators, the first approved COSR was recently completed and submitted to the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. The COSR aims to provide a visibly integrated safety and engineering case for the adequacy of continued operation of a nuclear facility. It achieves this by identifying the main plant structures, systems and components that have a safety function and provides the appropriate supporting engineering substantiation. The COSR aims to explore plant safety and identify worthwhile improvements. The document also aims to be reader-friendly by focusing on the main safety issues. It is therefore a slim safety summary which provides operators, safety specialists and regulators with an overview and introduction into the broader, more detailed safety case. This paper provides an overview of the COSR and its production process, describing the safety case improvements that have been made by comparing it to its predecessor, the fully developed safety case. The paper also illustrates the benefits of the COSR by providing current examples of its application on existing BNFL plant. Finally, the paper describes ongoing development work aimed at further improving the COSR and its production process. (author)

  20. Safety Concepts in Structural Glass Engineering : Towards an Integrated Approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bos, F.P.

    2009-01-01

    This dissertation proposes the Integrated Approach to Structural Glass Safety, based on four clearly defined element safety properties, damage sensitivity, relative resistance, redundancy, and fracture mode. The Element Safety Diagram (ESD) is introduced to provide an easy-to-read graphical

  1. Integrated Risk-Capability Analysis under Deep Uncertainty : An ESDMA Approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pruyt, E.; Kwakkel, J.H.

    2012-01-01

    Integrated risk-capability analysis methodologies for dealing with increasing degrees of complexity and deep uncertainty are urgently needed in an ever more complex and uncertain world. Although scenario approaches, risk assessment methods, and capability analysis methods are used, few organizations

  2. Recent changes in Central European landscapes: An integrative ecological approach

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Těšitel, Jan; Kučera, Tomáš

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 24, č. 1 (2005), s. 3-6 ISSN 1335-342X Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60870520 Keywords : integrative ecological approach * transdisciplinarity * interdisciplinarity * landscape ecology Subject RIV: DO - Wilderness Conservation Impact factor: 0.085, year: 2005

  3. Integrated landscape approach : Closing the gap between theory and application

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bürgi, Matthias; Ali, Panna; Chowdhury, Afroza; Heinimann, Andreas; Hett, Cornelia; Kienast, Felix; Mondal, Manoranjan Kumar; Upreti, Bishnu Raj; Verburg, Peter H.

    2017-01-01

    Recently, the integrated landscape approach has gained increasing interest of the scientific community, as well as of organizations active in the field of sustainable development. However, the enthusiastic welcome is challenged by little consensus on theory, terminology and definitions. Moreover,

  4. Child Psychotherapy, Child Analysis, and Medication: A Flexible, Integrative Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitman, Laura

    2015-01-01

    For children with moderate to severe emotional or behavioral problems, the current approach in child psychiatry is to make an assessment for the use of both psychotherapy and medication. This paper describes integration of antidepressants and stimulants with psychoanalytically oriented techniques.

  5. Integrative psychotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozarić-Kovacić, Dragica

    2008-09-01

    The main purposes of the article are to present the history of integration in psychotherapy, the reasons of the development integrative approaches, and the approaches to integration in psychotherapy. Three approaches to integration in psychotherapy exist: theoretical integration, theoretical eclecticism, and common factors in different psychotherapeutic trends. In integrative psychotherapy, the basic epistemology, theory, and clinical practice are based on the phenomenology, field theory, holism, dialogue, and co-creation of dialogue in the therapeutic relationship. The main criticism is that integrative psychotherapy suffers from confusion and many unresolved controversies. It is difficult to theoretically and methodologically define the clinically applied model that is based on such a different epistemological and theoretical presumptions. Integrative psychotherapy is a synthesis of humanistic psychotherapy, object relations theory, and psychoanalytical self psychology. It focuses on the dynamics and potentials of human relationships, with a goal of changing the relations and understanding internal and external resistances. The process of integrative psychotherapy is primarily focused on the developmental-relational model and co-creation of psychotherapeutic relationship as a single interactive event, which is not unilateral, but rather a joint endeavor by both the therapist and the patient/client. The need for a relationship is an important human need and represents a process of attunement that occurs as a response to the need for a relationship, a unique interpersonal contact between two people. If this need is not met, it manifests with the different feelings and various defenses. To meet this need, we need to have another person with whom we can establish a sensitive, attuned relationship. Thus, the therapist becomes this person who tries to supplement what the person did not receive. Neuroscience can be a source of integration through different therapies. We

  6. RISK MANAGEMENT: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO RISK MANAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szabo Alina

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The objective of this paper is to offer an overview over risk management cycle by focusing on prioritization and treatment, in order to ensure an integrated approach to risk management and assessment, and establish the ‘top 8-12’ risks report within the organization. The interface with Internal Audit is ensured by the implementation of the scoring method to prioritize risks collected from previous generated risk report. Methodology/approach: Using evidence from other research in the area and the professional expertise, this article outlines an integrated approach to risk assessment and risk management reporting processes, by separating the risk in two main categories: strategic and operational risks. The focus is on risk prioritization and scoring; the final output will comprise a mix of strategic and operational (‘top 8-12’ risks, which should be used to establish the annual Internal Audit plan. Originality/value: By using an integrated approach to risk assessment and risk management will eliminate the need for a separate Internal Audit risk assessment over prevailing risks. It will reduce the level of risk assessment overlap by different functions (Tax, Treasury, Information System over the same risk categories as a single methodology, is used and will align timings of risk assessment exercises. The risk prioritization by usage of risk and control scoring criteria highlights the combination between financial and non-financial impact criteria allowing risks that do not naturally lend themselves to a financial amount to be also assessed consistently. It is emphasized the usage of score method to prioritize the risks included in the annual audit plan in order to increase accuracy and timelines.

  7. A design approach for integrating thermoelectric devices using topology optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soprani, S.; Haertel, J.H.K.; Lazarov, B.S.; Sigmund, O.; Engelbrecht, K.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The integration of a thermoelectric (TE) cooler into a robotic tool is optimized. • Topology optimization is suggested as design tool for TE integrated systems. • A 3D optimization technique using temperature dependent TE properties is presented. • The sensitivity of the optimization process to the boundary conditions is studied. • A working prototype is constructed and compared to the model results. - Abstract: Efficient operation of thermoelectric devices strongly relies on the thermal integration into the energy conversion system in which they operate. Effective thermal integration reduces the temperature differences between the thermoelectric module and its thermal reservoirs, allowing the system to operate more efficiently. This work proposes and experimentally demonstrates a topology optimization approach as a design tool for efficient integration of thermoelectric modules into systems with specific design constraints. The approach allows thermal layout optimization of thermoelectric systems for different operating conditions and objective functions, such as temperature span, efficiency, and power recovery rate. As a specific application, the integration of a thermoelectric cooler into the electronics section of a downhole oil well intervention tool is investigated, with the objective of minimizing the temperature of the cooled electronics. Several challenges are addressed: ensuring effective heat transfer from the load, minimizing the thermal resistances within the integrated system, maximizing the thermal protection of the cooled zone, and enhancing the conduction of the rejected heat to the oil well. The design method incorporates temperature dependent properties of the thermoelectric device and other materials. The 3D topology optimization model developed in this work was used to design a thermoelectric system, complete with insulation and heat sink, that was produced and tested. Good agreement between experimental results and

  8. Abelian Chern endash Simons theory. II. A functional integral approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manoliu, M.

    1998-01-01

    Following Witten, [Commun. Math. Phys. 21, 351 endash 399 (1989)] we approach the Abelian quantum Chern endash Simons (CS) gauge theory from a Feynman functional integral point of view. We show that for 3-manifolds with and without a boundary the formal functional integral definitions lead to mathematically proper expressions that agree with the results from the rigorous construction [J. Math. Phys. 39, 170 endash 206 (1998)] of the Abelian CS topological quantum field theory via geometric quantization. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

  9. An integrated approach to risk assessment and mitigating the CBRN threat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bokan, S.

    2009-01-01

    CBRN mass casualty events threat mitigation remains today the highest international priority. Although significant progress has been made, the national security requirements for efforts to combat Weapons of Mass Destruction and Weapons of Mass Disruption will be of the highest national priority in the near future. An integration of a number of approaches is essential in the risk assessment and mitigating the CBRN treat. Preparedness measures and procedures, engineering, science and technology, policy, medical, and emergency response are essential to reduce the threat from the proliferation and use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Improved coordination between international, public and private security entities is also essential task to hopefully prevent the terrorist attacks. In this lecture, it will be presented very important scientific approach to risk assessment of potential use of nuclear, radiological, biological or chemical weapons in terrorist actions. An integrated approach for mitigating the CBRN threat, crisis management and preparedness measures for prevention and reduction of potential consequences, will be presented.(author)

  10. Integrated approach to assess ecosystem health in harbor areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bebianno, M J; Pereira, C G; Rey, F; Cravo, A; Duarte, D; D'Errico, G; Regoli, F

    2015-05-01

    Harbors are critical environments with strategic economic importance but with potential environmental impact: health assessment criteria are a key issue. An ecosystem health status approach was carried out in Portimão harbor as a case-study. Priority and specific chemical levels in sediments along with their bioavailability in mussels, bioassays and a wide array of biomarkers were integrated in a biomarker index (IBR index) and the overall data in a weight of evidence (WOE) model. Metals, PAHs, PCBs and HCB were not particularly high compared with sediment guidelines and standards for dredging. Bioavailability was evident for Cd, Cu and Zn. Biomarkers proved more sensitive namely changes of antioxidant responses, metallothioneins and vittellogenin-like proteins. IBR index indicated that site 4 was the most impacted area. Assessment of the health status by WOE approach highlighted the importance of integrating sediment chemistry, bioaccumulation, biomarkers and bioassays and revealed that despite some disturbance in the harbor area, there was also an impact of urban effluents from upstream. Environmental quality assessment in harbors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Lebesgue Sets Immeasurable Existence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Marginean Petrovai

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available It is well known that the notion of measure and integral were released early enough in close connection with practical problems of measuring of geometric figures. Notion of measure was outlined in the early 20th century through H. Lebesgue’s research, founder of the modern theory of measure and integral. It was developed concurrently a technique of integration of functions. Gradually it was formed a specific area todaycalled the measure and integral theory. Essential contributions to building this theory was made by a large number of mathematicians: C. Carathodory, J. Radon, O. Nikodym, S. Bochner, J. Pettis, P. Halmos and many others. In the following we present several abstract sets, classes of sets. There exists the sets which are not Lebesgue measurable and the sets which are Lebesgue measurable but are not Borel measurable. Hence B ⊂ L ⊂ P(X.

  12. 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...

  13. A dynamic multimedia fuzzy-stochastic integrated environmental risk assessment approach for contaminated sites management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Yan; Wen, Jing-ya; Li, Xiao-li; Wang, Da-zhou; Li, Yu, E-mail: liyuxx8@hotmail.com

    2013-10-15

    Highlights: • Using interval mathematics to describe spatial and temporal variability and parameter uncertainty. • Using fuzzy theory to quantify variability of environmental guideline values. • Using probabilistic approach to integrate interval concentrations and fuzzy environmental guideline. • Establishment of dynamic multimedia environmental integrated risk assessment framework. -- Abstract: A dynamic multimedia fuzzy-stochastic integrated environmental risk assessment approach was developed for contaminated sites management. The contaminant concentrations were simulated by a validated interval dynamic multimedia fugacity model, and different guideline values for the same contaminant were represented as a fuzzy environmental guideline. Then, the probability of violating environmental guideline (Pv) can be determined by comparison between the modeled concentrations and the fuzzy environmental guideline, and the constructed relationship between the Pvs and environmental risk levels was used to assess the environmental risk level. The developed approach was applied to assess the integrated environmental risk at a case study site in China, simulated from 1985 to 2020. Four scenarios were analyzed, including “residential land” and “industrial land” environmental guidelines under “strict” and “loose” strictness. It was found that PAH concentrations will increase steadily over time, with soil found to be the dominant sink. Source emission in soil was the leading input and atmospheric sedimentation was the dominant transfer process. The integrated environmental risks primarily resulted from petroleum spills and coke ovens, while the soil environmental risks came from coal combustion. The developed approach offers an effective tool for quantifying variability and uncertainty in the dynamic multimedia integrated environmental risk assessment and the contaminated site management.

  14. A dynamic multimedia fuzzy-stochastic integrated environmental risk assessment approach for contaminated sites management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Yan; Wen, Jing-ya; Li, Xiao-li; Wang, Da-zhou; Li, Yu

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Using interval mathematics to describe spatial and temporal variability and parameter uncertainty. • Using fuzzy theory to quantify variability of environmental guideline values. • Using probabilistic approach to integrate interval concentrations and fuzzy environmental guideline. • Establishment of dynamic multimedia environmental integrated risk assessment framework. -- Abstract: A dynamic multimedia fuzzy-stochastic integrated environmental risk assessment approach was developed for contaminated sites management. The contaminant concentrations were simulated by a validated interval dynamic multimedia fugacity model, and different guideline values for the same contaminant were represented as a fuzzy environmental guideline. Then, the probability of violating environmental guideline (Pv) can be determined by comparison between the modeled concentrations and the fuzzy environmental guideline, and the constructed relationship between the Pvs and environmental risk levels was used to assess the environmental risk level. The developed approach was applied to assess the integrated environmental risk at a case study site in China, simulated from 1985 to 2020. Four scenarios were analyzed, including “residential land” and “industrial land” environmental guidelines under “strict” and “loose” strictness. It was found that PAH concentrations will increase steadily over time, with soil found to be the dominant sink. Source emission in soil was the leading input and atmospheric sedimentation was the dominant transfer process. The integrated environmental risks primarily resulted from petroleum spills and coke ovens, while the soil environmental risks came from coal combustion. The developed approach offers an effective tool for quantifying variability and uncertainty in the dynamic multimedia integrated environmental risk assessment and the contaminated site management

  15. Integration of distributed system simulation tools for a holistic approach to integrated building and system design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Radosevic, M.; Hensen, J.L.M.; Wijsman, A.J.T.M.; Hensen, J.L.M.; Lain, M.

    2004-01-01

    Advanced architectural developments require an integrated approach to design where simulation tools available today deal. only with a small subset of the overall problem. The aim of this study is to enable run time exchange of necessary data at suitable frequency between different simulation

  16. Integration of metabolomics data into metabolic networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Töpfer, Nadine; Kleessen, Sabrina; Nikoloski, Zoran

    2015-01-01

    Metabolite levels together with their corresponding metabolic fluxes are integrative outcomes of biochemical transformations and regulatory processes and they can be used to characterize the response of biological systems to genetic and/or environmental changes. However, while changes in transcript or to some extent protein levels can usually be traced back to one or several responsible genes, changes in fluxes and particularly changes in metabolite levels do not follow such rationale and are often the outcome of complex interactions of several components. The increasing quality and coverage of metabolomics technologies have fostered the development of computational approaches for integrating metabolic read-outs with large-scale models to predict the physiological state of a system. Constraint-based approaches, relying on the stoichiometry of the considered reactions, provide a modeling framework amenable to analyses of large-scale systems and to the integration of high-throughput data. Here we review the existing approaches that integrate metabolomics data in variants of constrained-based approaches to refine model reconstructions, to constrain flux predictions in metabolic models, and to relate network structural properties to metabolite levels. Finally, we discuss the challenges and perspectives in the developments of constraint-based modeling approaches driven by metabolomics data.

  17. Recent developments in the integrated approach toward characterization of radionuclide transport, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simmons, A.M.; Canepa, J.A.

    1992-01-01

    The radionuclide migration program for the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP) includes studies of radionuclide solubility, sorption, diffusion, and transport. The study plans incorporate all possible parameters of investigation; decision-making strategies for prioritizing the parameters and evaluating their significance were developed in conjunction with the study plans. After definition of explicit research goals for each study, YMP evaluated the applicability of existing data and formulated experimental approaches for obtaining additional data. This resulted in development of individual testing strategies that were integrated into an overall strategy for the radionuclide migration program designed to provide input to credible performance assessments. The strategies allow for decision points at various steps of data collection and testing. They provide a streamlined process toward a defensible level of understanding of chemical retardation and transport processes that will be used to predict the mountain's ability to isolate waste. (author)

  18. An Integrated Constraint Programming Approach to Scheduling Sports Leagues with Divisional and Round-robin Tournaments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carlsson, Mats; Johansson, Mikael; Larson, Jeffrey

    2014-01-01

    Previous approaches for scheduling a league with round-robin and divisional tournaments involved decomposing the problem into easier subproblems. This approach, used to schedule the top Swedish handball league Elitserien, reduces the problem complexity but can result in suboptimal schedules. This paper presents an integrated constraint programming model that allows to perform the scheduling in a single step. Particular attention is given to identifying implied and symmetry-breaking constraints that reduce the computational complexity significantly. The experimental evaluation of the integrated approach takes considerably less computational effort than the previous approach.

  19. A NEW APPROACH TO VIRTUAL EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir V. Kureychik

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses several approaches to training, namely the virtual. Concrete examples of virtual learning systems were described, we disclosed their features, advantages and disadvantages. A new suggested approach integrates the features of existing systems, and opens new horizons and opportunities to obtain certain skills and abilities. Introduction of a new approach to the educational process will improve the quality and effectiveness of learning. 

  20. Flexible Web services integration: a novel personalised social approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metrouh, Abdelmalek; Mokhati, Farid

    2018-05-01

    Dynamic composition or integration remains one of the key objectives of Web services technology. This paper aims to propose an innovative approach of dynamic Web services composition based on functional and non-functional attributes and individual preferences. In this approach, social networks of Web services are used to maintain interactions between Web services in order to select and compose Web services that are more tightly related to user's preferences. We use the concept of Web services community in a social network of Web services to reduce considerably their search space. These communities are created by the direct involvement of Web services providers.

  1. A generalized integral fluctuation theorem for general jump processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Fei; Ouyang Zhongcan; Luo Yupin; Huang Mingchang

    2009-01-01

    Using the Feynman-Kac and Cameron-Martin-Girsanov formulae, we obtain a generalized integral fluctuation theorem (GIFT) for discrete jump processes by constructing a time-invariable inner product. The existing discrete IFTs can be derived as its specific cases. A connection between our approach and the conventional time-reversal method is also established. Unlike the latter approach that has been extensively employed in the existing literature, our approach can naturally bring out the definition of a time reversal of a Markovian stochastic system. Additionally, we find that the robust GIFT usually does not result in a detailed fluctuation theorem. (fast track communication)

  2. Determination of the J integral for laminated double cantilever beam specimens: The curvature approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rask, Morten; Sørensen, Bent F.

    2012-01-01

    A new approach is proposed for measuring the J integral (and thus the fracture resistance) of interface cracks in multiply laminates. With this approach the J integral is found from beam curvatures and applied moments. Knowledge of ply layup and stiffness is not required. In order to test...... was obtained between the two approaches. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

  3. Measuring IC following a semi-qualitative approach: An integrated framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chiara Verbano

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Considering the different IC measures adopted in literature, the advantages of adopting semi-qualitative measures, and the lack of an agreed system for IC evaluation, the purpose of the paper is to analyse literature on IC measurement following a semi-qualitative approach, with the final intent to build an IC measurement framework. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review on IC measurement system, following a semi-qualitative approach, has been conducted and analysed, in order to re-organize and synthesize all items used in previous researches. Findings: An integrated framework emerged from this research and it constitutes an IC  measurement system, created gathering and integrating different items previously adopted in literature. Each of these variables has been organized in categories belonging to one of the three main components of IC: human capital, internal structural capital and relational capital. Originality/value: This research provides an integrated tool for IC evaluation, fostering toward a well agreed measurement system that is still lacking in literature. This framework could be interesting  not only for the academic world, which in the last two decades reveals increasing attention to IC, but also for the management of the companies, that with IC measurement can increase awareness of the firm’s value and develop internal auditing system to support the management of these assets. Moreover, it could be a useful instrument for the communication of IC value to the external stakeholders, as customers, suppliers and especially shareholders, and to investors and financial analysts.

  4. Auditory-Verbal Music Play Therapy: An Integrated Approach (AVMPT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sahar Mohammad Esmaeilzadeh

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Hearing loss occurs when there is a problem with one or more parts of the ear or ears and causes children to have a delay in the language-learning process. Hearing loss affects children's lives and their development. Several approaches have been developed over recent decades to help hearing-impaired children develop language skills. Auditory-verbal therapy (AVT is one such approach. Recently, researchers have found that music and play have a considerable effect on the communication skills of children, leading to the development of music therapy (MT and play therapy (PT. There have been several studies which focus on the impact of music on hearing-impaired children. The aim of this article is to review studies conducted in AVT, MT, and PT and their efficacy in hearing-impaired children. Furthermore, the authors aim to introduce an integrated approach of AVT, MT, and PT which facilitates language and communication skills in hearing-impaired children.   Materials and Methods: In this article we review studies of AVT, MT, and PT and their impact on hearing-impaired children. To achieve this goal, we searched databases and journals including Elsevier, Chor Teach, and Military Psychology, for example. We also used reliable websites such as American Choral Directors Association and Joint Committee on Infant Hearing websites. The websites were reviewed and key words in this article used to find appropriate references. Those articles which are related to ours in content were selected.    Results: Recent technologies have brought about great advancement in the field of hearing disorders. Now these impairments can be detected at birth, and in the majority of cases, hearing impaired children can develop fluent spoken language through audition. According to researches on the relationship between hearing impaired children’s communication and language skills and different approaches of therapy, it is known that learning through listening and

  5. 78 FR 10181 - Global Quality Systems-An Integrated Approach To Improving Medical Product Safety; Public Workshop

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-13

    ...] Global Quality Systems--An Integrated Approach To Improving Medical Product Safety; Public Workshop... (AFDO), is announcing a public workshop entitled ``Global Quality Systems--An Integrated Approach to... topics concerning FDA requirements related to the production and marketing of drugs and/or devices...

  6. A path integral approach to the Hodgkin-Huxley model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baravalle, Roman; Rosso, Osvaldo A.; Montani, Fernando

    2017-11-01

    To understand how single neurons process sensory information, it is necessary to develop suitable stochastic models to describe the response variability of the recorded spike trains. Spikes in a given neuron are produced by the synergistic action of sodium and potassium of the voltage-dependent channels that open or close the gates. Hodgkin and Huxley (HH) equations describe the ionic mechanisms underlying the initiation and propagation of action potentials, through a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations that approximate the electrical characteristics of the excitable cell. Path integral provides an adequate approach to compute quantities such as transition probabilities, and any stochastic system can be expressed in terms of this methodology. We use the technique of path integrals to determine the analytical solution driven by a non-Gaussian colored noise when considering the HH equations as a stochastic system. The different neuronal dynamics are investigated by estimating the path integral solutions driven by a non-Gaussian colored noise q. More specifically we take into account the correlational structures of the complex neuronal signals not just by estimating the transition probability associated to the Gaussian approach of the stochastic HH equations, but instead considering much more subtle processes accounting for the non-Gaussian noise that could be induced by the surrounding neural network and by feedforward correlations. This allows us to investigate the underlying dynamics of the neural system when different scenarios of noise correlations are considered.

  7. RISK MANAGEMENT: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO RISK MANAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENT

    OpenAIRE

    Szabo Alina

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The objective of this paper is to offer an overview over risk management cycle by focusing on prioritization and treatment, in order to ensure an integrated approach to risk management and assessment, and establish the ‘top 8-12’ risks report within the organization. The interface with Internal Audit is ensured by the implementation of the scoring method to prioritize risks collected from previous generated risk report. Methodology/approach: Using evidence from other research in ...

  8. Direct evaluation of free energy for large system through structure integration approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takeuchi, Kazuhito; Tanaka, Ryohei; Yuge, Koretaka

    2015-09-30

    We propose a new approach, 'structure integration', enabling direct evaluation of configurational free energy for large systems. The present approach is based on the statistical information of lattice. Through first-principles-based simulation, we find that the present method evaluates configurational free energy accurately in disorder states above critical temperature.

  9. Energy saving in existing buildings by an intelligent use of interoperable ICTs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Osello, A.; Acquaviva, A.; Aghemo, C.; Blaso, L.; Dalmasso, D.; Erba, D.; Fracastoro, G.; Macii, E.; Patti, E.; Pellegrino, A.; Piumatti, P. [Politecnico di Torino, Torino (Italy); Gondre, D.; Savoyat, J.; Virgone, J. [University Lyon, Lyon (France); Jahn, M.; Pramudianto, F. [Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT, Sankt Augustin (Germany); Spirito, M.; Tomasi, R. [Istituto Superiore Mario Boella (ISMB), Torino (Italy)

    2013-11-15

    In this paper, we report a methodology, developed in the context of Smart Energy Efficient Middleware for Public Spaces European Project, aimed at exploiting ICT monitoring and control services to reduce energy usage and CO2 footprint in existing buildings. The approach does not require significant construction work as it is based on commercial-off-the-shelf devices and, where present, it exploits and integrates existing building management systems with new sensors and actuator networks. To make this possible, the proposed approach leverages upon the following main contributions: (a) to develop an integrated building automation and control system, (b) to implement a middleware for the energy-efficient buildings domain, (c) to provide a multi-dimensional building information modelling-based visualisation, and (d) to raise people's awareness about energy efficiency. The research approach adopted in the project started with the selection, as case studies, of representative test and reference rooms in modern and historical buildings chosen for having different requirements and constraints in term of sensing and control technologies. Then, according to the features of the selected rooms, the strategies to reduce the energy consumptions were defined, taking into account the potential savings related to lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and other device loads (PC, printers, etc.). The strategies include both the control of building services and devices and the monitoring of environmental conditions and energy consumption. In the paper, the energy savings estimated through simulation, for both HVAC and lighting, are presented to highlight the potential of the designed system. After the implementation of the system in the demonstrator, results will be compared with the monitored data.

  10. City and mobility: towards an integrated approach to resolve energy problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmela Gargiulo

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The issue of integration between city, mobility and energy plays a central role in the current EU policies, aimed at achieving energy saving targets, independence from fossil fuels and enhance of the urban systems resilience, but the strategies of the single states are, however, still far from its implementation. This paper proposes a reading of the current policies and of the recent initiatives aimed at improving the energy efficiency of settlements, implemented at both Community and national level, aimed at laying the groundwork for the definition of an integrated approach between city and mobility to resolve energy problem. Therefore, the paper is divided into six parts. The first part describes the transition from the concept of sustainability to the concept of resilience and illustrates the central role played by this one in the current urban and territorial research; the second part briefly analyzes the main and more recent European directives related to city, mobility and energy, while the third part describes how the energy problem is afforded in the current programming and planning tools. The fourth and fifth parts, are intended to describe the innovative practices promoted in some European and Italian cities concerning energy efficiency aimed at the integration between urban and transport systems. The last part of the paper, finally, deals with the definition of a new systemic approach for achieving objectives of energy sustainability. This approach aims at integrating strategies and actions for strategies of mobility governance, based on the certain assumption that the core for the most part of energy problems is mainly represented in medium and large cities. 

  11. Optimal Integration of Intermittent Renewables: A System LCOE Stochastic Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlo Lucheroni

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available We propose a system level approach to value the impact on costs of the integration of intermittent renewable generation in a power system, based on expected breakeven cost and breakeven cost risk. To do this, we carefully reconsider the definition of Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE when extended to non-dispatchable generation, by examining extra costs and gains originated by the costly management of random power injections. We are thus lead to define a ‘system LCOE’ as a system dependent LCOE that takes properly into account intermittent generation. In order to include breakeven cost risk we further extend this deterministic approach to a stochastic setting, by introducing a ‘stochastic system LCOE’. This extension allows us to discuss the optimal integration of intermittent renewables from a broad, system level point of view. This paper thus aims to provide power producers and policy makers with a new methodological scheme, still based on the LCOE but which updates this valuation technique to current energy system configurations characterized by a large share of non-dispatchable production. Quantifying and optimizing the impact of intermittent renewables integration on power system costs, risk and CO 2 emissions, the proposed methodology can be used as powerful tool of analysis for assessing environmental and energy policies.

  12. How can design approaches be integrated into entrepreneurship education?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Færgemann, Helle Meibom; Nørgård, Rikke Toft; Robinson, Sarah

    reflection about the intention and how the elements fit with the entrepreneurship field. The proposed process model presented (Fig 3) primarily has potential to strengthen the awareness of the need to alternate between divergence and convergence many times through an entrepreneurial process. Apart from......Questions we care about: When educating students through entrepreneurship we are interested in how can design approaches and processes be integrated into Entrepreneurship Education and what effect does this have on entrepreneurial learning? Approach: This is a conceptual paper which draws on data...... from a classic entrepreneurship course (mix of for- and through-approach) as well as a classic design course. Furthermore data from the iterative development of an entrepreneurship course with substantial design elements is a key data source. Overall, products and processes in the course have been...

  13. Data integration for plant genomics--exemplars from the integration of Arabidopsis thaliana databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lysenko, Artem; Lysenko, Atem; Hindle, Matthew Morritt; Taubert, Jan; Saqi, Mansoor; Rawlings, Christopher John

    2009-11-01

    The development of a systems based approach to problems in plant sciences requires integration of existing information resources. However, the available information is currently often incomplete and dispersed across many sources and the syntactic and semantic heterogeneity of the data is a challenge for integration. In this article, we discuss strategies for data integration and we use a graph based integration method (Ondex) to illustrate some of these challenges with reference to two example problems concerning integration of (i) metabolic pathway and (ii) protein interaction data for Arabidopsis thaliana. We quantify the degree of overlap for three commonly used pathway and protein interaction information sources. For pathways, we find that the AraCyc database contains the widest coverage of enzyme reactions and for protein interactions we find that the IntAct database provides the largest unique contribution to the integrated dataset. For both examples, however, we observe a relatively small amount of data common to all three sources. Analysis and visual exploration of the integrated networks was used to identify a number of practical issues relating to the interpretation of these datasets. We demonstrate the utility of these approaches to the analysis of groups of coexpressed genes from an individual microarray experiment, in the context of pathway information and for the combination of coexpression data with an integrated protein interaction network.

  14. Quantitative meta-analytic approaches for the analysis of animal toxicology and epidemiologic data in human health risk assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Often, human health risk assessments have relied on qualitative approaches for hazard identification to integrate evidence across multiple studies to conclude whether particular hazards exist. However, quantitative approaches for evidence integration, including the application o...

  15. The role of the supply chain executive in supply chain integration: a behavioral approach

    OpenAIRE

    ELENA REVILLA; LUIS GOMEZ - MEJIA

    2008-01-01

    Applying a behavioural approach of agency theory, this paper aimed to identify the most appropriate employment and compensation system (ECS) for supply chain executives in order to foster supply chain integration. We attempted to develop a novel approach of how encourages supply chain integration from the perspective of managerial incentives, an enabler that has not been analyzed in the literature. The paper presents the analysis of three sources of risk bearing - compensation risk, employmen...

  16. Towards an integrated approach in supporting microbiological food safety decisions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Havelaar, A.H.; Braunig, J.; Christiansen, K.

    2007-01-01

    an integrated scientific approach combining veterinary and medical epidemiology, risk assessment for the farm-to-fork food chain as well as agricultural and health economy. Scientific advice is relevant in all stages of the policy cycle: to assess the magnitude of the food safety problem, to define...

  17. Integrating Streaming Media to Web-based Learning: A Modular Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miltenoff, Plamen

    2000-01-01

    Explains streaming technology and discusses how to integrate it into Web-based instruction based on experiences at St. Cloud State University (Minnesota). Topics include a modular approach, including editing, copyright concerns, digitizing, maintenance, and continuing education needs; the role of the library; and how streaming can enhance…

  18. Scientific Opportunities for Monitoring at Environmental Remediation Sites (SOMERS): Integrated Systems-Based Approaches to Monitoring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bunn, Amoret L.; Wellman, Dawn M.; Deeb, Rula A.; Hawley, Elizabeth L.; Truex, Michael J.; Peterson, Mark; Freshley, Mark D.; Pierce, Eric M.; McCord, John; Young, Michael H.; Gilmore, Tyler J.; Miller, Rick; Miracle, Ann L.; Kaback, Dawn; Eddy-Dilek, Carol; Rossabi, Joe; Lee, Michelle H.; Bush, Richard P.; Beam , Paul; Chamberlain, G. M.; Marble, Justin; Whitehurst, Latrincy; Gerdes, Kurt D.; Collazo, Yvette

    2012-05-15

    Through an inter-disciplinary effort, DOE is addressing a need to advance monitoring approaches from sole reliance on cost- and labor-intensive point-source monitoring to integrated systems-based approaches such as flux-based approaches and the use of early indicator parameters. Key objectives include identifying current scientific, technical and implementation opportunities and challenges, prioritizing science and technology strategies to meet current needs within the DOE complex for the most challenging environments, and developing an integrated and risk-informed monitoring framework.

  19. CSR Integration into the Financial Economy: A Conceptual Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgiana - Loredana FRECEA

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Corporate social responsibility is a complex concept and its design integrates economic, social and environmental issues, pointing out the operational effects on a voluntary basis. It is considered a strategic point in the actual evolution of the economy, due to the financial market dynamism, being identified a critical correlation between financial crises and corporate social responsibility. The main purpose of this paper is to synthesize, through a literature review, the multiple dimensions of CSR, with a special emphasis on the theoretical approach. In order to provide a coherent overview on the banking CSR, it will be proposed a division of the CSR theories according to: (1 the ethical approach, (2 the stakeholders approach, and (3 the corporate governance approach. The major aim of this paper is to fill a gap in the theoretical approach of the CSR for the banking system, due to the necessity to unify the CSR reporting elements in order to find a balance between the bank’s organizational structure and their legitimacy to operate on the financial market.

  20. Web Approach for Ontology-Based Classification, Integration, and Interdisciplinary Usage of Geoscience Metadata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B Ritschel

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The Semantic Web is a W3C approach that integrates the different sources of semantics within documents and services using ontology-based techniques. The main objective of this approach in the geoscience domain is the improvement of understanding, integration, and usage of Earth and space science related web content in terms of data, information, and knowledge for machines and people. The modeling and representation of semantic attributes and relations within and among documents can be realized by human readable concept maps and machine readable OWL documents. The objectives for the usage of the Semantic Web approach in the GFZ data center ISDC project are the design of an extended classification of metadata documents for product types related to instruments, platforms, and projects as well as the integration of different types of metadata related to data product providers, users, and data centers. Sources of content and semantics for the description of Earth and space science product types and related classes are standardized metadata documents (e.g., DIF documents, publications, grey literature, and Web pages. Other sources are information provided by users, such as tagging data and social navigation information. The integration of controlled vocabularies as well as folksonomies plays an important role in the design of well formed ontologies.

  1. Performance Analysis of an Integrated Heat Pump with Air-Conditioning System for the Existing Hospital Building Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen-Yu Chiang

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available In this study, a complete evaluation procedure of energy-saving and efficiency improvement for a large-scale hospital retrofit project has been established and successfully validated in Taiwan. The retrofit scheme, in integrating the alternative hot water system, namely, a water source heat pump (WSHP, with the existing HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning system, enables the capability to meet the cooling and hot water demand simultaneously with a larger safety margin as well as saving energy. In addition, it has been found that the integrated system provides a new source for cooling which can be utilized as a system redundancy in avoiding system shutdown. This is very useful when considering in specific areas in the hospital, such as intensive care unit, or operation rooms, where cooling should not be interrupted on any occasion. In this study, it is validated that the coefficient of performance (COP of the newly added WSHP system, under heating and cooling mode, is 3.62 and 2.62, respectively. The recorded annual cost reduction by this integrated system is $102,564, with a payback of 1.2 years. The hospital after retrofit has been operating safer, with more redundancy, and more energy-efficient which warrants tremendous potential for implementation in the industry.

  2. The multidensity integral equation approach in the theory of complex liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holovko, M.F.

    2001-01-01

    Recent development of the multi-density integral equation approach and its application to the statistical mechanical modelling of a different type of association and clusterization in liquids and solutions are reviewed. The effects of dimerization, polymerization and network formation are discussed. The numerical and analytical solutions of the integral equations in the multi-density formalism for pair correlation functions are used for the description of structural and thermodynamical properties of ionic solutions, polymers and network forming fluids

  3. Information Science and integrative Science. A sistemic approach to information units

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rita Dolores Santaella Ruiz

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Structured in two parts: The Documentation like integrating science and Systematics approach to the documentary units, this work understands the Documentation from a brought integrating perspective of the twinning that supposes same modus operandi in the information systems through the use of the technologies of the communication. From the General Theory of Systems, the present work interprets this science to multidiscipline like a system formed by the technical subsystems, of elements and individuals

  4. Exploring Optimization Opportunities in Four-Point Suspension Wind Turbine Drivetrains through Integrated Design Approaches

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sethuraman, Latha [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Quick, Julian [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Guo, Yi [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Dykes, Katherine L [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2018-01-12

    Drivetrain design has significant influence on the costs of wind power generation. Current industry practices usually approach the drivetrain design with loads and system requirements defined by the turbine manufacturer. Several different manufacturers are contracted to supply individual components from the low-speed shaft to the generator - each receiving separate design specifications from the turbine manufacturer. Increasingly, more integrated approaches to turbine design have shown promise for blades and towers. Yet, integrated drivetrain design is a challenging task owing to the complex physical behavior of the important load-bearing components, namely the main bearings, gearbox, and the generator. In this paper we combine two of NREL's systems engineering design tools, DriveSE and GeneratorSE, to enable a comprehensive system-level drivetrain optimization for the IEAWind reference turbine for land-based applications. We compare a more traditional design with integrated approaches employing decoupled and coupled design optimization. It is demonstrated that both approaches have the potential to realize notable mass savings with opportunities to lower the costs of energy.

  5. A Theoretical Framework Mapping Barriers of Integrating and Adopting Educational Techonology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khalid, Md. Saifuddin; Buus, Lillian

    2018-01-01

    In the field of educational technology, a decades-long research question is: what barriers exist in integration and adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) in education educational technology? The intensity of integration and the rate of adoption are significantly low and the i......In the field of educational technology, a decades-long research question is: what barriers exist in integration and adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) in education educational technology? The intensity of integration and the rate of adoption are significantly low......) adoption decision. Instead of “system blame” or “individual blame”, an integration and adoption approach should consider national holistic view for careful strategic changes in policies, procedures, and practices at each decision level of the educational system and related external systems....

  6. Basis of integrated approach to sports and recreational activities of students of special medical groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L.V. Zaharova

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Purpose : to prove the superiority of techniques integrated approach to sports and recreational activities of students of special medical groups in the educational institution. Material / methods : the annual pedagogical experiment conducted on three groups that have been formed based on the results of preliminary studies based on diagnosis. Learning process based on the principle of improving training. Results : the advantages of an integrated approach to sports and recreational activities of students with disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Recommended approaches to increase physical and functional training. Also - the formation of a stable demand of motor activity, leading healthy lifestyles, in the acquisition of social status in the educational activity. Conclusions : the integrated approach will meet the educational needs of students to form a cultural competence of the individual in the preservation and conservation of health, ability to adapt and successfully implement their professional activities.

  7. Towards a systems approach for understanding honeybee decline: a stocktaking and synthesis of existing models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becher, Matthias A; Osborne, Juliet L; Thorbek, Pernille; Kennedy, Peter J; Grimm, Volker

    2013-08-01

    The health of managed and wild honeybee colonies appears to have declined substantially in Europe and the United States over the last decade. Sustainability of honeybee colonies is important not only for honey production, but also for pollination of crops and wild plants alongside other insect pollinators. A combination of causal factors, including parasites, pathogens, land use changes and pesticide usage, are cited as responsible for the increased colony mortality.However, despite detailed knowledge of the behaviour of honeybees and their colonies, there are no suitable tools to explore the resilience mechanisms of this complex system under stress. Empirically testing all combinations of stressors in a systematic fashion is not feasible. We therefore suggest a cross-level systems approach, based on mechanistic modelling, to investigate the impacts of (and interactions between) colony and land management.We review existing honeybee models that are relevant to examining the effects of different stressors on colony growth and survival. Most of these models describe honeybee colony dynamics, foraging behaviour or honeybee - varroa mite - virus interactions.We found that many, but not all, processes within honeybee colonies, epidemiology and foraging are well understood and described in the models, but there is no model that couples in-hive dynamics and pathology with foraging dynamics in realistic landscapes. Synthesis and applications . We describe how a new integrated model could be built to simulate multifactorial impacts on the honeybee colony system, using building blocks from the reviewed models. The development of such a tool would not only highlight empirical research priorities but also provide an important forecasting tool for policy makers and beekeepers, and we list examples of relevant applications to bee disease and landscape management decisions.

  8. The importance of the natural and social resources in the function of the integrational and ambiental approach within the school function innovation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anđelković Slađana

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In work, different possibilities are considered, which are offered by natural and social resources with the goal to change and modernize the teaching outside of the classroom in different environments. Modern teaching is based on the holistic, integrated approach in which the knowledge is viewed as a complete system in a constant process of transformation. Thus, the importance of the environment is asserted, the importance of the ambient in which the teaching process is being conducted. Authentic environment (natural and social resources in which the teaching is realized, outside of the classroom, creates possibilities for learning through active working methods, independent research, exploration and noticing the relationships and connections. Teaching in the authentic environment offers a series of advantages for both the students and teacher-partners in the process of constructing a knowledge system. Using the resources and modern complex integration approach within the existing educational practice can significantly influence the modernization and innovation of the educational process, and can make the school, as a basic educational institution, a more suitable and more attractive for the generations to come.

  9. Islam - Science Integration Approach in Developing Chemistry Individualized Education Program (IEP for Students with Disabilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jamil Suprihatiningrum

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The paper is based on a research which tries to explore, explain and describe Islam - science integration approach to develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP for students with disabilities in chemistry lesson. As a qualitative case study, this paper is aimed at investigating how Islam - science integration approach can be underpinned for developing the IEP for Chemistry. Participants were recruited purposively and data were collected by interviews; documents’ analysis; and experts’ assessment (i.e. material experts, inclusive education experts, media experts, chemistry teachers and support teachers, then analyzed using content-analysis. The result shows Islam - science integration approach can be a foundation to develop the chemistry IEP by seeking support for the verses of the Qur'an and corresponding hadiths. Even although almost all the subject matter in chemistry can be integrated with Islamic values, this study only developed two contents, namely Periodic System of Elements and Reaction Rate.

  10. RETHINKING THE TRANSLATOR’S ROLE WITHIN THE GILT PROJECT: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    И Н Ремхе

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Over the last few decades the scope of the translator’s role has extended from being a me-diator between source and target texts and is now seen within a purely linguistic approach to establishing his/her own integrated dynamic reality of digital texts and virtual database. Within an integrated approach, we propose that equivalence can be considered from the neutralized position of a translator who needs to conform with translational norms as well as render the communicative purpose of the sender; the text content includes stylistic peculiarities and non-verbal information. In terms of the localization industry, the leading factor should be translational norms incorporated into the system with the help of special software to determine certain modes of translation, the foreignizing mode, domesticating mode, internationalizing mode, and localization mode. With the GILT paradigm the translation model is developing into a new concept that consolidates complex integrated solutions for the translation process.

  11. A Large-Scale Design Integration Approach Developed in Conjunction with the Ares Launch Vehicle Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redmon, John W.; Shirley, Michael C.; Kinard, Paul S.

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a method for performing large-scale design integration, taking a classical 2D drawing envelope and interface approach and applying it to modern three dimensional computer aided design (3D CAD) systems. Today, the paradigm often used when performing design integration with 3D models involves a digital mockup of an overall vehicle, in the form of a massive, fully detailed, CAD assembly; therefore, adding unnecessary burden and overhead to design and product data management processes. While fully detailed data may yield a broad depth of design detail, pertinent integration features are often obscured under the excessive amounts of information, making them difficult to discern. In contrast, the envelope and interface method results in a reduction in both the amount and complexity of information necessary for design integration while yielding significant savings in time and effort when applied to today's complex design integration projects. This approach, combining classical and modern methods, proved advantageous during the complex design integration activities of the Ares I vehicle. Downstream processes, benefiting from this approach by reducing development and design cycle time, include: Creation of analysis models for the Aerodynamic discipline; Vehicle to ground interface development; Documentation development for the vehicle assembly.

  12. A retrospective likelihood approach for efficient integration of multiple omics factors in case-control association studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balliu, Brunilda; Tsonaka, Roula; Boehringer, Stefan; Houwing-Duistermaat, Jeanine

    2015-03-01

    Integrative omics, the joint analysis of outcome and multiple types of omics data, such as genomics, epigenomics, and transcriptomics data, constitute a promising approach for powerful and biologically relevant association studies. These studies often employ a case-control design, and often include nonomics covariates, such as age and gender, that may modify the underlying omics risk factors. An open question is how to best integrate multiple omics and nonomics information to maximize statistical power in case-control studies that ascertain individuals based on the phenotype. Recent work on integrative omics have used prospective approaches, modeling case-control status conditional on omics, and nonomics risk factors. Compared to univariate approaches, jointly analyzing multiple risk factors with a prospective approach increases power in nonascertained cohorts. However, these prospective approaches often lose power in case-control studies. In this article, we propose a novel statistical method for integrating multiple omics and nonomics factors in case-control association studies. Our method is based on a retrospective likelihood function that models the joint distribution of omics and nonomics factors conditional on case-control status. The new method provides accurate control of Type I error rate and has increased efficiency over prospective approaches in both simulated and real data. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Integrated solid waste management: a palliative to existing waste ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    As a concept, Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) is a sustainable ... on the perspective of consumers on waste generation, collection and disposal. ... to effective solid waste management in the case study area; non-sorting and ...

  14. Toward better public health reporting using existing off the shelf approaches: A comparison of alternative cancer detection approaches using plaintext medical data and non-dictionary based feature selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasthurirathne, Suranga N; Dixon, Brian E; Gichoya, Judy; Xu, Huiping; Xia, Yuni; Mamlin, Burke; Grannis, Shaun J

    2016-04-01

    Increased adoption of electronic health records has resulted in increased availability of free text clinical data for secondary use. A variety of approaches to obtain actionable information from unstructured free text data exist. These approaches are resource intensive, inherently complex and rely on structured clinical data and dictionary-based approaches. We sought to evaluate the potential to obtain actionable information from free text pathology reports using routinely available tools and approaches that do not depend on dictionary-based approaches. We obtained pathology reports from a large health information exchange and evaluated the capacity to detect cancer cases from these reports using 3 non-dictionary feature selection approaches, 4 feature subset sizes, and 5 clinical decision models: simple logistic regression, naïve bayes, k-nearest neighbor, random forest, and J48 decision tree. The performance of each decision model was evaluated using sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. Decision models parameterized using automated, informed, and manual feature selection approaches yielded similar results. Furthermore, non-dictionary classification approaches identified cancer cases present in free text reports with evaluation measures approaching and exceeding 80-90% for most metrics. Our methods are feasible and practical approaches for extracting substantial information value from free text medical data, and the results suggest that these methods can perform on par, if not better, than existing dictionary-based approaches. Given that public health agencies are often under-resourced and lack the technical capacity for more complex methodologies, these results represent potentially significant value to the public health field. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. A novel system architecture for the national integration of electronic health records: a semi-centralized approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AlJarullah, Asma; El-Masri, Samir

    2013-08-01

    The goal of a national electronic health records integration system is to aggregate electronic health records concerning a particular patient at different healthcare providers' systems to provide a complete medical history of the patient. It holds the promise to address the two most crucial challenges to the healthcare systems: improving healthcare quality and controlling costs. Typical approaches for the national integration of electronic health records are a centralized architecture and a distributed architecture. This paper proposes a new approach for the national integration of electronic health records, the semi-centralized approach, an intermediate solution between the centralized architecture and the distributed architecture that has the benefits of both approaches. The semi-centralized approach is provided with a clearly defined architecture. The main data elements needed by the system are defined and the main system modules that are necessary to achieve an effective and efficient functionality of the system are designed. Best practices and essential requirements are central to the evolution of the proposed architecture. The proposed architecture will provide the basis for designing the simplest and the most effective systems to integrate electronic health records on a nation-wide basis that maintain integrity and consistency across locations, time and systems, and that meet the challenges of interoperability, security, privacy, maintainability, mobility, availability, scalability, and load balancing.

  16. DEVELOPMENT POLICIES IN ALBA IULIA AREA OF INFLUENCE. AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. A. NICULA

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Development Policies in Alba Iulia Area of Influence. An Integrated Approach. The paper represents an integrated and holarchical perspective on the spatial development policies and its component measures and projects related to the City of Alba Iulia, its area of influence and the all-encompassing County of Alba, Romania. The goal was to see how the development and management policies from all levels merge into a single strategic framework that might create a favourable basis for the sustainable growth of Alba Iulia and its area of influence. As this area surrounding the city is subjected to different hierarchical plans and programmes, some that are not properly correlated, it is extremely clear that this area and Areas of Influence in general need legislative stipulations made specifically for them and also a well-thought holarchical planning approach.

  17. NASA Integrated Network COOP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Michael L.; Wright, Nathaniel; Tai, Wallace

    2012-01-01

    Natural disasters, terrorist attacks, civil unrest, and other events have the potential of disrupting mission-essential operations in any space communications network. NASA's Space Communications and Navigation office (SCaN) is in the process of studying options for integrating the three existing NASA network elements, the Deep Space Network, the Near Earth Network, and the Space Network, into a single integrated network with common services and interfaces. The need to maintain Continuity of Operations (COOP) after a disastrous event has a direct impact on the future network design and operations concepts. The SCaN Integrated Network will provide support to a variety of user missions. The missions have diverse requirements and include anything from earth based platforms to planetary missions and rovers. It is presumed that an integrated network, with common interfaces and processes, provides an inherent advantage to COOP in that multiple elements and networks can provide cross-support in a seamless manner. The results of trade studies support this assumption but also show that centralization as a means of achieving integration can result in single points of failure that must be mitigated. The cost to provide this mitigation can be substantial. In support of this effort, the team evaluated the current approaches to COOP, developed multiple potential approaches to COOP in a future integrated network, evaluated the interdependencies of the various approaches to the various network control and operations options, and did a best value assessment of the options. The paper will describe the trade space, the study methods, and results of the study.

  18. Integral or integrated marketing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davčik Nebojša

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Marketing theorists and experts try to develop business efficient organization and to get marketing performance at higher, business integrated level since its earliest beginnings. The core issue in this paperwork is the dialectic and practical approach dilemma should we develop integrated or integral marketing approach in the organization. The presented company cases as well as dialectic and functional explanations of this dilemma clearly shows that integrated marketing is narrower approach than integral marketing if we take as focal point new, unique and completed entity. In the integration the essence is in getting different parts together, which do not have to make necessary the new entity. The key elements in the definition of the integral marketing are necessity and holistic, e.g. necessity to develop new, holistic entity.

  19. An integrated approach for Limpopo Park groundwater characterization for biodiversity safety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefania Vitale

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a multistep study held in the context of the SECOSUD Phase II project, called “Conservation and equitable use of biological diversity in the SADC region (Southern African Development Community [1]. The present study is developed in the activity research of the SECOSUD Phase II project funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the SADC. One of this project’s objectives is to strengthen the capacities of the SADC region scientific network, in the aim to consolidate and to harmonize the management of natural resources [1]. The overall objective of this study is to design an integrated approach for Limpopo Park groundwater characterization and management, based on dealing with the full water cycle by a tiered and complex program, which will follow several steps: a preliminary field study, data existing collection, the selection of sites meteorological stations, the location of monitoring surface water and groundwater points, which includes fields measurements and sampling, chemical and isotopic analysis, collection of hydrological data to design hydrological conceptual model in the area under study in order to quantify the water balance and to provide recommendations on where to focus future research. The monitoring systems should be supported by processing procedures, step by step, implementing a GIS database.

  20. Approaches for integrated assessment of ecological and eutrophication status of surface waters in Nordic Countries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Jesper H.; Aroviita, Jukka; Carstensen, Jacob

    2016-01-01

    We review approaches and tools currently used in Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) for integrated assessment of ‘ecological status’ sensu the EU Water Framework Directive as well as assessment of ‘eutrophication status’ in coastal and marine waters. Integration principles for...... principles applied within BQEs are critical and in need of harmonisation if we want a better understanding of potential transition in ecological status between surface water types, e.g. when riverine water enters a downstream lake or coastal water body.......We review approaches and tools currently used in Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) for integrated assessment of ‘ecological status’ sensu the EU Water Framework Directive as well as assessment of ‘eutrophication status’ in coastal and marine waters. Integration principles...

  1. Integrated Systems-Based Approach for Reaching Acceptable End Points for Groundwater - 13629

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, M. Hope; Wellman, Dawn; Truex, Mike; Freshley, Mark D.; Sorenson, Kent S. Jr.; Wymore, Ryan

    2013-01-01

    The sheer mass and nature of contaminated materials at DOE and DoD sites, makes it impractical to completely restore these sites to pre-disposal conditions. DOE faces long-term challenges, particularly with developing monitoring and end state approaches for clean-up that are protective of the environment, technically based and documented, sustainable, and most importantly cost effective. Integrated systems-based monitoring approaches (e.g., tools for characterization and monitoring, multi-component strategies, geophysical modeling) could provide novel approaches and a framework to (a) define risk-informed endpoints and/or conditions that constitute completion of cleanup and (b) provide the understanding for implementation of advanced scientific approaches to meet cleanup goals. Multi-component strategies which combine site conceptual models, biological, chemical, and physical remediation strategies, as well as iterative review and optimization have proven successful at several DOE sites. Novel tools such as enzyme probes and quantitative PCR for DNA and RNA, and innovative modeling approaches for complex subsurface environments, have been successful at facilitating the reduced operation or shutdown of pump and treat facilities and transition of clean-up activities into monitored natural attenuation remedies. Integrating novel tools with site conceptual models and other lines of evidence to characterize, optimize, and monitor long term remedial approaches for complex contaminant plumes are critical for transitioning active remediation into cost effective, yet technically defensible endpoint strategies. (authors)

  2. Struggling against suicide: the need for an integrative approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Leo, Diego

    2002-01-01

    Transcultural comparisons would be beneficial for both our understanding of suicide phenomena and the setting up of preventative strategies. Changes in attitude throughout history, gender and age differences, socio-economic factors, influence of race and ethnicity, and the impact of religion are among the aspects mentioned in this article. All of them can actually have a considerable effect on suicide rates, and all of them should be taken into account when interpreting suicide trends and designing antisuicide strategies. In fact, both risk and protective factors may vary remarkably in different cultures. The need for an integrative approach is evident today more than ever, and this fact calls for more concerted and coordinated, multidisciplinary approaches to suicide prevention.

  3. Integrated Approaches for the Public Health Prioritization of Foodborne and Zoonotic Pathogens

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mangen, Marie-Josée; Batz, Mike; Kassbohrer, Annemarie

    2010-01-01

    such as cost of illness, willingness to pay, and health-adjusted life years (HALYs). To discuss the similarities and differences in these approaches, to seek consensus on principles, and to improve international collaboration, the E.U. MED-VET-NET and the U.S.-based Food Safety Research Consortium organized......To address the persistent problems of foodborne and zoonotic disease, public health officials worldwide face difficult choices about how to best allocate limited resources and target interventions to reduce morbidity and mortality. Data-driven approaches to informing these decisions have been...... developed in a number of countries. Integrated comparative frameworks generally share three methodological components: estimating incidence of acute illnesses, chronic sequelae, and mortality; attributing pathogen-specific illnesses to foods; and calculating integrated measures of disease burden...

  4. The meaning of integrated care: a systems approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lars Edgren

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Organizations can be regarded as systems. The traditional model of systems views them as machines. This seems to be insufficient when it comes to understanding and organizing complex tasks. To better understand integrated care we should approach organizations as constantly changing living organisms, where many agents are interconnected in so-called Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS. Theory and discussion: The term “complex” emphasizes that the necessary competence to perform a task is not owned by any one part, but comes as a result of co-operation within the system. “Adaptive” means that system change occurs through successive adaptations. A CAS consists of several subsystems called agents, which act in dependence of one another. Examples would be the ant-hill, the human immune defence, the financial market and the surgical operating theatre team. Studying a CAS, the focus is on the interaction and communication between agents. Although these thoughts are not new, the CAS-approach has not yet been widely applied to the management of integrated care. This helps the management to understand why the traditional top down way of managing, following the machine model thinking, may meet with problems in interdependent organizations with complex tasks. Conclusion: When we perceive health and social services as CASs we should gain more insight into the processes that go on within and between organizations and how top management, for example within a hospital, in fact executes its steering function.

  5. Ortho-perio integrated approach in periodontally compromised patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramachandra, C. S.; Shetty, Pradeep Chandra; Rege, Sanyukta; Shah, Chitrang

    2011-01-01

    It is an undisputed fact that sound and strong periodontal health is a must in patients seeking orthodontic treatment. Does this mean that we are going to deny orthodontic treatment for those adults whose number is rising, more often secondary to periodontal deterioration and pathological migration of teeth resulting in aesthetic and functional problems? Need of the hour is to have an integrated approach where in periodontal treatment precedes orthodontic treatment to restore periodontal health. Orthodontic treatment should be performed under strict plaque control measures to place the teeth in a structurally balanced and functionally efficient position. Aim of this article is to familiarize the practicing clinicians both in the field of orthodontics and periodontics with current thoughts and successful clinical techniques used in the field of periodontology to regenerate lost periodontal structures. Furthermore, it aims to integrate such techniques into the orthodontic treatment of patients with severe bone loss. PMID:22368371

  6. Elements of integrated care approaches for older people: a review of reviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briggs, Andrew M; Valentijn, Pim P; Thiyagarajan, Jotheeswaran A; Araujo de Carvalho, Islene

    2018-04-07

    The World Health Organization (WHO) recently proposed an Integrated Care for Older People approach to guide health systems and services in better supporting functional ability of older people. A knowledge gap remains in the key elements of integrated care approaches used in health and social care delivery systems for older populations. The objective of this review was to identify and describe the key elements of integrated care models for elderly people reported in the literature. Review of reviews using a systematic search method. A systematic search was performed in MEDLINE and the Cochrane database in June 2017. Reviews of interventions aimed at care integration at the clinical (micro), organisational/service (meso) or health system (macro) levels for people aged ≥60 years were included. Non-Cochrane reviews published before 2015 were excluded. Reviews were assessed for quality using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) 1 tool. Fifteen reviews (11 systematic reviews, of which six were Cochrane reviews) were included, representing 219 primary studies. Three reviews (20%) included only randomised controlled trials (RCT), while 10 reviews (65%) included both RCTs and non-RCTs. The region where the largest number of primary studies originated was North America (n=89, 47.6%), followed by Europe (n=60, 32.1%) and Oceania (n=31, 16.6%). Eleven (73%) reviews focused on clinical 'micro' and organisational 'meso' care integration strategies. The most commonly reported elements of integrated care models were multidisciplinary teams, comprehensive assessment and case management. Nurses, physiotherapists, general practitioners and social workers were the most commonly reported service providers. Methodological quality was variable (AMSTAR scores: 1-11). Seven (47%) reviews were scored as high quality (AMSTAR score ≥8). Evidence of elements of integrated care for older people focuses particularly on micro clinical care integration processes, while there

  7. Slow Integral Manifolds and Control Problems in Critical and Twice Critical Cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sobolev, Vladimir

    2016-01-01

    We consider singularly perturbed differential systems in cases where the standard theory to establish a slow integral manifold existence does not work. The theory has traditionally dealt only with perturbation problems near normally hyperbolic manifold of singularities and this manifold is supposed to isolated. Applying transformations we reduce the original singularly perturbed problem to a regularized one such that the existence of slow integral manifolds can be established by means of the standard theory. We illustrate our approach by several examples. (paper)

  8. Incremental Integrity Checking: Limitations and Possibilities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Henning; Martinenghi, Davide

    2005-01-01

    Integrity checking is an essential means for the preservation of the intended semantics of a deductive database. Incrementality is the only feasible approach to checking and can be obtained with respect to given update patterns by exploiting query optimization techniques. By reducing the problem...... to query containment, we show that no procedure exists that always returns the best incremental test (aka simplification of integrity constraints), and this according to any reasonable criterion measuring the checking effort. In spite of this theoretical limitation, we develop an effective procedure...

  9. Time-Dependent Heat Conduction Problems Solved by an Integral-Equation Approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oberaigner, E.R.; Leindl, M.; Antretter, T.

    2010-01-01

    Full text: A classical task of mathematical physics is the formulation and solution of a time dependent thermoelastic problem. In this work we develop an algorithm for solving the time-dependent heat conduction equation c p ρ∂ t T-kT, ii =0 in an analytical, exact fashion for a two-component domain. By the Green's function approach the formal solution of the problem is obtained. As an intermediate result an integral-equation for the temperature history at the domain interface is formulated which can be solved analytically. This method is applied to a classical engineering problem, i.e. to a special case of a Stefan-Problem. The Green's function approach in conjunction with the integral-equation method is very useful in cases were strong discontinuities or jumps occur. The initial conditions and the system parameters of the investigated problem give rise to two jumps in the temperature field. Purely numerical solutions are obtained by using the FEM (finite element method) and the FDM (finite difference method) and compared with the analytical approach. At the domain boundary the analytical solution and the FEM-solution are in good agreement, but the FDM results show a signicant smearing effect. (author)

  10. Using the integrated rural mobility and access (IRMA) approach in prospering rural South Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Chakwizira, J

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available settlements implications of current rural development approaches are outlined. The potential and impact of the integrated rural mobility and access approach (IRMA) in unlocking socio-economic and spatial livelihood opportunities are discussed. In this regard...

  11. Design of pressure vessels using shape optimization: An integrated approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carbonari, R.C., E-mail: ronny@usp.br [Department of Mechatronic Engineering, Escola Politecnica da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 2231 Sao Paulo, SP 05508-900 (Brazil); Munoz-Rojas, P.A., E-mail: pablo@joinville.udesc.br [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Bom Retiro, Joinville, SC 89223-100 (Brazil); Andrade, E.Q., E-mail: edmundoq@petrobras.com.br [CENPES, PDP/Metodos Cientificos, Petrobras (Brazil); Paulino, G.H., E-mail: paulino@uiuc.edu [Newmark Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 205 North Mathews Av., Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 158 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1206 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801-2906 (United States); Nishimoto, K., E-mail: knishimo@usp.br [Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Escola Politecnica da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 2231 Sao Paulo, SP 05508-900 (Brazil); Silva, E.C.N., E-mail: ecnsilva@usp.br [Department of Mechatronic Engineering, Escola Politecnica da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 2231 Sao Paulo, SP 05508-900 (Brazil)

    2011-05-15

    Previous papers related to the optimization of pressure vessels have considered the optimization of the nozzle independently from the dished end. This approach generates problems such as thickness variation from nozzle to dished end (coupling cylindrical region) and, as a consequence, it reduces the optimality of the final result which may also be influenced by the boundary conditions. Thus, this work discusses shape optimization of axisymmetric pressure vessels considering an integrated approach in which the entire pressure vessel model is used in conjunction with a multi-objective function that aims to minimize the von-Mises mechanical stress from nozzle to head. Representative examples are examined and solutions obtained for the entire vessel considering temperature and pressure loading. It is noteworthy that different shapes from the usual ones are obtained. Even though such different shapes may not be profitable considering present manufacturing processes, they may be competitive for future manufacturing technologies, and contribute to a better understanding of the actual influence of shape in the behavior of pressure vessels. - Highlights: > Shape optimization of entire pressure vessel considering an integrated approach. > By increasing the number of spline knots, the convergence stability is improved. > The null angle condition gives lower stress values resulting in a better design. > The cylinder stresses are very sensitive to the cylinder length. > The shape optimization of the entire vessel must be considered for cylinder length.

  12. Integrating availability and maintenance objectives in plant design. EDF approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Degrave, Claude; Martin-Onraet, Michel

    1995-01-01

    Energy self sufficiency is a major strategic necessity for France. Regarding the fossil fuels power, competitiveness of nuclear energy is a key goal for Electricite de France. Accordingly, for future nuclear power plants to remain competitive, it is necessary to maintain the kWh production costs of the future units at a level close to those of the latest units under construction (N4 series), while raising the safety level. EDF therefore decided to implement an analytical and systematic process for study of the new projects to optimize the design by integration of the maintenance (durations, costs), availability and radiation exposure goals from the related operating experience. This approach, CIDEM (French acronym for Design Integrating Availability, operating Experience and Maintenance) aims at a single goal: to minimize the kWh production cost incorporating investment, operation and fuel costs, allowing for the operating experience from French and foreign units. The implementation of the CIDEM process constitutes for EDF a new approach to the study of the new Nuclear Power Plant projects. The competitivity of nuclear energy greatly depends on the success of such an approach. The studies conducted in the availability field have already highlighted a number of critical points and have made it possible to define the corresponding goal allocations and to establish a first series of structuring specifications for the project. (J.P.N.)

  13. Towards integrated hygiene and food safety management systems: the Hygieneomic approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, G D

    1999-09-15

    Integrated hygiene and food safety management systems in food production can give rise to exceptional improvements in food safety performance, but require high level commitment and full functional involvement. A new approach, named hygieneomics, has been developed to assist management in their introduction of hygiene and food safety systems. For an effective introduction, the management systems must be designed to fit with the current generational state of an organisation. There are, broadly speaking, four generational states of an organisation in their approach to food safety. They comprise: (i) rules setting; (ii) ensuring compliance; (iii) individual commitment; (iv) interdependent action. In order to set up an effective integrated hygiene and food safety management system a number of key managerial requirements are necessary. The most important ones are: (a) management systems must integrate the activities of key functions from research and development through to supply chain and all functions need to be involved; (b) there is a critical role for the senior executive, in communicating policy and standards; (c) responsibilities must be clearly defined, and it should be clear that food safety is a line management responsibility not to be delegated to technical or quality personnel; (d) a thorough and effective multi-level audit approach is necessary; (e) key activities in the system are HACCP and risk management, but it is stressed that these are ongoing management activities, not once-off paper generating exercises; and (f) executive management board level review is necessary of audit results, measurements, status and business benefits.

  14. On the existence of Levi Foliations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RENATA N. OSTWALD

    2001-03-01

    Full Text Available Let L be a real 3 dimensional analytic variety. For each regular point p L there exists a unique complex line l p on the space tangent to L at p. When the field of complex line p l p is completely integrable, we say that L is Levi variety. More generally; let L M be a real subvariety in an holomorphic complex variety M. If there exists a real 2 dimensional integrable distribution on L which is invariant by the holomorphic structure J induced by M, we say that L is a Levi variety. We shall prove: Theorem. Let be a Levi foliation and let be the induced holomorphic foliation. Then, admits a Liouvillian first integral. In other words, if is a 3 dimensional analytic foliation such that the induced complex distribution defines an holomorphic foliation ; that is, if is a Levi foliation; then admits a Liouvillian first integral--a function which can be constructed by the composition of rational functions, exponentiation, integration, and algebraic functions (Singer 1992. For example, if f is an holomorphic function and if theta is real a 1-form on ; then the pull-back of theta by f defines a Levi foliation : f*theta = 0 which is tangent to the holomorphic foliation : df = 0. This problem was proposed by D. Cerveau in a meeting (see Fernandez 1997.Seja L Ì uma variedade real de dimensão 3. Para todo ponto regular p Î L existe uma única reta complexa l p no espaço tangente à L em p. Quando o campo de linhas complexas p l p é completamente integrável, dizemos que L é uma variedade de Levi. Mais geralmente, seja L Ì M uma subvariedade real em uma variedade analítica complexa. Se existe uma distribuição real integrável de dimensão 2 em L que é invariante pela estrutura holomorfa J induzida pela variedade complexa M, dizemos que L é uma variedade de Levi. Vamos provar: Teorema. Seja uma folheação de Levi e seja a folheação holomorfa induzida. Então tem integral primeira Liouvilliana. Em outras palavras, se é uma folheação real de

  15. Multiloop Integral System Test (MIST): MIST Facility Functional Specification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Habib, T.F.; Koksal, C.G.; Moskal, T.E.; Rush, G.C.; Gloudemans, J.R.

    1991-04-01

    The Multiloop Integral System Test (MIST) is part of a multiphase program started in 1983 to address small-break loss-of-coolant accidents (SBLOCAs) specific to Babcock and Wilcox designed plants. MIST is sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Babcock ampersand Wilcox Owners Group, the Electric Power Research Institute, and Babcock and Wilcox. The unique features of the Babcock and Wilcox design, specifically the hot leg U-bends and steam generators, prevented the use of existing integral system data or existing integral facilities to address the thermal-hydraulic SBLOCA questions. MIST was specifically designed and constructed for this program, and an existing facility -- the Once Through Integral System (OTIS) -- was also used. Data from MIST and OTIS are used to benchmark the adequacy of system codes, such as RELAP5 and TRAC, for predicting abnormal plant transients. The MIST Functional Specification documents as-built design features, dimensions, instrumentation, and test approach. It also presents the scaling basis for the facility and serves to define the scope of work for the facility design and construction. 13 refs., 112 figs., 38 tabs

  16. System approach for the management of radioactive waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fearnley, I.G.

    1997-01-01

    An integrated approach to Waste Management and Decommissioning, which takes account of the lifetime implications (safety, dose uptake, discharges and cost) is an important strategic process in forward planning. This type of approach is particularly relevant when making decisions concerning waste minimisation and segregation, packaging and surface storage of high and intermediate level waste in advance of the existence of disposal facilities. Such a systematic approach forms an integral part of a process which enable progress to be assessed and plans to be updated in response to changing demands upon business operations and can continually be applied to waste management policy and to optimise the detailed waste management plans. (author)

  17. Data report for the integrity assessment report HNF-4589

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MCSHANE, D.S.

    1999-01-01

    Supporting data for the Integrity Assessment Report of Tanks TK-101 and TK-102. The purpose of this document is to compile supporting documentation for the Integrity Assessment Report (HNF 4589) for Tanks 101 and 102 in the 2194 Facility. This approach minimizes the size of the Integrity Assessment Report (IAR) (HNF-4589) and still provide a path to detailed information. This IAR addresses the evaluation of Tanks 101 and 102 and other existing components located in the 219-5 Waste Handling Facility

  18. APPROACH ON THE EXISTENCE OF INNOVATION IN TOURISM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina BURGHELEA

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This article aimed to highlight the existence of innovation in tourism based on the international literature. From conceptualization of the research period it was found that definition can be universally valid applied in all sectors of the economy and, equally, in the tertiary sector, where there are tourist services. Coming either from English or French, "innovation" defines both a process and its results. Adapting to the constantly varying wishes of customers, innovation is a key element underpinning the survival and existence of competition in a dynamic environment that is changing radically. Current studies reveal that there are other indirect benefits of innovations such as image enhancement, improved customer loyalty, and ability to attract new ones. In this study, it was paid a special attention to the long-term prospects related to the tourism sector in countries such as Australia, Latin America, Africa, China and emerging markets such as India and Indonesia. This has resulted in tourism expenditure forecast for the period 2013 - 2019 performed using information provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

  19. Integrative Analysis of Omics Big Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xiang-Tian; Zeng, Tao

    2018-01-01

    The diversity and huge omics data take biology and biomedicine research and application into a big data era, just like that popular in human society a decade ago. They are opening a new challenge from horizontal data ensemble (e.g., the similar types of data collected from different labs or companies) to vertical data ensemble (e.g., the different types of data collected for a group of person with match information), which requires the integrative analysis in biology and biomedicine and also asks for emergent development of data integration to address the great changes from previous population-guided to newly individual-guided investigations.Data integration is an effective concept to solve the complex problem or understand the complicate system. Several benchmark studies have revealed the heterogeneity and trade-off that existed in the analysis of omics data. Integrative analysis can combine and investigate many datasets in a cost-effective reproducible way. Current integration approaches on biological data have two modes: one is "bottom-up integration" mode with follow-up manual integration, and the other one is "top-down integration" mode with follow-up in silico integration.This paper will firstly summarize the combinatory analysis approaches to give candidate protocol on biological experiment design for effectively integrative study on genomics and then survey the data fusion approaches to give helpful instruction on computational model development for biological significance detection, which have also provided newly data resources and analysis tools to support the precision medicine dependent on the big biomedical data. Finally, the problems and future directions are highlighted for integrative analysis of omics big data.

  20. Integrating systems Approaches into Pharmaceutical Sciences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Westerhoff, H.V.; Mosekilde, Erik; Noe, C. R.

    2008-01-01

    During the first week of December 2007, the European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences (EUFEPS) and BioSim, the major European Network of Excellence on Systems Biology, held a challenging conference on the use of mathematical models in the drug development process. More precisely, the purpose...... of the conference was to promote the ‘Integration of Systems Approaches into Pharmaceutical Sciences’ in view of optimising the development of new effective drugs. And a challenge this is, considering both the high attrition rates in the pharmaceutical industry and the failure of finding definitive drug solutions...... for many of the diseases that plague mankind today. The conference was co-sponsored by the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, the European Center for Pharmaceutical Medicine, and the Swiss Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and, besides representatives from the European Regulatory Agencies and FDA...

  1. Exploring Optimization Opportunities in Four-Point Suspension Wind Turbine Drivetrains Through Integrated Design Approaches: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sethuraman, Latha [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Quick, Julian [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Guo, Yi [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Dykes, Katherine L [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2018-02-13

    Drivetrain design has significant influence on the costs of wind power generation. Current industry practices usually approach the drivetrain design with loads and system requirements defined by the turbine manufacturer. Several different manufacturers are contracted to supply individual components from the low-speed shaft to the generator - each receiving separate design specifications from the turbine manufacturer. Increasingly, more integrated approaches to turbine design have shown promise for blades and towers. Yet, integrated drivetrain design is a challenging task owing to the complex physical behavior of the important load-bearing components, namely the main bearings, gearbox, and the generator. In this paper we combine two of NREL's systems engineering design tools, DriveSE and GeneratorSE, to enable a comprehensive system-level drivetrain optimization for the IEAWind reference turbine for land-based applications. We compare a more traditional design with integrated approaches employing decoupled and coupled design optimization. It is demonstrated that both approaches have the potential to realize notable mass savings with opportunities to lower the costs of energy.

  2. Analysis and interpretation of geophysical surveys in archaeological sites employing different integrated approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piro, Salvatore; Papale, Enrico; Kucukdemirci, Melda; Zamuner, Daniela

    2017-04-01

    Non-destructive ground surface geophysical prospecting methods are frequently used for the investigation of archaeological sites, where a detailed physical and geometrical reconstructions of hidden volumes is required prior to any excavation work. All methods measure the variations of single physical parameters, therefore if these are used singularly, they could not permit a complete location and characterization of anomalous bodies. The probability of a successful result rapidly increases if a multhimethodological approach is adopted, according to the logic of objective complementarity of information and of global convergence toward a high quality multiparametric imaging of the buried structures. The representation of the static configuration of the bodies in the subsoil and of the space-time evolution of the interaction processes between targets and hosting materials have to be actually considered fundamental elements of primary knowledge in archaeological prospecting. The main effort in geophysical prospecting for archaeology is therefore the integration of different, absolutely non-invasive techniques, especially if managed in view of a ultra-high resolution three-dimensional (3D) tomographic representation mode. Following the above outlined approach, we have integrated geophysical methods which measure the variations of potential field (gradiometric methods) with active methods which measure the variations of physical properties due to the body's geometry and volume (GPR and ERT). In this work, the results obtained during the surveys of three archaeological sites, employing Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Fluxgate Differential Magnetic (FDM) to obtain precise and detailed maps of subsurface bodies, are presented and discussed. The first site, situated in a suburban area between Itri and Fondi, in the Aurunci Natural Regional Park (Central Italy), is characterized by the presence of remains of past human activity

  3. Measuring and Managing Value Co-Creation Process: Overview of Existing Theoretical Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Skaržauskaitė

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Purpose — the article is to provide a holistic view on concept of value co-creation and existing models for measuring and managing it by conducting theoretical analysis of scientific literature sources targeting the integration of various approaches. Most important and relevant results of the literature study are presented with a focus on changed roles of organizations and consumers. This article aims at contributing theoretically to the research stream of measuring co-creation of value in order to gain knowledge for improvement of organizational performance and enabling new and innovative means of value creation. Design/methodology/approach. The nature of this research is exploratory – theoretical analysis and synthesis of scientific literature sources targeting the integration of various approaches was performed. This approach was chosen due to the absence of established theory on models of co-creation, possible uses in organizations and systematic overview of tools measuring/suggesting how to measure co-creation. Findings. While the principles of managing and measuring co-creation in regards of consumer motivation and involvement are widely researched, little attempt has been made to identify critical factors and create models dealing with organizational capabilities and managerial implications of value co-creation. Systematic analysis of literature revealed a gap not only in empirical research concerning organization’s role in co-creation process, but in theoretical and conceptual levels, too. Research limitations/implications. The limitations of this work as a literature review lies in its nature – the complete reliance on previously published research papers and the availability of these studies. For a deeper understanding of co-creation management and for developing models that can be used in real-life organizations, a broader theoretical, as well as empirical, research is necessary. Practical implications. Analysis of the

  4. DESIGN ANALYSIS OF ELECTRICAL MACHINES THROUGH INTEGRATED NUMERICAL APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ARAVIND C.V.

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available An integrated design platform for the newer type of machines is presented in this work. The machine parameters are evaluated out using developed modelling tool. With the machine parameters, the machine is modelled using computer aided tool. The designed machine is brought to simulation tool to perform electromagnetic and electromechanical analysis. In the simulation, conditions setting are performed to setup the materials, meshes, rotational speed and the excitation circuit. Electromagnetic analysis is carried out to predict the behavior of the machine based on the movement of flux in the machines. Besides, electromechanical analysis is carried out to analyse the speed-torque characteristic, the current-torque characteristic and the phase angle-torque characteristic. After all the results are analysed, the designed machine is used to generate S block function that is compatible with MATLAB/SIMULINK tool for the dynamic operational characteristics. This allows the integration of existing drive system into the new machines designed in the modelling tool. An example of the machine design is presented to validate the usage of such a tool.

  5. Treatment of Sexual Disorders in the 1990s: An Integrated Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosen, Raymond C.; Leiblum, Sandra R.

    1995-01-01

    Reviews existing data regarding the etiology and treatment of male and female sexual dysfunctions. Discusses the use of multidimensional assessment models, especially in the evaluation of erectile dysfunction and sexual pain disorders. Despite the conceptual and technological sophistication of current approaches, treatment outcomes are…

  6. Global integrability of field theories. Proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calmet, J.; Seiler, W.M.; Tucker, R.W.

    2006-01-01

    The GIFT 2006 workshop covers topics related to the Global Integration of Field Theories. These topics span several domains of science including Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science. It is indeed an interdisciplinary event and this feature is well illustrated by the diversity of papers presented at the workshop. Physics is our main target. A simple approach would be to state that we investigate systems of partial differential equations since it is widely believed that they provide a fair description of our world. The questions whether this world is Einsteinian or not, is described by String Theory or not are not however on our agenda. At this stage we have defined what we mean with field theories. To assess what global integrability means we surf on the two other domains of our interest. Mathematics delivers the main methodologies and tools to achieve our goal. It is a trivial remark to say that there exists several approaches to investigate the concept of integrability. Only selected ones are to be found in these proceedings. We do not try to define precisely what global integrability means. Instead, we only suggest two tracks. The first one is by analogy with the design of algorithms, in Computer Algebra or Computer Science, to solve systems of differential equations. The case of ODEs is rather well understood since a constructive methodology exists. Although many experts claim that numerous results do exist to solve systems of PDEs, no constructive decision method exists. This is our first track. The second track follows directly since the real world is described by systems of PDEs, which are mainly non-linear ones. To be able to decide in such a case of the existence of solutions would increase immediately the scope of new technologies applicable to indus trial problems. It is this latter remark that led to the European NEST project with the same name. The GIFT project aims at making progresses in the investigation of field theories through the use of very

  7. Global integrability of field theories. Proceedings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Calmet, J.; Seiler, W.M.; Tucker, R.W. (eds.)

    2006-07-01

    The GIFT 2006 workshop covers topics related to the Global Integration of Field Theories. These topics span several domains of science including Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science. It is indeed an interdisciplinary event and this feature is well illustrated by the diversity of papers presented at the workshop. Physics is our main target. A simple approach would be to state that we investigate systems of partial differential equations since it is widely believed that they provide a fair description of our world. The questions whether this world is Einsteinian or not, is described by String Theory or not are not however on our agenda. At this stage we have defined what we mean with field theories. To assess what global integrability means we surf on the two other domains of our interest. Mathematics delivers the main methodologies and tools to achieve our goal. It is a trivial remark to say that there exists several approaches to investigate the concept of integrability. Only selected ones are to be found in these proceedings. We do not try to define precisely what global integrability means. Instead, we only suggest two tracks. The first one is by analogy with the design of algorithms, in Computer Algebra or Computer Science, to solve systems of differential equations. The case of ODEs is rather well understood since a constructive methodology exists. Although many experts claim that numerous results do exist to solve systems of PDEs, no constructive decision method exists. This is our first track. The second track follows directly since the real world is described by systems of PDEs, which are mainly non-linear ones. To be able to decide in such a case of the existence of solutions would increase immediately the scope of new technologies applicable to indus trial problems. It is this latter remark that led to the European NEST project with the same name. The GIFT project aims at making progresses in the investigation of field theories through the use of very

  8. Toward Integrated Resource Management: Lessons About the EcosystemApproach from the Laurentian Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    MACKENZIE

    1997-03-01

    / The ecosystem approach is an innovative tool for integratedresource management. Its goal is to restore, enhance, and protect ecosystemintegrity through a holistic and integrated mode of planning. Under thisapproach, the ecosystem itself becomes the unit of analysis and organizingprinciple for environmental management. Utilizing the ecosystem approachchallenges the prevailing structure and function of contemporary resourcemanagement agencies. This paper explores a number of important policy andmanagement issues in the context of a ten-year initiative to remediate theLaurentian Great Lakes using the ecosystem approach. The lessons gleaned fromthe Great Lakes experience are relevant to other areas in North America andabroad where resource management responsibilities are held by multiple andsometimes overlapping jurisdictions.KEY WORDS: Integrated resource management; Ecosystem approach; Watershedmanagement; Great Lakes

  9. Measuring Integration of Information and Communication Technology in Education: An Item Response Modeling Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peeraer, Jef; Van Petegem, Peter

    2012-01-01

    This research describes the development and validation of an instrument to measure integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education. After literature research on definitions of integration of ICT in education, a comparison is made between the classical test theory and the item response modeling approach for the…

  10. 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.

  11. A new approach to integrate PLZT thin films with micro-cantilevers

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Sadhana; Volume 34; Issue 4. A new approach to integrate PLZT thin films with micro-cantilevers ... Different types of cantilever beams incorporating PLZT films have been successfully fabricated using 'lift-off' process and bulk micromachining technology. The proposed process can be advantageously ...

  12. Sustainability performance for Brazilian electricity power industry: An assessment integrating social, economic and environmental issues

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sartori, S.; Witjes, S.; Campos, L.M.S.

    2017-01-01

    The increased pressure on companies to address sustainability issues has resulted in the development of several voluntary corporate sustainability integration approaches. The array of existing approaches is large and overwhelming, resulting in companies not understanding what corporate

  13. An Approach for Integrating Toxicogenomic Data in Risk Assessment: The Dibutyl Phthalate Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    An approach for evaluating and integrating genomic data in chemical risk assessment was developed based on the lessons learned from performing a case study for the chemical dibutyl phthalate. A case study prototype approach was first developed in accordance with EPA guidance and ...

  14. Strategy Guideline: Quality Management in Existing Homes; Cantilever Floor Example

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taggart, J.; Sikora, J.; Wiehagen, J.; Wood, A.

    2011-12-01

    This guideline is designed to highlight the QA process that can be applied to any residential building retrofit activity. The cantilevered floor retrofit detailed in this guideline is included only to provide an actual retrofit example to better illustrate the QA activities being presented. The goal of existing home high performing remodeling quality management systems (HPR-QMS) is to establish practices and processes that can be used throughout any remodeling project. The research presented in this document provides a comparison of a selected retrofit activity as typically done versus that same retrofit activity approached from an integrated high performance remodeling and quality management perspective. It highlights some key quality management tools and approaches that can be adopted incrementally by a high performance remodeler for this or any high performance retrofit. This example is intended as a template and establishes a methodology that can be used to develop a portfolio of high performance remodeling strategies.

  15. Evaluation of an Organisational Intervention to Promote Integrated Working between Health Services and Care Homes in the Delivery of End-of-Life Care for People with Dementia: Understanding the Change Process Using a Social Identity Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah Amador

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In the United Kingdom, approximately a third of people with dementia live in long-term care facilities for adults, the majority of whom are in the last years of life. Working arrangements between health services and care homes in England are largely ad hoc and often inequitable, yet quality end-of-life care for people with dementia in these settings requires a partnership approach to care that builds on existing practice. This paper reports on the qualitative component of a mixed method study aimed at evaluating an organisational intervention shaped by Appreciative Inquiry to promote integrated working between visiting health care practitioners (i.e. General Practitioners and District Nurses and care home staff. The evaluation uses a social identity approach to elucidate the mechanisms of action that underlie the intervention, and understand how organisational change can be achieved. We uncovered evidence of both (i identity mobilisation and (ii context change, defined in theory as mechanisms to overcome divisions in healthcare. Specifically, the intervention supported integrated working across health and social care settings by (i the development of a common group identity built on shared views and goals, but also recognition of knowledge and expertise specific to each service group which served common goals in the delivery of end-of-life care, and (ii development of context specific practice innovations and the introduction of existing end-of-life care tools and frameworks, which could consequently be implemented as part of a meaningful bottom-up rather than top-down process. Interventions structured around a Social Identity Approach can be used to gauge the congruence of values and goals between service groups without which efforts to achieve greater integration between different health services may prove ineffectual. The strength of the approach is its ability to accommodate the diversity of service groups involved in a given area of care

  16. Evaluation of an Organisational Intervention to Promote Integrated Working between Health Services and Care Homes in the Delivery of End-of-Life Care for People with Dementia: Understanding the Change Process Using a Social Identity Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amador, Sarah; Goodman, Claire; Mathie, Elspeth; Nicholson, Caroline

    2016-06-03

    In the United Kingdom, approximately a third of people with dementia live in long-term care facilities for adults, the majority of whom are in the last years of life. Working arrangements between health services and care homes in England are largely ad hoc and often inequitable, yet quality end-of-life care for people with dementia in these settings requires a partnership approach to care that builds on existing practice. This paper reports on the qualitative component of a mixed method study aimed at evaluating an organisational intervention shaped by Appreciative Inquiry to promote integrated working between visiting health care practitioners (i.e. General Practitioners and District Nurses) and care home staff. The evaluation uses a social identity approach to elucidate the mechanisms of action that underlie the intervention, and understand how organisational change can be achieved. We uncovered evidence of both (i) identity mobilisation and (ii) context change, defined in theory as mechanisms to overcome divisions in healthcare. Specifically, the intervention supported integrated working across health and social care settings by (i) the development of a common group identity built on shared views and goals, but also recognition of knowledge and expertise specific to each service group which served common goals in the delivery of end-of-life care, and (ii) development of context specific practice innovations and the introduction of existing end-of-life care tools and frameworks, which could consequently be implemented as part of a meaningful bottom-up rather than top-down process. Interventions structured around a Social Identity Approach can be used to gauge the congruence of values and goals between service groups without which efforts to achieve greater integration between different health services may prove ineffectual. The strength of the approach is its ability to accommodate the diversity of service groups involved in a given area of care, by valuing their

  17. Integration into What? Reflections on Development Planning for Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boulding, Elise

    1980-01-01

    Integration of women into the existing international economic and technological order promises only further loss of autonomy and increased marginalization. Women's groups should explore human-centered development which will generate new social structures and new approaches to human productivity and welfare. (SK)

  18. Participative approach to elicit water quality monitoring needs from stakeholder groups - An application of integrated watershed management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behmel, S; Damour, M; Ludwig, R; Rodriguez, M J

    2018-07-15

    Water quality monitoring programs (WQMPs) must be based on monitoring objectives originating from the real knowledge needs of all stakeholders in a watershed and users of the resource. This paper proposes a participative approach to elicit knowledge needs and preferred modes of communication from citizens and representatives of organized stakeholders (ROS) on water quality and quantity issues. The participative approach includes six steps and is adaptable and transferable to different types of watersheds. These steps are: (1) perform a stakeholder analysis; (2) conduct an adaptable survey accompanied by a user-friendly public participation geographical information system (PPGIS); (3) hold workshops to meet with ROS to inform them of the results of the survey and PPGIS; discuss attainment of past monitoring objectives; exchange views on new knowledge needs and concerns on water quality and quantity; (4) meet with citizens to obtain the same type of input (as from ROS); (5) analyze the data and information collected to identify new knowledge needs and modes of communication and (6) identify, in collaboration with the individuals in charge of the WQMPs, the short-, medium- and long-term monitoring objectives and communication strategies to be pursued. The participative approach was tested on two distinct watersheds in the province of Quebec, Canada. It resulted in a series of optimization objectives of the existing WQMPs, new monitoring objectives and recommendations regarding communication strategies of the WQMPs' results. The results of this study show that the proposed methodology is appreciated by all parties and that the outcomes and monitoring objectives are acceptable. We also conclude that successful integrated watershed management is a question of scale, and that every aspect of integrated watershed management needs to be adapted to the surface watershed, the groundwater watershed (aquifers) and the human catchment area. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All

  19. Data report for the integrity assessment report HNF-4589

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    MCSHANE, D.S.

    1999-10-27

    The purpose of this document is to compile supporting documentation for the Integrity Assessment Report (HNF 4589) for Tanks 101 and 102 in the 2194 Facility. This approach minimizes the size of the Integrity Assessment Report (IAR) (HNF-4589) and still provide a path to detailed information. This IAR addresses the evaluation of Tanks 101 and 102 and other existing components located in the 219-5 Waste Handling Facility.

  20. HOLISTIC VISION: INTEGRATIVE APPROACH IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING SERVICES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ade Hidayat

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The philosophical issues in Guidance and Counseling especially in epistemological discourse have made paradigmatic friction that pointed by some issues from therapeutic-clinical to comprehensive way with preventive development prespective approach. It was also caused by the wider friction where quantum physic has remove classic Newtonian one, then the influence has generally removed another disciplines, where Guidance and Counseling in one of them. Through the comprehensive paradigm, Guidance dan Counseling need to take prepare the expert in order to capable to develop integrated and comprehensive thinking awareness. It means the Guidance and Counseling holistic vision is urged. Through the holistic vision, all of the competency of student is noticed integrally, such as intellectual, emotional, social, physical, artistic, creativity, ecological awareness, and spiritual competencies.Keywords: Ecoliteracy, Holictic Vision, Guidance and Counseling of Comprehensive.

  1. The integrated approach to teaching programming in secondary school

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martynyuk A.A.

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available the article considers an integrated approach to teaching programming with the use of technologies of computer modeling and 3D-graphics, allowing to improve the quality of education. It is shown that this method will allow you to systematize knowledge, improve the level of motivation through the inclusion of relevant technologies, to develop skills of project activities, to strengthen interdisciplinary connections, and promotes professional and personal self-determination of students of secondary school.

  2. Integrated approach for fusion multi-physics coupled analyses based on hybrid CAD and mesh geometries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiu, Yuefeng, E-mail: yuefeng.qiu@kit.edu; Lu, Lei; Fischer, Ulrich

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • Integrated approach for neutronics, thermal and structural analyses was developed. • MCNP5/6, TRIPOLI-4 were coupled with CFX, Fluent and ANSYS Workbench. • A novel meshing approach has been proposed for describing MC geometry. - Abstract: Coupled multi-physics analyses on fusion reactor devices require high-fidelity neutronic models, and flexible, accurate data exchanging between various calculation codes. An integrated coupling approach has been developed to enable the conversion of CAD, mesh, or hybrid geometries for Monte Carlo (MC) codes MCNP5/6, TRIPOLI-4, and translation of nuclear heating data for CFD codes Fluent, CFX and structural mechanical software ANSYS Workbench. The coupling approach has been implemented based on SALOME platform with CAD modeling, mesh generation and data visualization capabilities. A novel meshing approach has been developed for generating suitable meshes for MC geometry descriptions. The coupling approach has been concluded to be reliable and efficient after verification calculations of several application cases.

  3. Are Current Physical Match Performance Metrics in Elite Soccer Fit for Purpose or is the Adoption of an Integrated Approach Needed?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradley, Paul S; Ade, Jack D

    2018-01-18

    Time-motion analysis is a valuable data-collection technique used to quantify the physical match performance of elite soccer players. For over 40 years researchers have adopted a 'traditional' approach when evaluating match demands by simply reporting the distance covered or time spent along a motion continuum of walking through to sprinting. This methodology quantifies physical metrics in isolation without integrating other factors and this ultimately leads to a one-dimensional insight into match performance. Thus, this commentary proposes a novel 'integrated' approach that focuses on a sensitive physical metric such as high-intensity running but contextualizes this in relation to key tactical activities for each position and collectively for the team. In the example presented, the 'integrated' model clearly unveils the unique high-intensity profile that exists due to distinct tactical roles, rather than one-dimensional 'blind' distances produced by 'traditional' models. Intuitively this innovative concept may aid the coaches understanding of the physical performance in relation to the tactical roles and instructions given to the players. Additionally, it will enable practitioners to more effectively translate match metrics into training and testing protocols. This innovative model may well aid advances in other team sports that incorporate similar intermittent movements with tactical purpose. Evidence of the merits and application of this new concept are needed before the scientific community accepts this model as it may well add complexity to an area that conceivably needs simplicity.

  4. An Integrated Approach for Non-Recursive Formulation of Connection-Coefficients of Orthogonal Functions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika GARG

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, an integrated approach is proposed for non-recursive formulation of connection coefficients of different orthogonal functions in terms of a generic orthogonal function. The application of these coefficients arises when the product of two orthogonal basis functions are to be expressed in terms of single basis functions. Two significant advantages are achieved; one, the non-recursive formulations avoid memory and stack overflows in computer implementations; two, the integrated approach provides for digital hardware once-designed can be used for different functions. Computational savings achieved with the proposed non-recursive formulation vis-à-vis recursive formulation, reported in the literature so far, have been demonstrated using MATLAB PROFILER.

  5. Drugs of Abuse and Addiction: An integrated approach to teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Lindsey N; Mercer, Susan L

    2017-05-01

    To describe the design, implementation, and student perceptions of a Drugs of Abuse and Addiction elective course utilizing an integrated teaching model. Third-year pharmacy students enrolled in the two credit hour elective. Teaching methodology included didactic lecture, journal club, simulated addiction assignment with reflection, debates, external speakers, site visit to a residential drug court program and research paper with presentation. A course objective survey was administered upon course completion. All students strongly agreed that having science- and clinical-based faculty members develop and deliver course content was beneficial. Additionally, all students agree to strongly agree that their research project helped them integrate and comprehend the science and practice surrounding drugs of abuse and addiction. Students enjoyed an integrated teaching approach and multiple teaching methodologies leading to increased engagement and enhancement of student learning. Course enrollment was beneficial for personalized learning, but limited student perspective. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Systems Approaches: A Global and Historical Perspective on Integrative Medicine

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    The globalization of healing systems is a dance of cultural awareness and cultural dominance that has arisen throughout history. With the development of greater communication and interest in whole-systems approaches to healing, the opportunity for the development of a global perspective on healing has emerged with new life force. The birth of integrative holistic healing systems in the West, such as naturopathic, homeopathic, anthroposophic, integral and functional medicine, and others, echoes the ocean of wisdom present in traditional healing systems, such as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda. In working to integrate the lessons from these systems, we see the inextricable link between man and the natural world, we work to understand the root cause of disease, we focus on the whole person to return balance, and we use empiric observation in large populations over time to grasp the interrelationships inherent in the whole-systems view of illness and wellness. PMID:24278794

  7. Distributional, differential and integral problems: Equivalence and existence results

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Monteiro, Giselle Antunes; Satco, B. R.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 2017, č. 7 (2017), s. 1-26 ISSN 1417-3875 Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : derivative with respect to functions * distribution * Kurzweil-Stieltjes integral Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Pure mathematics Impact factor: 0.926, year: 2016 http://www.math.u-szeged.hu/ejqtde/periodica.html?periodica=1¶mtipus_ertek= publication ¶m_ertek=4753

  8. Seismic assessment of existing nuclear chemical plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merriman, P.A.

    1997-01-01

    This paper outlines the generic approach to the seismic assessment of existing structures. It describes the role of the safety case in determining the studies carried out by the functional departments on individual projects. There is an emphasis on the role of existing information and material tests to provide realistic properties for analysis to account for possible degradation effects. Finally, a case study of a concrete containment cell is shown to illustrate the approach. (author)

  9. Integrative modelling approaches for analysis of impact of multifunctional agriculture: a review for France, Germany and The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rossing, W.A.H.; Zander, P.; Josien, E.; Groot, J.C.J.; Meyer, B.C.; Knierim, A.

    2007-01-01

    This paper reviews integrative modelling approaches which were developed to analyze the impact of multifunctional agriculture, or which may be used as such. The approaches are integrative in combining multiple goals of agriculture, and confronting these with current or potential performance of

  10. The Need for Integrated Approaches in Metabolic Engineering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lechner, Anna; Brunk, Elizabeth; Keasling, Jay D.

    2016-08-15

    This review highlights state-of-the-art procedures for heterologous small-molecule biosynthesis, the associated bottlenecks, and new strategies that have the potential to accelerate future accomplishments in metabolic engineering. We emphasize that a combination of different approaches over multiple time and size scales must b e considered for successful pathway engineering in a heterologous host. We have classified these optimization procedures based on the "system" that is being manipulated: transcriptome, translatome, proteome, or reactome. By bridging multiple disciplines, including molecular biology, biochemistry, biophysics, and computational sciences, we can create an integral framework for the discovery and implementation of novel biosynthetic production routes.

  11. Integrated variable projection approach (IVAPA) for parallel magnetic resonance imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qiao; Sheng, Jinhua

    2012-10-01

    Parallel magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI) is a fast method which requires algorithms for the reconstructing image from a small number of measured k-space lines. The accurate estimation of the coil sensitivity functions is still a challenging problem in parallel imaging. The joint estimation of the coil sensitivity functions and the desired image has recently been proposed to improve the situation by iteratively optimizing both the coil sensitivity functions and the image reconstruction. It regards both the coil sensitivities and the desired images as unknowns to be solved for jointly. In this paper, we propose an integrated variable projection approach (IVAPA) for pMRI, which integrates two individual processing steps (coil sensitivity estimation and image reconstruction) into a single processing step to improve the accuracy of the coil sensitivity estimation using the variable projection approach. The method is demonstrated to be able to give an optimal solution with considerably reduced artifacts for high reduction factors and a low number of auto-calibration signal (ACS) lines, and our implementation has a fast convergence rate. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated using a set of in vivo experiment data. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Integrated oncogeriatric approach: a systematic review of the literature using concept analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tremblay, Dominique; Charlebois, Kathleen; Terret, Catherine; Joannette, Sonia; Latreille, Jean

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to provide a more precise definition of an integrated oncogeriatric approach (IOGA) through concept analysis. The literature was reviewed from January 2005 to April 2011 integrating three broad terms: geriatric oncology, multidisciplinarity and integrated care delivery models. Citation selection was based on: (1) elderly cancer patients as the study population; (2) disease management and (3) case studies, intervention studies, assessments, evaluations and studies. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were refined in the course of the literature search. Initiatives in geriatric oncology that relate to oncology services, social support services and primary care services for elderly cancer patients. Elderly cancer patients aged 70 years old or more. Rodgers' concept analysis method was used for this study. The analysis was carried out according to thematic analysis based on the elements of the Chronic Care Model. The search identified 618 citations. After in-depth appraisal of 327 potential citations, 62 articles that met our inclusion criteria were included in the analysis. Three IOGA main attributes were identified, which constitute IOGA's core aspects: geriatric assessment (GA), comorbidity burden and treatment outcomes. The IOGA concept comprises two broad antecedents: coordinated healthcare delivery and primary supportive care services. Regarding the consequents of an integrated approach in geriatric oncology, the studies reviewed remain inconclusive. Our study highlights the pioneering character of the multidimensional IOGA concept, for which the relationship between clinical and organisational attributes, on the one hand, and contextual antecedents, on the other, is not well understood. We have yet to ascertain IOGA's consequents. IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS: There is clearly a need for a whole-system approach to change that will provide direction for multilevel (clinical, organisational, strategic) interventions to support

  13. On a Modular Approach to the Design of Integrated Social Surveys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioannidis Evangelos

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This article considers a modular approach to the design of integrated social surveys. The approach consists of grouping variables into ‘modules’, each of which is then allocated to one or more ‘instruments’. Each instrument is then administered to a random sample of population units, and each sample unit responds to all modules of the instrument. This approach offers a way of designing a system of integrated social surveys that balances the need to limit the cost and the need to obtain sufficient information. The allocation of the modules to instruments draws on the methodology of split questionnaire designs. The composition of the instruments, that is, how the modules are allocated to instruments, and the corresponding sample sizes are obtained as a solution to an optimisation problem. This optimisation involves minimisation of respondent burden and data collection cost, while respecting certain design constraints usually encountered in practice. These constraints may include, for example, the level of precision required and dependencies between the variables. We propose using a random search algorithm to find approximate optimal solutions to this problem. The algorithm is proved to fulfil conditions that ensure convergence to the global optimum and can also produce an efficient design for a split questionnaire.

  14. 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.

  15. An integrated approach to identify the origin of PM10 exceedances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amodio, M; Andriani, E; de Gennaro, G; Demarinis Loiotile, A; Di Gilio, A; Placentino, M C

    2012-09-01

    This study was aimed to the development of an integrated approach for the characterization of particulate matter (PM) pollution events in the South of Italy. PM(10) and PM(2.5) daily samples were collected from June to November 2008 at an urban background site located in Bari (Puglia Region, South of Italy). Meteorological data, particle size distributions and atmospheric dispersion conditions were also monitored in order to provide information concerning the different features of PM sources. The collected data allowed suggesting four indicators to characterize different PM(10) exceedances. PM(2.5)/PM(10) ratio, natural radioactivity, aerosol maps and back-trajectory analysis and particle distributions were considered in order to evaluate the contribution of local anthropogenic sources and to determine the different origins of intrusive air mass coming from long-range transport, such as African dust outbreaks and aerosol particles from Central and Eastern Europe. The obtained results were confirmed by applying principal component analysis to the number particle concentration dataset and by the chemical characterization of the samples (PM(10) and PM(2.5)). The integrated approach for PM study suggested in this paper can be useful to support the air quality managers for the development of cost-effective control strategies and the application of more suitable risk management approaches.

  16. Sustainable solid waste management: An integrated approach for Asian countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shekdar, Ashok V.

    2009-01-01

    Solid waste management (SWM) has been an integral part of every human society. The approaches for SWM should be compatible with the nature of a given society, and, in this regard, Asian countries are no exception. In keeping with global trends, the systems are being oriented to concentrate on sustainability issues; mainly through the incorporation of 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) technologies. However, degree and nature of improvements toward sustainability are varying and depend on the economic status of a country. High-income countries like Japan and South Korea can afford to spend more to incorporate 3R technologies. Most of the latest efforts focus on 'Zero Waste' and/or 'Zero Landfilling' which is certainly expensive for weaker economies such as those of India or Indonesia. There is a need to pragmatically assess the expectations of SWM systems in Asian countries. Hence, in this paper, we analyze the situation in different Asian countries, and explore future trends. We conceptually evaluate issues surrounding the sustainability of SWM. We propose a multi-pronged integrated approach for improvement that achieves sustainable SWM in the context of national policy and legal frameworks, institutional arrangement, appropriate technology, operational and financial management, and public awareness and participation. In keeping with this approach, a generic action plan has been proposed that could be tailored to suit a situation in a particular country. Our proposed concept and action plan framework would be useful across a variety of country-specific scenarios

  17. An integrated public health and criminal justice approach to gangs: What can research tell us?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erika Gebo

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available There has been a call to better link public health and criminal justice approaches to best address crime problems generally, and youth and gang violence in particular. Importantly, there has yet to be a systematic examination of how criminal justice approaches can be integrated within a public health framework. This paper examines the strengths and challenges with mapping gang research and evidence-informed practices onto a public health approach. Conceptual examination reveals benefits to utilizing an integrated framework, but it also exposes core problems with identification and prediction of gang joining and gang membership. The gang label as a master status is called into question. It is argued that a public health framework can inform public policy approaches as to when the focus should be youth violence versus gangs and gang violence.

  18. An Acquisition Approach to Adopting Human Systems Integration in the Railroad Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-02-01

    This report provides guidance on how the railroad industry can develop safer systems by acquiring new equipment based on human-centered design practices, or Human Systems Integration (HSI). If a railroads system design approach is focused on prope...

  19. An integrating factor matrix method to find first integrals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saputra, K V I; Quispel, G R W; Van Veen, L

    2010-01-01

    In this paper we develop an integrating factor matrix method to derive conditions for the existence of first integrals. We use this novel method to obtain first integrals, along with the conditions for their existence, for two- and three-dimensional Lotka-Volterra systems with constant terms. The results are compared to previous results obtained by other methods.

  20. Vertical and Horizontal Integration of Bioinformatics Education: A Modular, Interdisciplinary Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furge, Laura Lowe; Stevens-Truss, Regina; Moore, D. Blaine; Langeland, James A.

    2009-01-01

    Bioinformatics education for undergraduates has been approached primarily in two ways: introduction of new courses with largely bioinformatics focus or introduction of bioinformatics experiences into existing courses. For small colleges such as Kalamazoo, creation of new courses within an already resource-stretched setting has not been an option.…

  1. What is the Integral in Integral Education? From Progressive Pedagogy to Integral Pedagogy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tom Murray

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Integrally-informed educational approaches have much in common withprogressive (including reform, alternative, holistic, and transformative approaches, andshare many of the same values. One function of the integral approach is to provide anoverarching model within which to coordinate different progressive methods. Thoughintegral adds much more than that, descriptions of integral education sometimes soundlike progressive educational principles recast with new terminology. This essay attemptsto clarify what the integral approach adds over and above progressive educationaltheories. After an overview of progressive pedagogical principles, the integral approachis discussed in terms of integral as a model, a method, a community, and a developmentalstage. Integral as a type of consciousness or developmental level is elaborated upon asconsisting of construct-awareness, ego-awareness, relational-awareness, and systemawareness,all important to the educational process. Finally, challenges and supportsystems for realizing integral education are discussed.

  2. INTEGRATED IMAGING APPROACHES SUPPORTING THE EXCAVATION ACTIVITIES. MULTI-SCALE GEOSPATIAL DOCUMENTATION IN HIERAPOLIS (TK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Spanò

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper focuses on the exploration of the suitability and the discretization of applicability issues about advanced surveying integrated techniques, mainly based on image-based approaches compared and integrated to range-based ones that have been developed with the use of the cutting-edge solutions tested on field. The investigated techniques integrate both technological devices for 3D data acquisition and thus editing and management systems to handle metric models and multi-dimensional data in a geospatial perspective, in order to innovate and speed up the extraction of information during the archaeological excavation activities. These factors, have been experienced in the outstanding site of the Hierapolis of Phrygia ancient city (Turkey, downstream the 2017 surveying missions, in order to produce high-scale metric deliverables in terms of high-detailed Digital Surface Models (DSM, 3D continuous surface models and high-resolution orthoimages products. In particular, the potentialities in the use of UAV platforms for low altitude acquisitions in aerial photogrammetric approach, together with terrestrial panoramic acquisitions (Trimble V10 imaging rover, have been investigated with a comparison toward consolidated Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS measurements. One of the main purposes of the paper is to evaluate the results offered by the technologies used independently and using integrated approaches. A section of the study in fact, is specifically dedicated to experimenting the union of different sensor dense clouds: both dense clouds derived from UAV have been integrated with terrestrial Lidar clouds, to evaluate their fusion. Different test cases have been considered, representing typical situations that can be encountered in archaeological sites.

  3. Testing for Level Shifts in Fractionally Integrated Processes: a State Space Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Monache, Davide Delle; Grassi, Stefano; Santucci de Magistris, Paolo

    Short memory models contaminated by level shifts have similar long-memory features as fractionally integrated processes. This makes hard to verify whether the true data generating process is a pure fractionally integrated process when employing standard estimation methods based on the autocorrela......Short memory models contaminated by level shifts have similar long-memory features as fractionally integrated processes. This makes hard to verify whether the true data generating process is a pure fractionally integrated process when employing standard estimation methods based...... on the autocorrelation function or the periodogram. In this paper, we propose a robust testing procedure, based on an encompassing parametric specification that allows to disentangle the level shifts from the fractionally integrated component. The estimation is carried out on the basis of a state-space methodology...... and it leads to a robust estimate of the fractional integration parameter also in presence of level shifts. Once the memory parameter is correctly estimated, we use the KPSS test for presence of level shift. The Monte Carlo simulations show how this approach produces unbiased estimates of the memory parameter...

  4. An Integrated Approach for the Numerical Modelling of the Spray Forming Process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hattel, Jesper; Thorborg, Jesper; Pryds, Nini

    2003-01-01

    In this paper, an integrated approach for modelling the entire spray forming process is presented. The basis for the analysis is a recently developed model which extents previous studies and includes the interaction between an array of droplets and the enveloping gas. The formulation of the depos......In this paper, an integrated approach for modelling the entire spray forming process is presented. The basis for the analysis is a recently developed model which extents previous studies and includes the interaction between an array of droplets and the enveloping gas. The formulation...... is in fact the summation of "local" droplet size distributions along the r-axis. Furthermore, the deposition model proposed in the paper involves both the sticking efficiency of the droplets to the substrate as well as a geometrical model involving the effects of shadowing for the production of billet...

  5. Smart Integrated Renewable Energy Systems (SIRES: A Novel Approach for Sustainable Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeel Maheshwari

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Technical and economic aspects of the viability of SIRES (Smart Integrated Renewable Energy Systems for sustainable development of remote and rural areas of the world are discussed. The hallmark of the proposed SIRES is the smart utilization of several renewable resources in an integrated fashion and matching of resources and needs a priori with the ultimate goal of “energization”, not just “electrification”. Historical background leading to this approach is succinctly presented along with a comprehensive schematic diagram. Modeling of various components and their collective use in optimizing SIRES with the aid of genetic algorithm are presented using a typical hypothetical example. SIRES is also compared with various approaches for rural development based on Annualized Cost of System (ACS and installation costs. Implementation of SIRES will lead to overall sustainable development of rural communities.

  6. Approaches to technology education and the role of advanced educational technologies: an international orientation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vries, de M.J.; Gordon, A.; Hacker, M.; Vries, de M.J.

    1993-01-01

    To be able to understand the value of integrating advanced technologies into existing technology education programmes, it is necessary to look at the features of various approaches that can be distinguished in various countries. Here eight approaches are described: the craft oriented approach, the

  7. An Integrated Approach to Establish Validity and Reliability of Reading Tests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Razi, Salim

    2012-01-01

    This study presents the processes of developing and establishing reliability and validity of a reading test by administering an integrative approach as conventional reliability and validity measures superficially reveals the difficulty of a reading test. In this respect, analysing vocabulary frequency of the test is regarded as a more eligible way…

  8. Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator Integration with the ISS Extravehicular Mobility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margiott, Victoria; Boyle, Robert

    2014-01-01

    NASA has developed a Solid Water Membrane Evaporation (SWME) to provide cooling for the next generation spacesuit. One approach to increasing the TRL of the system is to incorporate this hardware with the existing EMU. Several integration issues were addressed to support a potential demonstration of the SWME with the existing EMU. Systems analysis was performed to assess the capability of the SWME to maintain crewmember cooling and comfort as a replacement for sublimation. The materials of the SWME were reviewed to address compatibility with the EMU. Conceptual system placement and integration with the EMU via an EVA umbilical system to ensure crew mobility and Airlock egress were performed. A concept of operation for EVA use was identified that is compatible with the existing system. This concept is extensible as a means to provide cooling for the existing EMU. The cooling system of one of the EMUs on orbit has degraded, with the root cause undetermined. Should there be a common cause resident on ISS, this integration could provide a means to recover cooling capability for EMUs on orbit.

  9. A system approach for the management of radioactive waste

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fearnley, I.G. [British Nuclear Fuels plc, Warrington, Cheshire (United Kingdom)

    1995-12-31

    An integrated approach to Waste Management and Decommissioning, which takes account of the lifetime implications (safety, dose uptake, discharges and cost) is an important strategic process in forward planning. This type of approach is particularly relevant when making decisions concerning waste minimization and segregation, packaging and surface storage of high and intermediate level waste in advance of the existence of disposal facilities. Such a systematic approach forms an integral part of a process which enables progress to be assessed and plans to be updated in response to changing demands upon business operations and can continually be applied to waste management policy and to optimise the detailed waste management plans. (author)

  10. A system approach for the management of radioactive waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fearnley, I.G.

    1995-01-01

    An integrated approach to Waste Management and Decommissioning, which takes account of the lifetime implications (safety, dose uptake, discharges and cost) is an important strategic process in forward planning. This type of approach is particularly relevant when making decisions concerning waste minimization and segregation, packaging and surface storage of high and intermediate level waste in advance of the existence of disposal facilities. Such a systematic approach forms an integral part of a process which enables progress to be assessed and plans to be updated in response to changing demands upon business operations and can continually be applied to waste management policy and to optimise the detailed waste management plans. (author)

  11. Improving accuracy for identifying related PubMed queries by an integrated approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Zhiyong; Wilbur, W John

    2009-10-01

    PubMed is the most widely used tool for searching biomedical literature online. As with many other online search tools, a user often types a series of multiple related queries before retrieving satisfactory results to fulfill a single information need. Meanwhile, it is also a common phenomenon to see a user type queries on unrelated topics in a single session. In order to study PubMed users' search strategies, it is necessary to be able to automatically separate unrelated queries and group together related queries. Here, we report a novel approach combining both lexical and contextual analyses for segmenting PubMed query sessions and identifying related queries and compare its performance with the previous approach based solely on concept mapping. We experimented with our integrated approach on sample data consisting of 1539 pairs of consecutive user queries in 351 user sessions. The prediction results of 1396 pairs agreed with the gold-standard annotations, achieving an overall accuracy of 90.7%. This demonstrates that our approach is significantly better than the previously published method. By applying this approach to a one day query log of PubMed, we found that a significant proportion of information needs involved more than one PubMed query, and that most of the consecutive queries for the same information need are lexically related. Finally, the proposed PubMed distance is shown to be an accurate and meaningful measure for determining the contextual similarity between biological terms. The integrated approach can play a critical role in handling real-world PubMed query log data as is demonstrated in our experiments.

  12. Delineating the structure of normal and abnormal personality: an integrative hierarchical approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markon, Kristian E; Krueger, Robert F; Watson, David

    2005-01-01

    Increasing evidence indicates that normal and abnormal personality can be treated within a single structural framework. However, identification of a single integrated structure of normal and abnormal personality has remained elusive. Here, a constructive replication approach was used to delineate an integrative hierarchical account of the structure of normal and abnormal personality. This hierarchical structure, which integrates many Big Trait models proposed in the literature, replicated across a meta-analysis as well as an empirical study, and across samples of participants as well as measures. The proposed structure resembles previously suggested accounts of personality hierarchy and provides insight into the nature of personality hierarchy more generally. Potential directions for future research on personality and psychopathology are discussed.

  13. Delineating the Structure of Normal and Abnormal Personality: An Integrative Hierarchical Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markon, Kristian E.; Krueger, Robert F.; Watson, David

    2008-01-01

    Increasing evidence indicates that normal and abnormal personality can be treated within a single structural framework. However, identification of a single integrated structure of normal and abnormal personality has remained elusive. Here, a constructive replication approach was used to delineate an integrative hierarchical account of the structure of normal and abnormal personality. This hierarchical structure, which integrates many Big Trait models proposed in the literature, replicated across a meta-analysis as well as an empirical study, and across samples of participants as well as measures. The proposed structure resembles previously suggested accounts of personality hierarchy and provides insight into the nature of personality hierarchy more generally. Potential directions for future research on personality and psychopathology are discussed. PMID:15631580

  14. Drug Discovery and Development of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Modern-Integrative Medicinal Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Debosree; Parida, Pratap

    2016-01-01

    Type 2 diabetes is a disorder of ages, which has become deadlier because of life style modification and adaptation in the modern world. Extensive sudy of the pathophysiology of diabetes has opened up various mysteries about the disease and has helped us to know and understand diabetes in a better manner. Presently, we know many minute details about the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus and are thus well weaponed to fight against it. Treatment regime has been evolving daily. Besides the conventional anti-diabetic drugs, integrated medicinal approach for treating diabetes type 2 with a compact therapeutic approach consisting of various targeted treatments for individual symptoms associated with the disease are being tried currently. Diabetes associated complications like high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, microalbumuria, dyslipidemia, pro -coagulation, etc. are being targeted and dealt with individually in the integrative medicinal approach. The results are promising and thus ignite hope for a better and more successful handling of diabetes and diabetes related pathophysiological complications in near future.

  15. Models and Approaches for Integrating Protected Areas with Their Surroundings: A Review of the Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenwu Du

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Several studies have identified threats that originate in areas surrounding protected areas (PAs. While there have been various efforts to integrate PAs with their surroundings, considerable challenges remain. Here we summarize these efforts to date, discuss their effectiveness, and provide recommendations for future research. Based on a broad literature review of theoretical and applied approaches, we have outlined 68 models for balancing conservation and sustainable development in PAs. We comprehensively analyzed 23 of these models for integrating PAs with their surroundings. They were divided into two categories: area-oriented and process-oriented approaches. This review reveals the absolute necessity of combining these two approaches for future conservation and sustainable development of PAs.

  16. Sequenced Integration and the Identification of a Problem-Solving Approach through a Learning Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cormas, Peter C.

    2016-01-01

    Preservice teachers (N = 27) in two sections of a sequenced, methodological and process integrated mathematics/science course solved a levers problem with three similar learning processes and a problem-solving approach, and identified a problem-solving approach through one different learning process. Similar learning processes used included:…

  17. Approaching the theoretical capacitance of graphene through copper foam integrated three-dimensional graphene networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dey, Ramendra Sundar; Hjuler, Hans Aage; Chi, Qijin

    2015-01-01

    We report a facile and low-cost approach for the preparation of all-in-one supercapacitor electrodes using copper foam (CuF) integrated three-dimensional (3D) reduced graphene oxide (rGO) networks. The binderfree 3DrGO@CuF electrodes are capable of delivering high specific capacitance approaching...

  18. The quench action approach to out-of-equilibrium quantum integrable models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wouters, B.M.

    2015-01-01

    In this PhD thesis quantum quenches to 1D quantum integrable models are studied by means of the quench action approach. Using the large-system-size scaling of overlaps between the initial state and Bethe states as basic input, this method gives an exact description in the thermodynamic limit of the

  19. Contingent approach to Internet-based supply network integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Jessica; Boughton, Nick; Kehoe, Dennis; Michaelides, Zenon

    2001-10-01

    The Internet is playing an increasingly important role in enhancing the operations of supply networks as many organizations begin to recognize the benefits of Internet- enabled supply arrangements. However, the developments and applications to-date do not extend significantly beyond the dyadic model, whereas the real advantages are to be made with the external and network models to support a coordinated and collaborative based approach. The DOMAIN research group at the University of Liverpool is currently defining new Internet- enabled approaches to enable greater collaboration across supply chains. Different e-business models and tools are focusing on different applications. Using inappropriate e- business models, tools or techniques will bring negative results instead of benefits to all the tiers in the supply network. Thus there are a number of issues to be considered before addressing Internet based supply network integration, in particular an understanding of supply chain management, the emergent business models and evaluating the effects of deploying e-business to the supply network or a particular tier. It is important to utilize a contingent approach to selecting the right e-business model to meet the specific supply chain requirements. This paper addresses the issues and provides a case study on the indirect materials supply networks.

  20. Permutation statistical methods an integrated approach

    CERN Document Server

    Berry, Kenneth J; Johnston, Janis E

    2016-01-01

    This research monograph provides a synthesis of a number of statistical tests and measures, which, at first consideration, appear disjoint and unrelated. Numerous comparisons of permutation and classical statistical methods are presented, and the two methods are compared via probability values and, where appropriate, measures of effect size. Permutation statistical methods, compared to classical statistical methods, do not rely on theoretical distributions, avoid the usual assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variance, and depend only on the data at hand. This text takes a unique approach to explaining statistics by integrating a large variety of statistical methods, and establishing the rigor of a topic that to many may seem to be a nascent field in statistics. This topic is new in that it took modern computing power to make permutation methods available to people working in the mainstream of research. This research monograph addresses a statistically-informed audience, and can also easily serve as a ...

  1. Towards an integrated approach to emergency management: interdisciplinary challenges for research and practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Webersik

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This article presents an interdisciplinary vision for large-scale integrated emergency management that has been inspired by the transition from platform centric to inte-grated operations in the oil and gas fields, which uses remote emergency control centres collaborating virtually with local responders. The article discusses some of the most salient research challenges for integrated emergency management, including the role of mobile technology, human-centred sensing, citizen participation and social media, and the socio-cultural determinants of disaster management. The purpose of this article is to frame an integrated emergency management approach that adopts a multi-disciplinary approach, including human computer interaction, information systems, computer science, development studies and organization science employing different methodologies.Most importantly, we need to better understand the socio-cultural determinants of how people prepare to, respond and perceive disasters, in order to evaluate whether and what kind of information and communication technology (ICT support is appropriate. There is need for more research as to why in some regions local people ignore official orders to evacuate, and rather follow the advice of local leaders, elders or religious leaders. In other instances, disasters are seen as 'acts of God' thus shaping disaster preparedness and response.

  2. Interdisciplinarity, Qualitative Research, and the Complex Phenomenon: Toward an Integrative Approach to Intercultural Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Phillip; Kurtz, Jill Sornsen; Carter, Deanne; Pester, Danielle

    2014-01-01

    This article is a collaboration by the lead faculty member in a Masters program in Intercultural Studies and students who completed the program under his aegis. This article presents the program's approach to its research course sequence, an approach involving the integration of interdisciplinary and qualitative research. The authors first provide…

  3. INTEGRATIVE APPROACH ON FRAMING THEORY FROM ITS MULTIPARADIGMATIC CONDITION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Antonio Marín Albaladejo

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Framing theory has reached an increasing role in media communication research, including common principles between different research perspectives. Besides the multiple ways of understanding the concept of frame, a controversy about the types of frames exists. Despite considerable integrating research efforts (D’Angelo, 2002; De Vreese, 2005; Entman, 1993, 2004; López-Rabadán, 2010; Matthes, 2012; Reese, 2007; Scheufele, 1999, scholars have not reached yet full conceptual and methodological convergence, so that definitions, theoretical models, frames measuring mode, types of frames, processes or effects differ in each study (Scheufele, 1999. This article provides an updated review of the different paradigms that define research efforts on this theory, and mentions the advantages to invest in an integrative model or paradigmatic synthesis for future studies. Through a comprehensive review of the published literature, we propose two objectives. On the one hand, to provide a taxonomy of the types of frame to clarify differences detected among studies labeled under this theory. It also seeks to justify the need to consider Framing theory as a multiparadigmatic research program (D'Angelo, 2002 that could include all perspectives established so far.

  4. An integrative approach to research of deforestation under concession management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hepner, G.F.; Walker, R.T.

    1991-01-01

    A methodological approach integrating questionnaire research of tropical foresters with analyses of the actual patterns of concession logging and land use activities portrayed on various types of satellite imagery is discussed. The imagery analysis is necessary to: document the location place and magnitude of forest utilization and change in concession areas; confirm that responses vis-a-vis deforestation in the questionnaire correspond to observable behaviors as evidenced by the actual patterns of logging activities; and document the postharvest land utilization and conversion to other land uses. It is argued that this approach will link the process and pattern of logging activities to reveal the main factors leading to deforestation under the concession system of management. 20 refs

  5. An Integrated Approach to Evaluating the Environmental Impact Following a Radiological Dispersal Event

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Smith, David A

    2006-01-01

    .... A terrorist act which could negatively impact both the ecology and human health is an ideal motivation for integration of the two approaches since the assessment must be done quickly and funds...

  6. Temporal Feature Integration for Music Organisation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meng, Anders

    2006-01-01

    This Ph.D. thesis focuses on temporal feature integration for music organisation. Temporal feature integration is the process of combining all the feature vectors of a given time-frame into a single new feature vector in order to capture relevant information in the frame. Several existing methods...... for handling sequences of features are formulated in the temporal feature integration framework. Two datasets for music genre classification have been considered as valid test-beds for music organisation. Human evaluations of these, have been obtained to access the subjectivity on the datasets. Temporal...... ranking' approach is proposed for ranking the short-time features at larger time-scales according to their discriminative power in a music genre classification task. The multivariate AR (MAR) model has been proposed for temporal feature integration. It effectively models local dynamical structure...

  7. Integrated Approach Towards the Application of Horizontal Wells to Improve Waterflooding Performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kelkar, Mohan; Liner, Chris; Kerr, Dennis

    1999-10-15

    This final report describes the progress during the six year of the project on ''Integrated Approach Towards the Application of Horizontal Wells to Improve Waterflooding Performance.'' This report is funded under the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Class I program which is targeted towards improving the reservoir performance of mature oil fields located in fluvially-dominated deltaic deposits. The project involves using an integrated approach to characterize the reservoir followed by drilling of horizontal injection wells to improve production performance. The project was divided into two budget periods. In the first budget period, many modern technologies were used to develop a detailed reservoir management plan; whereas, in the second budget period, conventional data was used to develop a reservoir management plan. The idea was to determine the cost effectiveness of various technologies in improving the performance of mature oil fields.

  8. An Integrated Lumped Parameter-CFD approach for off-design ejector performance evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Besagni, Giorgio; Mereu, Riccardo; Chiesa, Paolo; Inzoli, Fabio

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We validate a CFD approach for a convergent nozzle ejector using global and local measurement. • We evaluate seven RANS turbulence models for convergent nozzle ejector. • We introduce a lumped parameter model for on-design and off-design ejector performance evaluation. • We analyze the relationship between local flow behavior and lumped parameters of the model. • We discuss how to improve predicting capabilities of the model by variable parameters calibrated on CFD simulations. - Abstract: This paper presents an Integrated Lumped Parameter Model-Computational Fluid-Dynamics approach for off-design ejector performance evaluation. The purpose of this approach is to evaluate the entrainment ratio, for a fixed geometry, in both on-design and off-design operating conditions. The proposed model is based on a Lumped Parameter Model (LPM) with variable ejector component efficiencies provided by CFD simulations. The CFD results are used for developing maps for ejector component efficiencies in a broad range of operating conditions. The ejector component efficiency maps couple the CFD and the LPM techniques for building an Integrated LPM-CFD approach. The proposed approach is demonstrated for a convergent nozzle ejector and the paper is structured in four parts. At first, the CFD approach is validated by global and local data and seven Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) turbulence models are compared: the k–ω SST showed good performance and was selected for the rest of the analysis. At second, a Lumped Parameter Model (LPM) for subsonic ejector is developed and the ejector component efficiencies have been defined. At third, the CFD approach is used to investigate the flow field, to analyze its influence on ejector component efficiencies and to propose efficiency correlations and maps linking ejector component efficiencies and local flow quantities. In the last part, the efficiency maps are embedded into the lumped parameter model, thus creating

  9. Sustainability of algal biofuel production using integrated renewable energy park (IREP) and algal biorefinery approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Subhadra, Bobban G.

    2010-01-01

    Algal biomass can provide viable third generation feedstock for liquid transportation fuel. However, for a mature commercial industry to develop, sustainability as well as technological and economic issues pertinent to algal biofuel sector must be addressed first. This viewpoint focuses on three integrated approaches laid out to meet these challenges. Firstly, an integrated algal biorefinery for sequential biomass processing for multiple high-value products is delineated to bring in the financial sustainability to the algal biofuel production units. Secondly, an integrated renewable energy park (IREP) approach is proposed for amalgamating various renewable energy industries established in different locations. This would aid in synergistic and efficient electricity and liquid biofuel production with zero net carbon emissions while obviating numerous sustainability issues such as productive usage of agricultural land, water, and fossil fuel usage. A 'renewable energy corridor' rich in multiple energy sources needed for algal biofuel production for deploying IREPs in the United States is also illustrated. Finally, the integration of various industries with algal biofuel sector can bring a multitude of sustainable deliverables to society, such as renewable supply of cheap protein supplements, health products and aquafeed ingredients. The benefits, challenges, and policy needs of the IREP approach are also discussed.

  10. 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

  11. CrEdit: CRISPR mediated multi-loci gene integration in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ronda, Carlotta; Maury, Jerome; Jakociunas, Tadas

    2015-01-01

    episomal vectors. Existing approaches for achieving stable simultaneous genome integrations of multiple DNA fragments often result in relatively low integration efficiencies and furthermore rely on the use of selection markers. Results: Here, we have developed a novel method, CrEdit (CRISPR/Cas9 mediated...... genome Editing), which utilizes targeted double strand breaks caused by CRISPR/Cas9 to significantly increase the efficiency of homologous integration in order to edit and manipulate genomic DNA. Using CrEdit, the efficiency and locus specificity of targeted genome integrations reach close to 100...

  12. Advanced multiresponse process optimisation an intelligent and integrated approach

    CERN Document Server

    Šibalija, Tatjana V

    2016-01-01

    This book presents an intelligent, integrated, problem-independent method for multiresponse process optimization. In contrast to traditional approaches, the idea of this method is to provide a unique model for the optimization of various processes, without imposition of assumptions relating to the type of process, the type and number of process parameters and responses, or interdependences among them. The presented method for experimental design of processes with multiple correlated responses is composed of three modules: an expert system that selects the experimental plan based on the orthogonal arrays; the factor effects approach, which performs processing of experimental data based on Taguchi’s quality loss function and multivariate statistical methods; and process modeling and optimization based on artificial neural networks and metaheuristic optimization algorithms. The implementation is demonstrated using four case studies relating to high-tech industries and advanced, non-conventional processes.

  13. An integrated modeling approach to age invariant face recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvi, Fahad Bashir; Pears, Russel

    2015-03-01

    This Research study proposes a novel method for face recognition based on Anthropometric features that make use of an integrated approach comprising of a global and personalized models. The system is aimed to at situations where lighting, illumination, and pose variations cause problems in face recognition. A Personalized model covers the individual aging patterns while a Global model captures general aging patterns in the database. We introduced a de-aging factor that de-ages each individual in the database test and training sets. We used the k nearest neighbor approach for building a personalized model and global model. Regression analysis was applied to build the models. During the test phase, we resort to voting on different features. We used FG-Net database for checking the results of our technique and achieved 65 percent Rank 1 identification rate.

  14. The state-level approach: moving beyond integrated safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tape, James W.

    2008-01-01

    The concept of a State-Level Approach (SLA) for international safeguards planning, implementation, and evaluation was contained in the Conceptual Framework for Integrated Safeguards (IS) agreed in 2002. This paper describes briefly the key elements of the SLA, including State-level factors and high-level safeguards objectives, and considers different cases in which application of the SLA methodology could address safeguards for 'suspect' States, 'good' States, and Nuclear Weapons States hosting fuel cycle centers. The continued use and further development of the SLA to customize safeguards for each State, including for States already under IS, is seen as central to effective and efficient safeguards for an expanding nuclear world.

  15. A hybrid approach to device integration on a genetic analysis platform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brennan, Des; Justice, John; Aherne, Margaret; Galvin, Paul; Jary, Dorothee; Kurg, Ants; Berik, Evgeny; Macek, Milan

    2012-01-01

    Point-of-care (POC) systems require significant component integration to implement biochemical protocols associated with molecular diagnostic assays. Hybrid platforms where discrete components are combined in a single platform are a suitable approach to integration, where combining multiple device fabrication steps on a single substrate is not possible due to incompatible or costly fabrication steps. We integrate three devices each with a specific system functionality: (i) a silicon electro-wetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) device to move and mix sample and reagent droplets in an oil phase, (ii) a polymer microfluidic chip containing channels and reservoirs and (iii) an aqueous phase glass microarray for fluorescence microarray hybridization detection. The EWOD device offers the possibility of fully integrating on-chip sample preparation using nanolitre sample and reagent volumes. A key challenge is sample transfer from the oil phase EWOD device to the aqueous phase microarray for hybridization detection. The EWOD device, waveguide performance and functionality are maintained during the integration process. An on-chip biochemical protocol for arrayed primer extension (APEX) was implemented for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNiP) analysis. The prepared sample is aspirated from the EWOD oil phase to the aqueous phase microarray for hybridization. A bench-top instrumentation system was also developed around the integrated platform to drive the EWOD electrodes, implement APEX sample heating and image the microarray after hybridization. (paper)

  16. [IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise): a new approach for the improvement of digital communication in healthcare].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wein, B B

    2003-02-01

    Parallel to the introduction of diagnosis related groups (DRGs) for the reimbursement of hospitals, a marked reduction of financial means within the healthcare system is taking place. Healthcare enterprise information systems will play an increasing role to accommodate the new working conditions by developing reliable and efficient workflow solutions. Interfacing the systems currently in use can meet considerable obstacles. By offering high connectivity, IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise), which was initiated by concerted actions of users and vendors, ensures improved health care delivery and, furthermore, assists in acquiring new information systems in the future. IHE is not a standard but makes extensive use of existing international standards, such as HL7 and DICOM. National IHE demonstrations confirmed the power of this approach and presented its mission to large groups of users and vendors. The concept continues to grow and for the first time provides groups of various interests cooperative solutions to the problems encountered in collecting and distributing information.

  17. IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise): A new approach for the improvement of digital communication in healthcare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wein, B.B.

    2003-01-01

    Parallel to the introduction of diagnosis related groups (DRGs) for the reimbursement of hospitals, a marked reduction of financial means within the healthcare system is taking place. Healthcare enterprise information systems will play an increasing role to accommodate the new working conditions by developing reliable and efficient workflow solutions. Interfacing the systems currently in use can meet considerable obstacles. By offering high connectivity, IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise), which was initiated by concerted actions of users and vendors, ensures improved health care delivery and, furthermore, assists in acquiring new information systems in the future. IHE is not a standard but makes extensive use of existing international standards, such as HL7 and DICOM. National IHE demonstrations confirmed the power of this approach and presented its mission to large groups of users and vendors. The concept continues to grow and for the first time provides groups of various interests cooperative solutions to the problems encountered in collecting and distributing information. (orig.) [de

  18. Data integration approaches using ETL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra Maria Ioana FLOREA

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Traditional data warehouses and ETL tools have been slowly pushed to expand their limits as big data has become a more and more prominent actor on the analytics stage. This paper analyzes and compares the features of Pentaho Data Integration and Oracle Data Integrator, two of the main data integration platforms. Such tools are relevant in the context of the evolution of the analytics field, which is expanding from classical business intelligence activities to the use and analysis of big data.

  19. An Approach for Integrating the Prioritization of Functional and Nonfunctional Requirements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Dabbagh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the budgetary deadlines and time to market constraints, it is essential to prioritize software requirements. The outcome of requirements prioritization is an ordering of requirements which need to be considered first during the software development process. To achieve a high quality software system, both functional and nonfunctional requirements must be taken into consideration during the prioritization process. Although several requirements prioritization methods have been proposed so far, no particular method or approach is presented to consider both functional and nonfunctional requirements during the prioritization stage. In this paper, we propose an approach which aims to integrate the process of prioritizing functional and nonfunctional requirements. The outcome of applying the proposed approach produces two separate prioritized lists of functional and non-functional requirements. The effectiveness of the proposed approach has been evaluated through an empirical experiment aimed at comparing the approach with the two state-of-the-art-based approaches, analytic hierarchy process (AHP and hybrid assessment method (HAM. Results show that our proposed approach outperforms AHP and HAM in terms of actual time-consumption while preserving the quality of the results obtained by our proposed approach at a high level of agreement in comparison with the results produced by the other two approaches.

  20. An approach for integrating the prioritization of functional and nonfunctional requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dabbagh, Mohammad; Lee, Sai Peck

    2014-01-01

    Due to the budgetary deadlines and time to market constraints, it is essential to prioritize software requirements. The outcome of requirements prioritization is an ordering of requirements which need to be considered first during the software development process. To achieve a high quality software system, both functional and nonfunctional requirements must be taken into consideration during the prioritization process. Although several requirements prioritization methods have been proposed so far, no particular method or approach is presented to consider both functional and nonfunctional requirements during the prioritization stage. In this paper, we propose an approach which aims to integrate the process of prioritizing functional and nonfunctional requirements. The outcome of applying the proposed approach produces two separate prioritized lists of functional and non-functional requirements. The effectiveness of the proposed approach has been evaluated through an empirical experiment aimed at comparing the approach with the two state-of-the-art-based approaches, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and hybrid assessment method (HAM). Results show that our proposed approach outperforms AHP and HAM in terms of actual time-consumption while preserving the quality of the results obtained by our proposed approach at a high level of agreement in comparison with the results produced by the other two approaches.

  1. A multi-disciplinary approach for the integrated assessment of water alterations under climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sperotto, Anna; Torresan, Silvia; Molina, Jose Luis; Pulido Velazquez, Manuel; Critto, Andrea; Marcomini, Antonio

    2017-04-01

    Understanding the co-evolution and interrelations between natural and human pressures on water systems is required to ensure a sustainable management of resources under uncertain climate change conditions. To pursue multi-disciplinary research is therefore necessary to consider the multiplicity of stressors affecting water resources, take into account alternative perspectives (i.e. social, economic and environmental objective and priorities) and deal with uncertainty which characterize climate change scenarios. However, approaches commonly adopted in water quality assessment are predominantly mono-disciplinary, single-stressors oriented and apply concepts and models specific of different academic disciplines (e.g. physics, hydrology, ecology, sociology, economy) which, in fact, seldom shed their conceptual blinders failing to provide truly integrated results. In this context, the paper discusses the benefits and limits of adopting a multi-disciplinary approach where different knowledge domains collaborate and quantitative and qualitative information, coming from multiple conceptual and model-based research, are integrated in a harmonic manner. Specifically, Bayesian Networks are used as meta-modelling tool for structuring and combining the probabilistic information available in existing hydrological models, climate change and land use projections, historical observations and expert opinion. The developed network allows to perform a stochastic multi-risk assessment considering the interlacing between climate (i.e. irregularities in water regime) and land use changes (i.e. agriculture, urbanization) and their cascading impacts on water quality parameters (i.e. nutrients loadings). Main objective of the model is the development of multi-risk scenarios to assess and communicate the probability of not meeting a "Good chemical water status" over future timeframe taking into account projected climatic and not climatic conditions. The outcomes are finally used to identify

  2. The transformative potential of an integrative approach to pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eidem, Haley R; McGary, Kriston L; Capra, John A; Abbot, Patrick; Rokas, Antonis

    2017-09-01

    Complex traits typically involve diverse biological pathways and are shaped by numerous genetic and environmental factors. Pregnancy-associated traits and pathologies are further complicated by extensive communication across multiple tissues in two individuals, interactions between two genomes-maternal and fetal-that obscure causal variants and lead to genetic conflict, and rapid evolution of pregnancy-associated traits across mammals and in the human lineage. Given the multi-faceted complexity of human pregnancy, integrative approaches that synthesize diverse data types and analyses harbor tremendous promise to identify the genetic architecture and environmental influences underlying pregnancy-associated traits and pathologies. We review current research that addresses the extreme complexities of traits and pathologies associated with human pregnancy. We find that successful efforts to address the many complexities of pregnancy-associated traits and pathologies often harness the power of many and diverse types of data, including genome-wide association studies, evolutionary analyses, multi-tissue transcriptomic profiles, and environmental conditions. We propose that understanding of pregnancy and its pathologies will be accelerated by computational platforms that provide easy access to integrated data and analyses. By simplifying the integration of diverse data, such platforms will provide a comprehensive synthesis that transcends many of the inherent challenges present in studies of pregnancy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. An Integrated Systems Approach: A Description of an Automated Circulation Management System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seifert, Jan E.; And Others

    These bidding specifications describe requirements for a turn-key automated circulation system for the University of Oklahoma Libraries. An integrated systems approach is planned, and requirements are presented for various subsystems: acquisitions, fund accounting, reserve room, and bibliographic and serials control. Also outlined are hardware…

  4. EFFECTIVE CONTROL SYSTEM OF THE INTEGRATED INDUSTRIAL COMPANY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. A. Dyundik

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In article the organizational and administrative structure of the integrated metallurgical company is investigated. It is shown that linearly – a staff control system to become a limiting factor in its development. Management of transformations represents purposeful translation process of the integrated metallurgical company in a new qualitative state. The purpose . The subject of the article is to analyze the organization of management, to improve it on the basis of a new conceptual approach to the modernization of the control system integrated steel companies and the allocation of the subsystems.Methodology. The methodological basis of this article are the comparative analysis methods.The Results. Studied approaches to the development of integrated management of the metallurgical company, the possibility of change.Conclusions / signifi cance. Management development in an integrated steel company requires in-depth study of existing internal operating conditions and specifi cs of the company, as well as the planning and implementation of measures to improve its receptivity to innovation.

  5. Exploring a pedagogical approach to integrating research, practice and teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newton, Jennifer M; McKenna, Lisa G; Gilmour, Carole; Fawcett, Jacqueline

    2010-01-01

    Application of evidence is accepted as an important component of clinical practice. Teaching research to undergraduate students has been reported internationally as a challenge, particularly for nurse educators. In this paper, reported is a strategy designed to enhance research learning for undergraduate midwifery students at one university, which formed part of a larger, international investigation into women's responses to caesarean birth. Following theory classes and briefings, students worked with their clinical educators in practice to interview women using existing tools, and were engaged in qualitative data analysis. A number of challenges were encountered throughout the process, both for the educators and students. However, the teaching approach provided benefits for students in learning about midwifery research. Recommended as essential is for continued development of pedagogical approaches that make research tangible for students. Furthermore, provision of support for clinical staff working with students is important for success of such approaches.

  6. An integrative approach to inferring biologically meaningful gene modules

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Kai

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The ability to construct biologically meaningful gene networks and modules is critical for contemporary systems biology. Though recent studies have demonstrated the power of using gene modules to shed light on the functioning of complex biological systems, most modules in these networks have shown little association with meaningful biological function. We have devised a method which directly incorporates gene ontology (GO annotation in construction of gene modules in order to gain better functional association. Results We have devised a method, Semantic Similarity-Integrated approach for Modularization (SSIM that integrates various gene-gene pairwise similarity values, including information obtained from gene expression, protein-protein interactions and GO annotations, in the construction of modules using affinity propagation clustering. We demonstrated the performance of the proposed method using data from two complex biological responses: 1. the osmotic shock response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and 2. the prion-induced pathogenic mouse model. In comparison with two previously reported algorithms, modules identified by SSIM showed significantly stronger association with biological functions. Conclusions The incorporation of semantic similarity based on GO annotation with gene expression and protein-protein interaction data can greatly enhance the functional relevance of inferred gene modules. In addition, the SSIM approach can also reveal the hierarchical structure of gene modules to gain a broader functional view of the biological system. Hence, the proposed method can facilitate comprehensive and in-depth analysis of high throughput experimental data at the gene network level.

  7. Optimizing Groundwater Monitoring Networks Using Integrated Statistical and Geostatistical Approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jay Krishna Thakur

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work is to investigate new approaches using methods based on statistics and geo-statistics for spatio-temporal optimization of groundwater monitoring networks. The formulated and integrated methods were tested with the groundwater quality data set of Bitterfeld/Wolfen, Germany. Spatially, the monitoring network was optimized using geo-statistical methods. Temporal optimization of the monitoring network was carried out using Sen’s method (1968. For geostatistical network optimization, a geostatistical spatio-temporal algorithm was used to identify redundant wells in 2- and 2.5-D Quaternary and Tertiary aquifers. Influences of interpolation block width, dimension, contaminant association, groundwater flow direction and aquifer homogeneity on statistical and geostatistical methods for monitoring network optimization were analysed. The integrated approach shows 37% and 28% redundancies in the monitoring network in Quaternary aquifer and Tertiary aquifer respectively. The geostatistical method also recommends 41 and 22 new monitoring wells in the Quaternary and Tertiary aquifers respectively. In temporal optimization, an overall optimized sampling interval was recommended in terms of lower quartile (238 days, median quartile (317 days and upper quartile (401 days in the research area of Bitterfeld/Wolfen. Demonstrated methods for improving groundwater monitoring network can be used in real monitoring network optimization with due consideration given to influencing factors.

  8. Taxonomy of Conflict Detection and Resolution Approaches for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in an Integrated Airspace

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jenie, Y.I.; van Kampen, E.; Ellerbroek, J.; Hoekstra, J.M.

    2016-01-01

    This paper proposes a taxonomy of Conflict Detection and Resolution (CD&R) approaches for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) operation in an integrated airspace. Possible approaches for UAVs are surveyed and broken down based on their types of surveillance, coordination, maneuver, and autonomy. The

  9. An integral IT-approach using EAI architectures; Der integrale IT-Ansatz mittels EAI-Architekturen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zengaffinen, A.

    2003-07-01

    This article examines the question if there is any information technology (IT) on the market that meets the needs of an energy utility for an integral and comprehensive tool to control its operations. The possibilities offered by so-called 'Enterprise Application Integration' (EAI) are examined and the intelligent linking-up of various sources of data is discussed. The current and future situations in typical utilities are looked at, where the unbundling of activities threatens to make business processes that are already complex even more so. Various models for the integration of existing IT applications such those using 'peer-to-peer' architectures, data warehousing and 'middleware' applications as well as their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. An example is given of integration using a 'middleware' solution in the maintenance area. A well-tried project implementation process is described.

  10. An integrative approach to cultural competence in the psychiatric curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fung, Kenneth; Andermann, Lisa; Zaretsky, Ari; Lo, Hung-Tat

    2008-01-01

    As it is increasingly recognized that cultural competence is an essential quality for any practicing psychiatrist, postgraduate psychiatry training programs need to incorporate cultural competence training into their curricula. This article documents the unique approach to resident cultural competence training being developed in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, which has the largest residency training program in North America and is situated in an ethnically diverse city and country. The authors conducted a systematic review of cultural competence by searching databases including PubMed, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, CINAHL, Social Science Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts; by searching government and professional association publications; and through on-site visits to local cross-cultural training programs. Based on the results of the review, a resident survey, and a staff retreat, the authors developed a deliberate "integrative" approach with a mindful, balanced emphasis on both generic and specific cultural competencies. Learning objectives were derived from integrating the seven core competencies of a physician as defined by the Canadian Medical Education Directions for Specialists (CanMEDS) roles framework with the tripartite model of attitudes, knowledge, and skills. The learning objectives and teaching program were further integrated across different psychiatric subspecialties and across the successive years of residency. Another unique strategy used to foster curricular and institutional change was the program's emphasis on evaluation, making use of insights from modern educational theories such as formative feedback and blueprinting. Course evaluations of the core curriculum from the first group of residents were positive. The authors propose that these changes to the curriculum may lead to enhanced cultural competence and clinical effectiveness in health care.

  11. 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.

  12. Natural Resource Management Schemes as Entry Points for Integrated Landscape Approaches: Evidence from Ghana and Burkina Faso.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foli, Samson; Ros-Tonen, Mirjam A F; Reed, James; Sunderland, Terry

    2017-04-20

    In recognition of the failures of sectoral approaches to overcome global challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change, food insecurity and poverty, scientific discourse on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development is shifting towards integrated landscape governance arrangements. Current landscape initiatives however very much depend on external actors and funding, raising the question of whether, and how, and under what conditions, locally embedded resource management schemes can serve as entry points for the implementation of integrated landscape approaches. This paper assesses the entry point potential for three established natural resource management schemes in West Africa that target landscape degradation with involvement of local communities: the Chantier d'Aménagement Forestier scheme encompassing forest management sites across Burkina Faso and the Modified Taungya System and community wildlife resource management initiatives in Ghana. Based on a review of the current literature, we analyze the extent to which design principles that define a landscape approach apply to these schemes. We found that the CREMA meets most of the desired criteria, but that its scale may be too limited to guarantee effective landscape governance, hence requiring upscaling. Conversely, the other two initiatives are strongly lacking in their design principles on fundamental components regarding integrated approaches, continual learning, and capacity building. Monitoring and evaluation bodies and participatory learning and negotiation platforms could enhance the schemes' alignment with integrated landscape approaches.

  13. Establishment of a hydrological monitoring network in a tropical African catchment: An integrated participatory approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomani, M. C.; Dietrich, O.; Lischeid, G.; Mahoo, H.; Mahay, F.; Mbilinyi, B.; Sarmett, J.

    Sound decision making for water resources management has to be based on good knowledge of the dominant hydrological processes of a catchment. This information can only be obtained through establishing suitable hydrological monitoring networks. Research catchments are typically established without involving the key stakeholders, which results in instruments being installed at inappropriate places as well as at high risk of theft and vandalism. This paper presents an integrated participatory approach for establishing a hydrological monitoring network. We propose a framework with six steps beginning with (i) inception of idea; (ii) stakeholder identification; (iii) defining the scope of the network; (iv) installation; (v) monitoring; and (vi) feedback mechanism integrated within the participatory framework. The approach is illustrated using an example of the Ngerengere catchment in Tanzania. In applying the approach, the concept of establishing the Ngerengere catchment monitoring network was initiated in 2008 within the Resilient Agro-landscapes to Climate Change in Tanzania (ReACCT) research program. The main stakeholders included: local communities; Sokoine University of Agriculture; Wami Ruvu Basin Water Office and the ReACCT Research team. The scope of the network was based on expert experience in similar projects and lessons learnt from literature review of similar projects from elsewhere integrated with local expert knowledge. The installations involved reconnaissance surveys, detailed surveys, and expert consultations to identify best sites. First, a Digital Elevation Model, land use, and soil maps were used to identify potential monitoring sites. Local and expert knowledge was collected on flow regimes, indicators of shallow groundwater plant species, precipitation pattern, vegetation, and soil types. This information was integrated and used to select sites for installation of an automatic weather station, automatic rain gauges, river flow gauging stations

  14. An integrative approach to ortholog prediction for disease-focused and other functional studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yanhui; Flockhart, Ian; Vinayagam, Arunachalam; Bergwitz, Clemens; Berger, Bonnie; Perrimon, Norbert; Mohr, Stephanie E

    2011-08-31

    Mapping of orthologous genes among species serves an important role in functional genomics by allowing researchers to develop hypotheses about gene function in one species based on what is known about the functions of orthologs in other species. Several tools for predicting orthologous gene relationships are available. However, these tools can give different results and identification of predicted orthologs is not always straightforward. We report a simple but effective tool, the Drosophila RNAi Screening Center Integrative Ortholog Prediction Tool (DIOPT; http://www.flyrnai.org/diopt), for rapid identification of orthologs. DIOPT integrates existing approaches, facilitating rapid identification of orthologs among human, mouse, zebrafish, C. elegans, Drosophila, and S. cerevisiae. As compared to individual tools, DIOPT shows increased sensitivity with only a modest decrease in specificity. Moreover, the flexibility built into the DIOPT graphical user interface allows researchers with different goals to appropriately 'cast a wide net' or limit results to highest confidence predictions. DIOPT also displays protein and domain alignments, including percent amino acid identity, for predicted ortholog pairs. This helps users identify the most appropriate matches among multiple possible orthologs. To facilitate using model organisms for functional analysis of human disease-associated genes, we used DIOPT to predict high-confidence orthologs of disease genes in Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) and genes in genome-wide association study (GWAS) data sets. The results are accessible through the DIOPT diseases and traits query tool (DIOPT-DIST; http://www.flyrnai.org/diopt-dist). DIOPT and DIOPT-DIST are useful resources for researchers working with model organisms, especially those who are interested in exploiting model organisms such as Drosophila to study the functions of human disease genes.

  15. Analyzing Unsaturated Flow Patterns in Fractured Rock Using an Integrated Modeling Approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Y.S. Wu; G. Lu; K. Zhang; L. Pan; G.S. Bodvarsson

    2006-01-01

    Characterizing percolation patterns in unsaturated fractured rock has posed a greater challenge to modeling investigations than comparable saturated zone studies, because of the heterogeneous nature of unsaturated media and the great number of variables impacting unsaturated flow. This paper presents an integrated modeling methodology for quantitatively characterizing percolation patterns in the unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, a proposed underground repository site for storing high-level radioactive waste. The modeling approach integrates a wide variety of moisture, pneumatic, thermal, and isotopic geochemical field data into a comprehensive three-dimensional numerical model for modeling analyses. It takes into account the coupled processes of fluid and heat flow and chemical isotopic transport in Yucca Mountain's highly heterogeneous, unsaturated fractured tuffs. Modeling results are examined against different types of field-measured data and then used to evaluate different hydrogeological conceptualizations and their results of flow patterns in the unsaturated zone. In particular, this model provides a much clearer understanding of percolation patterns and flow behavior through the unsaturated zone, both crucial issues in assessing repository performance. The integrated approach for quantifying Yucca Mountain's flow system is demonstrated to provide a practical modeling tool for characterizing flow and transport processes in complex subsurface systems

  16. Scattering integral equations and four nucleon problem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Narodetskii, I.M.

    1980-01-01

    Existing results from the application of integral equation technique to the four-nucleon bound states and scattering are reviewed. The first numerical calculations of the four-body integral equations have been done ten years ago. Yet, it is still widely believed that these equations are too complicated to solve numerically. The purpose of this review is to provide a clear and elementary introduction in the integral equation method and to demonstrate its usefulness in physical applications. The presentation is based on the quasiparticle approach. This permits a simple interpretation of the equations in terms of quasiparticle scattering. The mathematical basis for the quasiparticle approach is the Hilbert-Schmidt method of the Fredholm integral equation theory. The first part of this review contains a detailed discussion of the Hilbert-Schmidt expansion as applied to the 2-particle amplitudes and to the kernel of the four-body equations. The second part contains the discussion of the four-body quasiparticle equations and of the resed forullts obtain bound states and scattering

  17. Integrated approach to yoga therapy and autism spectrum disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shantha Radhakrishna

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available A specially designed Integrated Approach to Yoga Therapy module was applied to Autism Spectrum Disorders over a period of two academic years. Despite low numbers (six in each arm, consistency and magnitude of effects make the findings significant. Parental participation, allowing firm guidance to be given to each child, resulted in significant improvements in imitation and other skills, and in behavior at home and family relationships. We hypothesize that guided imitation of therapist body positions stimulated mirror neuron activation, resulting in improved sense of self.

  18. Competency in integrative psychotherapy: perspectives on training and supervision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boswell, James F; Nelson, Dana L; Nordberg, Samuel S; McAleavey, Andrew A; Castonguay, Louis G

    2010-03-01

    Increasingly, many psychotherapists identify with an integrative approach to psychotherapy. In recent years, more attention has been directed toward the operationalization and evaluation of competence in professional psychology and health care service delivery. Aspects of integrative psychotherapy competency may differ from competency in other psychotherapy orientations, although convergence is more often the case. Despite the potential differences, there exist very few formal training programs or guidelines to systematically guide clinicians in developing a competent integrative practice. This paper attempts to distill the essential elements of competent integrative psychotherapy practice and focuses on how these might be developed in training and supervision. We address most of these complex issues from a specific integrative perspective: principle-based assimilative integration. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved

  19. Secondary Analysis and Integration of Existing Data to Elucidate the Genetic Architecture of Cancer Risk and Related Outcomes, R21 | Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR)

    Science.gov (United States)

    This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages applications that propose to conduct secondary data analysis and integration of existing datasets and database resources, with the ultimate aim to elucidate the genetic architecture of cancer risk and related outcomes. The goal of this initiative is to address key scientific questions relevant to cancer epidemiology by supporting the analysis of existing genetic or genomic datasets, possibly in combination with environmental, outcomes, behavioral, lifestyle, and molecular profiles data.

  20. Secondary Analysis and Integration of Existing Data to Elucidate the Genetic Architecture of Cancer Risk and Related Outcomes, R01 | Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR)

    Science.gov (United States)

    This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages applications that propose to conduct secondary data analysis and integration of existing datasets and database resources, with the ultimate aim to elucidate the genetic architecture of cancer risk and related outcomes. The goal of this initiative is to address key scientific questions relevant to cancer epidemiology by supporting the analysis of existing genetic or genomic datasets, possibly in combination with environmental, outcomes, behavioral, lifestyle, and molecular profiles data.

  1. An integral approach to corporate environmentalism and its application to a country in transition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Domen Bajde

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we propose and implement an integral approach to corporate environmentalism. Our integral model accounts not only for corporate environmentalism motivation and conception but also for corporate environmentalism mode and speed of implementation. A broad range of identified corporate environmentalism dimensions helps characterize fi ve basic groups of companies we propose to name “non-compliers,” “legalistic incrementalists,” “greenwashers,” “incremental innovators,” and “radical innovators.” We then seek to empirically verify the soundness of the proposed integral typology by surveying a large sample of Slovenian manufacturing companies. Maximum likelihood probit estimation, exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis andbinary logistic modeling are used in the empirical analysis. Our main conclusions are twofold: (1 The integral approach to corporate environmentalism works: in the framework of a small open transitional economy, the model differentiates wellamong different groups of companies. (2 There are no radical innovators among Slovenian companies, and less than one third of the companies are actively thinking and acting in line of environment-friendly processes and products. This fi nding can be partially explained by the fact that Slovenian economy still has some transitional characteristics.

  2. Health risk in the context of climate change and adaptation - Concept and mapping as an integrated approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kienberger, S.; Notenbaert, A.; Zeil, P.; Bett, B.; Hagenlocher, M.; Omolo, A.

    2012-04-01

    Climate change has been stated as being one of the greatest challenges to global health in the current century. Climate change impacts on human health and the socio-economic and related poverty consequences are however still poorly understood. While epidemiological issues are strongly coupled with environmental and climatic parameters, the social and economic circumstances of populations might be of equal or even greater importance when trying to identify vulnerable populations and design appropriate and well-targeted adaptation measures. The inter-linkage between climate change, human health risk and socio-economic impacts remains an important - but largely outstanding - research field. We present an overview on how risk is traditionally being conceptualised in the human health domain and reflect critically on integrated approaches as being currently used in the climate change context. The presentation will also review existing approaches, and how they can be integrated towards adaptation tools. Following this review, an integrated risk concept is being presented, which has been currently adapted under the EC FP7 research project (HEALTHY FUTURES; http://www.healthyfutures.eu/). In this approach, health risk is not only defined through the disease itself (as hazard) but also by the inherent vulnerability of the system, population or region under study. It is in fact the interaction of environment and society that leads to the development of diseases and the subsequent risk of being negatively affected by it. In this conceptual framework vulnerability is being attributed to domains of lack of resilience as well as underlying preconditions determining susceptibilities. To fulfil a holistic picture vulnerability can be associated to social, economic, environmental, institutional, cultural and physical dimensions. The proposed framework also establishes the important nexus to adaptation and how different measures can be related to avoid disease outbreaks, reduce

  3. A semantic web approach applied to integrative bioinformatics experimentation: a biological use case with genomics data.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Post, L.J.G.; Roos, M.; Marshall, M.S.; van Driel, R.; Breit, T.M.

    2007-01-01

    The numerous public data resources make integrative bioinformatics experimentation increasingly important in life sciences research. However, it is severely hampered by the way the data and information are made available. The semantic web approach enhances data exchange and integration by providing

  4. An Integrated Approach for Characterization of Uncertainty in Complex Best Estimate Safety Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pourgol-Mohamad, Mohammad; Modarres, Mohammad; Mosleh, Ali

    2013-01-01

    This paper discusses an approach called Integrated Methodology for Thermal-Hydraulics Uncertainty Analysis (IMTHUA) to characterize and integrate a wide range of uncertainties associated with the best estimate models and complex system codes used for nuclear power plant safety analyses. Examples of applications include complex thermal hydraulic and fire analysis codes. In identifying and assessing uncertainties, the proposed methodology treats the complex code as a 'white box', thus explicitly treating internal sub-model uncertainties in addition to the uncertainties related to the inputs to the code. The methodology accounts for uncertainties related to experimental data used to develop such sub-models, and efficiently propagates all uncertainties during best estimate calculations. Uncertainties are formally analyzed and probabilistically treated using a Bayesian inference framework. This comprehensive approach presents the results in a form usable in most other safety analyses such as the probabilistic safety assessment. The code output results are further updated through additional Bayesian inference using any available experimental data, for example from thermal hydraulic integral test facilities. The approach includes provisions to account for uncertainties associated with user-specified options, for example for choices among alternative sub-models, or among several different correlations. Complex time-dependent best-estimate calculations are computationally intense. The paper presents approaches to minimize computational intensity during the uncertainty propagation. Finally, the paper will report effectiveness and practicality of the methodology with two applications to a complex thermal-hydraulics system code as well as a complex fire simulation code. In case of multiple alternative models, several techniques, including dynamic model switching, user-controlled model selection, and model mixing, are discussed. (authors)

  5. A One-Health integrated approach to control fascioliasis in the Cajamarca valley of Peru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Rinaldi

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Fasciola hepatica infection is reported from many Latin American countries, with very high prevalence rates in both humans and livestock in the Andean countries. Due to its environmental characteristics, particularly suitable for liver fluke infection, the Cajamarca valley of Peru has often been chosen as a model to study the epidemiology of liver fluke infection in the Andes. In this paper we describe the profile of a project aimed at a multidisciplinary and integrated approach for the control of fascioliasis in animals and humans in this valley. The One-Health integrated approach applied here is based on accurate and sensitive diagnostics, namely the FLOTAC, and the use of geospatial tools for epidemiological scrutiny.

  6. Numerical approach to one-loop integrals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujimoto, Junpei; Shimizu, Yoshimitsu; Kato, Kiyoshi; Oyanagi, Yoshio.

    1992-01-01

    Two numerical methods are proposed for the calculation of one-loop scalar integrals. In the first method, the singularity is cancelled by the symmetrization of the integrand and the integration is done by a Monte-Carlo method. In the second one, after the transform of the integrand into a standard form, the integral is reduced into a regular numerical integral. These methods provide us practical tools to evaluate one-loop Feynman diagrams with desired numerical accuracy. They are extended to the integral with numerator and the treatment of the one-loop virtual correction to the cross section is also presented. (author)

  7. A programme management approach for supporting a transition to integrated flood management in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rijke, J.S.; Van Herk, S.; Zevenbergen, C.; Ashley, R.

    2012-01-01

    In the Netherlands and many other developed countries, flood management is transitioning from sectoral engineering approaches to more integrated approaches. The 2.3 billion Euro Room for the River programme plays an important role in this transition, because it is the first large scale

  8. On the Complete Integrability of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems on Discrete Manifolds within the Gradient-Holonomic Approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prykarpatsky, Yarema A.; Bogolubov, Nikolai N. Jr.; Prykarpatsky, Anatoliy K.; Samoylenko, Valeriy H.

    2010-12-01

    A gradient-holonomic approach for the Lax type integrability analysis of differential-discrete dynamical systems is devised. The asymptotical solutions to the related Lax equation are studied and the related gradient identity is stated. The integrability of a discrete nonlinear Schroedinger type dynamical system is treated in detail. The integrability of a generalized Riemann type discrete hydrodynamical system is discussed. (author)

  9. Criticality and axial offset searches based on the integrated neutron balance approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dall'Osso, A.; Van Geemert, R.

    2013-01-01

    Criticality and axial offset (AO) searches are key features in the simulation of plant operation procedures. Typically, the dedicated algorithms consist of either a Newton method or a secant method that features the successive computation of difference quotients to be used as derivatives. Within this context, computational robustness and efficiency are of paramount importance. This applies in particular to when the variations imposed during the search are spatially heterogeneous, such as in the case of tuning control rod positions for achieving target AO. In order to optimize this kind of search capability in AREVA NP's reactor code ARTEMIS in accordance with this design principle, a generalized approach has been implemented that harmonizes very well numerically with the overall multi-physics iterative solution process. As embedded in the latter, the new neutronic integral re-balancing approach is defined through periodic whole-core space-energy integrations of the principal terms in the core-integrated process-rate balance terms (i.e. neutron absorption, production and leakage). This procedure yields sequences of single zero-dimensional equations from which the chosen tuning parameters can be solved directly in dependence of the imposed (and systematically fixed) values for the response quantities k eff and/or AO. The converged result of the iteration sequence of successively obtained search parameter values is final in terms of being fully consistent with the entire set of multi-physics equations while enabling the accurate fulfillment of the target response value. The k etc and AO searches can be pursued simultaneously. Judging from the results of pursued verifications, the neutronic integral re-balancing approach fulfils the above-mentioned expectations convincingly. Specific verification examples are presented, such as the determination of the insertion depth of a critical control bank, a double search on target criticality and target AO by adjusting the boron

  10. A Dooyeweerd-based approach to regional economic development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aay, H; Van Langevelde, A

    2005-01-01

    Within regional science there is a need for a general theory of regional economic development, one that evaluates and integrates existing approaches. In this paper, the philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd is used as a basis for conceptualising the contours of such a theory. Contributions of this

  11. A holistic passive integrative sampling approach for assessing the presence and potential impacts of waterborne environmental contaminants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petty, J.D.; Huckins, J.N.; Alvarez, D.A.; Brumbaugh, W. G.; Cranor, W.L.; Gale, R.W.; Rastall, A.C.; Jones-Lepp, T. L.; Leiker, T.J.; Rostad, C. E.; Furlong, E.T.

    2004-01-01

    As an integral part of our continuing research in environmental quality assessment approaches, we have developed a variety of passive integrative sampling devices widely applicable for use in defining the presence and potential impacts of a broad array of contaminants. The semipermeable membrane device has gained widespread use for sampling hydrophobic chemicals from water and air, the polar organic chemical integrative sampler is applicable for sequestering waterborne hydrophilic organic chemicals, the stabilized liquid membrane device is used to integratively sample waterborne ionic metals, and the passive integrative mercury sampler is applicable for sampling vapor phase or dissolved neutral mercury species. This suite of integrative samplers forms the basis for a new passive sampling approach for assessing the presence and potential toxicological significance of a broad spectrum of environmental contaminants. In a proof-of-concept study, three of our four passive integrative samplers were used to assess the presence of a wide variety of contaminants in the waters of a constructed wetland, and to determine the effectiveness of the constructed wetland in removing contaminants. The wetland is used for final polishing of secondary-treatment municipal wastewater and the effluent is used as a source of water for a state wildlife area. Numerous contaminants, including organochlorine pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organophosphate pesticides, and pharmaceutical chemicals (e.g., ibuprofen, oxindole, etc.) were detected in the wastewater. Herein we summarize the results of the analysis of the field-deployed samplers and demonstrate the utility of this holistic approach.

  12. Analyzing climate change impacts on water resources under uncertainty using an integrated simulation-optimization approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhuang, X. W.; Li, Y. P.; Nie, S.; Fan, Y. R.; Huang, G. H.

    2018-01-01

    An integrated simulation-optimization (ISO) approach is developed for assessing climate change impacts on water resources. In the ISO, uncertainties presented as both interval numbers and probability distributions can be reflected. Moreover, ISO permits in-depth analyses of various policy scenarios that are associated with different levels of economic consequences when the promised water-allocation targets are violated. A snowmelt-precipitation-driven watershed (Kaidu watershed) in northwest China is selected as the study case for demonstrating the applicability of the proposed method. Results of meteorological projections disclose that the incremental trend of temperature (e.g., minimum and maximum values) and precipitation exist. Results also reveal that (i) the system uncertainties would significantly affect water resources allocation pattern (including target and shortage); (ii) water shortage would be enhanced from 2016 to 2070; and (iii) the more the inflow amount decreases, the higher estimated water shortage rates are. The ISO method is useful for evaluating climate change impacts within a watershed system with complicated uncertainties and helping identify appropriate water resources management strategies hedging against drought.

  13. Object-oriented integrated approach for the design of scalable ECG systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boskovic, Dusanka; Besic, Ingmar; Avdagic, Zikrija

    2009-01-01

    The paper presents the implementation of Object-Oriented (OO) integrated approaches to the design of scalable Electro-Cardio-Graph (ECG) Systems. The purpose of this methodology is to preserve real-world structure and relations with the aim to minimize the information loss during the process of modeling, especially for Real-Time (RT) systems. We report on a case study of the design that uses the integration of OO and RT methods and the Unified Modeling Language (UML) standard notation. OO methods identify objects in the real-world domain and use them as fundamental building blocks for the software system. The gained experience based on the strongly defined semantics of the object model is discussed and related problems are analyzed.

  14. Educational approaches focusing on the quality of life of people with chronic kidney disease receiving hemodialysis: an integrative review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro Cezar Beraldo

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: The impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD on the quality of life of patients receiving hemodialysis is widely studied. Despite the vast amount of literature on the topic, it is still important to investigate the educational approaches related to this population’s quality of life, evolution, and treatment. Objective: To systematically review the literature on educational approaches focusing on people with CKD receiving hemodialysis. Methods: An integrative systematic review of studies published between 2010 and 2015 was conducted using the PubMed, LILACS, PROQUEST, SCIENCEDIRECT, and SciELO databases using the keywords “quality of life and hemodialysis and adults”, with their translation equivalents in Portuguese and Spanish. Results: The studies included in this review investigated biological conditions, treatment adherence, psychosocial conditions, and even spiritual influence. These studies unanimously recognized the validity of educational approaches, be it for treatment adherence, actor´s empowerment, or self-knowledge, as well as the importance of addressing a wider patient view and participatory therapy planning. Conclusion: The quality of life of people with CKD is a widely and differently studied topic, but the number of educational approaches focusing on this group of patients is modest and poorly represented in the existing literature. The few studies that address this topic are in complete agreement about the importance and relevance of educational approaches for people with CKD. We conclude that patient adherence, participation, and empowerment should be considered and encouraged.

  15. Evaluation of complex integrated care programmes: the approach in North West London

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greaves, Felix; Pappas, Yannis; Bardsley, Martin; Harris, Matthew; Curry, Natasha; Holder, Holly; Blunt, Ian; Soljak, Michael; Gunn, Laura; Majeed, Azeem; Car, Josip

    2013-01-01

    Background Several local attempts to introduce integrated care in the English National Health Service have been tried, with limited success. The Northwest London Integrated Care Pilot attempts to improve the quality of care of the elderly and people with diabetes by providing a novel integration process across primary, secondary and social care organisations. It involves predictive risk modelling, care planning, multidisciplinary management of complex cases and an information technology tool to support information sharing. This paper sets out the evaluation approach adopted to measure its effect. Study design We present a mixed methods evaluation methodology. It includes a quantitative approach measuring changes in service utilization, costs, clinical outcomes and quality of care using routine primary and secondary data sources. It also contains a qualitative component, involving observations, interviews and focus groups with patients and professionals, to understand participant experiences and to understand the pilot within the national policy context. Theory and discussion This study considers the complexity of evaluating a large, multi-organisational intervention in a changing healthcare economy. We locate the evaluation within the theory of evaluation of complex interventions. We present the specific challenges faced by evaluating an intervention of this sort, and the responses made to mitigate against them. Conclusions We hope this broad, dynamic and responsive evaluation will allow us to clarify the contribution of the pilot, and provide a potential model for evaluation of other similar interventions. Because of the priority given to the integrated agenda by governments internationally, the need to develop and improve strong evaluation methodologies remains strikingly important. PMID:23687478

  16. Evaluation of complex integrated care programmes: the approach in North West London

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felix Greaves

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Several local attempts to introduce integrated care in the English National Health Service have been tried, with limited success. The Northwest London Integrated Care Pilot attempts to improve the quality of care of the elderly and people with diabetes by providing a novel integration process across primary, secondary and social care organisations. It involves predictive risk modelling, care planning, multidisciplinary management of complex cases and an information technology tool to support information sharing. This paper sets out the evaluation approach adopted to measure its effect. Study design: We present a mixed methods evaluation methodology. It includes a quantitative approach measuring changes in service utilization, costs, clinical outcomes and quality of care using routine primary and secondary data sources. It also contains a qualitative component, involving observations, interviews and focus groups with patients and professionals, to understand participant experiences and to understand the pilot within the national policy context. Theory and discussion: This study considers the complexity of evaluating a large, multi-organisational intervention in a changing healthcare economy. We locate the evaluation within the theory of evaluation of complex interventions. We present the specific challenges faced by evaluating an intervention of this sort, and the responses made to mitigate against them. Conclusions: We hope this broad, dynamic and responsive evaluation will allow us to clarify the contribution of the pilot, and provide a potential model for evaluation of other similar interventions. Because of the priority given to the integrated agenda by governments internationally, the need to develop and improve strong evaluation methodologies remains strikingly important

  17. Evaluation of complex integrated care programmes: the approach in North West London

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felix Greaves

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Several local attempts to introduce integrated care in the English National Health Service have been tried, with limited success. The Northwest London Integrated Care Pilot attempts to improve the quality of care of the elderly and people with diabetes by providing a novel integration process across primary, secondary and social care organisations. It involves predictive risk modelling, care planning, multidisciplinary management of complex cases and an information technology tool to support information sharing. This paper sets out the evaluation approach adopted to measure its effect.Study design: We present a mixed methods evaluation methodology. It includes a quantitative approach measuring changes in service utilization, costs, clinical outcomes and quality of care using routine primary and secondary data sources. It also contains a qualitative component, involving observations, interviews and focus groups with patients and professionals, to understand participant experiences and to understand the pilot within the national policy context.Theory and discussion: This study considers the complexity of evaluating a large, multi-organisational intervention in a changing healthcare economy. We locate the evaluation within the theory of evaluation of complex interventions. We present the specific challenges faced by evaluating an intervention of this sort, and the responses made to mitigate against them.Conclusions: We hope this broad, dynamic and responsive evaluation will allow us to clarify the contribution of the pilot, and provide a potential model for evaluation of other similar interventions. Because of the priority given to the integrated agenda by governments internationally, the need to develop and improve strong evaluation methodologies remains strikingly important

  18. An integration strategy for large enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Risimić Dejan

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Integration is the process of enabling a communication between disparate software components. Integration has been the burning issue for large enterprises in the last twenty years, due to the fact that 70% of the development and deployment budget is spent on integrating complex and heterogeneous back-end and front-end IT systems. The need to integrate existing applications is to support newer, faster, more accurate business processes and to provide meaningful, consistent management information. Historically, integration started with the introduction of point-to-point approaches evolving into simpler hub-and spoke topologies. These topologies were combined with custom remote procedure calls, distributed object technologies and message-oriented middleware (MOM, continued with enterprise application integration (EAI and used an application server as a primary vehicle for integration. The current phase of the evolution is service-oriented architecture (SOA combined with an enterprise service bus (ESB. Technical aspects of the comparison between the aforementioned technologies are analyzed and presented. The result of the study is the recommended integration strategy for large enterprises.

  19. An integrated approach to regional waste management and mine site rehabilitation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reid, A.V.; Nettle, C.

    2000-07-01

    Municipal solid (putrescible) waste is expected to be treated at Woodlawn Mines using 'bioreactor' processes within the existing mine void. This paper briefly outlines legislation and regional waste management planning issues that led to the development of the Woodlawn Waste Management Facility. It also examines the application of 'bioreactor' technology as a rehabilitation strategy at Woodlawn, energy recovery opportunities and greenhouse gas savings, and the integrated manner in which mining and waste management have combined to provide unprecedented environmental outcomes across both industries. 22 refs., 3 figs., 5 tabs.

  20. Evaluation of Current Approaches to Stream Classification and a Heuristic Guide to Developing Classifications of Integrated Aquatic Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melles, S. J.; Jones, N. E.; Schmidt, B. J.

    2014-03-01

    Conservation and management of fresh flowing waters involves evaluating and managing effects of cumulative impacts on the aquatic environment from disturbances such as: land use change, point and nonpoint source pollution, the creation of dams and reservoirs, mining, and fishing. To assess effects of these changes on associated biotic communities it is necessary to monitor and report on the status of lotic ecosystems. A variety of stream classification methods are available to assist with these tasks, and such methods attempt to provide a systematic approach to modeling and understanding complex aquatic systems at various spatial and temporal scales. Of the vast number of approaches that exist, it is useful to group them into three main types. The first involves modeling longitudinal species turnover patterns within large drainage basins and relating these patterns to environmental predictors collected at reach and upstream catchment scales; the second uses regionalized hierarchical classification to create multi-scale, spatially homogenous aquatic ecoregions by grouping adjacent catchments together based on environmental similarities; and the third approach groups sites together on the basis of similarities in their environmental conditions both within and between catchments, independent of their geographic location. We review the literature with a focus on more recent classifications to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches. We identify gaps or problems with the current approaches, and we propose an eight-step heuristic process that may assist with development of more flexible and integrated aquatic classifications based on the current understanding, network thinking, and theoretical underpinnings.

  1. Utilizing 4-H in Afterschool Settings: Two Approaches for Integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel Rudd

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available As our communities grow and change, afterschool programs represent an avenue to bring resources to populations which would otherwise not be available to them. Combining 4-H with the afterschool environment can be beneficial in supporting and raising the quality of afterschool programs being offered. This article explores the benefits and challenges of two approaches of implementing 4-H programming in afterschool settings: the 4-H managed program that is created and run solely by 4-H faculty and staff and the 4-H afterschool partnerships which are facilitated in partnership with existing afterschool programs. Regardless of the approach, combining 4-H with afterschool programs can strengthen well established programs and can enhance the quality of all afterschool programs.

  2. The BraveNet prospective observational study on integrative medicine treatment approaches for pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrams, Donald I; Dolor, Rowena; Roberts, Rhonda; Pechura, Constance; Dusek, Jeffery; Amoils, Sandi; Amoils, Steven; Barrows, Kevin; Edman, Joel S; Frye, Joyce; Guarneri, Erminia; Kligler, Ben; Monti, Daniel; Spar, Myles; Wolever, Ruth Q

    2013-06-24

    Chronic pain affects nearly 116 million American adults at an estimated cost of up to $635 billion annually and is the No. 1 condition for which patients seek care at integrative medicine clinics. In our Study on Integrative Medicine Treatment Approaches for Pain (SIMTAP), we observed the impact of an integrative approach on chronic pain and a number of other related patient-reported outcome measures. Our prospective, non-randomized, open-label observational evaluation was conducted over six months, at nine clinical sites. Participants received a non-standardized, personalized, multimodal approach to chronic pain. Validated instruments for pain (severity and interference levels), quality of life, mood, stress, sleep, fatigue, sense of control, overall well-being, and work productivity were completed at baseline and at six, 12, and 24 weeks. Blood was collected at baseline and week 12 for analysis of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. Repeated-measures analysis was performed on data to assess change from baseline at 24 weeks. Of 409 participants initially enrolled, 252 completed all follow-up visits during the 6 month evaluation. Participants were predominantly white (81%) and female (73%), with a mean age of 49.1 years (15.44) and an average of 8.0 (9.26) years of chronic pain. At baseline, 52% of patients reported symptoms consistent with depression. At 24 weeks, significantly decreased pain severity (-23%) and interference (-28%) were seen. Significant improvements in mood, stress, quality of life, fatigue, sleep and well-being were also observed. Mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels increased from 33.4 (17.05) ng/mL at baseline to 39.6 (16.68) ng/mL at week 12. Among participants completing an integrative medicine program for chronic pain, significant improvements were seen in pain as well as other relevant patient-reported outcome measures. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01186341.

  3. MODERN TENDENCIES OF USING INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO ORGANIZING ART TEACHERS’ INSTRUMENTAL AND PERFORMING TRAINING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhanna Kartashova

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In the article the modern tendencies of using integrative approach to organizing art teachers’ instrumental and performing training. The concept “integration” is singled out; it is defined as the process of recovery, replenishment, combining previously isolated parts; moving of the system to a great organic integrity. It is disclosed that the integration means considering multidimensionality of element features which are being integrated while accumulating quantitative features and emerging a new quality and individual features of integral elements are saved. It is proved that integrating is interrelation of art varieties in the process of their aesthetic and educational impact on pupils that is the whole perception of a work (its content and its emotional, rational, ethical and aesthetic form in the unity of tasks of developing artistic and aesthetic senses, thoughts, tastes and pupils’ ideals. It is thought that integration in art pedagogy is held at three levels: internal artistic and aesthetic synthesis of various arts organically combined with students creative activity; interdisciplinary humanistic synthesis of the arts, the native language, literature, and folklore; looking for semantic blocks, images, concepts that have universal meaning, which, entering all spheres of human consciousness, such as science and mathematics, seamlessly combining them into a coherent system. It is noted that the most efficient approach is appeal to the learning subjects of Humanities cycle – music, literature and art. It is concluded that designing of training should be started with the analyzing prospective art teacher’s activity. It should be understood what the teacher has to do, not in general formulation, but at the level of actions and operations.

  4. An approach for obtaining integrable Hamiltonians from Poisson-commuting polynomial families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leyvraz, F.

    2017-07-01

    We discuss a general approach permitting the identification of a broad class of sets of Poisson-commuting Hamiltonians, which are integrable in the sense of Liouville. It is shown that all such Hamiltonians can be solved explicitly by a separation of variables ansatz. The method leads in particular to a proof that the so-called "goldfish" Hamiltonian is maximally superintegrable and leads to an elementary identification of a full set of integrals of motion. The Hamiltonians in involution with the "goldfish" Hamiltonian are also explicitly integrated. New integrable Hamiltonians are identified, among which some have the property of being isochronous, that is, all their orbits have the same period. Finally, a peculiar structure is identified in the Poisson brackets between the elementary symmetric functions and the set of Hamiltonians commuting with the "goldfish" Hamiltonian: these can be expressed as products between elementary symmetric functions and Hamiltonians. The structure displays an invariance property with respect to one element and has both a symmetry and a closure property. The meaning of this structure is not altogether clear to the author, but it turns out to be a powerful tool.

  5. Development of an integrated configuration management/flight director system for piloted STOL approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoh, R. H.; Klein, R. H.; Johnson, W. A.

    1977-01-01

    A system analysis method for the development of an integrated configuration management/flight director system for IFR STOL approaches is presented. Curved descending decelerating approach trajectories are considered. Considerable emphasis is placed on satisfying the pilot centered requirements (acceptable workload) as well as the usual guidance and control requirements (acceptable performance). The Augmentor Wing Jet STOL Research Aircraft was utilized to allow illustration by example, and to validate the analysis procedure via manned simulation.

  6. A knowledge integration approach to flood vulnerability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzorana, Bruno; Fuchs, Sven

    2014-05-01

    Understanding, qualifying and quantifying vulnerability is an essential need for implementing effective and efficient flood risk mitigation strategies; in particular if possible synergies between different mitigation alternatives, such as active and passive measures, should be achieved. In order to combine different risk management options it is necessary to take an interdisciplinary approach to vulnerability reduction, and as a result the affected society may be willing to accept a certain degree of self-responsibility. However, due to differing mono-disciplinary approaches and regional foci undertaken until now, different aspects of vulnerability to natural hazards in general and to floods in particular remain uncovered and as a result the developed management options remain sub-optimal. Taking an even more fundamental viewpoint, the empirical vulnerability functions used in risk assessment specifically fail to capture physical principles of the damage-generating mechanisms to the build environment. The aim of this paper is to partially close this gap by discussing a balanced knowledge integration approach which can be used to resolve the multidisciplinary disorder in flood vulnerability research. Modelling techniques such as mathematical-physical modelling of the flood hazard impact to and response from the building envelope affected, and formative scenario analyses of possible consequences in terms of damage and loss are used in synergy to provide an enhanced understanding of vulnerability and to render the derived knowledge into interdisciplinary mitigation strategies. The outlined formal procedure allows for a convincing knowledge alignment of quantified, but partial, information about vulnerability as a result of the application of physical and engineering notions and valuable, but often underspecified, qualitative argumentation strings emerging from the adopted socio-economic viewpoint.

  7. 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

  8. An integrated finite-element approach to mechanics, transport and biosynthesis in tissue engineering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sengers, B.G.; Oomens, C.W.J.; Baaijens, F.P.T.

    2004-01-01

    A finite-element approach was formulated, aimed at enabling an integrated study of mechanical and biochemical factors that control the functional development of tissue engineered constructs. A nonlinear biphasic displacement-velocity-pressure description was combined with adjective and diffusive

  9. An Integrated Approach to Preempt Cheating on Asynchronous, Objective, Online Assessments in Graduate Business Classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Daniel P.

    2016-01-01

    Cheating, left untended, erodes the validity of evaluation and, ultimately, corrupts the legitimacy of a course. We profile an approach to manage, with an eye toward preempting, cheating on asynchronous, objective, online quizzes. This approach taps various technological and social solutions to academic dishonesty, integrating them into a…

  10. Integrated Food and Nutrition Security Programming to Address Undernutrition : The Plan Approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boer, de F.A.; Verdonk, I.

    2012-01-01

    From a technical point of view, it is widely recognised that an integrated approach to food and nutrition security is an effective way to promote child nutritional well-being. In this desk review, based on project documents of the countries which took part in the PLAN NL supported Food and Nutrition

  11. One-way spatial integration of hyperbolic equations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Towne, Aaron; Colonius, Tim

    2015-11-01

    In this paper, we develop and demonstrate a method for constructing well-posed one-way approximations of linear hyperbolic systems. We use a semi-discrete approach that allows the method to be applied to a wider class of problems than existing methods based on analytical factorization of idealized dispersion relations. After establishing the existence of an exact one-way equation for systems whose coefficients do not vary along the axis of integration, efficient approximations of the one-way operator are constructed by generalizing techniques previously used to create nonreflecting boundary conditions. When physically justified, the method can be applied to systems with slowly varying coefficients in the direction of integration. To demonstrate the accuracy and computational efficiency of the approach, the method is applied to model problems in acoustics and fluid dynamics via the linearized Euler equations; in particular we consider the scattering of sound waves from a vortex and the evolution of hydrodynamic wavepackets in a spatially evolving jet. The latter problem shows the potential of the method to offer a systematic, convergent alternative to ad hoc regularizations such as the parabolized stability equations.

  12. An integrated approach to sensor FDI and signal reconstruction in HTGRs – Part I: Theoretical framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uren, Kenneth R.; Schoor, George van; Rand, Carel P. du; Botha, Anrika

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • An integrated sensor fault detection and isolation method for nuclear power plants. • Utilise techniques such as non-temporal parity space and principal component analysis. • Utilise statistical methods and fuzzy systems for sensor fault isolation. • Allow the detection of multiple sensor faults. • Proposed methodology suitable for online implementation. - Abstract: Sensor fault detection and isolation (FDI) is an important element in modern nuclear power plant (NPP) diagnostic systems. In this respect, sensor FDI of generation II and III water-cooled nuclear energy systems has become an active research topic to continually improve levels of reliability, safety, and operation. However, evolutionary advances in reactor and component technology together with different energy conversion methodologies support the investigation of alternative approaches to sensor FDI. Within this context, the basic aim of this two part series is to propose, implement and evaluate an integrated approach for sensor FDI and signal reconstruction in generation IV nuclear high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs). In part I of this two part series, the methodology and theoretical background of the integrated sensor FDI and signal reconstruction approach are given. This approach combines techniques such as non-temporal parity space analysis (PSA), principal component analysis (PCA), sensor fusion and fuzzy decision systems to form a more powerful sensor FDI methodology that exploits the strengths of the individual techniques. An illustrative example of the PCA algorithm is given making use of actual data retrieved from a pilot plant called the pebble bed micro model (PBMM). This is a prototype gas turbine power plant based on the first design configuration of the pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR). In part II, the described integrated sensor fault detection approach will be evaluated by means of two case studies. In the first case study the approach will be evaluated

  13. Inspector training for VIFM equipment - An integrated approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Truong, Q.S. Bob; Keeffe, R.; Ellacott, T.; Desson, K.; Herber, N.

    2001-01-01

    Full text: The VXI Integrated Fuel Monitor (VIFM) was developed by the Canadian Safeguards Support Program (CSSP) as a generic radiation monitor for safeguards applications. The VIFM equipment features a modular design, where a single cabinet can house several instruments such as bundle counters, core discharge monitors, Yes/No monitors, and other devices. VIFM can also be used in a stand-alone, transportable mode, with a detector connected to a single VIFM module linked to a laptop computer. VIFM equipment is currently in use at CANDU nuclear generating stations in several countries. Because each facility may have a different combination of detectors, the training program has been designed to reflect the modular nature of VIFM. Introductory material is generic and applies to any facility. More advanced material is carefully compartmentalized to allow IAEA Inspectors to concentrate their efforts in areas that concern them. Advanced material is available in a just-in-time reference format that simplifies rapid access to detailed information. A number of training resources have been developed, including multimedia and video material on CD-ROMs. This material has been designed to operate on a laptop computer, allowing inspectors to review and refresh their knowledge at any time - for example, during inspection trips. Although each of these resources is useful in its own right, the CSSP is developing an integrated approach to inspector training that combines all of these elements in a new way calculated to produce better training results than in the past. This new training approach features a two-day workshop preceded by a period of CD-ROM-based self-paced study. After the workshop, participants are able to make use of printed and CD-ROM-based reference materials for just-in-time 'refreshers'. Each step in this integrated approach to training will be described in the presentation. Briefly, the steps are as follows. A multimedia computer-based training package is made

  14. On the Existence of Evolutionary Learning Equilibriums

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masudul Alam Choudhury

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The usual kinds of Fixed-Point Theorems formalized on the existence of competitive equilibrium that explain much of economic theory at the core of economics can operate only on bounded and closed sets with convex mappings. But these conditions are hardly true of the real world of economic and financial complexities and perturbations. The category of learning sets explained by continuous fields of interactive, integrative and evolutionary behaviour caused by dynamic preferences at the individual and institutional and social levels cannot maintain the assumption of closed, bounded and convex sets. Thus learning sets and multi-system inter-temporal relations explained by pervasive complementarities and  participation between variables and entities, and evolution by learning, have evolutionary equilibriums. Such a study requires a new methodological approach. This paper formalizes such a methodology for evolutionary equilibriums in learning spaces. It briefly points out the universality of learning equilibriums in all mathematical structures. For a particular case though, the inter-systemic interdependence between sustainable development and ethics and economics in the specific understanding of learning domain is pointed out.

  15. A Psychoeducational Approach in the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotugno, Albert J.

    1980-01-01

    Anorexia nervosa exists as a clinical entity with significant ego disturbances which appear as primary features. Noneating and accompanying weight loss are often secondary features of the disturbance. The psychoeducational approach is most valuable because it integrates the psychological view with educational goals. (Author)

  16. A risk-based approach to flood management decisions in a nonstationary world

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosner, Ana; Vogel, Richard M.; Kirshen, Paul H.

    2014-03-01

    Traditional approaches to flood management in a nonstationary world begin with a null hypothesis test of "no trend" and its likelihood, with little or no attention given to the likelihood that we might ignore a trend if it really existed. Concluding a trend exists when it does not, or rejecting a trend when it exists are known as type I and type II errors, respectively. Decision-makers are poorly served by statistical and/or decision methods that do not carefully consider both over- and under-preparation errors, respectively. Similarly, little attention is given to how to integrate uncertainty in our ability to detect trends into a flood management decision context. We show how trend hypothesis test results can be combined with an adaptation's infrastructure costs and damages avoided to provide a rational decision approach in a nonstationary world. The criterion of expected regret is shown to be a useful metric that integrates the statistical, economic, and hydrological aspects of the flood management problem in a nonstationary world.

  17. Integrated investigation approach for determining mechanical properties of poly-silicon membranes

    OpenAIRE

    Brueckner, J.; Dehe, A.; Auerswald, E.; Dudek, R.; Michel, B.; Rzepka, S.

    2014-01-01

    A methodology is presented for determining mechanical properties of free-standing thin films such as poly-silicon membranes. The integrated investigation approach comprises test structure development, mechanical testing, and numerical simulation. All membrane test structures developed and manufactured consist of the same material but have different stiffness due to variations in the geometric design. The mechanical tests apply microscopic loads utilizing a nanoindentation tool. Young's modulu...

  18. An integrated approach to addressing addiction and depression in college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisen, Arri; Kushner, Howard; McLeod, Mark; Queen, Edward; Gordon, Jonathan; Ford, John L

    2009-01-01

    The authors present an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to address the problem of increasing student mental health issues on college campuses. The model uses addiction and depression as lenses into the problem and links residence life and academic and community internship experiences. The project has a positive impact on student attitudes and actions and strengthens and broadens the campus network required to ensure optimal student mental health.

  19. Participatory integrated watershed management in the north-western highlands of Rwanda

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kagabo, M.D.

    2013-01-01

    This thesis is the result of assessments on the extent of existing resource use and management practices using a Participatory Integrated Watershed Management (PIWM) as a viable approach to promote best soil water conservation (SWC) measures towards more sustainable land use. The study was

  20. Ecotoxicology and macroecology – Time for integration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beketov, Mikhail A.; Liess, Matthias

    2012-01-01

    Despite considerable progress in ecotoxicology, it has become clear that this discipline cannot answer its central questions, such as, “What are the effects of toxicants on biodiversity?” and “How the ecosystem functions and services are affected by the toxicants?”. We argue that if such questions are to be answered, a paradigm shift is needed. The current bottom-up approach of ecotoxicology that implies the use of small-scale experiments to predict effects on the entire ecosystems and landscapes should be merged with a top-down macroecological approach that is directly focused on ecological effects at large spatial scales and consider ecological systems as integral entities. Analysis of the existing methods in ecotoxicology, ecology, and environmental chemistry shows that such integration is currently possible. Therefore, we conclude that to tackle the current pressing challenges, ecotoxicology has to progress using both the bottom-up and top-down approaches, similar to digging a tunnel from both ends at once. - To tackle the current pressing challenges, ecotoxicology has to progress using both the bottom-up experimental and top-down observational approaches.