Early warning of climate tipping points from critical slowing down: comparing methods to improve robustness

Science.gov (United States)

Lenton, T. M.; Livina, V. N.; Dakos, V.; Van Nes, E. H.; Scheffer, M.

2012-01-01

We address whether robust early warning signals can, in principle, be provided before a climate tipping point is reached, focusing on methods that seek to detect critical slowing down as a precursor of bifurcation. As a test bed, six previously analysed datasets are reconsidered, three palaeoclimate records approaching abrupt transitions at the end of the last ice age and three models of varying complexity forced through a collapse of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. Approaches based on examining the lag-1 autocorrelation function or on detrended fluctuation analysis are applied together and compared. The effects of aggregating the data, detrending method, sliding window length and filtering bandwidth are examined. Robust indicators of critical slowing down are found prior to the abrupt warming event at the end of the Younger Dryas, but the indicators are less clear prior to the Bølling-Allerød warming, or glacial termination in Antarctica. Early warnings of thermohaline circulation collapse can be masked by inter-annual variability driven by atmospheric dynamics. However, rapidly decaying modes can be successfully filtered out by using a long bandwidth or by aggregating data. The two methods have complementary strengths and weaknesses and we recommend applying them together to improve the robustness of early warnings. PMID:22291229

Cascade phenomenon against subsequent failures in complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Zhong-Yuan; Liu, Zhi-Quan; He, Xuan; Ma, Jian-Feng

2018-06-01

Cascade phenomenon may lead to catastrophic disasters which extremely imperil the network safety or security in various complex systems such as communication networks, power grids, social networks and so on. In some flow-based networks, the load of failed nodes can be redistributed locally to their neighboring nodes to maximally preserve the traffic oscillations or large-scale cascading failures. However, in such local flow redistribution model, a small set of key nodes attacked subsequently can result in network collapse. Then it is a critical problem to effectively find the set of key nodes in the network. To our best knowledge, this work is the first to study this problem comprehensively. We first introduce the extra capacity for every node to put up with flow fluctuations from neighbors, and two extra capacity distributions including degree based distribution and average distribution are employed. Four heuristic key nodes discovering methods including High-Degree-First (HDF), Low-Degree-First (LDF), Random and Greedy Algorithms (GA) are presented. Extensive simulations are realized in both scale-free networks and random networks. The results show that the greedy algorithm can efficiently find the set of key nodes in both scale-free and random networks. Our work studies network robustness against cascading failures from a very novel perspective, and methods and results are very useful for network robustness evaluations and protections.

Robust network topologies for generating switch-like cellular responses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Najaf A Shah

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Signaling networks that convert graded stimuli into binary, all-or-none cellular responses are critical in processes ranging from cell-cycle control to lineage commitment. To exhaustively enumerate topologies that exhibit this switch-like behavior, we simulated all possible two- and three-component networks on random parameter sets, and assessed the resulting response profiles for both steepness (ultrasensitivity and extent of memory (bistability. Simulations were used to study purely enzymatic networks, purely transcriptional networks, and hybrid enzymatic/transcriptional networks, and the topologies in each class were rank ordered by parametric robustness (i.e., the percentage of applied parameter sets exhibiting ultrasensitivity or bistability. Results reveal that the distribution of network robustness is highly skewed, with the most robust topologies clustering into a small number of motifs. Hybrid networks are the most robust in generating ultrasensitivity (up to 28% and bistability (up to 18%; strikingly, a purely transcriptional framework is the most fragile in generating either ultrasensitive (up to 3% or bistable (up to 1% responses. The disparity in robustness among the network classes is due in part to zero-order ultrasensitivity, an enzyme-specific phenomenon, which repeatedly emerges as a particularly robust mechanism for generating nonlinearity and can act as a building block for switch-like responses. We also highlight experimentally studied examples of topologies enabling switching behavior, in both native and synthetic systems, that rank highly in our simulations. This unbiased approach for identifying topologies capable of a given response may be useful in discovering new natural motifs and in designing robust synthetic gene networks.

Tourism Development and the ‘Hidden’ Phenomenon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincenzo ASERO

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper focus on ‘hidden’ tourism phenomenon, that is the touristdemand that in many destinations eludes the official survey system. Estimationof hidden tourism requires information drawn from tourism demand and supply,using different indicators. The critical points are: the availability and validity ofdata, the data collection time and the application of the analysis models todifferent non-homogeneous areas. Economic value of the phenomenon relies onan estimate of consumption.

Parody as a Phenomenon of Literary Criticism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalіia Naumenko

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The article elucidates the properties of a parody as not only an art work, but also as a literary-critical study. There is shown that the parody, according to the creative invention of its author, has the purpose to expose and then to deride the certain disadvantages of on original poetic text; however, in closer reading, it seems to maintain a critical paradigm. First of all, this paradigm reveals all of the noticed flaws as the remedy to make “the creative prophylactics” for a future poet; second, it helps a reader to comprehend as well the positive features of a parodied text (particularly, in reading an original, and also to imagine the image of an author (of either the original or the parody opened to further interpretations. The subjects of studies in this article are Ukrainian literary parodies published throughout the 20th – the beginning of the 21st centuries (authors – Ostap Vyshnia, V. Yaremenko, Yu. Ivakin, A. Bortnyak, I. Havryliuk; there are also analyzed several poetic works that are not parodies a priori, but tend to deride some realia of the authors’ everyday life. There was shown that the efficiency of literary criticism could be defined by not only what the critic said, but also how one did it. Therefore, elucidation of a parody seems to be impossible without studying its generic, stylistic, imagery and compositional characteristics of a potential parody object (original verse work, including the specifications of development of a poet’s individual style within parodying any kind of literary works.

Robust transient dynamics and brain functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mikhail I Rabinovich

2011-06-01

Full Text Available In the last few decades several concepts of Dynamical Systems Theory (DST have guided psychologists, cognitive scientists, and neuroscientists to rethink about sensory motor behavior and embodied cognition. A critical step in the progress of DST application to the brain (supported by modern methods of brain imaging and multi-electrode recording techniques has been the transfer of its initial success in motor behavior to mental function, i.e., perception, emotion, and cognition. Open questions from research in genetics, ecology, brain sciences, etc. have changed DST itself and lead to the discovery of a new dynamical phenomenon, i.e., reproducible and robust transients that are at the same time sensitive to informational signals. The goal of this review is to describe a new mathematical framework -heteroclinic sequential dynamics- to understand self-organized activity in the brain that can explain certain aspects of robust itinerant behavior. Specifically, we discuss a hierarchy of coarse-grain models of mental dynamics in the form of kinetic equations of modes. These modes compete for resources at three levels: (i within the same modality, (ii among different modalities from the same family (like perception, and (iii among modalities from different families (like emotion and cognition. The analysis of the conditions for robustness, i.e., the structural stability of transient (sequential dynamics, give us the possibility to explain phenomena like the finite capacity of our sequential working memory -a vital cognitive function-, and to find specific dynamical signatures -different kinds of instabilities- of several brain functions and mental diseases.

Dynamic trapping near a quantum critical point

Science.gov (United States)

Kolodrubetz, Michael; Katz, Emanuel; Polkovnikov, Anatoli

2015-02-01

The study of dynamics in closed quantum systems has been revitalized by the emergence of experimental systems that are well-isolated from their environment. In this paper, we consider the closed-system dynamics of an archetypal model: spins driven across a second-order quantum critical point, which are traditionally described by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. Imbuing the driving field with Newtonian dynamics, we find that the full closed system exhibits a robust new phenomenon—dynamic critical trapping—in which the system is self-trapped near the critical point due to efficient absorption of field kinetic energy by heating the quantum spins. We quantify limits in which this phenomenon can be observed and generalize these results by developing a Kibble-Zurek scaling theory that incorporates the dynamic field. Our findings can potentially be interesting in the context of early universe physics, where the role of the driving field is played by the inflaton or a modulus field.

Robust Portfolio Optimization Using Pseudodistances

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

The presence of outliers in financial asset returns is a frequently occurring phenomenon which may lead to unreliable mean-variance optimized portfolios. This fact is due to the unbounded influence that outliers can have on the mean returns and covariance estimators that are inputs in the optimization procedure. In this paper we present robust estimators of mean and covariance matrix obtained by minimizing an empirical version of a pseudodistance between the assumed model and the true model underlying the data. We prove and discuss theoretical properties of these estimators, such as affine equivariance, B-robustness, asymptotic normality and asymptotic relative efficiency. These estimators can be easily used in place of the classical estimators, thereby providing robust optimized portfolios. A Monte Carlo simulation study and applications to real data show the advantages of the proposed approach. We study both in-sample and out-of-sample performance of the proposed robust portfolios comparing them with some other portfolios known in literature. PMID:26468948

Robust Portfolio Optimization Using Pseudodistances.

Science.gov (United States)

Toma, Aida; Leoni-Aubin, Samuela

2015-01-01

The presence of outliers in financial asset returns is a frequently occurring phenomenon which may lead to unreliable mean-variance optimized portfolios. This fact is due to the unbounded influence that outliers can have on the mean returns and covariance estimators that are inputs in the optimization procedure. In this paper we present robust estimators of mean and covariance matrix obtained by minimizing an empirical version of a pseudodistance between the assumed model and the true model underlying the data. We prove and discuss theoretical properties of these estimators, such as affine equivariance, B-robustness, asymptotic normality and asymptotic relative efficiency. These estimators can be easily used in place of the classical estimators, thereby providing robust optimized portfolios. A Monte Carlo simulation study and applications to real data show the advantages of the proposed approach. We study both in-sample and out-of-sample performance of the proposed robust portfolios comparing them with some other portfolios known in literature.

Framing effects are robust to linguistic disambiguation: A critical test of contemporary theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Chick, Christina F; Reyna, Valerie F; Corbin, Jonathan C

2016-02-01

Theoretical accounts of risky choice framing effects assume that decision makers interpret framing options as extensionally equivalent, such that if 600 lives are at stake, saving 200 implies that 400 die. However, many scholars have argued that framing effects are caused, instead, by filling in pragmatically implied information. This linguistic ambiguity hypothesis is grounded in neo-Gricean pragmatics, information leakage, and schema theory. In 2 experiments, we conducted critical tests of the linguistic ambiguity hypothesis and its relation to framing. We controlled for this crucial implied information by disambiguating it using instructions and detailed examples, followed by multiple quizzes. After disambiguating missing information, we presented standard framing problems plus truncated versions, varying types of missing information. Truncations were also critical tests of prospect theory and fuzzy trace theory. Participants were not only college students, but also middle-age adults (who showed similar results). Contrary to the ambiguity hypothesis, participants who interpreted missing information as complementary to stated information nonetheless showed robust framing effects. Although adding words like "at least" can change interpretations of framing information, this form of linguistic ambiguity is not necessary to observe risky choice framing effects. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

On the robustness and possible accounts of ambiguity aversion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keren, G.; Gerritsen, L.E.M.

1999-01-01

Ambiguity aversion is one of the most robust phenomena documented in the decision making literature, though there are still disagreements concerning what constitutes an adequate account for its occurrence. We describe six experiments that shed additional light on the enigmatic phenomenon of

Phenomenon of political actionism in modern society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. M. Bavykina

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Political actionism is the fenomen in social and art space, that appeared in middle of XX century as the practice of critic and protest with using different artistic methods and techniques. Political actionism as art and political tradition exist in postsoviet space, especially in Russia where actionism appeared in 1990 years and develops for actually days. In other countries this phenomenon not such systematic.  But analyze and compare actions in different countries appears the possibility to understand social and cultural context, their difference and similarity. Actionism is a reaction to external public, social and political situation, but its appearance more like the symptom of some problem than its critic or display – traditional approaches in art.  Appearance of actionism also connected with inability of manifestation of personal and civil liberty, that’s why in actions liberty affairs in such radical and hyperbolized forms. First volume of Russian political actionism began in 1990 years (Oleg Kulik, Alexander Brener, Anatoly Osmolovsky etc. and Second volume in 2010 (art-group Voina, Pussy Riot, Pyotr Pavlensky. This process not only a transformation of artistic and traditional space, but also modification of reaction on social and political situation. Actionism becomes a source of new type of knowledge, that give a possibility to see the habitual reality from another side and find in it new pointes and concepts. Political actionism contracting own interpretation of already well-established phenomenon. Usual concepts of liberty, authority, social control are deconstructed in actions. Those destructions of reality and cultural reorientation destroys traditional imposed patterns of interaction and social structure. But new views, that appeared in daily life from actions, often has mistaken interpretations. Exist a problem about identification of actions, its correct interpretations and understanding of its causes. In article was

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization for High Reliability and Robustness

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Grandhi, Ramana

2005-01-01

.... Over the last 3 years Wright State University has been applying analysis tools to predict the behavior of critical disciplines to produce highly robust torpedo designs using robust multi-disciplinary...

Effect of smoothing on robust chaos.

Science.gov (United States)

Deshpande, Amogh; Chen, Qingfei; Wang, Yan; Lai, Ying-Cheng; Do, Younghae

2010-08-01

In piecewise-smooth dynamical systems, situations can arise where the asymptotic attractors of the system in an open parameter interval are all chaotic (e.g., no periodic windows). This is the phenomenon of robust chaos. Previous works have established that robust chaos can occur through the mechanism of border-collision bifurcation, where border is the phase-space region where discontinuities in the derivatives of the dynamical equations occur. We investigate the effect of smoothing on robust chaos and find that periodic windows can arise when a small amount of smoothness is present. We introduce a parameter of smoothing and find that the measure of the periodic windows in the parameter space scales linearly with the parameter, regardless of the details of the smoothing function. Numerical support and a heuristic theory are provided to establish the scaling relation. Experimental evidence of periodic windows in a supposedly piecewise linear dynamical system, which has been implemented as an electronic circuit, is also provided.

Robust scaling in ecosystems and the meltdown of patch size distributions before extinction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kefi, S.; Rietkerk, M.; Roy, M.; Franc, A.; Ruiter, de P.C.; Pascual, M.

2011-01-01

Robust critical systems are characterized by power laws which occur over a broad range of conditions. Their robust behaviour has been explained by local interactions. While such systems could be widespread in nature, their properties are not well understood. Here, we study three robust critical

Perspectives on learning through research on critical issues-based science center exhibitions

Science.gov (United States)

Pedretti, Erminia G.

2004-07-01

Recently, science centers have created issues-based exhibitions as a way of communicating socioscientific subject matter to the public. Research in the last decade has investigated how critical issues-based installations promote more robust views of science, while creating effective learning environments for teaching and learning about science. The focus of this paper is to explore research conducted over a 10-year period that informs our understanding of the nature of learning through these experiences. Two specific exhibitions - Mine Games and A Question of Truth - provide the context for discussing this research. Findings suggest that critical issues-based installations challenge visitors in different ways - intellectually and emotionally. They provide experiences beyond usual phenomenon-based exhibitions and carry the potential to enhance learning by personalizing subject matter, evoking emotion, stimulating dialogue and debate, and promoting reflexivity. Critical issues-based exhibitions serve as excellent environments in which to explore the nature of learning in these nonschool settings.

Self-organized criticality occurs in non-conservative neuronal networks during `up' states

Science.gov (United States)

Millman, Daniel; Mihalas, Stefan; Kirkwood, Alfredo; Niebur, Ernst

2010-10-01

During sleep, under anaesthesia and in vitro, cortical neurons in sensory, motor, association and executive areas fluctuate between so-called up and down states, which are characterized by distinct membrane potentials and spike rates. Another phenomenon observed in preparations similar to those that exhibit up and down states-such as anaesthetized rats, brain slices and cultures devoid of sensory input, as well as awake monkey cortex-is self-organized criticality (SOC). SOC is characterized by activity `avalanches' with a branching parameter near unity and size distribution that obeys a power law with a critical exponent of about -3/2. Recent work has demonstrated SOC in conservative neuronal network models, but critical behaviour breaks down when biologically realistic `leaky' neurons are introduced. Here, we report robust SOC behaviour in networks of non-conservative leaky integrate-and-fire neurons with short-term synaptic depression. We show analytically and numerically that these networks typically have two stable activity levels, corresponding to up and down states, that the networks switch spontaneously between these states and that up states are critical and down states are subcritical.

Study of the two-phase liquid loading phenomenon by applying CFD techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Vieiro

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In order to understand the liquid loading phenomenon, 2D (axisymmetric numerical simulations were performed. This phenomenon appears when the gas velocity reduces to a value below the critical speed of drop extraction in two-phase production wells, and as consequence liquid is accumulated in the tubing, increasing the pressure drop and reducing the flow rate within the tube. Simulations were made using air-water as working fluids over a vertical pipe of 4 meters long through a commercial package of CFD. Comparison between the simulation results and the experimental data available in the literature shows a good capability of homogeneous models to predict the flow characteristics for a given velocity range close to the critical gas velocity; over 100% of this parameter the model significantly overestimates the pressure drop.

Self organized criticality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Creutz, M.

1993-03-01

Self organized criticality refers to the tendency of highly dissipative systems to drive themselves to a critical state. This has been proposed to explain why observed physics often displays a wide disparity of length and time scales. The phenomenon can be studied in simple cellular automaton models

THE PHENOMENON OF MIGRATION. OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen BOGHEAN

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Migration is not a new phenomenon, neither for Europe, nor for the entire world and it exists since the beginning of mankind. Over time, this kind of international mobility generated many opportunities, but many challenges as well. Being an extremely important and complex phenomenon, both in economic terms and mostly from the social perspective, mass emigration has never been more intense as nowadays. Together with this particular complexity, the intensity of the migration phenomenon reveals each individual’s profound freedom desire, but also the acute need to ensure a better future for himself and especially for his family. Currently, an ever increasing number of individuals migrate in search of a better place, changing regions, countries or even continents. Witnessing the events that transcend the people all around the world, we consider that migration generates economic, social and cultural, but also political profound changes. These major changes require the involvement of the political actors, namely the governments, in creating a favorable and reliable framework so as the society and decision makers to understand that immigrants represent an opportunity for the emerging economies and not a phenomenon that should be criticized. In this paper we aim to follow the theories regarding the migration process, as well as the changes it generates, taking into consideration that of the 507 million current inhabitants of the EU, approximately 20 million are from countries outside the EU. We consider this research to be underlain, taking into consideration that regardless of the form it takes, in Europe immigration is and will remain a difficult to manage reality.

Neural robust stabilization via event-triggering mechanism and adaptive learning technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ding; Liu, Derong

2018-06-01

The robust control synthesis of continuous-time nonlinear systems with uncertain term is investigated via event-triggering mechanism and adaptive critic learning technique. We mainly focus on combining the event-triggering mechanism with adaptive critic designs, so as to solve the nonlinear robust control problem. This can not only make better use of computation and communication resources, but also conduct controller design from the view of intelligent optimization. Through theoretical analysis, the nonlinear robust stabilization can be achieved by obtaining an event-triggered optimal control law of the nominal system with a newly defined cost function and a certain triggering condition. The adaptive critic technique is employed to facilitate the event-triggered control design, where a neural network is introduced as an approximator of the learning phase. The performance of the event-triggered robust control scheme is validated via simulation studies and comparisons. The present method extends the application domain of both event-triggered control and adaptive critic control to nonlinear systems possessing dynamical uncertainties. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evolution favors protein mutational robustness in sufficiently large populations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Venturelli Ophelia S

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background An important question is whether evolution favors properties such as mutational robustness or evolvability that do not directly benefit any individual, but can influence the course of future evolution. Functionally similar proteins can differ substantially in their robustness to mutations and capacity to evolve new functions, but it has remained unclear whether any of these differences might be due to evolutionary selection for these properties. Results Here we use laboratory experiments to demonstrate that evolution favors protein mutational robustness if the evolving population is sufficiently large. We neutrally evolve cytochrome P450 proteins under identical selection pressures and mutation rates in populations of different sizes, and show that proteins from the larger and thus more polymorphic population tend towards higher mutational robustness. Proteins from the larger population also evolve greater stability, a biophysical property that is known to enhance both mutational robustness and evolvability. The excess mutational robustness and stability is well described by mathematical theory, and can be quantitatively related to the way that the proteins occupy their neutral network. Conclusion Our work is the first experimental demonstration of the general tendency of evolution to favor mutational robustness and protein stability in highly polymorphic populations. We suggest that this phenomenon could contribute to the mutational robustness and evolvability of viruses and bacteria that exist in large populations.

Collisional drag may lead to disappearance of wave-breaking phenomenon of lower hybrid oscillations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maity, Chandan; Chakrabarti, Nikhil

2013-01-01

The inhomogeneity in the magnetic field in a cold electron-ion non-dissipative homogeneous plasma leads to the breaking of lower hybrid modes via phase mixing phenomenon [Maity et al. Phys. Plasmas 19, 102302 (2012)]. In this work, we show that an inclusion of collisional drag force in fluid equations may lead to the disappearance of the wave-breaking phenomenon of lower hybrid oscillations. The nonlinear analysis in Lagrangian variables provides an expression for a critical value of damping rate, above which spikes in the plasma density profile may disappear. The critical damping rate depends on the perturbation and magnetic field inhomogeneity amplitudes as well as the ratio of the magnetic field inhomogeneity and perturbation scale lengths.

Neural-Network-Based Robust Optimal Tracking Control for MIMO Discrete-Time Systems With Unknown Uncertainty Using Adaptive Critic Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Lei; Wang, Zhanshan; Zhang, Huaguang

2018-04-01

This paper is concerned with the robust optimal tracking control strategy for a class of nonlinear multi-input multi-output discrete-time systems with unknown uncertainty via adaptive critic design (ACD) scheme. The main purpose is to establish an adaptive actor-critic control method, so that the cost function in the procedure of dealing with uncertainty is minimum and the closed-loop system is stable. Based on the neural network approximator, an action network is applied to generate the optimal control signal and a critic network is used to approximate the cost function, respectively. In contrast to the previous methods, the main features of this paper are: 1) the ACD scheme is integrated into the controllers to cope with the uncertainty and 2) a novel cost function, which is not in quadric form, is proposed so that the total cost in the design procedure is reduced. It is proved that the optimal control signals and the tracking errors are uniformly ultimately bounded even when the uncertainty exists. Finally, a numerical simulation is developed to show the effectiveness of the present approach.

Raynaud's phenomenon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, S L; Christensen, N J; Olsen, N

1980-01-01

. The forearm venous concentration of noradrenaline was lower and adrenaline concentration higher in the sympathectomized patients than in the other groups (p less than 0,05). Noradrenaline showed a significant increase during body cooling in normals and primary Raynaud's (p less than 0......The reaction to body and finger cooling was recorded in seven patients with relapse of primary Raynaud's phenomenon after sufficiently performed bilateral upper thoracic sympathectomy and for comparison in eight young women with primary Raynaud's phenomenon as well as in seven normal women......,05). There was no significant correlation between the vasoconstrictor response to cooling of a finger and the noradrenaline concentration probably due to the fact that skin vasoconstriction impeded release of noradrenaline from the skin. The relapse of Raynaud's phenomenon after surgically sufficient sympathectomy could...

Nuclear critical opalescence, a precursor to pion condensation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ericson, M.; Delorme, J.

1978-03-01

It is shown that pion condensation in nuclei, a long range phenomenon, has a precursor in the disordered phase, the local ordering of spins which becomes of infinite range at the critical point. A new physical effect arising from this short range order is predicted, namely the enhancement of the static nuclear pion field near the critical momentum. This phenomenon is strongly reminiscent of the critical opalescence observed in the scattering of neutrons by antiferromagnetic subtances

Nuclear critical opalescence, a precursor to pion condensation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ericson, M.; Delorme, J.

1978-01-01

It is shown that pion condensation in nuclei, a long-range phenomenon, has a precursor in the disordered phase, the local ordering of spins which becomes of infinite range at the critical point. A new physical effect arising from this short-range order is predicted, namely the enhancement of the static nuclear pion field near the critical momentum. This phenomenon is strongly reminiscent of the critical opalescence observed in the scattering of neutrons by antiferromagnetic substances. (Auth.)

Robustness of mission plans for unmanned aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Niendorf, Moritz

This thesis studies the robustness of optimal mission plans for unmanned aircraft. Mission planning typically involves tactical planning and path planning. Tactical planning refers to task scheduling and in multi aircraft scenarios also includes establishing a communication topology. Path planning refers to computing a feasible and collision-free trajectory. For a prototypical mission planning problem, the traveling salesman problem on a weighted graph, the robustness of an optimal tour is analyzed with respect to changes to the edge costs. Specifically, the stability region of an optimal tour is obtained, i.e., the set of all edge cost perturbations for which that tour is optimal. The exact stability region of solutions to variants of the traveling salesman problems is obtained from a linear programming relaxation of an auxiliary problem. Edge cost tolerances and edge criticalities are derived from the stability region. For Euclidean traveling salesman problems, robustness with respect to perturbations to vertex locations is considered and safe radii and vertex criticalities are introduced. For weighted-sum multi-objective problems, stability regions with respect to changes in the objectives, weights, and simultaneous changes are given. Most critical weight perturbations are derived. Computing exact stability regions is intractable for large instances. Therefore, tractable approximations are desirable. The stability region of solutions to relaxations of the traveling salesman problem give under approximations and sets of tours give over approximations. The application of these results to the two-neighborhood and the minimum 1-tree relaxation are discussed. Bounds on edge cost tolerances and approximate criticalities are obtainable likewise. A minimum spanning tree is an optimal communication topology for minimizing the cumulative transmission power in multi aircraft missions. The stability region of a minimum spanning tree is given and tolerances, stability balls

Superlinearly scalable noise robustness of redundant coupled dynamical systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kohar, Vivek; Kia, Behnam; Lindner, John F; Ditto, William L

2016-03-01

We illustrate through theory and numerical simulations that redundant coupled dynamical systems can be extremely robust against local noise in comparison to uncoupled dynamical systems evolving in the same noisy environment. Previous studies have shown that the noise robustness of redundant coupled dynamical systems is linearly scalable and deviations due to noise can be minimized by increasing the number of coupled units. Here, we demonstrate that the noise robustness can actually be scaled superlinearly if some conditions are met and very high noise robustness can be realized with very few coupled units. We discuss these conditions and show that this superlinear scalability depends on the nonlinearity of the individual dynamical units. The phenomenon is demonstrated in discrete as well as continuous dynamical systems. This superlinear scalability not only provides us an opportunity to exploit the nonlinearity of physical systems without being bogged down by noise but may also help us in understanding the functional role of coupled redundancy found in many biological systems. Moreover, engineers can exploit superlinear noise suppression by starting a coupled system near (not necessarily at) the appropriate initial condition.

Reliability-Based Robustness Analysis for a Croatian Sports Hall

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Čizmar, Dean; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2011-01-01

This paper presents a probabilistic approach for structural robustness assessment for a timber structure built a few years ago. The robustness analysis is based on a structural reliability based framework for robustness and a simplified mechanical system modelling of a timber truss system....... A complex timber structure with a large number of failure modes is modelled with only a few dominant failure modes. First, a component based robustness analysis is performed based on the reliability indices of the remaining elements after the removal of selected critical elements. The robustness...... is expressed and evaluated by a robustness index. Next, the robustness is assessed using system reliability indices where the probabilistic failure model is modelled by a series system of parallel systems....

Robustness and structure of complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Shuai

This dissertation covers the two major parts of my PhD research on statistical physics and complex networks: i) modeling a new type of attack -- localized attack, and investigating robustness of complex networks under this type of attack; ii) discovering the clustering structure in complex networks and its influence on the robustness of coupled networks. Complex networks appear in every aspect of our daily life and are widely studied in Physics, Mathematics, Biology, and Computer Science. One important property of complex networks is their robustness under attacks, which depends crucially on the nature of attacks and the structure of the networks themselves. Previous studies have focused on two types of attack: random attack and targeted attack, which, however, are insufficient to describe many real-world damages. Here we propose a new type of attack -- localized attack, and study the robustness of complex networks under this type of attack, both analytically and via simulation. On the other hand, we also study the clustering structure in the network, and its influence on the robustness of a complex network system. In the first part, we propose a theoretical framework to study the robustness of complex networks under localized attack based on percolation theory and generating function method. We investigate the percolation properties, including the critical threshold of the phase transition pc and the size of the giant component Pinfinity. We compare localized attack with random attack and find that while random regular (RR) networks are more robust against localized attack, Erdoḧs-Renyi (ER) networks are equally robust under both types of attacks. As for scale-free (SF) networks, their robustness depends crucially on the degree exponent lambda. The simulation results show perfect agreement with theoretical predictions. We also test our model on two real-world networks: a peer-to-peer computer network and an airline network, and find that the real-world networks

Critical heat flux (CHF) phenomenon on a downward facing curved surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheung, F.B.; Haddad, K.H.; Liu, Y.C. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

1997-06-01

This report describes a theoretical and experimental study of the boundary layer boiling and critical heat flux phenomena on a downward facing curved heating surface, including both hemispherical and toroidal surfaces. A subscale boundary layer boiling (SBLB) test facility was developed to measure the spatial variation of the critical heat flux and observe the underlying mechanisms. Transient quenching and steady-state boiling experiments were performed in the SBLB facility under both saturated and subcooled conditions to obtain a complete database on the critical heat flux. To complement the experimental effort, an advanced hydrodynamic CHF model was developed from the conservation laws along with sound physical arguments. The model provides a clear physical explanation for the spatial variation of the CHF observed in the SBLB experiments and for the weak dependence of the CHF data on the physical size of the vessel. Based upon the CHF model, a scaling law was established for estimating the local critical heat flux on the outer surface of a heated hemispherical vessel that is fully submerged in water. The scaling law, which compares favorably with all the available local CHF data obtained for various vessel sizes, can be used to predict the local CHF limits on large commercial-size vessels. This technical information represents one of the essential elements that is needed in assessing the efficacy of external cooling of core melt by cavity flooding as a severe accident management strategy. 83 figs., 3 tabs.

Critical heat flux (CHF) phenomenon on a downward facing curved surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheung, F.B.; Haddad, K.H.; Liu, Y.C.

1997-06-01

This report describes a theoretical and experimental study of the boundary layer boiling and critical heat flux phenomena on a downward facing curved heating surface, including both hemispherical and toroidal surfaces. A subscale boundary layer boiling (SBLB) test facility was developed to measure the spatial variation of the critical heat flux and observe the underlying mechanisms. Transient quenching and steady-state boiling experiments were performed in the SBLB facility under both saturated and subcooled conditions to obtain a complete database on the critical heat flux. To complement the experimental effort, an advanced hydrodynamic CHF model was developed from the conservation laws along with sound physical arguments. The model provides a clear physical explanation for the spatial variation of the CHF observed in the SBLB experiments and for the weak dependence of the CHF data on the physical size of the vessel. Based upon the CHF model, a scaling law was established for estimating the local critical heat flux on the outer surface of a heated hemispherical vessel that is fully submerged in water. The scaling law, which compares favorably with all the available local CHF data obtained for various vessel sizes, can be used to predict the local CHF limits on large commercial-size vessels. This technical information represents one of the essential elements that is needed in assessing the efficacy of external cooling of core melt by cavity flooding as a severe accident management strategy. 83 figs., 3 tabs

Robust quantum optimizer with full connectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Nigg, Simon E; Lörch, Niels; Tiwari, Rakesh P

2017-04-01

Quantum phenomena have the potential to speed up the solution of hard optimization problems. For example, quantum annealing, based on the quantum tunneling effect, has recently been shown to scale exponentially better with system size than classical simulated annealing. However, current realizations of quantum annealers with superconducting qubits face two major challenges. First, the connectivity between the qubits is limited, excluding many optimization problems from a direct implementation. Second, decoherence degrades the success probability of the optimization. We address both of these shortcomings and propose an architecture in which the qubits are robustly encoded in continuous variable degrees of freedom. By leveraging the phenomenon of flux quantization, all-to-all connectivity with sufficient tunability to implement many relevant optimization problems is obtained without overhead. Furthermore, we demonstrate the robustness of this architecture by simulating the optimal solution of a small instance of the nondeterministic polynomial-time hard (NP-hard) and fully connected number partitioning problem in the presence of dissipation.

Spontaneous burp phenomenon: analysis of experimental data and approach to theoretical interpretation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shabalin, E.

2004-01-01

Cases of spontaneous release of energy (''burp'') were observed numerously in solid methane, water ice and other hydrogeneous compounds irradiated in fast neutron fields with absorbed dose 2-10 MGy. Nature of this phenomenon is that accumulation of radicals and thermal instability of a sample under due concentration of radicals culminate to autocatalytic reaction of their recombination. The most odious feature of this phenomenon is that irradiation time, before a burp occurs, varies significantly even in identical irradiation condition. Respectively, amount of released energy varies as well. For example, in URAM-2 experiments with water ice, irradiation time before appearance of spontaneous burp varied from 5 hours to 11 hours for equal samples and up to 20 hours for the smallest sample. Another feature of the phenomenon is that regularities for occurrence of spontaneous release of energy (that is, dependence on temperature, size of sample, absorbed dose) can't be extracted explicitly from experimental data, if applying known relations for critical concentration of radicals, namely: Semenov's and Frank-Kamenetski's conditions of thermal instability of a sample, Jackson's relation for chain process of recombination of uniformly distributed radicals, critical condition based on accounting for acceleration of a process of recombination in the regions of micro-cracks, and, finally, critical condition for irregular distribution of radicals proposed by the author of this article. Not one of these theories predicts casual character of a burp on macro-scale basis. So that, notwithstanding fair amount of experimental data on spontaneous burps, it is still impossible to derive well-balanced theory of this phenomenon. One attempt to understand a reason for the strange behavior of spontaneous burping is a probabilistic, cluster model of spontaneous release of energy, developed in the chapter 4 of this paper. Spontaneous burps observed during URAM-2 project and in solid methane

The impostor phenomenon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ringby, Betina; Østergaard, Gert Værge; Bønnelykke, Helle

Persons suffering from the impostor phenomenon often fail to thrive and might be in danger of dropping out of studies. The impostor-phenomenon relates to people who are both skillful and capable, but sees themselves as frauds and as someone who is not worthy of good grades, appraisal for their work...

Prevalence Rates of the Incubus Phenomenon: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marc L. Molendijk

2017-11-01

Full Text Available BackgroundThe incubus phenomenon is a paroxysmal sleep-related disorder characterized by compound hallucinations experienced during brief phases of (apparent wakefulness. The condition has an almost stereotypical presentation, characterized by a hallucinated being that exerts pressure on the thorax, meanwhile carrying out aggressive and/or sexual acts. It tends to be accompanied by sleep paralysis, anxiety, vegetative symptoms, and feelings of suffocation. Its prevalence rate is unknown since, in prior analyses, cases of recurrent isolated sleep paralysis with/without an incubus phenomenon have been pooled together. This is unfortunate, since the incubus phenomenon has a much greater clinical relevance than isolated sleep paralysis.MethodsPubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO were searched for prevalence studies of the incubus phenomenon, and a meta-analysis was performed.ResultsOf the 1,437 unique records, 13 met the inclusion criteria, reporting on 14 (k independent prevalence estimates (total N = 6,079. The pooled lifetime prevalence rate of the incubus phenomenon was 0.19 [95% confidence interval (CI = 0.14–0.25, k = 14, N = 6,079] with heterogeneous estimates over different samples. In selected samples (e.g., patients with a psychiatric disorder, refugees, and students, prevalence rates were nearly four times higher (0.41, 95% CI = 0.25–0.56, k = 4, n = 1,275 than in the random samples (0.11, 95% CI = 0.08–0.14, k = 10, n = 4,804. This difference was significant (P < 0.001.ConclusionThis review and meta-analysis yielded a lifetime prevalence of the incubus phenomenon in the general population of 0.11 and, in selected samples, of 0.41. This is slightly higher than the prevalence rates in previous analyses that included cases of recurrent isolated sleep paralysis without an incubus phenomenon. Based on the condition’s robust clinical presentation and the relatively high prevalence rates, we advocate

A Robust Cooperated Control Method with Reinforcement Learning and Adaptive H∞ Control

Science.gov (United States)

Obayashi, Masanao; Uchiyama, Shogo; Kuremoto, Takashi; Kobayashi, Kunikazu

This study proposes a robust cooperated control method combining reinforcement learning with robust control to control the system. A remarkable characteristic of the reinforcement learning is that it doesn't require model formula, however, it doesn't guarantee the stability of the system. On the other hand, robust control system guarantees stability and robustness, however, it requires model formula. We employ both the actor-critic method which is a kind of reinforcement learning with minimal amount of computation to control continuous valued actions and the traditional robust control, that is, H∞ control. The proposed system was compared method with the conventional control method, that is, the actor-critic only used, through the computer simulation of controlling the angle and the position of a crane system, and the simulation result showed the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Phenomenon detection device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Yasuo.

1994-01-01

Detection signals for a specific phenomenon outputted from any of detectors are distributed by way of half mirrors and inputted to a logic discrimination circuit by way of a photoelectric convertor. The photoelectric convertor detects the quantity of light corresponding to the optical signals from more than two detectors which detected the phenomenon, and outputs detection signals to the logic discrimination circuit. If the phenomenon is detected, since both inputs turn ON in the logic discrimination circuit in accordance with the predetermined logical sum, the occurrence of a specific phenomenon is detected. Thus, an optical system substantially comprises half mirrors, reflection mirrors and photoelectric convertor in combination provides a logic circuit. Since the circuit which transmits signals of the detectors is constituted with an optical system using the half mirrors, the number of parts constituting the logic circuit can greatly be saved. In addition, since the optical system comprises mirrors or half mirrors which have been used so far, they can be used, once assembled, quasipermanently, and the reliability can be enhanced greatly. (N.H.)

A Novel Evolutionary Algorithm for Designing Robust Analog Filters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaobo Li

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Designing robust circuits that withstand environmental perturbation and device degradation is critical for many applications. Traditional robust circuit design is mainly done by tuning parameters to improve system robustness. However, the topological structure of a system may set a limit on the robustness achievable through parameter tuning. This paper proposes a new evolutionary algorithm for robust design that exploits the open-ended topological search capability of genetic programming (GP coupled with bond graph modeling. We applied our GP-based robust design (GPRD algorithm to evolve robust lowpass and highpass analog filters. Compared with a traditional robust design approach based on a state-of-the-art real-parameter genetic algorithm (GA, our GPRD algorithm with a fitness criterion rewarding robustness, with respect to parameter perturbations, can evolve more robust filters than what was achieved through parameter tuning alone. We also find that inappropriate GA tuning may mislead the search process and that multiple-simulation and perturbed fitness evaluation methods for evolving robustness have complementary behaviors with no absolute advantage of one over the other.

Quantifying the robustness of metro networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, X.; Koç, Y.; Derrible, S.; Nasir Ahmad, Sk.; Kooij, R.E.

2015-01-01

Metros (heavy rail transit systems) are integral parts of urban transportation systems. Failures in their operations can have serious impacts on urban mobility, and measuring their robustness is therefore critical. Moreover, as physical networks, metros can be viewed as network topological entities,

Preliminary research on the glass ceiling phenomenon in accounting and financial audit practice in Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandra Szewieczek

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Preliminary research on the glass ceiling phenomenon in accounting and financial audit practice in Poland The paper analyzes the glass ceiling phenomenon in the accounting practice in Poland. The essence and characteristics of this phenomenon are presented in relation to the accounting profession and statutory auditors. Research on the ‘glass ceiling’ carried out in various countries, with a particular reference to the profession of a statutory auditor, was reviewed. The paper presents results of the research on the phenomenon conducted among a selected sample of audit firms in Poland. The results of the study confirmed the occurrence of this phenomenon in Poland with greater intensity in larger entities. The large scale of the glass ceiling phenomenon in the professional life of women in accounting is reflected by a high percentage of women in the profession of statutory auditor contrasted by the very low participation in senior managerial positions, e.g. partners in auditing companies. The paper uses the method of critical analysis of the literature and empirical data. Moreover, qualitative analysis was used for the data reported by audit firms

Short-term memory and critical clusterization in brain neurons spike series

Science.gov (United States)

Bershadskii, A.; Dremencov, E.; Yadid, G.

2003-06-01

A new phenomenon: critical clusterization, is observed in the neuron firing of a genetically defined rat model of depression. The critical clusterization is studied using a multiscaling analysis of the data obtained from the neurons belonging to the Red Nucleus area of the depressive brains. It is suggested that this critical phenomenon can be partially responsible for the observed ill behavior of the depressive brains: loss of short-term motor memory and slow motor reaction.

Critical phenomenon of granular flow on a conveyor belt.

Science.gov (United States)

De-Song, Bao; Xun-Sheng, Zhang; Guang-Lei, Xu; Zheng-Quan, Pan; Xiao-Wei, Tang; Kun-Quan, Lu

2003-06-01

The relationship between the granular wafer movement on a two-dimensional conveyor belt and the size of the exit together with the velocity of the conveyor belt has been studied in the experiment. The result shows that there is a critical speed v(c) for the granular flow when the exit width d is fixed (where d=R/D, D being the diameter of a granular wafers). When vv(c), the flow rate Q is described as Q=Crho(v)(beta)(d-k)(3/2). These are the effects of the interaction among the granular wafers and the change of the states of the granular flow due to the changing of the speed or the exit width d.

Some scale-free networks could be robust under selective node attacks

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Bojin; Huang, Dan; Li, Deyi; Chen, Guisheng; Lan, Wenfei

2011-04-01

It is a mainstream idea that scale-free network would be fragile under the selective attacks. Internet is a typical scale-free network in the real world, but it never collapses under the selective attacks of computer viruses and hackers. This phenomenon is different from the deduction of the idea above because this idea assumes the same cost to delete an arbitrary node. Hence this paper discusses the behaviors of the scale-free network under the selective node attack with different cost. Through the experiments on five complex networks, we show that the scale-free network is possibly robust under the selective node attacks; furthermore, the more compact the network is, and the larger the average degree is, then the more robust the network is; with the same average degrees, the more compact the network is, the more robust the network is. This result would enrich the theory of the invulnerability of the network, and can be used to build robust social, technological and biological networks, and also has the potential to find the target of drugs.

Identification and robust control of an experimental servo motor.

Science.gov (United States)

Adam, E J; Guestrin, E D

2002-04-01

In this work, the design of a robust controller for an experimental laboratory-scale position control system based on a dc motor drive as well as the corresponding identification and robust stability analysis are presented. In order to carry out the robust design procedure, first, a classic closed-loop identification technique is applied and then, the parametrization by internal model control is used. The model uncertainty is evaluated under both parametric and global representation. For the latter case, an interesting discussion about the conservativeness of this description is presented by means of a comparison between the uncertainty disk and the critical perturbation radius approaches. Finally, conclusions about the performance of the experimental system with the robust controller are discussed using comparative graphics of the controlled variable and the Nyquist stability margin as a robustness measurement.

Interfacial phenomenon theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong Deuk

2000-02-01

This book is composed of 8 chapters. It tells what interfacial phenomenon is by showing interfacial energy, characteristic of interface and system of interface from chapter 1. It also introduces interfacial energy and structure theory, molecular structure and orientation theory, and interfacial electricity phenomenon theory in the following 3 chapters. It still goes on by introducing super molecule cluster, disequilibrium dispersion, and surface and film through 3 chapters. And the last chapter is about colloid and application of interface.

Vascular diagnostics for Raynaud's phenomenon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dinsdale G

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Graham Dinsdale, Ariane L Herrick Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Institute of Inflammation and Repair, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK Abstract: Raynaud's phenomenon (RP is common, and in most patients is primary (idiopathic when due to reversible vasospasm and does not progress to irreversible tissue injury. However, in those patients for whom RP is secondary to an underlying disease (eg, systemic sclerosis or atherosclerosis, progression to digital ulceration or critical ischemia can occur. Therefore, the key question for the clinician is “Why does this patient have RP?” Vascular diagnostics play a key role in answering this. In this review, we firstly discuss the different vascular investigations relevant to clinical practice: nail fold capillaroscopy (including the different methodologies for examining the nail fold capillaries, and the role of capillaroscopy in helping to differentiate between primary and systemic sclerosis-related RP, thermography (available in specialist centers, and evaluation of large vessel disease (for example, due to atherosclerosis. We then discuss research tools, mainly laser Doppler methods, including laser Doppler imaging and laser speckle contrast imaging. These are commercially available as complete imaging systems and are (relatively easy to use. The main current goal in vascular imaging research is to validate these novel state-of-the-art techniques as outcome measures of digital vascular disease, and then apply them in early and later phase studies of new treatment approaches, thus facilitating drug development programs. Keywords: Raynaud's phenomenon, systemic sclerosis, nail fold capillaroscopy, thermography, laser Doppler, angiography

Robust Droop Control of Grid-Connected Inverters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elkayam, Moria; Kuperman, Alon; Guerrero, Josep M.

2016-01-01

The use of distributed generation in microgrid systems is becoming a popular way to provide a reliable source of electricity to critical loads. Droop control techniques are used in power systems for the synchronization of grid-connected inverters by local measurements of active and reactive powers....... Despite the benefits of distributed generation, the drawback is that large grid-side impedance steps can cause a system to become unstable. A robust control method based on disturbance observer is proposed in this paper. When the proposed robust controller is utilized, closed loop performance remains...

DC Algorithm for Extended Robust Support Vector Machine.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujiwara, Shuhei; Takeda, Akiko; Kanamori, Takafumi

2017-05-01

Nonconvex variants of support vector machines (SVMs) have been developed for various purposes. For example, robust SVMs attain robustness to outliers by using a nonconvex loss function, while extended [Formula: see text]-SVM (E[Formula: see text]-SVM) extends the range of the hyperparameter by introducing a nonconvex constraint. Here, we consider an extended robust support vector machine (ER-SVM), a robust variant of E[Formula: see text]-SVM. ER-SVM combines two types of nonconvexity from robust SVMs and E[Formula: see text]-SVM. Because of the two nonconvexities, the existing algorithm we proposed needs to be divided into two parts depending on whether the hyperparameter value is in the extended range or not. The algorithm also heuristically solves the nonconvex problem in the extended range. In this letter, we propose a new, efficient algorithm for ER-SVM. The algorithm deals with two types of nonconvexity while never entailing more computations than either E[Formula: see text]-SVM or robust SVM, and it finds a critical point of ER-SVM. Furthermore, we show that ER-SVM includes the existing robust SVMs as special cases. Numerical experiments confirm the effectiveness of integrating the two nonconvexities.

Determination of Critical Properties of Endothermic Hydrocarbon Fuel RP-3 Based on Flow Visualization

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ning; Zhou, Jin; Pan, Yu; Wang, Hui

2014-01-01

The critical pressure and temperature of an endothermic hydrocarbon fuel RP-3 were determined by flow visualization. The flow pattern images of RP-3 at different pressures and temperatures were obtained. The critical pressure is identified by disappearance of the phase change while the critical temperature is determined by appearance of the opalescence phenomenon under the critical pressure. The opalescence phenomenon is unique to the critical point. The critical pressure and temperature of RP-3 are determined to be 2.3 MPa and 646 K, respectively.

Integrating robust timetabling in line plan optimization for railway systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burggraeve, Sofie; Bull, Simon Henry; Vansteenwegen, Pieter

2017-01-01

We propose a heuristic algorithm to build a railway line plan from scratch that minimizes passenger travel time and operator cost and for which a feasible and robust timetable exists. A line planning module and a timetabling module work iteratively and interactively. The line planning module......, but is constrained by limited shunt capacity. While the operator and passenger cost remain close to those of the initially and (for these costs) optimally built line plan, the timetable corresponding to the finally developed robust line plan significantly improves the minimum buffer time, and thus the robustness...... creates an initial line plan. The timetabling module evaluates the line plan and identifies a critical line based on minimum buffer times between train pairs. The line planning module proposes a new line plan in which the time length of the critical line is modified in order to provide more flexibility...

Robustness leads close to the edge of chaos in coupled map networks: toward the understanding of biological networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, Nen; Kikuchi, Macoto

2013-01-01

Dynamics in biological networks are, in general, robust against several perturbations. We investigate a coupled map network as a model motivated by gene regulatory networks and design systems that are robust against phenotypic perturbations (perturbations in dynamics), as well as systems that are robust against mutation (perturbations in network structure). To achieve such a design, we apply a multicanonical Monte Carlo method. Analysis based on the maximum Lyapunov exponent and parameter sensitivity shows that systems with marginal stability, which are regarded as systems at the edge of chaos, emerge when robustness against network perturbations is required. This emergence of the edge of chaos is a self-organization phenomenon and does not need a fine tuning of parameters. (paper)

Information theory perspective on network robustness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schieber, Tiago A.; Carpi, Laura; Frery, Alejandro C.; Rosso, Osvaldo A.; Pardalos, Panos M.; Ravetti, Martín G.

2016-01-01

A crucial challenge in network theory is the study of the robustness of a network when facing a sequence of failures. In this work, we propose a dynamical definition of network robustness based on Information Theory, that considers measurements of the structural changes caused by failures of the network's components. Failures are defined here as a temporal process defined in a sequence. Robustness is then evaluated by measuring dissimilarities between topologies after each time step of the sequence, providing a dynamical information about the topological damage. We thoroughly analyze the efficiency of the method in capturing small perturbations by considering different probability distributions on networks. In particular, we find that distributions based on distances are more consistent in capturing network structural deviations, as better reflect the consequences of the failures. Theoretical examples and real networks are used to study the performance of this methodology. - Highlights: • A novel methodology to measure the robustness of a network to component failure or targeted attacks is proposed. • The use of the network's distance PDF allows a precise analysis. • The method provides a dynamic robustness profile showing the response of the topology to each failure event. • The measure is capable to detect network's critical elements.

When they, we, and the passive become I – Introducing autobiographical biblical criticism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P.J.W. Schutte

2005-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to introduce the reader to autobiographical biblical criticism. Autobiographical biblical criticism entails an explicitly autobiographical performance within the act of criticism. Autobiographical biblical criticism is to implement personal criticism as a form of self-disclosure, wittingly, while reading a text as a critical exegete. It thus has to do with a willing, knowledgeable, outspoken involvement on the part of the critic with the subject matter. This phenomenon is a natural consequence of the postmodern shift towards a personal spirituality. These issues are investigated and the phenomenon of this exegetical method is evaluated in the article.

HOOLIGANISM – CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PHENOMENON

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIA LULESCU

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The proposed scientific theme is going to approach and study the hooliganism phenomenon as a contemporary social matter, in terms of conceptual and etiological. The present work has four main purposes: (1- that of explaining the meaning of hooliganism social phenomenon; (2- that of discovering the origins of hooliganism; (3- that of knowing which are the causes that encourages the occurence of the hooliganism; (4- that of knowing how to control and minimize this phenomenon.

Melting phenomenon and laser annealing in semiconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narayan, J.

1981-03-01

The work on annealing of displacement damage, dissolution of boron precipitates, and the broadening of dopant profiles in semiconductors after treating with ruby and dye laser pulses is reviewed in order to provide convincing evidence for the melting phenomenon and illustrate the mechanism associated with laser annealing. The nature of the solid-liquid interface and the interface instability during rapid solidification is considered in detail. It is shown that solute concentrations after pulsed laser annealing can far exceed retrograde maxima values. However, there is a critical solute concentration above which a planar solid-liquid interface becomes unstable and breaks into a cellular structure. The solute concentrations and cell sizes associated with this instability are calculated using a perturbation theory, and compared with experimental results

Monte Carlo analysis of critical phenomenon of the Ising model on memory stabilizer structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viteri, C. Ricardo; Tomita, Yu; Brown, Kenneth R.

2009-01-01

We calculate the critical temperature of the Ising model on a set of graphs representing a concatenated three-bit error-correction code. The graphs are derived from the stabilizer formalism used in quantum error correction. The stabilizer for a subspace is defined as the group of Pauli operators whose eigenvalues are +1 on the subspace. The group can be generated by a subset of operators in the stabilizer, and the choice of generators determines the structure of the graph. The Wolff algorithm, together with the histogram method and finite-size scaling, is used to calculate both the critical temperature and the critical exponents of each structure. The simulations show that the choice of stabilizer generators, both the number and the geometry, has a large effect on the critical temperature.

Robust mechanobiological behavior emerges in heterogeneous myosin systems

Science.gov (United States)

Egan, Paul F.; Moore, Jeffrey R.; Ehrlicher, Allen J.; Weitz, David A.; Schunn, Christian; Cagan, Jonathan; LeDuc, Philip

2017-09-01

Biological complexity presents challenges for understanding natural phenomenon and engineering new technologies, particularly in systems with molecular heterogeneity. Such complexity is present in myosin motor protein systems, and computational modeling is essential for determining how collective myosin interactions produce emergent system behavior. We develop a computational approach for altering myosin isoform parameters and their collective organization, and support predictions with in vitro experiments of motility assays with α-actinins as molecular force sensors. The computational approach models variations in single myosin molecular structure, system organization, and force stimuli to predict system behavior for filament velocity, energy consumption, and robustness. Robustness is the range of forces where a filament is expected to have continuous velocity and depends on used myosin system energy. Myosin systems are shown to have highly nonlinear behavior across force conditions that may be exploited at a systems level by combining slow and fast myosin isoforms heterogeneously. Results suggest some heterogeneous systems have lower energy use near stall conditions and greater energy consumption when unloaded, therefore promoting robustness. These heterogeneous system capabilities are unique in comparison with homogenous systems and potentially advantageous for high performance bionanotechnologies. Findings open doors at the intersections of mechanics and biology, particularly for understanding and treating myosin-related diseases and developing approaches for motor molecule-based technologies.

A critical evaluation of worst case optimization methods for robust intensity-modulated proton therapy planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fredriksson, Albin; Bokrantz, Rasmus

2014-01-01

Purpose: To critically evaluate and compare three worst case optimization methods that have been previously employed to generate intensity-modulated proton therapy treatment plans that are robust against systematic errors. The goal of the evaluation is to identify circumstances when the methods behave differently and to describe the mechanism behind the differences when they occur. Methods: The worst case methods optimize plans to perform as well as possible under the worst case scenario that can physically occur (composite worst case), the combination of the worst case scenarios for each objective constituent considered independently (objectivewise worst case), and the combination of the worst case scenarios for each voxel considered independently (voxelwise worst case). These three methods were assessed with respect to treatment planning for prostate under systematic setup uncertainty. An equivalence with probabilistic optimization was used to identify the scenarios that determine the outcome of the optimization. Results: If the conflict between target coverage and normal tissue sparing is small and no dose-volume histogram (DVH) constraints are present, then all three methods yield robust plans. Otherwise, they all have their shortcomings: Composite worst case led to unnecessarily low plan quality in boundary scenarios that were less difficult than the worst case ones. Objectivewise worst case generally led to nonrobust plans. Voxelwise worst case led to overly conservative plans with respect to DVH constraints, which resulted in excessive dose to normal tissue, and less sharp dose fall-off than the other two methods. Conclusions: The three worst case methods have clearly different behaviors. These behaviors can be understood from which scenarios that are active in the optimization. No particular method is superior to the others under all circumstances: composite worst case is suitable if the conflicts are not very severe or there are DVH constraints whereas

Optimal Robust Self-Testing by Binary Nonlocal XOR Games

OpenAIRE

Miller, Carl A.; Shi, Yaoyun

2013-01-01

Self-testing a quantum apparatus means verifying the existence of a certain quantum state as well as the effect of the associated measuring devices based only on the statistics of the measurement outcomes. Robust (i.e., error-tolerant) self-testing quantum apparatuses are critical building blocks for quantum cryptographic protocols that rely on imperfect or untrusted devices. We devise a general scheme for proving optimal robust self-testing properties for tests based on nonlocal binary XOR g...

Critical point dewetting: competition between the gravity and the dispersion force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohmasa, Y; Takahashi, S; Fujii, K; Yao, M

2008-01-01

Near the critical temperature of an immiscible binary liquid system, a solid substrate is usually covered completely by one of the liquid phases. This phenomenon is called the 'critical point wetting , which is predicted by Cahn in 1977, and have been confirmed for many fluid systems experimentally. However, we found that liquid Se-Tl system on a quartz substrate does not show the critical point wetting near the liquid-liquid critical point. On a contrary, when the temperature goes down from the critical point, a Se-rich wetting film intrudes between the Tl-rich bulk liquid and the quartz wall. This result is a clear evidence of the 'critical point dewetting' phenomenon. It is suggested from a theoretical consideration that the critical point dewetting takes place as a result of the competition between the long-range dispersion force and the gravity

Numerically robust geometry engine for compound solid geometries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vlachoudis, V.; Sinuela-Pastor, D.

2013-01-01

Monte Carlo programs heavily rely on a fast and numerically robust solid geometry engines. However the success of solid modeling, depends on facilities for specifying and editing parameterized models through a user-friendly graphical front-end. Such a user interface has to be fast enough in order to be interactive for 2D and/or 3D displays, but at the same time numerically robust in order to display possible modeling errors at real time that could be critical for the simulation. The graphical user interface Flair for FLUKA currently employs such an engine where special emphasis has been given on being fast and numerically robust. The numerically robustness is achieved by a novel method of estimating the floating precision of the operations, which dynamically adapts all the decision operations accordingly. Moreover a predictive caching mechanism is ensuring that logical errors in the geometry description are found online, without compromising the processing time by checking all regions. (authors)

Boiling transition phenomenon in BWR fuel assemblies effect of fuel spacer shape on critical power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Yasushi; Morooka, Shin-ichi; Mitsutake, Toru; Yokobori, Seiichi; Kimura, Jiro.

1996-01-01

A thorough understanding of the thermal-hydraulic phenomena near fuel spacer is necessary for the accurate prediction of the critical power of BWR fuel assemblies, and is thus essential for effective developments of a new BWR fuel assembly. The main purpose of this study is to develop an accurate method for predicting the effect of spacer shapes on critical power. Tests have been conducted under actual BWR operating conditions, using an annulus flow channel consisting of a heated rod and circular-tube channel, and BWR simulated 4x4 rod bundles with heater rods unheated just upsteam of spacer. The effect of spacer shapes on critical power was predicted analytically based on the droplet deposition rate estimation. The droplet deposition rate for different spacer shapes was calculated using a single-phase flow model. The prediction results were compared with the test results for the annulus flow channel using ring-type spacers. Analytical results of critical power agreed with measured critical power from point of the effects of changes in the rod-spacer clearance and the spacer thickness on critical power. (author)

An Intercompany Perspective on Biopharmaceutical Drug Product Robustness Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Morar-Mitrica, Sorina; Adams, Monica L; Crotts, George; Wurth, Christine; Ihnat, Peter M; Tabish, Tanvir; Antochshuk, Valentyn; DiLuzio, Willow; Dix, Daniel B; Fernandez, Jason E; Gupta, Kapil; Fleming, Michael S; He, Bing; Kranz, James K; Liu, Dingjiang; Narasimhan, Chakravarthy; Routhier, Eric; Taylor, Katherine D; Truong, Nobel; Stokes, Elaine S E

2018-02-01

The Biophorum Development Group (BPDG) is an industry-wide consortium enabling networking and sharing of best practices for the development of biopharmaceuticals. To gain a better understanding of current industry approaches for establishing biopharmaceutical drug product (DP) robustness, the BPDG-Formulation Point Share group conducted an intercompany collaboration exercise, which included a bench-marking survey and extensive group discussions around the scope, design, and execution of robustness studies. The results of this industry collaboration revealed several key common themes: (1) overall DP robustness is defined by both the formulation and the manufacturing process robustness; (2) robustness integrates the principles of quality by design (QbD); (3) DP robustness is an important factor in setting critical quality attribute control strategies and commercial specifications; (4) most companies employ robustness studies, along with prior knowledge, risk assessments, and statistics, to develop the DP design space; (5) studies are tailored to commercial development needs and the practices of each company. Three case studies further illustrate how a robustness study design for a biopharmaceutical DP balances experimental complexity, statistical power, scientific understanding, and risk assessment to provide the desired product and process knowledge. The BPDG-Formulation Point Share discusses identified industry challenges with regard to biopharmaceutical DP robustness and presents some recommendations for best practices. Copyright © 2018 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of self-healing capability on network robustness

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Yilun

2015-04-01

A wide spectrum of real-life systems ranging from neurons to botnets display spontaneous recovery ability. Using the generating function formalism applied to static uncorrelated random networks with arbitrary degree distributions, the microscopic mechanism underlying the depreciation-recovery process is characterized and the effect of varying self-healing capability on network robustness is revealed. It is found that the self-healing capability of nodes has a profound impact on the phase transition in the emergence of percolating clusters, and that salient difference exists in upholding network integrity under random failures and intentional attacks. The results provide a theoretical framework for quantitatively understanding the self-healing phenomenon in varied complex systems.

Einstein Critical-Slowing-Down is Siegel CyberWar Denial-of-Access Queuing/Pinning/ Jamming/Aikido Via Siegel DIGIT-Physics BEC ``Intersection''-BECOME-UNION Barabasi Network/GRAPH-Physics BEC: Strutt/Rayleigh-Siegel Percolation GLOBALITY-to-LOCALITY Phase-Transition Critical-Phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Buick, Otto; Falcon, Pat; Alexander, G.; Siegel, Edward Carl-Ludwig

2013-03-01

Einstein[Dover(03)] critical-slowing-down(CSD)[Pais, Subtle in The Lord; Life & Sci. of Albert Einstein(81)] is Siegel CyberWar denial-of-access(DOA) operations-research queuing theory/pinning/jamming/.../Read [Aikido, Aikibojitsu & Natural-Law(90)]/Aikido(!!!) phase-transition critical-phenomenon via Siegel DIGIT-Physics (Newcomb[Am.J.Math. 4,39(1881)]-{Planck[(1901)]-Einstein[(1905)])-Poincare[Calcul Probabilités(12)-p.313]-Weyl [Goett.Nachr.(14); Math.Ann.77,313 (16)]-{Bose[(24)-Einstein[(25)]-Fermi[(27)]-Dirac[(1927)]}-``Benford''[Proc.Am.Phil.Soc. 78,4,551 (38)]-Kac[Maths.Stat.-Reasoning(55)]-Raimi[Sci.Am. 221,109 (69)...]-Jech[preprint, PSU(95)]-Hill[Proc.AMS 123,3,887(95)]-Browne[NYT(8/98)]-Antonoff-Smith-Siegel[AMS Joint-Mtg.,S.-D.(02)] algebraic-inversion to yield ONLY BOSE-EINSTEIN QUANTUM-statistics (BEQS) with ZERO-digit Bose-Einstein CONDENSATION(BEC) ``INTERSECTION''-BECOME-UNION to Barabasi[PRL 876,5632(01); Rev.Mod.Phys.74,47(02)...] Network /Net/GRAPH(!!!)-physics BEC: Strutt/Rayleigh(1881)-Polya(21)-``Anderson''(58)-Siegel[J.Non-crystalline-Sol.40,453(80)

Critical Review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenbaum, Ralph K.; Olsen, Stig Irving

2018-01-01

Manipulation and mistakes in LCA studies are as old as the tool itself, and so is its critical review. Besides preventing misuse and unsupported claims, critical review may also help identifying mistakes and more justifiable assumptions as well as generally improve the quality of a study. It thus...... supports the robustness of an LCA and increases trust in its results and conclusions. The focus of this chapter is on understanding what a critical review is, how the international standards define it, what its main elements are, and what reviewer qualifications are required. It is not the objective...... of this chapter to learn how to conduct a critical review, neither from a reviewer nor from a practitioner perspective. The foundation of this chapter and the basis for any critical review of LCA studies are the International Standards ISO 14040:2006, ISO 14044:2006 and ISO TS 14071:2014....

Key-Phenomenon and Religious Meaning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lomuscio Vincenzo

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper I develop a phenomenology of religious experience through the notion of keyphenomenon. My analysis moves from a general phenomenology of situation, in which we have to relate different phenomena according to a sense. What does “according to a sense” mean? My suggestion is that we should look for a relationship among these data when we find a key-phenomenon (among a series of phenomena that would enlighten all the others. This key-phenomenon would show a non-phenomenal meaning which would make all the others understandable. Each other datum, therefore, becomes the witness of invisible meaning through a key-witness. The key-phenomenon we choose determines the role (i.e., the truth of each datum within its situation. This phenomenological relationship belongs to both the sense of day-life situations, and that one of possible religious situations. If the religious interpretation of a situation depends on our choice of key-phenomenon, or key-witness, we have to define what kind of keyphenomenon constitutes a religious intuition.

Robustness Metrics: Consolidating the multiple approaches to quantify Robustness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Göhler, Simon Moritz; Eifler, Tobias; Howard, Thomas J.

2016-01-01

robustness metrics; 3) Functional expectancy and dispersion robustness metrics; and 4) Probability of conformance robustness metrics. The goal was to give a comprehensive overview of robustness metrics and guidance to scholars and practitioners to understand the different types of robustness metrics...

Defining and Developing "Critical Thinking" Through Devising and Testing Multiple Explanations of the Same Phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Etkina, Eugenia; Planinšič, Gorazd

2015-10-01

Most physics teachers would agree that one of the main reasons for her/his students to take physics is to learn to think critically. However, for years we have been assessing our students mostly on the knowledge of physics content (conceptually and quantitatively). Only recently have science educators started moving systematically towards achieving and assessing this critical thinking goal. In this paper we seek to show how guiding students to devise and test multiple explanations of observed phenomena can be used to improve their critical thinking.

Doing What Your Big Sister Does: Sex, Postfeminism and the YA Chick Lit Series

Science.gov (United States)

Bullen, Elizabeth; Toffoletti, Kim; Parsons, Liz

2011-01-01

Mass-marketed teen chick lit has become a publishing phenomenon and has begun to attract critical interest among children's literature scholars. Much of this critical work, however, has shied away from robust critical assessment of the postfeminist conditions informing the production and reception of young adult series like Private, Gossip Girl…

Critical behaviors of gravity under quantum perturbations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHANG Hongsheng

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Phase transition and critical phenomenon is a very interesting topic in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Gravity is believed to have deep and inherent relation to thermodynamics. Near the critical point,the perturbation becomes significant. Thus for ordinary matter (governed by interactions besides gravity the critical behavior will become very different if we ignore the perturbations around the critical point,such as mean field theory. We find that the critical exponents for RN-AdS spacetime keep the same values even when we consider the full quantum perturbations. This indicates a key difference between gravity and ordinary thermodynamic system.

Enhancement of biomembrane functions under phase-separated conditions: A self-organized criticality phenomenon?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eze, M.O.; Chela Flores, J.

1993-12-01

Self-organized criticality (SOC) is hereby proposed as a possible physical basis for explaining observations in the temperature-dependence of the rates of biological membrane-associated events. The biomembrane undergoes a reversible, cooperative, thermotropic gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transition which is broad, and involves lateral phase separation. The lateral phase separated (rather than the totally gel-, or the totally liquid crystalline-) membrane state has been observed to be the state in which vital membrane functions are facilitated. The membrane in this unique state is viewed, for our purposes here, as a dynamical, extended dissipative system with spatial and temporal degrees of freedom, exhibiting power law behaviour, typical of the self-organized critical state. Experiments are suggested for verifying this hypothesis. (author). 30 refs

Validation of the Impostor Phenomenon among Managers.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohrmann, Sonja; Bechtoldt, Myriam N; Leonhardt, Mona

2016-01-01

Following up on earlier investigations, the present research aims at validating the construct impostor phenomenon by taking other personality correlates into account and to examine whether the impostor phenomenon is a construct in its own right. In addition, gender effects as well as associations with dispositional working styles and strain are examined. In an online study we surveyed a sample of N = 242 individuals occupying leadership positions in different sectors. Confirmatory factor analyses provide empirical evidence for the discriminant validity of the impostor phenomenon. In accord with earlier studies we show that the impostor phenomenon is accompanied by higher levels of anxiety, dysphoric moods, emotional instability, a generally negative self-evaluation, and perfectionism. The study does not reveal any gender differences concerning the impostor phenomenon. With respect to working styles, persons with an impostor self-concept tend to show perfectionist as well as procrastinating behaviors. Moreover, they report being more stressed and strained by their work. In sum, the findings show that the impostor phenomenon constitutes a dysfunctional personality style. Practical implications are discussed.

Critical opalescence in baryonic QCD matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Antoniou, N G; Diakonos, F K; Kapoyannis, A S; Kousouris, K S

2006-07-21

We show that critical opalescence, a clear signature of second-order phase transition in conventional matter, manifests itself as critical intermittency in QCD matter produced in experiments with nuclei. This behavior is revealed in transverse momentum spectra as a pattern of power laws in factorial moments, to all orders, associated with baryon production. This phenomenon together with a similar effect in the isoscalar sector of pions (sigma mode) provide us with a set of observables associated with the search for the QCD critical point in experiments with nuclei at high energies.

Critical Opalescence in Baryonic QCD Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Antoniou, N. G.; Diakonos, F. K.; Kapoyannis, A. S.; Kousouris, K. S.

2006-07-01

We show that critical opalescence, a clear signature of second-order phase transition in conventional matter, manifests itself as critical intermittency in QCD matter produced in experiments with nuclei. This behavior is revealed in transverse momentum spectra as a pattern of power laws in factorial moments, to all orders, associated with baryon production. This phenomenon together with a similar effect in the isoscalar sector of pions (sigma mode) provide us with a set of observables associated with the search for the QCD critical point in experiments with nuclei at high energies.

Critical Opalescence in Baryonic QCD Matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antoniou, N. G.; Diakonos, F. K.; Kapoyannis, A. S.; Kousouris, K. S.

2006-01-01

We show that critical opalescence, a clear signature of second-order phase transition in conventional matter, manifests itself as critical intermittency in QCD matter produced in experiments with nuclei. This behavior is revealed in transverse momentum spectra as a pattern of power laws in factorial moments, to all orders, associated with baryon production. This phenomenon together with a similar effect in the isoscalar sector of pions (sigma mode) provide us with a set of observables associated with the search for the QCD critical point in experiments with nuclei at high energies

Robust Stabilization of Nonlinear Systems with Uncertain Varying Control Coefficient

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zaiyue Yang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the stabilization problem for a class of nonlinear systems, whose control coefficient is uncertain and varies continuously in value and sign. The study emphasizes the development of a robust control that consists of a modified Nussbaum function to tackle the uncertain varying control coefficient. By such a method, the finite-time escape phenomenon has been prevented when the control coefficient is crossing zero and varying its sign. The proposed control guarantees the asymptotic stabilization of the system and boundedness of all closed-loop signals. The control performance is illustrated by a numerical simulation.

Robust Contextual Bandit via the Capped-$\\ell_{2}$ norm

OpenAIRE

Zhu, Feiyun; Zhu, Xinliang; Wang, Sheng; Yao, Jiawen; Huang, Junzhou

2017-01-01

This paper considers the actor-critic contextual bandit for the mobile health (mHealth) intervention. The state-of-the-art decision-making methods in mHealth generally assume that the noise in the dynamic system follows the Gaussian distribution. Those methods use the least-square-based algorithm to estimate the expected reward, which is prone to the existence of outliers. To deal with the issue of outliers, we propose a novel robust actor-critic contextual bandit method for the mHealth inter...

Cascade-robustness optimization of coupling preference in interconnected networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xue-Jun; Xu, Guo-Qiang; Zhu, Yan-Bo; Xia, Yong-Xiang

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A specific memetic algorithm was proposed to optimize coupling links. • A small toy model was investigated to examine the underlying mechanism. • The MA optimized strategy exhibits a moderate assortative pattern. • A novel coupling coefficient index was proposed to quantify coupling preference. - Abstract: Recently, the robustness of interconnected networks has attracted extensive attentions, one of which is to investigate the influence of coupling preference. In this paper, the memetic algorithm (MA) is employed to optimize the coupling links of interconnected networks. Afterwards, a comparison is made between MA optimized coupling strategy and traditional assortative, disassortative and random coupling preferences. It is found that the MA optimized coupling strategy with a moderate assortative value shows an outstanding performance against cascading failures on both synthetic scale-free interconnected networks and real-world networks. We then provide an explanation for this phenomenon from a micro-scope point of view and propose a coupling coefficient index to quantify the coupling preference. Our work is helpful for the design of robust interconnected networks.

MOBBING PHENOMENON - FACTORS OF DISCRIMINATION AND STRESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ROMANESCU MARCEL LAURENTIU

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on exemplifying the features of discrimination phenomenon in the workplace, a phenomenon that has appeared in the Romanian social studies only in the last 4 years. Mobbing phenomenon has been analyzed by several countries in Europe such as England, France, Germany; after these analyzes it has been found that this phenomenon refers only to actions of intense psychological pressure. Actions are geared to a single employee, in order to cause it to leave its job. Without these measures, dismissal of the employee would lead to numerous legal problems on the employer. In conclusion, employee who is the subject of mobbing phenomenon must endure a long period of time a series of injustices focused on himself, but also extremely high humiliation, which determines him to mentally give up and take the decision to resign.

Power System Real-Time Monitoring by Using PMU-Based Robust State Estimation Method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhao, Junbo; Zhang, Gexiang; Das, Kaushik

2016-01-01

Accurate real-time states provided by the state estimator are critical for power system reliable operation and control. This paper proposes a novel phasor measurement unit (PMU)-based robust state estimation method (PRSEM) to real-time monitor a power system under different operation conditions...... the system real-time states with good robustness and can address several kinds of BD.......-based bad data (BD) detection method, which can handle the smearing effect and critical measurement errors, is presented. We evaluate PRSEM by using IEEE benchmark test systems and a realistic utility system. The numerical results indicate that, in short computation time, PRSEM can effectively track...

[Rhytidectomy and Raynaud's phenomenon: about two cases].

Science.gov (United States)

Nicolas, J; Labbé, D

2004-12-01

Raynaud's phenomenon is a currently vascular syndrome (8 to 10% of women and 3 to 5% of men). It was defined as episodic ischaemia of the fingers, toes, nose, ears and nipples, which presents clinically as pallor, cyanosis, and often rubor of the skins, in response to cold, emotional stimuli and vasoconstriction agents. The phenomenon is caused by a vasoconstriction of arterials skin. In severe forms of the phenomenon, we can see ulcerations and necrosis. We report here two cases of rhytidectomy flap necrosis in Raynaud's Phenomenon. After review of literature, we explain the elements of physiopathology whose can explain these complications and we try to establish recommendations to these complications.

A suspicious reason for Raynaud's phenomenon: Intrauterine device.

Science.gov (United States)

Diken, Adem I; Yalçınkaya, Adnan; Aksoy, Eray; Yılmaz, Seyhan; Çağlı, Kerim

2015-06-01

Primary Raynaud's phenomenon may be insistent in patients under medical therapy, and intrauterine devices may be an unnoticed reason in these patients. Fluctuations in female sex hormone status were reported to be associated with the emergence of primary Raynaud's phenomenon symptoms. The use of intrauterine devices was not reported to be associated with Raynaud's phenomenon previously. Intrauterine device may stimulate vascular hyperactivity regarding hormonal or unknown mechanisms that result in Raynaud's phenomenon. We present a postmenopausal patient who complained of primary Raynaud's phenomenon symptoms and had recovery after the removal of her copper intrauterine device. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Efficient estimation of the robustness region of biological models with oscillatory behavior.

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Mochamad Apri

Full Text Available Robustness is an essential feature of biological systems, and any mathematical model that describes such a system should reflect this feature. Especially, persistence of oscillatory behavior is an important issue. A benchmark model for this phenomenon is the Laub-Loomis model, a nonlinear model for cAMP oscillations in Dictyostelium discoideum. This model captures the most important features of biomolecular networks oscillating at constant frequencies. Nevertheless, the robustness of its oscillatory behavior is not yet fully understood. Given a system that exhibits oscillating behavior for some set of parameters, the central question of robustness is how far the parameters may be changed, such that the qualitative behavior does not change. The determination of such a "robustness region" in parameter space is an intricate task. If the number of parameters is high, it may be also time consuming. In the literature, several methods are proposed that partially tackle this problem. For example, some methods only detect particular bifurcations, or only find a relatively small box-shaped estimate for an irregularly shaped robustness region. Here, we present an approach that is much more general, and is especially designed to be efficient for systems with a large number of parameters. As an illustration, we apply the method first to a well understood low-dimensional system, the Rosenzweig-MacArthur model. This is a predator-prey model featuring satiation of the predator. It has only two parameters and its bifurcation diagram is available in the literature. We find a good agreement with the existing knowledge about this model. When we apply the new method to the high dimensional Laub-Loomis model, we obtain a much larger robustness region than reported earlier in the literature. This clearly demonstrates the power of our method. From the results, we conclude that the biological system underlying is much more robust than was realized until now.

Comment on critical instability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, S.F.; Suzuki, Mahiko

1992-01-01

We discuss the problem of the mass splitting between top and bottom quarks, within the context of Nambu-Jona-Lasinio type models involving top and bottom quark condensates. We interpret the phenomenon of 'critical instability' recently proposed to account for such a mass splitting as the fine-tuning of two vacuum expectation values in a composite two-Higgs doublet model. (orig.)

Critical opalescence in the pure Coulomb system

Science.gov (United States)

Bobrov, V. B.; Trigger, S. A.

2011-04-01

Based on the dielectric formalism and quantum field theory methods, the phenomenon of critical opalescence is explained for light scattering in pure matter as a two-component electron-nuclear system with Coulomb interaction. A similar phenomenon is shown to occur in the case of neutron scattering in pure substances as well. The obtained results are valid for quantum case and arbitrary strong Coulomb interaction. Thus, the relations between structure factors derived for the electron-nuclear system are the exact result of the quantum statistical mechanics.

PP composites with Hybrid Nanofillers: NTC phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarlin, Juha; Immonen, Kirsi

2010-01-01

Electric conductive plastic composites have a wide potential for commercial applications, some examples are EMI shielding housings and components in automotive industry and in consumer electronics, equipments in health care sector and fuel cell components. A phenomenon in conductive composites, especially in composites with carbon based fillers, is change of thermal induced change in conductivity as a result of morphological transitions. Usually the observed changes are practically irreversible. The phenomenon may cause increasing resistivity, usually called as 'positive temperature coefficient' (PTC) or decreasing resistivity, called 'negative temperature coefficient' (NTC), where the new morphology created by heat treatment is more favorable for electric conductivity compared to the original state. The existence of NTC is a sing of the lost potential in material design and processing. Therefore detailed information about the phenomenon gives us tools to develop high performance conductive materials. It this paper we discuss about NTC phenomenon observed in PP composites with CNT or in-situ synthesized CNT-PANi hybrid nanofiller with an amphiphilic dispersing agent. The goal of the paper is not to present a comprehensive model of this phenomenon; we present some experimental results which may be related to polymer-filler interactions. These details are a part of this complicated phenomenon.

The clinicide phenomenon: an exploration of medical murder.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Robert

2007-08-01

The aim of this paper is to explore the phenomenon of clinicide. The study of medical killers is barely in its infancy. Clinicide is the unnatural death of multiple patients in the course of treatment by a doctor. Serial medical killing is a relatively new phenomenon. The role model is Dr Marcel Petiot, the worst serial killer in French history. More recently, Dr Harold Shipman was Britain's worst serial killer and in the United States and Zimbabwe, Dr Michael Swango killed 60 patients. A number of doctors have such high patient death rates that it cannot be ignored. At some level, these doctors have an awareness of what they are doing, countered by an overweening refusal to acknowledge the implications or desist from further treatment. Treatment killer offences usually occur on the basis of serial mental illness, but may include the contentious area of euthanasia killing. Doctors have frequently been accomplices in state repression, brutality and genocide in direct contravention to their sanctioned role to relieve suffering and save life. They have become mass murderers on an exponential scale, making any comparison with a doctor killing his own patients almost risible. Many clinicidal doctors have extreme narcissistic personalities, a grandiose view of their own capability and inability to accept that they could be criticized or need assistance from other doctors. Such doctors develop a God-complex, getting a vicarious thrill out of ending suffering and by determining when a person dies.

Critical Opalescence in Baryonic QCD Matter

OpenAIRE

Antoniou, N. G.; Diakonos, F. K.; Kapoyannis, A. S.; Kousouris, K. S.

2006-01-01

We show that critical opalescence, a clear signature of second-order phase transition in conventional matter, manifests itself as critical intermittency in QCD matter produced in experiments with nuclei. This behaviour is revealed in transverse momentum spectra as a pattern of power laws in factorial moments, to all orders, associated with baryon production. This phenomenon together with a similar effect in the isoscalar sector of pions (sigma mode) provide us with a set of observables associ...

Critical opalescence in the pure Coulomb system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bobrov, V.B., E-mail: vic5907@mail.r [Joint Institute for High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences, Izhorskaia St., 13, Bd. 2. Moscow 125412 (Russian Federation); Trigger, S.A., E-mail: satron@mail.r [Joint Institute for High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences, Izhorskaia St., 13, Bd. 2. Moscow 125412 (Russian Federation); Institut fuer Physik, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Newtonstrasse 15, D-12489 Berlin (Germany)

2011-04-18

Highlights: The review of the critical opalescence problem is presented. Light scattering in a two-component electron-nuclear system is studied. The exact relations between the structure factors and compressibility are found. The obtained relations are valid for strong interaction for the Coulomb systems. The experimental verification of these relations is possible for various elements. - Abstract: Based on the dielectric formalism and quantum field theory methods, the phenomenon of critical opalescence is explained for light scattering in pure matter as a two-component electron-nuclear system with Coulomb interaction. A similar phenomenon is shown to occur in the case of neutron scattering in pure substances as well. The obtained results are valid for quantum case and arbitrary strong Coulomb interaction. Thus, the relations between structure factors derived for the electron-nuclear system are the exact result of the quantum statistical mechanics.

Robust design optimization using the price of robustness, robust least squares and regularization methods

Science.gov (United States)

Bukhari, Hassan J.

2017-12-01

In this paper a framework for robust optimization of mechanical design problems and process systems that have parametric uncertainty is presented using three different approaches. Robust optimization problems are formulated so that the optimal solution is robust which means it is minimally sensitive to any perturbations in parameters. The first method uses the price of robustness approach which assumes the uncertain parameters to be symmetric and bounded. The robustness for the design can be controlled by limiting the parameters that can perturb.The second method uses the robust least squares method to determine the optimal parameters when data itself is subjected to perturbations instead of the parameters. The last method manages uncertainty by restricting the perturbation on parameters to improve sensitivity similar to Tikhonov regularization. The methods are implemented on two sets of problems; one linear and the other non-linear. This methodology will be compared with a prior method using multiple Monte Carlo simulation runs which shows that the approach being presented in this paper results in better performance.

Robustness of non-interdependent and interdependent networks against dependent and adaptive attacks

Science.gov (United States)

Tyra, Adam; Li, Jingtao; Shang, Yilun; Jiang, Shuo; Zhao, Yanjun; Xu, Shouhuai

2017-09-01

Robustness of complex networks has been extensively studied via the notion of site percolation, which typically models independent and non-adaptive attacks (or disruptions). However, real-life attacks are often dependent and/or adaptive. This motivates us to characterize the robustness of complex networks, including non-interdependent and interdependent ones, against dependent and adaptive attacks. For this purpose, dependent attacks are accommodated by L-hop percolation where the nodes within some L-hop (L ≥ 0) distance of a chosen node are all deleted during one attack (with L = 0 degenerating to site percolation). Whereas, adaptive attacks are launched by attackers who can make node-selection decisions based on the network state in the beginning of each attack. The resulting characterization enriches the body of knowledge with new insights, such as: (i) the Achilles' Heel phenomenon is only valid for independent attacks, but not for dependent attacks; (ii) powerful attack strategies (e.g., targeted attacks and dependent attacks, dependent attacks and adaptive attacks) are not compatible and cannot help the attacker when used collectively. Our results shed some light on the design of robust complex networks.

Experimental studies of the charge limit phenomenon in NEA GaAs photocathodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, H.; Alley, R.K.; Aoyagi, H.; Clendenin, J.E.; Frisch, J.C.; Mulhollan, G.A.; Saez, P.J.; Schultz, D.C.; Turner, J.L.

1994-06-01

Negative electron affinity GaAs photocathodes have been in continuous use at SLAC for generating polarized electron beams since early 1992. If the quantum efficiency of a GaAs cathode is below a critical value, the maximum photoemitted charge with photons of energies close to the band gap in a 2-ns pulse is found to be limited by the intrinsic properties of the cathode instead of by the space charge limit. We have studied this novel charge limit phenomenon in a variety of GaAs photocathodes of different structures and doping densities. We find that the charge limit is strongly dependent on the cathode's quantum efficiency and the extraction electric field, and to a lesser degree on the excitation laser wavelength. In addition, we show that the temporal behavior of the charge limit depends critically on the doping density

Koebner Phenomenon and Mycosis Fungoides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eve Lebas

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Mycosis fungoides (MF is the most frequent type of primary cutaneous T-cell/NK-cell lymphoma. The Koebner phenomenon is defined as the appearance of cutaneous lesions on previously noninvolved skin following trauma and is observed in a series of cutaneous diseases including psoriasis, lichen planus, viral warts, molluscum contagiosum, etc. In this case report, 3 patients with longstanding MF are presented, the 1st with the appearance of a circumscribed early-stage type MF lesion rapidly following a surgical excision of an infundibular cyst, the 2nd with the appearance of a unique unilateral palmar tumoral MF lesion at the pressure site of a crutch, and the 3rd presented localized MF early stage lesions at the friction site of a belt. This report suggests that some MF patients may experience Koebner phenomenon-induced MF lesions and that MF should be added to the long list of skin diseases potentially exhibiting the Koebner phenomenon.

Effect of interaction strength on robustness of controlling edge dynamics in complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Shao-Peng; Hao, Fei

2018-05-01

Robustness plays a critical role in the controllability of complex networks to withstand failures and perturbations. Recent advances in the edge controllability show that the interaction strength among edges plays a more important role than network structure. Therefore, we focus on the effect of interaction strength on the robustness of edge controllability. Using three categories of all edges to quantify the robustness, we develop a universal framework to evaluate and analyze the robustness in complex networks with arbitrary structures and interaction strengths. Applying our framework to a large number of model and real-world networks, we find that the interaction strength is a dominant factor for the robustness in undirected networks. Meanwhile, the strongest robustness and the optimal edge controllability in undirected networks can be achieved simultaneously. Different from the case of undirected networks, the robustness in directed networks is determined jointly by the interaction strength and the network's degree distribution. Moreover, a stronger robustness is usually associated with a larger number of driver nodes required to maintain full control in directed networks. This prompts us to provide an optimization method by adjusting the interaction strength to optimize the robustness of edge controllability.

The Phenomenon of Touch in Architectural Design and a Field Study on Haptic Mapping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pınar ÖKTEM ERKARTAL

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Ocular-centrism is the utilitarian-aesthetic perspective which dominates the perception of spatial quality and architectural success in the West. In locating vision as the dominant discourse in architectural design, this perspective has been criticized for ignoring the physical and psychological relation created between subject and space during the spatial experience, sensual memory, movement and time. The phenomenon of touch, which may be defined as the interaction between architecture and subject dependent on physical and cognitive perception, offers another way of thinking and interpreting architecture, and constitutes an alternative starting point for design. The aim of this study was three-fold: to research and describe the phenomenon of touch in design concepts, to present the effects of hapticity in spatial experience on the user, and to present a visualization study for this phenomenon which is quite challenging to express. For the fieldwork, five buildings designed by Peter Zumthor were chosen. Zumthor stresses the importance of sensation, materiality and atmosphere in the architectural design process. Zumthor’s abstract design elements, their use in architectural space and the effect were determined using physical measurement. The findings were represented in “haptic mapping”. This visualization study consisted of a “haptic scatter chart”, “materiality- affect analysis” and “sensation analysis” and revealed that the phenomenon of touch and concepts identified it such as sensations, influence, materiality and mental associations are not abstract and inaccessible assumptions, but tools which can be included in the architectural design process.

Hysteresis phenomenon in nuclear reactor dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pirayesh, Behnam; Pazirandeh, Ali [Islamic Azad Univ., Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, Science and Research Branch; Akbari, Monireh [Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training Univ., Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Mathematics

2017-05-15

This paper applies a nonlinear analysis method to show that hysteresis phenomenon, due to the Saddle-node bifurcation, may occur in the nuclear reactor. This phenomenon may have significant effects on nuclear reactor dynamics and can even be the beginning of a nuclear reactor accident. A system of four dimensional nonlinear ordinary differential equations was considered to study the hysteresis phenomenon in a typical nuclear reactor. It should be noted that the reactivity was considered as a nonlinear function of state variables. The condition for emerging hysteresis was investigated using Routh-Hurwitz criterion and Sotomayor's theorem for saddle node bifurcation. A numerical analysis is also provided to illustrate the analytical results.

Data-Driven Neural Network Model for Robust Reconstruction of Automobile Casting

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jinhua; Wang, Yanjie; Li, Xin; Wang, Lu

2017-09-01

In computer vision system, it is a challenging task to robustly reconstruct complex 3D geometries of automobile castings. However, 3D scanning data is usually interfered by noises, the scanning resolution is low, these effects normally lead to incomplete matching and drift phenomenon. In order to solve these problems, a data-driven local geometric learning model is proposed to achieve robust reconstruction of automobile casting. In order to relieve the interference of sensor noise and to be compatible with incomplete scanning data, a 3D convolution neural network is established to match the local geometric features of automobile casting. The proposed neural network combines the geometric feature representation with the correlation metric function to robustly match the local correspondence. We use the truncated distance field(TDF) around the key point to represent the 3D surface of casting geometry, so that the model can be directly embedded into the 3D space to learn the geometric feature representation; Finally, the training labels is automatically generated for depth learning based on the existing RGB-D reconstruction algorithm, which accesses to the same global key matching descriptor. The experimental results show that the matching accuracy of our network is 92.2% for automobile castings, the closed loop rate is about 74.0% when the matching tolerance threshold τ is 0.2. The matching descriptors performed well and retained 81.6% matching accuracy at 95% closed loop. For the sparse geometric castings with initial matching failure, the 3D matching object can be reconstructed robustly by training the key descriptors. Our method performs 3D reconstruction robustly for complex automobile castings.

Critical exponents of extremal Kerr perturbations

Science.gov (United States)

Gralla, Samuel E.; Zimmerman, Peter

2018-05-01

We show that scalar, electromagnetic, and gravitational perturbations of extremal Kerr black holes are asymptotically self-similar under the near-horizon, late-time scaling symmetry of the background metric. This accounts for the Aretakis instability (growth of transverse derivatives) as a critical phenomenon associated with the emergent symmetry. We compute the critical exponent of each mode, which is equivalent to its decay rate. It follows from symmetry arguments that, despite the growth of transverse derivatives, all generally covariant scalar quantities decay to zero.

A Unifying Mathematical Framework for Genetic Robustness, Environmental Robustness, Network Robustness and their Trade-offs on Phenotype Robustness in Biological Networks. Part III: Synthetic Gene Networks in Synthetic Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bor-Sen; Lin, Ying-Po

2013-01-01

Robust stabilization and environmental disturbance attenuation are ubiquitous systematic properties that are observed in biological systems at many different levels. The underlying principles for robust stabilization and environmental disturbance attenuation are universal to both complex biological systems and sophisticated engineering systems. In many biological networks, network robustness should be large enough to confer: intrinsic robustness for tolerating intrinsic parameter fluctuations; genetic robustness for buffering genetic variations; and environmental robustness for resisting environmental disturbances. Network robustness is needed so phenotype stability of biological network can be maintained, guaranteeing phenotype robustness. Synthetic biology is foreseen to have important applications in biotechnology and medicine; it is expected to contribute significantly to a better understanding of functioning of complex biological systems. This paper presents a unifying mathematical framework for investigating the principles of both robust stabilization and environmental disturbance attenuation for synthetic gene networks in synthetic biology. Further, from the unifying mathematical framework, we found that the phenotype robustness criterion for synthetic gene networks is the following: if intrinsic robustness + genetic robustness + environmental robustness ≦ network robustness, then the phenotype robustness can be maintained in spite of intrinsic parameter fluctuations, genetic variations, and environmental disturbances. Therefore, the trade-offs between intrinsic robustness, genetic robustness, environmental robustness, and network robustness in synthetic biology can also be investigated through corresponding phenotype robustness criteria from the systematic point of view. Finally, a robust synthetic design that involves network evolution algorithms with desired behavior under intrinsic parameter fluctuations, genetic variations, and environmental

Consistent robustness analysis (CRA) identifies biologically relevant properties of regulatory network models.

Science.gov (United States)

Saithong, Treenut; Painter, Kevin J; Millar, Andrew J

2010-12-16

A number of studies have previously demonstrated that "goodness of fit" is insufficient in reliably classifying the credibility of a biological model. Robustness and/or sensitivity analysis is commonly employed as a secondary method for evaluating the suitability of a particular model. The results of such analyses invariably depend on the particular parameter set tested, yet many parameter values for biological models are uncertain. Here, we propose a novel robustness analysis that aims to determine the "common robustness" of the model with multiple, biologically plausible parameter sets, rather than the local robustness for a particular parameter set. Our method is applied to two published models of the Arabidopsis circadian clock (the one-loop [1] and two-loop [2] models). The results reinforce current findings suggesting the greater reliability of the two-loop model and pinpoint the crucial role of TOC1 in the circadian network. Consistent Robustness Analysis can indicate both the relative plausibility of different models and also the critical components and processes controlling each model.

A Conceptual Methodology for Assessing Acquisition Requirements Robustness against Technology Uncertainties

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, Shuo-Ju

2011-12-01

In recent years the United States has shifted from a threat-based acquisition policy that developed systems for countering specific threats to a capabilities-based strategy that emphasizes the acquisition of systems that provide critical national defense capabilities. This shift in policy, in theory, allows for the creation of an "optimal force" that is robust against current and future threats regardless of the tactics and scenario involved. In broad terms, robustness can be defined as the insensitivity of an outcome to "noise" or non-controlled variables. Within this context, the outcome is the successful achievement of defense strategies and the noise variables are tactics and scenarios that will be associated with current and future enemies. Unfortunately, a lack of system capability, budget, and schedule robustness against technology performance and development uncertainties has led to major setbacks in recent acquisition programs. This lack of robustness stems from the fact that immature technologies have uncertainties in their expected performance, development cost, and schedule that cause to variations in system effectiveness and program development budget and schedule requirements. Unfortunately, the Technology Readiness Assessment process currently used by acquisition program managers and decision-makers to measure technology uncertainty during critical program decision junctions does not adequately capture the impact of technology performance and development uncertainty on program capability and development metrics. The Technology Readiness Level metric employed by the TRA to describe program technology elements uncertainties can only provide a qualitative and non-descript estimation of the technology uncertainties. In order to assess program robustness, specifically requirements robustness, against technology performance and development uncertainties, a new process is needed. This process should provide acquisition program managers and decision

Critical opalescence in the pure Coulomb system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bobrov, V.B.; Trigger, S.A.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The review of the critical opalescence problem is presented. → Light scattering in a two-component electron-nuclear system is studied. → The exact relations between the structure factors and compressibility are found. → The obtained relations are valid for strong interaction for the Coulomb systems. → The experimental verification of these relations is possible for various elements. - Abstract: Based on the dielectric formalism and quantum field theory methods, the phenomenon of critical opalescence is explained for light scattering in pure matter as a two-component electron-nuclear system with Coulomb interaction. A similar phenomenon is shown to occur in the case of neutron scattering in pure substances as well. The obtained results are valid for quantum case and arbitrary strong Coulomb interaction. Thus, the relations between structure factors derived for the electron-nuclear system are the exact result of the quantum statistical mechanics.

Critical Behavior of Light in Mode-Locked Lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Weill, Rafi; Rosen, Amir; Gordon, Ariel; Gat, Omri; Fischer, Baruch

2005-06-01

Light is shown to exhibit critical and tricritical behavior in passively mode-locked lasers with externally injected pulses. It is a first and unique example of critical phenomena in a one-dimensional many-body light-mode system. The phase diagrams consist of regimes with continuous wave, driven parapulses, spontaneous pulses via mode condensation, and heterogeneous pulses, separated by phase transition lines that terminate with critical or tricritical points. Enhanced non-Gaussian fluctuations and collective dynamics are present at the critical and tricritical points, showing a mode system analog of the critical opalescence phenomenon. The critical exponents are calculated and shown to comply with the mean field theory, which is rigorous in the light system.

Perceptual Robust Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Søren Nygaard

The research presented in this PhD thesis has focused on a perceptual approach to robust design. The results of the research and the original contribution to knowledge is a preliminary framework for understanding, positioning, and applying perceptual robust design. Product quality is a topic...... been presented. Therefore, this study set out to contribute to the understanding and application of perceptual robust design. To achieve this, a state-of-the-art and current practice review was performed. From the review two main research problems were identified. Firstly, a lack of tools...... for perceptual robustness was found to overlap with the optimum for functional robustness and at most approximately 2.2% out of the 14.74% could be ascribed solely to the perceptual robustness optimisation. In conclusion, the thesis have offered a new perspective on robust design by merging robust design...

Attraction Basins as Gauges of Robustness against Boundary Conditions in Biological Complex Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Demongeot, Jacques; Goles, Eric; Morvan, Michel; Noual, Mathilde; Sené, Sylvain

2010-01-01

One fundamental concept in the context of biological systems on which researches have flourished in the past decade is that of the apparent robustness of these systems, i.e., their ability to resist to perturbations or constraints induced by external or boundary elements such as electromagnetic fields acting on neural networks, micro-RNAs acting on genetic networks and even hormone flows acting both on neural and genetic networks. Recent studies have shown the importance of addressing the question of the environmental robustness of biological networks such as neural and genetic networks. In some cases, external regulatory elements can be given a relevant formal representation by assimilating them to or modeling them by boundary conditions. This article presents a generic mathematical approach to understand the influence of boundary elements on the dynamics of regulation networks, considering their attraction basins as gauges of their robustness. The application of this method on a real genetic regulation network will point out a mathematical explanation of a biological phenomenon which has only been observed experimentally until now, namely the necessity of the presence of gibberellin for the flower of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana to develop normally. PMID:20700525

Attraction basins as gauges of robustness against boundary conditions in biological complex systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacques Demongeot

Full Text Available One fundamental concept in the context of biological systems on which researches have flourished in the past decade is that of the apparent robustness of these systems, i.e., their ability to resist to perturbations or constraints induced by external or boundary elements such as electromagnetic fields acting on neural networks, micro-RNAs acting on genetic networks and even hormone flows acting both on neural and genetic networks. Recent studies have shown the importance of addressing the question of the environmental robustness of biological networks such as neural and genetic networks. In some cases, external regulatory elements can be given a relevant formal representation by assimilating them to or modeling them by boundary conditions. This article presents a generic mathematical approach to understand the influence of boundary elements on the dynamics of regulation networks, considering their attraction basins as gauges of their robustness. The application of this method on a real genetic regulation network will point out a mathematical explanation of a biological phenomenon which has only been observed experimentally until now, namely the necessity of the presence of gibberellin for the flower of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana to develop normally.

Critical component wear in heavy duty engines

CERN Document Server

Lakshminarayanan, P A

2011-01-01

The critical parts of a heavy duty engine are theoretically designed for infinite life without mechanical fatigue failure. Yet the life of an engine is in reality determined by wear of the critical parts. Even if an engine is designed and built to have normal wear life, abnormal wear takes place either due to special working conditions or increased loading.  Understanding abnormal and normal wear enables the engineer to control the external conditions leading to premature wear, or to design the critical parts that have longer wear life and hence lower costs. The literature on wear phenomenon r

A Two-Stage Robust Optimization for Centralized-Optimal Dispatch of Photovoltaic Inverters in Active Distribution Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ding, Tao; Li, Cheng; Yang, Yongheng

2017-01-01

Optimally dispatching Photovoltaic (PV) inverters is an efficient way to avoid overvoltage in active distribution networks, which may occur in the case of PV generation surplus load demand. Typically, the dispatching optimization objective is to identify critical PV inverters that have the most...... nature of solar PV energy may affect the selection of the critical PV inverters and also the final optimal objective value. In order to address this issue, a two-stage robust optimization model is proposed in this paper to achieve a robust optimal solution to the PV inverter dispatch, which can hedge...... against any possible realization within the uncertain PV outputs. In addition, the conic relaxation-based branch flow formulation and second-order cone programming based column-and-constraint generation algorithm are employed to deal with the proposed robust optimization model. Case studies on a 33-bus...

Repressing the Foreign Fighters Phenomenon in Western Europe: Towards an Effective Response Based on Human Rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christophe Paulussen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This Research Paper explores how the foreign fighters phenomenon and terrorism more generally is repressed in Western Europe. It looks at a few specific repressive measures announced or adopted by France and the Netherlands, as well as criticism expressed against these proposals and measures. In addition to these two detailed analyses, references will also be made to other developments in Western Europe which appear to be indicative of a more general trend in which human rights increasingly seem to be put on the back seat when countering the phenomenon of foreign fighters and terrorism more generally. In the final section, a number of concluding thoughts and recommendations will be offered which explain why only a response based on human rights will be effective in countering this global problem in the long run.

Role of the surface in the critical behavior of finite systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duflot, V.; Chomaz, Ph. [Grand Accelerateur National d' Ions Lourds (GANIL), 14 - Caen (France); Gulminelli, F. [Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire, LPC-ISMRa, CNRS-IN2P3, 14 - Caen (France)

2000-07-01

The role of surfaces in a finite system undergoing a critical phenomenon is discussed in a canonical lattice-gas model. Surfaces are constrained by a mean volume defined via a La grange multiplier. We show that critical fragment size distributions are conserved even in very small systems with surfaces. This implies that critical signals are still relevant in the study of phase transitions in finite systems. (authors)

Laser Sintering Technology and Balling Phenomenon.

Science.gov (United States)

Oyar, Perihan

2018-02-01

The aim of this review was to evaluate the balling phenomenon which occurs typically in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). The balling phenomenon is a typical SLS defect, and observed in laser sintered powder, significantly reduces the quality of SLS, and hinders the further development of SLS Technology. Electronic database searches were performed using Google Scholar. The keywords "laser sintering, selective laser sintering, direct metal laser melting, and balling phenomenon" were searched in title/abstract of publications, limited to December 31, 2016. The inclusion criteria were SLS, balling phenomenon, some alloys (such as Cr-Co, iron, stainless steel, and Cu-based alloys) mechanical properties, microstructure and bond strength between metal-ceramic crown, laboratory studies, full text, and in English language. A total of 100 articles were found the initial search and yielded a total of 50 studies, 30 of which did not fulfill the inclusion criteria and were therefore excluded. In addition, 20 studies were found by screening the reference list of all included publications. Finally, 40 studies were selected for this review. The method in question is regulated by powder material characteristics and the conditions of laser processing. The procedure of formation, affecting factors, and the mechanism of the balling effect are very complex.

Thermalhydraulic behavior of electrically heated rods during critical heat flux transients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, Rita de Cassia Fernandes de

1997-01-01

In nuclear reactors, the occurrence of critical heat flux leads to fuel rod overheating with clad fusion and radioactive products leakage. To predict the effects of such phenomenon, experiments are performed utilizing heated rods to simulate operational and accidental conditions of nuclear fuel rods, with special attention to the phenomenon of boiling crisis. The use of mechanisms which detect the abrupt temperature rise allows the electric power switch off. These facts prevent the test section from damage. During the critical heat flux phenomenon the axial heat conduction becomes very important. The study of the dryout and rewetting fronts yields the analysis, planning and following of critical heat flux experiments. These facts are important during the reflooding of nuclear cores at severe accidents. In the present work it is performed a theoretical analysis of the drying and rewetting front propagation during a critical heat flux experiment, starting with the application of an electrical power step or power slope from steady state condition. After the occurrence of critical heat flux, it is predicted the drying front propagation. After a few seconds, a power cut is considered and the rewetting front behavior is analytically observed. In all these transients the coolant pressure is 13,5 MPa. For one of them, comparisons are done with a pressure of 8,00 MPa. Mass flow and enthalpy influences on the fronts velocities are also analysed. These results show that mass flow has more importance on the drying front velocities whereas the pressure alters strongly the rewetting ones. (author)

Critical behavior of the Lyapunov exponent in type-III intermittency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvarez-Llamoza, O. [Departamento de Fisica, FACYT, Universidad de Carabobo, Valencia (Venezuela); Centro de Fisica Fundamental, Grupo de Caos y Sistemas Complejos, Universidad de Los Andes, Merida 5251, Merida (Venezuela)], E-mail: llamoza@ula.ve; Cosenza, M.G. [Centro de Fisica Fundamental, Grupo de Caos y Sistemas Complejos, Universidad de Los Andes, Merida 5251, Merida (Venezuela); Ponce, G.A. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras (Honduras); Departamento de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Pedagogica Nacional Francisco Morazan, Tegucigalpa (Honduras)

2008-04-15

The critical behavior of the Lyapunov exponent near the transition to robust chaos via type-III intermittency is determined for a family of one-dimensional singular maps. Critical boundaries separating the region of robust chaos from the region where stable fixed points exist are calculated on the parameter space of the system. A critical exponent {beta} expressing the scaling of the Lyapunov exponent is calculated along the critical curve corresponding to the type-III intermittent transition to chaos. It is found that {beta} varies on the interval 0 {<=} {beta} < 1/2 as a function of the order of the singularity of the map. This contrasts with earlier predictions for the scaling behavior of the Lyapunov exponent in type-III intermittency. The variation of the critical exponent {beta} implies a continuous change in the nature of the transition to chaos via type-III intermittency, from a second-order, continuous transition to a first-order, discontinuous transition.

Critical behavior of the Lyapunov exponent in type-III intermittency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez-Llamoza, O.; Cosenza, M.G.; Ponce, G.A.

2008-01-01

The critical behavior of the Lyapunov exponent near the transition to robust chaos via type-III intermittency is determined for a family of one-dimensional singular maps. Critical boundaries separating the region of robust chaos from the region where stable fixed points exist are calculated on the parameter space of the system. A critical exponent β expressing the scaling of the Lyapunov exponent is calculated along the critical curve corresponding to the type-III intermittent transition to chaos. It is found that β varies on the interval 0 ≤ β < 1/2 as a function of the order of the singularity of the map. This contrasts with earlier predictions for the scaling behavior of the Lyapunov exponent in type-III intermittency. The variation of the critical exponent β implies a continuous change in the nature of the transition to chaos via type-III intermittency, from a second-order, continuous transition to a first-order, discontinuous transition

Critical heat flux determination in an annulus section

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reyes C, C.A.

1997-01-01

The present report explains the phenomenon of Critical heat flux. The study of this physical phenomenon is carried out during the boiling of a liquid and is of supreme importance for the calculation and operation of a nuclear reactor even in the moderns generators of steam (thermoelectric and nucleoelectrics), industrial cooling and in all those industrial process that use a liquid subject to sources of heating and to conditions of work excessively high (temperatures and pressures) so that stay in operation in an appropriate manner and sure. Once well-known this value, the equipment used in these process works with a maximum heat that is smaller than the Critical Heat Flux. The study of the Critical Heat Flux has achieved important advances in the last years, mainly for the enormous obligation that in this moment involved the safety to world level, this has forced to researchers and designers of this type of equipment to center their attention in the obtaining of a correlation which of general way explains it. In this reports two correlations will be compared that they contribute to the evaluation of the Critical Heat Flux in annulus and that they try to be generals in this type of geometry, the Shah correlation's and the Katto correlation's. The same as most of the correlations, these have been calculated so that the fluid of work is water, although they have also been proven with others fluids. The results obtained in this report only will show the degree of advance which the investigation of this phenomenon has achieved in annulus and to low amounts of flow of liquid, like which they are in the Experimental Heat Transfer Circuit located in the Department of Physics of the National Institute of Nuclear Research. (Author)

Retrospective Revaluation: The Phenomenon and Its Theoretical Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Ralph R.; Witnauer, James E.

2015-01-01

Retrospective revaluation refers to an increase (or decrease) in responding to conditioned stimulus (CS X) as a result of decreasing (or increasing) the associative strength of another CS (A) with respect to the unconditioned stimulus (i.e., A-US) that was previously trained in compound with the target CS (e.g., AX−US or just AX). We discuss the conditions under which retrospective revaluation phenomena are most apt to be observed and their implications for various models of learning that are able to account for retrospective revaluation (e.g., Dickinson and Burke, 1996; Miller and Matzel, 1988; Van Hamme and Wasserman, 1994). Although retroactive revaluation is relatively parameter specific, it is seen to be a reliable phenomenon observed across many tasks and species. As it is not anticipated by many conventional models of learning (e.g., Rescorla and Wagner, 1972), it serves as a critical benchmark for evaluating traditional and newer models. PMID:26342855

Partnering for Research: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Irving, Catherine J.; English, Leona M.

2008-01-01

Using a critical discourse analysis, informed by poststructuralist theory, we explore the research phenomenon of coerced partnership. This lens allows us to pay attention to the social relations of power operating in knowledge generation processes, especially as they affect feminist researchers in adult education. We propose an alternative vision…

Historical Aspects in Tolerance Phenomenon Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janat A. Karmanova

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The article examines the historical aspect of the tolerance phenomenon research, particularly the study of tolerance in the age of Antiquity, Middle Ages, New Times, Enlightenment. It is remarkable that the problem of tolerance, emerged in Western civilization on religious grounds, laid the foundation for all other freedoms, attained in many countries. Besides, the article attaches special attention to the researchers of the East, such as Abu Nasr al-Farabi, Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, studies the historical aspect of works by Kazakhstan thinkers A. Kunanbayev, C. Valikhanova, K.B. Zharikbayev, S.K. Kaliyev, A.N. Nysanbayev, A.I. Artemev and others. The analysis of historical research of the tolerance phenomenon brings the author to the conclusion that religious freedom was the starting point for the emergence of new areas of tolerance display. The content of this phenomenon changed according to the historical peculiarities of the societies’ development

Various manifestations of stratification phenomenon during intravenous cholangiography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tada, S; Nanjo, M; Kino, M; Sekiya, T; Harada, J; Kuroda, T; Anno, I [Jikei Univ., Tokyo (Japan). School of Medicine

1979-07-01

A classification has been made of various types of stratification phenomenon during intravenous cholangiography. The stage of gallbladder opacification in the recumbent position has been classified as (I) mottled, (II) dendritic, (III) ring-like, and (IV) homogeneous. 'Dendritic' type of stratification phenomenon has never been reported in the literature to our knowledge. At 20 min following infusion of contrast material homogeneous opacification of the gallbladder was noticed in only 14% of patients. The others fell into types I, II or III of stratification phenomenon. In contrast, 87% of the opacified gallbladders were homogeneous on the after fatty meal film. It is therefore mandatory for diagnosis that either a 24 h film or a fatty meal film be taken to avoid the stratification phenomenon.

Various manifestations of stratification phenomenon during intravenous cholangiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tada, S.; Nanjo, M.; Kino, M.; Sekiya, T.; Harada, J.; Kuroda, T.; Anno, I.

1979-01-01

A classification has been made of various types of stratification phenomenon during intravenous cholangiography. The stage of gallbladder opacification in the recumbent position has been classified as (I) mottled, (II) dendritic, (III) ring-like, and (IV) homogeneous. 'Dendritic' type of stratification phenomenon has never been reported in the literature to our knowledge. At 20 min following infusion of contrast material homogeneous opacification of the gallbladder was noticed in only 14% of patients. The others fell into types I, II or III of stratification phenomenon. In contrast, 87% of the opacified gallbladders were homogeneous on the after fatty meal film. It is therefore mandatory for diagnosis that either a 24 h film or a fatty meal film be taken to avoid the stratification phenomenon. (author)

Terrorism as a Social and Legal Phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Serebrennikova, Anna; Mashkova, Yekaterina

2017-01-01

This article examines the concept of terrorism as a social and legal phenomenon, its international legal and criminal-legal characteristics. Highlighted are the main aspects of cooperation of the states and the international community to counter terrorist activities. Terrorism as a social phenomenon is determined by paragraph 1 of article 3 of the…

Robust multivariate analysis

CERN Document Server

J Olive, David

2017-01-01

This text presents methods that are robust to the assumption of a multivariate normal distribution or methods that are robust to certain types of outliers. Instead of using exact theory based on the multivariate normal distribution, the simpler and more applicable large sample theory is given.  The text develops among the first practical robust regression and robust multivariate location and dispersion estimators backed by theory.   The robust techniques  are illustrated for methods such as principal component analysis, canonical correlation analysis, and factor analysis.  A simple way to bootstrap confidence regions is also provided. Much of the research on robust multivariate analysis in this book is being published for the first time. The text is suitable for a first course in Multivariate Statistical Analysis or a first course in Robust Statistics. This graduate text is also useful for people who are familiar with the traditional multivariate topics, but want to know more about handling data sets with...

Kierkegaard and the Sheer Phenomenon of Love

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søltoft, Pia

2013-01-01

In this article we will argue that Kierkegaard has a positive view of love as a sheer natural and universal phenomenon. This sheer phenomenon of love is rooted in God’s love and is implanted in human nature by its Creator. Therefore this natural urge to love, that manifests itself both as a lack...

Analytical approach to the multi-state lasing phenomenon in quantum dot lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Korenev, V. V.; Savelyev, A. V.; Zhukov, A. E.; Omelchenko, A. V.; Maximov, M. V.

2013-03-01

We introduce an analytical approach to describe the multi-state lasing phenomenon in quantum dot lasers. We show that the key parameter is the hole-to-electron capture rate ratio. If it is lower than a certain critical value, the complete quenching of ground-state lasing takes place at high injection levels. At higher values of the ratio, the model predicts saturation of the ground-state power. This explains the diversity of experimental results and their contradiction to the conventional rate equation model. Recently found enhancement of ground-state lasing in p-doped samples and temperature dependence of the ground-state power are also discussed.

Mask Phenomenon in Communication

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

郎丽璇

2013-01-01

People sometimes wear masks. Abusive expression may be used to convey love while polite words can be exchanged among enemies. This essay describes and discusses this special phenomenon in communication and analyzes the elements that con-tribute to the success of a mask communication.

Robust haptic large distance telemanipulation for ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heck, D.J.F.; Heemskerk, C.J.M.; Koning, J.F.; Abbasi, A.; Nijmeijer, H.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • ITER remote handling maintenance can be controlled safely over a large distance. • Bilateral teleoperation experiments were performed in a local network. • Wave variables make the controller robust against constant communication delays. • Master and slave position synchronization guaranteed by proportional action. -- Abstract: During shutdowns, maintenance crews are expected to work in 24/6 shifts to perform critical remote handling maintenance tasks on the ITER system. In this article, we investigate the possibility to safely perform these haptic maintenance tasks remotely from control stations located anywhere around the world. To guarantee stability in time delayed bilateral teleoperation, the symmetric position tracking controller using wave variables is selected. This algorithm guarantees robustness against communication delays, can eliminate wave reflections and provide position synchronization of the master and slave devices. Experiments have been conducted under realistic local network bandwidth, latency and jitter constraints. They show sufficient transparency even for substantial communication delays

Robust haptic large distance telemanipulation for ITER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heck, D.J.F., E-mail: d.j.f.heck@tue.nl [Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Heemskerk, C.J.M.; Koning, J.F. [Heemskerk Innovative Technologies, Sassenheim (Netherlands); Abbasi, A.; Nijmeijer, H. [Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven (Netherlands)

2013-10-15

Highlights: • ITER remote handling maintenance can be controlled safely over a large distance. • Bilateral teleoperation experiments were performed in a local network. • Wave variables make the controller robust against constant communication delays. • Master and slave position synchronization guaranteed by proportional action. -- Abstract: During shutdowns, maintenance crews are expected to work in 24/6 shifts to perform critical remote handling maintenance tasks on the ITER system. In this article, we investigate the possibility to safely perform these haptic maintenance tasks remotely from control stations located anywhere around the world. To guarantee stability in time delayed bilateral teleoperation, the symmetric position tracking controller using wave variables is selected. This algorithm guarantees robustness against communication delays, can eliminate wave reflections and provide position synchronization of the master and slave devices. Experiments have been conducted under realistic local network bandwidth, latency and jitter constraints. They show sufficient transparency even for substantial communication delays.

Rock’n’Roll as a Local Musical Phenomenon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marija Ristivojević

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The paper considers the process of localization of a pop cultural and musical phenomenon – rock ’n’ roll. My basic premise is that rock ’n’ roll as a global music genre can be perceived as local, and hence represents a recognizable identification element for the local population. In this case the label r ’n’ r pertain to the phenomenon of Belgrade "new wave" music, which was popular during the 1980’s. Based on the analysis of narratives from relevant documentary films, it is my intention to find out whether "new wave" was initially perceived as a local phenomenon, and what the means of constructing this image are, as well as what it is that gives this phenomenon local legitimacy and credibility.

Robustness of MW-Level IGBT modules against gate oscillations under short circuit events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reigosa, Paula Diaz; Wu, Rui; Iannuzzo, Francesco

2015-01-01

The susceptibility of MW-level IGBT power modules to critical gate voltage oscillations during short circuit events has been evidenced experimentally. This paper proposes a sensitivity analysis method to better understand the oscillating behavior dependence on different operating conditions (i...... the oscillation phenomenon, as well as to further improve the device performance during short circuit....

Robustness of Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faber, Michael Havbro; Vrouwenvelder, A.C.W.M.; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2011-01-01

In 2005, the Joint Committee on Structural Safety (JCSS) together with Working Commission (WC) 1 of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) organized a workshop on robustness of structures. Two important decisions resulted from this workshop, namely...... ‘COST TU0601: Robustness of Structures’ was initiated in February 2007, aiming to provide a platform for exchanging and promoting research in the area of structural robustness and to provide a basic framework, together with methods, strategies and guidelines enhancing robustness of structures...... the development of a joint European project on structural robustness under the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) programme and the decision to develop a more elaborate document on structural robustness in collaboration between experts from the JCSS and the IABSE. Accordingly, a project titled...

Measure of robustness for complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Youssef, Mina Nabil

Critical infrastructures are repeatedly attacked by external triggers causing tremendous amount of damages. Any infrastructure can be studied using the powerful theory of complex networks. A complex network is composed of extremely large number of different elements that exchange commodities providing significant services. The main functions of complex networks can be damaged by different types of attacks and failures that degrade the network performance. These attacks and failures are considered as disturbing dynamics, such as the spread of viruses in computer networks, the spread of epidemics in social networks, and the cascading failures in power grids. Depending on the network structure and the attack strength, every network differently suffers damages and performance degradation. Hence, quantifying the robustness of complex networks becomes an essential task. In this dissertation, new metrics are introduced to measure the robustness of technological and social networks with respect to the spread of epidemics, and the robustness of power grids with respect to cascading failures. First, we introduce a new metric called the Viral Conductance (VCSIS ) to assess the robustness of networks with respect to the spread of epidemics that are modeled through the susceptible/infected/susceptible (SIS) epidemic approach. In contrast to assessing the robustness of networks based on a classical metric, the epidemic threshold, the new metric integrates the fraction of infected nodes at steady state for all possible effective infection strengths. Through examples, VCSIS provides more insights about the robustness of networks than the epidemic threshold. In addition, both the paradoxical robustness of Barabasi-Albert preferential attachment networks and the effect of the topology on the steady state infection are studied, to show the importance of quantifying the robustness of networks. Second, a new metric VCSIR is introduced to assess the robustness of networks with respect

Vacuum phenomenon in the metatarsophalangeal joint of a horse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Specht, T.E.; Poulos, P.W.; Metcalf, M.R.; Robertson, I.D.

1990-01-01

Vacuum phenomenon was induced inadvertently during radiographic examination of a metatarsophalangeal joint of a lame horse. The phenomenon was recreated in a sound horse when a metacarpophalangeal joint was radiographed in a stress-flexed position. Distraction of apposing articular surfaces may induce the vacuum phenomenon, which could result in misdiagnosis of an osteochondral defect or fracture

Can people with Raynaud's phenomenon travel to high altitude?

Science.gov (United States)

Luks, Andrew M; Grissom, Colin K; Jean, Dominique; Swenson, Erik R

2009-01-01

To determine whether high altitude travel adversely affects mountain enthusiasts with Raynaud's phenomenon. Volunteers with Raynaud's phenomenon were recruited using announcements disseminated by organizations dedicated to climbing or wilderness travel and Internet discussion boards dedicated to mountain activities to complete an online, anonymous survey. Survey questions addressed demographic variables, aspects of their Raynaud's phenomenon, and features of their mountain activities. Respondents compared experiences with Raynaud's phenomenon between high (>2440 m; 8000 feet) and low elevations and rated agreement with statements concerning their disease and the effects of high altitude. One hundred forty-two people, 98% of whom had primary Raynaud's phenomenon, completed the questionnaire. Respondents spent 5 to 7 days per month at elevations above 2440 m and engaged in 5.4 +/- 2.0 different activities. Eighty-nine percent of respondents engaged in winter sports and only 22% reported changing their mountain activities because of Raynaud's phenomenon. Respondents reported a variety of tactics to prevent and treat Raynaud's attacks, but only 12% used prophylactic medications. Fifteen percent of respondents reported an episode of frostbite following a Raynaud's phenomenon attack at high altitude. There was considerable heterogeneity in participants' perceptions of the frequency, duration, and severity of attacks at high altitude compared to their home elevation. Motivated individuals with primary Raynaud's phenomenon, employing various prevention and treatment strategies, can engage in different activities, including winter sports, at altitudes above 2440 m. Frostbite may be common in this population at high altitude, and care must be taken to prevent its occurrence.

Heat transfer critical conditions in two-plase flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Assis, M.C.V. de.

1980-02-01

The critical heat flux for forced-convection flow of water inside an uniformly heated circular channel is analysed, taking into account several flow patterns usually met in this type of investigation. Comments about nomenclature, experimental methods and influence of operational parameters used in the description of this phenomenon are made. The experimental results from 187 tests of critical heat flux at low pressure are presented. One empirical correlation between the critical heat flux and the independent parameters, was developed. Some correlations developed in other laboratories in the same range of parameters are mentioned and compared with present one. (Author) [pt

Critical behaviour in very pure Ni-Ta systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oddou, J.L.; Berthier, J.; Peretto, P.

1978-01-01

The authors use the perturbed angular correlation technique to follow the behaviour of the magnetic hyperfine field on 181 Ta in nickel in the critical region of the matrix. Contrary to what is expected, it is observed that the critical exponent associated to the hyperfine field is different from the critical exponent associated to the bulk magnetization. Because the concentrations of the various impurities are very low, the authors think that the explanation of the phenomenon is to be found in the framework of a one-impurity model interacting with the surrounding spins via an isotropic exchange energy

Dynamic robustness of knowledge collaboration network of open source product development community

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Hong-Li; Zhang, Xiao-Dong

2018-01-01

As an emergent innovative design style, open source product development communities are characterized by a self-organizing, mass collaborative, networked structure. The robustness of the community is critical to its performance. Using the complex network modeling method, the knowledge collaboration network of the community is formulated, and the robustness of the network is systematically and dynamically studied. The characteristics of the network along the development period determine that its robustness should be studied from three time stages: the start-up, development and mature stages of the network. Five kinds of user-loss pattern are designed, to assess the network's robustness under different situations in each of these three time stages. Two indexes - the largest connected component and the network efficiency - are used to evaluate the robustness of the community. The proposed approach is applied in an existing open source car design community. The results indicate that the knowledge collaboration networks show different levels of robustness in different stages and different user loss patterns. Such analysis can be applied to provide protection strategies for the key users involved in knowledge dissemination and knowledge contribution at different stages of the network, thereby promoting the sustainable and stable development of the open source community.

Integrated hot-melt extrusion - injection molding continuous tablet manufacturing platform: Effects of critical process parameters and formulation attributes on product robustness and dimensional stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Desai, Parind M; Hogan, Rachael C; Brancazio, David; Puri, Vibha; Jensen, Keith D; Chun, Jung-Hoon; Myerson, Allan S; Trout, Bernhardt L

2017-10-05

This study provides a framework for robust tablet development using an integrated hot-melt extrusion-injection molding (IM) continuous manufacturing platform. Griseofulvin, maltodextrin, xylitol and lactose were employed as drug, carrier, plasticizer and reinforcing agent respectively. A pre-blended drug-excipient mixture was fed from a loss-in-weight feeder to a twin-screw extruder. The extrudate was subsequently injected directly into the integrated IM unit and molded into tablets. Tablets were stored in different storage conditions up to 20 weeks to monitor physical stability and were evaluated by polarized light microscopy, DSC, SEM, XRD and dissolution analysis. Optimized injection pressure provided robust tablet formulations. Tablets manufactured at low and high injection pressures exhibited the flaws of sink marks and flashing respectively. Higher solidification temperature during IM process reduced the thermal induced residual stress and prevented chipping and cracking issues. Polarized light microscopy revealed a homogeneous dispersion of crystalline griseofulvin in an amorphous matrix. DSC underpinned the effect of high tablet residual moisture on maltodextrin-xylitol phase separation that resulted in dimensional instability. Tablets with low residual moisture demonstrated long term dimensional stability. This study serves as a model for IM tablet formulations for mechanistic understanding of critical process parameters and formulation attributes required for optimal product performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the phenomenon of the fast release of energy in irradiated solid methane: discussion of models considering the local space distribution of energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shabalin, E.P.

1995-01-01

A general idea of the phenomenon, so-called 'a burp', is provided. It is concluded that no justified and consistent theory of the burp phenomenon is proposed. The paper expresses criticism on the application of the classic theory of homogeneous chemical reactions and of thermal explosion to analyze burps as it was in common usage up to now. Two hypotheses to explain features burps display are presented instead. Both of them have to do with mechanism of storing and releasing energy accounting for local non-uniformity of temperature end energy deposition. 11 refs., 4 figs

Robust facial landmark detection based on initializing multiple poses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Chai

2016-10-01

Full Text Available For robot systems, robust facial landmark detection is the first and critical step for face-based human identification and facial expression recognition. In recent years, the cascaded-regression-based method has achieved excellent performance in facial landmark detection. Nevertheless, it still has certain weakness, such as high sensitivity to the initialization. To address this problem, regression based on multiple initializations is established in a unified model; face shapes are then estimated independently according to these initializations. With a ranking strategy, the best estimate is selected as the final output. Moreover, a face shape model based on restricted Boltzmann machines is built as a constraint to improve the robustness of ranking. Experiments on three challenging datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed facial landmark detection method against state-of-the-art methods.

Robustness of variance and autocorrelation as indicators of critical slowing down

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dakos, V.; Nes, van E.H.; Odorico, D' P.; Scheffer, M.

2012-01-01

Ecosystems close to a critical threshold lose resilience, in the sense that perturbations can more easily push them into an alternative state. Recently, it has been proposed that such loss of resilience may be detected from elevated autocorrelation and variance in the fluctuations of the state of an

2D Vector Field Simplification Based on Robustness

KAUST Repository

Skraba, Primoz

2014-03-01

Vector field simplification aims to reduce the complexity of the flow by removing features in order of their relevance and importance, to reveal prominent behavior and obtain a compact representation for interpretation. Most existing simplification techniques based on the topological skeleton successively remove pairs of critical points connected by separatrices, using distance or area-based relevance measures. These methods rely on the stable extraction of the topological skeleton, which can be difficult due to instability in numerical integration, especially when processing highly rotational flows. These geometric metrics do not consider the flow magnitude, an important physical property of the flow. In this paper, we propose a novel simplification scheme derived from the recently introduced topological notion of robustness, which provides a complementary view on flow structure compared to the traditional topological-skeleton-based approaches. Robustness enables the pruning of sets of critical points according to a quantitative measure of their stability, that is, the minimum amount of vector field perturbation required to remove them. This leads to a hierarchical simplification scheme that encodes flow magnitude in its perturbation metric. Our novel simplification algorithm is based on degree theory, has fewer boundary restrictions, and so can handle more general cases. Finally, we provide an implementation under the piecewise-linear setting and apply it to both synthetic and real-world datasets. © 2014 IEEE.

Defining robustness protocols: a method to include and evaluate robustness in clinical plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGowan, S E; Albertini, F; Lomax, A J; Thomas, S J

2015-01-01

We aim to define a site-specific robustness protocol to be used during the clinical plan evaluation process. Plan robustness of 16 skull base IMPT plans to systematic range and random set-up errors have been retrospectively and systematically analysed. This was determined by calculating the error-bar dose distribution (ebDD) for all the plans and by defining some metrics used to define protocols aiding the plan assessment. Additionally, an example of how to clinically use the defined robustness database is given whereby a plan with sub-optimal brainstem robustness was identified. The advantage of using different beam arrangements to improve the plan robustness was analysed. Using the ebDD it was found range errors had a smaller effect on dose distribution than the corresponding set-up error in a single fraction, and that organs at risk were most robust to the range errors, whereas the target was more robust to set-up errors. A database was created to aid planners in terms of plan robustness aims in these volumes. This resulted in the definition of site-specific robustness protocols. The use of robustness constraints allowed for the identification of a specific patient that may have benefited from a treatment of greater individuality. A new beam arrangement showed to be preferential when balancing conformality and robustness for this case. The ebDD and error-bar volume histogram proved effective in analysing plan robustness. The process of retrospective analysis could be used to establish site-specific robustness planning protocols in proton therapy. These protocols allow the planner to determine plans that, although delivering a dosimetrically adequate dose distribution, have resulted in sub-optimal robustness to these uncertainties. For these cases the use of different beam start conditions may improve the plan robustness to set-up and range uncertainties. (paper)

Defining robustness protocols: a method to include and evaluate robustness in clinical plans

Science.gov (United States)

McGowan, S. E.; Albertini, F.; Thomas, S. J.; Lomax, A. J.

2015-04-01

We aim to define a site-specific robustness protocol to be used during the clinical plan evaluation process. Plan robustness of 16 skull base IMPT plans to systematic range and random set-up errors have been retrospectively and systematically analysed. This was determined by calculating the error-bar dose distribution (ebDD) for all the plans and by defining some metrics used to define protocols aiding the plan assessment. Additionally, an example of how to clinically use the defined robustness database is given whereby a plan with sub-optimal brainstem robustness was identified. The advantage of using different beam arrangements to improve the plan robustness was analysed. Using the ebDD it was found range errors had a smaller effect on dose distribution than the corresponding set-up error in a single fraction, and that organs at risk were most robust to the range errors, whereas the target was more robust to set-up errors. A database was created to aid planners in terms of plan robustness aims in these volumes. This resulted in the definition of site-specific robustness protocols. The use of robustness constraints allowed for the identification of a specific patient that may have benefited from a treatment of greater individuality. A new beam arrangement showed to be preferential when balancing conformality and robustness for this case. The ebDD and error-bar volume histogram proved effective in analysing plan robustness. The process of retrospective analysis could be used to establish site-specific robustness planning protocols in proton therapy. These protocols allow the planner to determine plans that, although delivering a dosimetrically adequate dose distribution, have resulted in sub-optimal robustness to these uncertainties. For these cases the use of different beam start conditions may improve the plan robustness to set-up and range uncertainties.

Oxygen supplementation for critically ill patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barbateskovic, M; Schjørring, O L; Jakobsen, J C

2018-01-01

. The objective of this systematic review is to critically assess the evidence of randomised clinical trials on the effects of higher versus lower inspiratory oxygen fractions or targets of arterial oxygenation in critically ill adult patients. METHODS: We will search for randomised clinical trials in major......BACKGROUND: In critically ill patients, hypoxaemia is a common clinical manifestation of inadequate gas exchange in the lungs. Supplemental oxygen is therefore given to all critically ill patients. This can result in hyperoxaemia, and some observational studies have identified harms with hyperoxia...... in international guidelines despite lack of robust evidence of its effectiveness. To our knowledge, no systematic review of randomised clinical trials has investigated the effects of oxygen supplementation in critically ill patients. This systematic review will provide reliable evidence to better inform future...

Curing critical links in oscillator networks as power flow models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rohden, Martin; Meyer-Ortmanns, Hildegard; Witthaut, Dirk; Timme, Marc

2017-01-01

Modern societies crucially depend on the robust supply with electric energy so that blackouts of power grids can have far reaching consequences. Typically, large scale blackouts take place after a cascade of failures: the failure of a single infrastructure component, such as a critical transmission line, results in several subsequent failures that spread across large parts of the network. Improving the robustness of a network to prevent such secondary failures is thus key for assuring a reliable power supply. In this article we analyze the nonlocal rerouting of power flows after transmission line failures for a simplified AC power grid model and compare different strategies to improve network robustness. We identify critical links in the grid and compute alternative pathways to quantify the grid’s redundant capacity and to find bottlenecks along the pathways. Different strategies are developed and tested to increase transmission capacities to restore stability with respect to transmission line failures. We show that local and nonlocal strategies typically perform alike: one can equally well cure critical links by providing backup capacities locally or by extending the capacities of bottleneck links at remote locations. (paper)

Critical cladding radius for hybrid cladding modes

Science.gov (United States)

Guyard, Romain; Leduc, Dominique; Lupi, Cyril; Lecieux, Yann

2018-05-01

In this article we explore some properties of the cladding modes guided by a step-index optical fiber. We show that the hybrid modes can be grouped by pairs and that it exists a critical cladding radius for which the modes of a pair share the same electromagnetic structure. We propose a robust method to determine the critical cladding radius and use it to perform a statistical study on the influence of the characteristics of the fiber on the critical cladding radius. Finally we show the importance of the critical cladding radius with respect to the coupling coefficient between the core mode and the cladding modes inside a long period grating.

Phenomenon of quantum low temperature limit of chemical reaction rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gol'danskij, V.I.

1975-01-01

The influence of quantum-mechanical effects on one of the fundamental laws of chemical kinetics - the Arrhenius law - is considered. Criteria characterising the limits of the low-temperature region where the extent of quantum-mechanical tunnelling transitions exceeds exponentially the transitions over the barrier are quoted. Studies of the low-temperature tunnelling of electrons and hydrogen atoms are briefly mentioned and the history of research on low-temperature radiation-induced solid-phase polymerisation, the development of which led to the discovery of the phenomenon of the low-temperature quantum-mechanical limit for the rates of chemical reactions in relation to the formaldehyde polymerisation reaction, is briefly considered. The results of experiments using low-inertia calorimeters, whereby it is possible to determine directly the average time (tau 0 ) required to add one new link to the polymer chain of formaldehyde during its polymerisation by radiation and during postpolymerisation and to establish that below 80K the increase of tau 0 slows down and that at T approximately equal to 10-4K the time tau 0 reaches a plateau (tau 0 approximately equals 0.01s), are described. Possible explanations of the observed low-temperature limit for the rate of a chemical reaction are critically examined and a semiquantitative explanation is given for this phenomenon, which may be particularly common in combined electronic-confirmational transitions in complex biological molecules and may play a definite role in chemical and biological evolution (cold prehistory of life)

Phenomenon of quantum low temperature limit of chemical reaction rates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gol' danskii, V I [AN SSSR, Moscow. Inst. Khimicheskoj Fiziki

1975-12-01

The influence of quantum-mechanical effects on one of the fundamental laws of chemical kinetics - the Arrhenius Law - is considered. Criteria characterising the limits of the low-temperature region where the extent of quantum-mechanical tunnelling transitions exceeds exponentially the transitions over the barrier are quoted. Studies of the low-temperature tunnelling of electrons and hydrogen atoms are briefly mentioned and the history of research on low-temperature radiation-induced solid-phase polymerization, the development of which led to the discovery of the phenomenon of the low-temperature quantum-mechanical limit for the rates of chemical reactions in relation to the formaldehyde polymerization reaction, is briefly considered. The results of experiments using low-inertia calorimeters, whereby it is possible to determine directly the average time (tau/sub 0/) required to add one new link to the polymer chain of formaldehyde during its polymerization by radiation and during postpolymerization and to establish that below 80K the increase of tau/sub 0/ slows down and that at T approximately equal to 10-4K the time tau/sub 0/ reaches a plateau (tau/sub 0/ approximately equals 0.01s), are described. Possible explanations of the observed low-temperature limit for the rate of a chemical reaction are critically examined and a semiquantitative explanation is given for this phenomenon, which may be particularly common in combined electronic-confirmational transitions in complex biological molecules and may play a definite role in chemical and biological evolution (cold prehistory of life).

The control of ventilation during exercise: a lesson in critical thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Richard M

2017-12-01

Learning the basic competencies of critical thinking are very important in the education of any young scientist, and teachers must be prepared to help students develop a valuable set of analytic tools. In my experience, this is best achieved by encouraging students to study areas with little scientific consensus, such as the control mechanisms of the exercise ventilatory response, as it can allow greater objectivity when evaluating evidence, while also giving students the freedom to think independently and problem solve. In this article, I discuss teaching strategies by which physiology, biomedical science, and sport science students can simultaneously develop their understanding of respiratory control mechanisms and learn to critically analyze evidence thoroughly. This can be best achieved by utilizing both teacher-led and student-led learning environments, the latter of which encourages the development of learner autonomy and independent problem solving. In this article, I also aim to demonstrate a systematic approach of critical assessment that students can be taught, adapt, and apply independently. Among other things, this strategy involves: 1 ) defining the precise phenomenon in question; 2 ) understanding what investigations must demonstrate to explain the phenomenon and its underlying mechanisms; 3 ) evaluating the explanations/mechanisms of the phenomenon and the evidence for them; and 4 ) forming strategies to produce strong evidence, if none exists. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Simulation and visualization of fundamental optics phenomenon by LabVIEW

Science.gov (United States)

Lyu, Bohan

2017-08-01

Most instructors teach complex phenomenon by equation and static illustration without interactive multimedia. Students usually memorize phenomenon by taking note. However, only note or complex formula can not make user visualize the phenomenon of the photonics system. LabVIEW is a good tool for in automatic measurement. However, the simplicity of coding in LabVIEW makes it not only suit for automatic measurement, but also suitable for simulation and visualization of fundamental optics phenomenon. In this paper, five simple optics phenomenon will be discuss and simulation with LabVIEW. They are Snell's Law, Hermite-Gaussian beam transverse mode, square and circular aperture diffraction, polarization wave and Poincare sphere, and finally Fabry-Perrot etalon in spectrum domain.

Robust quantum network architectures and topologies for entanglement distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Siddhartha; Khatri, Sumeet; Dowling, Jonathan P.

2018-01-01

Entanglement distribution is a prerequisite for several important quantum information processing and computing tasks, such as quantum teleportation, quantum key distribution, and distributed quantum computing. In this work, we focus on two-dimensional quantum networks based on optical quantum technologies using dual-rail photonic qubits for the building of a fail-safe quantum internet. We lay out a quantum network architecture for entanglement distribution between distant parties using a Bravais lattice topology, with the technological constraint that quantum repeaters equipped with quantum memories are not easily accessible. We provide a robust protocol for simultaneous entanglement distribution between two distant groups of parties on this network. We also discuss a memory-based quantum network architecture that can be implemented on networks with an arbitrary topology. We examine networks with bow-tie lattice and Archimedean lattice topologies and use percolation theory to quantify the robustness of the networks. In particular, we provide figures of merit on the loss parameter of the optical medium that depend only on the topology of the network and quantify the robustness of the network against intermittent photon loss and intermittent failure of nodes. These figures of merit can be used to compare the robustness of different network topologies in order to determine the best topology in a given real-world scenario, which is critical in the realization of the quantum internet.

Robust H(∞) positional control of 2-DOF robotic arm driven by electro-hydraulic servo system.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Qing; Yu, Tian; Jiang, Dan

2015-11-01

In this paper an H∞ positional feedback controller is developed to improve the robust performance under structural and parametric uncertainty disturbance in electro-hydraulic servo system (EHSS). The robust control model is described as the linear state-space equation by upper linear fractional transformation. According to the solution of H∞ sub-optimal control problem, the robust controller is designed and simplified to lower order linear model which is easily realized in EHSS. The simulation and experimental results can validate the robustness of this proposed method. The comparison result with PI control shows that the robust controller is suitable for this EHSS under the critical condition where the desired system bandwidth is higher and the external load of the hydraulic actuator is closed to its limited capability. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Methods for robustness programming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Olieman, N.J.

2008-01-01

Robustness of an object is defined as the probability that an object will have properties as required. Robustness Programming (RP) is a mathematical approach for Robustness estimation and Robustness optimisation. An example in the context of designing a food product, is finding the best composition

Optimizing the robustness of electrical power systems against cascading failures.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yingrui; Yağan, Osman

2016-06-21

Electrical power systems are one of the most important infrastructures that support our society. However, their vulnerabilities have raised great concern recently due to several large-scale blackouts around the world. In this paper, we investigate the robustness of power systems against cascading failures initiated by a random attack. This is done under a simple yet useful model based on global and equal redistribution of load upon failures. We provide a comprehensive understanding of system robustness under this model by (i) deriving an expression for the final system size as a function of the size of initial attacks; (ii) deriving the critical attack size after which system breaks down completely; (iii) showing that complete system breakdown takes place through a first-order (i.e., discontinuous) transition in terms of the attack size; and (iv) establishing the optimal load-capacity distribution that maximizes robustness. In particular, we show that robustness is maximized when the difference between the capacity and initial load is the same for all lines; i.e., when all lines have the same redundant space regardless of their initial load. This is in contrast with the intuitive and commonly used setting where capacity of a line is a fixed factor of its initial load.

Robust distributed two-way relay beamforming in cognitive radio networks

KAUST Repository

Pandarakkottilil, Ubaidulla

2012-04-01

In this paper, we present distributed beamformer designs for a cognitive radio network (CRN) consisting of a pair of cognitive (or secondary) transceiver nodes communicating with each other through a set of secondary non-regenerative two-way relays. The secondary network shares the spectrum with a licensed primary user (PU), and operates under a constraint on the maximum interference to the PU, in addition to its own resource and quality of service (QoS) constraints. We propose beamformer designs assuming that the available channel state information (CSI) is imperfect, which reflects realistic scenarios. The performance of proposed designs is robust to the CSI errors. Such robustness is critical in CRNs given the difficulty in acquiring perfect CSI due to loose cooperation between the PUs and the secondary users (SUs), and the need for strict enforcement of PU interference limit. We consider a mean-square error (MSE)-constrained beamformer that minimizes the total relay transmit power and an MSE-balancing beamformer with a constraint on the total relay transmit power. We show that the proposed designs can be reformulated as convex optimization problems that can be solved efficiently. Through numerical simulations, we illustrate the improved performance of the proposed robust designs compared to non-robust designs. © 2012 IEEE.

Beyond optimality: Multistakeholder robustness tradeoffs for regional water portfolio planning under deep uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Herman, Jonathan D.; Zeff, Harrison B.; Reed, Patrick M.; Characklis, Gregory W.

2014-10-01

While optimality is a foundational mathematical concept in water resources planning and management, "optimal" solutions may be vulnerable to failure if deeply uncertain future conditions deviate from those assumed during optimization. These vulnerabilities may produce severely asymmetric impacts across a region, making it vital to evaluate the robustness of management strategies as well as their impacts for regional stakeholders. In this study, we contribute a multistakeholder many-objective robust decision making (MORDM) framework that blends many-objective search and uncertainty analysis tools to discover key tradeoffs between water supply alternatives and their robustness to deep uncertainties (e.g., population pressures, climate change, and financial risks). The proposed framework is demonstrated for four interconnected water utilities representing major stakeholders in the "Research Triangle" region of North Carolina, U.S. The utilities supply well over one million customers and have the ability to collectively manage drought via transfer agreements and shared infrastructure. We show that water portfolios for this region that compose optimal tradeoffs (i.e., Pareto-approximate solutions) under expected future conditions may suffer significantly degraded performance with only modest changes in deeply uncertain hydrologic and economic factors. We then use the Patient Rule Induction Method (PRIM) to identify which uncertain factors drive the individual and collective vulnerabilities for the four cooperating utilities. Our framework identifies key stakeholder dependencies and robustness tradeoffs associated with cooperative regional planning, which are critical to understanding the tensions between individual versus regional water supply goals. Cooperative demand management was found to be the key factor controlling the robustness of regional water supply planning, dominating other hydroclimatic and economic uncertainties through the 2025 planning horizon. Results

Robustness evaluation of cutting tool maintenance planning for soft ground tunneling projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alena Conrads

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Tunnel boring machines require extensive maintenance and inspection effort to provide a high availability. The cutting tools of the cutting wheel must be changed timely upon reaching a critical condition. While one possible maintenance strategy is to change tools only when it is absolutely necessary, tools can also be changed preventively to avoid further damages. Such different maintenance strategies influence the maintenance duration and the overall project performance. However, determine downtime related to a particular maintenance strategy is still a challenging task. This paper shows an analysis of the robustness to achieve the planned project performance of a maintenance strategy considering uncertainties of wear behavior of the cutting tools. A simulation based analysis is presented, implementing an empirical wear prediction model. Different strategies of maintenance planning are compared by performing a parameter variation study including Monte-Carlo simulations. The maintenance costs are calculated and evaluated with respect to their robustness. Finally, an improved and robust maintenance strategy has been determined. Keywords: Mechanized tunneling, Maintenance, Wear of cutting tools, Process simulation, Robustness, Uncertainty modeling

Robustness of Structural Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Canisius, T.D.G.; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Baker, J.W.

2007-01-01

The importance of robustness as a property of structural systems has been recognised following several structural failures, such as that at Ronan Point in 1968,where the consequenceswere deemed unacceptable relative to the initiating damage. A variety of research efforts in the past decades have...... attempted to quantify aspects of robustness such as redundancy and identify design principles that can improve robustness. This paper outlines the progress of recent work by the Joint Committee on Structural Safety (JCSS) to develop comprehensive guidance on assessing and providing robustness in structural...... systems. Guidance is provided regarding the assessment of robustness in a framework that considers potential hazards to the system, vulnerability of system components, and failure consequences. Several proposed methods for quantifying robustness are reviewed, and guidelines for robust design...

Job Insecurity as a Social Psychological Phenomenon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuykova T.S.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The paper addresses a relatively new phenomenon of job insecurity. It provides an analysis of the various interpretations of the phenomenon given by Russian and foreign researchers, focuses on its social economical determinants and consequences for individuals and organizations. The paper concludes with an outline of some possible ways of overcoming the negative consequences of job insecurity — as for individuals, as for organizations, as for the society as a whole.

Contact angle change during evaporation of near-critical liquids

Science.gov (United States)

Nikolayev, Vadim; Hegseth, John; Beysens, Daniel

1998-11-01

An unexpected change of the dynamic contact angle was recently observed in a near-critical liquid-gas system in a space experiment. While the near-critical liquid completely wets a solid under equilibrium conditions, the apparent contact angle changed from 0^circ to about 120^circ during evaporation. We propose an explanation for this phenomenon by taking into account vapor recoil due to evaporation (motion of the vapor from the free liquid surface). This force is normal to the vapor-liquid interface and is directed towards the liquid. It increases sharply near the triple contact line. Near the critical point, where the surface tension force is very weak, the vapor recoil force can be important enough to change the apparent contact angle. A similar effect can also explain the drying of a heater during boiling at high heat flux. The drying greatly reduces the heat transfer to the liquid causing the heater to melt. This phenomenon is called ``boiling crisis", ``burnout" or ``Departure from Nuclear Boiling". We report the preliminary results of the numerical simulation of the liquid evaporation by the Boundary Element method.

Robustness in laying hens

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Star, L.

2008-01-01

The aim of the project ‘The genetics of robustness in laying hens’ was to investigate nature and regulation of robustness in laying hens under sub-optimal conditions and the possibility to increase robustness by using animal breeding without loss of production. At the start of the project, a robust

Robust stability analysis of large power systems using the structured singular value theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castellanos, R.; Sarmiento, H. [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca, Morelos (Mexico); Messina, A.R. [Cinvestav, Graduate Program in Electrical Engineering, Guadalajara, Jalisco (Mexico)

2005-07-01

This paper examines the application of structured singular value (SSV) theory to analyse robust stability of complex power systems with respect to a set of structured uncertainties. Based on SSV theory and the frequency sweep method, techniques for robust analysis of large-scale power systems are developed. The main interest is focused on determining robust stability for varying operating conditions and uncertainties in the structure of the power system. The applicability of the proposed techniques is verified through simulation studies on a large-scale power system. In particular, results for the system are considered for a wide range of uncertainties of operating conditions. Specifically, the developed technique is used to estimate the effect of variations in the parameters of a major system inter-tie on the nominal stability of a critical inter-area mode. (Author)

THE PHENOMENON OF HALF-INTEGER SPIN, QUATERNIONS, AND PAULI MATRICES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FERNANDO R. GONZÁLEZ DÍAZ

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper the phenomenon of half-integer spin exemplification Paul AM Dirac made with a pair of scissors, an elastic cord and chair play. Four examples in which the same phenomenon appears and the algebraic structure of quaternions is related to one of the examples are described. Mathematical proof of the phenomenon using known topological and algebraic results are explained. The basic results of algebraic structures are described quaternions H , and an intrinsic relationship with the phenomenon half-integer spin and the Pauli matrices is established.

Chinchirisi: The Phenomenon of "Spirit Children" Among the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... what others say or do, 'it is in our blood', they say. This raises concerns. In what ways and to what extent is this religio-cultural phenomenon a challenge to euthanasia, human rights and rural development in the contemporary society? This paper examines the phenomenon of 'spirit children' from an insider perspective.

Robust quantum state engineering through coherent localization in biased-coin quantum walks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Majury, Helena [Queen' s University, Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), Belfast (United Kingdom); Queen' s University, Centre for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Belfast (United Kingdom); Boutari, Joelle [University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford (United Kingdom); O' Sullivan, Elizabeth [Queen' s University, Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), Belfast (United Kingdom); Ferraro, Alessandro; Paternostro, Mauro [Queen' s University, Centre for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Belfast (United Kingdom)

2018-12-15

We address the performance of a coin-biased quantum walk as a generator for non-classical position states of the walker. We exploit a phenomenon of coherent localization in the position space - resulting from the choice of small values of the coin parameter and assisted by post-selection - to engineer large-size coherent superpositions of position states of the walker. The protocol that we design appears to be remarkably robust against both the actual value taken by the coin parameter and strong dephasing-like noise acting on the spatial degree of freedom. We finally illustrate a possible linear-optics implementation of our proposal, suitable for both bulk and integrated-optics platforms. (orig.)

Koebner phenomenon of the ear canal skin.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Young, O

2012-02-01

The Koebner phenomenon originally described the appearance of psoriatic lesions in the uninvolved skin of patients with psoriasis as a consequence of trauma. We describe a case of concurrent lichen planus and sarcoidosis in the auditory canal, which represents an unusual manifestation of the Koebner phenomenon. This is the first case of concurrent lichen planus and sarcoidosis in the head and neck region and highlights the need for biopsy to allow accurate histopathological diagnosis and treatment.

Koebner phenomenon of the ear canal skin.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Young, O

2009-02-01

The Koebner phenomenon originally described the appearance of psoriatic lesions in the uninvolved skin of patients with psoriasis as a consequence of trauma. We describe a case of concurrent lichen planus and sarcoidosis in the auditory canal, which represents an unusual manifestation of the Koebner phenomenon. This is the first case of concurrent lichen planus and sarcoidosis in the head and neck region and highlights the need for biopsy to allow accurate histopathological diagnosis and treatment.

THE ROMANIAN MIGRATIONAL EVOLUTION PHENOMENON

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristian Raluca

2009-05-01

Full Text Available In our contemporary democratic society the migration phenomenon meets unknown valences in any previous societies. Free will and right to self-determination, much exploited by the XX century society., raised the possibility of interpretation of migration

Communication: Thermodynamic analysis of critical conditions of polymer adsorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cimino, R.; Neimark, A. V.; Rasmussen, C. J.

2013-01-01

Polymer adsorption to solid surfaces is a ubiquitous phenomenon, which has attracted long-lasting attention. Dependent on the competition between the polymer-solid adsorption and polymer-solvent solvation interactions, a chain may assume either 3d solvated conformation when adsorption is weak or 2d adsorbed conformation when adsorption is strong. The transition between these conformations occurring upon variation of adsorption strength is quite sharp, and in the limit of “infinite” chain length, can be treated as a critical phenomenon. We suggest a novel thermodynamic definition of the critical conditions of polymer adsorption from the equality of incremental chemical potentials of adsorbed and free chains. We show with the example of freely jointed Lennard-Jones chains tethered to an adsorbing surface that this new definition provides a link between thermodynamic and geometrical features of adsorbed chains and is in line with classical scaling relationships for the fraction of adsorbed monomers, chain radii of gyration, and free energy

Communication: Thermodynamic analysis of critical conditions of polymer adsorption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cimino, R.; Neimark, A. V., E-mail: aneimark@rutgers.edu [Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 98 Brett Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854 (United States); Rasmussen, C. J. [DuPont Central Research and Development, Corporate Center for Analytical Sciences, Macromolecular Characterization, Route 141 and Henry Clay, Wilmington, Delaware 19803 (United States)

2013-11-28

Polymer adsorption to solid surfaces is a ubiquitous phenomenon, which has attracted long-lasting attention. Dependent on the competition between the polymer-solid adsorption and polymer-solvent solvation interactions, a chain may assume either 3d solvated conformation when adsorption is weak or 2d adsorbed conformation when adsorption is strong. The transition between these conformations occurring upon variation of adsorption strength is quite sharp, and in the limit of “infinite” chain length, can be treated as a critical phenomenon. We suggest a novel thermodynamic definition of the critical conditions of polymer adsorption from the equality of incremental chemical potentials of adsorbed and free chains. We show with the example of freely jointed Lennard-Jones chains tethered to an adsorbing surface that this new definition provides a link between thermodynamic and geometrical features of adsorbed chains and is in line with classical scaling relationships for the fraction of adsorbed monomers, chain radii of gyration, and free energy.

Construction of new critical experiment facilities in JAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeshita, Isao; Itahashi, Takayuki; Ogawa, Kazuhiko; Tonoike, Kotaro; Matsumura, Tatsuro; Miyoshi, Yoshinori; Nakajima, Ken; Izawa, Naoki

1995-01-01

Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has promoted the experiment research program on criticality safety since early in 1980s and two types of new critical facilities, Static Experiment Critical Facility (STACY) and Transient Experiment Critical Facility (TRACY) were completed on 1994 in Nuclear Fuel Cycle Safety Engineering Research Facility (NUCEF) of JAERI Tokai Research Establishment. STACY was designed so as to obtain critical mass data of low enriched uranium and plutonium solution which is extensively handled in LWR fuel reprocessing plant. TRACY is the critical facility where critical accident phenomenon is demonstrated with low enriched uranium nitrate solution. For criticality safety experiments with both facilities, the Fuel Treatment System is attached to them, where composition and concentration of uranium and plutonium nitrate solutions are widely varied so as to obtain experiments data covering fuel solution conditions in reprocessing plant. Design performances of both critical facilities were confirmed through mock-up tests of important components and cold function tests. Hot function test has started since January of 1995 and some of the results on STACY are to be reported. (author)

Pedestrian crowd dynamics in merging sections: Revisiting the ;faster-is-slower; phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Shahhoseini, Zahra; Sarvi, Majid; Saberi, Meead

2018-02-01

The study of the discharge of active or self-driven matter in narrow passages has become of the growing interest in a variety of fields. The question has particularly important practical applications for the safety of pedestrian human flows notably in emergency scenarios. It has been suggested predominantly through simulation in some theoretical studies as well as through few experimentations that under certain circumstances, an elevated vigour to escape may exacerbate the outflow and cause further delay although the experimental evidence is rather mixed. The dimensions of this complex phenomenon known as the "faster-is slower" effect are of crucial importance to be understood owing to its potential practical implications for the emergency management. The contextual requirements of observing this phenomenon are yet to be identified. It is not clear whether a "do not speed up" policy is universally beneficial and advisable in an evacuation scenario. Here for the first time we experimentally examine this phenomenon in relation to the pedestrian flows at merging sections as a common geometric feature of crowd egress. Various merging angles and three different speed regimes were examined in high-density laboratory experiments. The measurements of flow interruptions and egress efficiency all indicated that the pedestrians were discharged faster when moving at elevated speed levels. We also observed clear dependencies between the discharge rate and the physical layout of the merging with certain designs clearly outperforming others. But regardless of the design, we observed faster throughput and greater avalanche sizes when we instructed pedestrians to run. Our results give the suggestion that observation of the faster-is-slower effect may necessitate certain critical conditions including passages being overly narrow relative to the size of participles (pedestrians) to create long-lasting blockages. The faster-is-slower assumption may not be universal and there may be

Open source innovation phenomenon, participant behaviour, impact

CERN Document Server

Herstatt, Cornelius

2015-01-01

Open Source Innovation (OSI) has gained considerable momentum within the last years. Academic and management practice interest grows as more and more end-users consider and even participate in Open Source product development like Linux, Android, or Wikipedia. Open Source Innovation: Phenomenon, Participant Behaviour, Impact brings together rigorous academic research and business importance in scrutinizing OCI from three perspectives: The Phenomenon, Participants' Behavior, and Business Implications. The first section introduces OCI artefacts, including who is participating and why, and provide

Confidence in critical care nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Jeanne; Bell, Jennifer L; Sweeney, Annemarie E; Morgan, Jennifer I; Kelly, Helen M

2010-10-01

The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of the nursing phenomenon, confidence, from the experience of nurses in the nursing subculture of critical care. Leininger's theory of cultural care diversity and universality guided this qualitative descriptive study. Questions derived from the sunrise model were used to elicit nurses' perspectives about cultural and social structures that exist within the critical care nursing subculture and the influence that these factors have on confidence. Twenty-eight critical care nurses from a large Canadian healthcare organization participated in semistructured interviews about confidence. Five themes arose from the descriptions provided by the participants. The three themes, tenuously navigating initiation rituals, deliberately developing holistic supportive relationships, and assimilating clinical decision-making rules were identified as social and cultural factors related to confidence. The remaining two themes, preserving a sense of security despite barriers and accommodating to diverse challenges, were identified as environmental factors related to confidence. Practice and research implications within the culture of critical care nursing are discussed in relation to each of the themes.

Reading Poetry for Critical Reflection on Consumer Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Scimone, Anthony J.

2010-01-01

Like many other dimensions of everyday life, people's need to satisfy themselves with stuff derives from deep impulses and responds to both obvious and subtle images. Ultimately, it isn't the commodities people buy so much as the behaviors they exhibit that are worth critical examination. What better way, then, to understand this phenomenon than…

The metal/water explosion phenomenon - a review of present understanding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaughan, G.J.

1980-05-01

The metal/water explosion phenomenon has led to deaths and damage in several industrial incidents. This paper reviews the current understanding (up to 1978) of the phenomenon in terms of both the experimental evidence and the theoretical models that have been proposed. Complete understanding of the phenomenon has not been achieved and some recommendations are given for future work. (author)

Phenomenon of displacement in Arabic language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Displacement is one of the characteristics of language and common phenomena in the Arabic language. Not only is this phenomenon limited to Arabic poetry and prose, but it is also broadened, so we can see examples of this in the Qur'an. Because of this phenomenon extensively in Arabic literature and also because of its essence that leads to the transmission of the elements for the first visibility to the other visibility in the sentence and sometimes had to change the grammatical role of the words, its identify helps us in a better understanding of text and the correct translation of it and protects the reader from mistakes. This paper in the descriptive analytical approach tries studying of the phenomenon of the displacement in the Arabic language and bringing its instances in Arabic poetry and prose as well as verses contained in the Holy Quran, to show that through the types and characteristics in the Arabic language and to response to several questions, including: how important is the displacement and what is its types in rhetoric, and the reasons of the displacement, and etc... Of the most important results of this study may refer to the undeniable role of the displacement as a rhetorical method to better understanding of the texts including: one of the most important reasons of the displacement in the use of language is to improve speech verbally and morally, and violation of the standard language and create a poetic atmosphere, and the recognition of the occurrence of the phenomenon of displacement in the Arabic language that uphold different interpretations remote and estimates when faced with the displacement in the text and help us to understand it and etc...

VALUE OF THE PHENOMENON OF DEJA VU IN HEALTHY EXAMINEES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavel Nikolaevich Vlasov

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the investigation was to study the clinical value of the deja vu phenomenon in healthy examinees as it may occur in healthy individuals, on the one hand, and is a symptom of a number of psychoneurological diseases, on the other. One hundred and twenty-nine subjects, mean age 25,2±4,4 years, were examined. All the examinees were questioned by the original questionnaire developed by the authors, which was to reveal the characteristics of the phenomenon, and the Cambridge depersonalization questionnaire; standard electroencephalography was also performed. The deja vu phenomenon was detected in 97% of the respondents. In healthy individuals, the phenomenon was most common at the age of 21-25 years; 52,2% experienced deja vu several times a year; 64,5% of the respondents reported the 10-sec state; 85% did not associate the occurrence of the phenomenon with any provoking factor; 66% perceived deja vu with a positive emotional tinge, and only 4% of the respondents were afraid of the onset of this phenomenon. These criteria may be used to rule out pathological deja vu

El Nino phenomenon, effects on the tree of coffee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaramillo Robledo, Alvaro; Baldion Rincon, Jose Vicente; Guzman Martinez, Orlando

1998-01-01

El Nino phenomenon is manifested in the coffee by a deficiency of water in the plant, that which affects its normal development in its fruits; the author describes other alterations that affect the plants of coffee due to El Nino phenomenon

Robust Growth Determinants

OpenAIRE

Doppelhofer, Gernot; Weeks, Melvyn

2011-01-01

This paper investigates the robustness of determinants of economic growth in the presence of model uncertainty, parameter heterogeneity and outliers. The robust model averaging approach introduced in the paper uses a flexible and parsi- monious mixture modeling that allows for fat-tailed errors compared to the normal benchmark case. Applying robust model averaging to growth determinants, the paper finds that eight out of eighteen variables found to be significantly related to economic growth ...

The Effect of Criticism on Functional Brain Connectivity and Associations with Neuroticism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Servaas, Michelle Nadine; Riese, Harriette; Renken, Remco Jan; Marsman, Jan-Bernard Cornelis; Lambregs, Johan; Ormel, Johan; Aleman, Andre

2013-01-01

Neuroticism is a robust personality trait that constitutes a risk factor for psychopathology, especially anxiety disorders and depression. High neurotic individuals tend to be more self-critical and are overly sensitive to criticism by others. Hence, we used a novel resting-state paradigm to

Defining and Developing "Critical Thinking" through Devising and Testing Multiple Explanations of the Same Phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Etkina, Eugenia; Planinšic, Gorazd

2015-01-01

Most physics teachers would agree that one of the main reasons for her/his students to take physics is to learn to think critically. However, for years we have been assessing our students mostly on the knowledge of physics content (conceptually and quantitatively). Only recently have science educators started moving systematically towards…

General Critical Properties of the Dynamics of Scientific Discovery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bettencourt, L. M. A. (LANL); Kaiser, D. I. (MIT)

2011-05-31

Scientific fields are difficult to define and compare, yet there is a general sense that they undergo similar stages of development. From this point of view it becomes important to determine if these superficial similarities can be translated into a general framework that would quantify the general advent and subsequent dynamics of scientific ideas. Such a framework would have important practical applications of allowing us to compare fields that superficially may appear different, in terms of their subject matter, research techniques, typical collaboration size, etc. Particularh' important in a field's history is the moment at which conceptual and technical unification allows widespread exchange of ideas and collaboration, at which point networks of collaboration show the analog of a percolation phenomenon, developing a giant connected component containing most authors. Here we investigate the generality of this topological transition in the collaboration structure of scientific fields as they grow and become denser. We develop a general theoretical framework in which each scientific field is an instantiation of the same large-scale topological critical phenomenon. We consider whether the evidence from a variety of specific fields is consistent with this picture, and estimate critical exponents associated with the transition. We then discuss the generality of the phenomenon and to what extent we may expect other scientific fields — including very large ones — to follow the same dynamics.

Stochastic Mesocortical Dynamics and Robustness of Working Memory during Delay-Period.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melissa Reneaux

Full Text Available The role of prefronto-mesoprefrontal system in the dopaminergic modulation of working memory during delayed response tasks is well-known. Recently, a dynamical model of the closed-loop mesocortical circuit has been proposed which employs a deterministic framework to elucidate the system's behavior in a qualitative manner. Under natural conditions, noise emanating from various sources affects the circuit's functioning to a great extent. Accordingly in the present study, we reformulate the model into a stochastic framework and investigate its steady state properties in the presence of constant background noise during delay-period. From the steady state distribution, global potential landscape and signal-to-noise ratio are obtained which help in defining robustness of the circuit dynamics. This provides insight into the robustness of working memory during delay-period against its disruption due to background noise. The findings reveal that the global profile of circuit's robustness is predominantly governed by the level of D1 receptor activity and high D1 receptor stimulation favors the working memory-associated sustained-firing state over the spontaneous-activity state of the system. Moreover, the circuit's robustness is further fine-tuned by the levels of excitatory and inhibitory activities in a way such that the robustness of sustained-firing state exhibits an inverted-U shaped profile with respect to D1 receptor stimulation. It is predicted that the most robust working memory is formed possibly at a subtle ratio of the excitatory and inhibitory activities achieved at a critical level of D1 receptor stimulation. The study also paves a way to understand various cognitive deficits observed in old-age, acute stress and schizophrenia and suggests possible mechanistic routes to the working memory impairments based on the circuit's robustness profile.

Stochastic Mesocortical Dynamics and Robustness of Working Memory during Delay-Period.

Science.gov (United States)

Reneaux, Melissa; Gupta, Rahul; Karmeshu

2015-01-01

The role of prefronto-mesoprefrontal system in the dopaminergic modulation of working memory during delayed response tasks is well-known. Recently, a dynamical model of the closed-loop mesocortical circuit has been proposed which employs a deterministic framework to elucidate the system's behavior in a qualitative manner. Under natural conditions, noise emanating from various sources affects the circuit's functioning to a great extent. Accordingly in the present study, we reformulate the model into a stochastic framework and investigate its steady state properties in the presence of constant background noise during delay-period. From the steady state distribution, global potential landscape and signal-to-noise ratio are obtained which help in defining robustness of the circuit dynamics. This provides insight into the robustness of working memory during delay-period against its disruption due to background noise. The findings reveal that the global profile of circuit's robustness is predominantly governed by the level of D1 receptor activity and high D1 receptor stimulation favors the working memory-associated sustained-firing state over the spontaneous-activity state of the system. Moreover, the circuit's robustness is further fine-tuned by the levels of excitatory and inhibitory activities in a way such that the robustness of sustained-firing state exhibits an inverted-U shaped profile with respect to D1 receptor stimulation. It is predicted that the most robust working memory is formed possibly at a subtle ratio of the excitatory and inhibitory activities achieved at a critical level of D1 receptor stimulation. The study also paves a way to understand various cognitive deficits observed in old-age, acute stress and schizophrenia and suggests possible mechanistic routes to the working memory impairments based on the circuit's robustness profile.

The ferro-resonance, a phenomenon sometimes chaotic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grison, P; Kieny, J C; Riouai, M [Electricite de France (EDF), 92 - Clamart (France)

1996-04-01

The ferro-resonance is a resonance phenomenon involving the saturation of the magnetic core in transformers; in particular, it is generated by the energization of that equipment during a power system restoration. It exhibits classical periodic regimes, but also more complex ones, as harmonic, pseudo-periodic, even chaotic, which have been measured on site or during laboratory tests. The mathematical analysis of this phenomenon belongs to the theory of bifurcations; the use of a program solving non linear systems may lead to a better understanding of the observed overvoltages. (authors). 14 figs., 2 photos.

Enhancement of critical currents in superconducting cylindrical samples by circular magnetization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sikora, A; Makiej, B

1986-07-16

Evidence is presented for an enhancement of the critical current by a circular magnetization in cylindrical samples of superconductors such as Sn, In, and In-Pb alloy containing 20 wt% ferromagnetic carbon steel particles. The mechanism of this phenomenon is explained.

Rescuing--a universal phenomenon.

Science.gov (United States)

Little, John

2014-12-01

Rescuing, where the person is delivered from the immediacy of their conundrum by another, complicates management. The object of this paper is to understand the difficulty in relinquishing the rescuing role. Rescuing is a universal phenomenon in parenting, teaching and therapy that has developed over time through a variety of interwoven social, economic, psychological and clinical variables. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2014.

Critical reading and critical thinking--study design and methodology: a personal approach on how to read the clinical literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipman, Timothy O

2013-04-01

The volume of medical literature grows exponentially. Yet we are faced with the necessity to make clinical decisions based on the availability and quality of scientific information. The general strength (reliability, robustness) of any interpretation that guides us in clinical decision making is dependent on how information was obtained. All information and medical studies and, consequently, all conclusions are not created equal. It is incumbent upon us to be able to assess the quality of the information that guides us in the care of our patients. Being able to assess medical literature critically requires use of critical reading and critical thinking skills. To achieve these skills, to be able to analyze medical literature critically, takes a combination of education and practice, practice, and more practice.

The Diagnostic Value of the Vacuum Phenomenon during Hip Arthroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Rath, Ehud; Gortzak, Yair; Schwarzkopf, Ran; Benkovich, Vadim; Cohen, Eugene; Atar, Dan

2011-01-01

The diagnostic value of the vacuum phenomenon between the femoral head and the acetabulum, and time frame of its occurrence after application of traction is an important clinical question. The resulting arthrogram may outline the shape, location, and extent of cartilage lesions prior to arthroscopy of the hip joint. The presence, duration, and diagnostic information of the vacuum phenomenon were evaluated in 24 hips that underwent arthroscopy. The operative diagnosis was compared to the results of imaging studies and to findings obtained during a traction trial prior to arthroscopy. Indications for arthroscopy included avascular necrosis, labral tears, loose bodies, osteoarthrosis, and intractable hip pain. In 22 hips the vacuum phenomenon developed within 30 seconds after application of traction. The most important data obtained from the vacuum phenomenon was the location and extent of femoral head articular cartilage detachment and the presence of nonossified loose bodies. The vacuum phenomenon did not reveal labral or acetabular cartilage pathology in any of these patients. The vacuum phenomenon obtained during the trial of traction can add valuable information prior to hip arthroscopy. Femoral head articular cartilage detachment was best documented by this method. The hip arthroscopist should utilize this diagnostic window routinely prior to hip arthroscopy. PMID:24977068

A robust sound perception model suitable for neuromorphic implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Coath, Martin; Sheik, Sadique; Chicca, Elisabetta; Indiveri, Giacomo; Denham, Susan L; Wennekers, Thomas

2013-01-01

We have recently demonstrated the emergence of dynamic feature sensitivity through exposure to formative stimuli in a real-time neuromorphic system implementing a hybrid analog/digital network of spiking neurons. This network, inspired by models of auditory processing in mammals, includes several mutually connected layers with distance-dependent transmission delays and learning in the form of spike timing dependent plasticity, which effects stimulus-driven changes in the network connectivity. Here we present results that demonstrate that the network is robust to a range of variations in the stimulus pattern, such as are found in naturalistic stimuli and neural responses. This robustness is a property critical to the development of realistic, electronic neuromorphic systems. We analyze the variability of the response of the network to "noisy" stimuli which allows us to characterize the acuity in information-theoretic terms. This provides an objective basis for the quantitative comparison of networks, their connectivity patterns, and learning strategies, which can inform future design decisions. We also show, using stimuli derived from speech samples, that the principles are robust to other challenges, such as variable presentation rate, that would have to be met by systems deployed in the real world. Finally we demonstrate the potential applicability of the approach to real sounds.

A Robust Sound Perception Model Suitable for Neuromorphic Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin eCoath

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We have recently demonstrated the emergence of dynamic feature sensitivity through exposure to formative stimuli in a real-time neuromorphic system implementing a hybrid analogue/digital network of spiking neurons. This network, inspired by models of auditory processing in mammals, includes several mutually connected layers with distance-dependent transmission delays and learning in the form of spike timing dependent plasticity, which effects stimulus-driven changes in the network connectivity.Here we present results that demonstrate that the network is robust to a range of variations in the stimulus pattern, such as are found in naturalistic stimuli and neural responses. This robustness is a property critical to the development of realistic, electronic neuromorphic systems.We analyse the variability of the response of the network to `noisy' stimuli which allows us to characterize the acuity in information-theoretic terms. This provides an objective basis for the quantitative comparison of networks, their connectivity patterns, and learning strategies, which can inform future design decisions. We also show, using stimuli derived from speech samples, that the principles are robust to other challenges, such as variable presentation rate, that would have to be met by systems deployed in the real world. Finally we demonstrate the potential applicability of the approach to real sounds.

A critical Examination of the Phenomenon of Bonding Area - Bonding Strength Interplay in Powder Tableting.

Science.gov (United States)

Osei-Yeboah, Frederick; Chang, Shao-Yu; Sun, Changquan Calvin

2016-05-01

Although the bonding area (BA) and bonding strength (BS) interplay is used to explain complex tableting behaviors, it has never been experimentally proven. The purpose of this study is to unambiguously establish the distinct contributions of each by decoupling the contributions from BA and BS. To modulate BA, a Soluplus® powder was compressed into tablets at different temperatures and then broken following equilibration at 25°C. To modulate BS, tablets were equilibrated at different temperatures. To simultaneously modulate BA and BS, both powder compression and tablet breaking test were carried out at different temperatures. Lower tablet tensile strength is observed when the powder is compressed at a lower temperature but broken at 25°C. This is consistent with the increased resistance to polymer deformation at lower temperatures. When equilibrated at different temperatures, the tensile strength of tablets prepared under identical conditions increases with decreasing storage temperature, indicating that BS is higher at a lower temperature. When powder compression and tablet breaking are carried out at the same temperature, the profile with a maximum tensile strength at 4°C is observed due to the BA-BS interplay. By systematically varying temperature during tablet compression and breaking, we have experimentally demonstrated the phenomenon of BA-BS interplay in tableting.

Robustness of structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vrouwenvelder, T.; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2009-01-01

After the collapse of the World Trade Centre towers in 2001 and a number of collapses of structural systems in the beginning of the century, robustness of structural systems has gained renewed interest. Despite many significant theoretical, methodical and technological advances, structural...... of robustness for structural design such requirements are not substantiated in more detail, nor have the engineering profession been able to agree on an interpretation of robustness which facilitates for its uantification. A European COST action TU 601 on ‘Robustness of structures' has started in 2007...... by a group of members of the CSS. This paper describes the ongoing work in this action, with emphasis on the development of a theoretical and risk based quantification and optimization procedure on the one side and a practical pre-normative guideline on the other....

The factors influencing burnout and job satisfaction among critical care nurses: a study of Saudi critical care nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Alharbi, Jalal; Wilson, Rhonda; Woods, Cindy; Usher, Kim

2016-09-01

The aim of the study was to explore the prevalence of burnout and job satisfaction among Saudi national critical care nurses. Burnout is caused by a number of factors, including personal, organisational and professional issues. Previous literature reports a strong relationship between burnout and job satisfaction among critical care nurses. Little is known about this phenomenon among Saudi national critical care nurses. A convenience sample of 150 Saudi national critical care nurses from three hospitals in Hail, Saudi Arabia were included in a cross-sectional survey. Saudi national critical care registered nurses reported moderate to high levels of burnout in the areas of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Participants also reported a feeling of ambivalence and dissatisfaction with their jobs but were satisfied with the nature of their work. Saudi national critical care nurses experience moderate to high levels of burnout and low levels of job satisfaction. Burnout is a predictor of job satisfaction for Saudi national critical care nurses. These results provide clear evidence of the need for nurse managers and policy makers to devise strategies to help nurses better cope with a stressful work environment, thereby also improving job satisfaction among Saudi national critical care nurses. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An analytical hierarchical model explaining the robustness and flaw-tolerance of the interlocking barb-barbule structure of bird feathers

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Qiang; Gorb, Stanislav; Kovalev, Alexander; Li, Zhiyong; Pugno, Nicola

2016-10-01

Feathers can fulfill their aerodynamic function only if the pennaceous vane forms an airfoil stabilized by robust interlocking between barbules. Thus, revealing the robustness of the interlocking mechanical behavior of the barbules is very important to understand the function and long-term resilience of bird feathers. This paper, basing on the small- and large-beam deflection solutions, presents a hierarchical mechanical model for deriving the critical delamination conditions of the interlocking barbules between two adjacent barbs in bird feathers. The results indicate a high robustness and flaw-tolerant design of the structure. This work contributes to the understanding of the mechanical behavior of the robust interlocking barb-barbule structure of the bird feather, and provides a basis for design of feather-inspired materials with robust interlocking mechanism, such as advanced bio-inspired micro-zipping devices.

Blow-up Mechanism of Classical Solutions to Quasilinear Hyperbolic Systems in the Critical Case

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2006-01-01

This paper deals with the blow-up phenomenon, particularly, the geometric blow-up mechanism, of classical solutions to the Cauchy problem for quasilinear hyperbolic systems in the critical case. We prove that it is still the envelope of the same family of characteristics which yields the blowup of classical solutions to the Cauchy problem in the critical case.

Triage and medical management of criticality accident victims

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lebaron-Jacobs, L.; Flury-Herard, A.; Cavadore, D.

2002-01-01

The criticality accident is the result of an uncontrolled chain fission reaction initiated when the quantities of nuclear materials (uranium or plutonium)present accidentally exceed a given limit called the c ritical mass . As soon as the critical state is exceeded, the chain reaction increases exponentially. The result is a fast increase in the number of fission events which occur within the fissile medium. This phenomenon results in a release of energy mainly in the form of heat, accompanied by the intense emission of neutron and gamma radiation and the release of fission gases (Barby, 1983)

Social Media: A Phenomenon to be Analyzed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

danah boyd

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The phenomenon of “social media” has more to do with its cultural positioning than its technological affordances. Rooted in the broader “Web 2.0” landscape, social media helped engineers, entrepreneurs, and everyday people reimagine the role that technology could play in information dissemination, community development, and communication. While the technologies invoked by the phrase social media have a long history, what unfolded in the 2000s reconfigured socio-technical practices in significant ways. Reflecting on the brief history of social media, this essay argues for the need to better understand this phenomenon.

Robustness of Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2008-01-01

This paper describes the background of the robustness requirements implemented in the Danish Code of Practice for Safety of Structures and in the Danish National Annex to the Eurocode 0, see (DS-INF 146, 2003), (DS 409, 2006), (EN 1990 DK NA, 2007) and (Sørensen and Christensen, 2006). More...... frequent use of advanced types of structures with limited redundancy and serious consequences in case of failure combined with increased requirements to efficiency in design and execution followed by increased risk of human errors has made the need of requirements to robustness of new structures essential....... According to Danish design rules robustness shall be documented for all structures in high consequence class. The design procedure to document sufficient robustness consists of: 1) Review of loads and possible failure modes / scenarios and determination of acceptable collapse extent; 2) Review...

Dynamics robustness of cascading systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan T Young

2017-03-01

Full Text Available A most important property of biochemical systems is robustness. Static robustness, e.g., homeostasis, is the insensitivity of a state against perturbations, whereas dynamics robustness, e.g., homeorhesis, is the insensitivity of a dynamic process. In contrast to the extensively studied static robustness, dynamics robustness, i.e., how a system creates an invariant temporal profile against perturbations, is little explored despite transient dynamics being crucial for cellular fates and are reported to be robust experimentally. For example, the duration of a stimulus elicits different phenotypic responses, and signaling networks process and encode temporal information. Hence, robustness in time courses will be necessary for functional biochemical networks. Based on dynamical systems theory, we uncovered a general mechanism to achieve dynamics robustness. Using a three-stage linear signaling cascade as an example, we found that the temporal profiles and response duration post-stimulus is robust to perturbations against certain parameters. Then analyzing the linearized model, we elucidated the criteria of when signaling cascades will display dynamics robustness. We found that changes in the upstream modules are masked in the cascade, and that the response duration is mainly controlled by the rate-limiting module and organization of the cascade's kinetics. Specifically, we found two necessary conditions for dynamics robustness in signaling cascades: 1 Constraint on the rate-limiting process: The phosphatase activity in the perturbed module is not the slowest. 2 Constraints on the initial conditions: The kinase activity needs to be fast enough such that each module is saturated even with fast phosphatase activity and upstream changes are attenuated. We discussed the relevance of such robustness to several biological examples and the validity of the above conditions therein. Given the applicability of dynamics robustness to a variety of systems, it

Robust and distributed hypothesis testing

CERN Document Server

Gül, Gökhan

2017-01-01

This book generalizes and extends the available theory in robust and decentralized hypothesis testing. In particular, it presents a robust test for modeling errors which is independent from the assumptions that a sufficiently large number of samples is available, and that the distance is the KL-divergence. Here, the distance can be chosen from a much general model, which includes the KL-divergence as a very special case. This is then extended by various means. A minimax robust test that is robust against both outliers as well as modeling errors is presented. Minimax robustness properties of the given tests are also explicitly proven for fixed sample size and sequential probability ratio tests. The theory of robust detection is extended to robust estimation and the theory of robust distributed detection is extended to classes of distributions, which are not necessarily stochastically bounded. It is shown that the quantization functions for the decision rules can also be chosen as non-monotone. Finally, the boo...

The Department of Energy nuclear criticality safety program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Felty, J.R.

2004-01-01

This paper broadly covers key events and activities from which the Department of Energy Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) evolved. The NCSP maintains fundamental infrastructure that supports operational criticality safety programs. This infrastructure includes continued development and maintenance of key calculational tools, differential and integral data measurements, benchmark compilation, development of training resources, hands-on training, and web-based systems to enhance information preservation and dissemination. The NCSP was initiated in response to Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Recommendation 97-2, Criticality Safety, and evolved from a predecessor program, the Nuclear Criticality Predictability Program, that was initiated in response to Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Recommendation 93-2, The Need for Critical Experiment Capability. This paper also discusses the role Dr. Sol Pearlstein played in helping the Department of Energy lay the foundation for a robust and enduring criticality safety infrastructure.

Robustness Property of Robust-BD Wald-Type Test for Varying-Dimensional General Linear Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao Guo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available An important issue for robust inference is to examine the stability of the asymptotic level and power of the test statistic in the presence of contaminated data. Most existing results are derived in finite-dimensional settings with some particular choices of loss functions. This paper re-examines this issue by allowing for a diverging number of parameters combined with a broader array of robust error measures, called “robust- BD ”, for the class of “general linear models”. Under regularity conditions, we derive the influence function of the robust- BD parameter estimator and demonstrate that the robust- BD Wald-type test enjoys the robustness of validity and efficiency asymptotically. Specifically, the asymptotic level of the test is stable under a small amount of contamination of the null hypothesis, whereas the asymptotic power is large enough under a contaminated distribution in a neighborhood of the contiguous alternatives, thus lending supports to the utility of the proposed robust- BD Wald-type test.

An Evaluation of the 'New History' Phenomenon | Moyo | Zimbabwe ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The purpose of this article was to evaluate the 'New History' approach. This paper explores the argument that the new 'New History' phenomenon was an attempt to rejuvenate an interest in History. The 'New History' phenomenon was launched because of the fear that History was in danger as it faced possible extinction ...

The phenomenon of domestic servants in the State of Qatar

OpenAIRE

Alshafai, Nedham

2015-01-01

Of new phenomena that emerged in the State of Qatar, and on a large scale in the post-oil era (after 1950) is domestic servant's phenomenon. Historically, the phenomenon was presented in the pre-oil and limited to the homes of the royal families, pearls' merchants, senior traders and tribal leaders. However, today the phenomenon exists in all Qatari families, under the name of maids, drivers, educators, nurses and others, recently; it began spreading in non-citizenship families as well. Base...

Critical density and disruptions in α-heated thermonuclear Tokamak discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cotsaftis, M.; Firestone, M.; Wang, P.K.C.

1985-02-01

The study of existence of a critical density limit has been extended to the case of thermonuclear α-particle heated regime. To proceed, a 0-D model including sources and sinks affecting the evolution of ion and electron temperatures and of electron and α-particle densities with auxiliary neutral injected power has been developed. It is mainly shown when considering a Tokamak machine adapted for thermonuclear performances that, like in previous case, there is a critical density above which no other equilibrium point than 0 does exist. Temperatures then drop down the 0 past this critical value, leading to disruption. Analytic expression for critical density is given in terme of auxiliary projected power Psup(N). For Psup(N)=0, critical density value is low, but it increases fast enough for small Psup(N) to give a large safety margin once Psup(N) is moderate, much below the power required for reaching thermonuclear regime. So it is only at shutdown power periods that critical density can be crossed. But in this case, the heat content of particles in the discharge can significantly contribute to smooth out the temperature drop off. This typically operates up to the point where, due to change in magnetic islands configuration resulting from profile modification due to energy release at critical density crossing, heat transport doubles. Then on a fast thermal diffusion time scale, temperature drops now to a new equilibrium value, which can be made above the limiting value for which position control system of the plasma cannot forbid the plasma current to drop off itself, which is the important phenomenon of disruption. So on top of controls previously discussed, it is possible to use the α-particles themselves as a new preventive control against disruptions, making this phenomenon less dangerous for thermonuclear regime operation

Robustness study in SSNTD method validation: indoor radon quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dias, D.C.S.; Silva, N.C.; Bonifácio, R.L., E-mail: danilacdias@gmail.com [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (LAPOC/CNEN), Pocos de Caldas, MG (Brazil). Laboratorio de Pocos de Caldas

2017-07-01

Quality control practices are indispensable to organizations aiming to reach analytical excellence. Method validation is an essential component to quality systems in laboratories, serving as a powerful tool for standardization and reliability of outcomes. This paper presents a study of robustness conducted over a SSNTD technique validation process, with the goal of developing indoor radon measurements at the highest level of quality. This quality parameter indicates how well a technique is able to provide reliable results in face of unexpected variations along the measurement. In this robustness study, based on the Youden method, 7 analytical conditions pertaining to different phases of the SSNTD technique (with focus on detector etching) were selected. Based on the ideal values for each condition as reference, extreme levels regarded as high and low were prescribed to each condition. A partial factorial design of 8 unique etching procedures was defined, where each presented their own set of high and low condition values. The Youden test provided 8 indoor radon concentration results, which allowed percentage estimations that indicate the potential influence of each analytical condition on the SSNTD technique. As expected, detector etching factors such as etching solution concentration, temperature and immersion time were identified as the most critical parameters to the technique. Detector etching is a critical step in the SSNTD method – one that must be carefully designed during validation and meticulously controlled throughout the entire process. (author)

Robustness study in SSNTD method validation: indoor radon quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dias, D.C.S.; Silva, N.C.; Bonifácio, R.L.

2017-01-01

Quality control practices are indispensable to organizations aiming to reach analytical excellence. Method validation is an essential component to quality systems in laboratories, serving as a powerful tool for standardization and reliability of outcomes. This paper presents a study of robustness conducted over a SSNTD technique validation process, with the goal of developing indoor radon measurements at the highest level of quality. This quality parameter indicates how well a technique is able to provide reliable results in face of unexpected variations along the measurement. In this robustness study, based on the Youden method, 7 analytical conditions pertaining to different phases of the SSNTD technique (with focus on detector etching) were selected. Based on the ideal values for each condition as reference, extreme levels regarded as high and low were prescribed to each condition. A partial factorial design of 8 unique etching procedures was defined, where each presented their own set of high and low condition values. The Youden test provided 8 indoor radon concentration results, which allowed percentage estimations that indicate the potential influence of each analytical condition on the SSNTD technique. As expected, detector etching factors such as etching solution concentration, temperature and immersion time were identified as the most critical parameters to the technique. Detector etching is a critical step in the SSNTD method – one that must be carefully designed during validation and meticulously controlled throughout the entire process. (author)

Stochastically Estimating Modular Criticality in Large-Scale Logic Circuits Using Sparsity Regularization and Compressive Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Alawad

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the problem of how to efficiently measure a large and complex information field with optimally few observations. Specifically, we investigate how to stochastically estimate modular criticality values in a large-scale digital circuit with a very limited number of measurements in order to minimize the total measurement efforts and time. We prove that, through sparsity-promoting transform domain regularization and by strategically integrating compressive sensing with Bayesian learning, more than 98% of the overall measurement accuracy can be achieved with fewer than 10% of measurements as required in a conventional approach that uses exhaustive measurements. Furthermore, we illustrate that the obtained criticality results can be utilized to selectively fortify large-scale digital circuits for operation with narrow voltage headrooms and in the presence of soft-errors rising at near threshold voltage levels, without excessive hardware overheads. Our numerical simulation results have shown that, by optimally allocating only 10% circuit redundancy, for some large-scale benchmark circuits, we can achieve more than a three-times reduction in its overall error probability, whereas if randomly distributing such 10% hardware resource, less than 2% improvements in the target circuit’s overall robustness will be observed. Finally, we conjecture that our proposed approach can be readily applied to estimate other essential properties of digital circuits that are critical to designing and analyzing them, such as the observability measure in reliability analysis and the path delay estimation in stochastic timing analysis. The only key requirement of our proposed methodology is that these global information fields exhibit a certain degree of smoothness, which is universally true for almost any physical phenomenon.

A preferential design approach for energy-efficient and robust implantable neural signal processing hardware.

Science.gov (United States)

Narasimhan, Seetharam; Chiel, Hillel J; Bhunia, Swarup

2009-01-01

For implantable neural interface applications, it is important to compress data and analyze spike patterns across multiple channels in real time. Such a computational task for online neural data processing requires an innovative circuit-architecture level design approach for low-power, robust and area-efficient hardware implementation. Conventional microprocessor or Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chips would dissipate too much power and are too large in size for an implantable system. In this paper, we propose a novel hardware design approach, referred to as "Preferential Design" that exploits the nature of the neural signal processing algorithm to achieve a low-voltage, robust and area-efficient implementation using nanoscale process technology. The basic idea is to isolate the critical components with respect to system performance and design them more conservatively compared to the noncritical ones. This allows aggressive voltage scaling for low power operation while ensuring robustness and area efficiency. We have applied the proposed approach to a neural signal processing algorithm using the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and observed significant improvement in power and robustness over conventional design.

The role of ocean phenomenon in music compositions

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chi-Min

2016-04-01

This is a preliminarily interdisciplinary study for exploring the elements of ocean phenomenon appearing in some compositions of classical music. The so-called ocean phenomenon contain wave conditions, climate change, coastal landform, and other natural events around or over the sea. In some music compositions, it is apparent that natural phenomenon over the sea influence the composers' moods and the music pieces they composed. In this poster, some music compositions in the 19th and the early 20th centuries will be introduced to demonstrate the relation between ocean and music works. These works include Meeresstille by Schubert, Étude Op.25 No.12 by Chopin, Fingal's Cave Overture by Mendelssohn, Der Fliegende Holländer by Wagner and La Mer by Debussy. In addition, present idea may give a novel way for music teachers to elucidate the knowledge of ocean science in classes.

Robustness Beamforming Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sajad Dehghani

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Adaptive beamforming methods are known to degrade in the presence of steering vector and covariance matrix uncertinity. In this paper, a new approach is presented to robust adaptive minimum variance distortionless response beamforming make robust against both uncertainties in steering vector and covariance matrix. This method minimize a optimization problem that contains a quadratic objective function and a quadratic constraint. The optimization problem is nonconvex but is converted to a convex optimization problem in this paper. It is solved by the interior-point method and optimum weight vector to robust beamforming is achieved.

Fractional order differentiation and robust control design crone, h-infinity and motion control

CERN Document Server

Sabatier, Jocelyn; Melchior, Pierre; Oustaloup, Alain

2015-01-01

This monograph collates the past decade’s work on fractional models and fractional systems in the fields of analysis, robust control and path tracking. Themes such as PID control, robust path tracking design and motion control methodologies involving fractional differentiation are amongst those explored. It juxtaposes recent theoretical results at the forefront in the field, and applications that can be used as exercises that will help the reader to assimilate the proposed methodologies. The first part of the book deals with fractional derivative and fractional model definitions, as well as recent results for stability analysis, fractional model physical interpretation, controllability, and H-infinity norm computation. It also presents a critical point of view on model pseudo-state and “real state”, tackling the problem of fractional model initialization. Readers will find coverage of PID, Fractional PID and robust control in the second part of the book, which rounds off with an extension of H-infinity ...

The keloid phenomenon: progress toward a solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Louw, Louise

2007-01-01

For centuries, keloids have been an enigma and despite considerable research to unravel this phenomenon no universally accepted treatment protocol currently exists. Historically, the etiology of keloids has been hypothesized by multiple different theories; however, a more contemporary view postulates a multifactoral basis for this disorder involving nutritional, biochemical, immunological, and genetic factors that play a role in this abnormal wound healing. Critical to the process of preventing or managing keloids is the need to locally control fibroblasts and their activities at the wound site. In recent years, considerable evidence has accumulated demonstrating the importance of fatty acids and bioactive lipids in health and disease, especially those involving inflammatory disorders or immune dysfunction. If hypertrophic scarring and keloid formation can be argued to have significant inflammatory histories, then it is possible to postulate a role for lipids in their etiology and potentially in their treatment. This report briefly visits past views and theories on keloid formation and treatment, and offers a theoretical rationale for considering adjuvant fatty acid therapy for keloid management. Sufficient scientific evidence in support of fatty acid strategies for the prevention and treatment of keloids currently exists, which offer opportunities to bridge the gap between the laboratory and the clinic. The intent of this paper is to serve as a basic guideline for researchers, nutritionists, and clinicians interested in keloids and to propose new directions for keloid management.

The veining phenomenon in unalloyed plutonium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, J.S.

1976-01-01

An investigation has been made of the veining phenomenon in unalloyed plutonium. The surface markings, or veins, which are sometimes seen on α-phase plutonium samples, arise as a result of the β→α transformation. As far as is known, this veining is unrivalled in its scale and form as compared with the solid state surface transformation effects shown by any other metal. The phenomenon has been explained by the application of the Le Chatelier principle to the phase change. In this instance, the large (10%) volume contraction associated with the β→α reaction and the anisotropy of the nonoclinic α-phase structure, account for the fact that the veins are so prominent in plutonium. On the basis of the proposed model, the veins can only form at temperatures where the transformation mechanism is non-martensitic. (Auth.)

Experimental studies of the critical scattering of neutrons for large scattering vectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciszewski, R.

1972-01-01

The most recent results concerned with the critical scattering of neutrons are reviewed. The emphasis is on the so-called thermal shift, that is the shift of the main maximum in the intensity of critically scattered neutrons with temperature changes. Four theories of this phenomenon are described and their shortcomings are shown. It has been concluded that the situation is involved at present and needs further theoretical and experimental study. (S.B.)

BRICS: an explanation in critical geography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krishnendra Meena

2013-12-01

Full Text Available BRICS, an abbreviation for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, a group of five influential and emerging economies successfully completed its fifth annual summit in Durban during March 26-27, 2013. A significantly unique feature of the group is its geographical spread as evident from the location of these five constituent states which are situated in four continents. The paper seeks to explain the phenomenon of the disparate group BRICS through literature in Critical Geography as it is understood that the recent phase of globalization has created spatial patterns which were hitherto not experienced and therefore not clearly recognized in the literature on International Relations and traditional geography. Such spatially variegated groupings like the BRICS could be analyzed and interpreted in Critical Geography and Critical Geopolitics literature through three important concepts: a Space b Geographical and Geopolitical Imaginations and c Region. The paper seeks to explain BRICS through these conceptual tools.

Critical object recognition in millimeter-wave images with robustness to rotation and scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadzade, Hoda; Ghojogh, Benyamin; Faezi, Sina; Shabany, Mahdi

2017-06-01

Locating critical objects is crucial in various security applications and industries. For example, in security applications, such as in airports, these objects might be hidden or covered under shields or secret sheaths. Millimeter-wave images can be utilized to discover and recognize the critical objects out of the hidden cases without any health risk due to their non-ionizing features. However, millimeter-wave images usually have waves in and around the detected objects, making object recognition difficult. Thus, regular image processing and classification methods cannot be used for these images and additional pre-processings and classification methods should be introduced. This paper proposes a novel pre-processing method for canceling rotation and scale using principal component analysis. In addition, a two-layer classification method is introduced and utilized for recognition. Moreover, a large dataset of millimeter-wave images is collected and created for experiments. Experimental results show that a typical classification method such as support vector machines can recognize 45.5% of a type of critical objects at 34.2% false alarm rate (FAR), which is a drastically poor recognition. The same method within the proposed recognition framework achieves 92.9% recognition rate at 0.43% FAR, which indicates a highly significant improvement. The significant contribution of this work is to introduce a new method for analyzing millimeter-wave images based on machine vision and learning approaches, which is not yet widely noted in the field of millimeter-wave image analysis.

Critique of the use of ICRP-29's 'Robustness Index' in evaluating uncertainties associated with radiological assessment models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoffman, F O; Schwarz, G; Killough, G G [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)

1980-08-01

Concern is expressed regarding the use of the robustness index, as proposed in ICRP 29, to characterise the uncertainties associated with a model's predictions. Results of a Monte Carlo simulation employing a model of the grass-cow-milk-infant pathway for /sup 131/I are used to elucidate the author's criticisms. It is recommended that the robustness index should be carefully examined to appraise its possible usefulness and potential dangers. Alternate methods for analysis of uncertainty are proposed.

Robustness Analyses of Timber Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirkegaard, Poul Henning; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Hald, Frederik

2013-01-01

The robustness of structural systems has obtained a renewed interest arising from a much more frequent use of advanced types of structures with limited redundancy and serious consequences in case of failure. In order to minimise the likelihood of such disproportionate structural failures, many mo...... with respect to robustness of timber structures and will discuss the consequences of such robustness issues related to the future development of timber structures.......The robustness of structural systems has obtained a renewed interest arising from a much more frequent use of advanced types of structures with limited redundancy and serious consequences in case of failure. In order to minimise the likelihood of such disproportionate structural failures, many...... modern building codes consider the need for the robustness of structures and provide strategies and methods to obtain robustness. Therefore, a structural engineer may take necessary steps to design robust structures that are insensitive to accidental circumstances. The present paper summaries issues...

Robust synchronization control scheme of a population of nonlinear stochastic synthetic genetic oscillators under intrinsic and extrinsic molecular noise via quorum sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bor-Sen; Hsu, Chih-Yuan

2012-10-26

Collective rhythms of gene regulatory networks have been a subject of considerable interest for biologists and theoreticians, in particular the synchronization of dynamic cells mediated by intercellular communication. Synchronization of a population of synthetic genetic oscillators is an important design in practical applications, because such a population distributed over different host cells needs to exploit molecular phenomena simultaneously in order to emerge a biological phenomenon. However, this synchronization may be corrupted by intrinsic kinetic parameter fluctuations and extrinsic environmental molecular noise. Therefore, robust synchronization is an important design topic in nonlinear stochastic coupled synthetic genetic oscillators with intrinsic kinetic parameter fluctuations and extrinsic molecular noise. Initially, the condition for robust synchronization of synthetic genetic oscillators was derived based on Hamilton Jacobi inequality (HJI). We found that if the synchronization robustness can confer enough intrinsic robustness to tolerate intrinsic parameter fluctuation and extrinsic robustness to filter the environmental noise, then robust synchronization of coupled synthetic genetic oscillators is guaranteed. If the synchronization robustness of a population of nonlinear stochastic coupled synthetic genetic oscillators distributed over different host cells could not be maintained, then robust synchronization could be enhanced by external control input through quorum sensing molecules. In order to simplify the analysis and design of robust synchronization of nonlinear stochastic synthetic genetic oscillators, the fuzzy interpolation method was employed to interpolate several local linear stochastic coupled systems to approximate the nonlinear stochastic coupled system so that the HJI-based synchronization design problem could be replaced by a simple linear matrix inequality (LMI)-based design problem, which could be solved with the help of LMI

NO REFLOW PHENOMENON

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Omid Hashemifard

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Definition No reflow is a phenomenon in which myocardial ischemia and reduced antegrade flow occur despite the absence of proximal stenosis, spasm, dissection, or embolic cut off of major distal branches.1 In another word no reflow phenomenon means failure of restoration of myocardial flow despite removal of epicardial coronary obstruction.2 The incidence is 2% with plain balloon angioplasty (PTCA, 7% in patients undergoing rotational atherectomy, 12% for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI, and much higher at 42% for PCI of degenerated Saphenous Vein Graft (SVG.3 No reflow is a strong predictor of mortality after PCI. The mortality of patients who developed no reflow has been estimated to be 8% Predictors of no reflow include a higher plaque burden, thrombus, lipid pools by intra vascular ultra sonography (IVUS, higher lesion elastic membrane cross sectional area, preinfarction angina and thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI flow grade 0 on the initial coronary angiogram. Mechanism The cause is mainly embolization of atheromatous material (gruel. Particles are composed of cholesterol clefts, lipid rich macrophages, fragments of fibrous cap, necrotic lesion core and fibrin. This is aggravated by microembolization of platelet-rich thrombi that release vasoactive agents (e.g., serotonin and thromboxane A2, leading to intense arteriolar vasopasm in the distal vasculature. In the animal laboratory, experimental no reflow has been shown to be due to the plugging of capillaries by red blood cells and neutrophils, myocyte contracture and local intracellular and interstitial edema.4,5      A loss of capillary autoregulation and severe microvascular dysfunction are the ultimate physiologic consequences of these microscopic anatomic alterations. Debris of varying sizes of particulate has variable effects on microcirculatory plugging. The effect of particle size on microvascular dysfunction has been mostly investigated during

An outlier robust unit root test with an application to the extended Nelson-Plosser data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lucas, André

1995-01-01

This paper considers unit root tests based on robust estimators with a high breakdown point and high efficiency. The asymptotic distribution of these tests is derived. Critical values for the test are obtained via simulation. It is found that the size of the classical OLS based Dickey-Fuller test

Robust band gap and half-metallicity in graphene with triangular perforations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gregersen, Søren Schou; Power, Stephen; Jauho, Antti-Pekka

2016-01-01

Ideal graphene antidot lattices are predicted to show promising band gap behavior (i.e., EG ≅ 500 meV) under carefully specified conditions. However, for the structures studied so far this behavior is critically dependent on superlattice geometry and is not robust against experimentally realistic...... disorders. Here we study a rectangular array of triangular antidots with zigzag edge geometries and show that their band gap behavior qualitatively differs from the standard behavior which is exhibited, e.g., by rectangular arrays of armchair-edged triangles. In the spin unpolarized case, zigzag......-edged antidots give rise to large band gaps compared to armchair-edged antidots, irrespective of the rules which govern the existence of gaps in armchair-edged antidot lattices. In addition the zigzag-edged antidots appear more robust than armchair-edged antidots in the presence of geometrical disorder...

A suggestion for multidisciplinarity: the fluorescence phenomenon observation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Roberto Pimentel

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Multidisciplinary approaches involving daily phenomena are valuable teaching tools to stimulate reflections in order to comprehend that scientific knowledge is developed in a collective process, as well as to understand the importance that scientific research cannot be done in a unique area of knowledge for the full understanding of any phenomenon. We suggest the fluorescence phenomenon observation in some materials, objects and living organisms so that students realize the interaction between Physics, Chemistry and Biology, generally regarded as not correlated disciplines.

Systemic sclerosis without antinuclear antibodies or Raynaud's phenomenon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schneeberger, D.; Tyndall, A.; Walker, U.A.

2013-01-01

Objective: To assess patients with SSc who present without circulating antinuclear antibodies (ANA) or Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP). Methods: 5390 patients who fulfilled the ACR criteria for SSc and were enrolled in the EULAR Scleroderma Trials And Research (EUSTAR) database were screened for the ab......Objective: To assess patients with SSc who present without circulating antinuclear antibodies (ANA) or Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP). Methods: 5390 patients who fulfilled the ACR criteria for SSc and were enrolled in the EULAR Scleroderma Trials And Research (EUSTAR) database were screened...

On the Robustness of Poverty Predictors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arndt, Channing; Nhate, Virgulino; Silva, Patricia Castro Da

Monitoring of poverty requires timely household budget data. However, such data are not available as frequently as needed for policy purposes. Recently, statistical methods have emerged to predict poverty overtime by combining detailed household consumption and expenditure data with more frequent...... data collected from other surveys. In this paper we compare poverty predictions for Mozambique using different source data to test the robustness of the predicted poverty statistics. A critical element in this exercise of predicting poverty overtime is the stability of the parameters that determine...... household consumption. We find that the assumption of stable consumption determinants does not hold for Mozambique during the time period examined. We also examine what drives the resulting predicted poverty statistics. The paper then considers the policy implications of these findings for Mozambique...

Reinforcement-Learning-Based Robust Controller Design for Continuous-Time Uncertain Nonlinear Systems Subject to Input Constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Derong; Yang, Xiong; Wang, Ding; Wei, Qinglai

2015-07-01

The design of stabilizing controller for uncertain nonlinear systems with control constraints is a challenging problem. The constrained-input coupled with the inability to identify accurately the uncertainties motivates the design of stabilizing controller based on reinforcement-learning (RL) methods. In this paper, a novel RL-based robust adaptive control algorithm is developed for a class of continuous-time uncertain nonlinear systems subject to input constraints. The robust control problem is converted to the constrained optimal control problem with appropriately selecting value functions for the nominal system. Distinct from typical action-critic dual networks employed in RL, only one critic neural network (NN) is constructed to derive the approximate optimal control. Meanwhile, unlike initial stabilizing control often indispensable in RL, there is no special requirement imposed on the initial control. By utilizing Lyapunov's direct method, the closed-loop optimal control system and the estimated weights of the critic NN are proved to be uniformly ultimately bounded. In addition, the derived approximate optimal control is verified to guarantee the uncertain nonlinear system to be stable in the sense of uniform ultimate boundedness. Two simulation examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and applicability of the present approach.

Effect of the critical size of initial voids on stress-induced migration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoyagi, Minoru

2004-01-01

The stress-induced migration phenomenon is one of the problems related to the reliability of metal interconnections in semiconductor devices. This phenomenon causes voids and fractures in interconnections. The basic feature of this phenomenon is vacancy migration to minute initial voids. Expanding initial voids grow into larger voids and fractures. The purpose of this work is to theoretically clarify the effects of residual thermal stress and void surface stress on the behavior of the initial voids which exist immediately after a passivation process. Using a spherical metal sample with a spherical void under external stress, vacancy absorption or emission was investigated between the void surface and the sample surface. The behavior of vacancies and atoms was also investigated in interconnections under residual thermal stress. We show that the void or sample surface becomes a vacancy sink or source, depending on the mutual relationship between the surface stress due to the surface-free energy and the residual thermal stress. We also reveal that the initial voids, which exist immediately after a passivation process, grow into larger voids and fractures when the size of the initial voids exceeds the critical size. If the size of the initial void can be controlled to below the critical size, voids and fractures do not occur

Geometrical optics and the diffraction phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Timofeev, Aleksandr V

2005-01-01

This note outlines the principles of the geometrical optics of inhomogeneous waves whose description necessitates the use of complex values of the wave vector. Generalizing geometrical optics to inhomogeneous waves permits including in its scope the analysis of the diffraction phenomenon. (methodological notes)

Study of two-phase critical flows through small breaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chalant, Jean Marc; Willocx, Marc

1981-06-01

The first part of this academic document reports experimental works performed for the design and realisation of an installation (DALIDA) aimed at the study of critical flow rates through a hole. As this experimental study had to be given up for practical reasons, the authors focused on the theoretical study of this phenomenon. Based on a model proposed by Lackme for critical flows in long tubes, the authors developed a model which could be applied to the case of a tube ended by a hole. Numerical results have been obtained which are still to be experimentally confirmed [fr

The Phenomenon of Obama and the Agenda for Education: Can Hope Audaciously Trump Neoliberalism? Critical Constructions: Studies on Education and Society

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Paul R., Ed.; Porfilio, Bradley, Ed.

2011-01-01

Who should read this book? Anyone who is touched by public education--teachers, administrators, teacher-educators, students, parents, politicians, pundits, and citizens--ought to read this book. It will speak to educators, policymakers and citizens who are concerned about the future of education and its relation to a robust, participatory…

Robust inverse-consistent affine CT-MR registration in MRI-assisted and MRI-alone prostate radiation therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivest-Hénault, David; Dowson, Nicholas; Greer, Peter B; Fripp, Jurgen; Dowling, Jason A

2015-07-01

CT-MR registration is a critical component of many radiation oncology protocols. In prostate external beam radiation therapy, it allows the propagation of MR-derived contours to reference CT images at the planning stage, and it enables dose mapping during dosimetry studies. The use of carefully registered CT-MR atlases allows the estimation of patient specific electron density maps from MRI scans, enabling MRI-alone radiation therapy planning and treatment adaptation. In all cases, the precision and accuracy achieved by registration influences the quality of the entire process. Most current registration algorithms do not robustly generalize and lack inverse-consistency, increasing the risk of human error and acting as a source of bias in studies where information is propagated in a particular direction, e.g. CT to MR or vice versa. In MRI-based treatment planning where both CT and MR scans serve as spatial references, inverse-consistency is critical, if under-acknowledged. A robust, inverse-consistent, rigid/affine registration algorithm that is well suited to CT-MR alignment in prostate radiation therapy is presented. The presented method is based on a robust block-matching optimization process that utilises a half-way space definition to maintain inverse-consistency. Inverse-consistency substantially reduces the influence of the order of input images, simplifying analysis, and increasing robustness. An open source implementation is available online at http://aehrc.github.io/Mirorr/. Experimental results on a challenging 35 CT-MR pelvis dataset demonstrate that the proposed method is more accurate than other popular registration packages and is at least as accurate as the state of the art, while being more robust and having an order of magnitude higher inverse-consistency than competing approaches. The presented results demonstrate that the proposed registration algorithm is readily applicable to prostate radiation therapy planning. Copyright © 2015. Published by

ACTIVITY-BASED ANOREXIA AS A THERMOREGULATION PHENOMENON

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Carlos Javier Flores Aguirre

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Activity Based Anorexia (ABA is a phenomenon that results from exposing rats to a feeding program of about 1 to 1.5 h per day, giving them free access to an activity wheel the rest of the time. The reported effects are high levels of activity without a visible compensation in food intake, and in consequence a low body weight. There is a variety of interpretations about the causes of this phenomenon. However, there are two main theories: one of them says that ABA is a product of adaptive failure to the new feeding regime and that the activity in the wheel interferes with such adaptation. The second theoretical position says that the activity acquires reinforcing properties due to feeding restrictions which causes body weight loss and, in turn, more activity. At present, both theories have been interpreted as contradictory. Nevertheless, a series of studies have revealed that the temperature of the environment and in consequence the subjects’ body tem-perature play an essential role in the findings of the field, giving sense to both theories and evidencing their complementariness. The aim of this paper is to re-view the empirical evidence that supports the hypothesis of ABA as a thermoregu-lation phenomenon.

A robust optimization model for distribution and evacuation in the disaster response phase

Science.gov (United States)

Fereiduni, Meysam; Shahanaghi, Kamran

2017-03-01

Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, affect thousands of people and can cause enormous financial loss. Therefore, an efficient response immediately following a natural disaster is vital to minimize the aforementioned negative effects. This research paper presents a network design model for humanitarian logistics which will assist in location and allocation decisions for multiple disaster periods. At first, a single-objective optimization model is presented that addresses the response phase of disaster management. This model will help the decision makers to make the most optimal choices in regard to location, allocation, and evacuation simultaneously. The proposed model also considers emergency tents as temporary medical centers. To cope with the uncertainty and dynamic nature of disasters, and their consequences, our multi-period robust model considers the values of critical input data in a set of various scenarios. Second, because of probable disruption in the distribution infrastructure (such as bridges), the Monte Carlo simulation is used for generating related random numbers and different scenarios; the p-robust approach is utilized to formulate the new network. The p-robust approach can predict possible damages along pathways and among relief bases. We render a case study of our robust optimization approach for Tehran's plausible earthquake in region 1. Sensitivity analysis' experiments are proposed to explore the effects of various problem parameters. These experiments will give managerial insights and can guide DMs under a variety of conditions. Then, the performances of the "robust optimization" approach and the "p-robust optimization" approach are evaluated. Intriguing results and practical insights are demonstrated by our analysis on this comparison.

International Conference on Robust Statistics

CERN Document Server

Filzmoser, Peter; Gather, Ursula; Rousseeuw, Peter

2003-01-01

Aspects of Robust Statistics are important in many areas. Based on the International Conference on Robust Statistics 2001 (ICORS 2001) in Vorau, Austria, this volume discusses future directions of the discipline, bringing together leading scientists, experienced researchers and practitioners, as well as younger researchers. The papers cover a multitude of different aspects of Robust Statistics. For instance, the fundamental problem of data summary (weights of evidence) is considered and its robustness properties are studied. Further theoretical subjects include e.g.: robust methods for skewness, time series, longitudinal data, multivariate methods, and tests. Some papers deal with computational aspects and algorithms. Finally, the aspects of application and programming tools complete the volume.

Orgasm Induced Seizures: A Rare Phenomenon

African Journals Online (AJOL)

testing of the brain revealed no structural abnormality. His blood examination findings were ... A variety of stimuli can cause reflex seizures, Some triggers include light, music and cognitive phenomenon. There are case reports ... seizures cause great personal distress and significantly affect marital relationships. Though ...

Robust Scientists

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gorm Hansen, Birgitte

their core i nterests, 2) developing a selfsupply of industry interests by becoming entrepreneurs and thus creating their own compliant industry partner and 3) balancing resources within a larger collective of researchers, thus countering changes in the influx of funding caused by shifts in political...... knowledge", Danish research policy seems to have helped develop politically and economically "robust scientists". Scientific robustness is acquired by way of three strategies: 1) tasting and discriminating between resources so as to avoid funding that erodes academic profiles and push scientists away from...

Models of Sexual and Relational Orientation: A Critical Review and Synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Moe, Jeffry L.; Reicherzer, Stacee; Dupuy, Paula J.

2011-01-01

Many frameworks exist to explain and describe the phenomenon of same-sex sexuality as it applies to human development. This conceptual article provides a critical overview and synthesis of previous models to serve as a theoretical bridge for the suggested multiple continua model of sexual and relational orientations. Recommendations for how…

WORKPLACE HARASSMENT. MOBBING PHENOMENON

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius Ezer

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Moral harassment at the workplace has become in the last period a very often met phenomenon that severely affects the work relations and represents a significant health and safety danger. This problem has become in the last period an important issue for the European Union which has initiated a series of studie for analyzing the consequences of this pehenomenon on the normal process of the work relations, that has lead, in its turn to an awareness of this new dimenion of harassment between the employees at the internal level.

Critical composition fluctuations in artificial and cell-derived lipid membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Honerkamp-Smith, Aurelia

2014-03-01

Cell plasma membranes contain a mixture of lipid types which can segregate into coexisting liquids, a thermodynamic phenomenon which may contribute to biological functions. Simplified, artificial three-component lipid vesicles can be prepared which display a critical miscibility transition near room temperature. We found that such vesicles exhibit concentration fluctuations whose size, composition, and timescales vary consistently with critical exponents for two-dimensional conserved order parameter systems. However, the critical miscibility transition is also observed in vesicles formed directly from the membranes of living cells, despite their more complex composition and the presence of membrane proteins. I will describe our critical fluctuation measurements and also review a variety of more recent work by other researchers. Proximity to a critical point alters the spatial distribution and aggregation tendencies of proteins, and makes lipid mixtures more susceptible to domain formation by protein-mediated interactions, such as adhesion zones. Recent work suggests that critical temperature depression may also be relevant to the mechanism of anaesthetic action.

Interplay of quantum and classical fluctuations near quantum critical points

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Continentino, Mucio Amado

2011-01-01

For a system near a quantum critical point (QCP), above its lower critical dimension d L , there is in general a critical line of second-order phase transitions that separates the broken symmetry phase at finite temperatures from the disordered phase. The phase transitions along this line are governed by thermal critical exponents that are different from those associated with the quantum critical point. We point out that, if the effective dimension of the QCP, d eff = d + z (d is the Euclidean dimension of the system and z the dynamic quantum critical exponent) is above its upper critical dimension d c there is an intermingle of classical (thermal) and quantum critical fluctuations near the QCP. This is due to the breakdown of the generalized scaling relation ψ = νz between the shift exponent ψ of the critical line and the crossover exponent νz, for d + z > d c by a dangerous irrelevant interaction. This phenomenon has clear experimental consequences, like the suppression of the amplitude of classical critical fluctuations near the line of finite temperature phase transitions as the critical temperature is reduced approaching the QCP. (author)

Robust Trust in Expert Testimony

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Dahlman

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The standard of proof in criminal trials should require that the evidence presented by the prosecution is robust. This requirement of robustness says that it must be unlikely that additional information would change the probability that the defendant is guilty. Robustness is difficult for a judge to estimate, as it requires the judge to assess the possible effect of information that the he or she does not have. This article is concerned with expert witnesses and proposes a method for reviewing the robustness of expert testimony. According to the proposed method, the robustness of expert testimony is estimated with regard to competence, motivation, external strength, internal strength and relevance. The danger of trusting non-robust expert testimony is illustrated with an analysis of the Thomas Quick Case, a Swedish legal scandal where a patient at a mental institution was wrongfully convicted for eight murders.

CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PHENOMENON OF DOUBLE TAXATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ALICE CRISTINA MARIA ZDANOVSCHI

2012-05-01

Full Text Available In the general context of economic globalization, international economic cooperation, the liberalization movement of goods, services, capital and persons, and the effect of the exercise of fiscal sovereignty, appears the phenomenon of double or multiple international taxation of income and assets, following the vocation of several legal systems, which contain legislative differences and can generate tax obstacles, such as, the laws of the country of origin of the revenue and the legislation of the country of destination of income. Thus, more interesting becomes the study of the phenomenon of double taxation at EU level given the distinct presence of 27 sovereignties in full process of European integration So, this paper aims to identify how the European Union handles the phenomenon of double taxation, making a shift from defining this phenomenon to identifying the legislation designed to avoid or eliminate the phenomenon of double taxation in the field of EU direct taxation.Also, this paper deems necessary to stop a moment upon the fiscal harmonization and integration in the indirect taxation field of the European Union.

Robustness Analysis of Timber Truss Structure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rajčić, Vlatka; Čizmar, Dean; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning

2010-01-01

The present paper discusses robustness of structures in general and the robustness requirements given in the codes. Robustness of timber structures is also an issues as this is closely related to Working group 3 (Robustness of systems) of the COST E55 project. Finally, an example of a robustness...... evaluation of a widespan timber truss structure is presented. This structure was built few years ago near Zagreb and has a span of 45m. Reliability analysis of the main members and the system is conducted and based on this a robustness analysis is preformed....

Critical density for Landau damping in a two-electron-component plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rupp, Constantin F.; López, Rodrigo A.; Araneda, Jaime A. [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción (Chile)

2015-10-15

The asymptotic evolution of an initial perturbation in a collisionless two-electron-component plasma with different temperatures is studied numerically. The transition between linear and nonlinear damping regimes is determined by slowly varying the density of the secondary electron-component using high-resolution Vlasov-Poisson simulations. It is shown that, for fixed amplitude perturbations, this transition behaves as a critical phenomenon with time scales and field amplitudes exhibiting power-law dependencies on the threshold density, similar to the critical amplitude behavior in a single-component plasma.

Methods to Minimize Zero-Missing Phenomenon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

da Silva, Filipe Miguel Faria; Bak, Claus Leth; Gudmundsdottir, Unnur Stella

2010-01-01

With the increasing use of high-voltage AC cables at transmission levels, phenomena such as current zero-missing start to appear more often in transmission systems. Zero-missing phenomenon can occur when energizing cable lines with shunt reactors. This may considerably delay the opening of the ci...

Theoretical aspects on the phenomenon of contamination of ground waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Echeverri, G.E.

1998-01-01

The phenomenon of contamination of ground waters and the destination of certain constituents of the water keep in mind diverse mechanisms of physical nature, chemistry and biological; in this work it is consigned in a concise way, the theoretical aspects of these topics, that is to say, the basic principles of the ground water hydraulics, the fundamental concepts of the physics of the movement and the chemistry of the ground water, as well as the equations that govern the phenomenon of contamination of the mass of water contained in the interstices of the floors and the rocks, broadly used in the mathematical modeling of the phenomenon

Phase transition phenomenon: A compound measure analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Bo Soo; Park, Chanhi; Ryu, Doojin; Song, Wonho

2015-06-01

This study investigates the well-documented phenomenon of phase transition in financial markets using combined information from both return and volume changes within short time intervals. We suggest a new measure for the phase transition behaviour of markets, calculated as a return distribution conditional on local variance in volume imbalance, and show that this measure successfully captures phase transition behaviour under various conditions. We analyse the intraday trade and quote dataset from the KOSPI 200 index futures, which includes detailed information on the original order size and the type of each initiating investor. We find that among these two competing factors, the submitted order size yields more explanatory power on the phenomenon of market phase transition than the investor type.

Twinning in Zircon: Not a High-Pressure Phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, G. A.; Moser, D.; Shieh, S. R.; Barker, I.

2017-12-01

Microtwins in zircon are commonly found in shocked terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples and are potentially important for shock history and crater reconstruction. Twinning is easily observed with both the optical microscope and variety of electron beam techniques. Twinning as a deformation mechanism is consistent with the high strain rates generated during impact. No constitutive relationships, or even general limits on the physical conditions required for twinning in zircon are known, however. Present speculation on the critical quantity for twin formation, i.e. 10s of GPa of shock pressure (Moser et al. 2011, Timms et al., 2012), has no basis in the underlying mechanisms of twin nucleation, which are related to the motion of dislocations. This erroneous value is due to conflation of twinning sensu stricto with a phase transformation to reidite. Reidite occurs as twin-like lamellae occupying the {112} planes which are thought to be a mirror plane for twinning. We review the crystallographic theory of twinning in zircon. We then evaulate several theories on the nucleation of twins along with their necessary stresses involved. Our aim is to show that shock microtwins in zircon can be a `low pressure' shock phenomenon. This 'low pressure' hypothesis is supported by natural samples. These zircons are from the lower crust nearly 80 km from the centre of the Vredefort impact structure—the most distal zircon shock microstructures yet found in the lithosphere. Twins are present in 10% of the zircon grains greater than 50 µm in diameter. As an extensive, 'low pressure' phenomenon, twins are an easily recognized and potentially widespread record of Earth's impact history.Moser, D.E., Cupelli, C. L., Barker, I., Flowers, R. M., Mowman, J. R., Wooden, J. and Hart, R. (2011) New zircon shock phenomena and their use for dating and […] analysis of the Vredefort dome, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 48(2), 117-139.Timms, N.E., Reddy, S. M., Healy, D., Nemchin, A. A

Qualitative Robustness in Estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Nasser

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} Qualitative robustness, influence function, and breakdown point are three main concepts to judge an estimator from the viewpoint of robust estimation. It is important as well as interesting to study relation among them. This article attempts to present the concept of qualitative robustness as forwarded by first proponents and its later development. It illustrates intricacies of qualitative robustness and its relation with consistency, and also tries to remove commonly believed misunderstandings about relation between influence function and qualitative robustness citing some examples from literature and providing a new counter-example. At the end it places a useful finite and a simulated version of   qualitative robustness index (QRI. In order to assess the performance of the proposed measures, we have compared fifteen estimators of correlation coefficient using simulated as well as real data sets.

Presenteeism – (Not new phenomenon in the occupational environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agata Wężyk

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Presenteeism, understood as being at work while ill, is not a new phenomenon. However, not long ago it has become an object of researchers' interest. Formerly, they focused mainly on absenteeism. In general, presenteesim is perceived as negative and very costly for employers. The majority of scientific studies refer to the problem of employees' productivity reduced due to their attending work despite being ill, but the knowledge about presenteeism's causes and effects (other than decreased productivity for both, the employee and the organisation, is still very limited. Especially in Poland there are very few scientific reports on this issue. However, the paper on presenteeism published recently (the 3/2013 issue of this Journal defined this phenomenon as a noneffective presence at work. The authors postulate to avoid pejorative connotation of this term by equating presenteeism with loss of productivity, and to separate this phenomenon from its possible negative and positive consequences. Thus, this paper aims at presenting current state of the art on this phenomenon, including such issues as definitional problems, measures and frequency of presenteeism, as well as its causes and consequences. In this paper presenteeism is presented in a wider perspective of its individual and contextual determinants. Med Pr 2013;64(6:847–861

Simulation study of the ionizing front in the critical ionization velocity phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machida, S.; Goertz, C.K.; Lu, G.

1988-01-01

Simulations of the Critical Ionization Velocity (CIV) for a neutral gas cloud moving across the static magnetic field are made. We treat a low-β plasma and use a 2-1/2 D electrostatic code linked with our Plasma and Neutral Interaction Code (PANIC). Our study is focused on the understanding of the interface between the neutral gas cloud and the surrounding plasma where the strong interaction takes place. We assume the existence of some hot electrons in the ambient plasma to provide a seed ionization for CIV. When the ionization starts a sheath-like structure is formed at the surface of the neutral gas (Ionizing Front). In that region the crossfield component of the electric field causes the electron to E x B drift with a velocity of the order of the neutral gas velocity times the square root of the ion to electron mass ratio. Thus the kinetic energy of the drifting electrons can be large enough for electron impact ionization. In addition a diamagnetic drift of the electron occurs due to the number density and temperature inhomogeneity in the ionization front. These drift currents excite the lower-hybrid waves with the wave k-vectors almost perpendicular to the neutral flow and magnetic field again resulting in electron heating and additional ionization. The overall structure is studied by developing a simple analytic model as well as making simulation runs. (author)

Robust Robot Grasp Detection in Multimodal Fusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Qiang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Accurate robot grasp detection for model free objects plays an important role in robotics. With the development of RGB-D sensors, object perception technology has made great progress. Reach feature expression by the colour and the depth data is a critical problem that needs to be addressed in order to accomplish the grasping task. To solve the problem of data fusion, this paper proposes a convolutional neural networks (CNN based approach combined with regression and classification. In the CNN model, the colour and the depth modal data are deeply fused together to achieve accurate feature expression. Additionally, Welsch function is introduced into the approach to enhance robustness of the training process. Experiment results demonstrates the superiority of the proposed method.

Robustness in econometrics

CERN Document Server

Sriboonchitta, Songsak; Huynh, Van-Nam

2017-01-01

This book presents recent research on robustness in econometrics. Robust data processing techniques – i.e., techniques that yield results minimally affected by outliers – and their applications to real-life economic and financial situations are the main focus of this book. The book also discusses applications of more traditional statistical techniques to econometric problems. Econometrics is a branch of economics that uses mathematical (especially statistical) methods to analyze economic systems, to forecast economic and financial dynamics, and to develop strategies for achieving desirable economic performance. In day-by-day data, we often encounter outliers that do not reflect the long-term economic trends, e.g., unexpected and abrupt fluctuations. As such, it is important to develop robust data processing techniques that can accommodate these fluctuations.

Robust Programming by Example

OpenAIRE

Bishop , Matt; Elliott , Chip

2011-01-01

Part 2: WISE 7; International audience; Robust programming lies at the heart of the type of coding called “secure programming”. Yet it is rarely taught in academia. More commonly, the focus is on how to avoid creating well-known vulnerabilities. While important, that misses the point: a well-structured, robust program should anticipate where problems might arise and compensate for them. This paper discusses one view of robust programming and gives an example of how it may be taught.

Robust Reliability or reliable robustness? - Integrated consideration of robustness and reliability aspects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kemmler, S.; Eifler, Tobias; Bertsche, B.

2015-01-01

products are and vice versa. For a comprehensive understanding and to use existing synergies between both domains, this paper discusses the basic principles of Reliability- and Robust Design theory. The development of a comprehensive model will enable an integrated consideration of both domains...

The clinical and neurophysiological characteristics of the deja vu phenomenon in epilepsy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. N. Vlasov

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: to study the clinical and neurophysiological characteristics of the deja vu phenomenon in epilepsy. Patients and methods. The manifestations of the dВjЕ vu phenomenon were compared in 154 examinees in two groups: 1 139 healthy individuals and 2 25 patients with epilepsy (mean age 25.17±9.19 years; women, 63.2% The characteristics of the phenomenon were determined, by questioning the examinees; 12—16-hour ambulatory electroencephalogram (EEG monitoring was made. Results. The deja vu phenomenon occurred with cryptogenic and symptomatic focal epilepsy with equal frequency; however, the phenomenon was also seen in the idiopathic generalized form of the latter and could be concurrent virtually with any types of seizures and observed as an individual seizure and in the structure of a partial and secondarily generalized seizure. In epileptic patients, the main clinical characteristics of the deja vu vu phenomenon are its frequency, fear before its onset, and emotional coloring. The most important criterion is a change in the characteristics of deja vu vu: prolongation, more frequencies, and the emergence of negative emotions. On EEG, the phenomenon was characterized by the onset of polyspike activity in the right temporal leads and, in some cases, ended with slow-wave, theta-delta activity in the right hemisphere.

Detection of heart beats in multimodal data: a robust beat-to-beat interval estimation approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Antink, Christoph Hoog; Brüser, Christoph; Leonhardt, Steffen

2015-08-01

The heart rate and its variability play a vital role in the continuous monitoring of patients, especially in the critical care unit. They are commonly derived automatically from the electrocardiogram as the interval between consecutive heart beat. While their identification by QRS-complexes is straightforward under ideal conditions, the exact localization can be a challenging task if the signal is severely contaminated with noise and artifacts. At the same time, other signals directly related to cardiac activity are often available. In this multi-sensor scenario, methods of multimodal sensor-fusion allow the exploitation of redundancies to increase the accuracy and robustness of beat detection.In this paper, an algorithm for the robust detection of heart beats in multimodal data is presented. Classic peak-detection is augmented by robust multi-channel, multimodal interval estimation to eliminate false detections and insert missing beats. This approach yielded a score of 90.70 and was thus ranked third place in the PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2014: Robust Detection of Heart Beats in Muthmodal Data follow-up analysis.In the future, the robust beat-to-beat interval estimator may directly be used for the automated processing of multimodal patient data for applications such as diagnosis support and intelligent alarming.

Critical weight loss in head and neck cancer - prevalence and risk factors at diagnosis : an explorative study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jager-Wittenaar, H.; Dijkstra, P.U.; Vissink, A.; van der Laan, B.F.A.M.; van Oort, R.P.; Roodenburg, J.L.N.

Goals of work Critical weight loss (>= 5% in 1 month or >= 10% in 6 months) is a common phenomenon in head and neck cancer patients. It is unknown which complaints are most strongly related to critical weight loss in head and neck cancer patients at the time of diagnosis. The aim of this explorative

Differential diagnosis of Raynaud’s phenomenon based on modeling of finger thermoregulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ismail, E; Romani, G L; Merla, A; Orlando, G; Corradini, M L; Amerio, P

2014-01-01

Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is a vasospastic disorder of small arteries, pre-capillary arteries, and cutaneous arteriovenous shunts of the extremities, typically induced by cold exposure and emotional stress. RP is either primary (PRP) or secondary to connective tissue diseases such as systemic sclerosis (SSc). Early differential diagnosis is crucial in order to set the proper therapeutic strategy. To this goal, thermal infrared imaging data from 18 healthy controls (HCs) and 48 RP patients (20 PRP, 28 SSc) were processed through a model for a second-order time-invariant system with exponential critically damped dynamic response. Subject classification on the basis of the model parameters provides 100% true-positive discrimination for RP patients (PRP and SSc) and healthy, and 90% of correct classification within the group of patients. The proposed method may provide useful hints for early differential diagnosis in the assessment of RP disease. (paper)

Phenomenon of isomorphic provoking responses in cases of limited scleroderma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Talnikova Е.Е.

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The article presents the historical origin of the term "Koebner phenomenon". The literature data reflect the etiology, pathogenesis and epidemiology of isomorphic mechanisms provoking responses in lichen planus, psoriasis, scleroder-ma, syphilis. Variants of the Koebner phenomenon's classifications are given. The clinical cases of limited scleroderma after mechanical injury are described.

Atomistic understanding of hydrogen loading phenomenon into ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

IASBS), ... ically through various electrochemical methods and high-level quantum ... ton) by applying a constant anodic voltage. .... phenomenon being occurred at metal | solution inter- .... cationic form and extra energy is released by occupying.

A Theoretical Model for the Prediction of Siphon Breaking Phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bae, Youngmin; Kim, Young-In; Seo, Jae-Kwang; Kim, Keung Koo; Yoon, Juhyeon

2014-01-01

A siphon phenomenon or siphoning often refers to the movement of liquid from a higher elevation to a lower one through a tube in an inverted U shape (whose top is typically located above the liquid surface) under the action of gravity, and has been used in a variety of reallife applications such as a toilet bowl and a Greedy cup. However, liquid drainage due to siphoning sometimes needs to be prevented. For example, a siphon breaker, which is designed to limit the siphon effect by allowing the gas entrainment into a siphon line, is installed in order to maintain the pool water level above the reactor core when a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) occurs in an open-pool type research reactor. In this paper, we develop a theoretical model to predict the siphon breaking phenomenon. In this paper, a theoretical model to predict the siphon breaking phenomenon is developed. It is shown that the present model predicts well the fundamental features of the siphon breaking phenomenon and undershooting height

A Theoretical Model for the Prediction of Siphon Breaking Phenomenon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bae, Youngmin; Kim, Young-In; Seo, Jae-Kwang; Kim, Keung Koo; Yoon, Juhyeon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

A siphon phenomenon or siphoning often refers to the movement of liquid from a higher elevation to a lower one through a tube in an inverted U shape (whose top is typically located above the liquid surface) under the action of gravity, and has been used in a variety of reallife applications such as a toilet bowl and a Greedy cup. However, liquid drainage due to siphoning sometimes needs to be prevented. For example, a siphon breaker, which is designed to limit the siphon effect by allowing the gas entrainment into a siphon line, is installed in order to maintain the pool water level above the reactor core when a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) occurs in an open-pool type research reactor. In this paper, we develop a theoretical model to predict the siphon breaking phenomenon. In this paper, a theoretical model to predict the siphon breaking phenomenon is developed. It is shown that the present model predicts well the fundamental features of the siphon breaking phenomenon and undershooting height.

Critical behavior and dimension crossover of pion superfluidity

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ziyue; Zhuang, Pengfei

2016-09-01

We investigate the critical behavior of pion superfluidity in the framework of the functional renormalization group (FRG). By solving the flow equations in the SU(2) linear sigma model at finite temperature and isospin density, and making comparison with the fixed point analysis of a general O (N ) system with continuous dimension, we find that the pion superfluidity is a second order phase transition subject to an O (2 ) universality class with a dimension crossover from dc=4 to dc=3 . This phenomenon provides a concrete example of dimension reduction in thermal field theory. The large-N expansion gives a temperature independent critical exponent β and agrees with the FRG result only at zero temperature.

Analysis by numerical simulations of non-linear phenomenons in vertical pump rotor dynamic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bediou, J.; Pasqualini, G.

1992-01-01

Controlling dynamical behavior of main coolant pumps shaftlines is an interesting subject for the user and the constructor. The first is mainly concerned by the interpretation of on field observed behavior, monitoring, reliability and preventive maintenance of his machines. The second must in addition manage with sometimes contradictory requirements related to mechanical design and performances optimization (shaft diameter reduction, clearance,...). The use of numerical modeling is now a classical technique for simple analysis (rough prediction of critical speeds for instance) but is still limited, in particular for vertical shaftline especially when equipped with hydrodynamic bearings, due to the complexity of encountered phenomenons in that type of machine. The vertical position of the shaftline seems to be the origin of non linear dynamical behavior, the analysis of which, as presented in the following discussion, requires specific modelization of fluid film, particularly for hydrodynamic bearings. The low static load generally no longer allows use of stiffness and damping coefficients classically calculated by linearizing fluid film equations near a stable static equilibrium position. For the analysis of such machines, specific numerical models have been developed at Electricite de France in a package for general rotordynamics analysis. Numerical models are briefly described. Then an example is precisely presented and discussed to illustrate some considered phenomenons and their consequences on machine behavior. In this example, the authors interpret the observed behavior by using numerical models, and demonstrate the advantage of such analysis for better understanding of vertical pumps rotordynamic

Robust Backstepping Control of Wing Rock Using Disturbance Observer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dawei Wu

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Wing rock is a highly nonlinear phenomenon when the aircraft suffers undesired roll-dominated oscillatory at high angle of attack (AOA. Considering the strong nonlinear and unsteady aerodynamic characteristics, an uncertain multi-input and multi-output (MIMO nonlinear wing rock model is studied, and system uncertainties, unsteady aerodynamic disturbances and externaldisturbancesareconsideredinthedesignofwingrockcontrollaw. Tohandletheproblemof multipledisturbances,arobustcontrolschemeisproposedbasedontheextendedstateobserver(ESO and the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN technique. Considering that the effectiveness of actuators are greatly decreased at high AOA, the input saturation problem is also handled by constructing a corresponding auxiliary system. Based on the improved ESO and the auxiliary system, a robust backstepping control law is proposed for the wing rock control. In addition, the dynamic surface control (DSC technique is introduced to avoid the tedious computations of time derivatives for the virtual control laws in the backstepping method. The stability of the closed-loop system is guaranteed via rigorously Lyapunov analysis. Finally, simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the ESO and the proposed wing rock control approach.

The critical catastrophe revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Mulatier, Clélia; Rosso, Alberto; Dumonteil, Eric; Zoia, Andrea

2015-01-01

The neutron population in a prototype model of nuclear reactor can be described in terms of a collection of particles confined in a box and undergoing three key random mechanisms: diffusion, reproduction due to fissions, and death due to absorption events. When the reactor is operated at the critical point, and fissions are exactly compensated by absorptions, the whole neutron population might in principle go to extinction because of the wild fluctuations induced by births and deaths. This phenomenon, which has been named critical catastrophe, is nonetheless never observed in practice: feedback mechanisms acting on the total population, such as human intervention, have a stabilizing effect. In this work, we revisit the critical catastrophe by investigating the spatial behaviour of the fluctuations in a confined geometry. When the system is free to evolve, the neutrons may display a wild patchiness (clustering). On the contrary, imposing a population control on the total population acts also against the local fluctuations, and may thus inhibit the spatial clustering. The effectiveness of population control in quenching spatial fluctuations will be shown to depend on the competition between the mixing time of the neutrons (i.e. the average time taken for a particle to explore the finite viable space) and the extinction time

Khuzestan dust phenomenon: a content analysis of most widely circulated newspapers.

Science.gov (United States)

Mojadam, Mehdi; Matlabi, Mohammad; Haji, Alireza; Cheraghi, Maria; Bitaraf, Saeid; Khafaie, Morteza Abdullatif

2018-06-01

Dust is an atmospheric phenomenon that causes adverse environmental effects. It is deemed to have harmful effects on health, economics, and climate. This study aimed to analyze the content published on the phenomenon of dust in the widely circulated newspapers in Iran. We investigated the content of all national and provincial newspapers that were published between July and August 2014. Data on the materials related to the dust phenomenon in the newspapers were categorized and coded. From a total of 510 newspaper issues, 143 articles were devoted to the dust phenomenon which 74.1% of them were published in provincial newspapers. Among the national newspapers, Hamshahri newspaper with 16 headlines and from the provincial newspapers; Karoon with 23 headlines published the highest number of articles on dust phenomenon. 45.5% of content on dust were printed on the first page of the newspapers. The most common approach to the type of content published in these newspapers was an interview. Moreover, we noticed that 28.7% of the content published in the newspapers was related to the health issue. The media plays an important role in the transmission of health information. Weaknesses in addressing the causes of dust occurrence and also in providing solutions for the dust control and prevention were noticeable in the content published in the newspaper. It seems necessary to take practical measures to disseminate relevant information to dust and also address the needs of the target audience community influenced by the dust phenomenon properly.

The influence of initial conditions of water-entry on ricochet phenomenon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guoming, Chen; Jinfu, Feng; Junhua, Hu; An, Liu [Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering College, Air Force Engineering University, Xi’an, 710038 (China); Yongli, Li, E-mail: 18192081790@163.com [Engineering University of CAPF, Xi’an 710086 (China)

2017-08-15

The ricochet phenomenon of the water-entry of the water–air crossing vehicle is investigated by both experiments and numerical simulations. Experiments and numerical simulations of the water-entry process with different inclination angles, velocities, and attack angles are performed. The whole ricochet progress and the changing rules of angular acceleration, angular velocity, and displacement are obtained and analyzed by numerical simulation for a deeper understanding of ricochet phenomenon. The experiment is carried out to study the underwater trajectory by changing the initial condition only. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulations. The results show that: (1) A small inclination angle causes the trajectory to bend upward, favoring the ricochet phenomenon. (2) A large velocity value also favors the ricochet phenomenon, making it occur more easily and quickly, but lower velocities are insufficient to provide the necessary kinetic energy. (3) The ricochet phenomenon is more likely to occur under a negative attack angle that causes the trajectory to bend upward, but a positive angle balances the underwater trajectory. These results can provide guidance to design a new water–air cross vehicle. (paper)

Using multiobjective tradeoff sets and Multivariate Regression Trees to identify critical and robust decisions for long term water utility planning

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, R.; Kasprzyk, J. R.; Balaji, R.

2017-12-01

In light of deeply uncertain factors like future climate change and population shifts, responsible resource management will require new types of information and strategies. For water utilities, this entails potential expansion and efficient management of water supply infrastructure systems for changes in overall supply; changes in frequency and severity of climate extremes such as droughts and floods; and variable demands, all while accounting for conflicting long and short term performance objectives. Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) are emerging decision support tools that have been used by researchers and, more recently, water utilities to efficiently generate and evaluate thousands of planning portfolios. The tradeoffs between conflicting objectives are explored in an automated way to produce (often large) suites of portfolios that strike different balances of performance. Once generated, the sets of optimized portfolios are used to support relatively subjective assertions of priorities and human reasoning, leading to adoption of a plan. These large tradeoff sets contain information about complex relationships between decisions and between groups of decisions and performance that, until now, has not been quantitatively described. We present a novel use of Multivariate Regression Trees (MRTs) to analyze tradeoff sets to reveal these relationships and critical decisions. Additionally, when MRTs are applied to tradeoff sets developed for different realizations of an uncertain future, they can identify decisions that are robust across a wide range of conditions and produce fundamental insights about the system being optimized.

Raynaud's phenomenon: peripheral catecholamine concentration and effect of sympathectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, S L; Christensen, N J; Olsen, N; Lassen, N A

1980-01-01

The reaction to body and finger cooling was recorded in seven patients with relapse of primary Raynaud's phenomenon after sufficiently performed bilateral upper thoracic sympathectomy and for comparison in eight young women with primary Raynaud's phenomenon as well as in seven normal women. The forearm venous concentration of noradrenaline was lower and adrenaline concentration higher in the sympathectomized patients than in the other groups (p less than 0,05). Noradrenaline showed a significant increase during body cooling in normals and primary Raynaud's (p less than 0,05). There was no significant correlation between the vasoconstrictor response to cooling of a finger and the noradrenaline concentration probably due to the fact that skin vasoconstriction impeded release of noradrenaline from the skin. The relapse of Raynaud's phenomenon after surgically sufficient sympathectomy could not be treated by reserpine or alfa-adrenergic receptor blockers in two patients in whom this was tried.

The Expansion of Criminal Control: A Critical to Feather Functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariel Muraro

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article aims to relate the theories of punishment, retributive and preventive, with the criminological discourse, and make brief notes about the negative theories and criticism of the sentence. The article begins by making a few notes on the mass incarceration of the phenomenon, then going to discuss and present the form of action of the police state. Then they present the theories of punishment under the critical perspective, and then work the two main critical theories of punishment, thus treating the position Prof. Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni and Prof. Juarez Cirino dos Santos. These presentations and discussions have left the critical discourse, not taking our work as end revisit the theoretical construction of the functions of the pen, just to demonstrate how the discourse of shame built by criminal law legitimizes selective and violent actions of the penal system.

Robust

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

‘Robust – Reflections on Resilient Architecture’, is a scientific publication following the conference of the same name in November of 2017. Researches and PhD-Fellows, associated with the Masters programme: Cultural Heritage, Transformation and Restoration (Transformation), at The Royal Danish...

[Correlation study between obesity and dawn phenomenon in patients with type 2 diabetes].

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Zhenhong; Xu, Jie; Wang, Jingyu; Han, Fei; Zhang, Yi; Yang, X iaoyun; Yang, Shaohua; Chang, Bai; Yang, Juhong; Shan, Chunyan; Chen, Liming; Chang, Baocheng; Xu, Yanguang

2016-01-01

To investigate the correlation between the frequency of dawn phenomenon and obesity in patients with type 2 diabetes. This study was conducted in 98 patients with type 2 diabetes admitted to the Metabolic Disease Hospital of Tianjin Medical University from 2011 to 2014. The subjects were divided into 3 groups according to BMI: the normal weight (BMI 18.5-23.9 kg/m(2), n = 30), the overweight(BMI 24-27.9 kg/m(2), n = 33)and the obesity (BMI ≥ 28.0 kg/m(2), n = 35). All participants underwent continuous glucose monitoring for 72 h. Fasting plasma glucose(FPG), insulin and C-peptide were tested. Frequency of dawn phenomenon among the 3 groups was calculated, and the correlations between dawn phenomenon and its related factors were analyzed. The frequency of dawn phenomenon in type 2 diabetes increased with the increase of BMI in the 3 groups (P obesity groups, respectively. The dawn phenomenon was positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.424, P fasting C-peptide (r = 0.254, P 0.05). The dawn phenomenon is closely associated with obesity and insulin resistance. The frequency of dawn phenomenon increases with BMI.

The IARC monographs: critics and controversy.

Science.gov (United States)

Samet, Jonathan M

2015-07-01

The monograph program of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which relies on the efforts of volunteer Working Groups, uses a transparent approach to evaluate the carcinogenicity of agents for which scoping has determined that there is sufficient evidence to warrant a review. Because of the potentially powerful implications of the conclusions of the monographs and the sometimes challenging nature of the evidence reviewed, the monographs and the IARC process have been criticized from time to time. This commentary describes the IARC monograph process and addresses recent criticisms of the program, drawing on a recent defense of the program authored by 124 researchers. These authors concluded that the IARC processes are robust and transparent and not flawed and biased as suggested by some critics. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Robustness in Railway Operations (RobustRailS)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jens Parbo; Nielsen, Otto Anker

This study considers the problem of enhancing railway timetable robustness without adding slack time, hence increasing the travel time. The approach integrates a transit assignment model to assess how passengers adapt their behaviour whenever operations are changed. First, the approach considers...

Robust statistical methods with R

CERN Document Server

Jureckova, Jana

2005-01-01

Robust statistical methods were developed to supplement the classical procedures when the data violate classical assumptions. They are ideally suited to applied research across a broad spectrum of study, yet most books on the subject are narrowly focused, overly theoretical, or simply outdated. Robust Statistical Methods with R provides a systematic treatment of robust procedures with an emphasis on practical application.The authors work from underlying mathematical tools to implementation, paying special attention to the computational aspects. They cover the whole range of robust methods, including differentiable statistical functions, distance of measures, influence functions, and asymptotic distributions, in a rigorous yet approachable manner. Highlighting hands-on problem solving, many examples and computational algorithms using the R software supplement the discussion. The book examines the characteristics of robustness, estimators of real parameter, large sample properties, and goodness-of-fit tests. It...

Robust Manufacturing Control

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

This contributed volume collects research papers, presented at the CIRP Sponsored Conference Robust Manufacturing Control: Innovative and Interdisciplinary Approaches for Global Networks (RoMaC 2012, Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany, June 18th-20th 2012). These research papers present the latest developments and new ideas focusing on robust manufacturing control for global networks. Today, Global Production Networks (i.e. the nexus of interconnected material and information flows through which products and services are manufactured, assembled and distributed) are confronted with and expected to adapt to: sudden and unpredictable large-scale changes of important parameters which are occurring more and more frequently, event propagation in networks with high degree of interconnectivity which leads to unforeseen fluctuations, and non-equilibrium states which increasingly characterize daily business. These multi-scale changes deeply influence logistic target achievement and call for robust planning and control ...

[Virchowian Hansen's disease, Lucio's phenomenon, cryptococcosis].

Science.gov (United States)

1988-12-01

A 75 years old white male, for 3 years on treatment for virchowian hanseniasis, was admitted with active HD lesions, infiltration on the base of right lung, leg ulcer and malaise. After two days he developed purpura and hemorrhagic blisters in the limbs. The biopsy of these lesions revealed Lucio phenomenon. The patient worsened with mental confusion, psychomotor agitation and anisocoric pupils. In the 18th day of internation the patient died. Necropsy revealed virchowian infiltration plenty of bacilli in the skin and viscera as well as tuberculoid granuloma with acid-fast bacilli in the liver, spleen and bone marrow. These findings lead us to review the patient's classification from virchowian to borderline. In the lungs, leptomeninge, renal papile, prostate and thyroid it was found loose tuberculoid granuloma with a great amount of fungi surrounded by a gelly halo resembling Criptococcus neoformans. These findings and the onset of Lucio phenomenon are discussed in a patient that has been treated for 3 years and still having several virchowian lesions and a great amount of acid-fast bacilli.

Robustness - theoretical framework

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Rizzuto, Enrico; Faber, Michael H.

2010-01-01

More frequent use of advanced types of structures with limited redundancy and serious consequences in case of failure combined with increased requirements to efficiency in design and execution followed by increased risk of human errors has made the need of requirements to robustness of new struct...... of this fact sheet is to describe a theoretical and risk based framework to form the basis for quantification of robustness and for pre-normative guidelines....

Robustness Assessment of Spatial Timber Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirkegaard, Poul Henning

2012-01-01

Robustness of structural systems has obtained a renewed interest due to a much more frequent use of advanced types of structures with limited redundancy and serious consequences in case of failure. In order to minimise the likelihood of such disproportionate structural failures many modern buildi...... to robustness of spatial timber structures and will discuss the consequences of such robustness issues related to the future development of timber structures.......Robustness of structural systems has obtained a renewed interest due to a much more frequent use of advanced types of structures with limited redundancy and serious consequences in case of failure. In order to minimise the likelihood of such disproportionate structural failures many modern building...... codes consider the need for robustness of structures and provide strategies and methods to obtain robustness. Therefore a structural engineer may take necessary steps to design robust structures that are insensitive to accidental circumstances. The present paper summaries issues with respect...

Diffusion phenomenon for linear dissipative wave equations

KAUST Repository

Said-Houari, Belkacem

2012-01-01

In this paper we prove the diffusion phenomenon for the linear wave equation. To derive the diffusion phenomenon, a new method is used. In fact, for initial data in some weighted spaces, we prove that for {equation presented} decays with the rate {equation presented} [0,1] faster than that of either u or v, where u is the solution of the linear wave equation with initial data {equation presented} [0,1], and v is the solution of the related heat equation with initial data v 0 = u 0 + u 1. This result improves the result in H. Yang and A. Milani [Bull. Sci. Math. 124 (2000), 415-433] in the sense that, under the above restriction on the initial data, the decay rate given in that paper can be improved by t -γ/2. © European Mathematical Society.

Structural Phenomenon of Cement-Based Composite Elements in Ultimate Limit State

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Iskhakov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Cement-based composite materials have minimum of two components, one of which has higher strength compared to the other. Such materials include concrete, reinforced concrete (RC, and ferrocement, applied in single- or two-layer RC elements. This paper discusses experimental and theoretical results, obtained by the authors in the recent three decades. The authors have payed attention to a structural phenomenon that many design features (parameters, properties, etc. at ultimate limit state (ULS of a structure are twice higher (or lower than at initial loading state. This phenomenon is evident at material properties, structures (or their elements, and static and/or dynamic structural response. The phenomenon is based on two ideas that were developed by first author: quasi-isotropic state of a structure at ULS and minimax principle. This phenomenon is supported by experimental and theoretical results, obtained for various structures, like beams, frames, spatial structures, and structural joints under static or/and dynamic loadings. This study provides valuable indicators for experiments’ planning and estimation of structural state. The phenomenon provides additional equation(s for calculating parameters that are usually obtained experimentally and can lead to developing design concepts and RC theory, in which the number of empirical design coefficients will be minimal.

The Stokes Phenomenon, Borel Summation and Mellin-Barnes Regularisation

CERN Document Server

Kowalenko, Victor

2009-01-01

The Stokes phenomenon refers to the emergence of jump discontinuities in asymptotic expansions at specific rays in the complex plane. This book presents a radical theory for the phenomenon by introducing the concept of regularization. Two methods of regularization, Borel summation and Mellin-Barnes regularization, are used to derive general expressions for the regularized values of asymptotic expansions throughout the complex plane. Though different, both yield identical values, which, where possible, agree with the original functions. Consequently, asymptotics has been elevated to a true disc

Fabrics coated with lubricated nanostructures display robust omniphobicity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shillingford, Cicely; MacCallum, Noah; Wong, Tak-Sing; Kim, Philseok; Aizenberg, Joanna

2014-01-01

The development of a stain-resistant and pressure-stable textile is desirable for consumer and industrial applications alike, yet it remains a challenge that current technologies have been unable to fully address. Traditional superhydrophobic surfaces, inspired by the lotus plant, are characterized by two main components: hydrophobic chemical functionalization and surface roughness. While this approach produces water-resistant surfaces, these materials have critical weaknesses that hinder their practical utility, in particular as robust stain-free fabrics. For example, traditional superhydrophobic surfaces fail (i.e., become stained) when exposed to low-surface-tension liquids, under pressure when impacted by a high-velocity stream of water (e.g., rain), and when exposed to physical forces such as abrasion and twisting. We have recently introduced slippery lubricant-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS), a self-healing, pressure-tolerant and omniphobic surface, to address these issues. Herein we present the rational design and optimization of nanostructured lubricant-infused fabrics and demonstrate markedly improved performance over traditional superhydrophobic textile treatments: SLIPS-functionalized cotton and polyester fabrics exhibit decreased contact angle hysteresis and sliding angles, omni-repellent properties against various fluids including polar and nonpolar liquids, pressure tolerance and mechanical robustness, all of which are not readily achievable with the state-of-the-art superhydrophobic coatings. (paper)

Fabrics coated with lubricated nanostructures display robust omniphobicity

Science.gov (United States)

Shillingford, Cicely; MacCallum, Noah; Wong, Tak-Sing; Kim, Philseok; Aizenberg, Joanna

2014-01-01

The development of a stain-resistant and pressure-stable textile is desirable for consumer and industrial applications alike, yet it remains a challenge that current technologies have been unable to fully address. Traditional superhydrophobic surfaces, inspired by the lotus plant, are characterized by two main components: hydrophobic chemical functionalization and surface roughness. While this approach produces water-resistant surfaces, these materials have critical weaknesses that hinder their practical utility, in particular as robust stain-free fabrics. For example, traditional superhydrophobic surfaces fail (i.e., become stained) when exposed to low-surface-tension liquids, under pressure when impacted by a high-velocity stream of water (e.g., rain), and when exposed to physical forces such as abrasion and twisting. We have recently introduced slippery lubricant-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS), a self-healing, pressure-tolerant and omniphobic surface, to address these issues. Herein we present the rational design and optimization of nanostructured lubricant-infused fabrics and demonstrate markedly improved performance over traditional superhydrophobic textile treatments: SLIPS-functionalized cotton and polyester fabrics exhibit decreased contact angle hysteresis and sliding angles, omni-repellent properties against various fluids including polar and nonpolar liquids, pressure tolerance and mechanical robustness, all of which are not readily achievable with the state-of-the-art superhydrophobic coatings.

Schooling the Mean Girl: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Teacher Resource Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Bethune, Jennifer; Gonick, Marnina

2017-01-01

This paper is a critical discourse analysis of teacher resource materials about girl bullying. The "mean girl" phenomenon has been widely taken up as one of the current key narratives about schools and school girls. This paper argues for the importance of understanding the origins of this discourse within behavioural psychology, which…

Timeless is a critical gene in the diapause of silkworm, Bombyx mori ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Timeless is a critical gene in the diapause of silkworm, Bombyx mori. L Xu, H Liang, LP Gan, WD Wang, YH Sima, SQ Xu. Abstract. The diapause is a specific physiological phenomenon induced by circadian zeitgebers of temperature and photoperiod at the stage of maternal embryonic development. In this research, the ...

An Integrated Environmental Assessment of Green and Gray Infrastructure Strategies for Robust Decision Making.

Science.gov (United States)

Casal-Campos, Arturo; Fu, Guangtao; Butler, David; Moore, Andrew

2015-07-21

The robustness of a range of watershed-scale "green" and "gray" drainage strategies in the future is explored through comprehensive modeling of a fully integrated urban wastewater system case. Four socio-economic future scenarios, defined by parameters affecting the environmental performance of the system, are proposed to account for the uncertain variability of conditions in the year 2050. A regret-based approach is applied to assess the relative performance of strategies in multiple impact categories (environmental, economic, and social) as well as to evaluate their robustness across future scenarios. The concept of regret proves useful in identifying performance trade-offs and recognizing states of the world most critical to decisions. The study highlights the robustness of green strategies (particularly rain gardens, resulting in half the regret of most options) over end-of-pipe gray alternatives (surface water separation or sewer and storage rehabilitation), which may be costly (on average, 25% of the total regret of these options) and tend to focus on sewer flooding and CSO alleviation while compromising on downstream system performance (this accounts for around 50% of their total regret). Trade-offs and scenario regrets observed in the analysis suggest that the combination of green and gray strategies may still offer further potential for robustness.

A Comparative Theoretical and Computational Study on Robust Counterpart Optimization: I. Robust Linear Optimization and Robust Mixed Integer Linear Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zukui; Ding, Ran; Floudas, Christodoulos A.

2011-01-01

Robust counterpart optimization techniques for linear optimization and mixed integer linear optimization problems are studied in this paper. Different uncertainty sets, including those studied in literature (i.e., interval set; combined interval and ellipsoidal set; combined interval and polyhedral set) and new ones (i.e., adjustable box; pure ellipsoidal; pure polyhedral; combined interval, ellipsoidal, and polyhedral set) are studied in this work and their geometric relationship is discussed. For uncertainty in the left hand side, right hand side, and objective function of the optimization problems, robust counterpart optimization formulations induced by those different uncertainty sets are derived. Numerical studies are performed to compare the solutions of the robust counterpart optimization models and applications in refinery production planning and batch process scheduling problem are presented. PMID:21935263

Review of the Phenomenon of Ice Shedding from Wind Turbine Blades

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H Xue

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Wind power is a sustainable source of energy. However, there are certain challenges to be  overcome. One of the operational challenges is the phenomenon of ice shedding. Icing happens on wind turbine blades in cold regions. When ice grows to a certain size, it separates from the wind turbine blades resulting in the phenomenon of ice shedding. This phenomenon is of significantly dangerous for equipment and personnel in the region. Ice shedding may happen either because of vibrations or bending in blades. However, it was noticed by operators at Nygårdsfjell wind park, Narvik, Norway that ice shedding is more probable to happen when blades are stopped and turned back on. This observation reveals the fact that bending of blades (from loaded to unloaded positions allows the ice to separate and hence result in ice shedding. This can be linked to the phenomenon of icing, mechanical and adhesive properties of ice. This paper reviews above in detail.

Use of Continuous Infusion Epoprostenol in a Patient with Secondary Raynaud's Phenomenon

OpenAIRE

Steven M. Lemieux; Felipe Lopez; Claire C. Eng; Ginger E. Rouse

2018-01-01

Purpose: To describe a unique prostacyclin dosing regimen utilized to treat a case of secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon and summarize the existing literature on parenteral prostacyclin use for Raynaud’s phenomenon in adult patients. Summary: A 54-year-old female was admitted for initiation of continuous intravenous infusion epoprostenol to treat secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon which failed to respond to nifedipine and sildenafil. The infusion was titrated to a target dose of 9 ng/kg/min for 5 ...

Robust procedures in chemometrics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kotwa, Ewelina

properties of the analysed data. The broad theoretical background of robust procedures was given as a very useful supplement to the classical methods, and a new tool, based on robust PCA, aiming at identifying Rayleigh and Raman scatters in excitation-mission (EEM) data was developed. The results show...

Robust canonical correlations: A comparative study

OpenAIRE

Branco, JA; Croux, Christophe; Filzmoser, P; Oliveira, MR

2005-01-01

Several approaches for robust canonical correlation analysis will be presented and discussed. A first method is based on the definition of canonical correlation analysis as looking for linear combinations of two sets of variables having maximal (robust) correlation. A second method is based on alternating robust regressions. These methods axe discussed in detail and compared with the more traditional approach to robust canonical correlation via covariance matrix estimates. A simulation study ...

Tullio phenomenon in superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Basura, Gregory J; Cronin, Scott J; Heidenreich, Katherine D

2014-03-18

Tullio phenomenon refers to eye movements induced by sound.(1) This unusual examination finding may be seen in superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD) syndrome.(2) This disorder is due to absent bone over the superior semicircular canal (figure). Patients complain of dizziness triggered by loud sound, aural fullness, autophony, and pulsatile tinnitus. When Tullio phenomenon exists in SSCD syndrome, the patient develops a mixed vertical-torsional nystagmus in which the slow phase rotates up and away from the affected ear (video on the Neurology® Web site at Neurology.org). This pattern of nystagmus aligns in the plane of the dehiscent semicircular canal and is due to excitation of its afferent nerves.

Non-negative Tensor Factorization for Robust Exploratory Big-Data Analytics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alexandrov, Boian [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Vesselinov, Velimir Valentinov [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Djidjev, Hristo Nikolov [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2018-01-17

Currently, large multidimensional datasets are being accumulated in almost every field. Data are: (1) collected by distributed sensor networks in real-time all over the globe, (2) produced by large-scale experimental measurements or engineering activities, (3) generated by high-performance simulations, and (4) gathered by electronic communications and socialnetwork activities, etc. Simultaneous analysis of these ultra-large heterogeneous multidimensional datasets is often critical for scientific discoveries, decision-making, emergency response, and national and global security. The importance of such analyses mandates the development of the next-generation of robust machine learning (ML) methods and tools for bigdata exploratory analysis.

ABOUT POTENTIALLY ACCEPTABLE TRACTION OF THE UNEXPECTED PHENOMENON

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BOL’SHAKOV V. I.

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Summary. Raising of problem. The article notes that constructive denial of traditional beliefs is often a powerful source of scientific discoveries. However, the absence of a constructive negation of the diva phenomenon can not be perceived as a lack of an adequate interpretation of it. It is assumed that the interpretation of Diva phenomena can be based on the definition of the area of their existence, which is computationally irreducible within the boundaries of existing methods of identification. The definition of such an area initiates. The formation of hypotheses that interpret the assumptions about its existence. An example of the origin of one of the hypotheses is considered in this essay. Drawing on relativistic physics and cosmology, the authors put forward a hypothesis about the possibility of the existence of a parallel space-time continuum to the existing one. This allows us to assume the existence of fragments of diva-type phenomena shifted in time to the main such continuum. The presence of such a phenomenon allows one to assume a mental connection of the percipient to a parallel space-time continuum and to implement time-shifted predictions. As an example, the existence of a computationally irreducible region of a concrete psychophysical phenomenon (sculptural portraying is given.

The clinical and neurophysiological characteristics of the deja vu phenomenon in epilepsy

OpenAIRE

P. N. Vlasov; A. V. Chervyakov; G. R. Drozhzhina; М. V. Antonyuk; N. V. Orekhova; V. V. Gnezditsky; T. Yu. Noskova; P. A. Fedin

2012-01-01

Objective: to study the clinical and neurophysiological characteristics of the deja vu phenomenon in epilepsy. Patients and methods. The manifestations of the dВjЕ vu phenomenon were compared in 154 examinees in two groups: 1) 139 healthy individuals and 2) 25 patients with epilepsy (mean age 25.17±9.19 years; women, 63.2%) The characteristics of the phenomenon were determined, by questioning the examinees; 12—16-hour ambulatory electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring was made. Results. The dej...

Ethics Leadership in Research, Healthcare and Organizational Systems: Commentary and Critical Reflections

Science.gov (United States)

Gabriele, Edward F.

2011-01-01

In the last decades there has arisen a greater awareness of the ever present need for critical academic reflection on the nature of ethics leadership and committees in research, healthcare, and organizational systems. Yet what is meant by ethics itself? How is ethics understood as a historical phenomenon? What challenges must ethics leaders face…

Total focusing method (TFM) robustness to material deviations

Science.gov (United States)

Painchaud-April, Guillaume; Badeau, Nicolas; Lepage, Benoit

2018-04-01

The total focusing method (TFM) is becoming an accepted nondestructive evaluation method for industrial inspection. What was a topic of discussion in the applied research community just a few years ago is now being deployed in critical industrial applications, such as inspecting welds in pipelines. However, the method's sensitivity to unexpected parametric changes (material and geometric) has not been rigorously assessed. In this article, we investigate the robustness of TFM in relation to unavoidable deviations from modeled nominal inspection component characteristics, such as sound velocities and uncertainties about the parts' internal and external diameters. We also review TFM's impact on the standard inspection modes often encountered in industrial inspections, and we present a theoretical model supported by empirical observations to illustrate the discussion.

A New Phenomenon in Saudi Females' Code-Switching: A Morphemic Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Turjoman, Mona O.

2016-01-01

This sociolinguistics study investigates a new phenomenon that has recently surfaced in the field of code-switching among Saudi females residing in the Western region of Saudi Arabia. This phenomenon basically combines bound Arabic pronouns, tense markers or definite article to English free morphemes or the combination of bound English affixes to…

Simulation of the AC corona phenomenon with experimental validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villa, Andrea; Barbieri, Luca; Marco, Gondola; Malgesini, Roberto; Leon-Garzon, Andres R

2017-01-01

The corona effect, and in particular the Trichel phenomenon, is an important aspect of plasma physics with many technical applications, such as pollution reduction, surface and medical treatments. This phenomenon is also associated with components used in the power industry where it is, in many cases, the source of electro-magnetic disturbance, noise and production of undesired chemically active species. Despite the power industry to date using mainly alternating current (AC) transmission, most of the studies related to the corona effect have been carried out with direct current (DC) sources. Therefore, there is technical interest in validating numerical codes capable of simulating the AC phenomenon. In this work we describe a set of partial differential equations that are comprehensive enough to reproduce the distinctive features of the corona in an AC regime. The model embeds some selectable chemical databases, comprising tens of chemical species and hundreds of reactions, the thermal dynamics of neutral species and photoionization. A large set of parameters—deduced from experiments and numerical estimations—are compared, to assess the effectiveness of the proposed approach. (paper)

Critical mutation rate has an exponential dependence on population size in haploid and diploid populations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Aston

Full Text Available Understanding the effect of population size on the key parameters of evolution is particularly important for populations nearing extinction. There are evolutionary pressures to evolve sequences that are both fit and robust. At high mutation rates, individuals with greater mutational robustness can outcompete those with higher fitness. This is survival-of-the-flattest, and has been observed in digital organisms, theoretically, in simulated RNA evolution, and in RNA viruses. We introduce an algorithmic method capable of determining the relationship between population size, the critical mutation rate at which individuals with greater robustness to mutation are favoured over individuals with greater fitness, and the error threshold. Verification for this method is provided against analytical models for the error threshold. We show that the critical mutation rate for increasing haploid population sizes can be approximated by an exponential function, with much lower mutation rates tolerated by small populations. This is in contrast to previous studies which identified that critical mutation rate was independent of population size. The algorithm is extended to diploid populations in a system modelled on the biological process of meiosis. The results confirm that the relationship remains exponential, but show that both the critical mutation rate and error threshold are lower for diploids, rather than higher as might have been expected. Analyzing the transition from critical mutation rate to error threshold provides an improved definition of critical mutation rate. Natural populations with their numbers in decline can be expected to lose genetic material in line with the exponential model, accelerating and potentially irreversibly advancing their decline, and this could potentially affect extinction, recovery and population management strategy. The effect of population size is particularly strong in small populations with 100 individuals or less; the

Robust plasmonic substrates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kostiučenko, Oksana; Fiutowski, Jacek; Tamulevicius, Tomas

2014-01-01

Robustness is a key issue for the applications of plasmonic substrates such as tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, surface-enhanced spectroscopies, enhanced optical biosensing, optical and optoelectronic plasmonic nanosensors and others. A novel approach for the fabrication of robust plasmonic...... substrates is presented, which relies on the coverage of gold nanostructures with diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin films of thicknesses 25, 55 and 105 nm. DLC thin films were grown by direct hydrocarbon ion beam deposition. In order to find the optimum balance between optical and mechanical properties...

A robust standard deviation control chart

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schoonhoven, M.; Does, R.J.M.M.

2012-01-01

This article studies the robustness of Phase I estimators for the standard deviation control chart. A Phase I estimator should be efficient in the absence of contaminations and resistant to disturbances. Most of the robust estimators proposed in the literature are robust against either diffuse

Robustness of movement models: can models bridge the gap between temporal scales of data sets and behavioural processes?

Science.gov (United States)

Schlägel, Ulrike E; Lewis, Mark A

2016-12-01

Discrete-time random walks and their extensions are common tools for analyzing animal movement data. In these analyses, resolution of temporal discretization is a critical feature. Ideally, a model both mirrors the relevant temporal scale of the biological process of interest and matches the data sampling rate. Challenges arise when resolution of data is too coarse due to technological constraints, or when we wish to extrapolate results or compare results obtained from data with different resolutions. Drawing loosely on the concept of robustness in statistics, we propose a rigorous mathematical framework for studying movement models' robustness against changes in temporal resolution. In this framework, we define varying levels of robustness as formal model properties, focusing on random walk models with spatially-explicit component. With the new framework, we can investigate whether models can validly be applied to data across varying temporal resolutions and how we can account for these different resolutions in statistical inference results. We apply the new framework to movement-based resource selection models, demonstrating both analytical and numerical calculations, as well as a Monte Carlo simulation approach. While exact robustness is rare, the concept of approximate robustness provides a promising new direction for analyzing movement models.

The Low-Diversity Fecal Microbiota of the Critically Endangered Kākāpō Is Robust to Anthropogenic Dietary and Geographic Influences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena K. Perry

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The critically endangered kākāpō, an herbivorous parrot endemic to New Zealand, is subject to intensive management to increase its population size. Key aspects of the management program include supplementary feeding and translocation of kākāpō between different predator-free islands to optimize the genetic composition of the breeding populations. While these practices have helped boost the kākāpō population, their impact on the kākāpō fecal microbiota is uncertain. Previous studies have found that the kākāpō possesses a low-diversity fecal microbiota, typically dominated by Escherichia/Shigella spp. However, the question of whether the low diversity of the kākāpō fecal microbiota is an inadvertent consequence of human interventions has yet to be investigated. To that end, we used high-throughput Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons obtained from fecal material of 63 kākāpō representing different diets, islands, and ages. Remarkably, neither supplementary feeding nor geographic location were associated with significant differences in the overall fecal microbial community structures of adult kākāpō, suggesting that the kākāpō's low-diversity fecal microbiota is both inherent to this species and robust to these external influences.

Role of Catecholamine in Tumor Angiogenesis Linked to Capacitance Relaxation Phenomenon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guangyue SHI

2010-08-01

Full Text Available The present paper deals with the CgA level during metastasis linked with Capacitance relaxation phenomenon in cancer cell. CgA co-stored and correlated by exocytosis with catecholamines is a precursor to peptides that exert feedback regulatory control on catecholamine secretion. It is to be noted that CgA was the most sensitive marker for detecting patients with tumor angiogenesis. The progressive rise in CgA increases with the tumor size and this fact has been correlated with the Capacitance relaxation phenomenon (T. K. Basak, US patent No. 5691178, 1997 in different stages. The experimental results of Capacitance relaxation phenomenon were given as inputs to a model for correlation with the CgA level. This model is a control system model, the output of which is the CgA level. It is to be noted that the model is simulated in MATLAB. The expression of tumorogenisis in prostate and liver is also linked to Capacitance relaxation phenomenon in respect of its correlation with the CgA level.

Prospective assessment of the frequency of low gradient severe aortic stenosis with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction: Critical impact of aortic flow misalignment and pressure recovery phenomenon.

Science.gov (United States)

Ringle, Anne; Castel, Anne-Laure; Le Goffic, Caroline; Delelis, François; Binda, Camille; Bohbot, Yohan; Ennezat, Pierre Vladimir; Guerbaai, Raphaëlle A; Levy, Franck; Vincentelli, André; Graux, Pierre; Tribouilloy, Christophe; Maréchaux, Sylvestre

2018-02-10

The frequency of paradoxical low-gradient severe aortic stenosis (AS) varies widely across studies. The impact of misalignment of aortic flow and pressure recovery phenomenon on the frequency of low-gradient severe AS with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has not been evaluated in prospective studies. To investigate prospectively the impact of aortic flow misalignment by Doppler and lack of pressure recovery phenomenon correction on the frequency of low-gradient (LG) severe aortic stenosis (AS) with preserved LVEF. Aortic jet velocities and mean pressure gradient (MPG) were obtained by interrogating all windows in 68 consecutive patients with normal LVEF and severe AS (aortic valve area [AVA] ≤1cm 2 ) on the basis of the apical imaging window alone (two-dimensional [2D] apical approach). Patients were classified as having LG or high-gradient (HG) AS according to MPG 35mL/m 2 or ≤35mL/m 2 , on the basis of the 2D apical approach, the multiview approach (multiple windows evaluation) and AVA corrected for pressure recovery. The proportion of LG severe AS was 57% using the 2D apical approach alone. After the multiview approach and correction for pressure recovery, the proportion of LG severe AS decreased from 57% to 13% (LF-LG severe AS decreased from 23% to 3%; NF-LG severe AS decreased from 34% to 10%). As a result, 25% of patients were reclassified as having HG severe AS (AVA ≤1cm 2 and MPG ≥40mmHg) and 19% as having moderate AS. Hence, 77% of patients initially diagnosed with LG severe AS did not have "true" LG severe AS when the multiview approach and the pressure recovery phenomenon correction were used. Aortic flow misevaluation, resulting from lack of use of multiple windows evaluation and pressure recovery phenomenon correction, accounts for a large proportion of incorrectly graded AS and considerable overestimation of the frequency of LG severe AS with preserved LVEF. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Mesoscale Phenomenon Revealed by an Acoustic Sounder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundtang Petersen, Erik; Jensen, Niels Otto

1976-01-01

A particular phenomenon observed on an acoustic sounder record is analyzed, and is interpreted as being associated with the passing of a land breeze front. A simple physical explanation of the frontal movements is suggested. The actual existence of the land breeze is demonstrated by examination...

Concept "Medical Museum" as a Sociocultural Phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Chizh, Nina V.; Slyshkin, Gennady G.; Zheltukhina, Marina R.; Privalova, Irina V.; Kravchenko, Olga A.

2016-01-01

The article examines the concept "medical museum" as a sociocultural phenomenon. The register of medical museums in Russia makes the material of research. The complex methods of analysis of the concept "medical museum" are used. The philosophical, historical, cultural, structural, communicative and semantic analysis is carried…

Unfolding the phenomenon of inter-rater agreement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Slaug, Bjørn; Schilling, Oliver; Helle, Tina

2011-01-01

Objective: The overall objective was to unfold the phenomenon of inter-rater agreement: to identify potential sources of variation in agreement data and to explore how they can be statistically accounted for. The ultimate aim was to propose recommendations for in-depth examination of agreement, i...

Robustness of SOC Estimation Algorithms for EV Lithium-Ion Batteries against Modeling Errors and Measurement Noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xue Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available State of charge (SOC is one of the most important parameters in battery management system (BMS. There are numerous algorithms for SOC estimation, mostly of model-based observer/filter types such as Kalman filters, closed-loop observers, and robust observers. Modeling errors and measurement noises have critical impact on accuracy of SOC estimation in these algorithms. This paper is a comparative study of robustness of SOC estimation algorithms against modeling errors and measurement noises. By using a typical battery platform for vehicle applications with sensor noise and battery aging characterization, three popular and representative SOC estimation methods (extended Kalman filter, PI-controlled observer, and H∞ observer are compared on such robustness. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that deterioration of SOC estimation accuracy under modeling errors resulted from aging and larger measurement noise, which is quantitatively characterized. The findings of this paper provide useful information on the following aspects: (1 how SOC estimation accuracy depends on modeling reliability and voltage measurement accuracy; (2 pros and cons of typical SOC estimators in their robustness and reliability; (3 guidelines for requirements on battery system identification and sensor selections.

What types of investors generate the two-phase phenomenon?

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, Doojin

2013-12-01

We examine the two-phase phenomenon described by Plerou, Gopikrishnan, and Stanley (2003) [1] in the KOSPI 200 options market, one of the most liquid options markets in the world. By analysing a unique intraday dataset that contains information about investor type for each trade and quote, we find that the two-phase phenomenon is generated primarily by domestic individual investors, who are generally considered to be uninformed and noisy traders. In contrast, our empirical results indicate that trades by foreign institutions, who are generally considered informed and sophisticated investors, do not exhibit two-phase behaviour.

Consciousness as a phenomenon in the operational architectonics of brain organization: Criticality and self-organization considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fingelkurts, Andrew A.; Fingelkurts, Alexander A.; Neves, Carlos F.H.

2013-01-01

In this paper we aim to show that phenomenal consciousness is realized by a particular level of brain operational organization and that understanding human consciousness requires a description of the laws of the immediately underlying neural collective phenomena, the nested hierarchy of electromagnetic fields of brain activity – operational architectonics. We argue that the subjective mental reality and the objective neurobiological reality, although seemingly worlds apart, are intimately connected along a unified metastable continuum and are both guided by the universal laws of the physical world such as criticality, self-organization and emergence

Transformation Stasis Phenomenon of Bainite Formation in Low-Carbon, Multicomponent Alloyed Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Liangyun; Kong, Xiangwei

2017-11-01

The transformation stasis phenomenon of bainite formation in low-carbon steel was detected using a high-resolution dilatometer. The phenomenon occurred at different stages for different isothermal temperatures. In combination with microstructural observation, the calculated overall activation energy of transformation and interface migration velocity shed new light on the cause of formation of the stasis phenomenon. The temporary stasis formed at the initial stage of phase transformation for high isothermal temperature was attributed to the drag effect of substitutional atoms, which leads to low-interface migration velocity and large overall activation energy.

Turnpike phenomenon and infinite horizon optimal control

CERN Document Server

Zaslavski, Alexander J

2014-01-01

This book is devoted to the study of the turnpike phenomenon and describes the existence of solutions for a large variety of infinite horizon optimal control classes of problems.  Chapter 1 provides introductory material on turnpike properties. Chapter 2 studies the turnpike phenomenon for discrete-time optimal control problems. The turnpike properties of autonomous problems with extended-value intergrands are studied in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 focuses on large classes of infinite horizon optimal control problems without convexity (concavity) assumptions. In Chapter 5, the turnpike results for a class of dynamic discrete-time two-player zero-sum game are proven. This thorough exposition will be very useful  for mathematicians working in the fields of optimal control, the calculus of variations, applied functional analysis, and infinite horizon optimization. It may also be used as a primary text in a graduate course in optimal control or as supplementary text for a variety of courses in other disciplines. Resea...

The Overshoot Phenomenon in Geodynamics Codes

Science.gov (United States)

Kommu, R. K.; Heien, E. M.; Kellogg, L. H.; Bangerth, W.; Heister, T.; Studley, E. H.

2013-12-01

The overshoot phenomenon is a common occurrence in numerical software when a continuous function on a finite dimensional discretized space is used to approximate a discontinuous jump, in temperature and material concentration, for example. The resulting solution overshoots, and undershoots, the discontinuous jump. Numerical simulations play an extremely important role in mantle convection research. This is both due to the strong temperature and stress dependence of viscosity and also due to the inaccessibility of deep earth. Under these circumstances, it is essential that mantle convection simulations be extremely accurate and reliable. CitcomS and ASPECT are two finite element based mantle convection simulations developed and maintained by the Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics. CitcomS is a finite element based mantle convection code that is designed to run on multiple high-performance computing platforms. ASPECT, an adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code built on the Deal.II library, is also a finite element based mantle convection code that scales well on various HPC platforms. CitcomS and ASPECT both exhibit the overshoot phenomenon. One attempt at controlling the overshoot uses the Entropy Viscosity method, which introduces an artificial diffusion term in the energy equation of mantle convection. This artificial diffusion term is small where the temperature field is smooth. We present results from CitcomS and ASPECT that quantify the effect of the Entropy Viscosity method in reducing the overshoot phenomenon. In the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite element method, the test functions used in the method are continuous within each element but are discontinuous across inter-element boundaries. The solution space in the DG method is discontinuous. FEniCS is a collection of free software tools that automate the solution of differential equations using finite element methods. In this work we also present results from a finite element mantle convection

Total water production capacity inversion phenomenon in multi-stage direct contact membrane distillation: A theoretical study

KAUST Repository

Lee, Jung Gil

2017-09-09

The low thermal efficiency and low water production are among the major challenges that prevent membrane distillation (MD) process from being commercialized. In an effort to design an efficient multi-stage direct contact MD (DCMD) unit through mathematical simulation, a new phenomenon that we refer to as total water production capacity inversion (WPI) has been detected. It is represented by a decrease in the total water production beyond a number of stages or a certain module length. WPI phenomenon, which was confirmed by using two different mathematical models validated experimentally, was found to take place due to the decrease in water vapor flux across the membrane as well as the increase in heat loss by conduction as the membrane length increases. Therefore, WPI should be considered as a critical MD design-criterion, especially for large scale units. Investigations conducted for a simulated multi-stage DCMD process showed that inlet feed and permeate temperatures difference, feed and permeate flow rates, and feed salinity have different effects on WPI. The number of stages (or module length at constant width) that leads to a maximum water production has been determined for different operating parameters. Decreasing inlet feed and permeate temperatures difference, or inlet feed and permeate flow rates and increasing inlet feed temperature at constant temperature difference or inlet feed salinity cause the WPI to take place at lower number of stages. Even though the feed salinity affects negligibly the mean permeate flux, it was clearly shown that it can affect WPI. The results presented herein unveil a hidden phenomenon that is likely to occur during process scale-up procedures and should be considered by process engineers for a proper choice of system design and operating conditions.

Negative luminescence and devices based on this phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivanov-Omskii, V. I.; Matveev, B. A.

2007-01-01

Recent publications concerned with infrared emitters whose electrical modulation results in absorption of radiation detected as negative luminescence are reviewed. The main properties of the devices based on this phenomenon are analyzed

Negative luminescence and devices based on this phenomenon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivanov-Omskii, V I; Matveev, B. A. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute (Russian Federation)], E-mail: bmat@iropt3.ioffe.rssi.ru

2007-03-15

Recent publications concerned with infrared emitters whose electrical modulation results in absorption of radiation detected as negative luminescence are reviewed. The main properties of the devices based on this phenomenon are analyzed.

Robustness: confronting lessons from physics and biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Lesne, Annick

2008-11-01

The term robustness is encountered in very different scientific fields, from engineering and control theory to dynamical systems to biology. The main question addressed herein is whether the notion of robustness and its correlates (stability, resilience, self-organisation) developed in physics are relevant to biology, or whether specific extensions and novel frameworks are required to account for the robustness properties of living systems. To clarify this issue, the different meanings covered by this unique term are discussed; it is argued that they crucially depend on the kind of perturbations that a robust system should by definition withstand. Possible mechanisms underlying robust behaviours are examined, either encountered in all natural systems (symmetries, conservation laws, dynamic stability) or specific to biological systems (feedbacks and regulatory networks). Special attention is devoted to the (sometimes counterintuitive) interrelations between robustness and noise. A distinction between dynamic selection and natural selection in the establishment of a robust behaviour is underlined. It is finally argued that nested notions of robustness, relevant to different time scales and different levels of organisation, allow one to reconcile the seemingly contradictory requirements for robustness and adaptability in living systems.

Statistical Agent Based Modelization of the Phenomenon of Drug Abuse

Science.gov (United States)

di Clemente, Riccardo; Pietronero, Luciano

2012-07-01

We introduce a statistical agent based model to describe the phenomenon of drug abuse and its dynamical evolution at the individual and global level. The agents are heterogeneous with respect to their intrinsic inclination to drugs, to their budget attitude and social environment. The various levels of drug use were inspired by the professional description of the phenomenon and this permits a direct comparison with all available data. We show that certain elements have a great importance to start the use of drugs, for example the rare events in the personal experiences which permit to overcame the barrier of drug use occasionally. The analysis of how the system reacts to perturbations is very important to understand its key elements and it provides strategies for effective policy making. The present model represents the first step of a realistic description of this phenomenon and can be easily generalized in various directions.

Diffusion phenomenon for linear dissipative wave equations in an exterior domain

Science.gov (United States)

Ikehata, Ryo

Under the general condition of the initial data, we will derive the crucial estimates which imply the diffusion phenomenon for the dissipative linear wave equations in an exterior domain. In order to derive the diffusion phenomenon for dissipative wave equations, the time integral method which was developed by Ikehata and Matsuyama (Sci. Math. Japon. 55 (2002) 33) plays an effective role.

A New Phenomenon in Saudi Females’ Code-switching: A Morphemic Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mona O. Turjoman

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This sociolinguistics study investigates a new phenomenon that has recently surfaced in the field of code-switching among Saudi females residing in the Western region of Saudi Arabia. This phenomenon basically combines bound Arabic pronouns, tense markers or definite article to English free morphemes or the combination of bound English affixes to Arabic morphemes. Moreover, the study examines the factors that affect this type of code-switching. The results of the study indicate that this phenomenon provides data that invalidates Poplack’s (1980 universality of the ‘Free Morpheme Constraint’. It is also concluded that the main factors that influence this type of code-switching is solidarity and group identity among other factors. Keywords: Code-switching, Saudi females, sociolinguistics, CS factors, morphemic analysis

Robust AIC with High Breakdown Scale Estimate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shokrya Saleh

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Akaike Information Criterion (AIC based on least squares (LS regression minimizes the sum of the squared residuals; LS is sensitive to outlier observations. Alternative criterion, which is less sensitive to outlying observation, has been proposed; examples are robust AIC (RAIC, robust Mallows Cp (RCp, and robust Bayesian information criterion (RBIC. In this paper, we propose a robust AIC by replacing the scale estimate with a high breakdown point estimate of scale. The robustness of the proposed methods is studied through its influence function. We show that, the proposed robust AIC is effective in selecting accurate models in the presence of outliers and high leverage points, through simulated and real data examples.

Methodology in robust and nonparametric statistics

CERN Document Server

Jurecková, Jana; Picek, Jan

2012-01-01

Introduction and SynopsisIntroductionSynopsisPreliminariesIntroductionInference in Linear ModelsRobustness ConceptsRobust and Minimax Estimation of LocationClippings from Probability and Asymptotic TheoryProblemsRobust Estimation of Location and RegressionIntroductionM-EstimatorsL-EstimatorsR-EstimatorsMinimum Distance and Pitman EstimatorsDifferentiable Statistical FunctionsProblemsAsymptotic Representations for L-Estimators

Critical heat flux evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banner, D.

1995-01-01

Critical heat flux (CHF) is of importance for nuclear safety and represents the major limiting factors for reactor cores. Critical heat flux is caused by a sharp reduction in the heat transfer coefficient located at the outer surface of fuel rods. Safety requires that this phenomenon also called the boiling crisis should be precluded under nominal or incidental conditions (Class I and II events). CHF evaluation in reactor cores is basically a two-step approach. Fuel assemblies are first tested in experimental loops in order to determine CHF limits under various flow conditions. Then, core thermal-hydraulic calculations are performed for safety evaluation. The paper will go into more details about the boiling crisis in order to pinpoint complexity and lack of fundamental understanding in many areas. Experimental test sections needed to collect data over wide thermal-hydraulic and geometric ranges are described CHF safety margin evaluation in reactors cores is discussed by presenting how uncertainties are mentioned. From basic considerations to current concerns, the following topics are discussed; knowledge of the boiling crisis, CHF predictors, and advances thermal-hydraulic codes. (authors). 15 refs., 4 figs

Robust Approaches to Forecasting

OpenAIRE

Jennifer Castle; David Hendry; Michael P. Clements

2014-01-01

We investigate alternative robust approaches to forecasting, using a new class of robust devices, contrasted with equilibrium correction models. Their forecasting properties are derived facing a range of likely empirical problems at the forecast origin, including measurement errors, implulses, omitted variables, unanticipated location shifts and incorrectly included variables that experience a shift. We derive the resulting forecast biases and error variances, and indicate when the methods ar...

Theoretical Framework for Robustness Evaluation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2011-01-01

This paper presents a theoretical framework for evaluation of robustness of structural systems, incl. bridges and buildings. Typically modern structural design codes require that ‘the consequence of damages to structures should not be disproportional to the causes of the damages’. However, although...... the importance of robustness for structural design is widely recognized the code requirements are not specified in detail, which makes the practical use difficult. This paper describes a theoretical and risk based framework to form the basis for quantification of robustness and for pre-normative guidelines...

Controlling the cavitation phenomenon of evolution on a butterfly valve

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baran, G; Safta, C A; Catana, I; Magheti, I; Savu, M

2010-01-01

Development of the phenomenon of cavitation in cavitation behavior requires knowledge of both plant and equipment working in the facility. This paper presents a diagram of cavitational behavior for a butterfly valve with a diameter of 100 mm at various openings, which was experimentally built. We proposed seven stages of evolution of the phenomenon of cavitation in the case of a butterfly valve. All these phases are characterized by pressure drop, noise and vibration at various flow rates and flow sections through the valve. The level of noise and vibration for the seven stages of development of the phenomenon of cavitation were measured simultaneously. The experimental measurements were comprised in a knowledge database used in training of a neural network of a neural flow controller that maintains flow rate constantly in the facility by changing the opening butterfly valve. A fuzzy position controller is used to access the valve open. This is the method proposed to provide operational supervision outside the cavitation for a butterfly valve.

Controlling the cavitation phenomenon of evolution on a butterfly valve

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baran, G; Safta, C A [Department of Hydraulic and Hydraulic Machineries, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Independentei, Bucharest, 060042 (Romania); Catana, I [Department of Control and Computer Science, University Politehnica of Bucharest (Romania); Magheti, I; Savu, M, E-mail: baran_gheorghe@yahoo.co.u [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest (Romania)

2010-08-15

Development of the phenomenon of cavitation in cavitation behavior requires knowledge of both plant and equipment working in the facility. This paper presents a diagram of cavitational behavior for a butterfly valve with a diameter of 100 mm at various openings, which was experimentally built. We proposed seven stages of evolution of the phenomenon of cavitation in the case of a butterfly valve. All these phases are characterized by pressure drop, noise and vibration at various flow rates and flow sections through the valve. The level of noise and vibration for the seven stages of development of the phenomenon of cavitation were measured simultaneously. The experimental measurements were comprised in a knowledge database used in training of a neural network of a neural flow controller that maintains flow rate constantly in the facility by changing the opening butterfly valve. A fuzzy position controller is used to access the valve open. This is the method proposed to provide operational supervision outside the cavitation for a butterfly valve.

Robust portfolio selection under norm uncertainty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Wang

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract In this paper, we consider the robust portfolio selection problem which has a data uncertainty described by the ( p , w $(p,w$ -norm in the objective function. We show that the robust formulation of this problem is equivalent to a linear optimization problem. Moreover, we present some numerical results concerning our robust portfolio selection problem.

Critical heat flux near the critical pressure in heater rod bundle cooled by R-134A fluid: Effects of unheated rods and spacer grid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chun, Se-Y.; Shin, C.W.; Hong, S. D.; Moon, S. K.

2007-01-01

A supercritical-pressure light water reactor (SCWR) is currently investigated as the next generation nuclear reactors. The SCWR, which is operated above the thermodynamic critical point of water (647 K, 22.1 MPa), have advantages over conventional light water reactors in terms of thermal efficiency as well as in compactness and simplicity. Many experimental studies have been performed on heat transfer in the boiler tubes of supercritical fossil fire power plants (FPPs). However, the thermal-hydraulic conditions of the SCWR core are different from those of the FPP boiler. In the SCWR core, the heat transfer to the cooling water occurs on the outside surface of fuel rods in rod bundle with spacers. In addition, the experimental studies in which the critical heat flux (CHF) has been carefully measured near the critical pressure have never yet been carried out, as far as we know. Therefore, we have recently conducted the CHF experiments with a vertical 5x5 heater rod bundle cooled by R- 134a fluid. The purpose of this work is to find out some novel knowledge for the CHF near the critical pressure, based on more careful experiments. The outer diameter, heated length and rod pitch of the heater rods are 9.5, 2000 and 12.85 mm, respectively. The critical power has been measured in a range of the pressure of 2.474.03 MPa (the critical pressure of R-134a is 4.059 MPa), the mass flux 502000 kg/m 2 s, and the inlet subcooling 4084 kJ/kg. For the mass fluxes of not less than 550 kg/m 2 s, the critical power decreases monotonously up to the pressure of about 3.63.8 MPa with increasing pressure, and then fall sharply at about 3.83.9 MPa as if the values of the critical power converge on zero at the critical pressure. For the low mass fluxes of 50 to 250 kg/m 2 , the sharp decreasing trend of the critical power near the critical pressure is not observed. The CHF phenomenon near the critical pressure no longer leads to an inordinate increase in the heated wall temperature such as

Modelling the tuned criticality in stick-slip friction during metal cutting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Q; Ye, G G; Dai, L H; Lu, C

2015-01-01

Cutting is a ubiquitous process in nature and man-made systems. Here we demonstrate that, based on morphological patterns observed in experiments, the friction behaviour of metal cutting exhibits a criticality with cutting speed as a tuned parameter. The corresponding stick-slip events can be described by a power law distribution. A dynamic thermo-mechanical model is developed to investigate how such a tuned criticality occurs. It is shown that, in terms of the linear stability analysis, stick-slip friction is due to the thermo-mechanical instability and dynamical interaction between shear dissipation and nonlinear friction. Moreover, there is a secondary transition from a criticality state to a limit cycle that is dominated by the inertia effect, which is similar to the frequency lock phenomenon in a forced Duffing oscillator. (paper)

Not the Sum of Its Parts: A Critical Review of the MacDonald Triad.

Science.gov (United States)

Parfitt, Charlotte Hannah; Alleyne, Emma

2018-01-01

The MacDonald triad posits that animal cruelty, fire setting, and bed wetting in childhood is indicative of later aggressive and violent behavior in adults. Researchers refer to this phenomenon as a precursor to later antisocial behaviors including serial and sexual murder; while practitioners cite the triad in clinical formulations and risk assessments. However, there is yet to be a critical review and consolidation of the literature that establishes whether there is empirical support. This article explores the validity of the triad. We conducted a narrative review of the relevant studies examining the MacDonald triad and its individual constituents. There is evidence that any one of the triad behaviors could predict future violent offending, but it is very rare to find all three behaviors together as predictors. Thus, the empirical research on the MacDonald triad does not fully substantiate its premise. Rather, it would appear that the triad, or its individual constituents, is better used as an indicator of dysfunctional home environments, or poor coping skills in children. Future research is needed with robust and rigorous methodologies (e.g., adequate control groups, longitudinal designs) to fully establish the MacDonald triad's validity. Finally, further consideration is needed as to whether the triad behaviors are more indicative of other problematic outcomes (e.g., maladaptive coping to life stressors).

Application of the Critical Heat Flux Look-Up Table to Large Diameter Tubes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. El Nakla

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The critical heat flux look-up table was applied to a large diameter tube, namely 67 mm inside diameter tube, to predict the occurrence of the phenomenon for both vertical and horizontal uniformly heated tubes. Water was considered as coolant. For the vertical tube, a diameter correction factor was directly applied to the 1995 critical heat flux look-up table. To predict the occurrence of critical heat flux in horizontal tube, an extra correction factor to account for flow stratification was applied. Both derived tables were used to predict the effect of high heat flux and tube blockage on critical heat flux occurrence in boiler tubes. Moreover, the horizontal tube look-up table was used to predict the safety limits of the operation of boiler for 50% allowable heat flux.

Evolving Relationship Structures in Multi-sourcing Arrangements: The Case of Mission Critical Outsourcing

Science.gov (United States)

Heitlager, Ilja; Helms, Remko; Brinkkemper, Sjaak

Information Technology Outsourcing practice and research mainly considers the outsourcing phenomenon as a generic fulfilment of the IT function by external parties. Inspired by the logic of commodity, core competencies and economies of scale; assets, existing departments and IT functions are transferred to external parties. Although the generic approach might work for desktop outsourcing, where standardisation is the dominant factor, it does not work for the management of mission critical applications. Managing mission critical applications requires a different approach where building relationships is critical. The relationships involve inter and intra organisational parties in a multi-sourcing arrangement, called an IT service chain, consisting of multiple (specialist) parties that have to collaborate closely to deliver high quality services.

Robustness Recipes for Minimax Robust Optimization in Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy for Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Voort, Sebastian van der [Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Section of Nuclear Energy and Radiation Applications, Department of Radiation, Science and Technology, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands); Water, Steven van de [Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Perkó, Zoltán [Section of Nuclear Energy and Radiation Applications, Department of Radiation, Science and Technology, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands); Heijmen, Ben [Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Lathouwers, Danny [Section of Nuclear Energy and Radiation Applications, Department of Radiation, Science and Technology, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands); Hoogeman, Mischa, E-mail: m.hoogeman@erasmusmc.nl [Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

2016-05-01

Purpose: We aimed to derive a “robustness recipe” giving the range robustness (RR) and setup robustness (SR) settings (ie, the error values) that ensure adequate clinical target volume (CTV) coverage in oropharyngeal cancer patients for given gaussian distributions of systematic setup, random setup, and range errors (characterized by standard deviations of Σ, σ, and ρ, respectively) when used in minimax worst-case robust intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) optimization. Methods and Materials: For the analysis, contoured computed tomography (CT) scans of 9 unilateral and 9 bilateral patients were used. An IMPT plan was considered robust if, for at least 98% of the simulated fractionated treatments, 98% of the CTV received 95% or more of the prescribed dose. For fast assessment of the CTV coverage for given error distributions (ie, different values of Σ, σ, and ρ), polynomial chaos methods were used. Separate recipes were derived for the unilateral and bilateral cases using one patient from each group, and all 18 patients were included in the validation of the recipes. Results: Treatment plans for bilateral cases are intrinsically more robust than those for unilateral cases. The required RR only depends on the ρ, and SR can be fitted by second-order polynomials in Σ and σ. The formulas for the derived robustness recipes are as follows: Unilateral patients need SR = −0.15Σ{sup 2} + 0.27σ{sup 2} + 1.85Σ − 0.06σ + 1.22 and RR=3% for ρ = 1% and ρ = 2%; bilateral patients need SR = −0.07Σ{sup 2} + 0.19σ{sup 2} + 1.34Σ − 0.07σ + 1.17 and RR=3% and 4% for ρ = 1% and 2%, respectively. For the recipe validation, 2 plans were generated for each of the 18 patients corresponding to Σ = σ = 1.5 mm and ρ = 0% and 2%. Thirty-four plans had adequate CTV coverage in 98% or more of the simulated fractionated treatments; the remaining 2 had adequate coverage in 97.8% and 97.9%. Conclusions: Robustness recipes were derived that can

Organizational Strategies for Critical Transportation Infrastructure: Characteristics of Urban Resilience. The Case of Montreal.

Science.gov (United States)

Beauregard, Stéphane; Therrien, Marie-Christine; Normandin, Julie-Maude

2010-05-01

Organizational Strategies for Critical Transportation Infrastructure: Characteristics of Urban Resilience. The Case of Montreal. Stéphane Beauregard M.Sc. Candidate École nationale d'administration publique Julie-Maude Normandin Ph.D. Candidate École nationale d'administration publique Marie-Christine Therrien Professor École nationale d'administration publique The proposed paper presents preliminary results on the resilience of organizations managing critical infrastructure in the Metropolitan Montreal area (Canada). A resilient city is characterized by a network of infrastructures and individuals capable of maintaining their activities in spite of a disturbance (Godschalk, 2002). Critical infrastructures provide essential services for the functioning of society. In a crisis situation, the interruption or a decrease in performance of critical infrastructures could have important impacts on the population. They are also vulnerable to accidents and cascading effects because on their complexity and tight interdependence (Perrow, 1984). For these reasons, protection and security of the essential assets and networks are one of the objectives of organizations and governments. But prevention and recovery are two endpoints of a continuum which include also intermediate concerns: ensuring organizational robustness or failing with elegance rather than catastrophically. This continuum also includes organizational resilience (or system), or the ability to recover quickly after an interruption has occurred. Wildavsky (1988) proposes that anticipation strategies work better against known problems while resilience strategies focus on unknown problems. Anticipation policies can unnecessarily immobilize investments against risks, while resilience strategies include the potential for a certain sacrifice in the interests of a more long-term survival and adaptation to changing threats. In addition, a too large confidence in anticipation strategies can bring loss of capacity of an

Köebner phenomenon induced by cupping therapy in a psoriasis patient.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Rui-Xing; Hui, Yun; Li, Cheng-Rang

2013-06-15

Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory and refractory disease. The koebner phenomenon, which can be induced by trauma, is common in psoriasis patients. Herein, we report a patient with psoriasis who was treated by cupping therapy and subsequently developed the koebner phenomenon (KP) at the cupped sites. To our knowledge, it is the first report about cupping therapy leading to KP in a psoriasis patient.

University Students Explaining Adiabatic Compression of an Ideal Gas—A New Phenomenon in Introductory Thermal Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Leinonen, Risto; Asikainen, Mervi A.; Hirvonen, Pekka E.

2012-12-01

This study focuses on second-year university students' explanations and reasoning related to adiabatic compression of an ideal gas. The phenomenon was new to the students, but it was one which they should have been capable of explaining using their previous upper secondary school knowledge. The students' explanations and reasoning were investigated with the aid of paper and pencil tests ( n = 86) and semi-structured interviews ( n = 5) at the start of a thermal physics course at the University of Eastern Finland. The paper and pencil test revealed that the students had difficulties in applying content taught during earlier education in a new context: only a few of them were able to produce a correct explanation for the phenomenon. A majority of the students used either explanations with invalid but physically correct models, such as the ideal gas law or a microscopic model, or erroneous dependencies between quantities. The results also indicated that students had problems in seeing deficiencies or inconsistencies in their reasoning, in both test and interview situations. We suggest in our conclusion that the contents of upper secondary school thermal physics courses should be carefully examined to locate the best emphases for different laws, principles, concepts, and models. In particular, the limitations of models should be made explicit in teaching and students should be guided towards critical scientific thinking, including metaconceptual awareness.

Info-Gap robustness pathway method for transitioning of urban drainage systems under deep uncertainties.

Science.gov (United States)

Zischg, Jonatan; Goncalves, Mariana L R; Bacchin, Taneha Kuzniecow; Leonhardt, Günther; Viklander, Maria; van Timmeren, Arjan; Rauch, Wolfgang; Sitzenfrei, Robert

2017-09-01

In the urban water cycle, there are different ways of handling stormwater runoff. Traditional systems mainly rely on underground piped, sometimes named 'gray' infrastructure. New and so-called 'green/blue' ambitions aim for treating and conveying the runoff at the surface. Such concepts are mainly based on ground infiltration and temporal storage. In this work a methodology to create and compare different planning alternatives for stormwater handling on their pathways to a desired system state is presented. Investigations are made to assess the system performance and robustness when facing the deeply uncertain spatial and temporal developments in the future urban fabric, including impacts caused by climate change, urbanization and other disruptive events, like shifts in the network layout and interactions of 'gray' and 'green/blue' structures. With the Info-Gap robustness pathway method, three planning alternatives are evaluated to identify critical performance levels at different stages over time. This novel methodology is applied to a real case study problem where a city relocation process takes place during the upcoming decades. In this case study it is shown that hybrid systems including green infrastructures are more robust with respect to future uncertainties, compared to traditional network design.

APPLICATION OF THE ANOMIC THEORY ON THE PHENOMENON ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

GRACE

public service is the most potent organ for the implementation of the policies .... To what extent does the anomic theory explain the social phenomenon of ..... This tends to agree with Merton's postulation that innovation in particular is a.

Resonance phenomenon in classical cepheids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeuti, Mine; Aikawa, Toshiki

1981-01-01

To investigate resonance phenomenon in classical cepheids, the non-linear radial oscillation of stars is studied based on the assumption that the non-adiabatic perturbation is expressed in terms of van der Pol's type damping. Two- and three-wave resonance in this system is applied to classical cepheids to describe their bump and double-mode behavior. The phase of bump and the depression of amplitude are explained for bump cepheids. The double-periodicity is shown by the enhancement of the third overtone in three-wave resonance. Non-linear effect on resonant period is also discussed briefly. (author)

Robustness of power systems under a democratic-fiber-bundle-like model.

Science.gov (United States)

Yağan, Osman

2015-06-01

We consider a power system with N transmission lines whose initial loads (i.e., power flows) L(1),...,L(N) are independent and identically distributed with P(L)(x)=P[L≤x]. The capacity C(i) defines the maximum flow allowed on line i and is assumed to be given by C(i)=(1+α)L(i), with α>0. We study the robustness of this power system against random attacks (or failures) that target a p fraction of the lines, under a democratic fiber-bundle-like model. Namely, when a line fails, the load it was carrying is redistributed equally among the remaining lines. Our contributions are as follows. (i) We show analytically that the final breakdown of the system always takes place through a first-order transition at the critical attack size p(☆)=1-(E[L]/max(x)(P[L>x](αx+E[L|L>x])), where E[·] is the expectation operator; (ii) we derive conditions on the distribution P(L)(x) for which the first-order breakdown of the system occurs abruptly without any preceding diverging rate of failure; (iii) we provide a detailed analysis of the robustness of the system under three specific load distributions-uniform, Pareto, and Weibull-showing that with the minimum load L(min) and mean load E[L] fixed, Pareto distribution is the worst (in terms of robustness) among the three, whereas Weibull distribution is the best with shape parameter selected relatively large; (iv) we provide numerical results that confirm our mean-field analysis; and (v) we show that p(☆) is maximized when the load distribution is a Dirac delta function centered at E[L], i.e., when all lines carry the same load. This last finding is particularly surprising given that heterogeneity is known to lead to high robustness against random failures in many other systems.

Influences of the guide bearing stiffness on the critical speed of rotation in the main shaft system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, B; Zhang, L X; Zhao, L

2012-01-01

An analysis is carried out on the natural vibration characteristics of the main shaft system of a hydro-turbine generating set. The critical speed of rotation in different orders are calculated based on simplified real parameters and the influences of different guide bearing stiffness on the critical speed are analyzed. The results show that the up guide bearing has little influence on the critical speed; however, the down and the water guide bearings strongly affect the critical speed and to a certain extent the 'saturation' phenomenon happens; as all of these three bearings stiffness become larger at the same time, the critical speed also increases significantly. So it is necessary to consider the effect of the bearing stiffness when doing an estimation of the critical speed.

“Love” Phenomenon and Neurobiology of Love Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Evren Tufan

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The biology; especially the neurobiological features of the “love” phenomenon has recently started to attract attention. Love relations and attachment, which is closely related with them, are known to be important in health and disease. Love and love relations are found to be complex neurobiological phenomena based on activation of the limbic system of the brain. Those processes involve oxytocin, vasopressin, dopamine and serotonergic functions. Additionally, endorphine and endogenous opiate systems as well as nitrous oxide play role in those processes. The stages of love and love relations may demonstrate different neurochemical and neurophysiological features and may partially overlap with m aternal, romantic and sexual love and attachments. The aim of this article is to evaluate the common neurobiological pathways underlying the “love” phenomenon as well as their importance in medicine and health.

A review of CCFL phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al Issa, S.; Macian, R.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → CCFL mechanisms, correlations, parameters and related variables were reviewed extensively. → Consideration of geometrical effects is crucial for meaningful comparison and review. → Differentiation between 'onset of CCFL' and 'deflooding/partial delivery' data is required. → Following 2+3, new correlations for onset of CCFL according to liquid velocity ranges were suggested. → Large number of correlations was compared against large data bank that considers points 2+3. - Abstract: Counter current flow limitation CCFL is an important phenomenon for numerous engineering applications and safety of light water reactors. In particular, the possible occurrence of CCFL in the hot-leg of a PWR during SBLOCA or LOCA accidents is of special interest for nuclear safety research. A review of the related literature has made in order to present the most important studies about the phenomenon and to reach common general understanding of the different factors that govern CCFL. Eventually this will allow explaining contradictions among different explanations provided by different authors. Most important factors were geometrical characteristics, liquid superficial velocity, and physical properties. The review shows that despite numerous experimental works, many scaling and geometrical effects are still not fully understood. For Instance there exist no consistent explanation of the channel diameter and inclined riser length effect upon results. The same can be stated-though to a minimum extent - for the inclination angle while channel length (or channel to diameter ratio) effect was clear and consistent. Since most experimental work was done in down-scaled hot-leg simulators, it becomes interesting to build a coherent knowledge about these effects and to explain arising contradictions in order to safely extrapolate results to full-scale hot-leg. The review has shown that many differences were simply due to geometrical effects, this leads to the need to

Color doppler imaging of subclavian steal phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Nari Ya; Chung, Tae Sub; Kim, Jai Keun

1997-01-01

To evaluate the characteristic color doppler imaging of vertebral artery flow in the subclavian steal phenomenon. The study group consisted of eight patients with reversed vertebral artery flow proved by color Doppler imaging. We classified this flow into two groups:(1) complete reversal;(2) partial reversal, as shown by Doppler velocity waveform. Vertebral angiography was performed in six of eight patients;color Doppler imaging and angiographic findings were compared. On color Doppler imaging, all eight cases with reversed vertebral artery flow showed no signal at the proximal subclavian or brachiocephalic artery. We confirmed shunting of six cases by performing angiography from the contralateral vertebral and basilar artery to the ipsilateral vertebral artery. On the Doppler spectrum, six cases showed complete reversal and two partial reversal. On angiography, one partial reversal case showed complete occlusion of the subclavian artery with abundant collateral circulation of muscular branches of the vertebral artery. On color Doppler imaging, a reversed vertebral artery suggests the subclavian steal phenomenon. In particular, partial reversal waveform may reflect collateral circulation

Curvature Effect and the Spectral Softening Phenomenon Detected ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

soft spectral evolution, indicating that this spectral softening is not a rare phenomenon .... of time, there exists a temporal steep decay phase accompanied by spectral softening. (d) In most cases, the temporal power law index α and the spectral.

A Denoising Based Autoassociative Model for Robust Sensor Monitoring in Nuclear Power Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Shaheryar

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Sensors health monitoring is essentially important for reliable functioning of safety-critical chemical and nuclear power plants. Autoassociative neural network (AANN based empirical sensor models have widely been reported for sensor calibration monitoring. However, such ill-posed data driven models may result in poor generalization and robustness. To address above-mentioned issues, several regularization heuristics such as training with jitter, weight decay, and cross-validation are suggested in literature. Apart from these regularization heuristics, traditional error gradient based supervised learning algorithms for multilayered AANN models are highly susceptible of being trapped in local optimum. In order to address poor regularization and robust learning issues, here, we propose a denoised autoassociative sensor model (DAASM based on deep learning framework. Proposed DAASM model comprises multiple hidden layers which are pretrained greedily in an unsupervised fashion under denoising autoencoder architecture. In order to improve robustness, dropout heuristic and domain specific data corruption processes are exercised during unsupervised pretraining phase. The proposed sensor model is trained and tested on sensor data from a PWR type nuclear power plant. Accuracy, autosensitivity, spillover, and sequential probability ratio test (SPRT based fault detectability metrics are used for performance assessment and comparison with extensively reported five-layer AANN model by Kramer.

Robust band gap and half-metallicity in graphene with triangular perforations

Science.gov (United States)

Gregersen, Søren Schou; Power, Stephen R.; Jauho, Antti-Pekka

2016-06-01

Ideal graphene antidot lattices are predicted to show promising band gap behavior (i.e., EG≃500 meV) under carefully specified conditions. However, for the structures studied so far this behavior is critically dependent on superlattice geometry and is not robust against experimentally realistic disorders. Here we study a rectangular array of triangular antidots with zigzag edge geometries and show that their band gap behavior qualitatively differs from the standard behavior which is exhibited, e.g., by rectangular arrays of armchair-edged triangles. In the spin unpolarized case, zigzag-edged antidots give rise to large band gaps compared to armchair-edged antidots, irrespective of the rules which govern the existence of gaps in armchair-edged antidot lattices. In addition the zigzag-edged antidots appear more robust than armchair-edged antidots in the presence of geometrical disorder. The inclusion of spin polarization within a mean-field Hubbard approach gives rise to a large overall magnetic moment at each antidot due to the sublattice imbalance imposed by the triangular geometry. Half-metallic behavior arises from the formation of spin-split dispersive states near the Fermi energy, reducing the band gaps compared to the unpolarized case. This behavior is also found to be robust in the presence of disorder. Our results highlight the possibilities of using triangular perforations in graphene to open electronic band gaps in systems with experimentally realistic levels of disorder, and furthermore, of exploiting the strong spin dependence of the system for spintronic applications.

Critical dynamics in population vaccinating behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Pananos, A Demetri; Bury, Thomas M; Wang, Clara; Schonfeld, Justin; Mohanty, Sharada P; Nyhan, Brendan; Salathé, Marcel; Bauch, Chris T

2017-12-26

Vaccine refusal can lead to renewed outbreaks of previously eliminated diseases and even delay global eradication. Vaccinating decisions exemplify a complex, coupled system where vaccinating behavior and disease dynamics influence one another. Such systems often exhibit critical phenomena-special dynamics close to a tipping point leading to a new dynamical regime. For instance, critical slowing down (declining rate of recovery from small perturbations) may emerge as a tipping point is approached. Here, we collected and geocoded tweets about measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and classified their sentiment using machine-learning algorithms. We also extracted data on measles-related Google searches. We find critical slowing down in the data at the level of California and the United States in the years before and after the 2014-2015 Disneyland, California measles outbreak. Critical slowing down starts growing appreciably several years before the Disneyland outbreak as vaccine uptake declines and the population approaches the tipping point. However, due to the adaptive nature of coupled behavior-disease systems, the population responds to the outbreak by moving away from the tipping point, causing "critical speeding up" whereby resilience to perturbations increases. A mathematical model of measles transmission and vaccine sentiment predicts the same qualitative patterns in the neighborhood of a tipping point to greatly reduced vaccine uptake and large epidemics. These results support the hypothesis that population vaccinating behavior near the disease elimination threshold is a critical phenomenon. Developing new analytical tools to detect these patterns in digital social data might help us identify populations at heightened risk of widespread vaccine refusal. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

A theoretical and practical contribution to supply chain robustness:developing a schema for robustness in dyads

OpenAIRE

Durach, Christian F.

2016-01-01

Published in print by Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin, ISBN 978-3-7983-2812-9 (ISSN 1865-3170) This doctoral thesis develops four individual research studies on supply chain robustness. The overall goal of these studies is to develop a conceptual framework of supply chain robustness by consolidating current literature in the field, and, drawing on that framework, to construct a schema of determinants that facilitate robustness in buyer-supplier relationships. This research is motivated by...

Robust control design with MATLAB

CERN Document Server

Gu, Da-Wei; Konstantinov, Mihail M

2013-01-01

Robust Control Design with MATLAB® (second edition) helps the student to learn how to use well-developed advanced robust control design methods in practical cases. To this end, several realistic control design examples from teaching-laboratory experiments, such as a two-wheeled, self-balancing robot, to complex systems like a flexible-link manipulator are given detailed presentation. All of these exercises are conducted using MATLAB® Robust Control Toolbox 3, Control System Toolbox and Simulink®. By sharing their experiences in industrial cases with minimum recourse to complicated theories and formulae, the authors convey essential ideas and useful insights into robust industrial control systems design using major H-infinity optimization and related methods allowing readers quickly to move on with their own challenges. The hands-on tutorial style of this text rests on an abundance of examples and features for the second edition: ·        rewritten and simplified presentation of theoretical and meth...

Conceptualizing violence for health and medical geography.

Science.gov (United States)

DeVerteuil, Geoffrey

2015-05-01

Despite the fact that violence is a major threat to public health, the term itself is rarely considered as a phenomenon unto itself, and rarely figures explicitly in work by health and medical geographers. In response, I propose a definitionally and conceptually more robust approach to violence using a tripartite frame (interpersonal violence, structural violence, mass intentional violence) and suggest critical interventions through which to apply this more explicit and conceptually more robust approach: violence and embodiment via substance abuse in health geography, and structural violence via mental illness in medical geography. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How Robust is Your System Resilience?

Science.gov (United States)

Homayounfar, M.; Muneepeerakul, R.

2017-12-01

Robustness and resilience are concepts in system thinking that have grown in importance and popularity. For many complex social-ecological systems, however, robustness and resilience are difficult to quantify and the connections and trade-offs between them difficult to study. Most studies have either focused on qualitative approaches to discuss their connections or considered only one of them under particular classes of disturbances. In this study, we present an analytical framework to address the linkage between robustness and resilience more systematically. Our analysis is based on a stylized dynamical model that operationalizes a widely used concept framework for social-ecological systems. The model enables us to rigorously define robustness and resilience and consequently investigate their connections. The results reveal the tradeoffs among performance, robustness, and resilience. They also show how the nature of the such tradeoffs varies with the choices of certain policies (e.g., taxation and investment in public infrastructure), internal stresses and external disturbances.

International Conference on Robust Statistics 2015

CERN Document Server

Basu, Ayanendranath; Filzmoser, Peter; Mukherjee, Diganta

2016-01-01

This book offers a collection of recent contributions and emerging ideas in the areas of robust statistics presented at the International Conference on Robust Statistics 2015 (ICORS 2015) held in Kolkata during 12–16 January, 2015. The book explores the applicability of robust methods in other non-traditional areas which includes the use of new techniques such as skew and mixture of skew distributions, scaled Bregman divergences, and multilevel functional data methods; application areas being circular data models and prediction of mortality and life expectancy. The contributions are of both theoretical as well as applied in nature. Robust statistics is a relatively young branch of statistical sciences that is rapidly emerging as the bedrock of statistical analysis in the 21st century due to its flexible nature and wide scope. Robust statistics supports the application of parametric and other inference techniques over a broader domain than the strictly interpreted model scenarios employed in classical statis...

Extending a real-time operating system with a mechanism for criticality-level changes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gupta, T.

2015-01-01

Systems robustness, cost reduction and certification play an important role in the automotive domain. If there is a fault, e.g. task overshooting its allocated execution time, sufficient mechanisms should be available to safeguard the system against those. Applications of different criticalities

Lucio's phenomenon: a report of three cases seen in Johor, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Choon, Siew Eng; Tey, Kwee Eng

2009-09-01

Lucio's phenomenon is a rare and aggressive necrotising variant of erythema nodosum leprosum that classically occur in patients with undiagnosed, diffuse non-nodular lepromatous leprosy. It is a potentially fatal leprosy reaction characterised by extensive, bizarrely-shaped, painful purpuric skin lesions and ulcerations. Lucio's phenomenon is very rarely reported outside of Mexico and Costa Rica. We describe 3 cases seen in Johor, Malaysia. The first two cases responded to the prompt simultaneous institution of daily rifampicin, dapsone, clofazimine and prednisolone. Case 3 continued to have new lesions and extension of existing lesions while on dapsone and clofazimine. The subsequent addition of rifampicin and prednisolone prevented new lesion formation but patient succumbed to the extensive cutaneous infarcts and consequent sepsis. Early diagnosis and prompt institution of multi-drug therapy together with prednisolone may improve the prognosis and outcome of Lucio's phenomenon.

Robustness of IPTV business models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouwman, H.; Zhengjia, M.; Duin, P. van der; Limonard, S.

2008-01-01

The final stage in the STOF method is an evaluation of the robustness of the design, for which the method provides some guidelines. For many innovative services, the future holds numerous uncertainties, which makes evaluating the robustness of a business model a difficult task. In this chapter, we

Improving scale invariant feature transform-based descriptors with shape-color alliance robust feature

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Rui; Zhu, Zhengdan; Zhang, Liang

2015-05-01

Constructing appropriate descriptors for interest points in image matching is a critical aspect task in computer vision and pattern recognition. A method as an extension of the scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) descriptor called shape-color alliance robust feature (SCARF) descriptor is presented. To address the problem that SIFT is designed mainly for gray images and lack of global information for feature points, the proposed approach improves the SIFT descriptor by means of a concentric-rings model, as well as integrating the color invariant space and shape context with SIFT to construct the SCARF descriptor. The SCARF method developed is more robust than the conventional SIFT with respect to not only the color and photometrical variations but also the measuring similarity as a global variation between two shapes. A comparative evaluation of different descriptors is carried out showing that the SCARF approach provides better results than the other four state-of-the-art related methods.

Robust Design Impact Metrics: Measuring the effect of implementing and using Robust Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ebro, Martin; Olesen, Jesper; Howard, Thomas J.

2014-01-01

Measuring the performance of an organisation’s product development process can be challenging due to the limited use of metrics in R&D. An organisation considering whether to use Robust Design as an integrated part of their development process may find it difficult to define whether it is relevant......, and afterwards measure the effect of having implemented it. This publication identifies and evaluates Robust Design-related metrics and finds that 2 metrics are especially useful: 1) Relative amount of R&D Resources spent after Design Verification and 2) Number of ‘change notes’ after Design Verification....... The metrics have been applied in a case company to test the assumptions made during the evaluation. It is concluded that the metrics are useful and relevant, but further work is necessary to make a proper overview and categorisation of different types of robustness related metrics....

Lack of Critical Slowing Down Suggests that Financial Meltdowns Are Not Critical Transitions, yet Rising Variability Could Signal Systemic Risk

Science.gov (United States)

Hoarau, Quentin

2016-01-01

Complex systems inspired analysis suggests a hypothesis that financial meltdowns are abrupt critical transitions that occur when the system reaches a tipping point. Theoretical and empirical studies on climatic and ecological dynamical systems have shown that approach to tipping points is preceded by a generic phenomenon called critical slowing down, i.e. an increasingly slow response of the system to perturbations. Therefore, it has been suggested that critical slowing down may be used as an early warning signal of imminent critical transitions. Whether financial markets exhibit critical slowing down prior to meltdowns remains unclear. Here, our analysis reveals that three major US (Dow Jones Index, S&P 500 and NASDAQ) and two European markets (DAX and FTSE) did not exhibit critical slowing down prior to major financial crashes over the last century. However, all markets showed strong trends of rising variability, quantified by time series variance and spectral function at low frequencies, prior to crashes. These results suggest that financial crashes are not critical transitions that occur in the vicinity of a tipping point. Using a simple model, we argue that financial crashes are likely to be stochastic transitions which can occur even when the system is far away from the tipping point. Specifically, we show that a gradually increasing strength of stochastic perturbations may have caused to abrupt transitions in the financial markets. Broadly, our results highlight the importance of stochastically driven abrupt transitions in real world scenarios. Our study offers rising variability as a precursor of financial meltdowns albeit with a limitation that they may signal false alarms. PMID:26761792

Use of a Pre-Insertion Resistor to Minimize Zero-Missing Phenomenon and Switching Overvoltages

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bak, Claus Leth; da Silva, Filipe Miguel Faria; Gudmundsdottir, Unnur Stella

2009-01-01

With the increasing use of High-Voltage Cables, which have different electric characteristics from Overhead Lines, phenomenon like current zero-missing start to appear more often on the transmission systems. Methods to prevent zero-missing phenomenon are still being studied and compared to see wh...... an optimal value of the resistance of the pre-insertion resistor that results in minimizing both the zero-missing phenomenon and switching overvoltages simultaneously....

Robust loss functions for boosting.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanamori, Takafumi; Takenouchi, Takashi; Eguchi, Shinto; Murata, Noboru

2007-08-01

Boosting is known as a gradient descent algorithm over loss functions. It is often pointed out that the typical boosting algorithm, Adaboost, is highly affected by outliers. In this letter, loss functions for robust boosting are studied. Based on the concept of robust statistics, we propose a transformation of loss functions that makes boosting algorithms robust against extreme outliers. Next, the truncation of loss functions is applied to contamination models that describe the occurrence of mislabels near decision boundaries. Numerical experiments illustrate that the proposed loss functions derived from the contamination models are useful for handling highly noisy data in comparison with other loss functions.

Robustness of airline route networks

Science.gov (United States)

Lordan, Oriol; Sallan, Jose M.; Escorihuela, Nuria; Gonzalez-Prieto, David

2016-03-01

Airlines shape their route network by defining their routes through supply and demand considerations, paying little attention to network performance indicators, such as network robustness. However, the collapse of an airline network can produce high financial costs for the airline and all its geographical area of influence. The aim of this study is to analyze the topology and robustness of the network route of airlines following Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) and Full Service Carriers (FSCs) business models. Results show that FSC hubs are more central than LCC bases in their route network. As a result, LCC route networks are more robust than FSC networks.

Peripheral Sympathectomy for Raynaud's Phenomenon: A Salvage Procedure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-Her Wang

2006-10-01

Full Text Available We retrospectively reviewed the effectiveness of peripheral sympathectomy for severe Raynaud's phenomenon. In this study, a total of 14 digits from six patients with chronic digital ischemic change were included. All patients had pain, ulcer, or gangrenous change in the affected digits and were unresponsive to pharmacologic or other nonsurgical therapies. In all cases, angiography showed multifocal arterial lesions, so microvascular reconstruction was unfeasible. Peripheral sympathectomy was performed as a salvage procedure to prevent digit amputation. The results were analyzed according to reduction of pain, healing of ulcers, and prevention of amputation. In 12 of the 14 digits, the ulcers healed and amputation was avoided. In the other two digits, the ulcers improved and progressive gangrene was limited. As a salvage procedure for Raynaud's phenomenon recalcitrant to conservative treatment, peripheral sympathectomy improves perfusion to ischemic digits and enables amputation to be avoided.

Resolving Multi-Stakeholder Robustness Asymmetries in Coupled Agricultural and Urban Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yu; Giuliani, Matteo; Castelletti, Andrea; Reed, Patrick

2016-04-01

current Lake Como system management as well as of possible adaptation options (e.g., improved irrigation efficiency or changes in the dam operating rules). Numerical results show that crops prices and costs are the main drivers of the simulated system failures when evaluated in terms of system-level expected profitability. Analysis conducted at the farmer-agent scale highlights alternatively that temperature and inflows are the critical drivers leading to failures. Finally, we show that the robustness of the considered adaptation options varies spatially, strongly influenced by stakeholders' context, the metrics used to define success, and the assumed preferences for reservoir operations in balancing urban flooding and agricultural productivity.

Trunk sway analysis to quantify the warm-up phenomenon in myotonia congenita patients.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horlings, G.C.; Drost, G.; Bloem, B.R.; Trip, J.; Pieterse, A.J.; Engelen, B.G.M. van; Allum, J.H.J.

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Patients with autosomal recessive myotonia congenita display myotonia and transient paresis that diminish with repetitive muscle contractions (warm-up phenomenon). A new approach is presented to quantify this warm-up phenomenon under clinically relevant gait and balance tasks. METHODS:

Multimodel Robust Control for Hydraulic Turbine

OpenAIRE

Osuský, Jakub; Števo, Stanislav

2014-01-01

The paper deals with the multimodel and robust control system design and their combination based on M-Δ structure. Controller design will be done in the frequency domain with nominal performance specified by phase margin. Hydraulic turbine model is analyzed as system with unstructured uncertainty, and robust stability condition is included in controller design. Multimodel and robust control approaches are presented in detail on hydraulic turbine model. Control design approaches are compared a...

Unipolar resistive switching in metal oxide/organic semiconductor non-volatile memories as a critical phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bory, Benjamin F.; Meskers, Stefan C. J.; Rocha, Paulo R. F.; Gomes, Henrique L.; Leeuw, Dago M. de

2015-01-01

Diodes incorporating a bilayer of an organic semiconductor and a wide bandgap metal oxide can show unipolar, non-volatile memory behavior after electroforming. The prolonged bias voltage stress induces defects in the metal oxide with an areal density exceeding 10 17  m −2 . We explain the electrical bistability by the coexistence of two thermodynamically stable phases at the interface between an organic semiconductor and metal oxide. One phase contains mainly ionized defects and has a low work function, while the other phase has mainly neutral defects and a high work function. In the diodes, domains of the phase with a low work function constitute current filaments. The phase composition and critical temperature are derived from a 2D Ising model as a function of chemical potential. The model predicts filamentary conduction exhibiting a negative differential resistance and nonvolatile memory behavior. The model is expected to be generally applicable to any bilayer system that shows unipolar resistive switching

A Renormalization-Group Interpretation of the Connection between Criticality and Multifractals

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Tom

2014-05-01

Turbulent fluctuations in space plasmas beget phenomena of dynamic complexity. It is known that dynamic renormalization group (DRG) may be employed to understand the concept of forced and/or self-organized criticality (FSOC), which seems to describe certain scaling features of space plasma turbulence. But, it may be argued that dynamic complexity is not just a phenomenon of criticality. It is therefore of interest to inquire if DRG may be employed to study complexity phenomena that are distinctly more complicated than dynamic criticality. Power law scaling generally comes about when the DRG trajectory is attracted to the vicinity of a fixed point in the phase space of the relevant dynamic plasma parameters. What happens if the trajectory lies within a domain influenced by more than one single fixed point or more generally if the transformation underlying the DRG is fully nonlinear? The global invariants of the group under such situations (if they exist) are generally not power laws. Nevertheless, as we shall argue, it may still be possible to talk about local invariants that are power laws with the nonlinearity of transformation prescribing a specific phenomenon as crossovers. It is with such concept in mind that we may provide a connection between the properties of dynamic criticality and multifractals from the point of view of DRG (T. Chang, Chapter VII, "An Introduction to Space Plasma Complexity", Cambridge University Press, 2014). An example in terms of the concepts of finite-size scaling (FSS) and rank-ordered multifractal analysis (ROMA) of a toy model shall be provided. Research partially supported by the US National Science Foundation and the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/ 2007-2013) under Grant agreement no. 313038/STORM.

Robustness of Linear Systems towards Multi-Dissipative Pertubations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thygesen, Uffe Høgsbro; Poulsen, Niels Kjølstad

1997-01-01

We consider the question of robust stability of a linear time invariant plant subject to dynamic perturbations, which are dissipative in the sense of Willems with respect to several quadratic supply rates. For instance, parasitic dynamics are often both small gain and passive. We reduce several...... robustness analysis questions to linear matrix inequalities: robust stability, robust H2 performance and robust performance in presence of disturbances with finite signal-to-noise ratios...

Short-term spatio-temporal wind power forecast in robust look-ahead power system dispatch

KAUST Repository

Xie, Le

2014-01-01

We propose a novel statistical wind power forecast framework, which leverages the spatio-temporal correlation in wind speed and direction data among geographically dispersed wind farms. Critical assessment of the performance of spatio-temporal wind power forecast is performed using realistic wind farm data from West Texas. It is shown that spatio-temporal wind forecast models are numerically efficient approaches to improving forecast quality. By reducing uncertainties in near-term wind power forecasts, the overall cost benefits on system dispatch can be quantified. We integrate the improved forecast with an advanced robust look-ahead dispatch framework. This integrated forecast and economic dispatch framework is tested in a modified IEEE RTS 24-bus system. Numerical simulation suggests that the overall generation cost can be reduced by up to 6% using a robust look-ahead dispatch coupled with spatio-temporal wind forecast as compared with persistent wind forecast models. © 2013 IEEE.

The E-Book Phenomenon: A Disruptive Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, T. D.

2014-01-01

Introduction: The e-book and its associated technology have emerged as a disruptive technology over the past ten years. The aim of this paper is to discuss some of the consequences of this development, based on the work of the e-books in Sweden research projects. Argument: To explain the impact of the e-book phenomenon we use Winston's theory of…

Robust performance results for discrete-time systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahmoud Magdi S.

1997-01-01

Full Text Available The problems of robust performance and feedback control synthesis for a class of linear discrete-time systems with time-varying parametric uncertainties are addressed in this paper. The uncertainties are bound and have a linear matrix fractional form. Based on the concept of strongly robust H ∞ -performance criterion, results of robust stability and performance are developed and expressed in easily computable linear matrix inequalities. Synthesis of robust feedback controllers is carried out for several system models of interest.

Academic Resistance in the University: Conceptualizing the Phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Korbut, A. M.

2018-01-01

This article analyzes the phenomenon and concept of "academic resistance." Several aspects are identified: resistance as an integral part of power relations in university education, the pragmatic nature of resistance, and the impossibility of constructing an overarching conception of resistance. The author concludes that researching…

Phenomenon of mucous retention in the incisive canal.

Science.gov (United States)

Keith, D A

1979-11-01

Mucous glands are rarely found in the anterior palate but may be observed in the incisive canal. A case history is presented of a lesion that resembled a nasopalatine cyst both clinically and radiographically but which was in fact an intra-bony extravasation phenomenon.

Multichannel customer management : Understanding the research-shopper phenomenon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhoef, Peter C.; Neslin, Scott A.; Vroomen, Bjorn

This paper develops and estimates a model for understanding the causes of research shopping, and investigates potential strategies for managing it. The research-shopper phenomenon is the tendency of customers to use one channel for search and another for purchase. We hypothesize three fundamental

Numerical Study on Critical Wedge Angle of Cellular Detonation Reflections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gang, Wang; Kai-Xin, Liu; De-Liang, Zhang

2010-01-01

The critical wedge angle (CWA) for the transition from regular reflection (RR) to Mach reflection (MR) of a cellular detonation wave is studied numerically by an improved space-time conservation element and solution element method together with a two-step chemical reaction model. The accuracy of that numerical way is verified by simulating cellular detonation reflections at a 19.3° wedge. The planar and cellular detonation reflections over 45°–55° wedges are also simulated. When the cellular detonation wave is over a 50° wedge, numerical results show a new phenomenon that RR and MR occur alternately. The transition process between RR and MR is investigated with the local pressure contours. Numerical analysis shows that the cellular structure is the essential reason for the new phenomenon and the CWA of detonation reflection is not a certain angle but an angle range. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

On the explaining-away phenomenon in multivariate latent variable models.

Science.gov (United States)

van Rijn, Peter; Rijmen, Frank

2015-02-01

Many probabilistic models for psychological and educational measurements contain latent variables. Well-known examples are factor analysis, item response theory, and latent class model families. We discuss what is referred to as the 'explaining-away' phenomenon in the context of such latent variable models. This phenomenon can occur when multiple latent variables are related to the same observed variable, and can elicit seemingly counterintuitive conditional dependencies between latent variables given observed variables. We illustrate the implications of explaining away for a number of well-known latent variable models by using both theoretical and real data examples. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Development of the critical thickness correlation for an improvement of MARS code dryout model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeon, J. H.; Lee, W. J.; Lee, E. C.

2002-01-01

The mechanical film dryout analysis defines that the critical heat flux arises when liquid film calculation from evaporation, droplet entrainment and deposition gets dryout. The dryout of film is generally assumed when film thickness becomes zero. However, it was proven that the complete dryout assumption can estimate CHF well for uniform heating case but can not simulate accurately for non-uniform heating case. The critical thickness concept is an appropriate approach physically because there is a possibility of instantaneous disappearance of liquid film when it gets very thin. Therefore, the dryout phenomenon was modeled introducing critical thickness concept and development of proper critical thickness correlation. In this study, MARS code and some steady state dryout experimental data were used to develop a critical thickness correlation. The version including new critical thickness correlation was assessed using the several dryout CHF tests of various test conditions including non uniform heating case and flow reduction transient test and the results showed enhanced agreement with the experimental data

Robust adaptive synchronization of general dynamical networks ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics; Volume 86; Issue 6. Robust ... A robust adaptive synchronization scheme for these general complex networks with multiple delays and uncertainties is established and raised by employing the robust adaptive control principle and the Lyapunov stability theory. We choose ...

The flare-up index: a quantitative method to describe the phenomenon.

Science.gov (United States)

Rimmer, A

1993-05-01

Acute exacerbation of symptoms during the inter-appointment time interval of endodontic treatment is a well-known complication. The phenomenon is termed "flare-up" by most researchers and clinicians, although the exact definition of it differs from one author to another, making it difficult to compare the results of the studies. The suggested flare-up index may be the way to build a common language that will enable the dental community to measure and study more of this phenomenon.

Robust synthesis for real-time systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Kim Guldstrand; Legay, Axel; Traonouez, Luois-Marie

2014-01-01

Specification theories for real-time systems allow reasoning about interfaces and their implementation models, using a set of operators that includes satisfaction, refinement, logical and parallel composition. To make such theories applicable throughout the entire design process from an abstract...... of introducing small perturbations into formal models. We address this problem of robust implementations in timed specification theories. We first consider a fixed perturbation and study the robustness of timed specifications with respect to the operators of the theory. To this end we synthesize robust...... specification to an implementation, we need to reason about the possibility to effectively implement the theoretical specifications on physical systems, despite their limited precision. In the literature, this implementation problem has been linked to the robustness problem that analyzes the consequences...

The statistical stability phenomenon

CERN Document Server

Gorban, Igor I

2017-01-01

This monograph investigates violations of statistical stability of physical events, variables, and processes and develops a new physical-mathematical theory taking into consideration such violations – the theory of hyper-random phenomena. There are five parts. The first describes the phenomenon of statistical stability and its features, and develops methods for detecting violations of statistical stability, in particular when data is limited. The second part presents several examples of real processes of different physical nature and demonstrates the violation of statistical stability over broad observation intervals. The third part outlines the mathematical foundations of the theory of hyper-random phenomena, while the fourth develops the foundations of the mathematical analysis of divergent and many-valued functions. The fifth part contains theoretical and experimental studies of statistical laws where there is violation of statistical stability. The monograph should be of particular interest to engineers...

The Psychophys behind the “Banariu visual phenomenon” - A particular case of Entoptic Phenomenon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaela Rus

2016-11-01

Full Text Available To describe the psychophysics behind the Banariu visual phenomenon is a delight. Scientifically, a phenomenon is any event that is observable. In this case we will be describing an entoptic phenomenon (ent means within and optic means the eye. Before starting to experience the phenomenon, ask yourself: Does the eye lie? It is certainly undeniable that it does not, anyway, not voluntarily. Even if it may not lie, it does not mean that for a moment at least it can’t be lied to. In this case the patient suddenly experiences dizziness and a feeling of falling on his back accompanied by a brief moment of slight brightness. Because of this “brightness”, it is obvious that Banariu visual phenomenon is a particular case of Phosphene. In fact, Phosphene appears as the movement of multiple light sensations. But that Banariu visual phenomenon when expressed, at least in descriptions, gives the illusion of light growth. This will generate the sensation of falling, especially when the head is tilted back to look upward. These clinical observations have led to the working out of a method to establish when the phenomenon occurs, but it relies basically on the sincerity of the subject analyzed (Banariu method. In this method the subject studied is asked to look up quickly at a fixed point which should preferably be at the equivalent height of a second or third floor of a building. Meanwhile, a medical team should be standing behind the patient to catch him if he falls back.

The influence of applied internal and external rotation on the pivot shift phenomenon.

Science.gov (United States)

Kopf, Sebastian; Musahl, Volker; Perka, Carsten; Kauert, Ralf; Hoburg, Arnd; Becker, Roland

2017-04-01

The pivot shift test is performed in different techniques and the rotation of the tibia seems to have a significant impact on the amount of the pivot shift phenomenon. It has been hypothesised that external rotation will increase the phenomenon due to less tension at the iliotibial band in knee extension. Twenty-four patients with unilateral anterior cruciate ligament insufficiency were included prospectively. The pivot shift test was performed bilaterally in internal and external tibial rotation under general anaesthesia. Knee motion was captured using a femoral and a tibial inertial sensor. The difference between positive and negative peak values in Euclidean norm of acceleration was calculated to evaluate the amount of the pivot shift phenomenon. The pivot shift phenomenon was significantly increased in patients with ACL insufficiency when the test was performed in external [mean 5.2 ms - 2 (95% CI 4.3-6.0)] compared to internal tibial rotation [mean 4.4 ms - 2 (95% CI 3.5-5.4)] (p = 0.002). In healthy, contralateral knees did not show any difference between external [mean 4.0 ms - 2 (95% CI 3.3-4.7)] and internal tibial rotation [mean 4.0 ms - 2 (95% CI 3.4-4.6)] (ns). The pivot shift phenomenon was increased with external rotation in ACL-insufficient knees, and therefore, one should perform the pivot shift test, rather, in external rotation to easily evoke the, sometimes difficult to detect, pivot shift phenomenon. I (diagnostic study).

Preventing Instability Phenomenon in Gas-lift Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Reza Mahdiani

2015-01-01

Full Text Available One of the problems that sometimes occur in gas allocation optimization is instability phenomenon. This phenomenon reduces the oil production and damages downhole and surface facilities. Different works have studied the stability and suggested some solutions to override it, but most of them (such as making the well intelligent are very expensive and thus they are not applicable to many cases. In this paper, as a new approach, the stability has been studied in gas allocation optimization problems. To prevent the instability, instability has been assumed as a constraint for the optimizer and then the optimizer has been run. For the optimization, first a genetic algorithm and then a hybrid of genetic algorithm and Newton-Quasi have been used, and their results are compared to ensure the good performance of the optimizer; afterwards, the effect of adding the instability constraint to the problem on production reduction have been discussed. The results show that the production loss with adding this constraint to the system is very small and this method does not need any additional and expensive facilities for preventing the instability. Therefore, the new method is applicable to different problems.

APPLICATION OF THE ANOMIC THEORY ON THE PHENOMENON ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

GRACE

According to Coser and Rosenberg (1976), scientific theories are general statements or set of statements that ... Commission (CSC). 6. NJOKU, K. C.: Application of the Anomic Theory on the Phenomenon of Disengagement Lethargy ...... Igbo, E.M. (2007). Introduction to criminology (Rvd Ed), Nsukka: University of Nigeria.

Critical heat flux determination in an annulus section; Determinacion del flujo critico de calor en una seccion anular

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reyes C, C A

1997-04-01

The present report explains the phenomenon of Critical heat flux. The study of this physical phenomenon is carried out during the boiling of a liquid and is of supreme importance for the calculation and operation of a nuclear reactor even in the moderns generators of steam (thermoelectric and nucleoelectrics), industrial cooling and in all those industrial process that use a liquid subject to sources of heating and to conditions of work excessively high (temperatures and pressures) so that stay in operation in an appropriate manner and sure. Once well-known this value, the equipment used in these process works with a maximum heat that is smaller than the Critical Heat Flux. The study of the Critical Heat Flux has achieved important advances in the last years, mainly for the enormous obligation that in this moment involved the safety to world level, this has forced to researchers and designers of this type of equipment to center their attention in the obtaining of a correlation which of general way explains it. In this reports two correlations will be compared that they contribute to the evaluation of the Critical Heat Flux in annulus and that they try to be generals in this type of geometry, the Shah correlation`s and the Katto correlation`s. The same as most of the correlations, these have been calculated so that the fluid of work is water, although they have also been proven with others fluids. The results obtained in this report only will show the degree of advance which the investigation of this phenomenon has achieved in annulus and to low amounts of flow of liquid, like which they are in the Experimental Heat Transfer Circuit located in the Department of Physics of the National Institute of Nuclear Research. (Author).

Paradoxical, Cupping-Induced Localized Psoriasis: A Koebner Phenomenon.

Science.gov (United States)

Vender, Reid; Vender, Ronald

2015-01-01

Cupping therapy is a traditional Chinese medicine used to heal psoriasis. The Koebner phenomenon is the occurrence of psoriatic lesions at the site of cutaneous injury. To describe the first case of biopsy-proven cupping-induced localized psoriasis, an example of the Koebner phenomenon. The histopathology of the lesions is described. A brief review of the literature regarding cupping therapy and its efficacy are discussed. A 45-year-old Asian male presented himself to the dermatology clinic for further treatment of his psoriasis. Four unusually circular plaques on the lower back were discovered. Pathologic diagnosis revealed an early lesion of psoriasis. on further inquiry, the patient admitted to undergoing a recent "cupping" procedure in an attempt to cure his condition. The efficacy of cupping therapy is controversial, and psoriatic patients may develop localized psoriasis through koebnerization as a result of cupping therapy rather than achieve desirable therapeutic benefits. © 2014 Canadian Dermatology Association.

High-throughput electrical characterization for robust overlay lithography control

Science.gov (United States)

Devender, Devender; Shen, Xumin; Duggan, Mark; Singh, Sunil; Rullan, Jonathan; Choo, Jae; Mehta, Sohan; Tang, Teck Jung; Reidy, Sean; Holt, Jonathan; Kim, Hyung Woo; Fox, Robert; Sohn, D. K.

2017-03-01

Realizing sensitive, high throughput and robust overlay measurement is a challenge in current 14nm and advanced upcoming nodes with transition to 300mm and upcoming 450mm semiconductor manufacturing, where slight deviation in overlay has significant impact on reliability and yield1). Exponentially increasing number of critical masks in multi-patterning lithoetch, litho-etch (LELE) and subsequent LELELE semiconductor processes require even tighter overlay specification2). Here, we discuss limitations of current image- and diffraction- based overlay measurement techniques to meet these stringent processing requirements due to sensitivity, throughput and low contrast3). We demonstrate a new electrical measurement based technique where resistance is measured for a macro with intentional misalignment between two layers. Overlay is quantified by a parabolic fitting model to resistance where minima and inflection points are extracted to characterize overlay control and process window, respectively. Analyses using transmission electron microscopy show good correlation between actual overlay performance and overlay obtained from fitting. Additionally, excellent correlation of overlay from electrical measurements to existing image- and diffraction- based techniques is found. We also discuss challenges of integrating electrical measurement based approach in semiconductor manufacturing from Back End of Line (BEOL) perspective. Our findings open up a new pathway for accessing simultaneous overlay as well as process window and margins from a robust, high throughput and electrical measurement approach.

The emerging magnetic flux and the elementary eruptive phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mouradian, Z.; Martres, M.J.; Soru-Escaut, I.

1983-01-01

Observational studies before and during the flare start were made in Hα(3-lambda heliograph at Meudon Observatory) on a large sample of ''elementary'' flares, both on the disk and along the limb of the Sun. The concept of elementary eruptive phenomenon (EEP) is proposed to describe these observational data. The EEP may be considered as the basic element of complex flares which, then, are built up by the juxtaposition of several EEP. In the inferred scenario, the chromospheric eruptive phenomenon consists of two systems of loops: one cold - the surging arch - Tapprox.=10 4 K, the other hot - the flaring arch -, covering a temperature range up to 10 7 K. The footpoints of the two systems remain differentiated until extinction of the phenomenon; their behaviour over time differs also. The surging arch (the magnetic flux emergence) rises first progressively in the solar atmosphere and the upper part of the loop is heated to coronal temperatures. The classical surge which is observed in the center of the Hα line, after the flash phase of the flare, is only the late development of the surging arch. The flaring arch originates from a pre-existing low loop, which is also to rise in the solar atmosphere. These two systems coexist and may combine to form such physical characteristics as mass motion, expansion and post-flash phase. (orig.)

Life as a planetary phenomenon: the colonization of Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Margulis, L.; Guerrero, R.

1995-01-01

Life is a planet-wide phenomenon in which its components incessantly move and interact. Life imperatively recycles its parts at the surface of the Earth in a chemical transformation and physical transport that depends utterly on the energy from a recent star, the Sun. Humanity, entirely dependent on other beings, plays a recent and relatively small part in the great phenomenon of life that transports and transforms the surface of the Earth. Our species accelerates but does not dominate the metabolism of the Earth system. Ironically, during the Apollo days of the sixties, fears were rampant that Martian or other extraterrestrial "germs" might "contaminate" our planet. After Viking, such fears are seen as the manifestation of cultural paranoia. The Viking missions complemented ground-based astronomical observation and yielded definitive evidence for the lack of life on the red planet. The Gaia hypothesis states that the surface temperature, composition of the reactive gases, oxidation state, alkalinity-acidity on today's Earth are kept homeorrhetically at values set by the sum of the activities of the current biota. Life, in other words, not only produces and maintains its immediate environment, but appears on Earth only as a planetary phenomenon. Since the natural tendency of all life is to grow exponentially to fill proximal volume, the question now "can life ecopoietically expand to Mars?" is entirely equivalent to the query of "can Gaia reproduce?".

CD3-positive B cells: a storage-dependent phenomenon.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Nagel

Full Text Available The majority of clinical studies requires extensive management of human specimen including e.g. overnight shipping of blood samples in order to convey the samples in a central laboratory or to simultaneously analyze large numbers of patients. Storage of blood samples for periods of time before in vitro/ex vivo testing is known to influence the antigen expression on the surface of lymphocytes. In this context, the present results show for the first time that the T cell antigen CD3 can be substantially detected on the surface of human B cells after ex vivo storage and that the degree of this phenomenon critically depends on temperature and duration after blood withdrawal. The appearance of CD3 on the B cell surface seems to be a result of contact-dependent antigen exchange between T and B lymphocytes and is not attributed to endogenous production by B cells. Since cellular subsets are often classified by phenotypic analyses, our results indicate that ex vivo cellular classification in peripheral blood might result in misleading interpretations. Therefore, in order to obtain results reflecting the in vivo situation, it is suggested to minimize times of ex vivo blood storage after isolation of PBMC. Moreover, to enable reproducibility of results between different research groups and multicenter studies, we would emphasize the necessity to specify and standardize the storage conditions, which might be the basis of particular findings.

Robust and transferable quantification of NMR spectral quality using IROC analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zambrello, Matthew A.; Maciejewski, Mark W.; Schuyler, Adam D.; Weatherby, Gerard; Hoch, Jeffrey C.

2017-12-01

Non-Fourier methods are increasingly utilized in NMR spectroscopy because of their ability to handle nonuniformly-sampled data. However, non-Fourier methods present unique challenges due to their nonlinearity, which can produce nonrandom noise and render conventional metrics for spectral quality such as signal-to-noise ratio unreliable. The lack of robust and transferable metrics (i.e. applicable to methods exhibiting different nonlinearities) has hampered comparison of non-Fourier methods and nonuniform sampling schemes, preventing the identification of best practices. We describe a novel method, in situ receiver operating characteristic analysis (IROC), for characterizing spectral quality based on the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve. IROC utilizes synthetic signals added to empirical data as "ground truth", and provides several robust scalar-valued metrics for spectral quality. This approach avoids problems posed by nonlinear spectral estimates, and provides a versatile quantitative means of characterizing many aspects of spectral quality. We demonstrate applications to parameter optimization in Fourier and non-Fourier spectral estimation, critical comparison of different methods for spectrum analysis, and optimization of nonuniform sampling schemes. The approach will accelerate the discovery of optimal approaches to nonuniform sampling experiment design and non-Fourier spectrum analysis for multidimensional NMR.

REINA at CLEF 2007 Robust Task

OpenAIRE

Zazo Rodríguez, Ángel Francisco; Figuerola, Carlos G.; Alonso Berrocal, José Luis

2007-01-01

This paper describes our work at CLEF 2007 Robust Task. We have participated in the monolingual (English, French and Portuguese) and the bilingual (English to French) subtask. At CLEF 2006 our research group obtained very good results applying local query expansion using windows of terms in the robust task. This year we have used the same expansion technique, but taking into account some criteria of robustness: MAP, GMAP, MMR, GS@10, P@10, number of failed topics, number of topics bellow 0.1 ...

The missing link in El Niño’s phenomenon generation

OpenAIRE

Mato Méndez, Fernando José

2017-01-01

The study of the El Niño phenomenon has been addressed for decades by means of the well-known ocean-atmosphere coupling model described by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. However, its generation mechanism has remained unknown until now, hindering the forecast of such occurrence and the degree of its intensity. Our research provides for the first time the discovery of a clear correlation pattern between a temporal inmense increase in seismicity at localized regions inside the P...

The Variation Management Framework (VMF) for Robust Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Howard, Thomas J.; Ebro, Martin; Eifler, Tobias

2014-01-01

Robust Design is an approach to reduce the effects of variation. There are numerous tools,methods and models associated with robust design, however, there is both a lack of a processmodel formalising the step of a robust design process and a framework tying the models together.In this paper we pr...... in the market place and identifies areaswhere action can be taken against variation. An additional benefit of the framework is that itmakes the link between visual/sensory/perceptual robustness, product robustness, and productionvariation (Six Sigma)....

Jihadist Foreign Fighter Phenomenon in Western Europe: A Low-Probability, High-Impact Threat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edwin Bakker

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The phenomenon of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq is making headlines. Their involvement in the atrocities committed by terrorist groups such as the so-called “Islamic State” and Jabhat al-Nusra have caused grave concern and public outcry in the foreign fighters’ European countries of origin. While much has been written about these foreign fighters and the possible threat they pose, the impact of this phenomenon on Western European societies has yet to be documented. This Research Paper explores four particular areas where this impact is most visible: a violent incidents associated with (returned foreign fighters, b official and political responses linked to these incidents, c public opinion, and d anti-Islam reactions linked to these incidents. The authors conclude that the phenomenon of jihadist foreign fighters in European societies should be primarily regarded as a social and political threat, not a physical one. They consider the phenomenon of European jihadist foreign fighters a “low-probability, high-impact” threat.

Perspectives for research of the procrastination phenomenon in professional work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentina V. Barabanshchikova

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The paper describes the current state of the procrastination phenomenon in professional work, reviews the basic unexplored aspects in this area, and highlights the promising areas of scientific analysis. The survey of the existing literature periodization shows that the quantity of researches devoted to procrastination is growing exponentially every year. In spite of a pronounced research interest in this construct, in native and foreign psychological science procrastination phenomenon in the professional work is represented insufficiently. Firstly, there is no common and generally accepted definition of procrastination (Corkin, Yu, Lindt, 2011; Steel, 2010; Krause, Freund, 2014, that suggests that there is a deep terminological crisis in this area. Secondly, the characteristic of delaying the implementation of the elements of workload is represented only by the example of a fairly narrow range of professional activities, which makes it relevant to study the specificity of the differentiated functioning of the phenomenon on the material of a wide range of professions. Thirdly, in psychology there are no information about the peculiarities of the so-called “active” procrastination manifestations in professional activity, which is the tendency of conscious assignments delaying to achieve the optimum final result (Chu, Choi, 2005; Choi, Moran, 2009. Fourthly, there is an acute shortage of standardized psychodiagnostic tools to evaluate this phenomenon in work (most of the existing methods have been tested on samples of students and are aimed at identifying academic procrastination. In the fifth place, there are no science-based allocation of methods of coping with destructive manifestations of the psychological strategy of the job functions postponement in a professional work.

CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE FRETTING PHENOMENON USING LEAF SPRINGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan GHIMIȘI

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The fretting phenomenon represents particulary and complex form of wear who is; generaly, and/or weary of fretting who is produced on the load contact in a relative oscialatory movement lay small amplitude.A simultaneoustly applied tangential force and normal into contact appears a adhesion force

Exploration of transnationalism as a concept and phenomenon in Public Administration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barry Hanyane

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Transnationalism as both a phenomenon and a concept has received negligible attention in modern times in relation to the practice of public administration and its corresponding field of study. This article provides an account of the meaning and the relevance of both the concept and phenomenon as received and applied by practitioners and scholars in the said practice and field of study. From the latter, a deliberate approach towards policy matters is undertaken in relation to the concept and phenomenon of transnationalism. In this article policies used by the national Department of Home Affairs in South Africa form the basis from which a case is made relevant to this topic in p(Public a(Administration. Additionally, case studies in the SADC region are considered. This article therefore argues that transnationalism is as much local as global issues such as immigration, citizenship, global economy, service delivery, government (inefficiency and (ineffectiveness and such other matters of public interest.

Wave of mutilation: the cattle mutilation phenomenon of the 1970s.

Science.gov (United States)

Goleman, Michael J

2011-01-01

During the 1970s many small-scale cattle ranchers across the Midwest reported finding their cattle mutilated. The episode, often dismissed as mass hysteria or sensationalized reporting, demonstrates the growing dissatisfaction of many ranchers concerning government intrusiveness and restrictive policies. These frustrations found a release in response to the mutilation phenomenon during which ranchers vented their anger by taking direct aim at the federal government. The turbulent economic conditions of the period paired with government interference in the cattle industry helped sustain the mutilation phenomenon as ranchers projected their fears and insecurities through the bizarre episode. The hostility ranchers showed toward the federal government during the mutilation scare presaged and helped provide the impetus for events such as the Sagebrush Rebellion. The mutilation phenomenon also underscores the pronounced effects of the libertarian movement of the 1960s that gave rise to the New Right and gained adherents across the West and Midwest.

Legal socialization of personality as a phenomenon of legal psychology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Borisova S.E.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The relevance of the topic to the continuing importance of legal regulation of human behavior, the necessity of foreseeing the adverse consequences of social disorders and urgency of the prevention of deconditioning and deviant behavioral manifestations. In this regard, it is important to examine the phenomenon of legal socialization, causing interest among the representatives of the human Sciences and specialists in different branches of psychological knowledge. Taking into account the multidimensional nature of this phenomenon, it is an essential consideration of the trajectories of its occurrence in correlation with different interacting with other determinants. Such determinants include age psychological characteristics, experience crises of mental development, socially conditioned factors, and the influence of the professional environment. In article are characterized by individual patterns of legal socialization of a personality, revealing its essence, on the basis of summarizing opinions of scientists based on their own point of view. On the basis of the theoretical analysis made assumptions about the peculiarities of legal socialization of the individual occurring in different age periods of life; formulated likely areas for further study the phenomenon under research legal psychology.

Mindfulness as a booming, diverse and (non) religious phenomenon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borup, Jørn

2016-01-01

Mindfulness has become a phenomenon with widespread appeal in many Western countries. Like yoga, it has an Eastern religious origin, but through a long history it has been transformed and adapted to new cultural and social contexts. While the majority of research on mindfulness has been conducted...... within the health sciences, the aim of this article is to investigate the distribution, meaning and function of this practice through quantitative mapping and qualitative interviews with 16 mindfulness providers in the city of Aarhus in Denmark. The analysis reveals not just a booming phenomenon......, but also a field characterized by diversity in terms of authority claims, motivations and uses. The discussion focuses on whether mindfulness can be seen as a religious practice or as a typical expression of an individualized and secularized technique....

Robust recognition via information theoretic learning

CERN Document Server

He, Ran; Yuan, Xiaotong; Wang, Liang

2014-01-01

This Springer Brief represents a comprehensive review of information theoretic methods for robust recognition. A variety of information theoretic methods have been proffered in the past decade, in a large variety of computer vision applications; this work brings them together, attempts to impart the theory, optimization and usage of information entropy.The?authors?resort to a new information theoretic concept, correntropy, as a robust measure and apply it to solve robust face recognition and object recognition problems. For computational efficiency,?the brief?introduces the additive and multip

Robust methods for multivariate data analysis A1

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frosch, Stina; Von Frese, J.; Bro, Rasmus

2005-01-01

Outliers may hamper proper classical multivariate analysis, and lead to incorrect conclusions. To remedy the problem of outliers, robust methods are developed in statistics and chemometrics. Robust methods reduce or remove the effect of outlying data points and allow the ?good? data to primarily...... determine the result. This article reviews the most commonly used robust multivariate regression and exploratory methods that have appeared since 1996 in the field of chemometrics. Special emphasis is put on the robust versions of chemometric standard tools like PCA and PLS and the corresponding robust...

Neoliberalism in education: Five images of critical analyses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Branislav Pupala

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The survey study brings information about the way that educational researchcopes with neoliberalism as a generalized form of social government in the currentwestern culture. It shows that neoliberalism is considered as a universal scope of otherchanges in the basic segments of education and those theoretical and critical analyses ofthis phenomenon represent an important part of production in the area of educationalresearch. It emphasizes the contribution of formation and development of the socalledgovernmental studies for comprehension of mechanisms and consequences ofneoliberal government of the society and shows how way the methodology of thesestudies helps to identify neoliberal strategies used in the regulation of social subjectsby education. There are five selected segments of critical analyses elaborated (fromthe concept of a lifelong learning, through preschool and university education to theeducation of teachers and PISA project that obviously show ideological and theoreticalcohesiveness of the education analysis through the scope of neoliberal governmentality.

Robustness Evaluation of Timber Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirkegaard, Poul Henning; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2009-01-01

Robustness of structural systems has obtained a renewed interest due to a much more frequent use of advanced types of structures with limited redundancy and serious consequences in case of failure.......Robustness of structural systems has obtained a renewed interest due to a much more frequent use of advanced types of structures with limited redundancy and serious consequences in case of failure....

[Fish oil containing lipid emulsions in critically ill patients: Critical analysis and future perspectives].

Science.gov (United States)

Manzanares, W; Langlois, P L

2016-01-01

Third-generation lipid emulsions (LE) are soybean oil sparing strategies with immunomodulatory and antiinflammatory effects. Current evidence supporting the use of intravenous (i.v) fish oil (FO) LE in critically ill patients requiring parenteral nutrition or receiving enteral nutrition (pharmaconutrient strategy) mainly derives from small phase ii clinical trials in heterogenous intensive care unit patient's population. Over the last three years, there have been published different systematic reviews and meta-analyses evaluating the effects of FO containing LE in the critically ill. Recently, it has been demonstrated that i.v FO based LE may be able to significantly reduce the incidence of infections as well as mechanical ventilation days and hospital length of stay. Nonetheless, more robust evidence is required before giving a definitive recommendation. Finally, we strongly believe that a dosing study is required before new phase iii clinical trials comparing i.v FO containing emulsions versus other soybean oil strategies can be conducted. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.

Ins-Robust Primitive Words

OpenAIRE

Srivastava, Amit Kumar; Kapoor, Kalpesh

2017-01-01

Let Q be the set of primitive words over a finite alphabet with at least two symbols. We characterize a class of primitive words, Q_I, referred to as ins-robust primitive words, which remain primitive on insertion of any letter from the alphabet and present some properties that characterizes words in the set Q_I. It is shown that the language Q_I is dense. We prove that the language of primitive words that are not ins-robust is not context-free. We also present a linear time algorithm to reco...

Glow phenomenon surrounding the vertical stabilizer and OMS pods

Science.gov (United States)

1994-01-01

This 35mm frame, photographed as the Space Shuttle Columbia was orbiting Earth during a 'night' pass, documents the glow phenomenon surrounding the vertical stabilizer and the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods of the spacecraft.

A Survey on Robustness in Railway Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lusby, Richard Martin; Larsen, Jesper; Bull, Simon Henry

2018-01-01

Planning problems in passenger railway range from long term strategic decision making to the detailed planning of operations.Operations research methods have played an increasing role in this planning process. However, recently more attention has been given to considerations of robustness...... in the quality of solutions to individual planning problems, and of operations in general. Robustness in general is the capacity for some system to absorb or resist changes. In the context of railway robustness it is often taken to be the capacity for operations to continue at some level when faced...... with a disruption such as delay or failure. This has resulted in more attention given to the inclusion of robustness measures and objectives in individual planning problems, and to the providing of tools to ensure operations continue under disrupted situations. In this paper we survey the literature on robustness...

Firms’ reshaping of commercialization practices to overcome the ‘not invented here’ phenomenon in public healthcare organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nissen, Helle Aarøe; Evald, Majbritt Rostgaard; Clarke, Ann Højbjerg

2015-01-01

The present study is rooted in Public Private Innovation (PPI) projects where public hospitals and private firms engage in cross-sector collaboration with a view to developing new welfare solutions targeting public sector needs. Research into PPI is mainly focused on public management of innovation...... processes. Consequently, PPI is rarely examined from a private sector perspective, including how private firms seek to commercialize new innovations after co-creating these innovations in collaboration with public organizations. However, commercialization is a critical aspect of innovation because...... by elucidating how private firms commercialize co-created welfare solutions. The empirical setting is a multiple case study consisting of four PPI projects conducted in public Danish healthcare. The findings reveal that PPI firms experience the ‘not invented here’ (NIH) phenomenon across Danish hospitals...

A robust interpretation of duration calculus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Franzle, M.; Hansen, Michael Reichhardt

2005-01-01

We transfer the concept of robust interpretation from arithmetic first-order theories to metric-time temporal logics. The idea is that the interpretation of a formula is robust iff its truth value does not change under small variation of the constants in the formula. Exemplifying this on Duration...... Calculus (DC), our findings are that the robust interpretation of DC is equivalent to a multi-valued interpretation that uses the real numbers as semantic domain and assigns Lipschitz-continuous interpretations to all operators of DC. Furthermore, this continuity permits approximation between discrete...

Design Robust Controller for Rotary Kiln

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Omar D. Hernández-Arboleda

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the design of a robust controller for a rotary kiln. The designed controller is a combination of a fractional PID and linear quadratic regulator (LQR, these are not used to control the kiln until now, in addition robustness criteria are evaluated (gain margin, phase margin, strength gain, rejecting high frequency noise and sensitivity applied to the entire model (controller-plant, obtaining good results with a frequency range of 0.020 to 90 rad/s, which contributes to the robustness of the system.

Danish Requirements for Robustness of Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Christensen, H. H.

2006-01-01

. This paper describes the background of the revised robustness requirements implemented in the Danish Code of Practice for Safety of Structures in 2003 [1, 2, 3]. According to the Danish design rules robustness shall be documented for all structures where consequences of failure are serious. This paper...... describes the background of the design procedure in the Danish codes, which shall be followed in order to document sufficient robustness in the following steps: Step 1: review of loads and possible failure modes/scenarios and determination of acceptable collapse extent. Step 2: review of the structural...

Robust lyapunov controller for uncertain systems

KAUST Repository

Laleg-Kirati, Taous-Meriem; Elmetennani, Shahrazed

2017-01-01

Various examples of systems and methods are provided for Lyapunov control for uncertain systems. In one example, a system includes a process plant and a robust Lyapunov controller configured to control an input of the process plant. The robust

A Robust and Multi-Weighted Approach to Estimating Topographically Correlated Tropospheric Delays in Radar Interferograms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bangyan Zhu

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Spatial and temporal variations in the vertical stratification of the troposphere introduce significant propagation delays in interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR observations. Observations of small amplitude surface deformations and regional subsidence rates are plagued by tropospheric delays, and strongly correlated with topographic height variations. Phase-based tropospheric correction techniques assuming a linear relationship between interferometric phase and topography have been exploited and developed, with mixed success. Producing robust estimates of tropospheric phase delay however plays a critical role in increasing the accuracy of InSAR measurements. Meanwhile, few phase-based correction methods account for the spatially variable tropospheric delay over lager study regions. Here, we present a robust and multi-weighted approach to estimate the correlation between phase and topography that is relatively insensitive to confounding processes such as regional subsidence over larger regions as well as under varying tropospheric conditions. An expanded form of robust least squares is introduced to estimate the spatially variable correlation between phase and topography by splitting the interferograms into multiple blocks. Within each block, correlation is robustly estimated from the band-filtered phase and topography. Phase-elevation ratios are multiply- weighted and extrapolated to each persistent scatter (PS pixel. We applied the proposed method to Envisat ASAR images over the Southern California area, USA, and found that our method mitigated the atmospheric noise better than the conventional phase-based method. The corrected ground surface deformation agreed better with those measured from GPS.

Thermalhydraulic behavior of electrically heated rod during a critical heat flux transient

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, Rita de Cassia Fernandes de; Carajilescov, Pedro

1997-01-01

In nuclear reactors, the occurrence of critical heat flux leads to fuel rod overheating with clad fusion and radioactive products leakage. To predict the effects of such phenomenon, experiments are performed using electrically heated rods to simulate operational and accidental conditions of nuclear fuel rods. In the present work, a theoretical analysis of the drying and rewetting front propagation is performed during a critical heat flux experiment, starting with the application of slope of electrical power from steady state condition. After the occurrence of critical heat flux, the drying front propagation is predicted. After a few seconds, a power cut is considered and the rewetting front behavior is analytically observed. Studies done with several values of coolant mass flow rate show that this variable has more influence on the drying front velocity than on the rewetting one. (author)

An investigation for identification of factors governing F and P phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ray, M.K.S.; Saini, R.D.; Kutty, K.K.; Das, D.

1992-01-01

A series of experiments were carried out in divided electrolytic cells in an attempt to identify factors governing the occurence of Fleischmann and Pons (F and P) phenomenon. Despite wide variation in operating parameters (cathode characteristics, type and concentration of electrolyte) and perturbation of deuterated cathodes and sharp change in their temperatures, experiments yielded no evidence of the phenomenon even though high loading (sometimes upto D/Pd ∼2) could be achieved repeatedely. However, large excess heat liberation, not accountable by probable physicochemical processes, was observed following perturbation of the state of equilibrium of a deuterated cathode (having a portion of it free of scale and bright in appearance) by air. Instances of anomalies in tritium distribution between gas and liquid phase resulting from such perturbation were also noticed. These observations, when analysed in global perspective, clearly indicate the essentiality of oxygen and scale free surface for occurrence of the phenomenon. Study of desorption dynamics and related parameters revealed that the overall effect of oxygen is to enhance the escaping tendency of deuterium from Pd lattice and that the phenomenon is in someway related to desorption. Significant increase in tritium activity in gas phase observed following repeated perturbation of deuterated cathode by induced pulsed magnetic field is suggestive of a possible mechanism in which strong electron affinity of oxygen is of paramount importance. (author). 53 refs., 17 figs., 3 tabs., 4 appendixes

Phenomenon of transforming love in the works of F.М. Dostoyevsky

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. M. Shatalovich

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The article revealed contents of the phenomenon of transforming love in the work of Dostoevsky on the materials of the novel «The Idiot». Many philosophic studies were devoted to the problem of analysis of the phenomenon of love in the works of F.M. Dostoyevsky. Most researchers emphasize the sacrificial (agapic love, or focuses on erotic nature of love. This approach significantly constricts the phenomenon of love described by the writer in the form of Prince Myshkin. The study of love of Prince was carried out using four concepts covering the four key aspects of love: eros, agape, philia and storge. Thus, there are main features of love­eros of Prince Myshkin, such as: drive for beauty and its admiration, ardor and impetuosity, recklessness and frenzy, which are positive, i.e. they are the evidence that his love­eros was hierarchically focused on more exalted goods. Love­agape is in the center of the phenomenon of transforming love with its pity, compassion, sacrifice, care and forgiveness. Love­philia is demonstrated in Prince Myshkin by similarity of views, common ground, mutual understanding, trust and love­storge – by affection causing peace of mind or depression. Thus, the study proved that Prince Myshkin is an ideologist of transforming love, combining all four aspects of it. Creativity, the ability to change spiritually not only the love medium but also the people around is the evidence of his transforming love.

Robustness Analysis of Typologies of Reciprocal Timber Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirkegaard, Poul Henning; Parigi, Dario

2013-01-01

to the future development of typologies of reciprocal timber structures. The paper concludes that these kinds of structures can have a potential as long span timber structures in real projects if they are carefully designed with respect to the overall robustness strategies.......Robustness of structural systems has obtained a renewed interest due to a much more frequent use of advanced types of structures with limited redundancy and serious consequences in case of failure. In order to minimise the likelihood of such disproportionate structural failures many modern building...... codes consider the need for robustness in structures and provides strategies and methods to obtain robustness. Therefore a structural engineer may take necessary steps to design robust structures that are insensitive to accidental circumstances. The present paper outlines robustness issues related...

The nature of transport critical current hysteresis in HTSC: magnetic fields and high pressures. [Y-Ba-Cu-O

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Svistunov, V M; Yachenko, A.I. d' ; Tarenkov, V Yu [Donetsk Physico-Technical Inst., Ukrainian SSR (USSR)

1991-12-01

It was found that pressure has a strong influence on the critical current hysteresis loop of ceramics at H {proportional to} 10 kOe. The phenomenon is attributed to the critical current hysteresis of separate Josephson contacts and is due to the Abrikosov vortex density gradient within granules. The gradient defines both the sign and the value of the pinning current, whereas the sign of Meissner reversible surfaces current component is determined by the external field H direction. As a result the critical current of Josephson contacts defined by the total surface value depends on the magnetic prehistory of a sample. (orig.).

An optimization of robust SMES with specified structure H∞ controller for power system stabilization considering superconducting magnetic coil size

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngamroo, Issarachai

2011-01-01

Even the superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) is the smart stabilizing device in electric power systems, the installation cost of SMES is very high. Especially, the superconducting magnetic coil size which is the critical part of SMES, must be well designed. On the contrary, various system operating conditions result in system uncertainties. The power controller of SMES designed without taking such uncertainties into account, may fail to stabilize the system. By considering both coil size and system uncertainties, this paper copes with the optimization of robust SMES controller. No need of exact mathematic equations, the normalized coprime factorization is applied to model system uncertainties. Based on the normalized integral square error index of inter-area rotor angle difference and specified structured H ∞ loop shaping optimization, the robust SMES controller with the smallest coil size, can be achieved by the genetic algorithm. The robustness of the proposed SMES with the smallest coil size can be confirmed by simulation study.

Overview of Risk Mitigation for Safety-Critical Computer-Based Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

2015-01-01

This report presents a high-level overview of a general strategy to mitigate the risks from threats to safety-critical computer-based systems. In this context, a safety threat is a process or phenomenon that can cause operational safety hazards in the form of computational system failures. This report is intended to provide insight into the safety-risk mitigation problem and the characteristics of potential solutions. The limitations of the general risk mitigation strategy are discussed and some options to overcome these limitations are provided. This work is part of an ongoing effort to enable well-founded assurance of safety-related properties of complex safety-critical computer-based aircraft systems by developing an effective capability to model and reason about the safety implications of system requirements and design.

Study on Boiling Heat Transfer Phenomenon in Micro-channels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeong, Namgyun [Inha Technical College, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

2017-09-15

Recently, efficient heat dissipation has become necessary because of the miniaturization of devices, and research on boiling on micro-channels has attracted attention. However, in the case of micro-channels, the friction coefficient and heat transfer characteristics are different from those in macro-channels. This leads to large errors in the micro scale results, when compared to correlations derived from the macro scale. In addition, due to the complexity of the mechanism, the boiling phenomenon in micro-channels cannot be approached only by experimental and theoretical methods. Therefore, numerical methods should be utilized as well, to supplement these methods. However, most numerical studies have been conducted on macro-channels. In this study, we applied the lattice Boltzmann method, proposed as an alternative numerical tool to simulate the boiling phenomenon in the micro-channel, and predicted the bubble growth process in the channel.

Robustness of Long Span Reciprocal Timber Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balfroid, Nathalie; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning

2011-01-01

engineer may take necessary steps to design robust structures that are insensitive to accidental circumstances. The present paper makes a discussion of such robustness issues related to the future development of reciprocal timber structures. The paper concludes that these kind of structures can have...... a potential as long span timber structures in real projects if they are carefully designed with respect to the overall robustness strategies.......Robustness of structural systems has obtained a renewed interest due to a much more frequent use of advanced types of structures with limited redundancy and serious consequences in case of failure. The interest has also been facilitated due to recently severe structural failures...

Criticality safety evaluation for long term storage of FFTF fuel in interim storage casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richard, R.F.

1995-01-01

It has been postulated that a degradation phenomenon, referred to as ''hot cell rot'', may affect irradiated FFTF mixed plutonium-uranium oxide (MOX) fuel during dry interim storage. ''Hot cell rot'' refers to a variety of phenomena that degrade fuel pin cladding during exposure to air and inert gas environments. It is thought to be a form of caustic stress corrosion cracking or environmentally assisted cracking. Here, a criticality safety analysis was performed to address the effect of the ''hot cell rot'' phenomenon on the long term storage of irradiated FFTF fuel in core component containers. The results show that seven FFTF fuel assemblies or six Ident-69 pin containers stored in core component containers within interim storage casks will remain safely subcritical

Critical Time Crystals in Dipolar Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Wen Wei; Choi, Soonwon; Lukin, Mikhail D; Abanin, Dmitry A

2017-07-07

We analyze the quantum dynamics of periodically driven, disordered systems in the presence of long-range interactions. Focusing on the stability of discrete time crystalline (DTC) order in such systems, we use a perturbative procedure to evaluate its lifetime. For 3D systems with dipolar interactions, we show that the corresponding decay is parametrically slow, implying that robust, long-lived DTC order can be obtained. We further predict a sharp crossover from the stable DTC regime into a regime where DTC order is lost, reminiscent of a phase transition. These results are in good agreement with the recent experiments utilizing a dense, dipolar spin ensemble in diamond [Nature (London) 543, 221 (2017)NATUAS0028-083610.1038/nature21426]. They demonstrate the existence of a novel, critical DTC regime that is stabilized not by many-body localization but rather by slow, critical dynamics. Our analysis shows that the DTC response can be used as a sensitive probe of nonequilibrium quantum matter.

Radical Right and Radical Left Euroscepticism. A Dynamic Phenomenon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meijers, M.J.

2017-01-01

Euroscepticism is often regarded as a monolithic, unitary political phenomenon. After all, Eurosceptic parties, movements and voters are united in voicing their opposition to European integration. This, however, is a serious misconception: Eurosceptic politics in Western Europe is heterogeneous

Nonlinear robust hierarchical control for nonlinear uncertain systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonessa Alexander

1999-01-01

Full Text Available A nonlinear robust control-system design framework predicated on a hierarchical switching controller architecture parameterized over a set of moving nominal system equilibria is developed. Specifically, using equilibria-dependent Lyapunov functions, a hierarchical nonlinear robust control strategy is developed that robustly stabilizes a given nonlinear system over a prescribed range of system uncertainty by robustly stabilizing a collection of nonlinear controlled uncertain subsystems. The robust switching nonlinear controller architecture is designed based on a generalized (lower semicontinuous Lyapunov function obtained by minimizing a potential function over a given switching set induced by the parameterized nominal system equilibria. The proposed framework robustly stabilizes a compact positively invariant set of a given nonlinear uncertain dynamical system with structured parametric uncertainty. Finally, the efficacy of the proposed approach is demonstrated on a jet engine propulsion control problem with uncertain pressure-flow map data.

Exploring Fourier Series and Gibbs Phenomenon Using Mathematica

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, Jonaki B.

2011-01-01

This article describes a laboratory module on Fourier series and Gibbs phenomenon which was undertaken by 32 Year 12 students. It shows how the use of CAS played the role of an "amplifier" by making higher level mathematical concepts accessible to students of year 12. Using Mathematica students were able to visualise Fourier series of…

Robustness analysis of complex networks with power decentralization strategy via flow-sensitive centrality against cascading failures

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Wenzhang; Wang, Hao; Wu, Zhengping

2018-03-01

Most existing cascading failure mitigation strategy of power grids based on complex network ignores the impact of electrical characteristics on dynamic performance. In this paper, the robustness of the power grid under a power decentralization strategy is analysed through cascading failure simulation based on AC flow theory. The flow-sensitive (FS) centrality is introduced by integrating topological features and electrical properties to help determine the siting of the generation nodes. The simulation results of the IEEE-bus systems show that the flow-sensitive centrality method is a more stable and accurate approach and can enhance the robustness of the network remarkably. Through the study of the optimal flow-sensitive centrality selection for different networks, we find that the robustness of the network with obvious small-world effect depends more on contribution of the generation nodes detected by community structure, otherwise, contribution of the generation nodes with important influence on power flow is more critical. In addition, community structure plays a significant role in balancing the power flow distribution and further slowing the propagation of failures. These results are useful in power grid planning and cascading failure prevention.

The importance of robust design methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eifler, Tobias; Howard, Thomas J.

2018-01-01

infamous recalls in automotive history, that of the GM ignition switch, from the perspective of Robust Design. It is investigated if available Robust Design methods such as sensitivity analysis, tolerance stack-ups, design clarity, etc. would have been suitable to account for the performance variation...

Security and robustness for collaborative monitors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Testerink, Bas; Bulling, Nils; Dastani, Mehdi

2016-01-01

Decentralized monitors can be subject to robustness and security risks. Robustness risks include attacks on the monitor’s infrastructure in order to disable parts of its functionality. Security risks include attacks that try to extract information from the monitor and thereby possibly leak sensitive

Topology and Edge Modes in Quantum Critical Chains

Science.gov (United States)

Verresen, Ruben; Jones, Nick G.; Pollmann, Frank

2018-02-01

We show that topology can protect exponentially localized, zero energy edge modes at critical points between one-dimensional symmetry-protected topological phases. This is possible even without gapped degrees of freedom in the bulk—in contrast to recent work on edge modes in gapless chains. We present an intuitive picture for the existence of these edge modes in the case of noninteracting spinless fermions with time-reversal symmetry (BDI class of the tenfold way). The stability of this phenomenon relies on a topological invariant defined in terms of a complex function, counting its zeros and poles inside the unit circle. This invariant can prevent two models described by the same conformal field theory (CFT) from being smoothly connected. A full classification of critical phases in the noninteracting BDI class is obtained: Each phase is labeled by the central charge of the CFT, c ∈1/2 N , and the topological invariant, ω ∈Z . Moreover, c is determined by the difference in the number of edge modes between the phases neighboring the transition. Numerical simulations show that the topological edge modes of critical chains can be stable in the presence of interactions and disorder.

Robust statistics and geochemical data analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di, Z.

1987-01-01

Advantages of robust procedures over ordinary least-squares procedures in geochemical data analysis is demonstrated using NURE data from the Hot Springs Quadrangle, South Dakota, USA. Robust principal components analysis with 5% multivariate trimming successfully guarded the analysis against perturbations by outliers and increased the number of interpretable factors. Regression with SINE estimates significantly increased the goodness-of-fit of the regression and improved the correspondence of delineated anomalies with known uranium prospects. Because of the ubiquitous existence of outliers in geochemical data, robust statistical procedures are suggested as routine procedures to replace ordinary least-squares procedures

Towards distortion-free robust image authentication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coltuc, D

2007-01-01

This paper investigates a general framework for distortion-free robust image authentication by multiple marking. First, by robust watermarking a subsampled version of image edges is embedded. Then, by reversible watermarking the information needed to recover the original image is inserted, too. The hiding capacity of the reversible watermarking is the essential requirement for this approach. Thus in case of no attacks not only image is authenticated but also the original is exactly recovered. In case of attacks, reversibility is lost, but image can still be authenticated. Preliminary results providing very good robustness against JPEG compression are presented

The phenomenon of mobbing in Serbia and Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trišić Marko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available As the phenomenon of abuse in the workplace came to a closer public eye of a broader audience through media coverage, there is not a more fertile ground for a fully detailed problem explanation and search for its short or long-term solution. The dose of seriousness concerning the issue of mobbing isn’t only given for its negative effect on a business organization, but also for the mutation of a society’s culture, as well. The research paper outlines the mobbing phenomenon by presenting the theoretical and practical (statistical diagnosis through which, for a better understanding of the situation, there are added testimonies of mobbing victims, as well as legal and extra-judicial solutions for the issue. The observation of the phenomena is focused on the research and data presentation, using examples from Serbia and Europe. Putting aside the obvious differences in approach, a great space for implementation of European developed countries’ principles can be seen. The same principles could be introduced on the domestic scene, with the introduction of mandatory work conditions that are considered decent.

On the robustness of Herlihy's hierarchy

Science.gov (United States)

Jayanti, Prasad

1993-01-01

A wait-free hierarchy maps object types to levels in Z(+) U (infinity) and has the following property: if a type T is at level N, and T' is an arbitrary type, then there is a wait-free implementation of an object of type T', for N processes, using only registers and objects of type T. The infinite hierarchy defined by Herlihy is an example of a wait-free hierarchy. A wait-free hierarchy is robust if it has the following property: if T is at level N, and S is a finite set of types belonging to levels N - 1 or lower, then there is no wait-free implementation of an object of type T, for N processes, using any number and any combination of objects belonging to the types in S. Robustness implies that there are no clever ways of combining weak shared objects to obtain stronger ones. Contrary to what many researchers believe, we prove that Herlihy's hierarchy is not robust. We then define some natural variants of Herlihy's hierarchy, which are also infinite wait-free hierarchies. With the exception of one, which is still open, these are not robust either. We conclude with the open question of whether non-trivial robust wait-free hierarchies exist.

Replication and robustness in developmental research.

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, Greg J; Engel, Mimi; Claessens, Amy; Dowsett, Chantelle J

2014-11-01

Replications and robustness checks are key elements of the scientific method and a staple in many disciplines. However, leading journals in developmental psychology rarely include explicit replications of prior research conducted by different investigators, and few require authors to establish in their articles or online appendices that their key results are robust across estimation methods, data sets, and demographic subgroups. This article makes the case for prioritizing both explicit replications and, especially, within-study robustness checks in developmental psychology. It provides evidence on variation in effect sizes in developmental studies and documents strikingly different replication and robustness-checking practices in a sample of journals in developmental psychology and a sister behavioral science-applied economics. Our goal is not to show that any one behavioral science has a monopoly on best practices, but rather to show how journals from a related discipline address vital concerns of replication and generalizability shared by all social and behavioral sciences. We provide recommendations for promoting graduate training in replication and robustness-checking methods and for editorial policies that encourage these practices. Although some of our recommendations may shift the form and substance of developmental research articles, we argue that they would generate considerable scientific benefits for the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Does a crouched leg posture enhance running stability and robustness?

Science.gov (United States)

Blum, Yvonne; Birn-Jeffery, Aleksandra; Daley, Monica A; Seyfarth, Andre

2011-07-21

Humans and birds both walk and run bipedally on compliant legs. However, differences in leg architecture may result in species-specific leg control strategies as indicated by the observed gait patterns. In this work, control strategies for stable running are derived based on a conceptual model and compared with experimental data on running humans and pheasants (Phasianus colchicus). From a model perspective, running with compliant legs can be represented by the planar spring mass model and stabilized by applying swing leg control. Here, linear adaptations of the three leg parameters, leg angle, leg length and leg stiffness during late swing phase are assumed. Experimentally observed kinematic control parameters (leg rotation and leg length change) of human and avian running are compared, and interpreted within the context of this model, with specific focus on stability and robustness characteristics. The results suggest differences in stability characteristics and applied control strategies of human and avian running, which may relate to differences in leg posture (straight leg posture in humans, and crouched leg posture in birds). It has been suggested that crouched leg postures may improve stability. However, as the system of control strategies is overdetermined, our model findings suggest that a crouched leg posture does not necessarily enhance running stability. The model also predicts different leg stiffness adaptation rates for human and avian running, and suggests that a crouched avian leg posture, which is capable of both leg shortening and lengthening, allows for stable running without adjusting leg stiffness. In contrast, in straight-legged human running, the preparation of the ground contact seems to be more critical, requiring leg stiffness adjustment to remain stable. Finally, analysis of a simple robustness measure, the normalized maximum drop, suggests that the crouched leg posture may provide greater robustness to changes in terrain height

Primal and dual approaches to adjustable robust optimization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Ruiter, Frans

2018-01-01

Robust optimization has become an important paradigm to deal with optimization under uncertainty. Adjustable robust optimization is an extension that deals with multistage problems. This thesis starts with a short but comprehensive introduction to adjustable robust optimization. Then the two

Variation of saturation effect in the ionospheric F2 critical frequency at low latitude

Science.gov (United States)

Ikubanni, S. O.; Adeniyi, J. O.

2013-08-01

Saturation in the dependence of foF2 on solar flux is a phenomenon more pronounced in the equatorial ionization anomaly region. The phenomenon was observed in the relationship between the F2 critical frequency (foF2) and any solar indices. Using a two-segmented regression fit on data from an African low latitude station (Geographical Latitude 12.4°N; Geomagnetic latitude 3.5°N), saturation features from the dependence of foF2 on solar radio flux (F10.7) was studied. Diurnal and seasonal variation were studied for the first time in this low latitude region of the African sector. Significant variations were observed, especially in the solstices. It was observed that saturation effect is closely related to the hourly F2 critical frequency and these results were compared with those from Asian, Australian and the American sectors. The diurnal and seasonal variations find their explanations in the photo-ionization process, the fountain effect, and the pre-reversal enhancement while the seasonal variation was attributed to both the ion drift and thermospheric circulation. Future work with larger volume of data is expected to validate the observations from this study.

Audit, Control and Monitoring Design Patterns (ACMDP for Autonomous Robust Systems (ARS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Trad

2008-11-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes the Audit, Control and Monitoring Design Patterns (ACMDP for building Autonomous and Robust Systems (ARS such as Mobile Robot Systems (MRS. These patterns are also applicable to other Mission Critical and Complex Systems (MCCS. This paper presents a proposal which will help ARS project managers and engineers design, build and estimate the probability that an ARS will succeed or fail. Furthermore, this proposal offers the possibility to ARS problems with the help of audit, monitoring and controlling components, adjust the project management pathways, and define the problem sources as well as their possible solutions, in order to deliver an ARS or an MRS.

Design principles for robust oscillatory behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo-Hair, Sebastian M; Villota, Elizabeth R; Coronado, Alberto M

2015-09-01

Oscillatory responses are ubiquitous in regulatory networks of living organisms, a fact that has led to extensive efforts to study and replicate the circuits involved. However, to date, design principles that underlie the robustness of natural oscillators are not completely known. Here we study a three-component enzymatic network model in order to determine the topological requirements for robust oscillation. First, by simulating every possible topological arrangement and varying their parameter values, we demonstrate that robust oscillators can be obtained by augmenting the number of both negative feedback loops and positive autoregulations while maintaining an appropriate balance of positive and negative interactions. We then identify network motifs, whose presence in more complex topologies is a necessary condition for obtaining oscillatory responses. Finally, we pinpoint a series of simple architectural patterns that progressively render more robust oscillators. Together, these findings can help in the design of more reliable synthetic biomolecular networks and may also have implications in the understanding of other oscillatory systems.

The Hammer-and-Nail Phenomenon in Mathematics Education

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Kien H.

2012-01-01

This paper uses the hammer-and-nail metaphor to highlight the rigidity and impulsiveness that can be found in student mathematical behaviour. The hammer-and-nail phenomenon can be attributed to two plausible causes: (1) the way the human mind works; and (2) the way mathematics is traditionally taught in school. In this paper, the following aspects…

The Game "Pokemon Go" as a Crosscultural Phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Koroleva, D. O.; Kochervey, A. I.; Nasonova, K. M.; Shibeko, Yu. V.

2016-01-01

The gaming culture of modern childhood takes place not only in real space, but in a virtual one too. These two components (two planes of development) are often viewed in isolation from one another. This study investigates the completely new phenomenon of augmented reality gaming through the lens of "Pokemon Go," and it describes how the…

Robustness of Distance-to-Default

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jessen, Cathrine; Lando, David

2013-01-01

Distance-to-default is a remarkably robust measure for ranking firms according to their risk of default. The ranking seems to work despite the fact that the Merton model from which the measure is derived produces default probabilities that are far too small when applied to real data. We use...... simulations to investigate the robustness of the distance-to-default measure to different model specifications. Overall we find distance-to-default to be robust to a number of deviations from the simple Merton model that involve different asset value dynamics and different default triggering mechanisms....... A notable exception is a model with stochastic volatility of assets. In this case both the ranking of firms and the estimated default probabilities using distance-to-default perform significantly worse. We therefore propose a volatility adjustment of the distance-to-default measure, that significantly...

Robustness of digital artist authentication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Robert; Nielsen, Morten

In many cases it is possible to determine the authenticity of a painting from digital reproductions of the paintings; this has been demonstrated for a variety of artists and with different approaches. Common to all these methods in digital artist authentication is that the potential of the method...... is in focus, while the robustness has not been considered, i.e. the degree to which the data collection process influences the decision of the method. However, in order for an authentication method to be successful in practice, it needs to be robust to plausible error sources from the data collection....... In this paper we investigate the robustness of the newly proposed authenticity method introduced by the authors based on second generation multiresolution analysis. This is done by modelling a number of realistic factors that can occur in the data collection....

Nothingness and the placebo effect phenomenon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Tine

The placebo effect is a pharmacological conundrum, since it is a medical effect that is produced by “nothing” because no pharmacologically active substance is present in placebo. Placebo has, among other things, been defined as an inert substance, often a calcium pill. Simultaneously it presents...... a posthuman angle, applying Karen Barad’s concept of agential realism to tackle the issue of nothingness. I argue that the placebo effect produces specific agencies in the placebo effect phenomenon – that is, both the subject under treatment and the placebo emerge in the placebo effect in the act of measuring it...

A Modified Critical State Two-surface Plasticity Model for Sand

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bakmar, Christian LeBlanc; Hededal, O.; Ibsen, Lars Bo

This paper provides background information and documentation for the implementation of a robust plasticity model as a user-subroutine in the commercial finite difference code, FLAC3D by Itasca. The plasticity model presented is equal to the 3 dimensional critical state two-surface plasticity model...... volumetric and stress-strain behaviour under monotonic and cyclic loading and thereby related observations like accumulation of pore pressure, cyclic mobility and cyclic liquefaction. The plasticity model is implemented with an integration scheme based on the general return mapping algorithm. The integration...... scheme faces convergence difficulties, primarily at very low mean effective stresses. The convergence problems are addressed by suitable correction strategies designed to add robustness, stability and efficiency to the integration scheme. An outline of all model parameters is given with suggestions...

Detecting critical illness outside the ICU: the role of track and trigger systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Jansen, Jan O; Cuthbertson, Brian H

2010-06-01

Critical illness is often preceded by physiological deterioration. Track and trigger systems are intended to facilitate the timely recognition of patients with potential or established critical illness outside critical care areas. The aim of this article is to review the evidence for the use of such systems. Existing track and trigger systems have low sensitivity, low positive predictive values, and high specificity. They often fail to identify patients who need additional care and have not been shown to improve outcomes. The development of such systems must be based on robust methodological and statistical principles. At present, few track and trigger systems meet these standards. Although track and trigger systems, combined with appropriate response algorithms, have the potential to improve the recognition and management of critical illness, further work is required to validate their utility.

A Robust Controller Structure for Pico-Satellite Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kragelund, Martin Nygaard; Green, Martin; Kristensen, Mads

This paper describes the development of a robust controller structure for use in pico-satellite missions. The structure relies on unknown disturbance estimation and use of robust control theory to implement a system that is robust to both unmodeled disturbances and parameter uncertainties. As one...

The United States pork niche market phenomenon.

Science.gov (United States)

Honeyman, M S; Pirog, R S; Huber, G H; Lammers, P J; Hermann, J R

2006-08-01

After the broad industrialization of the US pork industry, there has been a development of niche markets for export and domestic pork; that is, there is a pork niche market phenomenon. The US pork niche market phenomenon is characterized, and 2 of the major markets are explained in detail. With the Midwest's tradition of a diversified family-based agriculture and record low hog prices of the late 1990s, the conditions were conducive for this phenomenon to develop. Pork niche markets utilize various sales methods including Internet sales, local abattoir sales, direct marketing, farmer networks, and targeting to organized groups. In 2003, there were approximately 35 to 40 active pork niche marketing efforts in Iowa. The Berkshire breed is an example of a swine breed that has had a recent resurgence because of niche markets. Berkshire pork is known for tenderness and excellent quality. Berkshire registrations have increased 4-fold in the last 10 yr. One of the larger niche marketers of "natural pork" is Niman Ranch Pork, which has more than 400 farmer-producers and processes about 2,500 pigs weekly. Many US consumers of pork are interested in issues concerning the environment, food safety, pig welfare, and pig farm ownership and structure. These consumers may be willing to pay more for pork from farmers who are also concerned about these issues. Small- and medium-sized swine farmers are active in pork niche markets. Niche markets claim product differentiation by superior or unique product quality and social attributes. Quality attributes include certain swine breeds, and meat quality, freshness, taste or flavor, and tenderness. Social or credence attributes often are claimed and include freedom from antibiotics and growth promotants; local family farm production; natural, organic, outdoor, or bedded rearing; humane rearing; known origin; environmentally friendly production; and the absence of animal by-products in the feed. Niche pork markets and alternative swine

Decreasing-Rate Pruning Optimizes the Construction of Efficient and Robust Distributed Networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saket Navlakha

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Robust, efficient, and low-cost networks are advantageous in both biological and engineered systems. During neural network development in the brain, synapses are massively over-produced and then pruned-back over time. This strategy is not commonly used when designing engineered networks, since adding connections that will soon be removed is considered wasteful. Here, we show that for large distributed routing networks, network function is markedly enhanced by hyper-connectivity followed by aggressive pruning and that the global rate of pruning, a developmental parameter not previously studied by experimentalists, plays a critical role in optimizing network structure. We first used high-throughput image analysis techniques to quantify the rate of pruning in the mammalian neocortex across a broad developmental time window and found that the rate is decreasing over time. Based on these results, we analyzed a model of computational routing networks and show using both theoretical analysis and simulations that decreasing rates lead to more robust and efficient networks compared to other rates. We also present an application of this strategy to improve the distributed design of airline networks. Thus, inspiration from neural network formation suggests effective ways to design distributed networks across several domains.

El Quijote y el fenómeno del quijotismo (Don Quixote and Quixotism Phenomenon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesús Ruiz Fernández

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Resumen: Estudia el presente artículo el fenómeno del quijotismo, ingrediente de la razón, y, por tanto, del comportamiento humano. Pero distingue entre el error del quijotismo estático y el sano proceder del dinámico. Para ello se vale del concepto de razón vital de Ortega y Gasset, así como del Quijote. Con respecto al primero, amplía la utilización que de la magna obra podía haber hecho y no hizo el ilustre filósofo. Y sobre el segundo, destaca sus insuficiencias de contenido, por no haber alcanzado el quijotismo dinámico, es decir, porque, queriendo criticar el idealismo desmedido del caballero manchego, termina por proponer otro quijote. De cualquier forma, el artículo señala cómo el irónico fenómeno del quijotismo no es un juego, para lo cual discute ciertas interpretaciones recientes del Quijote.Abstract: This article studies Quixotism phenomenon, ingredient of vital reason, and, consequently, of human behaviour. However, it distinguishes between the mistake of static quixotism and the right conduct of the dynamic one. In order to do so, it makes use of Ortega y Gasset's concept of Vital Reason, and Don Quixote’s as well. Concerning the first one, it highlights the insufficiency of its content since it has not fulfilled the dynamic quixotism, that is to say, because, with the intention to criticize La Mancha’s Knight’s excessive idealism, it ends up proposing other quixotic person. Anyway, this article points out how the ironic quixotism phenomenon is not a game, for which reason it discusses certain Don Quixote’s recent interpretations.

(Redefining tradition: the example of the world music phenomenon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marija Ristivojević

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The paper problematizes the understanding of the concept of tradition in the context of the world music phenomenon. Marketed as a hybrid music genre, from the perspective of anthropological theory, the world music genre is a complex cultural phenomenon, the result of mixing global and local influences which are reflected not only in the creation of a specific sound, but through different perceptions of music itself (the audience, musicians, producers, creators of cultural policies etc. By analyzing the Serbian world music scene as exemplified by the work of the World Music association of Serbia, as well as the Serbia World Music Festival in Takovo, I will attempt to determine the way in which the concept of world music is perceived in local narratives, whether it is experienced as a form of musical tradition and if so, what is signified and represented as tradition in this context.

Multiplayer computer games as youth's leisure phenomenon

OpenAIRE

HADERKOVÁ, Barbora

2016-01-01

The thesis is dedicated to multiplayer computer games as youth's leisure phenomenon of this time. The theoretical part is focused on computer games history, multiplayer computer games and their types, gaming platforms, community of multiplayer games players and potential negatives and positives, which follows from playing this type of games. The practical part contains a qualitative survey using interviews with multiplayer computer games players aged from 15 to 26 years from city of České Bud...

Robustness-related issues in speaker recognition

CERN Document Server

Zheng, Thomas Fang

2017-01-01

This book presents an overview of speaker recognition technologies with an emphasis on dealing with robustness issues. Firstly, the book gives an overview of speaker recognition, such as the basic system framework, categories under different criteria, performance evaluation and its development history. Secondly, with regard to robustness issues, the book presents three categories, including environment-related issues, speaker-related issues and application-oriented issues. For each category, the book describes the current hot topics, existing technologies, and potential research focuses in the future. The book is a useful reference book and self-learning guide for early researchers working in the field of robust speech recognition.

A universal indicator of critical state transitions in noisy complex networked systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Junhao; Hu, Yanqing; Chen, Guanrong; Zhou, Tianshou

2017-02-23

Critical transition, a phenomenon that a system shifts suddenly from one state to another, occurs in many real-world complex networks. We propose an analytical framework for exactly predicting the critical transition in a complex networked system subjected to noise effects. Our prediction is based on the characteristic return time of a simple one-dimensional system derived from the original higher-dimensional system. This characteristic time, which can be easily calculated using network data, allows us to systematically separate the respective roles of dynamics, noise and topology of the underlying networked system. We find that the noise can either prevent or enhance critical transitions, playing a key role in compensating the network structural defect which suffers from either internal failures or environmental changes, or both. Our analysis of realistic or artificial examples reveals that the characteristic return time is an effective indicator for forecasting the sudden deterioration of complex networks.

[Organic and functional limitations due to milking phenomenon: a clinical case report].

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez-Henry, Juan Carlos; Rodríguez-Pérez, Francisco Antonio

2014-01-01

The incidence of milking phenomenon is between 0.6 and 4 % in angiographic series; however, autopsy studies raise the incidence of myocardial bridges up to 85 %. This malformation goes unnoticed in most cases but can have a big impact on personal and professional level. The objective was to present an example of milking phenomenon with disability and professional consequences. Male, 44 years old, bricklayer and farmhand laborer. He referred tonsillectomy and osteoarthritis and being a smoker of 10 cigarettes per day, drinking 2-3 cups of coffee daily and 2-3 glasses of wine at the weekends. The primary care physician referred him to cardiologist with suspicion of arrhythmia. The cardiology service report mentioned electrocardiogram at sinusal rhythm, 90 beats per minute and incomplete right bundle-branch block. At ergonomics test, in the first stage of Bruce protocol, the patient's development of hypertensive crisis suggested a milking phenomenon. Finally, the diagnosis was established by angiographic studies with left common branch, circumflex coronary artery, right coronary artery and anterior descendent artery, without evidence of pathology but it was seen systolic compression on the medial segment. The case was concluded by the disability assessment team, recognizing a total permanent disability with limitations for activities requiring moderate physical efforts. The milking phenomenon diagnosis that could be related with ischemic heart disease is by angiography. Finally, the patient ended with total permanent disability.

Robust Self Tuning Controllers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulsen, Niels Kjølstad

1985-01-01

The present thesis concerns robustness properties of adaptive controllers. It is addressed to methods for robustifying self tuning controllers with respect to abrupt changes in the plant parameters. In the thesis an algorithm for estimating abruptly changing parameters is presented. The estimator...... has several operation modes and a detector for controlling the mode. A special self tuning controller has been developed to regulate plant with changing time delay.......The present thesis concerns robustness properties of adaptive controllers. It is addressed to methods for robustifying self tuning controllers with respect to abrupt changes in the plant parameters. In the thesis an algorithm for estimating abruptly changing parameters is presented. The estimator...

Protein expression of MEF2C during the critical period for visual development in vervet monkeys

OpenAIRE

Bernad, Daniel M; Lachance, Pascal E; Chaudhuri, Avijit

2008-01-01

During the early development of the visual cortex, there is a critical period when neuronal connections are highly sensitive to changes in visual input. Deprivation of visual stimuli during the critical period elicits robust anatomical and physiological rearrangements in the monkey visual cortex and serves as an excellent model for activity-dependent neuroplasticity. DNA microarray experiments were previously performed in our lab to analyze gene expression patterns in area V1 of vervet monkey...

Robust signatures of solar neutrino oscillation solutions

CERN Document Server

Bahcall, J N; Peña-Garay, C; Bahcall, John N.; Peña-Garay, Carlos

2002-01-01

With the goal of identifying signatures that select specific neutrino oscillation parameters, we test the robustness of global oscillation solutions that fit all the available solar and reactor experimental data. We use three global analysis strategies previously applied by different authors and also determine the sensitivity of the oscillation solutions to the critical nuclear fusion cross section, S_{17}(0), for the production of 8B. The neutral current to charged current ratio for SNO is predicted to be 3.5 +- 0.6 (1 sigma) for the favored LMA, LOW, and VAC solutions, which is separated from the no-oscillation value of 1.0 by much more than the expected experimental error. The predicted range of the day-night difference in charged current rates is between 0% and 21% (3 sigma) and is to be strongly correlated with the day-night effect for neutrino-electron scattering. A measurement by SNO of either a NC to CC ratio > 3.3 or a day-night difference > 10%, would favor a small region of the currently allowed LM...

Robustness analysis of chiller sequencing control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, Yundan; Sun, Yongjun; Huang, Gongsheng

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Uncertainties with chiller sequencing control were systematically quantified. • Robustness of chiller sequencing control was systematically analyzed. • Different sequencing control strategies were sensitive to different uncertainties. • A numerical method was developed for easy selection of chiller sequencing control. - Abstract: Multiple-chiller plant is commonly employed in the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system to increase operational feasibility and energy-efficiency under part load condition. In a multiple-chiller plant, chiller sequencing control plays a key role in achieving overall energy efficiency while not sacrifices the cooling sufficiency for indoor thermal comfort. Various sequencing control strategies have been developed and implemented in practice. Based on the observation that (i) uncertainty, which cannot be avoided in chiller sequencing control, has a significant impact on the control performance and may cause the control fail to achieve the expected control and/or energy performance; and (ii) in current literature few studies have systematically addressed this issue, this paper therefore presents a study on robustness analysis of chiller sequencing control in order to understand the robustness of various chiller sequencing control strategies under different types of uncertainty. Based on the robustness analysis, a simple and applicable method is developed to select the most robust control strategy for a given chiller plant in the presence of uncertainties, which will be verified using case studies

Raynaud\\'s Phenomenon in a Black African Woman | Oguntona ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Scleroderma is the commonest autoimmune disease associated with Raynaud's phenomenon. The presence of Raynaud's is synonymous with tissue ischaemia. It is a multi-systemic disorder and the clinical manifestations are as a result of excessive proliferation and accumulation of collagen. Definitive management of ...

A ROBUST METHOD FOR STEREO VISUAL ODOMETRY BASED ON MULTIPLE EUCLIDEAN DISTANCE CONSTRAINT AND RANSAC ALGORITHM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Q. Zhou

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Visual Odometry (VO is a critical component for planetary robot navigation and safety. It estimates the ego-motion using stereo images frame by frame. Feature points extraction and matching is one of the key steps for robotic motion estimation which largely influences the precision and robustness. In this work, we choose the Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF (ORB features by considering both accuracy and speed issues. For more robustness in challenging environment e.g., rough terrain or planetary surface, this paper presents a robust outliers elimination method based on Euclidean Distance Constraint (EDC and Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC algorithm. In the matching process, a set of ORB feature points are extracted from the current left and right synchronous images and the Brute Force (BF matcher is used to find the correspondences between the two images for the Space Intersection. Then the EDC and RANSAC algorithms are carried out to eliminate mismatches whose distances are beyond a predefined threshold. Similarly, when the left image of the next time matches the feature points with the current left images, the EDC and RANSAC are iteratively performed. After the above mentioned, there are exceptional remaining mismatched points in some cases, for which the third time RANSAC is applied to eliminate the effects of those outliers in the estimation of the ego-motion parameters (Interior Orientation and Exterior Orientation. The proposed approach has been tested on a real-world vehicle dataset and the result benefits from its high robustness.