Model Predictive Control for a Small Scale Unmanned Helicopter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianfu Du

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Kinematical and dynamical equations of a small scale unmanned helicoper are presented in the paper. Based on these equations a model predictive control (MPC method is proposed for controlling the helicopter. This novel method allows the direct accounting for the existing time delays which are used to model the dynamics of actuators and aerodynamics of the main rotor. Also the limits of the actuators are taken into the considerations during the controller design. The proposed control algorithm was verified in real flight experiments where good perfomance was shown in postion control mode.

Ancillary Frequency Control of Direct Drive Full-Scale Converter Based Wind Power Plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hu, Weihao; Su, Chi; Fang, Jiakun

2013-01-01

This paper presents a simulation model of a wind power plant based on a MW-level variable speed wind turbine with a full-scale back-to-back power converter developed in the simulation tool of DIgSILENT Power Factory. Three different kinds of ancillary frequency control strategies, namely inertia...... control strategies are effective means for providing ancillary frequency control of variable speed wind turbines with full-scale back-to-back power converters....... emulation, primary frequency control and secondary frequency control, are proposed in order to improve the frequency stability of power systems. The modified IEEE 39-bus test system with a large-scale wind power penetration is chosen as the studied power system. Simulation results show that the proposed...

Scaling Up Cortical Control Inhibits Pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jahrane Dale

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Summary: Acute pain evokes protective neural and behavioral responses. Chronic pain, however, disrupts normal nociceptive processing. The prefrontal cortex (PFC is known to exert top-down regulation of sensory inputs; unfortunately, how individual PFC neurons respond to an acute pain signal is not well characterized. We found that neurons in the prelimbic region of the PFC increased firing rates of the neurons after noxious stimulations in free-moving rats. Chronic pain, however, suppressed both basal spontaneous and pain-evoked firing rates. Furthermore, we identified a linear correlation between basal and evoked firing rates of PFC neurons, whereby a decrease in basal firing leads to a nearly 2-fold reduction in pain-evoked response in chronic pain states. In contrast, enhancing basal PFC activity with low-frequency optogenetic stimulation scaled up prefrontal outputs to inhibit pain. These results demonstrate a cortical gain control system for nociceptive regulation and establish scaling up prefrontal outputs as an effective neuromodulation strategy to inhibit pain. : Dale et al. find that acute pain increases activity levels in the prefrontal cortex. Chronic pain reduces both basal spontaneous and pain-evoked activity in this region, whereas neurostimulation to restore basal activities can in turn enhance nociception-evoked prefrontal activities to inhibit pain. Keywords: chronic pain, neuromodulation, prefrontal cortex, PFC, cortical gain control

A single gene (yes controls pigmentation of eyes and scales in Heliothis virescens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas M. Brown

2001-02-01

Full Text Available A yellow-eyed mutant was discovered in a strain of Heliothis virescens, the tobacco budworm, that already exhibited a mutation for yellow scale, y. We investigated the inheritance of these visible mutations as candidate markers for transgenesis. Yellow eye was controlled by a single, recessive, autosomal factor, the same type of inheritance previously known for y. Presence of the recombinant mutants with yellow scales with wild type eyes in test crosses indicated independent segregation of genes for these traits. The recombinant class with wild type scales and yellow eyes was completely absent and there was a corresponding increase of the double mutant parental class having yellow scales and yellow eyes. These results indicated that a single factor for yellow eye also controls yellow scales independently of y. This gene was named yes, for yellow eye and scale. We hypothesize that yes controls both eye and scale color through a deficiency in transport of pigment precursors in both the ommochrome and melanin pathways. The unlinked gene y likely controls an enzyme affecting the melanin pathway only. Both y and yes segregated independently of AceIn, acetylcholinesterase insensitivity, and sodium channel hscp, which are genes related to insecticide resistance.

Large-scale building energy efficiency retrofit: Concept, model and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Zhou; Wang, Bo; Xia, Xiaohua

2016-01-01

BEER (Building energy efficiency retrofit) projects are initiated in many nations and regions over the world. Existing studies of BEER focus on modeling and planning based on one building and one year period of retrofitting, which cannot be applied to certain large BEER projects with multiple buildings and multi-year retrofit. In this paper, the large-scale BEER problem is defined in a general TBT (time-building-technology) framework, which fits essential requirements of real-world projects. The large-scale BEER is newly studied in the control approach rather than the optimization approach commonly used before. Optimal control is proposed to design optimal retrofitting strategy in terms of maximal energy savings and maximal NPV (net present value). The designed strategy is dynamically changing on dimensions of time, building and technology. The TBT framework and the optimal control approach are verified in a large BEER project, and results indicate that promising performance of energy and cost savings can be achieved in the general TBT framework. - Highlights: • Energy efficiency retrofit of many buildings is studied. • A TBT (time-building-technology) framework is proposed. • The control system of the large-scale BEER is modeled. • The optimal retrofitting strategy is obtained.

Microsecond-scale X-ray imaging with Controlled-Drift Detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castoldi, A.; Galimberti, A.; Guazzoni, C.; Rehak, P.; Strueder, L.

2006-01-01

The Controlled-Drift Detector is a fully-depleted silicon detector that allows 2-D position sensing and energy spectroscopy of X-rays in the range 0.5-20keV with excellent time resolution (few tens of μs) and limited readout channels. In this paper we review the Controlled-Drift Detector operating principle and we present the X-ray imaging and spectroscopic capabilities of Controlled Drift Detectors in microsecond-scale experiments and the more relevant applications fields

Exploring quantum control landscapes: Topology, features, and optimization scaling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, Katharine W.; Rabitz, Herschel

2011-01-01

Quantum optimal control experiments and simulations have successfully manipulated the dynamics of systems ranging from atoms to biomolecules. Surprisingly, these collective works indicate that the effort (i.e., the number of algorithmic iterations) required to find an optimal control field appears to be essentially invariant to the complexity of the system. The present work explores this matter in a series of systematic optimizations of the state-to-state transition probability on model quantum systems with the number of states N ranging from 5 through 100. The optimizations occur over a landscape defined by the transition probability as a function of the control field. Previous theoretical studies on the topology of quantum control landscapes established that they should be free of suboptimal traps under reasonable physical conditions. The simulations in this work include nearly 5000 individual optimization test cases, all of which confirm this prediction by fully achieving optimal population transfer of at least 99.9% on careful attention to numerical procedures to ensure that the controls are free of constraints. Collectively, the simulation results additionally show invariance of required search effort to system dimension N. This behavior is rationalized in terms of the structural features of the underlying control landscape. The very attractive observed scaling with system complexity may be understood by considering the distance traveled on the control landscape during a search and the magnitude of the control landscape slope. Exceptions to this favorable scaling behavior can arise when the initial control field fluence is too large or when the target final state recedes from the initial state as N increases.

Scaling impacts on environmental controls and spatial heterogeneity of soil organic carbon stocks

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, U.; Riley, W. J.

2015-07-01

The spatial heterogeneity of land surfaces affects energy, moisture, and greenhouse gas exchanges with the atmosphere. However, representing the heterogeneity of terrestrial hydrological and biogeochemical processes in Earth system models (ESMs) remains a critical scientific challenge. We report the impact of spatial scaling on environmental controls, spatial structure, and statistical properties of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks across the US state of Alaska. We used soil profile observations and environmental factors such as topography, climate, land cover types, and surficial geology to predict the SOC stocks at a 50 m spatial scale. These spatially heterogeneous estimates provide a data set with reasonable fidelity to the observations at a sufficiently high resolution to examine the environmental controls on the spatial structure of SOC stocks. We upscaled both the predicted SOC stocks and environmental variables from finer to coarser spatial scales (s = 100, 200, and 500 m and 1, 2, 5, and 10 km) and generated various statistical properties of SOC stock estimates. We found different environmental factors to be statistically significant predictors at different spatial scales. Only elevation, temperature, potential evapotranspiration, and scrub land cover types were significant predictors at all scales. The strengths of control (the median value of geographically weighted regression coefficients) of these four environmental variables on SOC stocks decreased with increasing scale and were accurately represented using mathematical functions (R2 = 0.83-0.97). The spatial structure of SOC stocks across Alaska changed with spatial scale. Although the variance (sill) and unstructured variability (nugget) of the calculated variograms of SOC stocks decreased exponentially with scale, the correlation length (range) remained relatively constant across scale. The variance of predicted SOC stocks decreased with spatial scale over the range of 50 m to ~ 500 m, and remained

Evaluating the Chinese Revised Controlling Behaviors Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, Agnes; Fong, Daniel Yee Tak; Chan, Ko Ling; Yan, Elsie Chau Wai; Lam, Gloria Ling Lee; Tang, Debbie Hoi Ming; Graham-Kevan, Nicola

2015-01-01

The present study evaluated the utility of the Chinese version of the Revised Controlling Behaviors Scale (C-CBS-R) as a measure of controlling behaviors in violent Chinese intimate relationships. Using a mixed-methods approach, in-depth, individual interviews were conducted with 200 Chinese women survivors to elicit qualitative data about their personal experiences of control in intimate relationships. The use of controlling behaviors was also assessed using the C-CBS-R. Interview accounts suggested that the experiences of 91 of the women were consistent with the description of coercive control according to Dutton and Goodman's conceptualization of coercion. Using the split-half validation procedure, a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was conducted with the first half of the sample. The area under the curve (AUC) for using the C-CBS-R to identify high control was .99, and the cutoff score of 1.145 maximized both sensitivity and specificity. Applying the cutoff score to the second half gave a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 95%. Overall, the C-CBS-R has demonstrated utility as a measure of controlling behaviors with a cutoff score for distinguishing high from low levels of control in violent Chinese intimate relationships. © The Author(s) 2014.

Scale Transformations and Information Presentation in Supervisory Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Johannes; May, Michael

2006-01-01

It is commonly accepted that designers of supervisory control systems cannot comprehensively anticipate operators' information needs. In order to compensate the lack between the information presented by the Supervisory control system and the information needed, operators tailor the information...... presentation. Currently, there is a lack of theoretical understanding of tailoring activities and hence fundamental principles for the design of Supervisory control systems that support tailoring activities in a systematic manner. Any data being presented to the operator is oil one of the four different scale...... the paper proposes systematic principles for operator-initiated adaptation of the interpretation of system properties as presented by the supervisory control system. The value of the approach is illustrated by means of examples. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

Factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Levenson's Locus of Control Scale in Iranian infertile people.

Science.gov (United States)

Maroufizadeh, Saman; Omani Samani, Reza; Amini, Payam; Navid, Behnaz

2016-09-01

This study examined psychometric properties of the Levenson's Locus of Control Scale among Iranian infertile patients. In all, 312 infertile patients completed the Levenson's Locus of Control Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the original three-factor model of Levenson's Locus of Control Scale was adequate ( χ 2 / df = 2.139; goodness-of-fit index = 0.88; root mean square error of approximation = 0.061; and standardized root mean square residual = 0.076). The Cronbach's alpha of the subscales ranged from 0.56 to 0.67. The Levenson's Locus of Control Scale subscales significantly correlated with anxiety and depression, showing an acceptable convergent validity. In conclusion, the Levenson's Locus of Control Scale has adequate reliability and validity and can be used to measure locus of control orientation in Iranian infertile patients.

Laboratory-scale thyristor controlled series capacitor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsuki, J.; Ikeda, K.; Abe, M. [Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan)

1996-10-20

This paper describes the results of an experimental study on the characteristics of a thyristor controlled series capacitor (TCSC). At present, there are two major thyristor controlled series compensation projects in the U.S.: the Kayenta ASC and the Slatt TCSC. However, there has been little operating experience and thus further understanding of the characteristics of TCSC is still to be sought. Therefore, a laboratory-scale TCSC was produced and installed in a laboratory power system. The impedance characteristics, waveshapes of voltages and currents in the TCSC circuit, and harmonics, for various thyristor firing angles, and insertion responses were measured and analyzed. In particular, effects of the size of the circuit components, i.e., parasitic resistance, additional damping resistance and series reactor, on the overall TCSC performances were investigated. The results were compared with EMTP simulations. 10 refs., 7 figs.

Scaling-up vaccine production: implementation aspects of a biomass growth observer and controller.

Science.gov (United States)

Soons, Zita I T A; van den IJssel, Jan; van der Pol, Leo A; van Straten, Gerrit; van Boxtel, Anton J B

2009-04-01

This study considers two aspects of the implementation of a biomass growth observer and specific growth rate controller in scale-up from small- to pilot-scale bioreactors towards a feasible bulk production process for whole-cell vaccine against whooping cough. The first is the calculation of the oxygen uptake rate, the starting point for online monitoring and control of biomass growth, taking into account the dynamics in the gas-phase. Mixing effects and delays are caused by amongst others the headspace and tubing to the analyzer. These gas phase dynamics are modelled using knowledge of the system in order to reconstruct oxygen consumption. The second aspect is to evaluate performance of the monitoring and control system with the required modifications of the oxygen consumption calculation on pilot-scale. In pilot-scale fed-batch cultivation good monitoring and control performance is obtained enabling a doubled concentration of bulk vaccine compared to standard batch production.

Scaling the robustness of the solutions for quantum controllable problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kallush, S.; Kosloff, R.

2011-01-01

The major task in quantum control theory is to find an external field that transforms the system from one state to another or executes a predetermined unitary transformation. We investigate the difficulty of computing the control field as the size of the Hilbert space is increased. In the models studied the controls form a small closed subalgebra of operators. Complete controllability is obtained by the commutators of the controls with the stationary Hamiltonian. We investigate the scaling of the computation effort required to converge a solution for the quantum control task with respect to the size of the Hilbert space. The models studied include the double-well Bose Hubbard model with the SU(2) control subalgebra and the Morse oscillator with the Heisenberg-Weil algebra. We find that for initial and target states that are classified as generalized coherent states (GCSs) of the control subalgebra the control field is easily found independent of the size of the Hilbert space. For such problems, a control field generated for a small system can serve as a pilot for finding the field for larger systems. Attempting to employ pilot fields that generate superpositions of GCSs or cat states failed. No relation was found between control solutions of different Hilbert space sizes. In addition the task of finding such a field scales unfavorably with Hilbert space sizes. We demonstrate the use of symmetry to obtain quantum transitions between states without phase information. Implications to quantum computing are discussed.

H∞ control of railway vehicle suspension with MR damper using scaled roller rig

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Yu-Jeong; You, Won-Hee; Hur, Hyun-Moo; Park, Joon-Hyuk

2014-01-01

In this paper, a magneto-rheological (MR) damper was applied to the secondary suspension to reduce the vibration of a car body. The control performance of the MR damper was verified by numerical analysis with a 1/5 scale railway vehicle model in accordance with the similarity law. The analysis results were then validated in tests. In particular, the objective of the study was to understand how the control performance affected the dynamic characteristics of a railway vehicle and to systematically analyze the relationship between control performance and dynamic characteristics depending on various running speeds. To achieve this, experimental results for the dynamic characteristics of the scaled MR damper designed for the 1/5 scale railway vehicle model were applied to the railway vehicle model. The H ∞ control method was applied to the controller. The means of designing the railway vehicle body vibration controller and the effectiveness of its results were studied. (paper)

Measuring Armenia's progress on the Tobacco Control Scale: an evaluation of tobacco control in an economy in transition, 2005-2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Movsisyan, Narine K; Connolly, Gregory N

2014-02-27

This study aimed to measure the 5-year progress in the implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in Armenia by applying the Tobacco Control Scale, a rapid assessment tool developed to assess the strength of tobacco control policies in Europe. Armenia, an economy in transition, has extreme smoking rates among men (62.5%) despite acceding to FCTC in 2004. However, little research has been carried out to evaluate Armenia's progress in tobacco control. The Tobacco Control Scale total score was estimated for Armenia using the original methodology; however, a different source of data was used in estimating the subscores on tobacco price and tobacco control spending. Armenia's total score on Tobacco Control Scale has considerably improved from 2005 to 2009, mostly due to larger health warnings and advertising ban, and increased public spending on tobacco control. The scores for smoke-free public places, advertising ban, health warnings and treatment categories were below the European average in 2005 and 2007, while the price score was higher. Neither total tobacco control score nor any of its components showed a significant predictive value in a simple regression analysis using the total score and subscores as predictors for log-transformed per capita tobacco consumption. Higher than the European average price score for Armenia cannot be explained by the concept of affordability alone and may reflect a measurement error due to peculiarities of transition economies. The applicability of the Tobacco Control Scale could be limited to countries with mature economies, but not to transition countries such as Armenia with different social, political and economic environment. The scale modification, such as an adjustment for the policy enforcement and the effectiveness of public tobacco control spending along with alternative measures of affordability would be warranted to enhance its applicability in low-income and middle-income countries.

Karolinska Scales of Personality, cognition and psychotic symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsson, Björn Mikael; Holm, Gunnar; Ekselius, Lisa

2016-01-01

Studies on both personality dimensions and cognition in schizophrenia are scarce. The objective of the present study was to examine personality traits and the relation to cognitive function and psychotic symptoms in a sample of patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. In total 23 patients with schizophrenia and 14 controls were assessed with the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP). A broad cognitive test programme was used, including the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, the Finger-Tapping Test, the Trail Making Test, the Verbal Fluency Test, the Benton Visual Retention Test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test . Compared with controls, the patients exhibited prominent elevations on KSP scales measuring anxiety proneness and neuroticism (P = 0.000005-0.0001), on the Detachment scale (P < 0.00009) and lower value on the Socialization scale (P < 0.0002). The patients also scored higher on the Inhibition of Aggression, Suspicion, Guilt and Irritability scales (P = 0.002-0.03) while the remaining five scales did not differ between patients and controls. KSP anxiety-related scales correlated with the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) general psychopathology subscale. Cognitive test results were uniformly lower in the patient group and correlated with PANSS negative symptoms subscale. There was no association between KSP scale scores and PANSS positive or negative symptoms. The patients revealed a highly discriminative KSP test profile with elevated scores in neuroticism- and psychoticism-related scales as compared to controls. Results support previous findings utilizing other personality inventories in patients with schizophrenia. Cognitive test performance correlated inversely with negative symptoms.

Stability and Control of Large-Scale Dynamical Systems A Vector Dissipative Systems Approach

CERN Document Server

Haddad, Wassim M

2011-01-01

Modern complex large-scale dynamical systems exist in virtually every aspect of science and engineering, and are associated with a wide variety of physical, technological, environmental, and social phenomena, including aerospace, power, communications, and network systems, to name just a few. This book develops a general stability analysis and control design framework for nonlinear large-scale interconnected dynamical systems, and presents the most complete treatment on vector Lyapunov function methods, vector dissipativity theory, and decentralized control architectures. Large-scale dynami

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Self-Control : Assessing Self-Control with the ASEBA Self-Control Scale

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Willems, Yayouk E; Dolan, Conor V.; van Beijsterveldt, Catharina E M; de Zeeuw, Eveline L; Boomsma, Dorret I; Bartels, Meike; Finkenauer, Catrin|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/182572382

This study used a theoretically-derived set of items of the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment to develop the Achenbach Self-Control Scale (ASCS) for 7-16 year olds. Using a large dataset of over 20,000 children, who are enrolled in the Netherlands Twin Register, we demonstrated the

Smart materials-based actuators at the micronano-scale characterization, control, and applications

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

Smart Materials-Based Actuators at the Micro/Nano-Scale: Characterization, Control, and Applications gives a state of the art of emerging techniques to the characterization and control of actuators based on smart materials working at the micro/nano scale. The book aims to characterize some commonly used structures based on piezoelectric and electroactive polymeric actuators and also focuses on various and emerging techniques employed to control them. This book also includes two of the most emerging topics and applications: nanorobotics and cells micro/nano-manipulation. This book: Provides both theoretical and experimental results Contains complete information from characterization, modeling, identification, control to final applications for researchers and engineers that would like to model, characterize, control and apply their own micro/nano-systems Discusses applications such as microrobotics and their control, design and fabrication of microsystems, microassembly and its automation, nanorobotics and thei...

The revising of the Tangney Self-Control Scale for Chinese students.

Science.gov (United States)

Unger, Alexander; Bi, Chongzeng; Xiao, Ying-Ying; Ybarra, Oscar

2016-06-01

Recent studies have characterized self-control as a vital psychological variable that helps explain various problems. Tangney's Self-Control Scale (SCS) is a self-report measurement to assess individual differences in traits of self-control. It has gained popularity in social and psychological science research. In China, there are a few Chinese-version scales measuring general self-control, which can be applied to college students. The purposes of the present study were to evaluate: (a) the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Tangney's SCS using confirmatory factor analysis, and (b) whether higher scores on the scale correlated with positive outcomes in China. The final sample in this study consisted of 371 Chinese college students aged 17-23 years. The Full SCS and Brief SCS were both found to have a reasonable fitness, which also had satisfactory internal consistencies and a high correlation. Higher scores on the SCS correlated with higher self-esteem, extraversion, better harmony in interpersonal relationships and an appropriate anger expression, less impulsiveness, and state and trait anger. The test-retest reliability was confirmed in two additional samples. Tangney's SCS could be used in China. © 2016 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Locus of control and pain: Validity of the Form C of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scales when used with adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Castarlenas, Elena; Solé, Ester; Racine, Mélanie; Sánchez-Rodríguez, Elisabet; Jensen, Mark P; Miró, Jordi

2016-09-01

The objective of this study was to examine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Form C of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scales in adolescents. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that adequate fit of a four-factor model and the internal consistency of the scales were adequate. Criterion validity of the four scales of the Form C of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control was also supported by significant correlations with measures of pain-related self-efficacy, anxiety, and coping strategies. The results indicate that the four Form C of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale scores are reliable and valid and therefore support their use to assess pain-related locus of control beliefs in adolescents.

Local, distributed topology control for large-scale wireless ad-hoc networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nieberg, T.; Hurink, Johann L.

In this document, topology control of a large-scale, wireless network by a distributed algorithm that uses only locally available information is presented. Topology control algorithms adjust the transmission power of wireless nodes to create a desired topology. The algorithm, named local power

Controlling high-throughput manufacturing at the nano-scale

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Khershed P.

2013-09-01

Interest in nano-scale manufacturing research and development is growing. The reason is to accelerate the translation of discoveries and inventions of nanoscience and nanotechnology into products that would benefit industry, economy and society. Ongoing research in nanomanufacturing is focused primarily on developing novel nanofabrication techniques for a variety of applications—materials, energy, electronics, photonics, biomedical, etc. Our goal is to foster the development of high-throughput methods of fabricating nano-enabled products. Large-area parallel processing and highspeed continuous processing are high-throughput means for mass production. An example of large-area processing is step-and-repeat nanoimprinting, by which nanostructures are reproduced again and again over a large area, such as a 12 in wafer. Roll-to-roll processing is an example of continuous processing, by which it is possible to print and imprint multi-level nanostructures and nanodevices on a moving flexible substrate. The big pay-off is high-volume production and low unit cost. However, the anticipated cost benefits can only be realized if the increased production rate is accompanied by high yields of high quality products. To ensure product quality, we need to design and construct manufacturing systems such that the processes can be closely monitored and controlled. One approach is to bring cyber-physical systems (CPS) concepts to nanomanufacturing. CPS involves the control of a physical system such as manufacturing through modeling, computation, communication and control. Such a closely coupled system will involve in-situ metrology and closed-loop control of the physical processes guided by physics-based models and driven by appropriate instrumentation, sensing and actuation. This paper will discuss these ideas in the context of controlling high-throughput manufacturing at the nano-scale.

Measuring Armenia's progress on the Tobacco Control Scale: an evaluation of tobacco control in an economy in transition, 2005–2009

Science.gov (United States)

Movsisyan, Narine K; Connolly, Gregory N

2014-01-01

Objectives This study aimed to measure the 5-year progress in the implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in Armenia by applying the Tobacco Control Scale, a rapid assessment tool developed to assess the strength of tobacco control policies in Europe. Setting Armenia, an economy in transition, has extreme smoking rates among men (62.5%) despite acceding to FCTC in 2004. However, little research has been carried out to evaluate Armenia's progress in tobacco control. Methods The Tobacco Control Scale total score was estimated for Armenia using the original methodology; however, a different source of data was used in estimating the subscores on tobacco price and tobacco control spending. Results Armenia's total score on Tobacco Control Scale has considerably improved from 2005 to 2009, mostly due to larger health warnings and advertising ban, and increased public spending on tobacco control. The scores for smoke-free public places, advertising ban, health warnings and treatment categories were below the European average in 2005 and 2007, while the price score was higher. Neither total tobacco control score nor any of its components showed a significant predictive value in a simple regression analysis using the total score and subscores as predictors for log-transformed per capita tobacco consumption. Conclusions Higher than the European average price score for Armenia cannot be explained by the concept of affordability alone and may reflect a measurement error due to peculiarities of transition economies. The applicability of the Tobacco Control Scale could be limited to countries with mature economies, but not to transition countries such as Armenia with different social, political and economic environment. The scale modification, such as an adjustment for the policy enforcement and the effectiveness of public tobacco control spending along with alternative measures of affordability would be warranted to enhance its applicability in low

Rethinking Social Desirability Scales: From Impression Management to Interpersonally Oriented Self-Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Uziel, Liad

2010-05-01

Social desirability (specifically, impression management) scales are widely used by researchers and practitioners to screen individuals who bias self-reports in a self-favoring manner. These scales also serve to identify individuals at risk for psychological and health problems. The present review explores the evidence with regard to the ability of these scales to achieve these objectives. In the first part of the review, I present six criteria to evaluate impression management scales and conclude that they are unsatisfactory as measures of response style. Next, I explore what individual differences in impression management scores actually do measure. I compare two approaches: a defensiveness approach, which argues that these scales measure defensiveness that stems from vulnerable self-esteem, and an adjustment approach, which suggests that impression management is associated with personal well-being and interpersonal adjustment. Data from a wide variety of fields including social behavior, affect and well-being, health, and job performance tend to favor the adjustment approach. Finally, I argue that scales measuring impression management should be redefined as measures of interpersonally oriented self-control that identify individuals who demonstrate high levels of self-control, especially in social contexts. © The Author(s) 2010.

Development and Validation of the Eating Loss of Control Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Blomquist, Kerstin K.; Roberto, Christina A.; Barnes, Rachel D.; White, Marney A.; Masheb, Robin M.; Grilo, Carlos M.

2014-01-01

Recurrent objective bulimic episodes (OBE) are a defining diagnostic characteristic of binge eating disorder (BED) and bulimia nervosa (BN). OBEs are characterized by experiencing loss of control (LOC) while eating an unusually large quantity of food. Despite nosological importance and complex heterogeneity across patients, measurement of LOC has been assessed dichotomously (present/absent). This study describes the development and initial validation of the Eating Loss of Control Scale (ELOCS), a self-report questionnaire that examines the complexity of the LOC construct. Participants were 168 obese treatment-seeking individuals with BED who completed the Eating Disorder Examination interview and self-report measures. Participants rated their LOC-related feelings or behaviors on continuous Likert-type scales and reported the number of LOC episodes in the past 28 days. Principal component analysis identified a single-factor, 18-item scale, which demonstrated good internal reliability (α=0.90). Frequency of LOC episodes was significantly correlated with frequency of OBEs and subjective bulimic episodes. The ELOCS demonstrated good convergent validity and was significantly correlated with greater eating pathology, greater emotion dysregulation, greater depression, and lower self-control, but not with BMI. The findings suggest that the ELOCS is a valid self-report questionnaire that may provide important clinical information regarding experiences of LOC in obese persons with BED. Future research should examine the ELOCS in other eating disorders and non-clinical samples. PMID:24219700

The Practical Application of Minor Element Control in Small Scale Melts

Science.gov (United States)

Jablonski, P. D.; Hawk, J. A.

Many times small scale melts are made for the purposes of alloy development, component evaluation, or simply economic concerns when "commercial" alloys are unavailable in small quantities. Not only is it critical that the major alloy elements meet the desired levels, but "tramp" elements or trace element additions must also be controlled. Control of tramp and trace elements on the small scale is often done differently simply due to the scale of the melt or the equipment available. In this paper several approaches will be presented that have been used at NETL in manufacturing alloys for in-house research, including, for example, vacuum refining. Also, the relative effectiveness of various gettering elements will be explored. The successes achieved as well as the failures of the various approaches will be discussed in terms of thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. The presentation will conclude with practical alloy examples.

Modeling and control of a large nuclear reactor. A three-time-scale approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shimjith, S.R. [Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai (India); Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai (India); Tiwari, A.P. [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai (India); Bandyopadhyay, B. [Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai (India). IDP in Systems and Control Engineering

2013-07-01

Recent research on Modeling and Control of a Large Nuclear Reactor. Presents a three-time-scale approach. Written by leading experts in the field. Control analysis and design of large nuclear reactors requires a suitable mathematical model representing the steady state and dynamic behavior of the reactor with reasonable accuracy. This task is, however, quite challenging because of several complex dynamic phenomena existing in a reactor. Quite often, the models developed would be of prohibitively large order, non-linear and of complex structure not readily amenable for control studies. Moreover, the existence of simultaneously occurring dynamic variations at different speeds makes the mathematical model susceptible to numerical ill-conditioning, inhibiting direct application of standard control techniques. This monograph introduces a technique for mathematical modeling of large nuclear reactors in the framework of multi-point kinetics, to obtain a comparatively smaller order model in standard state space form thus overcoming these difficulties. It further brings in innovative methods for controller design for systems exhibiting multi-time-scale property, with emphasis on three-time-scale systems.

A pilot rating scale for evaluating failure transients in electronic flight control systems

Science.gov (United States)

Hindson, William S.; Schroeder, Jeffery A.; Eshow, Michelle M.

1990-01-01

A pilot rating scale was developed to describe the effects of transients in helicopter flight-control systems on safety-of-flight and on pilot recovery action. The scale was applied to the evaluation of hardovers that could potentially occur in the digital flight-control system being designed for a variable-stability UH-60A research helicopter. Tests were conducted in a large moving-base simulator and in flight. The results of the investigation were combined with existing airworthiness criteria to determine quantitative reliability design goals for the control system.

Impression management ("lie") scales are associated with interpersonally oriented self-control, not other-deception.

Science.gov (United States)

Uziel, Liad

2014-06-01

This article explores the status of impression management (IM) scales ("lie scales," notably, BIDR-IM) as measures of response bias, offers theory-driven substantive meaning to them, and compares them with self-deception enhancement (SDE). Study 1 (N = 99) compared self-descriptions of actual self and ideal self given in a non-anonymous setting. High similarity indicates self-enhancement. Study 2 (70 dyads) analyzed self-other agreement about IM and SDE. Agreement indicates substantive basis to the scales' scores. Study 3 (N = 182) explored the centrality of self-control in the self-perception of individuals varying in IM and SDE. Study 4 (95 dyads) corroborated self-reports about self-control using informants' reports. In Study 1, IM was associated with relative humility, whereas SDE was associated with self-enhancement. In Study 2, strong self-other agreement was found only for IM, indicating that high IM (but not SDE) is grounded in real-life behavior. In Study 3, self-control was central in the self-perception of high IM and high SDE individuals. In Study 4, strong relations with self-control were corroborated by informants only for IM. IM scales measure substantive content associated with self-control aimed at social adaptation, whereas the SDE scale depicts individuals with a grandiose self-perception, who fail to impress knowledgeable others. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Reproducible and controllable induction voltage adder for scaled beam experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sakai, Yasuo; Nakajima, Mitsuo; Horioka, Kazuhiko [Department of Energy Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8502 (Japan)

2016-08-15

A reproducible and controllable induction adder was developed using solid-state switching devices and Finemet cores for scaled beam compression experiments. A gate controlled MOSFET circuit was developed for the controllable voltage driver. The MOSFET circuit drove the induction adder at low magnetization levels of the cores which enabled us to form reproducible modulation voltages with jitter less than 0.3 ns. Preliminary beam compression experiments indicated that the induction adder can improve the reproducibility of modulation voltages and advance the beam physics experiments.

Canopy-scale biophysical controls on transpiration and evaporation in the Amazon Basin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mallick, Kaniska; Trebs, Ivonne; Bøgh, Eva

2016-01-01

to directly quantify the canopy-scale biophysical controls on λET and λEE over multiple plant functional types (PFTs) in the Amazon Basin. Combining data from six LBA (Large-scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia) eddy covariance tower sites and a TR-driven physically based modeling approach, we...

The linac control system for the large-scale synchrotron radiation facility (SPring-8)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sakaki, Hironao; Yoshikawa, Hiroshi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Itoh, Yuichi [Atomic Energy General Services Corporation, Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan); Terashima, Yasushi [Information Technology System Co., Ltd. (ITECS), Tokyo (Japan)

2000-09-01

The linac for large-scale synchrotron radiation facilities has been operated since August of 1996. The linac deal with the user requests without any big troubles. In this report, the control system development policy, details, and the operation for the linac are presented. It is also described so that these experiences can be used for control system of a large scale proton accelerators which will be developed in the High Intensity Proton Accelerator Project. (author)

Traction Control Study for a Scaled Automated Robotic Car

OpenAIRE

Morton, Mark A.

2004-01-01

This thesis presents the use of sliding mode control applied to a 1/10th scale robotic car to operate at a desired slip. Controlling the robot car at any desired slip has a direct relation to the amount of force that is applied to the driving wheels based on road surface conditions. For this model, the desired traction/slip is maintained for a specific surface which happens to be a Lego treadmill platform. How the platform evolved and the robot car was designed are also covered. To parame...

Adaptive Control of a Utility-Scale Wind Turbine Operating in Region 3

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, Susan A.; Balas, Mark J.; Wright, Alan D.

2009-01-01

Adaptive control techniques are well suited to nonlinear applications, such as wind turbines, which are difficult to accurately model and which have effects from poorly known operating environments. The turbulent and unpredictable conditions in which wind turbines operate create many challenges for their operation. In this paper, we design an adaptive collective pitch controller for a high-fidelity simulation of a utility scale, variable-speed horizontal axis wind turbine. The objective of the adaptive pitch controller in Region 3 is to regulate generator speed and reject step disturbances. The control objective is accomplished by collectively pitching the turbine blades. We use an extension of the Direct Model Reference Adaptive Control (DMRAC) approach to track a reference point and to reject persistent disturbances. The turbine simulation models the Controls Advanced Research Turbine (CART) of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. The CART is a utility-scale wind turbine which has a well-developed and extensively verified simulator. The adaptive collective pitch controller for Region 3 was compared in simulations with a bas celliansesical Proportional Integrator (PI) collective pitch controller. In the simulations, the adaptive pitch controller showed improved speed regulation in Region 3 when compared with the baseline PI pitch controller and it demonstrated robustness to modeling errors.

Conservation biological control and enemy diversity on a landscape scale

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tscharntke, T.; Bommarco, R.; Clough, Y.; Crist, T.O.; Kleijn, D.; Rand, T.A.; Tylianakis, J.M.; Nouhuys, S.; Vidal, S.

2007-01-01

Conservation biological control in agroecosystems requires a landscape management perspective, because most arthropod species experience their habitat at spatial scales beyond the plot level, and there is spillover of natural enemies across the crop–noncrop interface. The species pool in the

Off-Policy Reinforcement Learning: Optimal Operational Control for Two-Time-Scale Industrial Processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jinna; Kiumarsi, Bahare; Chai, Tianyou; Lewis, Frank L; Fan, Jialu

2017-12-01

Industrial flow lines are composed of unit processes operating on a fast time scale and performance measurements known as operational indices measured at a slower time scale. This paper presents a model-free optimal solution to a class of two time-scale industrial processes using off-policy reinforcement learning (RL). First, the lower-layer unit process control loop with a fast sampling period and the upper-layer operational index dynamics at a slow time scale are modeled. Second, a general optimal operational control problem is formulated to optimally prescribe the set-points for the unit industrial process. Then, a zero-sum game off-policy RL algorithm is developed to find the optimal set-points by using data measured in real-time. Finally, a simulation experiment is employed for an industrial flotation process to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Scaling-up vaccine production: implementation aspects of a biomass growth observer and controller

OpenAIRE

Soons, Z.I.T.A.; IJssel, van den, J.; Pol, van der, L.A.; Straten, van, G.; Boxtel, van, A.J.B.

2009-01-01

Abstract This study considers two aspects of the implementation of a biomass growth observer and specific growth rate controller in scale-up from small- to pilot-scale bioreactors towards a feasible bulk production process for whole-cell vaccine against whooping cough. The first is the calculation of the oxygen uptake rate, the starting point for online monitoring and control of biomass growth, taking into account the dynamics in the gas-phase. Mixing effects and delays are caused by amongst ...

A novel approach to the automatic control of scale model airplanes

OpenAIRE

Hua , Minh-Duc; Pucci , Daniele; Hamel , Tarek; Morin , Pascal; Samson , Claude

2014-01-01

International audience; — This paper explores a new approach to the control of scale model airplanes as an extension of previous studies addressing the case of vehicles presenting a symmetry of revolution about the thrust axis. The approach is intrinsically nonlinear and, with respect to other contributions on aircraft nonlinear control, no small attack angle assumption is made in order to enlarge the controller's operating domain. Simulation results conducted on a simplified, but not overly ...

Anti-control of chaos of single time-scale brushless DC motor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Zheng-Ming; Chang, Ching-Ming; Chen, Yen-Sheng

2006-09-15

Anti-control of chaos of single time-scale brushless DC motors is studied in this paper. In order to analyse a variety of periodic and chaotic phenomena, we employ several numerical techniques such as phase portraits, bifurcation diagrams and Lyapunov exponents. Anti-control of chaos can be achieved by adding an external constant term or an external periodic term.

Movable shark scales act as a passive dynamic micro-roughness to control flow separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lang, Amy W; Bradshaw, Michael T; Smith, Jonathon A; Wheelus, Jennifer N; Motta, Philip J; Habegger, Maria L; Hueter, Robert E

2014-01-01

Shark scales on fast-swimming sharks have been shown to be movable to angles in excess of 50°, and we hypothesize that this characteristic gives this shark skin a preferred flow direction. During the onset of separation, flow reversal is initiated close to the surface. However, the movable scales would be actuated by the reversed flow thereby causing a greater resistance to any further flow reversal and this mechanism would disrupt the process leading to eventual flow separation. Here we report for the first time experimental evidence of the separation control capability of real shark skin through water tunnel testing. Using skin samples from a shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus, we tested a pectoral fin and flank skin attached to a NACA 4412 hydrofoil and separation control was observed in the presence of movable shark scales under certain conditions in both cases. We hypothesize that the scales provide a passive, flow-actuated mechanism acting as a dynamic micro-roughness to control flow separation. (paper)

Model Predictive Control for Flexible Power Consumption of Large-Scale Refrigeration Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shafiei, Seyed Ehsan; Stoustrup, Jakob; Rasmussen, Henrik

2014-01-01

A model predictive control (MPC) scheme is introduced to directly control the electrical power consumption of large-scale refrigeration systems. Deviation from the baseline of the consumption is corresponded to the storing and delivering of thermal energy. By virtue of such correspondence...

Programmed Control of Optical Grating Scales for Visual Research.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-12-01

A -AOO .9 AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH SCHOO--ETC F/6 14/2 PROGRAMMED CONTROL OF OPTI CAL GRATING SCALES FOR VISUAL RESEARC --ETC(fl...custom system for AMRL. The cost in memory parts alone was $40,000, a good indication that the market is not over-priced. Ca-? western Reserve

Application of cool wan flow control weight scale design on belt conveyor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djokorayono, Rony; Junus; Rivai, A; Gunarwan; Indarzah

2003-01-01

Control of the coal mass flow on the belt conveyor at coal handling unit PLTU Suralaya has been designed by using weight scale of gamma absorption technique where accuracy for the measurement of weight scale system is 0,5% to 0,1%. The absorption gamma radiation will be measured by scintillation or ion chamber detector

Time delay effects on large-scale MR damper based semi-active control strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cha, Y-J; Agrawal, A K; Dyke, S J

2013-01-01

This paper presents a detailed investigation on the robustness of large-scale 200 kN MR damper based semi-active control strategies in the presence of time delays in the control system. Although the effects of time delay on stability and performance degradation of an actively controlled system have been investigated extensively by many researchers, degradation in the performance of semi-active systems due to time delay has yet to be investigated. Since semi-active systems are inherently stable, instability problems due to time delay are unlikely to arise. This paper investigates the effects of time delay on the performance of a building with a large-scale MR damper, using numerical simulations of near- and far-field earthquakes. The MR damper is considered to be controlled by four different semi-active control algorithms, namely (i) clipped-optimal control (COC), (ii) decentralized output feedback polynomial control (DOFPC), (iii) Lyapunov control, and (iv) simple-passive control (SPC). It is observed that all controllers except for the COC are significantly robust with respect to time delay. On the other hand, the clipped-optimal controller should be integrated with a compensator to improve the performance in the presence of time delay. (paper)

Comparing the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale with the Mini-BESTest and Berg Balance Scale to assess postural control in patients with Parkinson disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlenstedt, Christian; Brombacher, Stephanie; Hartwigsen, Gesa; Weisser, Burkhard; Möller, Bettina; Deuschl, Günther

2015-02-01

To validate the Fullerton Advanced Balance (FAB) Scale for patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease (PD); and to compare the FAB Scale with the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Observational study to assess concurrent validity, test-retest, and interrater reliability of the FAB Scale in patients with PD and to compare the distribution of the scale with the Mini-BESTest and BBS. University hospital in an urban community. Patients with idiopathic PD (N=85; Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-4). Not applicable. FAB Scale, Mini-BESTest, BBS, timed Up and Go test, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, and visual analog scale. Interrater (3 raters) and test-retest (3±1 d) reliability were high for all scales (ICCs≥.95). The FAB Scale was highly correlated with the Mini-BESTest (Spearman ρ=.87) and timed Up and Go test item of the Mini-BESTest (Spearman ρ=.83). In contrast with the BBS, the FAB Scale and Mini-BESTest have only minimal ceiling effects. The FAB Scale demonstrated the most symmetric distribution when compared with the Mini-BESTest and BBS (skewness: FAB scale: -.54; Mini-BESTest: -1.07; BBS: -2.14). The FAB Scale is a valid and reliable tool to assess postural control in patients with PD. No ceiling effect was noted for the FAB Scale. Although the items of the FAB Scale are more detailed when compared with the Mini-BESTest, interrater and test-retest reliability were excellent. The scale is a promising tool to detect small changes of the postural control system in individuals with PD. Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A revision of the Academic Locus of Control Scale for College Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Nicholas A; Trice, Ashton D

2013-06-01

This study presents a revision of Trice's (1985) Academic Locus of Control Scale for College Students. A principal component analysis involving 322 college students produced four factors including 21 of the original 28 items. Inspection of the seven items not included in the four-factor solution suggested that they could be eliminated on both content and technical grounds. The resulting revised scale was similar to the original scale with respect to its relations with GPA, attendance, and measures of Academic Entitlement, procrastination, depression, and anxiety.

Assessment of motivation to control alcohol use: The motivational thought frequency and state motivation scales for alcohol control

OpenAIRE

Robinson, N; Kavanagh, D; Connor, J; May, J; Andrade, J

2016-01-01

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Assessment of motivation to control alcohol use: The motivational thought frequency and state motivation scales for alcohol control journaltitle: Addictive Behaviors articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.02.038 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scaling-up vaccine production: implementation aspects of a biomass growth observer and controller

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Soons, Z.I.T.A.; IJssel, van den J.; Pol, van der L.A.; Straten, van G.; Boxtel, van A.J.B.

2009-01-01

Abstract This study considers two aspects of the implementation of a biomass growth observer and specific growth rate controller in scale-up from small- to pilot-scale bioreactors towards a feasible bulk production process for whole-cell vaccine against whooping cough. The first is the calculation

Fluid-Mediated Stochastic Self-Assembly at Centimetric and Sub-Millimetric Scales: Design, Modeling, and Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bahar Haghighat

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Stochastic self-assembly provides promising means for building micro-/nano-structures with a variety of properties and functionalities. Numerous studies have been conducted on the control and modeling of the process in engineered self-assembling systems constituted of modules with varied capabilities ranging from completely reactive nano-/micro-particles to intelligent miniaturized robots. Depending on the capabilities of the constituting modules, different approaches have been utilized for controlling and modeling these systems. In the quest of a unifying control and modeling framework and within the broader perspective of investigating how stochastic control strategies can be adapted from the centimeter-scale down to the (sub-millimeter-scale, as well as from mechatronic to MEMS-based technology, this work presents the outcomes of our research on self-assembly during the past few years. As the first step, we leverage an experimental platform to study self-assembly of water-floating passive modules at the centimeter scale. A dedicated computational framework is developed for real-time tracking, modeling and control of the formation of specific structures. Using a similar approach, we then demonstrate controlled self-assembly of microparticles into clusters of a preset dimension in a microfluidic chamber, where the control loop is closed again through real-time tracking customized for a much faster system dynamics. Finally, with the aim of distributing the intelligence and realizing programmable self-assembly, we present a novel experimental system for fluid-mediated programmable stochastic self-assembly of active modules at the centimeter scale. The system is built around the water-floating 3-cm-sized Lily robots specifically designed to be operative in large swarms and allows for exploring the whole range of fully-centralized to fully-distributed control strategies. The outcomes of our research efforts extend the state-of-the-art methodologies

Escala de Locus de controle ELCO/TELEBRÁS Scale of Locus of control - ELCO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiz Pasquali

1998-01-01

Full Text Available Com base na teoria de Rotter e Escala de Levenson foi elaborada uma escala de Locus de Controle Organizacional (ELCO, composta por 28 itens. A escala foi validada com uma amostra de 350 empregados do Sistema Telebrás. Verificou-se a presença dos 2 fatores previstos na teoria, a saber: internalidade e externalidade, aparecendo a escala de externalidade, com 18 itens, bem estruturada (alfa = 0.81 e a de internalidade, com 10 itens, deixando a desejar no que se refere à consistência interna (alfa = 0.66. Com os dados desta pesquisa foi feita também análise do Locus de Controle desses mesmos empregados. A constatação mais saliente foi a de que o nível de internalidade caiu com o aumento do nível escolar e o aumento da experiência profissional desses mesmos empregados. Estes resultados surpreendentes foram interpretados em termos da situação típica da empresa, que está passando por um período de transição, a saber: a passagem da condição de empresa estatal para empresa privada, o que seria motivo da perda de confiança dos empregados na própria competência, particularmente por parte daqueles com maior competência intelectual e maior experiência profissional. Fez-se igualmente reparos na qualidade psicométrica da escala e da própria teoria do Locus de controle, no sentido de que esta precisa ser melhor axiomatizada para possibilitar a elaboração de escalas mais precisas para a medida dos construtos que propõe.A scale with 28 items, the Organizational Locus of Control (ELCO, was built based on Rotter’s theory and Levenson’s scale. ELCO was validated on a sample of 350 employees of Telebrás, a governmental firm in Brazil. As foreseen from the theory, a principal-axis factoring showed the presence of the expected two factors, namely internal and external locus of control. The external locus of control factor, composed of 18 items, showed good internal consistency (alpha =.81 whereas the internal factor, with 10 items

Influence of heat transfer modes on the scale-up of solvent pool burning in controlled-air incinerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gandhi, P.D.; Orloff, D.I.

1982-01-01

An analytical modes of pool burning in a controlled-air incinerator was developed. Incinerator performance predicted by the model compared favorably with laboratory-scale incineration experiments. The model was extended to a full-scale incinerator, using results from an intermediate pilot-scale incinerator. The full-scale results showed the influence of various modes of heat transfer, and the importance of flame emissivity and incinerator wall temperature in controlling the burning rate. The influence of pan geometry on consumption rate was also evaluated for the full-scale incinerator

Toward city-scale water quality control: building a theory for smart stormwater systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kerkez, B.; Mullapudi, A. M.; Wong, B. P.

2016-12-01

Urban stormwater systems are rarely designed as actual systems. Rather, it is often assumed that individual Best Management Practices (BMPs) will add up to achieve desired watershed outcomes. Given the rise of BMPs and green infrastructure, we ask: does doing "best" at the local scale guarantee the "best" at the global scale? Existing studies suggest that the system-level performance of distributed stormwater practices may actually adversely impact watersheds by increasing downstream erosion and reducing water quality. Optimizing spatial placement may not be sufficient, however, since precipitation variability and other sources of uncertainty can drive the overall system into undesirable states. To that end, it is also important to control the temporal behavior of the system, which can be achieved by equipping stormwater elements (ponds, wetlands, basins, bioswales, etc.) with "smart" sensors and valves. Rather than building new infrastructure, this permits for existing assets to be repurposed and controlled to adapt to individual storm events. While we have learned how to build and deploy the necessary sensing and control technologies, we do not have a framework or theory that combines our knowledge of hydrology, hydraulics, water quality and control. We discuss the development of such a framework and investigate how existing water domain knowledge can be transferred into a system-theoretic context to enable real-time, city-scale stormwater control. We apply this framework to water quality control in an urban watershed in southeast Michigan, which has been heavily instrumented and retrofitted for control over the past year.

Control-Oriented Modeling and System Identification for Nonlinear Trajectory Tracking Control of a Small-Scale Unmanned Helicopter

Science.gov (United States)

Pourrezaei Khaligh, Sepehr

Model-based control design of small-scale helicopters involves considerable challenges due to their nonlinear and underactuated dynamics with strong couplings between the different degrees-of-freedom (DOFs). Most nonlinear model-based multi-input multi-output (MIMO) control approaches require the dynamic model of the system to be affine-in-control and fully actuated. Since the existing formulations for helicopter nonlinear dynamic model do not meet these requirements, these MIMO approaches cannot be applied for control of helicopters and control designs in the literature mostly use the linearized model of the helicopter dynamics around different trim conditions instead of directly using the nonlinear model. The purpose of this thesis is to derive the 6-DOF nonlinear model of the helicopter in an affine-in-control, non-iterative and square input-output formulation to enable many nonlinear control approaches, that require a control-affine and square model such as the sliding mode control (SMC), to be used for control design of small-scale helicopters. A combination of the first-principles approach and system identification is used to derive this model. To complete the nonlinear model of the helicopter required for the control design, the inverse kinematics of the actuating mechanisms of the main and tail rotors are also derived using an approach suitable for the real-time control applications. The parameters of the new control-oriented formulation are identified using a time-domain system identification strategy and the model is validated using flight test data. A robust sliding mode control (SMC) is then designed using the new formulation of the helicopter dynamics and its robustness to parameter uncertainties and wind disturbances is tested in simulations. Next, a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testbed is designed to allow for the control implementation and gain tuning as well as testing the robustness of the controller to external disturbances in a controlled

[Spanish version of the Multidimensional health locus of control scale innursing students].

Science.gov (United States)

Tomás-Sábado, Joaquín; Montes-Hidalgo, Javier

2016-01-01

To determine the preliminary psychometric properties of the Spanish form of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale (MHLC), which consists of three subscales: (1) Internalitu, (2) Powerful other externality, and (3) Chance externality. It also aims to study the relationship that the internal/external health control beliefs has with self-esteem, self-efficacy and perceived competence in a sample of nursing undergraduates. An observational and cross-sectional study including 109 nursing students who completed an anonymous questionnaire containing the demographic variables and the Spanish versions of the MHLC, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Perceived personal competence Scale. A Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.713 for Internality, 0.665 for Chance and 0.728 for Powerful other were obtained. The test-retest correlation for the 18 items of the MHLC was 0.866. Internality subscale was positively and significantly correlated with self-efficacy and competence. By contrast, chance externality has negative and significant correlations with self-esteem and competence. There are no significant gender differences in any of the subscales. Younger subjects show greater tendency to external attribution. Factor analysis confirms the three-factor hypothesis. The results suggest that the Spanish form of the MHLC has adequate construct validity and acceptable metric properties. Also, they evidence the relationship between the attribution of health-related internal control with the perceived well-being and confidence in their own skills and abilities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Factorial invariance, scale reliability, and construct validity of the job control and job demands scales for immigrant workers: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

Science.gov (United States)

Fujishiro, Kaori; Landsbergis, Paul; Roux, Ana V. Diez; Stukovsky, Karen Hinckley; Shrager, Sandi; Baron, Sherry

2014-01-01

Immigrants have a different social context from those who stay in their home country or those who were born to the country that immigrants now live. Cultural theory of risk perception suggests that social context influences one’s interpretation of questionnaire items. We examined psychometric properties of job control and job demand scales with US- and foreign-born workers who preferred English, Spanish, or Chinese (n=3114, mean age=58.1). Across all groups, the job control scale had acceptable Cronbach’s alpha (0.78–0.83) and equivalent factor loadings (ΔCFIjob demands scale regardless of language, education, or age of migration. Two job-demand items had different factor loadings across groups. Among immigrants, both scales had inconsistent associations with perceived job stress and self-rated health. For a better understanding of immigrants’ job stress, the concept of job demands should be expanded and immigrants’ expectations for job control explored. (149/150 limit) PMID:20582720

Overriding "doing wrong" and "not doing right": validation of the Dispositional Self-Control Scale (DSC).

Science.gov (United States)

Ein-Gar, Danit; Sagiv, Lilach

2014-01-01

We present the Dispositional Self-Control (DSC) Scale, which reflects individuals' tendency to override 2 types of temptations, termed doing wrong and not doing right. We report a series of 5 studies designed to test the reliability and validity of the scale. As hypothesized, high DSC predicts distant future orientation and low DSC predicts deviant behaviors such as aggression, alcohol misuse, and aberrant driving. DSC also predicts task performance among resource-depleted participants. Taken together, these findings suggest that the DSC Scale could be a useful tool toward further understanding the role of personality in overcoming self-control challenges.

Embedded Sensors and Controls to Improve Component Performance and Reliability -- Bench-scale Testbed Design Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Melin, Alexander M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Kisner, Roger A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Drira, Anis [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Reed, Frederick K. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2015-09-01

Embedded instrumentation and control systems that can operate in extreme environments are challenging due to restrictions on sensors and materials. As a part of the Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy Enabling Technology cross-cutting technology development programs Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation topic, this report details the design of a bench-scale embedded instrumentation and control testbed. The design goal of the bench-scale testbed is to build a re-configurable system that can rapidly deploy and test advanced control algorithms in a hardware in the loop setup. The bench-scale testbed will be designed as a fluid pump analog that uses active magnetic bearings to support the shaft. The testbed represents an application that would improve the efficiency and performance of high temperature (700 C) pumps for liquid salt reactors that operate in an extreme environment and provide many engineering challenges that can be overcome with embedded instrumentation and control. This report will give details of the mechanical design, electromagnetic design, geometry optimization, power electronics design, and initial control system design.

A unified double-loop multi-scale control strategy for NMP integrating-unstable systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seer, Qiu Han; Nandong, Jobrun

2016-01-01

This paper presents a new control strategy which unifies the direct and indirect multi-scale control schemes via a double-loop control structure. This unified control strategy is proposed for controlling a class of highly nonminimum-phase processes having both integrating and unstable modes. This type of systems is often encountered in fed-batch fermentation processes which are very difficult to stabilize via most of the existing well-established control strategies. A systematic design procedure is provided where its applicability is demonstrated via a numerical example. (paper)

A Reliability Generalization Study of Scores on Rotter's and Nowicki-Strickland's Locus of Control Scales

Science.gov (United States)

Beretvas, S. Natasha; Suizzo, Marie-Anne; Durham, Jennifer A.; Yarnell, Lisa M.

2008-01-01

The most commonly used measures of locus of control are Rotter's Internality-Externality Scale (I-E) and Nowicki and Strickland's Internality-Externality Scale (NSIE). A reliability generalization study is conducted to explore variability in I-E and NSIE score reliability. Studies are coded for aspects of the scales used (number of response…

Time scaling internal state predictive control of a solar plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, R.N. [DEE-FCT/UNL, Caparica (Portugal); Rato, L.M. [INESC-ID/University, Evora (Portugal); Lemos, J.M. [INESC-ID/IST, Lisboa (Portugal)

2003-12-01

The control of a distributed collector solar field is addressed in this work, exploiting the plant's transport characteristic. The plant is modeled by a hyperbolic type partial differential equation (PDE) where the transport speed is the manipulated flow, i.e. the controller output. The model has an external distributed source, which is the solar radiation captured along the collector, approximated to depend only of time. From the solution of the PDE, a linear discrete state space model is obtained by using time-scaling and the redefinition of the control input. This method allows overcoming the dependency of the time constants with the operating point. A model-based predictive adaptive controller is derived with the internal temperature distribution estimated with a state observer. Experimental results at the solar power plant are presented, illustrating the advantages of the approach under consideration. (author)

Parkinson's Impulse-Control Scale for the Severity Rating of Impulse-Control Behaviors in Parkinson's Disease: A Semistructured Clinical Assessment Tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Okai, David; Askey-Jones, Sally; Mack, Joel; Martin, Anne; Chaudhuri, Kallol Ray; Samuel, Michael; David, Anthony S; Brown, Richard G

2016-01-01

Impulse-control behaviors (ICBs) are increasingly recognized in Parkinson's disease (PD) as drug-related effects of dopaminergic mediation that occur in 15% to 35% of patients with PD. The authors describe the design and evaluation of a new, clinician-rated severity scale for the assessment of syndromal and subsyndromal forms of impulse-control disorders (ICDs), simple (punding) and complex (hobbyism) repetitive behaviors, and compulsive overuse of medication (dopamine dysregulation syndrome). The Parkinson's Impulse-Control Scale (PICS), the first PD-specific, semistructured interview to cover the full range of PD-related ICBs, is described along with initial evidence on its clinimetric properties including interrater reliability, discriminant validity and sensitivity to change. A convenience sample of PD patients with ICBs and those without were administered a semistructured interview (n = 92). The scale distinguished between those with and without clinically detected ICBs and between patients with syndromal ICD and subsyndromal ICB (receiver operating characteristic areas under the curve, 92%-95%). Cutoff values were suggested, and substantial agreement was reported on weighted kappa (Κ) values for clinician-clinician rating of severity (Κ = 0.92). Significant improvements were detected on the scale after a randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy and medication adjustment ( t [22] = 5.47; P < 0.001). The PICS appears to be a reliable measure of the full range of PD ICBs with good levels of interrater reliability. It may provide a useful measure to assess the severity of ICBs and monitor change in clinical and research settings; although, given the specialized centers used for recruitment of this sample, further psychometric evaluation is required.

Children's and Teachers' Perspectives on Children's Self-Control: The Development of Two Rating Scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Humphrey, Laura Lynn

1982-01-01

Compared parallel scales of children's self-control developed for teachers and children. Self-control ratings by teachers and children related to naturalistic observations and to teacher ratings of frustration tolerance and acting-out/aggressive problems. Teachers' ratings of self-control related to IQ and achievement. Supported the validity of…

A Limited Evaluation of Full Scale Control Surface Deflection Drag (Have FUN)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Reinhardt, R. B; Celi, Sean A; Geraghty, Jeffrey T; Stahl, James W; Glover, Victor J; Bowman, Geoffrey G

2007-01-01

The Have FUN (FUll Scale Numbers) Test Management Project was conducted at the request of the USAF TPS as an investigation into the drag caused by control surface deflection during dynamic soaring techniques...

Psychometric properties of the Danish versions of headache-specific locus of control scale and headache management self-efficacy scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Jacob Sander; Bendtsen, Lars; Jensen, Rigmor

2009-01-01

The purpose of the study is to test the cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of a Danish version of the Headache-Specific Locus of Control Scale (HSLC) and the Headache Management Self-Efficacy Scale (HMSE) in a tertiary headache centre. HSLC and HMSE are headache-specific measures...... with other self-report measures concerning general distress, anxiety, depression, and health-related quality of life. Internal stability of the HSLC subscales and the HMSE were analysed using Chronbach's alpha coefficient. The psychometric properties of the Danish version of the HSLC and the HMSE were...

Dental scaling and risk reduction in infective endocarditis: a nationwide population-based case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Su-Jung; Liu, Chia-Jen; Chao, Tze-Fan; Wang, Kang-Ling; Wang, Fu-Der; Chen, Tzeng-Ji; Chiang, Chern-En

2013-04-01

Infective endocarditis (IE) is an uncommon but potentially life-threatening disease. Poor oral hygiene has been assumed as an important risk factor for IE. We aimed to investigate whether the improvement of oral hygiene through dental scaling could reduce the risk of IE. From January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009, a total of 736 patients with newly diagnosed IE were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database. On the same date of enrollment, 10 patients (without IE) with matched age, sex, and underlying diseases were selected to be the control group for each study patient. The frequency of dental scaling before the enrollment was analyzed and compared between the study and the control groups. The percentages of patients who ever received dental scaling before the enrollment were higher in the control group than that in the study group. For patients who received dental scaling once in 2 years, the risk of IE can be reduced by about 15% (odds ratio, 0.845; 95% confidence interval, 0.693-1.012) with a borderline P value (P = 0.058). Moreover, the risk of IE decreased significantly among patients who received dental scaling at least once per year, with an odds ratio of 0.696 (95% confidence interval, 0.542-0.894; P = 0.005). Improvement of oral hygiene by dental scaling may reduce the risk of IE. More frequent and regular dental scaling (at least once per year) was associated with a significant decrease in IE. Copyright © 2013 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Application Of GIS Software For Erosion Control In The Watershed Scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Setyawan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Land degradation in form of soil erosion due to uncontrolled farming is occurred in many watersheds of Indonesia particularly in Java Island. Soil erosion is decreasing watershed function as a rainwater harvesting area. Good conservation practices need to be applied to prevent more degradation. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of land conservation practice for erosion control through land use modeling in the watershed scale. The modeling was applied in the Sempor watershed Indonesia. Three scenarios of land use were used for modeling. Soil erosion measurement and land use modeling were performed by using Universal Soil Loss Equation USLE method and Geographic Information System GIS software ArcGIS 10.1. Land use modeling was conducted by increasing permanent vegetation coverage from existing condition 4 to 10 20 and 30. The result showed that the modeling can reduce heavy class erosion about 15-37 of total area. GIS provides a good tool for erosion control modeling in the watershed scale.

Active vibration control of a full scale aircraft wing using a reconfigurable controller

Science.gov (United States)

Prakash, Shashikala; Renjith Kumar, T. G.; Raja, S.; Dwarakanathan, D.; Subramani, H.; Karthikeyan, C.

2016-01-01

This work highlights the design of a Reconfigurable Active Vibration Control (AVC) System for aircraft structures using adaptive techniques. The AVC system with a multichannel capability is realized using Filtered-X Least Mean Square algorithm (FxLMS) on Xilinx Virtex-4 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform in Very High Speed Integrated Circuits Hardware Description Language, (VHDL). The HDL design is made based on Finite State Machine (FSM) model with Floating point Intellectual Property (IP) cores for arithmetic operations. The use of FPGA facilitates to modify the system parameters even during runtime depending on the changes in user's requirements. The locations of the control actuators are optimized based on dynamic modal strain approach using genetic algorithm (GA). The developed system has been successfully deployed for the AVC testing of the full-scale wing of an all composite two seater transport aircraft. Several closed loop configurations like single channel and multi-channel control have been tested. The experimental results from the studies presented here are very encouraging. They demonstrate the usefulness of the system's reconfigurability for real time applications.

Intelligent control for large-scale variable speed variable pitch wind turbines

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Xinfang ZHANG; Daping XU; Yibing LIU

2004-01-01

Large-scale wind turbine generator systems have strong nonlinear multivariable characteristics with many uncertain factors and disturbances.Automatic control is crucial for the efficiency and reliability of wind turbines.On the basis of simplified and proper model of variable speed variable pitch wind turbines,the effective wind speed is estimated using extended Kalman filter.Intelligent control schemes proposed in the paper include two loops which operate in synchronism with each other.At below-rated wind speed,the inner loop adopts adaptive fuzzy control based on variable universe for generator torque regulation to realize maximum wind energy capture.At above-rated wind speed, a controller based on least square support vector machine is proposed to adjust pitch angle and keep rated output power.The simulation shows the effectiveness of the intelligent control.

Confirmatory factor analysis and invariance testing between Blacks and Whites of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale.

Science.gov (United States)

LaNoue, Marianna; Harvey, Abby; Mautner, Dawn; Ku, Bon; Scott, Kevin

2015-07-01

The factor structure of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale remains in question. Additionally, research on health belief differences between Black and White respondents suggests that the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale may not be invariant. We reviewed the literature regarding the latent variable structure of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale, used confirmatory factor analysis to confirm the three-factor structure of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control, and analyzed between-group differences in the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control structure and means across Black and White respondents. Our results indicate differences in means and structure, indicating more research is needed to inform decisions regarding whether and how to deploy the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control appropriately.

Climatic and physiographic controls on catchment-scale nitrate loss at different spatial scales: insights from a top-down model development approach

Science.gov (United States)

Shafii, Mahyar; Basu, Nandita; Schiff, Sherry; Van Cappellen, Philippe

2017-04-01

Dramatic increase in nitrogen circulating in the biosphere due to anthropogenic activities has resulted in impairment of water quality in groundwater and surface water causing eutrophication in coastal regions. Understanding the fate and transport of nitrogen from landscape to coastal areas requires exploring the drivers of nitrogen processes in both time and space, as well as the identification of appropriate flow pathways. Conceptual models can be used as diagnostic tools to provide insights into such controls. However, diagnostic evaluation of coupled hydrological-biogeochemical models is challenging. This research proposes a top-down methodology utilizing hydrochemical signatures to develop conceptual models for simulating the integrated streamflow and nitrate responses while taking into account dominant controls on nitrate variability (e.g., climate, soil water content, etc.). Our main objective is to seek appropriate model complexity that sufficiently reproduces multiple hydrological and nitrate signatures. Having developed a suitable conceptual model for a given watershed, we employ it in sensitivity studies to demonstrate the dominant process controls that contribute to the nitrate response at scales of interest. We apply the proposed approach to nitrate simulation in a range of small to large sub-watersheds in the Grand River Watershed (GRW) located in Ontario. Such multi-basin modeling experiment will enable us to address process scaling and investigate the consequences of lumping processes in terms of models' predictive capability. The proposed methodology can be applied to the development of large-scale models that can help decision-making associated with nutrients management at regional scale.

Macro-mechanics controls quantum mechanics: mechanically controllable quantum conductance switching of an electrochemically fabricated atomic-scale point contact.

Science.gov (United States)

Staiger, Torben; Wertz, Florian; Xie, Fangqing; Heinze, Marcel; Schmieder, Philipp; Lutzweiler, Christian; Schimmel, Thomas

2018-01-12

Here, we present a silver atomic-scale device fabricated and operated by a combined technique of electrochemical control (EC) and mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ). With this EC-MCBJ technique, we can perform mechanically controllable bistable quantum conductance switching of a silver quantum point contact (QPC) in an electrochemical environment at room temperature. Furthermore, the silver QPC of the device can be controlled both mechanically and electrochemically, and the operating mode can be changed from 'electrochemical' to 'mechanical', which expands the operating mode for controlling QPCs. These experimental results offer the perspective that a silver QPC may be used as a contact for a nanoelectromechanical relay.

Macro-mechanics controls quantum mechanics: mechanically controllable quantum conductance switching of an electrochemically fabricated atomic-scale point contact

Science.gov (United States)

Staiger, Torben; Wertz, Florian; Xie, Fangqing; Heinze, Marcel; Schmieder, Philipp; Lutzweiler, Christian; Schimmel, Thomas

2018-01-01

Here, we present a silver atomic-scale device fabricated and operated by a combined technique of electrochemical control (EC) and mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ). With this EC-MCBJ technique, we can perform mechanically controllable bistable quantum conductance switching of a silver quantum point contact (QPC) in an electrochemical environment at room temperature. Furthermore, the silver QPC of the device can be controlled both mechanically and electrochemically, and the operating mode can be changed from ‘electrochemical’ to ‘mechanical’, which expands the operating mode for controlling QPCs. These experimental results offer the perspective that a silver QPC may be used as a contact for a nanoelectromechanical relay.

Hierarchical optimal control of large-scale nonlinear chemical processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramezani, Mohammad Hossein; Sadati, Nasser

2009-01-01

In this paper, a new approach is presented for optimal control of large-scale chemical processes. In this approach, the chemical process is decomposed into smaller sub-systems at the first level, and a coordinator at the second level, for which a two-level hierarchical control strategy is designed. For this purpose, each sub-system in the first level can be solved separately, by using any conventional optimization algorithm. In the second level, the solutions obtained from the first level are coordinated using a new gradient-type strategy, which is updated by the error of the coordination vector. The proposed algorithm is used to solve the optimal control problem of a complex nonlinear chemical stirred tank reactor (CSTR), where its solution is also compared with the ones obtained using the centralized approach. The simulation results show the efficiency and the capability of the proposed hierarchical approach, in finding the optimal solution, over the centralized method.

Heterodyne interferometric technique for displacement control at the nanometric scale

Science.gov (United States)

Topcu, Suat; Chassagne, Luc; Haddad, Darine; Alayli, Yasser; Juncar, Patrick

2003-11-01

We propose a method of displacement control that addresses the measurement requirements of the nanotechnology community and provide a traceability to the definition of the mèter at the nanometric scale. The method is based on the use of both a heterodyne Michelson's interferometer and a homemade high frequency electronic circuit. The system so established allows us to control the displacement of a translation stage with a known step of 4.945 nm. Intrinsic relative uncertainty on the step value is 1.6×10-9. Controls of the period of repetition of these steps with a high-stability quartz oscillator permits to impose an uniform speed to the translation stage with the same accuracy. This property will be used for the watt balance project of the Bureau National de Métrologie of France.

Response of pest control by generalist predators to local-scale plant diversity: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dassou, Anicet Gbèblonoudo; Tixier, Philippe

2016-02-01

Disentangling the effects of plant diversity on the control of herbivores is important for understanding agricultural sustainability. Recent studies have investigated the relationships between plant diversity and arthropod communities at the landscape scale, but few have done so at the local scale. We conducted a meta-analysis of 32 papers containing 175 independent measures of the relationship between plant diversity and arthropod communities. We found that generalist predators had a strong positive response to plant diversity, that is, their abundance increased as plant diversity increased. Herbivores, in contrast, had an overall weak and negative response to plant diversity. However, specialist and generalist herbivores differed in their response to plant diversity, that is, the response was negative for specialists and not significant for generalists. While the effects of scale remain unclear, the response to plant diversity tended to increase for specialist herbivores, but decrease for generalist herbivores as the scale increased. There was no clear effect of scale on the response of generalist predators to plant diversity. Our results suggest that the response of herbivores to plant diversity at the local scale is a balance between habitat and trophic effects that vary according to arthropod specialization and habitat type. Synthesis and applications. Positive effects of plant diversity on generalist predators confirm that, at the local scale, plant diversification of agroecosystems is a credible and promising option for increasing pest regulation. Results from our meta-analysis suggest that natural control in plant-diversified systems is more likely to occur for specialist than for generalist herbivores. In terms of pest management, our results indicate that small-scale plant diversification (via the planting of cover crops or intercrops and reduced weed management) is likely to increase the control of specialist herbivores by generalist predators.

Climate, orography and scale controls on flood frequency in Triveneto (Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Persiano

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The growing concern about the possible effects of climate change on flood frequency regime is leading Authorities to review previously proposed reference procedures for design-flood estimation, such as national flood frequency models. Our study focuses on Triveneto, a broad geographical region in North-eastern Italy. A reference procedure for design flood estimation in Triveneto is available from the Italian NCR research project "VA.PI.", which considered Triveneto as a single homogeneous region and developed a regional model using annual maximum series (AMS of peak discharges that were collected up to the 1980s by the former Italian Hydrometeorological Service. We consider a very detailed AMS database that we recently compiled for 76 catchments located in Triveneto. All 76 study catchments are characterized in terms of several geomorphologic and climatic descriptors. The objective of our study is threefold: (1 to inspect climatic and scale controls on flood frequency regime; (2 to verify the possible presence of changes in flood frequency regime by looking at changes in time of regional L-moments of annual maximum floods; (3 to develop an updated reference procedure for design flood estimation in Triveneto by using a focused-pooling approach (i.e. Region of Influence, RoI. Our study leads to the following conclusions: (1 climatic and scale controls on flood frequency regime in Triveneto are similar to the controls that were recently found in Europe; (2 a single year characterized by extreme floods can have a remarkable influence on regional flood frequency models and analyses for detecting possible changes in flood frequency regime; (3 no significant change was detected in the flood frequency regime, yet an update of the existing reference procedure for design flood estimation is highly recommended and we propose the RoI approach for properly representing climate and scale controls on flood frequency in Triveneto, which cannot be regarded

Model of large scale man-machine systems with an application to vessel traffic control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wewerinke, P.H.; van der Ent, W.I.; ten Hove, D.

1989-01-01

Mathematical models are discussed to deal with complex large-scale man-machine systems such as vessel (air, road) traffic and process control systems. Only interrelationships between subsystems are assumed. Each subsystem is controlled by a corresponding human operator (HO). Because of the

Measuring Life Satisfaction in Parkinson's Disease and Healthy Controls Using the Satisfaction With Life Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Løvereide, Lise; Hagell, Peter

2016-01-01

The 5-item Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was designed to measure general life satisfaction (LS). Here we examined the psychometric properties of the SWLS in a cohort of persons with Parkinson`s disease (PwPD) and age and gender matched individuals without PD. The SWLS was administered to PwPD and controls from the Norwegian ParkWest study at 5 and 7 years after the time of diagnosis. Data were analysed according to classical test theory (CTT) and Rasch measurement theory. CTT scaling assumptions for computation of a SWLS total score were met (corrected item-total correlations >0.58). The SWLS was reasonably well targeted to the sample and had good reliability (ordinal alpha, 0.92). The scale exhibited good fit to the Rasch model and successfully separated between 5 statistically distinct strata of people (levels of SWLS). The seven response categories did not work as intended and the scale may benefit from reduction to five response categories. There was no clinically significant differential item functioning. Separate analyses in PwPD and controls yielded very similar results to those from the pooled analysis. This study supports the SWLS as a valid instrument for measuring LS in PD and controls. However, Rasch analyses provided new insights into the performance and validity of the SWLS and identified areas for future revisions in order to further improve the scale.

ELT-scale Adaptive Optics real-time control with thes Intel Xeon Phi Many Integrated Core Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, David R.; Basden, Alastair; Myers, Richard M.

2018-05-01

We propose a solution to the increased computational demands of Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) scale adaptive optics (AO) real-time control with the Intel Xeon Phi Knights Landing (KNL) Many Integrated Core (MIC) Architecture. The computational demands of an AO real-time controller (RTC) scale with the fourth power of telescope diameter and so the next generation ELTs require orders of magnitude more processing power for the RTC pipeline than existing systems. The Xeon Phi contains a large number (≥64) of low power x86 CPU cores and high bandwidth memory integrated into a single socketed server CPU package. The increased parallelism and memory bandwidth are crucial to providing the performance for reconstructing wavefronts with the required precision for ELT scale AO. Here, we demonstrate that the Xeon Phi KNL is capable of performing ELT scale single conjugate AO real-time control computation at over 1.0kHz with less than 20μs RMS jitter. We have also shown that with a wavefront sensor camera attached the KNL can process the real-time control loop at up to 966Hz, the maximum frame-rate of the camera, with jitter remaining below 20μs RMS. Future studies will involve exploring the use of a cluster of Xeon Phis for the real-time control of the MCAO and MOAO regimes of AO. We find that the Xeon Phi is highly suitable for ELT AO real time control.

Large-Scale Preventive Chemotherapy for the Control of Helminth Infection in Western Pacific Countries: Six Years Later

Science.gov (United States)

Montresor, Antonio; Cong, Dai Tran; Sinuon, Mouth; Tsuyuoka, Reiko; Chanthavisouk, Chitsavang; Strandgaard, Hanne; Velayudhan, Raman; Capuano, Corinne M.; Le Anh, Tuan; Tee Dató, Ah S.

2008-01-01

In 2001, Urbani and Palmer published a review of the epidemiological situation of helminthiases in the countries of the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization indicating the control needs in the region. Six years after this inspiring article, large-scale preventive chemotherapy for the control of helminthiasis has scaled up dramatically in the region. This paper analyzes the most recent published and unpublished country information on large-scale preventive chemotherapy and summarizes the progress made since 2000. Almost 39 million treatments were provided in 2006 in the region for the control of helminthiasis: nearly 14 million for the control of lymphatic filariasis, more than 22 million for the control of soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and over 2 million for the control of schistosomiasis. In general, control of these helminthiases is progressing well in the Mekong countries and Pacific Islands. In China, despite harboring the majority of the helminth infections of the region, the control activities have not reached the level of coverage of countries with much more limited financial resources. The control of food-borne trematodes is still limited, but pilot activities have been initiated in China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Vietnam. PMID:18846234

A new approach to motion control of torque-constrained manipulators by using time-scaling of reference trajectories

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moreno-Valenzuela, Javier; Orozco-Manriquez, Ernesto [Digital del IPN, CITEDI-IPN, Tijuana, (Mexico)

2009-12-15

We introduce a control scheme based on using a trajectory tracking controller and an algorithm for on-line time scaling of the reference trajectories. The reference trajectories are time-scaled according to the measured tracking errors and the detected torque/acceleration saturation. Experiments are presented to illustrate the advantages of the proposed approach

A new approach to motion control of torque-constrained manipulators by using time-scaling of reference trajectories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreno-Valenzuela, Javier; Orozco-Manriquez, Ernesto

2009-01-01

We introduce a control scheme based on using a trajectory tracking controller and an algorithm for on-line time scaling of the reference trajectories. The reference trajectories are time-scaled according to the measured tracking errors and the detected torque/acceleration saturation. Experiments are presented to illustrate the advantages of the proposed approach

Output Control Technologies for a Large-scale PV System Considering Impacts on a Power Grid

Science.gov (United States)

Kuwayama, Akira

The mega-solar demonstration project named “Verification of Grid Stabilization with Large-scale PV Power Generation systems” had been completed in March 2011 at Wakkanai, the northernmost city of Japan. The major objectives of this project were to evaluate adverse impacts of large-scale PV power generation systems connected to the power grid and develop output control technologies with integrated battery storage system. This paper describes the outline and results of this project. These results show the effectiveness of battery storage system and also proposed output control methods for a large-scale PV system to ensure stable operation of power grids. NEDO, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization of Japan conducted this project and HEPCO, Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Inc managed the overall project.

Multi-scale optical metrology for the quality control of polymer microfluidic systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tosello, Guido; Marinello, Francesco; Hansen, Hans Nørgaard

2009-01-01

Micro injection moulding is a replication technology enabling large scale production of polymer-based micro products. To this respect, optical measuring technologies were selected to perform the quality control of a polymer micro-component: an optical coordinate measuring machine (CMM) and a white...

Computational Study of Separation Control Using ZNMF Devices: Flow Physics and Scaling Laws

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Mittal, Rajat

2008-01-01

The primary objective of the proposed research was to gain a fundamental understanding of strategies, mechanisms, and scaling laws for successful control of separation using zern-net mass-flux (ZNMF) actuators...

Interaural Level Difference Dependent Gain Control and Synaptic Scaling Underlying Binaural Computation

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Xiaorui R.; Liang, Feixue; Li, Haifu; Mesik, Lukas; Zhang, Ke K.; Polley, Daniel B.; Tao, Huizhong W.; Xiao, Zhongju; Zhang, Li I.

2013-01-01

Binaural integration in the central nucleus of inferior colliculus (ICC) plays a critical role in sound localization. However, its arithmetic nature and underlying synaptic mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we showed in mouse ICC neurons that the contralateral dominance is created by a “push-pull”-like mechanism, with contralaterally dominant excitation and more bilaterally balanced inhibition. Importantly, binaural spiking response is generated apparently from an ipsilaterally-mediated scaling of contralateral response, leaving frequency tuning unchanged. This scaling effect is attributed to a divisive attenuation of contralaterally-evoked synaptic excitation onto ICC neurons with their inhibition largely unaffected. Thus, a gain control mediates the linear transformation from monaural to binaural spike responses. The gain value is modulated by interaural level difference (ILD) primarily through scaling excitation to different levels. The ILD-dependent synaptic scaling and gain adjustment allow ICC neurons to dynamically encode interaural sound localization cues while maintaining an invariant representation of other independent sound attributes. PMID:23972599

Validation and reliability of the scale Self-efficacy and their child's level of asthma control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Lúcia Araújo Gomes

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties in terms of validity and reliability of the scale Self-efficacy and their child's level of asthma control: Brazilian version. Method: Methodological study in which 216 parents/guardians of children with asthma participated. A construct validation (factor analysis and test of hypothesis by comparison of contrasted groups and an analysis of reliability in terms of homogeneity (Cronbach's alpha and stability (test-retest were carried out. Results: Exploratory factor analysis proved suitable for the Brazilian version of the scale (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkim index of 0.879 and Bartlett's sphericity with p < 0.001. The correlation matrix in factor analysis suggested the removal of item 7 from the scale. Cronbach's alpha of the final scale, with 16 items, was 0.92. Conclusion: The Brazilian version of Self-efficacy and their child's level of asthma control presented psychometric properties that confirmed its validity and reliability.

Control Algorithms for Large-scale Single-axis Photovoltaic Trackers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorian Schneider

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The electrical yield of large-scale photovoltaic power plants can be greatly improved by employing solar trackers. While fixed-tilt superstructures are stationary and immobile, trackers move the PV-module plane in order to optimize its alignment to the sun. This paper introduces control algorithms for single-axis trackers (SAT, including a discussion for optimal alignment and backtracking. The results are used to simulate and compare the electrical yield of fixed-tilt and SAT systems. The proposed algorithms have been field tested, and are in operation in solar parks worldwide.

An enhanced hierarchical control strategy for the Internet of Things-based home scale microgrid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guan, Yajuan; Quintero, Juan Carlos Vasquez; Guerrero, Josep M.

2017-01-01

As the intelligent control and detection technology improving, more and more smart devices/sensors can be used to increase the living standard. In order to integrate the Internet of Things (IoT) with microgrid (MG), an enhanced hierarchical control strategy for IoT-based home scale MG is proposed...

Economic Model Predictive Control for Large-Scale and Distributed Energy Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Standardi, Laura

Sources (RESs) in the smart grids is increasing. These energy sources bring uncertainty to the production due to their fluctuations. Hence,smart grids need suitable control systems that are able to continuously balance power production and consumption.  We apply the Economic Model Predictive Control (EMPC......) strategy to optimise the economic performances of the energy systems and to balance the power production and consumption. In the case of large-scale energy systems, the electrical grid connects a high number of power units. Because of this, the related control problem involves a high number of variables......In this thesis, we consider control strategies for large and distributed energy systems that are important for the implementation of smart grid technologies.  An electrical grid has to ensure reliability and avoid long-term interruptions in the power supply. Moreover, the share of Renewable Energy...

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Controlling Coach Behaviors Scale in the sport context.

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo, Isabel; Tomás, Inés; Ntoumanis, Nikos; Bartholomew, Kimberley; Duda, Joan L; Balaguer, Isabel

2014-01-01

The purpose of this research was to translate into Spanish and examine the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Controlling Coach Behaviors Scale (CCBS) in male soccer players. The CCBS is a questionnaire designed to assess athletes' perceptions of sports coaches' controlling interpersonal style from the perspective of the self-determination theory. Study 1 tested the factorial structure of the translated scale using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and provided evidence of discriminant validity. Studies 2 and 3 examined the invariance across time and across competitive level via multi-sample CFA. Reliability analyses were also conducted. The CFA results revealed that a four-factor model was acceptable, indicating that a controlling interpersonal style is a multidimensional construct represented by four separate and related controlling coaching strategies. Further, results supported the invariance of the CCBS factor structure across time and competitive level and provided support for the internal consistency of the scale. Overall, the CCBS demonstrated adequate internal consistency, as well as good factorial validity. The Spanish version of the CCBS represents a valid and reliable adaptation of the instrument, which can be confidently used to measure soccer players' perceptions of their coaches' controlling interpersonal style.

Multi-scale spatial controls of understory vegetation in Douglas-fir–western hemlock forests of western Oregon, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Julia I. Burton; Lisa M. Ganio; Klaus J. Puettmann

2014-01-01

Forest understory vegetation is influenced by broad-scale variation in climate, intermediate scale variation in topography, disturbance and neighborhood interactions. However, little is known about how these multi-scale controls interact to influence observed spatial patterns. We examined relationships between the aggregated cover of understory plant species (%...

Strength and reversibility of stereotypes for a rotary control with linear scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Alan H S; Chan, W H

2008-02-01

Using real mechanical controls, this experiment studied strength and reversibility of direction-of-motion stereotypes and response times for a rotary control with horizontal and vertical scales. Thirty-eight engineering undergraduates (34 men and 4 women) ages 23 to 47 years (M=29.8, SD=7.7) took part in the experiment voluntarily. The effects of instruction of change of pointer position and control plane on movement compatibility were analyzed with precise quantitative measures of strength and a reversibility index of stereotype. Comparisons of the strength and reversibility values of these two configurations with those of rotary control-circular display, rotary control-digital counter, four-way lever-circular display, and four-way lever-digital counter were made. The results of this study provided significant implications for the industrial design of control panels for improved human performance.

Localized Power Control for Multihop Large-Scale Internet of Things

KAUST Repository

Bader, Ahmed

2015-07-07

In this paper, we promote the use of multihop networking in the context of large-scale Internet of Things (IoT). Recognizing concerns related to the scalability of classical multihop routing and medium access techniques, we advocate the use of blind cooperation in conjunction with multihop communications. However, we show that blind cooperation is actually inefficient unless power control is applied. Inefficiency in this paper is projected in terms of the transport rate normalized to energy consumption. To that end, we propose an uncoordinated power control mechanism whereby each device in a blind cooperative cluster randomly adjusts its transmit power level. We derive an upper bound on the mean transmit power that must be observed at each device. We also devise a practical mechanism for each device to infer about the size of its neighborhood; a requirement necessary for the operation of the power control scheme. Finally, we assess the performance of the developed power control mechanism and demonstrate how it consistently outperforms the point-to-point case.

Localized Power Control for Multihop Large-Scale Internet of Things

KAUST Repository

Bader, Ahmed

2015-08-04

In this paper, we promote the use of multihop networking in the context of large-scale Internet of Things (IoT). Recognizing concerns related to the scalability of classical multihop routing and medium access techniques, we advocate the use of blind cooperation in conjunction with multihop communications. However, we show that blind cooperation is actually inefficient unless power control is applied. Inefficiency in this paper is projected in terms of the transport rate normalized to energy consumption. To that end, we propose an uncoordinated power control mechanism whereby each device in a blind cooperative cluster randomly adjusts its transmit power level. We derive an upper bound on the mean transmit power that must be observed at each device. We also devise a practical mechanism for each device to infer about the size of its neighborhood; a requirement necessary for the operation of the power control scheme. Finally, we assess the performance of the developed power control mechanism and demonstrate how it consistently outperforms the point-to-point case.

In-Flight Validation of a Pilot Rating Scale for Evaluating Failure Transients in Electronic Flight Control Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kalinowski, Kevin F.; Tucker, George E.; Moralez, Ernesto, III

2006-01-01

Engineering development and qualification of a Research Flight Control System (RFCS) for the Rotorcraft Aircrew Systems Concepts Airborne Laboratory (RASCAL) JUH-60A has motivated the development of a pilot rating scale for evaluating failure transients in fly-by-wire flight control systems. The RASCAL RFCS includes a highly-reliable, dual-channel Servo Control Unit (SCU) to command and monitor the performance of the fly-by-wire actuators and protect against the effects of erroneous commands from the flexible, but single-thread Flight Control Computer. During the design phase of the RFCS, two piloted simulations were conducted on the Ames Research Center Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) to help define the required performance characteristics of the safety monitoring algorithms in the SCU. Simulated failures, including hard-over and slow-over commands, were injected into the command path, and the aircraft response and safety monitor performance were evaluated. A subjective Failure/Recovery Rating (F/RR) scale was developed as a means of quantifying the effects of the injected failures on the aircraft state and the degree of pilot effort required to safely recover the aircraft. A brief evaluation of the rating scale was also conducted on the Army/NASA CH-47B variable stability helicopter to confirm that the rating scale was likely to be equally applicable to in-flight evaluations. Following the initial research flight qualification of the RFCS in 2002, a flight test effort was begun to validate the performance of the safety monitors and to validate their design for the safe conduct of research flight testing. Simulated failures were injected into the SCU, and the F/RR scale was applied to assess the results. The results validate the performance of the monitors, and indicate that the Failure/Recovery Rating scale is a very useful tool for evaluating failure transients in fly-by-wire flight control systems.

Bi-Level Decentralized Active Power Control for Large-Scale Wind Farm Cluster

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huang, Shengli; Wu, Qiuwei; Guo, Yifei

2018-01-01

This paper presents a bi-level decentralized active power control (DAPC) for a large-scale wind farm cluster, consisting of several wind farms for better active power dispatch. In the upper level, a distributed active power control scheme based on the distributed consensus is designed to achieve...... fair active power sharing among multiple wind farms, which generates the power reference for each wind farm. A distributed estimator is used to estimate the total available power of all wind farms. In the lower level, a centralized control scheme based on the Model Predictive Control (MPC) is proposed...... to regulate active power outputs of all wind turbines (WTs) within a wind farm, which reduces the fatigue loads of WTs while tracking the power reference obtained from the upper level control. A wind farm cluster with 8 wind farms and totally 160 WTs, was used to test the control performance of the proposed...

Multi-Time Scale Control of Demand Flexibility in Smart Distribution Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bhattarai, Bishnu P.; Myers, Kurt S.; Bak-Jensen, Birgitte

2017-01-01

, and distribution system operator’s perspectives. A hierarchical control architecture (HCA) comprising scheduling, coordinative, and adaptive layers is then designed to realize their coordinative goal. This is realized by integrating multi-time scale controls that work from a day-ahead scheduling up to real-time...... adaptive control. The performance of the developed method is investigated with high EV penetration in a typical residential distribution grid. The simulation results demonstrate that HCA efficiently utilizes demand flexibility stemming from EVs to solve grid unbalancing and congestions with simultaneous...... maximization of economic benefits to the participating actors. This is ensured by enabling EV participation in day-ahead, balancing, and regulation markets. For the given network configuration and pricing structure, HCA ensures the EV owners to get paid up to five times the cost they were paying without...

Multi-Time Scale Coordinated Scheduling Strategy with Distributed Power Flow Controllers for Minimizing Wind Power Spillage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Tang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The inherent variability and randomness of large-scale wind power integration have brought great challenges to power flow control and dispatch. The distributed power flow controller (DPFC has the higher flexibility and capacity in power flow control in the system with wind generation. This paper proposes a multi-time scale coordinated scheduling model with DPFC to minimize wind power spillage. Configuration of DPFCs is initially determined by stochastic method. Afterward, two sequential procedures containing day-head and real-time scales are applied for determining maximum schedulable wind sources, optimal outputs of generating units and operation setting of DPFCs. The generating plan is obtained initially in day-ahead scheduling stage and modified in real-time scheduling model, while considering the uncertainty of wind power and fast operation of DPFC. Numerical simulation results in IEEE-RTS79 system illustrate that wind power is maximum scheduled with the optimal deployment and operation of DPFC, which confirms the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed method.

The importance of being urgent: The impact of surveillance target and scale on mosquito-borne disease control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samantha R. Schwab

2018-06-01

Full Text Available With the emergence or re-emergence of numerous mosquito-borne diseases in recent years, effective methods for emergency vector control responses are necessary to reduce human infections. Current vector control practices often vary significantly between different jurisdictions, and are executed independently and at different spatial scales. Various types of surveillance information (e.g. number of human infections or adult mosquitoes trigger the implementation of control measures, though the target and scale of surveillance vary locally. This patchy implementation of control measures likely alters the efficacy of control.We modeled six different scenarios, with larval mosquito control occurring in response to surveillance data of different types and at different scales (e.g. across the landscape or in each patch. Our results indicate that: earlier application of larvicide after an escalation of disease risk achieves much greater reductions in human infections than later control implementation; uniform control across the landscape provides better outbreak mitigation than patchy control application; and different types of surveillance data require different levels of sensitivity in their collection to effectively inform control measures. Our simulations also demonstrate a potential logical fallacy of reactive, surveillance-driven vector control: measures stop being implemented as soon as they are deemed effective. This false sense of security leads to patchier control efforts that will do little to curb the size of future vector-borne disease outbreaks. More investment should be placed in collecting high quality information that can trigger early and uniform implementation, while researchers work to discover more informative metrics of human risk to trigger more effective control. Keywords: Zika control, Epidemiological surveillance, Disease surveillance, Mosquito control, Vector-borne disease control, Epidemiological modeling

Large-scale application of highly-diluted bacteria for Leptospirosis epidemic control.

Science.gov (United States)

Bracho, Gustavo; Varela, Enrique; Fernández, Rolando; Ordaz, Barbara; Marzoa, Natalia; Menéndez, Jorge; García, Luis; Gilling, Esperanza; Leyva, Richard; Rufín, Reynaldo; de la Torre, Rubén; Solis, Rosa L; Batista, Niurka; Borrero, Reinier; Campa, Concepción

2010-07-01

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease of major importance in the tropics where the incidence peaks in rainy seasons. Natural disasters represent a big challenge to Leptospirosis prevention strategies especially in endemic regions. Vaccination is an effective option but of reduced effectiveness in emergency situations. Homeoprophylactic interventions might help to control epidemics by using highly-diluted pathogens to induce protection in a short time scale. We report the results of a very large-scale homeoprophylaxis (HP) intervention against Leptospirosis in a dangerous epidemic situation in three provinces of Cuba in 2007. Forecast models were used to estimate possible trends of disease incidence. A homeoprophylactic formulation was prepared from dilutions of four circulating strains of Leptospirosis. This formulation was administered orally to 2.3 million persons at high risk in an epidemic in a region affected by natural disasters. The data from surveillance were used to measure the impact of the intervention by comparing with historical trends and non-intervention regions. After the homeoprophylactic intervention a significant decrease of the disease incidence was observed in the intervention regions. No such modifications were observed in non-intervention regions. In the intervention region the incidence of Leptospirosis fell below the historic median. This observation was independent of rainfall. The homeoprophylactic approach was associated with a large reduction of disease incidence and control of the epidemic. The results suggest the use of HP as a feasible tool for epidemic control, further research is warranted. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced Grid-Friendly Controls Demonstration Project for Utility-Scale PV Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gevorgian, Vahan; O' Neill, Barbara

2016-01-21

A typical photovoltaic (PV) power plant consists of multiple power electronic inverters and can contribute to grid stability and reliability through sophisticated 'grid-friendly' controls. The availability and dissemination of actual test data showing the viability of advanced utility-scale PV controls among all industry stakeholders can leverage PV's value from being simply an energy resource to providing additional ancillary services that range from variability smoothing and frequency regulation to power quality. Strategically partnering with a selected utility and/or PV power plant operator is a key condition for a successful demonstration project. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Solar Energy Technologies Office selected the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to be a principal investigator in a two-year project with goals to (1) identify a potential partner(s), (2) develop a detailed scope of work and test plan for a field project to demonstrate the gird-friendly capabilities of utility-scale PV power plants, (3) facilitate conducting actual demonstration tests, and (4) disseminate test results among industry stakeholders via a joint NREL/DOE publication and participation in relevant technical conferences. The project implementation took place in FY 2014 and FY 2015. In FY14, NREL established collaborations with AES and First Solar Electric, LLC, to conduct demonstration testing on their utility-scale PV power plants in Puerto Rico and Texas, respectively, and developed test plans for each partner. Both Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas expressed interest in this project because of the importance of such advanced controls for the reliable operation of their power systems under high penetration levels of variable renewable generation. During FY15, testing was completed on both plants, and a large amount of test data was produced and analyzed that demonstrates the ability of

Multi-Time Scale Control of Demand Flexibility in Smart Distribution Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bishnu P. Bhattarai

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a multi-timescale control strategy to deploy electric vehicle (EV demand flexibility for simultaneously providing power balancing, grid congestion management, and economic benefits to participating actors. First, an EV charging problem is investigated from consumer, aggregator, and distribution system operator’s perspectives. A hierarchical control architecture (HCA comprising scheduling, coordinative, and adaptive layers is then designed to realize their coordinative goal. This is realized by integrating multi-time scale controls that work from a day-ahead scheduling up to real-time adaptive control. The performance of the developed method is investigated with high EV penetration in a typical residential distribution grid. The simulation results demonstrate that HCA efficiently utilizes demand flexibility stemming from EVs to solve grid unbalancing and congestions with simultaneous maximization of economic benefits to the participating actors. This is ensured by enabling EV participation in day-ahead, balancing, and regulation markets. For the given network configuration and pricing structure, HCA ensures the EV owners to get paid up to five times the cost they were paying without control.

Hierarchical hybrid control of manipulators: Artificial intelligence in large scale integrated circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, P. H.

1972-01-01

Both in practical engineering and in control of muscular systems, low level subsystems automatically provide crude approximations to the proper response. Through low level tuning of these approximations, the proper response variant can emerge from standardized high level commands. Such systems are expressly suited to emerging large scale integrated circuit technology. A computer, using symbolic descriptions of subsystem responses, can select and shape responses of low level digital or analog microcircuits. A mathematical theory that reveals significant informational units in this style of control and software for realizing such information structures are formulated.

LARGE-SCALE MECURY CONTROL TECHNOLOGY TESTING FOR LIGNITE-FIRED UTILITIES-OXIDATION SYSTEMS FOR WET FGD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michael J. Holmes; Steven A. Benson; Jeffrey S. Thompson

2004-03-01

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) is conducting a consortium-based effort directed toward resolving the mercury (Hg) control issues facing the lignite industry. Specifically, the EERC team--the EERC, EPRI, URS, ADA-ES, Babcock & Wilcox, the North Dakota Industrial Commission, SaskPower, and the Mercury Task Force, which includes Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Otter Tail Power Company, Great River Energy, Texas Utilities (TXU), Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., Minnkota Power Cooperative, BNI Coal Ltd., Dakota Westmoreland Corporation, and the North American Coal Company--has undertaken a project to significantly and cost-effectively oxidize elemental mercury in lignite combustion gases, followed by capture in a wet scrubber. This approach will be applicable to virtually every lignite utility in the United States and Canada and potentially impact subbituminous utilities. The oxidation process is proven at the pilot-scale and in short-term full-scale tests. Additional optimization is continuing on oxidation technologies, and this project focuses on longer-term full-scale testing. The lignite industry has been proactive in advancing the understanding of and identifying control options for Hg in lignite combustion flue gases. Approximately 1 year ago, the EERC and EPRI began a series of Hg-related discussions with the Mercury Task Force as well as utilities firing Texas and Saskatchewan lignites. This project is one of three being undertaken by the consortium to perform large-scale Hg control technology testing to address the specific needs and challenges to be met in controlling Hg from lignite-fired power plants. This project involves Hg oxidation upstream of a system equipped with an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) followed by wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD). The team involved in conducting the technical aspects of the project includes the EERC, Babcock & Wilcox, URS, and ADA-ES. The host sites include Minnkota Power Cooperative Milton R. Young

A data acquisition controller for small to medium scale nuclear experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bohm, C.

1986-01-01

A data aquisition controller and related software for small to medium scaled nuclear experiments are described. The unit is designed to be connected (via a standard terminal connection) as a peripheral to a host computer (in our case a VAX). It is based on a standard eurobus Z-80 microprocessor to which specially designed multichannel analyzer subsystems are added for data aquisition. The multichannel analyzer, which consists of single width eurocard, uses the controller memory, via direct memory access, for data storage. To this it is possible to add standard eurobus interfaces for digital and analog supervision and for control of the experimental parameters. The unit uses the host computer to interpret a host command file defining the experimental procedure. It will log in to the host when it needs assistance, but stay logged out during periods of inactivity. (orig.)

Full-Scaled Advanced Systems Testbed: Ensuring Success of Adaptive Control Research Through Project Lifecycle Risk Mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Pavlock, Kate M.

2011-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dryden Flight Research Center completed flight testing of adaptive controls research on the Full-Scale Advance Systems Testbed (FAST) in January of 2011. The research addressed technical challenges involved with reducing risk in an increasingly complex and dynamic national airspace. Specific challenges lie with the development of validated, multidisciplinary, integrated aircraft control design tools and techniques to enable safe flight in the presence of adverse conditions such as structural damage, control surface failures, or aerodynamic upsets. The testbed is an F-18 aircraft serving as a full-scale vehicle to test and validate adaptive flight control research and lends a significant confidence to the development, maturation, and acceptance process of incorporating adaptive control laws into follow-on research and the operational environment. The experimental systems integrated into FAST were designed to allow for flexible yet safe flight test evaluation and validation of modern adaptive control technologies and revolve around two major hardware upgrades: the modification of Production Support Flight Control Computers (PSFCC) and integration of two, fourth-generation Airborne Research Test Systems (ARTS). Post-hardware integration verification and validation provided the foundation for safe flight test of Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion and Model Reference Aircraft Control adaptive control law experiments. To ensure success of flight in terms of cost, schedule, and test results, emphasis on risk management was incorporated into early stages of design and flight test planning and continued through the execution of each flight test mission. Specific consideration was made to incorporate safety features within the hardware and software to alleviate user demands as well as into test processes and training to reduce human factor impacts to safe and successful flight test. This paper describes the research configuration

Use of ABB ADVANT Power for large scale instrumentation and controls replacements in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pucak, J.L.; Brown, E.M.

1999-01-01

One of the major issues facing plants planning for life extension is the viability and feasibility of modernization of a plant's existing I and C systems including the safety systems and the control room. This paper discusses the ABB approach to the implementation of large scale Instrumentation and Controls (I and C) modernization. ABB applies a segmented architecture approach using the ADVANT Power control system to meet the numerous constraints of a major I and C upgrade program. The segmented architecture and how it supports implementation of a complete I and C upgrade either in one outage or in a series of outages is presented. ADVANT Power contains standardized industrial control equipment that is designed to support 1E applications as well as turbine and non-1E process control. This equipment forms the basis for the architecture proposed for future new nuclear plant sales as well as large scale retrofits. (author)

Can administrative referenda be an instrument of control over large-scale technical installations?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossnagel, A.

1986-01-01

An administrative referendum offers the possibility of direct participation of the citizens in decisions concerning large-scale technical installations. The article investigates the legal status of such a referendum on the basis of constitutional and democratic principles. The conclusion drawn is that any attempt to realize more direct democracy in a concrete field of jurisdiction of the state will meet with very large difficulties. On the other hand, the author clearly states more direct democracy for control over the establishment of large-scale technology to be sensible in terms of politics and principles of democracy, and possible within the constitutional system. Developments towards more direct democracy would mean an enhancement of representative democracy and would be adequate vis a vis the problems posed by large-scale technology. (HSCH) [de

Reliability and Validity of the Multidimensional Locus of Control IPC Scale in a Sample of 3668 Greek Educators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ntina Kourmousi

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The Multidimensional Locus of Control IPC Scale (IPC LOC Scale is an instrument for assessing the locus of control on adults. The aim of the present study is to translate the IPC LOC Scale and evaluate its reliability and validity in a sample of Greek teachers. Data were collected from a nationwide sample of 3668 educators of all levels and specialties. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to determine the internal consistency reliability. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA was conducted in order to test the construct validity of the questionnaire. Validity was further examined by investigating the correlation of the IPC LOC Scale with the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES and its association with several demographic and work-related data. Internal consistency reliability was satisfactory with a Cronbach’s alpha above 0.70 for all LOC dimensions. CFA confirmed that the items composing the three subscales of the IPC LOC Scale measure the same construct. Also, the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA, the comparative fit index (CFI and the goodness of fit index (GFI values were 0.053, 0.951, and 0.937, respectively for the three-factor model, further confirming the manufacturer’s theory for the three latent variables, Internality, Powerful Others, and Chance. Intercorrelations and correlation coefficients between the IPC LOC Scale and the RSES were significant, while age and sex differences were also found. The Greek version of the IPC LOC Scale was found to have satisfactory psychometric properties and could be used to evaluate the locus of control in Greek teachers.

CARBO-CONTROLE. Quantification of the carbon flux and stocks at the european and national scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciais, P.

2007-01-01

The CARBO-CONTROLE project aims to evaluate the different methodologies to estimate the CO 2 flux at the european, national and regional scale. The strategy is to combine a crumbling, down scaling, of the flux at a big scale, by inverting the atmospheric CO 2 measures with a aggregation, up scaling, of the national stocks and flux from the climatic parameters of a model of ecosystems.They show that with the monthly data of the global network of CO 2 monitoring stations, it is possible to obtain an estimation of the european flux. Meanwhile the errors bond to the leak of continental stations are of the order of the flux average. (A.L.B.)

An Integrated, Multi-Stage, Multi-Scale Framework for Achieving Sustainable Process Synthesis-Intensification-Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Babi, Deenesh Kavi; Kumar Tula, Anjan; Mansouri, Seyed Soheil

The chemical and biochemical industry needs major reductions in energy consumption, waste generation, etc., in order to remain competitive through the design and operation of more sustainable chemical and biochemical processes. These required reductions can be addressed through process synthesis......-intensification-control, that is, the efficient use of raw materials (feedstock), the use of sustainable technologies and the design (and control) of processes that directly impact and improves sustainability/LCA factors. The unit operations concept, which has been sufficient until now, is one of the most used for performing...... process synthesis (and intensification) because it allows the association of tasks (functions) with the processing route to be followed. At the unit operations scale (Jaksland et al., 1995) and task scale (Siirola, 1996) alternatives are limited to existing (well-known) unit operations and therefore, may...

Psychometric properties of the multidimensional health locus of control scale form C in a non-Western culture.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barna Konkolÿ Thege

Full Text Available Form C of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales (MHLC-C was designed to investigate health-related control beliefs of persons with an existing medical condition. The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of this instrument in a culture characterized by external control beliefs and learned helplessness-contrary to the societal context of original test development. Altogether, 374 Hungarian patients with cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders were enrolled in the study. Besides the MHLC-C, instruments measuring general control beliefs, anxiety, depression, self-efficacy, and health behaviors were also administered to evaluate the validity of the scale. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic techniques were used to investigate the factor structure of the scale. Our results showed that the Hungarian adaptation of the instrument had a slightly different structure than the one originally hypothesized: in the present sample, a three-factor structure emerged where the items of the Doctors and the Others subscales loaded onto a single common component. Internal reliability of all three subscales was adequate (alphas between .71 and .79. Data concerning the instrument's validity were comparable with previous results from Western countries. These findings may suggest that health locus of control can be construed very similarly to Western countries even in a post-communist society-regardless of the potential differences in general control beliefs.

Complex Formation Control of Large-Scale Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Lei

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A new formation framework of large-scale intelligent autonomous vehicles is developed, which can realize complex formations while reducing data exchange. Using the proposed hierarchy formation method and the automatic dividing algorithm, vehicles are automatically divided into leaders and followers by exchanging information via wireless network at initial time. Then, leaders form formation geometric shape by global formation information and followers track their own virtual leaders to form line formation by local information. The formation control laws of leaders and followers are designed based on consensus algorithms. Moreover, collision-avoiding problems are considered and solved using artificial potential functions. Finally, a simulation example that consists of 25 vehicles shows the effectiveness of theory.

Can the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale be successfully used to predict Swedish drivers' speeding behaviour?

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Henriette Wallén; Ozkan, Türker; Lajunen, Timo

2010-07-01

The first aim of the present study was to examine the factor structure of the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale in a Swedish sample of drivers. The second aim was to examine if this scale can be used to predict drivers' speeding behaviour. A sample of Swedish car owners (N=223) completed a questionnaire including questions based on the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale as well as questions about their speeding behaviour. The results showed a five factor solution including own skills, own behaviour, other drivers, vehicle/environment and fate. Own behaviour and vehicle/environment could be used to predict drivers' speeding behaviour on roads with a 90 km/h speed limit while none of the variables included in the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale could be used to predict drivers' speeding behaviour on roads with a 50 km/h speed limit. On 90 km/h roads own behaviour was positively related to drivers' speeding behaviour while vehicle/environment was negatively related to their speeding behaviour. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiple-Time-Scales Hierarchical Frequency Stability Control Strategy of Medium-Voltage Isolated Microgrid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhao, Zhuoli; Yang, Ping; Guerrero, Josep M.

2016-01-01

In this paper, an islanded medium-voltage (MV) microgrid placed in Dongao Island is presented, which integrates renewable-energy-based distributed generations (DGs), energy storage system (ESS), and local loads. In an isolated microgrid without connection to the main grid to support the frequency......, it is more complex to control and manage. Thus in order to maintain the frequency stability in multiple-time-scales, a hierarchical control strategy is proposed. The proposed control architecture divides the system frequency in three zones: (A) stable zone, (B) precautionary zone and (C) emergency zone...... of Zone B. Theoretical analysis, time-domain simulation and field test results under various conditions and scenarios in the Dongao Island microgrid are presented to prove the validity of the introduced control strategy....

Adaptation of Self-Control and Self-Management Scale (SCMS) into Turkish Culture: A Study on Reliability and Validity

Science.gov (United States)

Ercoskun, Muhammet Hanifi

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to adapt self-control and self-management scale (SCMS) developed by Mezo into Turkish and to test it considering gender and academic achievement variables. The scale was translated from English to Turkish for linguistic validity and then this scale was translated into English using back translation. The original and…

Fine scale spatial variability of microbial pesticide degradation in soil: scales, controlling factors, and implications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dechesne, Arnaud; Badawi, N.; Aamand, Jens

2014-01-01

across pesticide classes: they include some soil characteristics (pH) and some agricultural management practices (pesticide application, tillage), while other potential controlling factors have more conflicting effects depending on the site or the pesticide. Evidence demonstrating the importance......Pesticide biodegradation is a soil microbial function of critical importance for modern agriculture and its environmental impact. While it was once assumed that this activity was homogeneously distributed at the field scale, mounting evidence indicates that this is rarely the case. Here, we...... critically examine the literature on spatial variability of pesticide biodegradation in agricultural soil. We discuss the motivations, methods, and main findings of the primary literature. We found significant diversity in the approaches used to describe and quantify spatial heterogeneity, which complicates...

Performance improvement of small-scale rotors by passive blade twist control

OpenAIRE

Lv, Peng; Prothin, Sebastien; Mohd Zawawi, Fazila; Bénard, Emmanuel; Morlier, Joseph; Moschetta, Jean-Marc

2015-01-01

A passive twist control is proposed as an adaptive way to maximize the overall efficiency of the small-scale rotor blade for multifunctional aircrafts. Incorporated into a database of airfoil characteristics, Blade Element Momentum Theory is implemented to obtain the blade optimum twist rates for hover and forward flight. In order to realize the required torsion of blade between hover and forward flight, glass/epoxy laminate blade is proposed based on Centrifugal Force Induced Twist concept. ...

Multi-scale modeling of diffusion-controlled reactions in polymers: renormalisation of reactivity parameters.

Science.gov (United States)

Everaers, Ralf; Rosa, Angelo

2012-01-07

The quantitative description of polymeric systems requires hierarchical modeling schemes, which bridge the gap between the atomic scale, relevant to chemical or biomolecular reactions, and the macromolecular scale, where the longest relaxation modes occur. Here, we use the formalism for diffusion-controlled reactions in polymers developed by Wilemski, Fixman, and Doi to discuss the renormalisation of the reactivity parameters in polymer models with varying spatial resolution. In particular, we show that the adjustments are independent of chain length. As a consequence, it is possible to match reactions times between descriptions with different resolution for relatively short reference chains and to use the coarse-grained model to make quantitative predictions for longer chains. We illustrate our results by a detailed discussion of the classical problem of chain cyclization in the Rouse model, which offers the simplest example of a multi-scale descriptions, if we consider differently discretized Rouse models for the same physical system. Moreover, we are able to explore different combinations of compact and non-compact diffusion in the local and large-scale dynamics by varying the embedding dimension.

An assessment of the effectiveness of a large, national-scale invasive alien plant control strategy in South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Van Wilgen, BW

2012-04-01

Full Text Available extent of invasive species control operations, assessments of the effectiveness of biological control, and smaller-scale studies. The 19 most important invasive taxa, mainly trees, in terrestrial biomes were identified. The effectiveness of control...

Global asymptotic stabilization of large-scale hydraulic networks using positive proportional controls

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Tom Nørgaard; Wisniewski, Rafal

2014-01-01

An industrial case study involving a large-scale hydraulic network underlying a district heating system subject to structural changes is considered. The problem of controlling the pressure drop across the so-called end-user valves in the network to a designated vector of reference values under...... directional actuator constraints is addressed. The proposed solution consists of a set of decentralized positively constrained proportional control actions. The results show that the closed-loop system always has a globally asymptotically stable equilibrium point independently on the number of end......-users. Furthermore, by a proper design of controller gains the closed-loop equilibrium point can be designed to belong to an arbitrarily small neighborhood of the desired equilibrium point. Since there exists a globally asymptotically stable equilibrium point independently on the number of end-users in the system...

Implementation of atomic layer etching of silicon: Scaling parameters, feasibility, and profile control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ranjan, Alok, E-mail: alok.ranjan@us.tel.com; Wang, Mingmei; Sherpa, Sonam D.; Rastogi, Vinayak [TEL Technology Center, America LLC, 255 Fuller Road, Suite 214, Albany, New York 12203 (United States); Koshiishi, Akira [Tokyo Electron Miyagi, Ltd., 1 Techno-Hills, Taiwa-cho, Kurokawa-gun, Miyagi, 9813629 (Japan); Ventzek, Peter L. G. [Tokyo Electron America, Inc., 2400 Grove Blvd., Austin, Texas 78741 (United States)

2016-05-15

Atomic or layer by layer etching of silicon exploits temporally segregated self-limiting adsorption and material removal steps to mitigate the problems associated with continuous or quasicontinuous (pulsed) plasma processes: selectivity loss, damage, and profile control. Successful implementation of atomic layer etching requires careful choice of the plasma parameters for adsorption and desorption steps. This paper illustrates how process parameters can be arrived at through basic scaling exercises, modeling and simulation, and fundamental experimental tests of their predictions. Using chlorine and argon plasma in a radial line slot antenna plasma source as a platform, the authors illustrate how cycle time, ion energy, and radical to ion ratio can be manipulated to manage the deviation from ideality when cycle times are shortened or purges are incomplete. Cell based Monte Carlo feature scale modeling is used to illustrate profile outcomes. Experimental results of atomic layer etching processes are illustrated on silicon line and space structures such that iso-dense bias and aspect ratio dependent free profiles are produced. Experimental results also illustrate the profile control margin as processes move from atomic layer to multilayer by layer etching. The consequence of not controlling contamination (e.g., oxygen) is shown to result in deposition and roughness generation.

Reduced risk insecticides to control scale insects and protect natural enemies in the production and maintenance of urban landscape plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, Steven D

2012-04-01

Armored scale insects are among the most difficult to manage and economically important arthropod pests in the production and maintenance of urban landscape plants. This is because of morphological traits that protect them from contact insecticides. I compared initial and season-long control of euonymus scale, Unaspis euonymi Comstock (Hemiptera: Diaspidae), by reduced-risk insecticides (insect growth regulators [IGRs], neonicotinoids, spirotetramat) to determine if they controlled scale as well as more toxic insecticides such as the organophosphate, acephate, and pyrethroid, bifenthrin. I also evaluated how these insecticides affected natural enemy abundance on experimental plants and survival when exposed to insecticide residue. All insecticides tested reduced first generation euonymus scale abundance. In 2009, reinfestation by second generation euonymus scale was highest on plants treated with acetamiprid and granular dinotefuran. In 2010, systemic neonicotinoids and spirotetramat prevented cottony cushion scale infestation 133 d after treatment whereas scale readily infested plants treated with bifenthrin and horticultural oil. Encarsia spp. and Cybocephalus spp. abundance was related to scale abundance. These natural enemies were generally less abundant than predicted by scale abundance on granular dinotefuran treated plants and more abundant on granular thiamethoxam treated plants. Bifenthrin residue killed 90-100% of O. insidiosus and E. citrina within 24 h. My results indicate that reduced risk insecticides can provide season-long scale control with less impact on natural enemies than conventional insecticides. This could have economic and environmental benefits by reducing the number of applications necessary to protect nursery and landscape plants from scale.

Aerodynamics, sensing and control of insect-scale flapping-wing flight

Science.gov (United States)

Shyy, Wei; Kang, Chang-kwon; Chirarattananon, Pakpong; Ravi, Sridhar; Liu, Hao

2016-01-01

There are nearly a million known species of flying insects and 13 000 species of flying warm-blooded vertebrates, including mammals, birds and bats. While in flight, their wings not only move forward relative to the air, they also flap up and down, plunge and sweep, so that both lift and thrust can be generated and balanced, accommodate uncertain surrounding environment, with superior flight stability and dynamics with highly varied speeds and missions. As the size of a flyer is reduced, the wing-to-body mass ratio tends to decrease as well. Furthermore, these flyers use integrated system consisting of wings to generate aerodynamic forces, muscles to move the wings, and sensing and control systems to guide and manoeuvre. In this article, recent advances in insect-scale flapping-wing aerodynamics, flexible wing structures, unsteady flight environment, sensing, stability and control are reviewed with perspective offered. In particular, the special features of the low Reynolds number flyers associated with small sizes, thin and light structures, slow flight with comparable wind gust speeds, bioinspired fabrication of wing structures, neuron-based sensing and adaptive control are highlighted. PMID:27118897

Control of modular multilevel converters based on time-scale analysis and orthogonal functions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zarri, L.; Tani, A.; Mengoni, M.

2014-01-01

current is still a complex task and cannot be fully tackled with traditional linear control techniques. In this paper a multiple time-scale analysis is proposed to determine an approximated model of the MMC that can be used to solve the control problem of the capacitor voltages. In addition, it is shown...... that the reference signal of the circulating current can be built by combining orthogonal functions of the measured voltages and currents. Numerical simulations are used to test the feasibility of the developed approach.......Modular multilevel converter (MMC) is a promising multilevel topology for high-voltage applications that has been developed in recent years. The control of MMCs has been analyzed in detail in many papers, showing that the converter capacitors can be kept charged and balanced by controlling...

Diode temperature sensor array for measuring and controlling micro scale surface temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Il Young; Kim, Sung Jin

2004-01-01

The needs of micro scale thermal detecting technique are increasing in biology and chemical industry. For example, thermal finger print, Micro PCR(Polymer Chain Reaction), TAS and so on. To satisfy these needs, we developed a DTSA(Diode Temperature Sensor Array) for detecting and controlling the temperature on small surface. The DTSA is fabricated by using VLSI technique. It consists of 32 array of diodes(1,024 diodes) for temperature detection and 8 heaters for temperature control on a 8mm surface area. The working principle of temperature detection is that the forward voltage drop across a silicon diode is approximately proportional to the inverse of the absolute temperature of diode. And eight heaters (1K) made of poly-silicon are added onto a silicon wafer and controlled individually to maintain a uniform temperature distribution across the DTSA. Flip chip packaging used for easy connection of the DTSA. The circuitry for scanning and controlling DTSA are also developed

Silica dust control in small-scale building/structure demolition operations using good work practice guidance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muianga, C V; Rice, C H; Succop, P

2009-01-01

Work practices can influence exposure, especially in small-scale operations conducted by mobile work crews. This study evaluated the use of information on good work practice in control guidance sheets adapted from UK Silica Essentials guidance sheets by trained workers and supervisors employed in small-scale concrete and masonry demolition operations. A one-page employee silica task-based control guidance sheet for each of four demolition tasks and multiple-page silica control guidance for supervisors were developed. Interactive, hands-on worker training on these task-based good work practice controls was developed. Training was presented to 26 participants from two demolition crews. Feedback on the training and task-based good work practice control guidance sheets was elicited. Observations of work practices were made before and after training. Participants indicated gains in knowledge and checklists were used to document skill attainment. The quality of the training and usefulness of the material/skills was rated high by trainees. Increased use of water to suppress dust and wet cleaning methods on the job were documented following the training. Additional follow-up after training is required to determine long-term impact on sustained changes in work practices, and to evaluate the need for refresher training.

Silica dust control in small-scale building/structure demolition operations using good work practice guidance

Science.gov (United States)

Muianga, C. V.; Rice, C. H.; Succop, P.

2009-02-01

Work practices can influence exposure, especially in small-scale operations conducted by mobile work crews. This study evaluated the use of information on good work practice in control guidance sheets adapted from UK Silica Essentials guidance sheets by trained workers and supervisors employed in small-scale concrete and masonry demolition operations. A one-page employee silica task-based control guidance sheet for each of four demolition tasks and multiple-page silica control guidance for supervisors were developed. Interactive, hands-on worker training on these task-based good work practice controls was developed. Training was presented to 26 participants from two demolition crews. Feedback on the training and task-based good work practice control guidance sheets was elicited. Observations of work practices were made before and after training. Participants indicated gains in knowledge and checklists were used to document skill attainment. The quality of the training and usefulness of the material/skills was rated high by trainees. Increased use of water to suppress dust and wet cleaning methods on the job were documented following the training. Additional follow-up after training is required to determine long-term impact on sustained changes in work practices, and to evaluate the need for refresher training.

Dynamic Control of Facts Devices to Enable Large Scale Penetration of Renewable Energy Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Chavan, Govind Sahadeo

This thesis focuses on some of the problems caused by large scale penetration of Renewable Energy Resources within EHV transmission networks, and investigates some approaches in resolving these problems. In chapter 4, a reduced-order model of the 500 kV WECC transmission system is developed by estimating its key parameters from phasor measurement unit (PMU) data. The model was then implemented in RTDS and was investigated for its accuracy with respect to the PMU data. Finally it was tested for observing the effects of various contingencies like transmission line loss, generation loss and large scale penetration of wind farms on EHV transmission systems. Chapter 5 introduces Static Series Synchronous Compensators (SSSC) which are seriesconnected converters that can control real power flow along a transmission line. A new application of SSSCs in mitigating Ferranti effect on unloaded transmission lines was demonstrated on PSCAD. A new control scheme for SSSCs based on the Cascaded H-bridge (CHB) converter configuration was proposed and was demonstrated using PSCAD and RTDS. A new centralized controller was developed for the distributed SSSCs based on some of the concepts used in the CHB-based SSSC. The controller's efficacy was demonstrated using RTDS. Finally chapter 6 introduces the problem of power oscillations induced by renewable sources in a transmission network. A power oscillation damping (POD) controller is designed using distributed SSSCs in NYPA's 345 kV three-bus AC system and its efficacy is demonstrated in PSCAD. A similar POD controller is then designed for the CHB-based SSSC in the IEEE 14 bus system in PSCAD. Both controllers were noted to have significantly damped power oscillations in the transmission networks.

Personality traits in established schizophrenia: aspects of usability and differences between patients and controls using the Swedish universities Scales of Personality.

Science.gov (United States)

Fagerberg, Tomas; Söderman, Erik; Gustavsson, J Petter; Agartz, Ingrid; Jönsson, Erik G

2016-08-01

Personality is considered as an important aspect that can affect symptoms and social function in persons with schizophrenia. The personality questionnaire Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP) has not previously been used in psychotic disorder. To investigate if SSP has a similar internal consistency and factor structure in a psychosis population as among healthy controls and if patients with psychotic disorders differ from non-psychotic individuals in their responses to the SSP. Patients with psychotic disorders (n = 107) and healthy controls (n = 119) completed SSP. SSP scores were analyzed for internal consistency and case-control differences by Cronbach's alfa and multiple analysis of covariance, respectively. Internal consistencies among patients were overall similar to that of controls. The patients scored significantly higher in seven (Somatic trait anxiety, Psychic trait anxiety, Stress susceptibility, Lack of assertiveness, Detachment, Embitterment, Mistrust) and lower in three (Physical trait aggression, Verbal trait aggression, Adventure seeking) of the 13 scales of the inventory. In three scales (Impulsiveness, Social desirability and Trait irritability) there was no significant difference between the scoring of patients and healthy controls. The reliability estimates suggest that SSP can be used by patients with psychotic disorders in stable remission. Patients score higher on neuroticism-related scales and lower on aggression-related scales than controls, which is in accordance with earlier studies where other personality inventories were used.

Design and Control of Full Scale Wave Energy Simulator System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Henrik C.; Hansen, Anders Hedegaard; Hansen, Rico Hjerm

2012-01-01

For wave energy to become feasible it is a requirement that the efficiency and reliability of the power take-off (PTO) systems are significantly improved. The cost of installing and testing PTO-systems at sea are however very high, and the focus of the current paper is therefore on the design...... of a full scale wave simulator for testing PTO-systems for point absorbers. The main challenge is here to design a system, which mimics the behavior of a wave when interacting with a given PTO-system. The paper includes a description of the developed system, located at Aalborg University......, and the considerations behind the design. Based on the description a model of the system is presented, which, along with a description of the wave theory applied, makes the foundation for the control strategy. The objective of the control strategy is to emulate not only the wave behavior, but also the dynamic wave...

Validation of the trait anxiety scale for state-trait anxiety inventory in suicide victims and living controls of Chinese rural youths.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jie; Gao, Qi

2012-01-01

This study evaluated the validation of STAI Trait-Anxiety Scale in suicide cases and community living controls in rural China. The participants were 392 suicides and 416 controls. Cronbach's Alpha was computed to evaluate the internal consistency. The Spearman Correlation Coefficient between Trait-Anxiety Scale and other instrument was calculated to evaluate the external validity, and the Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to evaluate the construct validity. The results showed the Cronbach's Alpha was .891 and .787 respectively in case and control groups. Most of the correlations between instruments were significant. We found 2 factors in cases and 3 factors in controls. We could cautiously infer that the Trait Anxiety Scale was an adequate tool to measure trait anxiety through proxy data in suicide victims and living controls in rural China.

Growing magma chambers control the distribution of small-scale flood basalts.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xun; Chen, Li-Hui; Zeng, Gang

2015-11-19

Small-scale continental flood basalts are a global phenomenon characterized by regular spatio-temporal distributions. However, no genetic mechanism has been proposed to explain the visible but overlooked distribution patterns of these continental basaltic volcanism. Here we present a case study from eastern China, combining major and trace element analyses with Ar-Ar and K-Ar dating to show that the spatio-temporal distribution of small-scale flood basalts is controlled by the growth of long-lived magma chambers. Evolved basalts (SiO2 > 47.5 wt.%) from Xinchang-Shengzhou, a small-scale Cenozoic flood basalt field in Zhejiang province, eastern China, show a northward younging trend over the period 9.4-3.0 Ma. With northward migration, the magmas evolved only slightly ((Na2O + K2O)/MgO = 0.40-0.66; TiO2/MgO = 0.23-0.35) during about 6 Myr (9.4-3.3 Ma). When the flood basalts reached the northern end of the province, the magmas evolved rapidly (3.3-3.0 Ma) through a broad range of compositions ((Na2O + K2O)/MgO = 0.60-1.28; TiO2/MgO = 0.30-0.57). The distribution and two-stage compositional evolution of the migrating flood basalts record continuous magma replenishment that buffered against magmatic evolution and induced magma chamber growth. Our results demonstrate that the magma replenishment-magma chamber growth model explains the spatio-temporal distribution of small-scale flood basalts.

Optimal control for power-off landing of a small-scale helicopter : a pseudospectral approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Taamallah, S.; Bombois, X.; Hof, Van den P.M.J.

2012-01-01

We derive optimal power-off landing trajectories, for the case of a small-scale helicopter UAV. These open-loop optimal trajectories represent the solution to the minimization of a cost objective, given system dynamics, controls and states equality and inequality constraints. The plant dynamics

Climate Controls AM Fungal Distributions from Global to Local Scales

Science.gov (United States)

Kivlin, S. N.; Hawkes, C.; Muscarella, R.; Treseder, K. K.; Kazenel, M.; Lynn, J.; Rudgers, J.

2016-12-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have key functions in terrestrial biogeochemical processes; thus, determining the relative importance of climate, edaphic factors, and plant community composition on their geographic distributions can improve predictions of their sensitivity to global change. Local adaptation by AM fungi to plant hosts, soil nutrients, and climate suggests that all of these factors may control fungal geographic distributions, but their relative importance is unknown. We created species distribution models for 142 AM fungal taxa at the global scale with data from GenBank. We compared climate variables (BioClim and soil moisture), edaphic variables (phosphorus, carbon, pH, and clay content), and plant variables using model selection on models with (1) all variables, (2) climatic variables only (including soil moisture) and (3) resource-related variables only (all other soil parameters and NPP) using the MaxEnt algorithm evaluated with ENMEval. We also evaluated whether drivers of AM fungal distributions were phylogenetically conserved. To test whether global correlates of AM fungal distributions were reflected at local scales, we then surveyed AM fungi in nine plant hosts along three elevation gradients in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado, USA. At the global scale, the distributions of 55% of AM fungal taxa were affected by both climate and soil resources, whereas 16% were only affected by climate and 29% were only affected by soil resources. Even for AM fungi that were affected by both climate and resources, the effects of climatic variables nearly always outweighed those of resources. Soil moisture and isothermality were the main climatic and NPP and soil carbon the main resource related factors influencing AM fungal distributions. Distributions of closely related AM fungal taxa were similarly affected by climate, but not by resources. Local scale surveys of AM fungi across elevations confirmed that climate was a key driver of AM fungal

Empirical evidence for multi-scaled controls on wildfire size distributions in California

Science.gov (United States)

Povak, N.; Hessburg, P. F., Sr.; Salter, R. B.

2014-12-01

Ecological theory asserts that regional wildfire size distributions are examples of self-organized critical (SOC) systems. Controls on SOC event-size distributions by virtue are purely endogenous to the system and include the (1) frequency and pattern of ignitions, (2) distribution and size of prior fires, and (3) lagged successional patterns after fires. However, recent work has shown that the largest wildfires often result from extreme climatic events, and that patterns of vegetation and topography may help constrain local fire spread, calling into question the SOC model's simplicity. Using an atlas of >12,000 California wildfires (1950-2012) and maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), we fit four different power-law models and broken-stick regressions to fire-size distributions across 16 Bailey's ecoregions. Comparisons among empirical fire size distributions across ecoregions indicated that most ecoregion's fire-size distributions were significantly different, suggesting that broad-scale top-down controls differed among ecoregions. One-parameter power-law models consistently fit a middle range of fire sizes (~100 to 10000 ha) across most ecoregions, but did not fit to larger and smaller fire sizes. We fit the same four power-law models to patch size distributions of aspect, slope, and curvature topographies and found that the power-law models fit to a similar middle range of topography patch sizes. These results suggested that empirical evidence may exist for topographic controls on fire sizes. To test this, we used neutral landscape modeling techniques to determine if observed fire edges corresponded with aspect breaks more often than expected by random. We found significant differences between the empirical and neutral models for some ecoregions, particularly within the middle range of fire sizes. Our results, combined with other recent work, suggest that controls on ecoregional fire size distributions are multi-scaled and likely are not purely SOC. California

Modeling and Control of a Large Nuclear Reactor A Three-Time-Scale Approach

CERN Document Server

Shimjith, S R; Bandyopadhyay, B

2013-01-01

Control analysis and design of large nuclear reactors requires a suitable mathematical model representing the steady state and dynamic behavior of the reactor with reasonable accuracy. This task is, however, quite challenging because of several complex dynamic phenomena existing in a reactor. Quite often, the models developed would be of prohibitively large order, non-linear and of complex structure not readily amenable for control studies. Moreover, the existence of simultaneously occurring dynamic variations at different speeds makes the mathematical model susceptible to numerical ill-conditioning, inhibiting direct application of standard control techniques. This monograph introduces a technique for mathematical modeling of large nuclear reactors in the framework of multi-point kinetics, to obtain a comparatively smaller order model in standard state space form thus overcoming these difficulties. It further brings in innovative methods for controller design for systems exhibiting multi-time-scale property,...

A Tentative Analysis of the Use of Potential by Commercial Bank in Controlling Credit Scale

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

YANG Wen-ze

2008-01-01

This article brings forward the conception of potential and filed potential in bank's competition under the inspiration of law of electric current in electrodynamics.It discusses the impact of potential shifting on commercial bank's credit scale and builds up a model for commercial bank to control the scale by credit pricing and risk policy in a dynamic way, and also gives some advice to domestic commercial bank for improving loan business, aiming to settle down the existing credit management problems.

The use of observational scales to monitor symptom control and depth of sedation in patients requiring palliative sedation: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Brinkkemper, Tijn; van Norel, Arjanne M; Szadek, Karolina M; Loer, Stephan A; Zuurmond, Wouter W A; Perez, Roberto S G M

2013-01-01

Palliative sedation is the intentional lowering of consciousness of a patient in the last phase of life to relieve suffering from refractory symptoms such as pain, delirium and dyspnoea. In this systematic review, we evaluated the use of monitoring scales to assess the degree of control of refractory symptoms and/or the depth of the sedation. A database search of PubMed and Embase was performed up to January 2010 using the search terms 'palliative sedation' OR 'terminal sedation'. Retro- and prospective studies as well as reviews and guidelines containing information about monitoring of palliative sedation, written in the English, German or Dutch language were included. The search yielded 264 articles of which 30 were considered relevant. Most studies focused on monitoring refractory symptoms (pain, fatigue or delirium) or the level of awareness to control the level of sedation. Four prospective and one retrospective study used scales validated in other settings: the Numeric Pain Rating Scale, the Visual Analogue Scale, the Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale, the Communication Capacity Scale and Agitation Distress Scale. Only the Community Capacity Scale was partially validated for use in a palliative sedation setting. One guideline described the use of a scale validated in another setting. A minority of studies reported the use of observational scales to monitor the effect of palliative sedation. Future studies should be focused on establishing proper instruments, most adequate frequency and timing of assessment, and interdisciplinary evaluation of sedation depth and symptom control for palliative sedation.

Desk-top microcomputer for lab-scale process control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Overman, R.F.; Byrd, J.S.; Goosey, M.H.; Sand, R.J.

1981-01-01

A desk-top microcomputer was programmed to acquire the data from various process control sensors installed in a laboratory scale liquid-liquid extraction, pulse column facility. The parameters monitored included valve positions, gamma spectra, alpha radioactivity, temperature, pH, density, and flow rates. The program for the microcomputer is written in BASIC and requires about 31000 8-bit bytes of memory. All data is stored on floppy discs, and can be displayed or printed. Unexpected data values are brought to the process operator's attention via CRT display or print-out. The general organization of the program and a few subroutines unique to polling instruments are explained. Some of the data acquisition devices were designed and built at the Savannah River Laboratory. These include a pulse height analyzer, a data multiplexer, and a data acquisition instrument. A general description of the electronics design of these instruments is also given with emphasis placed on data formatting and bus addressing

A pilot scale demonstration of the DWPF process control and product verification strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutson, N.D.; Jantzen, C.M.; Beam, D.C.

1992-01-01

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) has been designed and constructed to immobilize Savannah River Site high level liquid waste within a durable borosilicate glass matrix for permanent storage. The DWPF will be operated to produce a glass product which must meet a number of product property constraints which are dependent upon the final product composition. During actual operations, the DWPF will control the properties of the glass product by the controlled blending of the waste streams with a glass-forming frit to produce the final melter feed slurry. The DWPF will verify control of the glass product through analysis of vitrified samples of slurry material. In order to demonstrate the DWPF process control and product verification strategy, a pilot-scale vitrification research facility was operated in three discrete batches using simulated DWPF waste streams. All of the DWPF process control methodologies were followed and the glass produce from each experiment was leached according to the Product Consistency Test. Results of the campaign are summarized

Event-triggered decentralized robust model predictive control for constrained large-scale interconnected systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ling Lu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the problem of event-triggered decentralized model predictive control (MPC for constrained large-scale linear systems subject to additive bounded disturbances. The constraint tightening method is utilized to formulate the MPC optimization problem. The local predictive control law for each subsystem is determined aperiodically by relevant triggering rule which allows a considerable reduction of the computational load. And then, the robust feasibility and closed-loop stability are proved and it is shown that every subsystem state will be driven into a robust invariant set. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated via numerical simulations.

Use of 1–4 interaction scaling factors to control the conformational equilibrium between α-helix and β-strand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pang, Yuan-Ping

2015-01-01

Highlights: • 1–4 interaction scaling factors are used to adjust conformational energy. • This article reports the effects of these factors on protein conformations. • Reducing these factors changes a helix to a strand in molecular dynamics simulation. • Increasing these factors causes the reverse conformational change. • These factors control the conformational equilibrium between helix and strand. - Abstract: 1–4 interaction scaling factors are used in AMBER forcefields to reduce the exaggeration of short-range repulsion caused by the 6–12 Lennard-Jones potential and a nonpolarizable charge model and to obtain better agreements of small-molecule conformational energies with experimental data. However, the effects of these scaling factors on protein secondary structure conformations have not been investigated until now. This article reports the finding that the 1–4 interactions among the protein backbone atoms separated by three consecutive covalent bonds are more repulsive in the α-helix conformation than in two β-strand conformations. Therefore, the 1–4 interaction scaling factors of protein backbone torsions ϕ and ψ control the conformational equilibrium between α-helix and β-strand. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm that reducing the ϕ and ψ scaling factors readily converts the α-helix conformation of AcO-(AAQAA) 3 -NH 2 to a β-strand conformation, and the reverse occurs when these scaling factors are increased. These results suggest that the ϕ and ψ scaling factors can be used to generate the α-helix or β-strand conformation in situ and to control the propensities of a forcefield for adopting secondary structure elements

Embedded Sensors and Controls to Improve Component Performance and Reliability -- Loop-scale Testbed Design Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Melin, Alexander M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Kisner, Roger A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2016-09-01

Embedded instrumentation and control systems that can operate in extreme environments are challenging to design and operate. Extreme environments limit the options for sensors and actuators and degrade their performance. Because sensors and actuators are necessary for feedback control, these limitations mean that designing embedded instrumentation and control systems for the challenging environments of nuclear reactors requires advanced technical solutions that are not available commercially. This report details the development of testbed that will be used for cross-cutting embedded instrumentation and control research for nuclear power applications. This research is funded by the Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy Enabling Technology program's Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation topic. The design goal of the loop-scale testbed is to build a low temperature pump that utilizes magnetic bearing that will be incorporated into a water loop to test control system performance and self-sensing techniques. Specifically, this testbed will be used to analyze control system performance in response to nonlinear and cross-coupling fluid effects between the shaft axes of motion, rotordynamics and gyroscopic effects, and impeller disturbances. This testbed will also be used to characterize the performance losses when using self-sensing position measurement techniques. Active magnetic bearings are a technology that can reduce failures and maintenance costs in nuclear power plants. They are particularly relevant to liquid salt reactors that operate at high temperatures (700 C). Pumps used in the extreme environment of liquid salt reactors provide many engineering challenges that can be overcome with magnetic bearings and their associated embedded instrumentation and control. This report will give details of the mechanical design and electromagnetic design of the loop-scale embedded instrumentation and control testbed.

Dynamic model of frequency control in Danish power system with large scale integration of wind power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Basit, Abdul; Hansen, Anca Daniela; Sørensen, Poul Ejnar

2013-01-01

This work evaluates the impact of large scale integration of wind power in future power systems when 50% of load demand can be met from wind power. The focus is on active power balance control, where the main source of power imbalance is an inaccurate wind speed forecast. In this study, a Danish...... power system model with large scale of wind power is developed and a case study for an inaccurate wind power forecast is investigated. The goal of this work is to develop an adequate power system model that depicts relevant dynamic features of the power plants and compensates for load generation...... imbalances, caused by inaccurate wind speed forecast, by an appropriate control of the active power production from power plants....

Versatile synchronized real-time MEG hardware controller for large-scale fast data acquisition

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Limin; Han, Menglai; Pratt, Kevin; Paulson, Douglas; Dinh, Christoph; Esch, Lorenz; Okada, Yoshio; Hämäläinen, Matti

2017-05-01

Versatile controllers for accurate, fast, and real-time synchronized acquisition of large-scale data are useful in many areas of science, engineering, and technology. Here, we describe the development of a controller software based on a technique called queued state machine for controlling the data acquisition (DAQ) hardware, continuously acquiring a large amount of data synchronized across a large number of channels (>400) at a fast rate (up to 20 kHz/channel) in real time, and interfacing with applications for real-time data analysis and display of electrophysiological data. This DAQ controller was developed specifically for a 384-channel pediatric whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) system, but its architecture is useful for wide applications. This controller running in a LabVIEW environment interfaces with microprocessors in the MEG sensor electronics to control their real-time operation. It also interfaces with a real-time MEG analysis software via transmission control protocol/internet protocol, to control the synchronous acquisition and transfer of the data in real time from >400 channels to acquisition and analysis workstations. The successful implementation of this controller for an MEG system with a large number of channels demonstrates the feasibility of employing the present architecture in several other applications.

Use of 1–4 interaction scaling factors to control the conformational equilibrium between α-helix and β-strand

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pang, Yuan-Ping, E-mail: pang@mayo.edu

2015-02-06

Highlights: • 1–4 interaction scaling factors are used to adjust conformational energy. • This article reports the effects of these factors on protein conformations. • Reducing these factors changes a helix to a strand in molecular dynamics simulation. • Increasing these factors causes the reverse conformational change. • These factors control the conformational equilibrium between helix and strand. - Abstract: 1–4 interaction scaling factors are used in AMBER forcefields to reduce the exaggeration of short-range repulsion caused by the 6–12 Lennard-Jones potential and a nonpolarizable charge model and to obtain better agreements of small-molecule conformational energies with experimental data. However, the effects of these scaling factors on protein secondary structure conformations have not been investigated until now. This article reports the finding that the 1–4 interactions among the protein backbone atoms separated by three consecutive covalent bonds are more repulsive in the α-helix conformation than in two β-strand conformations. Therefore, the 1–4 interaction scaling factors of protein backbone torsions ϕ and ψ control the conformational equilibrium between α-helix and β-strand. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm that reducing the ϕ and ψ scaling factors readily converts the α-helix conformation of AcO-(AAQAA){sub 3}-NH{sub 2} to a β-strand conformation, and the reverse occurs when these scaling factors are increased. These results suggest that the ϕ and ψ scaling factors can be used to generate the α-helix or β-strand conformation in situ and to control the propensities of a forcefield for adopting secondary structure elements.

A scaled experimental study of control blade insertion dynamics in Pebble-Bed Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buster, Grant C., E-mail: grant.buster@gmail.com; Laufer, Michael R.; Peterson, Per F.

2016-07-15

Highlights: • A granular dynamics scaling methodology is discussed. • Control blade insertion in a representative pebble-bed core is experimentally studied. • Control blade insertion forces and pebble displacements are experimentally measured. • X-ray tomography techniques are used to observe pebble displacement distributions. - Abstract: Direct control element insertion into a pebble-bed reactor core is proposed as a viable control system in molten-salt-cooled pebble-bed reactors. Unlike helium-cooled pebble-bed reactors, this reactor type uses spherical fuel elements with near-neutral buoyancy in the molten-salt coolant, thus reducing contact forces on the fuel elements. This study uses the X-ray Pebble Bed Recirculation Experiment facility to measure the force required to insert a control element directly into a scaled pebble-bed. The required control element insertion force, and therefore the contact force on fuel elements, is measured to be well below recommended limits. Additionally, X-ray tomography is used to observe how the direct insertion of a control element physically displaces spherical fuel elements. The tomography results further support the viability of direct control element insertion into molten-salt-cooled pebble-bed reactor cores.

Light Controlling at Subwavelength Scales in Nanophotonic Systems: Physics and Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Yuecheng

The capability of controlling light at scales that are much smaller than the operating wave-length enables new optical functionalities, and opens up a wide range of applications. Such a capability is out of the realm of conventional optical approaches. This dissertation aims to explore the light-matter interactions at nanometer scale, and to investigate the novel scien-tific and industrial applications. In particular, we will explain how to detect nanoparticles using an ultra-sensitive nano-sensor; we will also describe a photonic diode which gener-ates a unidirectional flow of single photons; Moreover, in an one-dimensional waveguide QED system where the fermionic degree of freedom is present, we will show that strong photon-photon interactions can be generated through scattering means, leading to photonic bunching and anti-bunching with various applications. Finally, we will introduce a mecha-nism to achieve super-resolution to discern fine features that are orders of magnitude smaller than the illuminating wavelength. These research projects incorporate recent advances in quantum nanophotonics, nanotechnologies, imaging reconstruction techniques, and rigorous numerical simulations.

Control protocol: large scale implementation at the CERN PS complex - a first assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abie, H.; Benincasa, G.; Coudert, G.; Davydenko, Y.; Dehavay, C.; Gavaggio, R.; Gelato, G.; Heinze, W.; Legras, M.; Lustig, H.; Merard, L.; Pearson, T.; Strubin, P.; Tedesco, J.

1994-01-01

The Control Protocol is a model-based, uniform access procedure from a control system to accelerator equipment. It was proposed at CERN about 5 years ago and prototypes were developed in the following years. More recently, this procedure has been finalized and implemented at a large scale in the PS Complex. More than 300 pieces of equipment are now using this protocol in normal operation and another 300 are under implementation. These include power converters, vacuum systems, beam instrumentation devices, RF equipment, etc. This paper describes how the single general procedure is applied to the different kinds of equipment. The advantages obtained are also discussed. ((orig.))

Application of high-throughput mini-bioreactor system for systematic scale-down modeling, process characterization, and control strategy development.

Science.gov (United States)

Janakiraman, Vijay; Kwiatkowski, Chris; Kshirsagar, Rashmi; Ryll, Thomas; Huang, Yao-Ming

2015-01-01

High-throughput systems and processes have typically been targeted for process development and optimization in the bioprocessing industry. For process characterization, bench scale bioreactors have been the system of choice. Due to the need for performing different process conditions for multiple process parameters, the process characterization studies typically span several months and are considered time and resource intensive. In this study, we have shown the application of a high-throughput mini-bioreactor system viz. the Advanced Microscale Bioreactor (ambr15(TM) ), to perform process characterization in less than a month and develop an input control strategy. As a pre-requisite to process characterization, a scale-down model was first developed in the ambr system (15 mL) using statistical multivariate analysis techniques that showed comparability with both manufacturing scale (15,000 L) and bench scale (5 L). Volumetric sparge rates were matched between ambr and manufacturing scale, and the ambr process matched the pCO2 profiles as well as several other process and product quality parameters. The scale-down model was used to perform the process characterization DoE study and product quality results were generated. Upon comparison with DoE data from the bench scale bioreactors, similar effects of process parameters on process yield and product quality were identified between the two systems. We used the ambr data for setting action limits for the critical controlled parameters (CCPs), which were comparable to those from bench scale bioreactor data. In other words, the current work shows that the ambr15(TM) system is capable of replacing the bench scale bioreactor system for routine process development and process characterization. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Farsi version of the multidimensional health locus of control and God locus of health control scales: validity and reliability study among Iranian women with a family history of breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashemian, Masoumeh; Aminshokravi, Farkhonde; Hidarnia, Alireza; Lamyian, Minoor; Hassanpour, Kazem; Akaberi, Arash; Moshki, Mahdi

2014-09-01

To determine the Persian version's reliability and validity of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control and God Health Locus of Control scales among women with family history of breast cancer. The cross-sectional study was conducted in Sabzevar, Iran, in 2012. It randomly selected women with family members affected by breast cancer. Predesigned questionnaires were completed through interviews. Content and face validity was evaluated using the opinions of a panel of experts, and construct validity was confirmed by applying confirmatory factor analysis.The instruments' reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability. There were 200 women in the study with their age ranging between 18 and 69 years and revealed the following; root mean square error of approximation for Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale = 0.013, and God Locus of Health Control Scale = 0.077; comparative fit index = 0.999, 0.998; incremental fit index = 0.999, 0.998;Tucker-Lewis fit index = 0.998, 0.998; and normed fit index = 0.983, 0.997 respectively. Cronbach's alpha was 0.61 for Internal Health Locus of Control, 0.8 for Chance Health Locus of Control, 0.68 for Power Health Locus of Control and 0.9 for God Locus Health Control. The Persian version of the subscales supported the main version.

Mesoscopic Length Scale Controls the Rheology of Dense Suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnoit, Claire; Lanuza, Jose; Lindner, Anke; Clement, Eric

2010-09-01

From the flow properties of dense granular suspensions on an inclined plane, we identify a mesoscopic length scale strongly increasing with volume fraction. When the flowing layer height is larger than this length scale, a diverging Newtonian viscosity is determined. However, when the flowing layer height drops below this scale, we evidence a nonlocal effective viscosity, decreasing as a power law of the flow height. We establish a scaling relation between this mesoscopic length scale and the suspension viscosity. These results support recent theoretical and numerical results implying collective and clustered granular motion when the jamming point is approached from below.

A pilot scale demonstration of the DWPF process control and product verification strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutson, N.D.; Jantzen, C.M.; Beam, D.C.

1992-01-01

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) has been designed and constructed to immobilize Savannah River Site high level liquid waste within a durable borosilicate glass matrix for permanent storage. The DWPF will be operated to produce a glass product which must meet a number of product property constraints which are dependent upon the final product composition. During actual operations, the DWPF will control the properties of the glass product by the controlled blending of the waste streams with a glass-forming frit to produce the final melter feed slurry. The DWPF will verify control of the glass product through analysis of vitrified samples of slurry material. In order to demonstrate the DWPF process control and product verification strategy, a pilot-scale vitrification research facility was operated in three discrete batches using simulated DWPF waste streams. All of the DWPF process control methodologies were followed and the glass product from each experiment was leached according to the Product Consistency Test. In this paper results of the campaign are summarized

Raising awareness about protection and control of nuclear materials held by 'small-scale holders'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ladsous, D.; Coulie, E.; Giorgio, M.

2013-01-01

In France, the activities carried out by the 'small-scale holders' of nuclear materials are organized by a specific regulatory system which defines in a detailed way their obligations and the means of control of the government. The first part of the article presents the legal framework relating to the use of nuclear materials by small-scale holders in civilian fields. The importance of the declaration of the nuclear material inventory is clearly emphasized and must be prepared and transmitted to the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) every year. The second part describes how this declaration is used to provide basic information for the competent Ministry and the inspectors to check the correct application of the regulatory requirements relating to physical protection and to the control of nuclear materials. Finally, the last part presents the on-site inspections carried out by sworn and accredited inspectors under the authority of the competent Authority, which provide an overall picture and allow an evaluation of the risks of theft, loss or diversion of these materials. (authors)

WAMS Based Intelligent Operation and Control of Modern Power System with large Scale Renewable Energy Penetration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rather, Zakir Hussain

security limits. Under such scenario, progressive displacement of conventional generation by wind generation is expected to eventually lead a complex power system with least presence of central power plants. Consequently the support from conventional power plants is expected to reach its all-time low...... system voltage control responsibility from conventional power plants to wind turbines. With increased wind penetration and displaced conventional central power plants, dynamic voltage security has been identified as one of the challenging issue for large scale wind integration. To address the dynamic...... security issue, a WAMS based systematic voltage control scheme for large scale wind integrated power system has been proposed. Along with the optimal reactive power compensation, the proposed scheme considers voltage support from wind farms (equipped with voltage support functionality) and refurbished...

Full Scale Bioreactor Landfill for Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Emission Control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramin Yazdani; Jeff Kieffer; Kathy Sananikone; Don Augenstein

2005-03-30

The Yolo County Department of Planning and Public Works constructed a full-scale bioreactor landfill as a part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Project XL program to develop innovative approaches for carbon sequestration and greenhouse emission control. The overall objective was to manage landfill solid waste for rapid waste decomposition and maximum landfill gas generation and capture for carbon sequestration and greenhouse emission control. Waste decomposition is accelerated by improving conditions for either the aerobic or anaerobic biological processes and involves circulating controlled quantities of liquid (leachate, groundwater, gray water, etc.), and, in the aerobic process, large volumes of air. The first phase of the project entailed the construction of a 12-acre module that contained a 6-acre anaerobic cell, a 3.5-acre anaerobic cell, and a 2.5-acre aerobic cell at the Yolo County Central Landfill near Davis, California. The cells were highly instrumented to monitor bioreactor performance. Liquid addition commenced in the 3.5-acre anaerobic cell and the 6-acre anaerobic cell. Construction of the 2.5-acre aerobic cell and biofilter has been completed. The current project status and preliminary monitoring results are summarized in this report.

Standardization of the Self Control and Self-Management Skills Scale (SCMS) on the Student of University of Najran

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Smadi, Marwan Saleh; Bani-Abduh, Yahya Mohammed

2017-01-01

This study aimed to standardize self-control and self-management skills (SCMS), Mezo 2009 , on students in the university of Najran And to identify the psychometric properties of the scale in the Arab Environment the society of Najran University student by taking a number of Procedures (Validity and reliability of the Scale ) and to get the Arabic…

A Globally Stable Lyapunov Pointing and Rate Controller for the Magnetospheric MultiScale Mission (MMS)

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Neerav

2011-01-01

The Magnetospheric MultiScale Mission (MMS) is scheduled to launch in late 2014. Its primary goal is to discover the fundamental plasma physics processes of reconnection in the Earth's magnetosphere. Each of the four MMS spacecraft is spin-stabilized at a nominal rate of 3 RPM. Traditional spin-stabilized spacecraft have used a number of separate modes to control nutation, spin rate, and precession. To reduce the number of modes and simplify operations, the Delta-H control mode is designed to accomplish nutation control, spin rate control, and precession control simultaneously. A nonlinear design technique, Lyapunov's method, is used to design the Delta-H control mode. A global spin rate controller selected as the baseline controller for MMS, proved to be insufficient due to an ambiguity in the attitude. Lyapunov's design method was used to solve this ambiguity, resulting in a controller that meets the design goals. Simulation results show the advantage of the pointing and rate controller for maneuvers larger than 90 deg and provide insight into the performance of this controller.

Financial analysis of brucellosis control for small-scale goat farming in the Bajio Region, Mexico

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oseguera Montiel, D.; Bruce, M.; Frankena, K.; Udo, H.M.J.; Zijpp, van der A.J.; Rushton, J.

2015-01-01

Brucellosis is an endemic disease in small-scale goat husbandry systems in Mexico. It is a zoonosis and the economic consequences can be large, although estimates are not available for the Mexican goat sector. Our objective was to conduct a financial analysis of brucellosis control in a prominent

A versatile and light-weight slow control system for small-scale applications

Science.gov (United States)

Zappa, P.; Bütikofer, L.; Coderre, D.; Kaminsky, B.; Schumann, M.; von Sivers, M.

2016-09-01

We present an open source slow control system for small and medium scale projects. Thanks to its modular and flexible design, where the various instruments are read and controlled by independent plugins, Doberman (Detector OBsERving and Monitoring ApplicatioN) can be quickly adapted for many applications, also making use of existing code or proprietary components. The system uses a SQL database to store the data from the instruments and provides an online application to display and browse through the data. It allows the modification of device settings while the program is running and features a protocol to handle exceptions, including the automated distribution of alarm messages. We present two case studies from astroparticle physics, on which Doberman is successfully deployed: a low-background screening facility installed in a remote underground laboratory and a detector R&D platform using cryogenic liquid xenon.

The Landscape Evolution Observatory: a large-scale controllable infrastructure to study coupled Earth-surface processes

Science.gov (United States)

Pangle, Luke A.; DeLong, Stephen B.; Abramson, Nate; Adams, John; Barron-Gafford, Greg A.; Breshears, David D.; Brooks, Paul D.; Chorover, Jon; Dietrich, William E.; Dontsova, Katerina; Durcik, Matej; Espeleta, Javier; Ferré, T.P.A.; Ferriere, Regis; Henderson, Whitney; Hunt, Edward A.; Huxman, Travis E.; Millar, David; Murphy, Brendan; Niu, Guo-Yue; Pavao-Zuckerman, Mitch; Pelletier, Jon D.; Rasmussen, Craig; Ruiz, Joaquin; Saleska, Scott; Schaap, Marcel; Sibayan, Michael; Troch, Peter A.; Tuller, Markus; van Haren, Joost; Zeng, Xubin

2015-01-01

Zero-order drainage basins, and their constituent hillslopes, are the fundamental geomorphic unit comprising much of Earth's uplands. The convergent topography of these landscapes generates spatially variable substrate and moisture content, facilitating biological diversity and influencing how the landscape filters precipitation and sequesters atmospheric carbon dioxide. In light of these significant ecosystem services, refining our understanding of how these functions are affected by landscape evolution, weather variability, and long-term climate change is imperative. In this paper we introduce the Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO): a large-scale controllable infrastructure consisting of three replicated artificial landscapes (each 330 m2 surface area) within the climate-controlled Biosphere 2 facility in Arizona, USA. At LEO, experimental manipulation of rainfall, air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed are possible at unprecedented scale. The Landscape Evolution Observatory was designed as a community resource to advance understanding of how topography, physical and chemical properties of soil, and biological communities coevolve, and how this coevolution affects water, carbon, and energy cycles at multiple spatial scales. With well-defined boundary conditions and an extensive network of sensors and samplers, LEO enables an iterative scientific approach that includes numerical model development and virtual experimentation, physical experimentation, data analysis, and model refinement. We plan to engage the broader scientific community through public dissemination of data from LEO, collaborative experimental design, and community-based model development.

Scale construction for measuring adolescent boys' and girls' attitudes, beliefs, perception of control, and intention to engage in leisure-time physical activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerner, Matthew S; Kalinski, Michael I

2002-08-01

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a framework, the Attitude to Leisure-time Physical Activity, Expectations of Others, Perceived Control, and Intention of Engage in Leisure-time Physical Activity scales were developed for use among high school students. The study population included 20 boys and 68 girls 13 to 17 years of age (for boys, M = 15.1 yr., SD = 1.0; for girls, M = 15.0 yr., SD = 1.1). Generation of items and the establishment of content validity were performed by professionals in exercise physiology, physical education, and clinical psychology. Each scale item was phrased in a Likert-type format. Both unipolar and bipolar scales with seven response choices were developed. Following the pilot testing and subsequent revisions, 32 items were retained in the Attitude to Leisure-time Physical Activity scale, 10 items were retained in the Expectations of Others scale, 3 items were retained in the Perceived Control Scale, and 24 items were retained in the Intention to Engage in Leisure-time Physical Activity scale. Coefficients indicated adequate stability and internal consistency with alpha ranging from .81 to .96. Studies of validities are underway, after which scales would be made available to those interested in intervention techniques for promoting positive attitudes toward physical fitness, perception of control over engaging in leisure-time physical activities, and good intentions to engage in leisure-time physical activities. The present results are encouraging.

The Development and Validation of the Indian Family Violence and Control Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalokhe, Ameeta S; Stephenson, Rob; Kelley, Mary E; Dunkle, Kristin L; Paranjape, Anuradha; Solas, Vikram; Karve, Latika; del Rio, Carlos; Sahay, Seema

2016-01-01

The high prevalence of domestic violence (DV) among married women in India and associated negative health repercussions highlight the need for effective prevention strategies and tools to measure the efficacy of such interventions. Literature supporting differing manifestations of DV by culture underscores the need for a culturally-tailored scale to more effectively measure DV in the Indian context. We therefore aimed to develop and validate such a tool, the Indian Family Violence and Control Scale (IFVCS), through a mixed-methods study. The psychometric development of IFVCS is herein discussed. After field pre-testing and expert review, a 63-item questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 630 married women from May-July 2013 in Pune, India. The item response theory approach for binary data to explore the IFVCS structure suggested that IFVCS is reliable, with the majority of items having high (>0.5) and significant factor loadings. Concurrent validity, assessed by comparing responses to IFVCS with the validated, abridged Conflict Tactics Scale-2, was high (r = 0.899, p<0.001) as was the construct validity, demonstrated by its significant association with several established DV correlates. Therefore, initial assessment of the IFVCS psychometric properties suggests that it is an effective tool for measuring DV among married women in India and speaks to its capacity for enhancing understanding of DV epidemiology and for evaluating the effectiveness of future DV interventions.

Geomorphic Controls on Floodplain Soil Organic Carbon in the Yukon Flats, Interior Alaska, From Reach to River Basin Scales

Science.gov (United States)

Lininger, K. B.; Wohl, E.; Rose, J. R.

2018-03-01

Floodplains accumulate and store organic carbon (OC) and release OC to rivers, but studies of floodplain soil OC come from small rivers or small spatial extents on larger rivers in temperate latitudes. Warming climate is causing substantial change in geomorphic process and OC fluxes in high latitude rivers. We investigate geomorphic controls on floodplain soil OC concentrations in active-layer mineral sediment in the Yukon Flats, interior Alaska. We characterize OC along the Yukon River and four tributaries in relation to geomorphic controls at the river basin, segment, and reach scales. Average OC concentration within floodplain soil is 2.8% (median = 2.2%). Statistical analyses indicate that OC varies among river basins, among planform types along a river depending on the geomorphic unit, and among geomorphic units. OC decreases with sample depth, suggesting that most OC accumulates via autochthonous inputs from floodplain vegetation. Floodplain and river characteristics, such as grain size, soil moisture, planform, migration rate, and riverine DOC concentrations, likely influence differences among rivers. Grain size, soil moisture, and age of surface likely influence differences among geomorphic units. Mean OC concentrations vary more among geomorphic units (wetlands = 5.1% versus bars = 2.0%) than among study rivers (Dall River = 3.8% versus Teedrinjik River = 2.3%), suggesting that reach-scale geomorphic processes more strongly control the spatial distribution of OC than basin-scale processes. Investigating differences at the basin and reach scale is necessary to accurately assess the amount and distribution of floodplain soil OC, as well as the geomorphic controls on OC.

Controls on sublithospheric small-scale convection on Curie depths

Science.gov (United States)

Likerman, Jeremias; Zlotnik, Sergio; Chun-Feng, Li

2017-04-01

As the ocean lithosphere cools and thickens, its bottom layer goes unstable leading to sub-lithospheric small-scale convection (SSC). Since SSC was originally proposed, there have been considerable efforts regarding the understanding of the physics that rules the thermal instabilities of the SSC (e.g. Dumoulin et al, 1999; Solomatov and Moresi, 2000). Over the last several years, it is understood that the interaction between the plate movement and the SSC tends to form longitudinal (LRs or also called 'Richter rolls') and transverse rolls (TRs), of which the axis is parallel and perpendicular to the plate motion, respectively. The geometry of these rolls have been been recently inferred by Li et al (2013) using Curie depths from the North Atlantic as proxies for plates temperatures. They showed that Curie depths have a large oscillating and heterogeneous patterns that could be related to SSC. In the North Atlantic transverse rolls seem predominant. In this work we analyze, by means of 3D dynamical numerical simulations, the influence of SSC on the Curie depths patterns observed in the North Atlantic and Pacific plates. We investigate the behaviour of the Curie isotherms trying to determine if SSC is able to reproduce the observed data, and the influence of several poorly constrained rheological parameters. Our numerical simulations show that: a) using realistic laboratory-constrained rheologies and temperature it is possible to modify temperatures as low as those at Curie depths; b) transverse rolls are generated as well as longitudinal rolls on those isotherms; c) the spreading rate is a first order control on the developing of transverse rolls. References Dumoulin, C., Doin, M. P., & Fleitout, L. (1999). Heat transport in stagnant lid convection with temperature-and pressure-dependent Newtonian or non-Newtonian rheology. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 104(B6), 12759-12777. Li, C. F., Wang, J., Lin, J., & Wang, T. (2013). Thermal evolution of the

A theoretical bilevel control scheme for power networks with large-scale penetration of distributed renewable resources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boroojeni, Kianoosh; Amini, M. Hadi; Nejadpak, Arash

2016-01-01

In this paper, we present a bilevel control framework to achieve a highly-reliable smart distribution network with large-scale penetration of distributed renewable resources (DRRs). We assume that the power distribution network consists of several residential/commercial communities. In the first ...

Integrating Systems Health Management with Adaptive Controls for a Utility-Scale Wind Turbine

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, Susan A.; Goebel, Kai; Trinh, Khanh V.; Balas, Mark J.; Frost, Alan M.

2011-01-01

Increasing turbine up-time and reducing maintenance costs are key technology drivers for wind turbine operators. Components within wind turbines are subject to considerable stresses due to unpredictable environmental conditions resulting from rapidly changing local dynamics. Systems health management has the aim to assess the state-of-health of components within a wind turbine, to estimate remaining life, and to aid in autonomous decision-making to minimize damage. Advanced adaptive controls can provide the mechanism to enable optimized operations that also provide the enabling technology for Systems Health Management goals. The work reported herein explores the integration of condition monitoring of wind turbine blades with contingency management and adaptive controls. Results are demonstrated using a high fidelity simulator of a utility-scale wind turbine.

A Review of Control Strategy of the Large-scale of Electric Vehicles Charging and Discharging Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Lingyu; Han, Jiming; Xiong, Wenting; Wang, Hao; Shen, Yaqi; Li, Ying

2017-05-01

Large scale access of electric vehicles will bring huge challenges to the safe operation of the power grid, and it’s important to control the charging and discharging of the electric vehicle. First of all, from the electric quality and network loss, this paper points out the influence on the grid caused by electric vehicle charging behaviour. Besides, control strategy of electric vehicle charging and discharging has carried on the induction and the summary from the direct and indirect control. Direct control strategy means control the electric charging behaviour by controlling its electric vehicle charging and discharging power while the indirect control strategy by means of controlling the price of charging and discharging. Finally, for the convenience of the reader, this paper also proposed a complete idea of the research methods about how to study the control strategy, taking the adaptability and possibility of failure of electric vehicle control strategy into consideration. Finally, suggestions on the key areas for future research are put up.

Tree-, stand- and site-specific controls on landscape-scale patterns of transpiration

Science.gov (United States)

Kathrin Hassler, Sibylle; Weiler, Markus; Blume, Theresa

2018-01-01

Transpiration is a key process in the hydrological cycle, and a sound understanding and quantification of transpiration and its spatial variability is essential for management decisions as well as for improving the parameterisation and evaluation of hydrological and soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer models. For individual trees, transpiration is commonly estimated by measuring sap flow. Besides evaporative demand and water availability, tree-specific characteristics such as species, size or social status control sap flow amounts of individual trees. Within forest stands, properties such as species composition, basal area or stand density additionally affect sap flow, for example via competition mechanisms. Finally, sap flow patterns might also be influenced by landscape-scale characteristics such as geology and soils, slope position or aspect because they affect water and energy availability; however, little is known about the dynamic interplay of these controls.We studied the relative importance of various tree-, stand- and site-specific characteristics with multiple linear regression models to explain the variability of sap velocity measurements in 61 beech and oak trees, located at 24 sites across a 290 km2 catchment in Luxembourg. For each of 132 consecutive days of the growing season of 2014 we modelled the daily sap velocity and derived sap flow patterns of these 61 trees, and we determined the importance of the different controls.Results indicate that a combination of mainly tree- and site-specific factors controls sap velocity patterns in the landscape, namely tree species, tree diameter, geology and aspect. For sap flow we included only the stand- and site-specific predictors in the models to ensure variable independence. Of those, geology and aspect were most important. Compared to these predictors, spatial variability of atmospheric demand and soil moisture explains only a small fraction of the variability in the daily datasets. However, the temporal

Computational Techniques for Model Predictive Control of Large-Scale Systems with Continuous-Valued and Discrete-Valued Inputs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koichi Kobayashi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We propose computational techniques for model predictive control of large-scale systems with both continuous-valued control inputs and discrete-valued control inputs, which are a class of hybrid systems. In the proposed method, we introduce the notion of virtual control inputs, which are obtained by relaxing discrete-valued control inputs to continuous variables. In online computation, first, we find continuous-valued control inputs and virtual control inputs minimizing a cost function. Next, using the obtained virtual control inputs, only discrete-valued control inputs at the current time are computed in each subsystem. In addition, we also discuss the effect of quantization errors. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is shown by a numerical example. The proposed method enables us to reduce and decentralize the computation load.

Effects of switching frequency and leakage inductance on slow-scale stability in a voltage controlled flyback converter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Fa-Qiang; Ma Xi-Kui

2013-01-01

The effects of both the switching frequency and the leakage inductance on the slow-scale stability in a voltage controlled flyback converter are investigated in this paper. Firstly, the system description and its mathematical model are presented. Then, the improved averaged model, which covers both the switching frequency and the leakage inductance, is established, and the effects of these two parameters on the slow-scale stability in the system are analyzed. It is found that the occurrence of Hopf bifurcation in the system is the main reason for losing its slow-scale stability and both the switching frequency and the leakage inductance have an important effect on this slow-scale stability. Finally, the effectiveness of the improved averaged model and that of the corresponding theoretical analysis are confirmed by the simulation results and the experimental results. (general)

Complexity and Pilot Workload Metrics for the Evaluation of Adaptive Flight Controls on a Full Scale Piloted Aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, Curt; Schaefer, Jacob; Burken, John J.; Larson, David; Johnson, Marcus

2014-01-01

Flight research has shown the effectiveness of adaptive flight controls for improving aircraft safety and performance in the presence of uncertainties. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA)'s Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) project designed and conducted a series of flight experiments to study the impact of variations in adaptive controller design complexity on performance and handling qualities. A novel complexity metric was devised to compare the degrees of simplicity achieved in three variations of a model reference adaptive controller (MRAC) for NASA's F-18 (McDonnell Douglas, now The Boeing Company, Chicago, Illinois) Full-Scale Advanced Systems Testbed (Gen-2A) aircraft. The complexity measures of these controllers are also compared to that of an earlier MRAC design for NASA's Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) project and flown on a highly modified F-15 aircraft (McDonnell Douglas, now The Boeing Company, Chicago, Illinois). Pilot comments during the IRAC research flights pointed to the importance of workload on handling qualities ratings for failure and damage scenarios. Modifications to existing pilot aggressiveness and duty cycle metrics are presented and applied to the IRAC controllers. Finally, while adaptive controllers may alleviate the effects of failures or damage on an aircraft's handling qualities, they also have the potential to introduce annoying changes to the flight dynamics or to the operation of aircraft systems. A nuisance rating scale is presented for the categorization of nuisance side-effects of adaptive controllers.

The Development and Validation of the Indian Family Violence and Control Scale.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ameeta S Kalokhe

Full Text Available The high prevalence of domestic violence (DV among married women in India and associated negative health repercussions highlight the need for effective prevention strategies and tools to measure the efficacy of such interventions. Literature supporting differing manifestations of DV by culture underscores the need for a culturally-tailored scale to more effectively measure DV in the Indian context. We therefore aimed to develop and validate such a tool, the Indian Family Violence and Control Scale (IFVCS, through a mixed-methods study. The psychometric development of IFVCS is herein discussed. After field pre-testing and expert review, a 63-item questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 630 married women from May-July 2013 in Pune, India. The item response theory approach for binary data to explore the IFVCS structure suggested that IFVCS is reliable, with the majority of items having high (>0.5 and significant factor loadings. Concurrent validity, assessed by comparing responses to IFVCS with the validated, abridged Conflict Tactics Scale-2, was high (r = 0.899, p<0.001 as was the construct validity, demonstrated by its significant association with several established DV correlates. Therefore, initial assessment of the IFVCS psychometric properties suggests that it is an effective tool for measuring DV among married women in India and speaks to its capacity for enhancing understanding of DV epidemiology and for evaluating the effectiveness of future DV interventions.

Subjective evaluation with FAA criteria: A multidimensional scaling approach. [ground track control management

Science.gov (United States)

Kreifeldt, J. G.; Parkin, L.; Wempe, T. E.; Huff, E. F.

1975-01-01

Perceived orderliness in the ground tracks of five A/C during their simulated flights was studied. Dynamically developing ground tracks for five A/C from 21 separate runs were reproduced from computer storage and displayed on CRTS to professional pilots and controllers for their evaluations and preferences under several criteria. The ground tracks were developed in 20 seconds as opposed to the 5 minutes of simulated flight using speedup techniques for display. Metric and nonmetric multidimensional scaling techniques are being used to analyze the subjective responses in an effort to: (1) determine the meaningfulness of basing decisions on such complex subjective criteria; (2) compare pilot/controller perceptual spaces; (3) determine the dimensionality of the subjects' perceptual spaces; and thereby (4) determine objective measures suitable for comparing alternative traffic management simulations.

Survey of the Current Status of Weed Control and Herbicide Usage by the Small-Scale Commercial Vegetable Farmers in Kenya

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mburu, D.N; Drennan, D.S.H

1999-01-01

Vegetable production in Kenya is a market that has grown very rapidly in the decade due to increased demand in the local and international markets. This has led to an increase in hectarerage planted to vegetable thus leading in labour shortage due urban migration of potential casual labourers especially the youth. This has resulted to inadequate labour for weed control especially at the critical period. The objectives of this study were to find out the problems encountered by farmers in their bid to control weeds and whether they considered weeds as their major problem. The survey was conducted in Kikuyu, Lari and Kinango divisions where intensive vegetable farming is done by small-scale farmers for commercial purposes. The farmers were randomly selected and interviews conducted in their farms, based on Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method. The results obtained showed that the farmers who previously relied on manual labour for weed control were increasingly using herbicides for weed control. The adoption of herbicide technology by these small scale farmers was out of their own initiative, either due to labour shortage or because one had a special weed problem that had defied other methods of control.From the information obtained it was clear that locally generated data information on herbicide use by small-scale farmers is seriously lacking for most if not all vegetable crops

A comprehensive field and laboratory study of scale control and scale squeezes in Sumatra, Indonesia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oddo, J.E.; Reizer, J.M.; Sitz, C.D. [Champion Technologies, Inc., Houston, TX (United States); Setia, D.E.A. [FMT Production Duri P.T. Caltex Pacific Indonesia (Indonesia); Hinrichsen, C.J. [Texaco Panama, Bellaire, TX (United States); Sujana, W. [P.T. Champion Kumia Djaja Technologies, Jakarta (Indonesia)

1999-11-01

Scale squeezes were performed on thirteen wells in the Duri Field, Sumatra. At the time the squeezes were completed, seven were designed to be `Acid Squeezes` and six were designed to be `Neutral Squeezes.` In the course of preparing for the scale squeezes, produced waters were collected and analyzed. In addition, scale inhibitor evaluations, and inhibitor compatibility studies were completed. Simulated squeezes were done in the laboratory to predict field performance. The methodologies and results of the background work are reported. In addition, the relative effectiveness of the two sets of squeezes is discussed. The inhibitor flowback concentrations alter the squeezes, in all cases, can be explained using speciation chemistry and the amorphous and crystalline phase solubilities of the inhibitor used. The wells squeezed with a more acidic inhibitor have more predictable and uniform inhibitor return concentration curves than the wells squeezed with a more neutral scale inhibitor.

Fetal health locus of control: Scale properties and applications in preconception health programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Soliday, Elizabeth; Strahm, Anna; Mammenga, Stefani

2016-04-01

Preconception health programs have resulted in improved health behaviors among participants and have shown promise in reducing adverse birth outcomes. However, the role of health beliefs in preconception health program outcomes has been overlooked but warrants attention due to reported positive associations between women's views of control over fetal health and health behavior in pregnancy. Towards an ultimate aim of improving preconception health program reach and effectiveness, we examined properties of a fetal health locus of control (FHLC; Labs & Wurtele, 1986) measure in nulliparous, childbearing aged university women and men. Students (n=1467) completed an online survey that included the FHLC subscales maternal, powerful others', and chance control over fetal health. Factor analyses and correlations with related scales supported the soundness of FHLC constructs in both women and men. All participants rated maternal control in fetal health nearly twice as highly as powerful others' and chance. We therefore recommend that FHLC be integrated into preconception health program evaluation as personal agency in fetal health likely has an important role in women's and men's preconception health behavior and health behavior change. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validation of the MASK-rhinitis visual analogue scale on smartphone screens to assess allergic rhinitis control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Caimmi, D.; Baiz, N.; Tanno, L. K.; Demoly, P.; Arnavielhe, S.; Murray, R.; Bedbrook, A.; Bergmann, K. C.; de Vries, G.; Fokkens, W. J.; Fonseca, J.; Haahtela, T.; Keil, T.; Kuna, P.; Mullol, J.; Papadopoulos, N.; Passalacqua, G.; Samolinski, B.; Tomazic, P. V.; Valiulis, A.; van Eerd, M.; Wickman, M.; Annesi-Maesano, I.; Bousquet, J.; Agache, I.; Angles, R.; Anto, J. M.; Asayag, E.; Bacci, E.; Bachert, C.; Baroni, I.; Barreto, B. A.; Bedolla-Barajas, M.; Bertorello, L.; Bewick, M.; Bieber, T.; Birov, S.; Bindslev-Jensen, C.; Blua, A.; Bochenska Marciniak, M.; Bogus-Buczynska, I.; Bosnic-Ancevich, S.; Bosse, I.; Bourret, R.; Bucca, C.; Buonaiuto, R.; Caiazza, D.; Caillot, D.; Caimmi, D. P.; Camargos, P.; Canfora, G.; Cardona, V.; Carriazo, A. M.; Cartier, C.; Castellano, G.; Chavannes, N. H.; Ciaravolo, M. M.; Cingi, C.; Ciceran, A.; Colas, L.; Colgan, E.; Coll, J.; Conforti, D.; Correira de Sousa, J.; Cortés-Grimaldo, R. M.; Corti, F.; Costa, E.; Courbis, A. L.; Cruz, A.; Custovic, A.; Dario, C.; da Silva, M.; Dauvilliers, Y.; de Blay, F.; Dedeu, T.; de Feo, G.; de Martino, B.; Di Capua, S.; Di Carluccio, N.; Dray, G.; Dubakiene, R.; Eller, E.; Emuzyte, R.; Espinoza-Contreras, J. M.; Estrada-Cardona, A.; Farrell, J.; Ferrero, J.; Fontaine, J. F.; Forti, S.; Gálvez-Romero, J. L.; Garcia Cruz, M. H.; García-Cobas, C. I.; Gemicioğlu, B.; Gerth van Wijck, R.; Guidacci, M.; Gómez-Vera, J.; Guldemond, N. A.; Gutter, Z.; Hajjam, J.; Hellings, P.; Hernández-Velázquez, L.; Illario, M.; Ivancevich, J. C.; Jares, E.; Joos, G.; Just, J.; Kalayci, O.; Kalyoncu, A. F.; Karjalainen, J.; Khaltaev, N.; Klimek, L.; Kull, I.; Kuna, T. P.; Kvedariene, V.; Kolek, V.; Krzych-Fałta, E.; Kupczyk, M.; Lacwik, P.; Larenas-Linnemann, D.; Laune, D.; Lauri, D.; Lavrut, J.; Lessa, M.; Levato, G.; Lewis, L.; Lieten, I.; Lipiec, A.; Louis, R.; Luna-Pech, J. A.; Magnan, A.; Malva, J.; Maspero, J. F.; Mayora, O.; Medina-Ávalos, M. A.; Melen, E.; Menditto, E.; Millot-Keurinck, J.; Moda, G.; Morais-Almeida, M.; Mösges, R.; Mota-Pinto, A.; Muraro, A.; Noguès, M.; Nalin, M.; Napoli, L.; Neffen, H.; O'Hehir, R.; Olivé Elias, M.; Onorato, G.; Palkonen, S.; Pépin, J. L.; Pereira, A. M.; Persico, M.; Pfaar, O.; Pozzi, A. C.; Prokopakis, E. P.; Raciborski, F.; Rizzo, J. A.; Robalo-Cordeiro, C.; Rodríguez-González, M.; Rolla, G.; Roller-Wirnsberger, R. E.; Romano, A.; Romano, M.; Salimäki, J.; Serpa, F. S.; Shamai, S.; Sierra, M.; Sova, M.; Sorlini, M.; Stellato, C.; Stelmach, R.; Strandberg, T.; Stroetman, V.; Stukas, R.; Szylling, A.; Tibaldi, V.; Todo-Bom, A.; Toppila-Salmi, S.; Tomazic, P.; Trama, U.; Triggiani, M.; Valero, A.; Valovirta, E.; Vasankari, T.; Vatrella, A.; Ventura, M. T.; Verissimo, M. T.; Viart, F.; Williams, S.; Wagenmann, M.; Wanscher, C.; Westman, M.; Young, I.; Yorgancioglu, A.; Zernotti, E.; Zurbierber, T.; Zurkuhlen, A.; de Oliviera, B.; Senn, A.

2017-01-01

Background: Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) is a validated tool to assess control in allergic rhinitis patients. Objective: The aim of this study was to validate the use of VAS in the MASK-rhinitis (MACVIA-ARIA Sentinel NetworK for allergic rhinitis) app (Allergy Diary) on smartphones screens to

First-order control of syntectonic sedimentation on crustal-scale structure of mountain belts

Science.gov (United States)

Erdős, Zoltán.; Huismans, Ritske S.; van der Beek, Peter

2015-07-01

The first-order characteristics of collisional mountain belts and the potential feedback with surface processes are predicted by critical taper theory. While the feedback between erosion and mountain belt structure has been fairly extensively studied, less attention has been given to the potential role of synorogenic deposition. For thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belts, recent studies indicate a strong control of syntectonic deposition on structure, as sedimentation tends to stabilize the thin-skinned wedge. However, the factors controlling basement deformation below fold-and-thrust belts, as evident, for example, in the Zagros Mountains or in the Swiss Alps, remain largely unknown. Previous work has suggested that such variations in orogenic structure may be explained by the thermotectonic "age" of the deforming lithosphere and hence its rheology. Here we demonstrate that sediment loading of the foreland basin area provides an additional control and may explain the variable basement involvement in orogenic belts. When examining the role of sedimentation, we identify two end-members: (1) sediment-starved orogenic systems with thick-skinned basement deformation in an axial orogenic core and thin-skinned deformation in the bordering forelands and (2) sediment-loaded orogens with thick packages of synorogenic deposits, derived from the axial basement zone, deposited on the surrounding foreland fold-and-thrust belts, and characterized by basement deformation below the foreland. Using high-resolution thermomechanical models, we demonstrate a strong feedback between deposition and crustal-scale thick-skinned deformation. Our results show that the loading effects of syntectonic sediments lead to long crustal-scale thrust sheets beneath the orogenic foreland and explain the contrasting characteristics of sediment-starved and sediment-loaded orogens, showing for the first time how both thin- and thick-skinned crustal deformations are linked to sediment deposition in these

On-line monitoring and modelling based process control of high rate nitrification - lab scale experimental results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pirsing, A. [Technische Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Verfahrenstechnik; Wiesmann, U. [Technische Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Verfahrenstechnik; Kelterbach, G. [Technische Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Mess- und Regelungstechnik; Schaffranietz, U. [Technische Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Mess- und Regelungstechnik; Roeck, H. [Technische Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Mess- und Regelungstechnik; Eichner, B. [Technische Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Anorganische und Analytische Chemie; Szukal, S. [Technische Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Anorganische und Analytische Chemie; Schulze, G. [Technische Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Anorganische und Analytische Chemie

1996-09-01

This paper presents a new concept for the control of nitrification in highly polluted waste waters. The approach is based on mathematical modelling. To determine the substrate degradation rates of the microorganisms involved, a mathematical model using gas measurement is used. A fuzzy-controller maximises the capacity utilisation efficiencies. The experiments carried out in a lab-scale reactor demonstrate that even with highly varying ammonia concentrations in the influent, the nitrogen concentrations in the effluent can be kept within legal limits. (orig.). With 11 figs.

Performance of automatic generation control mechanisms with large-scale wind power

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ummels, B.C.; Gibescu, M.; Paap, G.C. [Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands); Kling, W.L. [Transmission Operations Department of TenneT bv (Netherlands)

2007-11-15

The unpredictability and variability of wind power increasingly challenges real-time balancing of supply and demand in electric power systems. In liberalised markets, balancing is a responsibility jointly held by the TSO (real-time power balancing) and PRPs (energy programs). In this paper, a procedure is developed for the simulation of power system balancing and the assessment of AGC performance in the presence of large-scale wind power, using the Dutch control zone as a case study. The simulation results show that the performance of existing AGC-mechanisms is adequate for keeping ACE within acceptable bounds. At higher wind power penetrations, however, the capabilities of the generation mix are increasingly challenged and additional reserves are required at the same level. (au)

Multi-scale evaluation of the environmental controls on burn probability in a southern Sierra Nevada landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Sean A. Parks; Marc-Andre Parisien; Carol Miller

2011-01-01

We examined the scale-dependent relationship between spatial fire likelihood or burn probability (BP) and some key environmental controls in the southern Sierra Nevada, California, USA. Continuous BP estimates were generated using a fire simulation model. The correspondence between BP (dependent variable) and elevation, ignition density, fuels and aspect was evaluated...

Pelamis wave energy converter. Verification of full-scale control using a 7th scale model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2005-07-01

The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter is a new concept for converting wave energy for several applications including generation of electric power. The machine is flexibly moored and swings to meet the water waves head-on. The system is semi-submerged and consists of cylindrical sections linked by hinges. The mechanical operation is described in outline. A one-seventh scale model was built and tested and the outcome was sufficiently successful to warrant the building of a full-scale prototype. In addition, a one-twentieth scale model was built and has contributed much to the research programme. The work is supported financially by the DTI.

Controllable Grid Interface for Testing Ancillary Service Controls and Fault Performance of Utility-Scale Wind Power Generation: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gevorgian, Vahan; Koralewicz, Przemyslaw; Wallen, Robb; Muljadi, Eduard

2017-02-01

The rapid expansion of wind power has led many transmission system operators to demand modern wind power plants to comply with strict interconnection requirements. Such requirements involve various aspects of wind power plant operation, including fault ride-through and power quality performance as well as the provision of ancillary services to enhance grid reliability. During recent years, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the U.S. Department of Energy has developed a new, groundbreaking testing apparatus and methodology to test and demonstrate many existing and future advanced controls for wind generation (and other renewable generation technologies) on the multimegawatt scale and medium-voltage levels. This paper describes the capabilities and control features of NREL's 7-MVA power electronic grid simulator (also called a controllable grid interface, or CGI) that enables testing many active and reactive power control features of modern wind turbine generators -- including inertial response, primary and secondary frequency responses, and voltage regulation -- under a controlled, medium-voltage grid environment. In particular, this paper focuses on the specifics of testing the balanced and unbalanced fault ride-through characteristics of wind turbine generators under simulated strong and weak medium-voltage grid conditions. In addition, this paper provides insights on the power hardware-in-the-loop feature implemented in the CGI to emulate (in real time) the conditions that might exist in various types of electric power systems under normal operations and/or contingency scenarios. Using actual test examples and simulation results, this paper describes the value of CGI as an ultimate modeling validation tool for all types of 'grid-friendly' controls by wind generation.

A two-time-scale dynamic-model approach for magnetic and kinetic profile control in advanced tokamak scenarios on JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreau, D.; Mazon, D.; Ariola, M.; Tommasi, G. De; Laborde, L.; Piccolo, F.; Sartori, F.; Zabeo, L.; Boboc, A.; Brix, M.; Challis, C.D.; Felton, R.; Hawkes, N.; Tala, T.; Bouvier, E.; Cordoliani, V.; Brzozowski, J.; Cocilovo, V.; Crisanti, F.; Luna, E. de la

2008-01-01

Real-time simultaneous control of several radially distributed magnetic and kinetic plasma parameters is being investigated on JET, in view of developing integrated control of advanced tokamak scenarios. This paper describes the new model-based profile controller which has been implemented during the 2006-2007 experimental campaigns. The controller aims to use the combination of heating and current drive (H and CD) systems-and optionally the poloidal field (PF) system-in an optimal way to regulate the evolution of plasma parameter profiles such as the safety factor, q(x), and gyro-normalized temperature gradient, ρ Te *(x). In the first part of the paper, a technique for the experimental identification of a minimal dynamic plasma model is described, taking into account the physical structure and couplings of the transport equations, but making no quantitative assumptions on the transport coefficients or on their dependences. To cope with the high dimensionality of the state space and the large ratio between the time scales involved, the model identification procedure and the controller design both make use of the theory of singularly perturbed systems by means of a two-time-scale approximation. The second part of the paper provides the theoretical basis for the controller design. The profile controller is articulated around two composite feedback loops operating on the magnetic and kinetic time scales, respectively, and supplemented by a feedforward compensation of density variations. For any chosen set of target profiles, the closest self-consistent state achievable with the available actuators is uniquely defined. It is reached, with no steady state offset, through a near-optimal proportional-integral control algorithm. Conventional optimal control is recovered in the limiting case where the ratio of the plasma confinement time to the resistive diffusion time tends to zero. Closed-loop simulations of the controller response have been performed in preparation for

An empirical evaluation of the translation to Brazilian Portuguese of the Loss of Control over Eating Scale (LOCES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felipe Q. da Luz

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Loss of control over eating is a key feature of the most prevalent eating disorders. The Loss of Control over Eating Scale (LOCES enables a thorough assessment of loss of control over eating. Objective This study empirically evaluated the translation of the LOCES from English to Brazilian Portuguese. Methods The scale was translated to Brazilian Portuguese and back translated to English in order to check accuracy of the translation. Two hundred and ninety-three medicine and nursing students, 60 males and 233 females, 18-55 years old, with mean body mass index (BMI 23.2 kg/m2 (SD 4.1, recruited between August and December 2014, answered the Brazilian Portuguese LOCES. An exploratory factor analysis was performed. Results Exploratory factor analysis of the Brazilian Portuguese LOCES showed three distinct factors of the loss of control over eating (disgust/negative sensations, cognitive experiences/dissociation, and “positive” effects as well as moderate consistency with previous reports of exploratory factor analysis of the English version. Discussion This study showed satisfactory translation of the LOCES from English to Brazilian Portuguese, which is now ready for further validation.

Hydrologic control on the root growth of Salix cuttings at the laboratory scale

Science.gov (United States)

Bau', Valentina; Calliari, Baptiste; Perona, Paolo

2017-04-01

Riparian plant roots contribute to the ecosystem functioning and, to a certain extent, also directly affect fluvial morphodynamics, e.g. by influencing sediment transport via mechanical stabilization and trapping. There is much both scientific and engineering interest in understanding the complex interactions among riparian vegetation and river processes. For example, to investigate plant resilience to uprooting by flow, one should quantify the probability that riparian plants may be uprooted during specific flooding event. Laboratory flume experiments are of some help to this regard, but are often limited to use grass (e.g., Avena and Medicago sativa) as vegetation replicate with a number of limitations due to fundamental scaling problems. Hence, the use of small-scale real plants grown undisturbed in the actual sediment and within a reasonable time frame would be particularly helpful to obtain more realistic flume experiments. The aim of this work is to develop and tune an experimental technique to control the growth of the root vertical density distribution of small-scale Salix cuttings of different sizes and lengths. This is obtained by controlling the position of the saturated water table in the sedimentary bed according to the sediment size distribution and the cutting length. Measurements in the rhizosphere are performed by scanning and analysing the whole below-ground biomass by means of the root analysis software WinRhizo, from which root morphology statistics and the empirical vertical density distribution are obtained. The model of Tron et al. (2015) for the vertical density distribution of the below-ground biomass is used to show that experimental conditions that allow to develop the desired root density distribution can be fairly well predicted. This augments enormously the flexibility and the applicability of the proposed methodology in view of using such plants for novel flow erosion experiments. Tron, S., Perona, P., Gorla, L., Schwarz, M., Laio, F

Fine scale spatial variability of microbial pesticide degradation in soil: scales, controlling factors, and implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnaud eDechesne

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Pesticide biodegradation is a soil microbial function of critical importance for modern agriculture and its environmental impact. While it was once assumed that this activity was homogeneously distributed at the field scale, mounting evidence indicates that this is rarely the case. Here, we critically examine the literature on spatial variability of pesticide biodegradation in agricultural soil. We discuss the motivations, methods, and main findings of the primary literature. We found significant diversity in the approaches used to describe and quantify spatial heterogeneity, which complicates inter-studies comparisons. However, it is clear that the presence and activity of pesticide degraders is often highly spatially variable with coefficients of variation often exceeding 50% and frequently displays nonrandom spatial patterns. A few controlling factors have tentatively been identified across pesticide classes: they include some soil characteristics (pH and some agricultural management practices (pesticide application, tillage, while other potential controlling factors have more conflicting effects depending on the site or the pesticide. Evidence demonstrating the importance of spatial heterogeneity on the fate of pesticides in soil has been difficult to obtain but modelling and experimental systems that do not include soil’s full complexity reveal that this heterogeneity must be considered to improve prediction of pesticide biodegradation rates or of leaching risks. Overall, studying the spatial heterogeneity of pesticide biodegradation is a relatively new field at the interface of agronomy, microbial ecology, and geosciences and a wealth of novel data is being collected from these different disciplinary perspectives. We make suggestions on possible avenues to take full advantage of these investigations for a better understanding and prediction of the fate of pesticides in soil.

Flicker Mitigation by Active Power Control of Variable-Speed Wind Turbines With Full-Scale Back-to-Back Power Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hu, Weihao; Chen, Zhe; Wang, Zhaoan

2009-01-01

/EMTDC. Flicker emission of this system is investigated. Reactive power compensation is mostly adopted for flicker mitigation. However, the flicker mitigation technique shows its limits, when the grid impedance angle is low in some distribution networks. A new method of flicker mitigation by controlling active...... power is proposed. It smoothes the 3p active power oscillations from wind shear and tower shadow effects of the wind turbine by varying the dc-link voltage of the full-scale converter. Simulation results show that damping the 3p active power oscillation by using the flicker mitigation controller...... is an effective means for flicker mitigation of variable-speed wind turbines with full-scale back-to-back power converters during continuous operation....

The influence of control parameter estimation on large scale geomorphological interpretation of pointclouds

Science.gov (United States)

Dorninger, P.; Koma, Z.; Székely, B.

2012-04-01

In recent years, laser scanning, also referred to as LiDAR, has proved to be an important tool for topographic data acquisition. Basically, laser scanning acquires a more or less homogeneously distributed point cloud. These points represent all natural objects like terrain and vegetation as well as man-made objects such as buildings, streets, powerlines, or other constructions. Due to the enormous amount of data provided by current scanning systems capturing up to several hundred thousands of points per second, the immediate application of such point clouds for large scale interpretation and analysis is often prohibitive due to restrictions of the hard- and software infrastructure. To overcome this, numerous methods for the determination of derived products do exist. Commonly, Digital Terrain Models (DTM) or Digital Surface Models (DSM) are derived to represent the topography using a regular grid as datastructure. The obvious advantages are a significant reduction of the amount of data and the introduction of an implicit neighborhood topology enabling the application of efficient post processing methods. The major disadvantages are the loss of 3D information (i.e. overhangs) as well as the loss of information due to the interpolation approach used. We introduced a segmentation approach enabling the determination of planar structures within a given point cloud. It was originally developed for the purpose of building modeling but has proven to be well suited for large scale geomorphological analysis as well. The result is an assignment of the original points to a set of planes. Each plane is represented by its plane parameters. Additionally, numerous quality and quantity parameters are determined (e.g. aspect, slope, local roughness, etc.). In this contribution, we investigate the influence of the control parameters required for the plane segmentation on the geomorphological interpretation of the derived product. The respective control parameters may be determined

Pilot-scale application of an online VFA sensor for monitoring and control of a manure digester

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boe, Kanokwan; Angelidaki, Irini

2012-01-01

A volatile fatty acids (VFA) sensor based on headspace chromatography was tested for online monitoring and control of a pilot-scale manure digester. The sensor showed satisfying results in terms of sensitivity and reliability for monitoring of the digester. The online VFA and biogas production data...... parameter for optimization, it could not distinguish between the decreases of biogas production from inhibition and from lower organic content in the substrate, which resulted in undesired decreasing of the control gas setpoint when the substrate was diluted. It was necessary to adjust the yield parameter...

Secure access control and large scale robust representation for online multimedia event detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Changyu; Lu, Bin; Li, Huiling

2014-01-01

We developed an online multimedia event detection (MED) system. However, there are a secure access control issue and a large scale robust representation issue when we want to integrate traditional event detection algorithms into the online environment. For the first issue, we proposed a tree proxy-based and service-oriented access control (TPSAC) model based on the traditional role based access control model. Verification experiments were conducted on the CloudSim simulation platform, and the results showed that the TPSAC model is suitable for the access control of dynamic online environments. For the second issue, inspired by the object-bank scene descriptor, we proposed a 1000-object-bank (1000OBK) event descriptor. Feature vectors of the 1000OBK were extracted from response pyramids of 1000 generic object detectors which were trained on standard annotated image datasets, such as the ImageNet dataset. A spatial bag of words tiling approach was then adopted to encode these feature vectors for bridging the gap between the objects and events. Furthermore, we performed experiments in the context of event classification on the challenging TRECVID MED 2012 dataset, and the results showed that the robust 1000OBK event descriptor outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches.

Secure Access Control and Large Scale Robust Representation for Online Multimedia Event Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changyu Liu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We developed an online multimedia event detection (MED system. However, there are a secure access control issue and a large scale robust representation issue when we want to integrate traditional event detection algorithms into the online environment. For the first issue, we proposed a tree proxy-based and service-oriented access control (TPSAC model based on the traditional role based access control model. Verification experiments were conducted on the CloudSim simulation platform, and the results showed that the TPSAC model is suitable for the access control of dynamic online environments. For the second issue, inspired by the object-bank scene descriptor, we proposed a 1000-object-bank (1000OBK event descriptor. Feature vectors of the 1000OBK were extracted from response pyramids of 1000 generic object detectors which were trained on standard annotated image datasets, such as the ImageNet dataset. A spatial bag of words tiling approach was then adopted to encode these feature vectors for bridging the gap between the objects and events. Furthermore, we performed experiments in the context of event classification on the challenging TRECVID MED 2012 dataset, and the results showed that the robust 1000OBK event descriptor outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches.

On the validity of self-report assessment of cognitive abilities: Attentional control scale associations with cognitive performance, emotional adjustment, and personality.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Paula G; Rau, Holly K; Suchy, Yana; Thorgusen, Sommer R; Smith, Timothy W

2017-05-01

Individual differences in attentional control involve the ability to voluntarily direct, shift, and sustain attention. In studies of the role of attentional control in emotional adjustment, social relationships, and vulnerability to the effects of stress, self-report questionnaires are commonly used to measure this construct. Yet, convincing evidence of the association between self-report scales and actual cognitive performance has not been demonstrated. Across 2 independent samples, we examined associations between self-reported attentional control (Attentional Control Scale; ACS), self-reported emotional adjustment, Five-Factor Model personality traits (NEO Personality Inventory-Revised) and performance measures of attentional control. Study 1 examined behavioral performance on the Attention Network Test (ANT; Fan, McCandliss, Sommer, Raz, & Posner, 2002) and the Modified Switching Task (MST; Suchy & Kosson, 2006) in a large sample (n = 315) of healthy young adults. Study 2 (n = 78) examined behavioral performance on standardized neuropsychological tests of attention, including Conner's Continuous Performance Test-II and subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, Third Edition (WAIS-III; Psychological Corporation, 1997) and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS; Delis, Kaplan, & Kramer, 2001). Results indicated that the ACS was largely unrelated to behavioral performance measures of attentional control but was significantly associated with emotional adjustment, neuroticism, and conscientiousness. These findings suggest that although self-reported attentional control may be a useful construct, researchers using the ACS should exercise caution in interpreting it as a proxy for actual cognitive ability or performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The Use of Quality Control and Data Mining Techniques for Monitoring Scaled Scores: An Overview. Research Report. ETS RR-12-20

Science.gov (United States)

von Davier, Alina A.

2012-01-01

Maintaining comparability of test scores is a major challenge faced by testing programs that have almost continuous administrations. Among the potential problems are scale drift and rapid accumulation of errors. Many standard quality control techniques for testing programs, which can effectively detect and address scale drift for small numbers of…

Hydrodynamic parameters estimation from self-potential data in a controlled full scale site

Science.gov (United States)

Chidichimo, Francesco; De Biase, Michele; Rizzo, Enzo; Masi, Salvatore; Straface, Salvatore

2015-03-01

A multi-physical approach developed for the hydrodynamic characterization of porous media using hydrogeophysical information is presented. Several pumping tests were performed in the Hydrogeosite Laboratory, a controlled full-scale site designed and constructed at the CNR-IMAA (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto di Metodologia per l'Analisi Ambientale), in Marsico Nuovo (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy), in order to obtain an intermediate stage between laboratory experiments and field survey. The facility consists of a pool, used to study water infiltration processes, to simulate the space and time dynamics of subsurface contamination phenomena, to improve and to find new relationship between geophysical and hydrogeological parameters, to test and to calibrate new geophysical techniques and instruments. Therefore, the Hydrogeosite Laboratory has the advantage of carrying out controlled experiments, like in a flow cell or sandbox, but at field comparable scale. The data collected during the experiments have been used to estimate the saturated hydraulic conductivity ks [ms-1] using a coupled inversion model working in transient conditions, made up of the modified Richards equation describing the water flow in a variably saturated porous medium and the Poisson equation providing the self-potential ϕ [V], which naturally occurs at points of the soil surface owing to the presence of an electric field produced by the motion of underground electrolytic fluids through porous systems. The result obtained by this multi-physical numerical approach, which removes all the approximations adopted in previous works, makes a useful instrument for real heterogeneous aquifer characterization and for predictive analysis of its behavior.

On Event-Triggered Adaptive Architectures for Decentralized and Distributed Control of Large-Scale Modular Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Albattat, Ali; Gruenwald, Benjamin C; Yucelen, Tansel

2016-08-16

The last decade has witnessed an increased interest in physical systems controlled over wireless networks (networked control systems). These systems allow the computation of control signals via processors that are not attached to the physical systems, and the feedback loops are closed over wireless networks. The contribution of this paper is to design and analyze event-triggered decentralized and distributed adaptive control architectures for uncertain networked large-scale modular systems; that is, systems consist of physically-interconnected modules controlled over wireless networks. Specifically, the proposed adaptive architectures guarantee overall system stability while reducing wireless network utilization and achieving a given system performance in the presence of system uncertainties that can result from modeling and degraded modes of operation of the modules and their interconnections between each other. In addition to the theoretical findings including rigorous system stability and the boundedness analysis of the closed-loop dynamical system, as well as the characterization of the effect of user-defined event-triggering thresholds and the design parameters of the proposed adaptive architectures on the overall system performance, an illustrative numerical example is further provided to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed decentralized and distributed control approaches.

On Event-Triggered Adaptive Architectures for Decentralized and Distributed Control of Large-Scale Modular Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Albattat

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The last decade has witnessed an increased interest in physical systems controlled over wireless networks (networked control systems. These systems allow the computation of control signals via processors that are not attached to the physical systems, and the feedback loops are closed over wireless networks. The contribution of this paper is to design and analyze event-triggered decentralized and distributed adaptive control architectures for uncertain networked large-scale modular systems; that is, systems consist of physically-interconnected modules controlled over wireless networks. Specifically, the proposed adaptive architectures guarantee overall system stability while reducing wireless network utilization and achieving a given system performance in the presence of system uncertainties that can result from modeling and degraded modes of operation of the modules and their interconnections between each other. In addition to the theoretical findings including rigorous system stability and the boundedness analysis of the closed-loop dynamical system, as well as the characterization of the effect of user-defined event-triggering thresholds and the design parameters of the proposed adaptive architectures on the overall system performance, an illustrative numerical example is further provided to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed decentralized and distributed control approaches.

CARBO-CONTROLE. Quantification of the carbon flux and stocks at the european and national scale; CARBO-CONTROLE. Quantification des flux et stocks de carbone au niveau Europeen et national

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ciais, P

2007-07-01

The CARBO-CONTROLE project aims to evaluate the different methodologies to estimate the CO{sub 2} flux at the european, national and regional scale. The strategy is to combine a crumbling, down scaling, of the flux at a big scale, by inverting the atmospheric CO{sub 2} measures with a aggregation, up scaling, of the national stocks and flux from the climatic parameters of a model of ecosystems.They show that with the monthly data of the global network of CO{sub 2} monitoring stations, it is possible to obtain an estimation of the european flux. Meanwhile the errors bond to the leak of continental stations are of the order of the flux average. (A.L.B.)

Distributed Data Logging and Intelligent Control Strategies for a Scaled Autonomous Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tilman Happek

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper we present an autonomous car with distributed data processing. The car is controlled by a multitude of independent sensors. For the lane detection, a camera is used, which detects the lane marks with a Hough transformation. Once the camera detects these, one of them is calculated to be followed by the car. This lane is verified by the other sensors of the car. These sensors check the route for obstructions or allow the car to scan a parking space and to park on the roadside if the gap is large enough. The car is built on a scale of 1:10 and shows excellent results on a test track.

Field Scale Spatial Modelling of Surface Soil Quality Attributes in Controlled Traffic Farming

Science.gov (United States)

Guenette, Kris; Hernandez-Ramirez, Guillermo

2017-04-01

The employment of controlled traffic farming (CTF) can yield improvements to soil quality attributes through the confinement of equipment traffic to tramlines with the field. There is a need to quantify and explain the spatial heterogeneity of soil quality attributes affected by CTF to further improve our understanding and modelling ability of field scale soil dynamics. Soil properties such as available nitrogen (AN), pH, soil total nitrogen (STN), soil organic carbon (SOC), bulk density, macroporosity, soil quality S-Index, plant available water capacity (PAWC) and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (Km) were analysed and compared among trafficked and un-trafficked areas. We contrasted standard geostatistical methods such as ordinary kriging (OK) and covariate kriging (COK) as well as the hybrid method of regression kriging (ROK) to predict the spatial distribution of soil properties across two annual cropland sites actively employing CTF in Alberta, Canada. Field scale variability was quantified more accurately through the inclusion of covariates; however, the use of ROK was shown to improve model accuracy despite the regression model composition limiting the robustness of the ROK method. The exclusion of traffic from the un-trafficked areas displayed significant improvements to bulk density, macroporosity and Km while subsequently enhancing AN, STN and SOC. The ability of the regression models and the ROK method to account for spatial trends led to the highest goodness-of-fit and lowest error achieved for the soil physical properties, as the rigid traffic regime of CTF altered their spatial distribution at the field scale. Conversely, the COK method produced the most optimal predictions for the soil nutrient properties and Km. The use of terrain covariates derived from light ranging and detection (LiDAR), such as of elevation and topographic position index (TPI), yielded the best models in the COK method at the field scale.

Oxygen-controlled Biosurfactant Production in a Bench Scale Bioreactor

Science.gov (United States)

de Kronemberger, Frederico Araujo; Anna, Lidia Maria Melo Santa; Fernandes, Ana Carolina Loureiro Brito; de Menezes, Reginaldo Ramos; Borges, Cristiano Piacsek; Freire, Denise Maria Guimarães

Rhamnolipids have been pointed out as promising biosurfactants. The most studied microorganisms for the aerobic production of these molecules are the bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas. The aim of this work was to produce a rhamnolipid-type biosurfactant in a bench-scale bioreactor by one strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from oil environments. To study the microorganism growth and production dependency on oxygen, a nondispersive oxygenation device was developed, and a programmable logic controller (PLC) was used to set the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration. Using the data stored in a computer and the predetermined characteristics of the oxygenation device, it was possible to evaluate the oxygen uptake rate (OUR) and the specific OUR (SOUR) of this microorganism. These rates, obtained for some different DO concentrations, were then compared to the bacterial growth, to the carbon source consumption, and to the rhamnolipid and other virulence factors production. The SOUR presented an initial value of about 60.0 mg02/gdw h. Then, when the exponential growth phase begins, there is a rise in this rate. After that, the SOUR reduces to about 20.0 mg02/gdw h. The carbon source consumption is linear during the whole process.

Hysteresis-controlled instability waves in a scale-free driven current sheet model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. M. Uritsky

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Magnetospheric dynamics is a complex multiscale process whose statistical features can be successfully reproduced using high-dimensional numerical transport models exhibiting the phenomenon of self-organized criticality (SOC. Along this line of research, a 2-dimensional driven current sheet (DCS model has recently been developed that incorporates an idealized current-driven instability with a resistive MHD plasma system (Klimas et al., 2004a, b. The dynamics of the DCS model is dominated by the scale-free diffusive energy transport characterized by a set of broadband power-law distribution functions similar to those governing the evolution of multiscale precipitation regions of energetic particles in the nighttime sector of aurora (Uritsky et al., 2002b. The scale-free DCS behavior is supported by localized current-driven instabilities that can communicate in an avalanche fashion over arbitrarily long distances thus producing current sheet waves (CSW. In this paper, we derive the analytical expression for CSW speed as a function of plasma parameters controlling local anomalous resistivity dynamics. The obtained relation indicates that the CSW propagation requires sufficiently high initial current densities, and predicts a deceleration of CSWs moving from inner plasma sheet regions toward its northern and southern boundaries. We also show that the shape of time-averaged current density profile in the DCS model is in agreement with steady-state spatial configuration of critical avalanching models as described by the singular diffusion theory of the SOC. Over shorter time scales, SOC dynamics is associated with rather complex spatial patterns and, in particular, can produce bifurcated current sheets often seen in multi-satellite observations.

Anti-control of chaos of single time scale brushless dc motors and chaos synchronization of different order systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ge Zhengming; Chang Chingming; Chen Yensheng

2006-01-01

Anti-control of chaos of single time scale brushless dc motors (BLDCM) and chaos synchronization of different order systems are studied in this paper. By addition of an external nonlinear term, we can obtain anti-control of chaos. Then, by addition of the coupling terms, by the use of Lyapunov stability theorem and by the linearization of the error dynamics, chaos synchronization between a third-order BLDCM and a second-order Duffing system are presented

Large-scale use of mosquito larval source management for malaria control in Africa: a cost analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Worrall, Eve; Fillinger, Ulrike

2011-11-08

At present, large-scale use of two malaria vector control methods, long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) is being scaled up in Africa with substantial funding from donors. A third vector control method, larval source management (LSM), has been historically very successful and is today widely used for mosquito control globally, except in Africa. With increasing risk of insecticide resistance and a shift to more exophilic vectors, LSM is now under re-evaluation for use against afro-tropical vector species. Here the costs of this intervention were evaluated. The 'ingredients approach' was used to estimate the economic and financial costs per person protected per year (pppy) for large-scale LSM using microbial larvicides in three ecologically diverse settings: (1) the coastal metropolitan area of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, (2) a highly populated Kenyan highland area (Vihiga District), and (3) a lakeside setting in rural western Kenya (Mbita Division). Two scenarios were examined to investigate the cost implications of using alternative product formulations. Sensitivity analyses on product prices were carried out. The results show that for programmes using the same granular formulation larviciding costs the least pppy in Dar es Salaam (US$0.94), approximately 60% more in Vihiga District (US$1.50) and the most in Mbita Division (US$2.50). However, these costs are reduced substantially if an alternative water-dispensable formulation is used; in Vihiga, this would reduce costs to US$0.79 and, in Mbita Division, to US$1.94. Larvicide and staff salary costs each accounted for approximately a third of the total economic costs per year. The cost pppy depends mainly on: (1) the type of formulation required for treating different aquatic habitats, (2) the human population density relative to the density of aquatic habitats and (3) the potential to target the intervention in space and/or time. Costs for LSM compare favourably with costs for IRS

Large-scale use of mosquito larval source management for malaria control in Africa: a cost analysis

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background At present, large-scale use of two malaria vector control methods, long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) is being scaled up in Africa with substantial funding from donors. A third vector control method, larval source management (LSM), has been historically very successful and is today widely used for mosquito control globally, except in Africa. With increasing risk of insecticide resistance and a shift to more exophilic vectors, LSM is now under re-evaluation for use against afro-tropical vector species. Here the costs of this intervention were evaluated. Methods The 'ingredients approach' was used to estimate the economic and financial costs per person protected per year (pppy) for large-scale LSM using microbial larvicides in three ecologically diverse settings: (1) the coastal metropolitan area of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, (2) a highly populated Kenyan highland area (Vihiga District), and (3) a lakeside setting in rural western Kenya (Mbita Division). Two scenarios were examined to investigate the cost implications of using alternative product formulations. Sensitivity analyses on product prices were carried out. Results The results show that for programmes using the same granular formulation larviciding costs the least pppy in Dar es Salaam (US$0.94), approximately 60% more in Vihiga District (US$1.50) and the most in Mbita Division (US$2.50). However, these costs are reduced substantially if an alternative water-dispensable formulation is used; in Vihiga, this would reduce costs to US$0.79 and, in Mbita Division, to US$1.94. Larvicide and staff salary costs each accounted for approximately a third of the total economic costs per year. The cost pppy depends mainly on: (1) the type of formulation required for treating different aquatic habitats, (2) the human population density relative to the density of aquatic habitats and (3) the potential to target the intervention in space and/or time. Conclusion Costs for LSM

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Radiation Hazard Scale Data Product Review Feedback Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Askin, A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Buddemeier, B. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Alai, M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Yu, K. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2017-09-20

In support of the Department of Energy (DOE) National nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) assisted in the development of new data templates for disseminating and communicating FRMAC1 data products using the CDC Radiation Hazard Scale communication tool. To ensure these data products will be useful to stakeholders during a radiological emergency, LLNL facilitated opportunities for product socialization and review.

Analytical Investigation and Control System Set-up of Medium Scale PV Plants for Power Flow Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosario Miceli

2012-11-01

Full Text Available In the field of photovoltaic (PV plants and energy conversion from renewable sources, a large part of the technical literature is more devoted to practical aspects (new solar cells, electrically driven PV panels, safety, reduction of parasitic currents, etc. than to theoretical investigations. Despite this tendency, this paper presents a mathematical analysis of a medium scale photovoltaic power generation system connected to the distribution network and of its control system. In such a system, the conversion stage is unique due to the absence of a boost chopper. The conducted analysis leads to the interesting conclusion that the inverter used in the plant presents two degrees of freedom, easy to exploit in a control system in which the inverter simultaneously realizes the interconnection to the grid and the MPPT control. The structure of the control system is then presented, discussed and validated by means of numerical simulations.

Managing large-scale models: DBS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-05-01

A set of fundamental management tools for developing and operating a large scale model and data base system is presented. Based on experience in operating and developing a large scale computerized system, the only reasonable way to gain strong management control of such a system is to implement appropriate controls and procedures. Chapter I discusses the purpose of the book. Chapter II classifies a broad range of generic management problems into three groups: documentation, operations, and maintenance. First, system problems are identified then solutions for gaining management control are disucssed. Chapters III, IV, and V present practical methods for dealing with these problems. These methods were developed for managing SEAS but have general application for large scale models and data bases

Research and realization of ten-print data quality control techniques for imperial scale automated fingerprint identification system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qian Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available As the first individualization-information processing equipment put into practical service worldwide, Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS has always been regarded as the first choice in individualization of criminal suspects or those who died in mass disasters. By integrating data within the existing regional large-scale AFIS database, many countries are constructing an ultra large state-of-the-art AFIS (or Imperial Scale AFIS system. Therefore, it is very important to develop a series of ten-print data quality controlling process for this system of this type, which would insure a substantial matching efficiency, as the pouring data come into this imperial scale being. As the image quality of ten-print data is closely relevant to AFIS matching proficiency, a lot of police departments have allocated huge amount of human and financial resources over this issue by carrying out manual verification works for years. Unfortunately, quality control method above is always proved to be inadequate because it is an astronomical task involved, in which it has always been problematic and less affiant for potential errors. Hence, we will implement quality control in the above procedure with supplementary-acquisition effect caused by the delay of feedback instructions sent from the human verification teams. In this article, a series of fingerprint image quality supervising techniques has been put forward, which makes it possible for computer programs to supervise the ten-print image quality in real-time and more accurate manner as substitute for traditional manual verifications. Besides its prominent advantages in the human and financial expenditures, it has also been proved to obviously improve the image quality of the AFIS ten-print database, which leads up to a dramatic improvement in the AFIS-matching accuracy as well.

Scaled multisensor inspection of extended surfaces for industrial quality control

Science.gov (United States)

Kayser, Daniel; Bothe, Thorsten; Osten, Wolfgang

2002-06-01

Reliable real-time surface inspection of extended surfaces with high resolution is needed in several industrial applications. With respect to an efficient application to extended technical components such as aircraft or automotive parts, the inspection system has to perform a robust measurement with a ratio of less then 10-6 between depth resolution and lateral extension. This ratio is at least one order beyond the solutions that are offered by existing technologies. The concept of scaled topometry consists of arranging different optical measurement techniques with overlapping ranges of resolution systematically in order to receive characteristic surface information with the required accuracy. In such a surface inspection system, an active algorithm combines measurements on several scales of resolution and distinguishes between local fault indicating structures with different extensions and global geometric properties. The first part of this active algorithm finds indications of critical surface areas in the data of every measurement and separates them into different categories. The second part analyses the detected structures in the data with respect to their resolution and decides whether a further local measurement with a higher resolution has to be performed. The third part positions the sensors and starts the refined measurements. The fourth part finally integrates the measured local data set into the overall data mesh. We have constructed a laboratory setup capable of measuring surfaces with extensions up to 1500mm x 1000mm x 500mm (in x-, y- and z-direction respectively). Using this measurement system we will be able to separate the fault indicating structures on the surface from the global shape and to classify the detected structures according to their extensions and characteristic shapes simultaneously. The level of fault detection probability will be applicable by input parameter control.

GEOMORPHOLOGY. Experimental evidence for hillslope control of landscape scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeney, K E; Roering, J J; Ellis, C

2015-07-03

Landscape evolution theory suggests that climate sets the scale of landscape dissection by modulating the competition between diffusive processes that sculpt convex hillslopes and advective processes that carve concave valleys. However, the link between the relative dominance of hillslope and valley transport processes and landscape scale is difficult to demonstrate in natural landscapes due to the episodic nature of erosion. Here, we report results from laboratory experiments combining diffusive and advective processes in an eroding landscape. We demonstrate that rainsplash-driven disturbances in our experiments are a robust proxy for hillslope transport, such that increasing hillslope transport efficiency decreases drainage density. Our experimental results demonstrate how the coupling of climate-driven hillslope- and valley-forming processes, such as bioturbation and runoff, dictates the scale of eroding landscapes. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Multi-scale Control and Enhancement of Reactor Boiling Heat Flux by Reagents and Nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manglik, R M; Athavale, A; Kalaikadal, D S; Deodhar, A; Verma, U

2011-09-02

The phenomenological characterization of the use of non-invasive and passive techniques to enhance the boiling heat transfer in water has been carried out in this extended study. It provides fundamental enhanced heat transfer data for nucleate boiling and discusses the associated physics with the aim of addressing future and next-generation reactor thermal-hydraulic management. It essentially addresses the hypothesis that in phase-change processes during boiling, the primary mechanisms can be related to the liquid-vapor interfacial tension and surface wetting at the solidliquid interface. These interfacial characteristics can be significantly altered and decoupled by introducing small quantities of additives in water, such as surface-active polymers, surfactants, and nanoparticles. The changes are fundamentally caused at a molecular-scale by the relative bulk molecular dynamics and adsorption-desorption of the additive at the liquid-vapor interface, and its physisorption and electrokinetics at the liquid-solid interface. At the micro-scale, the transient transport mechanisms at the solid-liquid-vapor interface during nucleation and bubblegrowth can be attributed to thin-film spreading, surface-micro-cavity activation, and micro-layer evaporation. Furthermore at the macro-scale, the heat transport is in turn governed by the bubble growth and distribution, macro-layer heat transfer, bubble dynamics (bubble coalescence, collapse, break-up, and translation), and liquid rheology. Some of these behaviors and processes are measured and characterized in this study, the outcomes of which advance the concomitant fundamental physics, as well as provide insights for developing control strategies for the molecular-scale manipulation of interfacial tension and surface wetting in boiling by means of polymeric reagents, surfactants, and other soluble surface-active additives.

Multi-scale Control and Enhancement of Reactor Boiling Heat Flux by Reagents and Nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manglik, R.M.; Athavale, A.; Kalaikadal, D.S.; Deodhar, A.; Verma, U.

2011-01-01

The phenomenological characterization of the use of non-invasive and passive techniques to enhance the boiling heat transfer in water has been carried out in this extended study. It provides fundamental enhanced heat transfer data for nucleate boiling and discusses the associated physics with the aim of addressing future and next-generation reactor thermal-hydraulic management. It essentially addresses the hypothesis that in phase-change processes during boiling, the primary mechanisms can be related to the liquid-vapor interfacial tension and surface wetting at the solidliquid interface. These interfacial characteristics can be significantly altered and decoupled by introducing small quantities of additives in water, such as surface-active polymers, surfactants, and nanoparticles. The changes are fundamentally caused at a molecular-scale by the relative bulk molecular dynamics and adsorption-desorption of the additive at the liquid-vapor interface, and its physisorption and electrokinetics at the liquid-solid interface. At the micro-scale, the transient transport mechanisms at the solid-liquid-vapor interface during nucleation and bubblegrowth can be attributed to thin-film spreading, surface-micro-cavity activation, and micro-layer evaporation. Furthermore at the macro-scale, the heat transport is in turn governed by the bubble growth and distribution, macro-layer heat transfer, bubble dynamics (bubble coalescence, collapse, break-up, and translation), and liquid rheology. Some of these behaviors and processes are measured and characterized in this study, the outcomes of which advance the concomitant fundamental physics, as well as provide insights for developing control strategies for the molecular-scale manipulation of interfacial tension and surface wetting in boiling by means of polymeric reagents, surfactants, and other soluble surface-active additives.

Salzburger State Reactance Scale (SSR Scale): Validation of a Scale Measuring State Reactance.

Science.gov (United States)

Sittenthaler, Sandra; Traut-Mattausch, Eva; Steindl, Christina; Jonas, Eva

This paper describes the construction and empirical evaluation of an instrument for measuring state reactance, the Salzburger State Reactance (SSR) Scale. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis supported a hypothesized three-factor structure: experience of reactance, aggressive behavioral intentions, and negative attitudes. Correlations with divergent and convergent measures support the validity of this structure. The SSR Subscales were strongly related to the other state reactance measures. Moreover, the SSR Subscales showed modest positive correlations with trait measures of reactance. The SSR Subscales correlated only slightly or not at all with neighboring constructs (e.g., autonomy, experience of control). The only exception was fairness scales, which showed moderate correlations with the SSR Subscales. Furthermore, a retest analysis confirmed the temporal stability of the scale. Suggestions for further validation of this questionnaire are discussed.

Scaled experiments using the helium technique to study the vehicular blockage effect on longitudinal ventilation control in tunnels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alva, Wilson Ulises Rojas; Jomaas, Grunde; Dederichs, Anne

2015-01-01

A model tunnel (1:30 compared to a standard tunnel section) with a helium-air smoke mixture was used to study the vehicular blockage effect on longitudinal ventilation smoke control. The experimental results showed excellent agreement with full-scale data and confirmed that the critical velocity...

Topographic, meteorologic, and canopy controls on the scaling characteristics of the spatial distribution of snow depth fields

Science.gov (United States)

Ernesto Trujillo; Jorge A. Ramirez; Kelly J. Elder

2007-01-01

In this study, LIDAR snow depths, bare ground elevations (topography), and elevations filtered to the top of vegetation (topography + vegetation) in five 1-km2 areas are used to determine whether the spatial distribution of snow depth exhibits scale invariance, and the control that vegetation, topography, and winds exert on such behavior. The one-dimensional and mean...

Large-scale control site selection for population monitoring: an example assessing Sage-grouse trends

Science.gov (United States)

Fedy, Bradley C.; O'Donnell, Michael; Bowen, Zachary H.

2015-01-01

Human impacts on wildlife populations are widespread and prolific and understanding wildlife responses to human impacts is a fundamental component of wildlife management. The first step to understanding wildlife responses is the documentation of changes in wildlife population parameters, such as population size. Meaningful assessment of population changes in potentially impacted sites requires the establishment of monitoring at similar, nonimpacted, control sites. However, it is often difficult to identify appropriate control sites in wildlife populations. We demonstrated use of Geographic Information System (GIS) data across large spatial scales to select biologically relevant control sites for population monitoring. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hearafter, sage-grouse) are negatively affected by energy development, and monitoring of sage-grouse population within energy development areas is necessary to detect population-level responses. Weused population data (1995–2012) from an energy development area in Wyoming, USA, the Atlantic Rim Project Area (ARPA), and GIS data to identify control sites that were not impacted by energy development for population monitoring. Control sites were surrounded by similar habitat and were within similar climate areas to the ARPA. We developed nonlinear trend models for both the ARPA and control sites and compared long-term trends from the 2 areas. We found little difference between the ARPA and control sites trends over time. This research demonstrated an approach for control site selection across large landscapes and can be used as a template for similar impact-monitoring studies. It is important to note that identification of changes in population parameters between control and treatment sites is only the first step in understanding the mechanisms that underlie those changes. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Decentralized control of large-scale systems: Fixed modes, sensitivity and parametric robustness. Ph.D. Thesis - Universite Paul Sabatier, 1985

Science.gov (United States)

Tarras, A.

1987-01-01

The problem of stabilization/pole placement under structural constraints of large scale linear systems is discussed. The existence of a solution to this problem is expressed in terms of fixed modes. The aim is to provide a bibliographic survey of the available results concerning the fixed modes (characterization, elimination, control structure selection to avoid them, control design in their absence) and to present the author's contribution to this problem which can be summarized by the use of the mode sensitivity concept to detect or to avoid them, the use of vibrational control to stabilize them, and the addition of parametric robustness considerations to design an optimal decentralized robust control.

The Continuum of Conflict and Control Relationship Scale (CCC-RS): Psychometrics for a Measure Designed to Discriminate among Types of Intimate Partner Violence

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, Ryan G.; Rogers, Tiffany L.; Wheeler, Naomi J.; Kelchner, Viki; Griffith, Sandy-Ann M.; Liu, Xun

2017-01-01

Intimate partner violence (IPV) classifications have treatment implications for couples. This study tested the psychometrics of the Continuum of Conflict and Control Relationship Scale (CCC-RS) and examined differences between violence severity and CCC-RS scales. A sample of 575 low-income, ethnically diverse participants contributed data. Results…

FULL SCALE BIOREACTOR LANDFILL FOR CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND GREENHOUSE EMISSION CONTROL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramin Yazdani; Jeff Kieffer; Heather Akau

2002-01-01

The Yolo County Department of Planning and Public Works is constructing a full-scale bioreactor landfill as a part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Project XL program to develop innovative approaches while providing superior environmental protection. The overall objective is to manage landfill solid waste for rapid waste decomposition, maximum landfill gas generation and capture, and minimum long-term environmental consequences. Waste decomposition is accelerated by improving conditions for either the aerobic or anaerobic biological processes and involves circulating controlled quantities of liquid (leachate, groundwater, gray water, etc.), and, in the aerobic process, large volumes of air. The first phase of the project entails the construction of a 12-acre module that contains a 6-acre anaerobic cell, a 3.5-acre anaerobic cell, and a 2.5-acre aerobic cell at the Yolo County Central Landfill near Davis, California. The cells are highly instrumented to monitor bioreactor performance. The current project status and preliminary monitoring results are summarized in this report

PILOT-AND FULL-SCALE DEMONSTRATION OF ADVANCED MERCURY CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES FOR LIGNITE-FIRED POWER PLANTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steven A. Benson; Charlene R. Crocker; Kevin C. Galbreath; Jay R. Gunderson; Michael J. Holmes; Jason D. Laumb; Jill M. Mackenzie; Michelle R. Olderbak; John H. Pavlish; Li Yan; Ye Zhuang

2005-02-01

The overall objective of the project was to develop advanced innovative mercury control technologies to reduce mercury emissions by 50%-90% in flue gases typically found in North Dakota lignite-fired power plants at costs from one-half to three-quarters of current estimated costs. Power plants firing North Dakota lignite produce flue gases that contain >85% elemental mercury, which is difficult to collect. The specific objectives were focused on determining the feasibility of the following technologies: Hg oxidation for increased Hg capture in dry scrubbers, incorporation of additives and technologies that enhance Hg sorbent effectiveness in electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) and baghouses, the use of amended silicates in lignite-derived flue gases for Hg capture, and the use of Hg adsorbents within a baghouse. The approach to developing Hg control technologies for North Dakota lignites involved examining the feasibility of the following technologies: Hg capture upstream of an ESP using sorbent enhancement, Hg oxidation and control using dry scrubbers, enhanced oxidation at a full-scale power plant using tire-derived fuel and oxidizing catalysts, and testing of Hg control technologies in the Advanced Hybrid{trademark} filter.

Structural controllability and controlling centrality of temporal networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Yujian; Li, Xiang

2014-01-01

Temporal networks are such networks where nodes and interactions may appear and disappear at various time scales. With the evidence of ubiquity of temporal networks in our economy, nature and society, it's urgent and significant to focus on its structural controllability as well as the corresponding characteristics, which nowadays is still an untouched topic. We develop graphic tools to study the structural controllability as well as its characteristics, identifying the intrinsic mechanism of the ability of individuals in controlling a dynamic and large-scale temporal network. Classifying temporal trees of a temporal network into different types, we give (both upper and lower) analytical bounds of the controlling centrality, which are verified by numerical simulations of both artificial and empirical temporal networks. We find that the positive relationship between aggregated degree and controlling centrality as well as the scale-free distribution of node's controlling centrality are virtually independent of the time scale and types of datasets, meaning the inherent robustness and heterogeneity of the controlling centrality of nodes within temporal networks.

Evidence for a common scale O(0.1) m that controls seabed scattering and reverberation in shallow water.

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, Charles W

2012-10-01

Analysis of the spectral content of long-range reverberation yields two observations. First, there is a remarkably similar scale, O(0.1) m, between three diverse continental shelf regions. This is surprising given the complexity and diversity of geologic processes. Second, there is strong evidence that the scale is associated with heterogeneities within the sediment. Thus, sediment volume scattering, not interface scattering, controls long-range reverberation from a few hundred hertz to several kilohertz. This is also unexpected given that at long ranges the vertical grazing angles are less than the critical angle, and hence the penetration of the acoustic field into the sub-bottom is expected to be modest. The consistency of the scale, O(0.1) m, suggests an underlying feature or mechanism that is consistent across many ostensibly diverse geological settings. Neither the feature nor mechanism is known at this time.

Adaptive Fuzzy Output-Constrained Fault-Tolerant Control of Nonlinear Stochastic Large-Scale Systems With Actuator Faults.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yongming; Ma, Zhiyao; Tong, Shaocheng

2017-09-01

The problem of adaptive fuzzy output-constrained tracking fault-tolerant control (FTC) is investigated for the large-scale stochastic nonlinear systems of pure-feedback form. The nonlinear systems considered in this paper possess the unstructured uncertainties, unknown interconnected terms and unknown nonaffine nonlinear faults. The fuzzy logic systems are employed to identify the unknown lumped nonlinear functions so that the problems of structured uncertainties can be solved. An adaptive fuzzy state observer is designed to solve the nonmeasurable state problem. By combining the barrier Lyapunov function theory, adaptive decentralized and stochastic control principles, a novel fuzzy adaptive output-constrained FTC approach is constructed. All the signals in the closed-loop system are proved to be bounded in probability and the system outputs are constrained in a given compact set. Finally, the applicability of the proposed controller is well carried out by a simulation example.

SCALE system driver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrie, L.M.

1984-01-01

The SCALE driver was designed to allow implementation of a modular code system consisting of control modules, which determine the calculation path, and functional modules, which perform the basic calculations. The user can either select a control module and have that module determine the execution path, or the user can select functional modules directly by input

Performance evaluation of a full-scale advanced phase isolation ditch process by using real-time control strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyosoo; Kim, Yejin; Kim, Minsoo; Piao, Wenhua; Kim, Changwon; Gee, Jeasung

2014-01-01

This paper proposes real-time control strategies that can be applied in a full-scale advanced phase isolation ditch (APID) process. Real-time operation mode control (OMC) and aeration section control (ASC) strategies were developed to cope more stably with fluctuations in the influent loading and to increase the nitrification and denitrification reactions within the entire volume. The real-time OMC and ASC strategies were evaluated using mathematical models. When the NH 4 -N in the reactor was maintained at a high level, appropriate control actions, such as continuing the aeration state, stopping the influent inflow and increasing the aeration section, were applied in the APID process. In contrast, when the NO X -N in the reactor was maintained at a high level, the non-aeration state, influent inflow, and decreased aeration section were continued. It was concluded that stable operation in the APID process could be achieved by applying real-time OMC and ASC strategies developed in this study

Performance evaluation of a full-scale advanced phase isolation ditch process by using real-time control strategies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hyosoo; Kim, Yejin; Kim, Minsoo; Piao, Wenhua; Kim, Changwon [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Gee, Jeasung [Taiwha Industrial Co. Ltd., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-04-15

This paper proposes real-time control strategies that can be applied in a full-scale advanced phase isolation ditch (APID) process. Real-time operation mode control (OMC) and aeration section control (ASC) strategies were developed to cope more stably with fluctuations in the influent loading and to increase the nitrification and denitrification reactions within the entire volume. The real-time OMC and ASC strategies were evaluated using mathematical models. When the NH{sub 4}-N in the reactor was maintained at a high level, appropriate control actions, such as continuing the aeration state, stopping the influent inflow and increasing the aeration section, were applied in the APID process. In contrast, when the NO{sub X}-N in the reactor was maintained at a high level, the non-aeration state, influent inflow, and decreased aeration section were continued. It was concluded that stable operation in the APID process could be achieved by applying real-time OMC and ASC strategies developed in this study.

Taking innovative vector control interventions in urban Latin America to scale: lessons learnt from multi-country implementation research.

Science.gov (United States)

Quintero, Juliana; García-Betancourt, Tatiana; Caprara, Andrea; Basso, Cesar; Garcia da Rosa, Elsa; Manrique-Saide, Pablo; Coelho, Giovanini; Sánchez-Tejeda, Gustavo; Dzul-Manzanilla, Felipe; García, Diego Alejandro; Carrasquilla, Gabriel; Alfonso-Sierra, Eduardo; Monteiro Vasconcelos Motta, Cyntia; Sommerfeld, Johannes; Kroeger, Axel

2017-09-01

Prior to the current public health emergency following the emergence of chikungunya and Zika Virus Disease in the Americas during 2014 and 2015, multi-country research investigated between 2011 and 2013 the efficacy of novel Aedes aegypti intervention packages through cluster randomised controlled trials in four Latin-American cities: Fortaleza (Brazil); Girardot (Colombia), Acapulco (Mexico) and Salto (Uruguay). Results from the trials led to a scaling up effort of the interventions at city levels. Scaling up refers to deliberate efforts to increase the impact of successfully tested health interventions to benefit more people and foster policy and program development in a sustainable way. The different scenarios represent examples for  a 'vertical approach' and a 'horizontal approach'. This paper presents the analysis of a preliminary process evaluation of the scaling up efforts in the mentioned cites, with a focus on challenges and enabling factors encountered by the research teams, analysing the main social, political, administrative, financial and acceptance factors.

Multi-parameter decoupling and slope tracking control strategy of a large-scale high altitude environment simulation test cabin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Ke

2014-12-01

Full Text Available A large-scale high altitude environment simulation test cabin was developed to accurately control temperatures and pressures encountered at high altitudes. The system was developed to provide slope-tracking dynamic control of the temperature–pressure two-parameter and overcome the control difficulties inherent to a large inertia lag link with a complex control system which is composed of turbine refrigeration device, vacuum device and liquid nitrogen cooling device. The system includes multi-parameter decoupling of the cabin itself to avoid equipment damage of air refrigeration turbine caused by improper operation. Based on analysis of the dynamic characteristics and modeling for variations in temperature, pressure and rotation speed, an intelligent controller was implemented that includes decoupling and fuzzy arithmetic combined with an expert PID controller to control test parameters by decoupling and slope tracking control strategy. The control system employed centralized management in an open industrial ethernet architecture with an industrial computer at the core. The simulation and field debugging and running results show that this method can solve the problems of a poor anti-interference performance typical for a conventional PID and overshooting that can readily damage equipment. The steady-state characteristics meet the system requirements.

Controls on seasonal patterns of maximum ecosystem carbon uptake and canopy-scale photosynthetic light response: contributions from both temperature and photoperiod.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoy, Paul C; Trowbridge, Amy M; Bauerle, William L

2014-02-01

Most models of photosynthetic activity assume that temperature is the dominant control over physiological processes. Recent studies have found, however, that photoperiod is a better descriptor than temperature of the seasonal variability of photosynthetic physiology at the leaf scale. Incorporating photoperiodic control into global models consequently improves their representation of the seasonality and magnitude of atmospheric CO2 concentration. The role of photoperiod versus that of temperature in controlling the seasonal variability of photosynthetic function at the canopy scale remains unexplored. We quantified the seasonal variability of ecosystem-level light response curves using nearly 400 site years of eddy covariance data from over eighty Free Fair-Use sites in the FLUXNET database. Model parameters describing maximum canopy CO2 uptake and the initial slope of the light response curve peaked after peak temperature in about 2/3 of site years examined, emphasizing the important role of temperature in controlling seasonal photosynthetic function. Akaike's Information Criterion analyses indicated that photoperiod should be included in models of seasonal parameter variability in over 90% of the site years investigated here, demonstrating that photoperiod also plays an important role in controlling seasonal photosynthetic function. We also performed a Granger causality analysis on both gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) and GEP normalized by photosynthetic photon flux density (GEP n ). While photoperiod Granger-caused GEP and GEP n in 99 and 92% of all site years, respectively, air temperature Granger-caused GEP in a mere 32% of site years but Granger-caused GEP n in 81% of all site years. Results demonstrate that incorporating photoperiod may be a logical step toward improving models of ecosystem carbon uptake, but not at the expense of including enzyme kinetic-based temperature constraints on canopy-scale photosynthesis.

Examination of the validity and reliability of the French version of the Brief Self-Control Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Brevers, Damien; Foucart, Jennifer; Verbanck, Paul; Turel, Ofir

2017-10-01

This study aims to develop and to validate a French version of the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS; Tangney et al., 2004). This instrument is usually applied as a unidimensional self-report measure for assessing trait self-control, which captures one's dispositional ability to resist short-term temptation in order to reach more valuable long-term goals. Data were collected from two independent samples of French-speaking individuals ( n 1 = 287; n 2 = 160). Results indicated that the French version of the BSCS can be treated as unidimensional, like the original questionnaire. Data also showed consistent acceptable reliability and reasonable test-retest stability. Acceptable external validity of constructs was supported by relationships with self-reported measures of impulsivity (UPPS), including urgency, lack of premeditation, and lack of perseverance. Overall, the findings suggest that the average score of the French version of the BSCS is a viable option for assessing trait self-control in French speaking populations.

Scaling behavior of the thermal conductivity of width-modulated nanowires and nanofilms for heat transfer control at the nanoscale.

Science.gov (United States)

Zianni, Xanthippi; Jean, Valentin; Termentzidis, Konstantinos; Lacroix, David

2014-11-21

We report on scaling behavior of the thermal conductivity of width-modulated nanowires and nanofilms that have been studied with the phonon Monte Carlo technique. It has been found that the reduction of the thermal conductivity scales with the nanostructure transmissivity, a property entirely determined by the modulation geometry, irrespectively of the material choice. Tuning of the thermal conductivity is possible by the nanostructure width-modulation without strict limitations for the modulation profile. In addition, a very significant constriction thermal resistance due to width-discontinuity has been identified, in analogy to the contact thermal resistance between two dissimilar materials. The constriction thermal resistance also scales with the modulated nanostructure transmissivity. Our conclusions are generic indicating that a wide range of materials can be used for the modulated nanostructures. Direct heat flow control can be provided by designing the nanostructure width-modulation.

Laboratory, semi-pilot and room scale study of nitrite and molybdate mediated control of H(2)S emission from swine manure.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno, Lyman; Predicala, Bernardo; Nemati, Mehdi

2010-04-01

The effects of manure age on emission of H(2)S and required level of nitrite or molybdate to control these emissions were investigated in the present work. Molybdate mediated control of H(2)S emission was also studied in semi-pilot scale open systems, and in specifically designed chambers which simulated swine production rooms. With fresh 1-, 3- and 6-month old manures average H(2)S concentration in the headspace gas of the closed systems were 4856+/-460, 3431+/-208, 1037+/-98 ppm and non-detectable, respectively. Moreover, the level of nitrite or molybdate required to control the emission of H(2)S decreased as manure age increased. In the semi-pilot scale open system and chambers, average H(2)S concentration at the surface of agitated fresh manure were 831+/-26 and 88.4+/-5.7 ppm, respectively. Furthermore, 0.1-0.25 mM molybdate was sufficient to control the emission of H(2)S. A cost study for an average size swine operation showed that the cost of treatment with molybdate was less than 1% of the overall production cost for each market hog. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A SIMPLE METHOD TO CONTROL THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF THE FERMENTING MEDIUM DURING LABORATORY-SCALE SOLID-STATE FERMENTATION EXPERIMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. BORZANI

1999-03-01

Full Text Available When the moisture content of the fermenting medium significantly decreases during laboratory-scale solid-state fermentation tests, the quantity of water to be periodically added to the medium in order to control its moisture content may be evaluated from the water evaporation rate of the non-inoculated medium.

Scale and legacy controls on catchment nutrient export regimes

Science.gov (United States)

Howden, N. J. K.; Burt, T.; Worrall, F.

2017-12-01

Nutrient dynamics in river catchments are complex: water and chemical fluxes are highly variable in low-order streams, but this variability declines as fluxes move through higher-order reaches. This poses a major challenge for process understanding as much effort is focussed on long-term monitoring of the main river channel (a high-order reach), and therefore the data available to support process understanding are predominantly derived from sites where much of the transient response of nutrient export is masked by the effect of averaging over both space and time. This may be further exacerbated at all scales by the accumulation of legacy nutrient sources in soils, aquifers and pore waters, where historical activities have led to nutrient accumulation where the catchment system is transport limited. Therefore it is of particular interest to investigate how the variability of nutrient export changes both with catchment scale (from low to high-order catchment streams) and with the presence of legacy sources, such that the context of infrequent monitoring on high-order streams can be better understood. This is not only a question of characterising nutrient export regimes per se, but also developing a more thorough understanding of how the concepts of scale and legacy may modify the statistical characteristics of observed responses across scales in both space and time. In this paper, we use synthetic data series and develop a model approach to consider how space and timescales combine with impacts of legacy sources to influence observed variability in catchment export. We find that: increasing space and timescales tend to reduce the observed variance in nutrient exports, due to an increase in travel times and greater mixing, and therefore averaging, of sources; increasing the influence of legacy sources inflates the variance, with the level of inflation dictated by the residence time of the respective sources.

Improving Wind Farm Dispatchability Using Model Predictive Control for Optimal Operation of Grid-Scale Energy Storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas Halamay

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This paper demonstrates the use of model-based predictive control for energy storage systems to improve the dispatchability of wind power plants. Large-scale wind penetration increases the variability of power flow on the grid, thus increasing reserve requirements. Large energy storage systems collocated with wind farms can improve dispatchability of the wind plant by storing energy during generation over-the-schedule and sourcing energy during generation under-the-schedule, essentially providing on-site reserves. Model predictive control (MPC provides a natural framework for this application. By utilizing an accurate energy storage system model, control actions can be planned in the context of system power and state-of-charge limitations. MPC also enables the inclusion of predicted wind farm performance over a near-term horizon that allows control actions to be planned in anticipation of fast changes, such as wind ramps. This paper demonstrates that model-based predictive control can improve system performance compared with a standard non-predictive, non-model-based control approach. It is also demonstrated that secondary objectives, such as reducing the rate of change of the wind plant output (i.e., ramps, can be considered and successfully implemented within the MPC framework. Specifically, it is shown that scheduling error can be reduced by 81%, reserve requirements can be improved by up to 37%, and the number of ramp events can be reduced by 74%.

Kinetically controlled synthesis of large-scale morphology-tailored silver nanostructures at low temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ling; Zhao, Yuda; Lin, Ziyuan; Gu, Fangyuan; Lau, Shu Ping; Li, Li; Chai, Yang

2015-08-01

Ag nanostructures are widely used in catalysis, energy conversion and chemical sensing. Morphology-tailored synthesis of Ag nanostructures is critical to tune physical and chemical properties. In this study, we develop a method for synthesizing the morphology-tailored Ag nanostructures in aqueous solution at a low temperature (45 °C). With the use of AgCl nanoparticles as the precursor, the growth kinetics of Ag nanostructures can be tuned with the pH value of solution and the concentration of Pd cubes which catalyze the reaction. Ascorbic acid and cetylpyridinium chloride are used as the mild reducing agent and capping agent in aqueous solution, respectively. High-yield Ag nanocubes, nanowires, right triangular bipyramids/cubes with twinned boundaries, and decahedra are successfully produced. Our method opens up a new environmentally-friendly and economical route to synthesize large-scale and morphology-tailored Ag nanostructures, which is significant to the controllable fabrication of Ag nanostructures and fundamental understanding of the growth kinetics.Ag nanostructures are widely used in catalysis, energy conversion and chemical sensing. Morphology-tailored synthesis of Ag nanostructures is critical to tune physical and chemical properties. In this study, we develop a method for synthesizing the morphology-tailored Ag nanostructures in aqueous solution at a low temperature (45 °C). With the use of AgCl nanoparticles as the precursor, the growth kinetics of Ag nanostructures can be tuned with the pH value of solution and the concentration of Pd cubes which catalyze the reaction. Ascorbic acid and cetylpyridinium chloride are used as the mild reducing agent and capping agent in aqueous solution, respectively. High-yield Ag nanocubes, nanowires, right triangular bipyramids/cubes with twinned boundaries, and decahedra are successfully produced. Our method opens up a new environmentally-friendly and economical route to synthesize large-scale and morphology

Evaluation of the utility of Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale in the diagnosis of social anxiety, impulsivity and depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Tyrała, Kinga; Seweryn, Mariusz; Bonk, Magdalena; Bulska, Weronika; Orszulak, Kamila; Bratek, Agnieszka; Krysta, Krzysztof

2015-09-01

Often mental disorders are serious problems concerning psychological well-being. They require comprehensive and specialized psychiatric and psychological help, but there are no public methods of controlling your mental state. The aim of study was the evaluation of the utility of Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale in the diagnosis of social anxiety, impulsivity and depression. The study included 85 persons. The study group had 34 patients treated in an open ward of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of Medical University of Silesia in Katowice. The control group included 51 persons without mental disorders. Three self-rating questionnaires were used: Beck Depression Inventory, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. Statistica v10 Statsoft software was used for statistical analysis. The analyzed groups had significant differences in terms of Beck Scale (U Mann-Whitney test p=0.000001). Average score in study group: 22.94±12.50; in control group: 7.15±6.44. Groups had significant differences in terms of Liebowitz Scale (U test Mann-Whitney test, p=0.000164). Average score in the study group: 60.41±30.30; in control group: 35.01±23.94. Groups had significant differences in terms of Barratt Scale (t-student test p=0.000601). Average in study group: 66.35±9,49; in control group: 59.54±7.87. Significant positive correlation was observed between the results of Beck Scale and Liebowitz Scale (r=0.64465). Correlation was not observed between the results of the Liebowitz and Barrat (r=0.12091 and Beck and Barrat (r=0.21482). The intensity of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale is directly proportional to the severity of depression according to the Beck Depression Inventory. The degree of impulsivity by Barrat Impulsiveness Scale does not correlate with the level of depression according to Beck Depression Inventory. The analyzed scales are relevant in the diagnosis of mental disorders.

Demonstration of Active Power Controls by Utility-Scale PV Power Plant in an Island Grid: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gevorgian, Vahan; O' Neill, Barbara

2017-02-01

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), AES, and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority conducted a demonstration project on a utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) plant to test the viability of providing important ancillary services from this facility. As solar generation increases globally, there is a need for innovation and increased operational flexibility. A typical PV power plant consists of multiple power electronic inverters and can contribute to grid stability and reliability through sophisticated 'grid-friendly' controls. In this way, it may mitigate the impact of its variability on the grid and contribute to important system requirements more like traditional generators. In 2015, testing was completed on a 20-MW AES plant in Puerto Rico, and a large amount of test data was produced and analyzed that demonstrates the ability of PV power plants to provide various types of new grid-friendly controls. This data showed how active power controls can leverage PV's value from being simply an intermittent energy resource to providing additional ancillary services for an isolated island grid. Specifically, the tests conducted included PV plant participation in automatic generation control, provision of droop response, and fast frequency response.

Validation of the process control system of an automated large scale manufacturing plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Neuhaus, H; Kremers, H; Karrer, T; Traut, R H

1998-02-01

The validation procedure for the process control system of a plant for the large scale production of human albumin from plasma fractions is described. A validation master plan is developed, defining the system and elements to be validated, the interfaces with other systems with the validation limits, a general validation concept and supporting documentation. Based on this master plan, the validation protocols are developed. For the validation, the system is subdivided into a field level, which is the equipment part, and an automation level. The automation level is further subdivided into sections according to the different software modules. Based on a risk categorization of the modules, the qualification activities are defined. The test scripts for the different qualification levels (installation, operational and performance qualification) are developed according to a previously performed risk analysis.

Automatic initialization and quality control of large-scale cardiac MRI segmentations.

Science.gov (United States)

Albà, Xènia; Lekadir, Karim; Pereañez, Marco; Medrano-Gracia, Pau; Young, Alistair A; Frangi, Alejandro F

2018-01-01

Continuous advances in imaging technologies enable ever more comprehensive phenotyping of human anatomy and physiology. Concomitant reduction of imaging costs has resulted in widespread use of imaging in large clinical trials and population imaging studies. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), in particular, offers one-stop-shop multidimensional biomarkers of cardiovascular physiology and pathology. A wide range of analysis methods offer sophisticated cardiac image assessment and quantification for clinical and research studies. However, most methods have only been evaluated on relatively small databases often not accessible for open and fair benchmarking. Consequently, published performance indices are not directly comparable across studies and their translation and scalability to large clinical trials or population imaging cohorts is uncertain. Most existing techniques still rely on considerable manual intervention for the initialization and quality control of the segmentation process, becoming prohibitive when dealing with thousands of images. The contributions of this paper are three-fold. First, we propose a fully automatic method for initializing cardiac MRI segmentation, by using image features and random forests regression to predict an initial position of the heart and key anatomical landmarks in an MRI volume. In processing a full imaging database, the technique predicts the optimal corrective displacements and positions in relation to the initial rough intersections of the long and short axis images. Second, we introduce for the first time a quality control measure capable of identifying incorrect cardiac segmentations with no visual assessment. The method uses statistical, pattern and fractal descriptors in a random forest classifier to detect failures to be corrected or removed from subsequent statistical analysis. Finally, we validate these new techniques within a full pipeline for cardiac segmentation applicable to large-scale cardiac MRI databases. The

Large Scale Investments in Infrastructure : Competing Policy regimes to Control Connections

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Otsuki, K.; Read, M.L.; Zoomers, E.B.

2016-01-01

This paper proposes to analyse implications of large-scale investments in physical infrastructure for social and environmental justice. While case studies on the global land rush and climate change have advanced our understanding of how large-scale investments in land, forests and water affect

Assessment of long-term and large-scale even-odd license plate controlled plan effects on urban air quality and its implication

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Suping; Yu, Ye; Qin, Dahe; Yin, Daiying; He, Jianjun

2017-12-01

To solve traffic congestion and to improve urban air quality, long-lasting and large-scale even-odd license plate controlled plan was implemented by local government during 20 November to 26 December 2016 in urban Lanzhou, a semi-arid valley city of northwest China. The traffic control measures provided an invaluable opportunity to evaluate its effects on urban air quality in less developed cities of northwest China. Based on measured simultaneously air pollutants and meteorological parameters, the abatement of traffic-related pollutants induced by the implemented control measures such as CO, PM2.5 and PM10 (the particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 μm and 10 μm) concentrations were firstly quantified by comparing the air quality data in urban areas with those in rural areas (uncontrolled zones). The concentrations of CO, NO2 from motor vehicles and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were shown to have significant decreases of 15%-23% during traffic control period from those measured before control period with hourly maximum CO, PM2.5, and NO2/SO2 reduction of 43%, 35% and 141.4%, respectively. The influence of the control measures on AQI (air quality index) and ozone was less as compared to its effect on other air pollutants. Therefore, to alleviate serious winter haze pollution in China and to protect human health, the stringent long-term and large-scale even-odd license plate controlled plan should be implemented aperiodically in urban areas, especially for the periods with poor diffusion conditions.

Parents' perceived vulnerability and perceived control in preventing Meningococcal C infection: a large-scale interview study about vaccination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van der Wal Gerrit

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Parents' reported ambivalence toward large-scale vaccination programs for childhood diseases may be related to their perception of the risks of side-effects or safety of vaccination and the risk of contracting the disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate parents' perceptions of their child's risk contracting a Meningococcal C infection and parents' perceived control in preventing infection in relation to their evaluation of the safety, effectiveness and usefulness of vaccination. Methods In a large-scale interview study, a random sample of parents was interviewed after their children had received vaccination against Meningococcal C in a catch-up campaign. Questions were asked about the perceived relative vulnerability of their child contracting an infection, perceived control in preventing an infection, and parents' evaluation of the safety, usefulness and effectiveness of vaccination. Results 61% of 2910 (N = 1763 parents who were approached participated. A higher perceived relative vulnerability of their own child contracting the disease was related to a more positive evaluation of the vaccination campaign, while a lower perceived vulnerability did not result in a more negative evaluation. A higher perceived control in being able to prevent an infection was, however, related to a more critical attitude toward the safety, usefulness and effectiveness of vaccination. Conclusion Perceived relative vulnerability contracting an infection and parents' perceived control in preventing an infection seem to influence parents' evaluation of the vaccination programme. Future studies should determine if, and under which circumstances, these perceptions also affect parents' vaccination behaviour and would be relevant to be taken into account when educating parents about vaccination.

Automating large-scale reactor systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kisner, R.A.

1985-01-01

This paper conveys a philosophy for developing automated large-scale control systems that behave in an integrated, intelligent, flexible manner. Methods for operating large-scale systems under varying degrees of equipment degradation are discussed, and a design approach that separates the effort into phases is suggested. 5 refs., 1 fig

Multiple Scales of Control on the Structure and Spatial Distribution of Woody Vegetation in African Savanna Watersheds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicholas R Vaughn

Full Text Available Factors controlling savanna woody vegetation structure vary at multiple spatial and temporal scales, and as a consequence, unraveling their combined effects has proven to be a classic challenge in savanna ecology. We used airborne LiDAR (light detection and ranging to map three-dimensional woody vegetation structure throughout four savanna watersheds, each contrasting in geologic substrate and climate, in Kruger National Park, South Africa. By comparison of the four watersheds, we found that geologic substrate had a stronger effect than climate in determining watershed-scale differences in vegetation structural properties, including cover, height and crown density. Generalized Linear Models were used to assess the spatial distribution of woody vegetation structural properties, including cover, height and crown density, in relation to mapped hydrologic, topographic and fire history traits. For each substrate and climate combination, models incorporating topography, hydrology and fire history explained up to 30% of the remaining variation in woody canopy structure, but inclusion of a spatial autocovariate term further improved model performance. Both crown density and the cover of shorter woody canopies were determined more by unknown factors likely to be changing on smaller spatial scales, such as soil texture, herbivore abundance or fire behavior, than by our mapped regional-scale changes in topography and hydrology. We also detected patterns in spatial covariance at distances up to 50-450 m, depending on watershed and structural metric. Our results suggest that large-scale environmental factors play a smaller role than is often attributed to them in determining woody vegetation structure in southern African savannas. This highlights the need for more spatially-explicit, wide-area analyses using high resolution remote sensing techniques.

Environment and host as large-scale controls of ectomycorrhizal fungi.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Linde, Sietse; Suz, Laura M; Orme, C David L; Cox, Filipa; Andreae, Henning; Asi, Endla; Atkinson, Bonnie; Benham, Sue; Carroll, Christopher; Cools, Nathalie; De Vos, Bruno; Dietrich, Hans-Peter; Eichhorn, Johannes; Gehrmann, Joachim; Grebenc, Tine; Gweon, Hyun S; Hansen, Karin; Jacob, Frank; Kristöfel, Ferdinand; Lech, Paweł; Manninger, Miklós; Martin, Jan; Meesenburg, Henning; Merilä, Päivi; Nicolas, Manuel; Pavlenda, Pavel; Rautio, Pasi; Schaub, Marcus; Schröck, Hans-Werner; Seidling, Walter; Šrámek, Vít; Thimonier, Anne; Thomsen, Iben Margrete; Titeux, Hugues; Vanguelova, Elena; Verstraeten, Arne; Vesterdal, Lars; Waldner, Peter; Wijk, Sture; Zhang, Yuxin; Žlindra, Daniel; Bidartondo, Martin I

2018-06-06

Explaining the large-scale diversity of soil organisms that drive biogeochemical processes-and their responses to environmental change-is critical. However, identifying consistent drivers of belowground diversity and abundance for some soil organisms at large spatial scales remains problematic. Here we investigate a major guild, the ectomycorrhizal fungi, across European forests at a spatial scale and resolution that is-to our knowledge-unprecedented, to explore key biotic and abiotic predictors of ectomycorrhizal diversity and to identify dominant responses and thresholds for change across complex environmental gradients. We show the effect of 38 host, environment, climate and geographical variables on ectomycorrhizal diversity, and define thresholds of community change for key variables. We quantify host specificity and reveal plasticity in functional traits involved in soil foraging across gradients. We conclude that environmental and host factors explain most of the variation in ectomycorrhizal diversity, that the environmental thresholds used as major ecosystem assessment tools need adjustment and that the importance of belowground specificity and plasticity has previously been underappreciated.

SCALE: A modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation. Control modules -- Volume 1, Revision 4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Landers, N.F.; Petrie, L.M.; Knight, J.R. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)] [and others

1995-04-01

SCALE--a modular code system for Standardized Computer Analyses Licensing Evaluation--has been developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The SCALE system utilizes well-established computer codes and methods within standard analysis sequences that (1) allow an input format designed for the occasional user and/or novice, (2) automate the data processing and coupling between modules, and (3) provide accurate and reliable results. System development has been directed at problem-dependent cross-section processing and analysis of criticality safety, shielding, heat transfer, and depletion/decay problems. Since the initial release of SCALE in 1980, the code system has been heavily used for evaluation of nuclear fuel facility and package designs. This revision documents Version 4.2 of the system. This manual is divided into three volumes: Volume 1--for the control module documentation, Volume 2--for the functional module documentation, and Volume 3 for the documentation of the data libraries and subroutine libraries.

SCALE: A modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation. Control modules -- Volume 1, Revision 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landers, N.F.; Petrie, L.M.; Knight, J.R.

1995-04-01

SCALE--a modular code system for Standardized Computer Analyses Licensing Evaluation--has been developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The SCALE system utilizes well-established computer codes and methods within standard analysis sequences that (1) allow an input format designed for the occasional user and/or novice, (2) automate the data processing and coupling between modules, and (3) provide accurate and reliable results. System development has been directed at problem-dependent cross-section processing and analysis of criticality safety, shielding, heat transfer, and depletion/decay problems. Since the initial release of SCALE in 1980, the code system has been heavily used for evaluation of nuclear fuel facility and package designs. This revision documents Version 4.2 of the system. This manual is divided into three volumes: Volume 1--for the control module documentation, Volume 2--for the functional module documentation, and Volume 3 for the documentation of the data libraries and subroutine libraries

Investigation of the Contamination Control in a Cleaning Room with a Moving AGV by 3D Large-Scale Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qing-He Yao

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The motions of the airflow induced by the movement of an automatic guided vehicle (AGV in a cleanroom are numerically studied by large-scale simulation. For this purpose, numerical experiments scheme based on domain decomposition method is designed. Compared with the related past research, the high Reynolds number is treated by large-scale computation in this work. A domain decomposition Lagrange-Galerkin method is employed to approximate the Navier-Stokes equations and the convection diffusion equation; the stiffness matrix is symmetric and an incomplete balancing preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG method is employed to solve the linear algebra system iteratively. The end wall effects are readily viewed, and the necessity of the extension to 3 dimensions is confirmed. The effect of the high efficiency particular air (HEPA filter on contamination control is studied and the proper setting of the speed of the clean air flow is also investigated. More details of the recirculation zones are revealed by the 3D large-scale simulation.

Psychometric properties of Conversion Disorder Scale- Revised (CDS) for children.

Science.gov (United States)

Ijaz, Tazvin; Nasir, Attikah; Sarfraz, Naema; Ijaz, Shirmeen

2017-05-01

To revise conversion disorder scale and to establish the psychometric properties of the revised scale. This case-control study was conducted from February to June, 2014, at the Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan, and comprised schoolchildren and children with conversion disorder. In order to generate items for revised version of conversion disorder scale, seven practising mental health professionals were consulted. A list of 42 items was finalised for expert ratings. After empirical validation, a scale of 40 items was administered on the participants and factor analysis was conducted. Of the240 participants, 120(50%) were schoolchildren (controls group) and 120(50%)were children with conversion disorder (clinical group).The results of factor analysis revealed five factors (swallowing and speech symptoms, motor symptoms, sensory symptoms, weakness and fatigue, and mixed symptoms) and retention of all 40 items of revised version of conversion disorder scale. Concurrent validity of the revised scale was found to be 0.81 which was significantly high. Similarly, discriminant validity of the scale was also high as both clinical and control groups had significant difference (pconversion disorder scale was 76% sensitive to predicting conversion disorder while specificity showed that the scale was 73% accurate in specifying participants of the control group. The revised version of conversion disorder scale was a reliable and valid tool to be used for screening of children with conversion disorder.

Combined impact of quorum quenching and backwashing on biofouling control in a semi-pilot scale mbr treating real wastewater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasnain, G.; Khan, S.J.; Arshad, M.Z.; Abdullah, H.Y.

2017-01-01

This study demonstrates the combined effect of quorum quenching (QQ) and backwashing on biofouling control in MBR treating real wastewater. The quorum quenching mechanism is an emerging biological technique using Rhodococcus sp. entrapped in polymer coated sodium alginate beads whereas, backwashing is a distinguished physical technique for biofouling control. Two parallel semi-pilot scale MBRs i.e., QQ-MBR (quorum quenching MBR) with cell-entrapping beads (CEBs) and C-MBR (conventional MBR) with vacant CEBs at 0.5% effective volume of the bioreactor, were monitored for comparative performance evaluation. In the first phase, both the MBRs were operated without backwashing having operational cycle of eight min filtration and two min relaxation and in the second phase; MBRs were operated with backwashing having operation cycle of eight min filtration, one min relaxation and one min backwashing. QQ-MBR-with backwashing exhibited greater biofouling control capability and elongated filtration duration with respect to QQ-MBR without backwashing. Comparatively less soluble EPS concentrations were detected in QQ-MBR as compare to C-MBR in both modes of operation while backwashing contributed to retard the rapid increase in trans-membrane pressure (TMP) also known as TMP jump. Study reveals the novelty of successful application of combined influence of permeate backflushing technique and QQ (anti-biofouling) strategy in MBR and potential use for full scale applications. (author)

Novel probabilistic and distributed algorithms for guidance, control, and nonlinear estimation of large-scale multi-agent systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bandyopadhyay, Saptarshi

Multi-agent systems are widely used for constructing a desired formation shape, exploring an area, surveillance, coverage, and other cooperative tasks. This dissertation introduces novel algorithms in the three main areas of shape formation, distributed estimation, and attitude control of large-scale multi-agent systems. In the first part of this dissertation, we address the problem of shape formation for thousands to millions of agents. Here, we present two novel algorithms for guiding a large-scale swarm of robotic systems into a desired formation shape in a distributed and scalable manner. These probabilistic swarm guidance algorithms adopt an Eulerian framework, where the physical space is partitioned into bins and the swarm's density distribution over each bin is controlled using tunable Markov chains. In the first algorithm - Probabilistic Swarm Guidance using Inhomogeneous Markov Chains (PSG-IMC) - each agent determines its bin transition probabilities using a time-inhomogeneous Markov chain that is constructed in real-time using feedback from the current swarm distribution. This PSG-IMC algorithm minimizes the expected cost of the transitions required to achieve and maintain the desired formation shape, even when agents are added to or removed from the swarm. The algorithm scales well with a large number of agents and complex formation shapes, and can also be adapted for area exploration applications. In the second algorithm - Probabilistic Swarm Guidance using Optimal Transport (PSG-OT) - each agent determines its bin transition probabilities by solving an optimal transport problem, which is recast as a linear program. In the presence of perfect feedback of the current swarm distribution, this algorithm minimizes the given cost function, guarantees faster convergence, reduces the number of transitions for achieving the desired formation, and is robust to disturbances or damages to the formation. We demonstrate the effectiveness of these two proposed swarm

Controlling Urban Lighting by Human Motion Patterns results from a full Scale Experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulsen, Esben Skouboe; Andersen, Hans Jørgen; Jensen, Ole B.

2012-01-01

This paper presents a full-scale experiment investigating the use of human motion intensities as input for interactive illumination of a town square in the city of Aalborg in Denmark. As illuminators sixteen 3.5 meter high RGB LED lamps were used. The activity on the square was monitored by three...... thermal cameras and analysed by computer vision software from which motion intensity maps and peoples trajectories were estimated and used as input to control the interactive illumination. The paper introduces a 2-layered interactive light strategy addressing ambient and effect illumination criteria...... totally four light scenarios were designed and tested. The result shows that in general people immersed in the street lighting did not notice that the light changed according to their presence or actions, but people watching from the edge of the square noticed the interaction between the illumination...

Polymeric Materials For Scale Inhibition In Cooling Water Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Najwa S.Majeed

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Calcium carbonate deposition is generally predominant in cooling water-circulating system. For the control of calcium carbonate scale formation two types of polymeric scale inhibitors were used Polyamino polyether methylene phosphonate  (PAPEMPand polyacrylaminde(PAA.Model of cooling tower system have been built up in laboratory scale. Experiments were carried out using different inhibitor concentrations(0.5,1,1.5,2,3ppm ,at water temperature of  40oC and flow rate of 150 l/hr. It was found that Polyamino polyether methylene phosphonate    more effective than polyacryle amide'  as scale inhibitor in all used concentrations and the best inhibition efficiency (95% was at (2.5ppm of Polyamino polyether methylene phosphonate  and (85% with poly acryle amide at concentrations of (3 ppm. The performance of the polymeric scale inhibitors was compared with a method used to control heavy calcium carbonate scale forming by the deposition of sufficiently thin protective calcium carbonate scale using sulfuric acid and depending on Ryznar stability index controlling method. 

Controlled mixed fermentation at winery scale using Zygotorulaspora florentina and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Science.gov (United States)

Lencioni, Livio; Romani, Cristina; Gobbi, Mirko; Comitini, Francesca; Ciani, Maurizio; Domizio, Paola

2016-10-03

Over the last few years the use of multi-starter inocula has become an attractive biotechnological practice in the search for wine with high flavour complexity or distinctive characters. This has been possible through exploiting the particular oenological features of some non-Saccharomyces yeast strains, and the effects that derive from their specific interactions with Saccharomyces. In the present study, we evaluated the selected strain Zygotorulaspora florentina (formerly Zygosaccharomyces florentinus) in mixed culture fermentations with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, from the laboratory scale to the winery scale. The scale-up fermentation and substrate composition (i.e., white or red musts) influenced the analytical composition of the mixed fermentation. At the laboratory scale, mixed fermentation with Z. florentina exhibited an enhancement of polysaccharides and 2-phenylethanol content and a reduction of volatile acidity. At the winery scale, different fermentation characteristics of Z. florentina were observed. Using Sangiovese red grape juice, sequential fermentation trials showed a significantly higher concentration of glycerol and esters while the sensorial analysis of the resulting wines showed higher floral notes and lower perception of astringency. To our knowledge, this is the first time that this yeasts association has been evaluated at the winery scale indicating the potential use of this mixed culture in red grape varieties. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Genomic Footprints of Selective Sweeps from Metabolic Resistance to Pyrethroids in African Malaria Vectors Are Driven by Scale up of Insecticide-Based Vector Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, Kayla G; Weedall, Gareth D; Ndula, Miranda; Irving, Helen; Mzihalowa, Themba; Hemingway, Janet; Wondji, Charles S

2017-02-01

Insecticide resistance in mosquito populations threatens recent successes in malaria prevention. Elucidating patterns of genetic structure in malaria vectors to predict the speed and direction of the spread of resistance is essential to get ahead of the 'resistance curve' and to avert a public health catastrophe. Here, applying a combination of microsatellite analysis, whole genome sequencing and targeted sequencing of a resistance locus, we elucidated the continent-wide population structure of a major African malaria vector, Anopheles funestus. We identified a major selective sweep in a genomic region controlling cytochrome P450-based metabolic resistance conferring high resistance to pyrethroids. This selective sweep occurred since 2002, likely as a direct consequence of scaled up vector control as revealed by whole genome and fine-scale sequencing of pre- and post-intervention populations. Fine-scaled analysis of the pyrethroid resistance locus revealed that a resistance-associated allele of the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase CYP6P9a has swept through southern Africa to near fixation, in contrast to high polymorphism levels before interventions, conferring high levels of pyrethroid resistance linked to control failure. Population structure analysis revealed a barrier to gene flow between southern Africa and other areas, which may prevent or slow the spread of the southern mechanism of pyrethroid resistance to other regions. By identifying a genetic signature of pyrethroid-based interventions, we have demonstrated the intense selective pressure that control interventions exert on mosquito populations. If this level of selection and spread of resistance continues unabated, our ability to control malaria with current interventions will be compromised.

Genomic Footprints of Selective Sweeps from Metabolic Resistance to Pyrethroids in African Malaria Vectors Are Driven by Scale up of Insecticide-Based Vector Control.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kayla G Barnes

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Insecticide resistance in mosquito populations threatens recent successes in malaria prevention. Elucidating patterns of genetic structure in malaria vectors to predict the speed and direction of the spread of resistance is essential to get ahead of the 'resistance curve' and to avert a public health catastrophe. Here, applying a combination of microsatellite analysis, whole genome sequencing and targeted sequencing of a resistance locus, we elucidated the continent-wide population structure of a major African malaria vector, Anopheles funestus. We identified a major selective sweep in a genomic region controlling cytochrome P450-based metabolic resistance conferring high resistance to pyrethroids. This selective sweep occurred since 2002, likely as a direct consequence of scaled up vector control as revealed by whole genome and fine-scale sequencing of pre- and post-intervention populations. Fine-scaled analysis of the pyrethroid resistance locus revealed that a resistance-associated allele of the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase CYP6P9a has swept through southern Africa to near fixation, in contrast to high polymorphism levels before interventions, conferring high levels of pyrethroid resistance linked to control failure. Population structure analysis revealed a barrier to gene flow between southern Africa and other areas, which may prevent or slow the spread of the southern mechanism of pyrethroid resistance to other regions. By identifying a genetic signature of pyrethroid-based interventions, we have demonstrated the intense selective pressure that control interventions exert on mosquito populations. If this level of selection and spread of resistance continues unabated, our ability to control malaria with current interventions will be compromised.

The composing technique of fast and large scale nuclear data acquisition and control system with single chip microcomputers and PC computers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Zurun; Wu Shiying; Liu Haitao; Yao Yangsen; Wang Yingguan; Yang Chaowen

1998-01-01

The technique of employing single-chip microcomputers and PC computers to compose a fast and large scale nuclear data acquisition and control system was discussed in detail. The optimum composition mode of this kind of system, the acquisition and control circuit unit based on single-chip microcomputers, the real-time communication methods and the software composition under the Windows 3.2 were also described. One, two and three dimensional spectra measured by this system were demonstrated

The composing technique of fast and large scale nuclear data acquisition and control system with single chip microcomputers and PC computers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Zurun; Wu Shiying; Liu Haitao; Yao Yangsen; Wang Yingguan; Yang Chaowen

1997-01-01

The technique of employing single-chip microcomputers and PC computers to compose a fast and large scale nuclear data acquisition and control system was discussed in detail. The optimum composition mode of this kind of system, the acquisition and control circuit unit based on single-chip microcomputers, the real-time communication methods and the software composition under the Windows 3.2 were also described. One, two and three dimensional spectra measured by this system were demonstrated

Control of membrane fouling during hyperhaline municipal wastewater treatment using a pilot-scale anoxic/aerobic-membrane bioreactor system

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Jingmei Sun; Jiangxiu Rong; Lifeng Dai; Baoshan Liu; Wenting Zhu

2011-01-01

Membrane fouling limits the effects of long-term stable operation of membrane bioreactor (MBR).Control of membrane foulin can extend the membrane life and reduce water treatment cost effectively.A pilot scale anoxic/aerobic-membrane bioreactor (A/O MBR,40 L/hr) was used to treat the hyperhaline municipal sewage from a processing zone of Tianjin,China.Impact factors including mixed liquid sludge suspension (MLSS),sludge viscosity (μ),microorganisms,extracellular polymeric substances (EPS),aeration intensity and suction/suspended time on membrane fouling and pollution control were studied.The relationships among various factors associated with membrane fouling were analyzed.Results showed that there was a positive correlation among MLSS,sludge viscosity and trans-membrane pressure (TMP).Considering water treatment efficiency and stable operation of the membrane module,MLSS of 5 g/L was suggested for the process.There was a same trend among EPS,sludge viscosity and TMP.Numbers and species of microorganisms affected membrane fouling.Either too high or too low aeration intensity was not conducive to membrane fouling control.Aeration intensity of 1.0 m3/hr (gas/water ratio of 25:1) is suggested for the process.A long suction time caused a rapid increase in membrane resistance.However,long suspended time cannot prevent the increase of membrane resistance effectively even though a suspended time was necessary for scale off particles from the membrane surface.The suction/suspended time of 12 min/3 min was selected for the process.The interaction of various environmental factors and operation conditions must be considered synthetically.

Controlled fabrication of nano-scale double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions using focused ion beam milling method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, H.X.; Wang, T.X.; Zeng, Z.M.; Zhang, X.Q.; Zhao, J.; Han, X.F.

2006-01-01

The controlled fabrication method for nano-scale double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions (DBMTJs) with the layer structure of Ta(5)/Cu(10)/Ni 79 Fe 21 (5)/Ir 22 Mn 78 (12)/Co 6 Fe 2 B 2 (4)/Al(1) -oxide/Co 6 Fe 2 B 2 (6)/Al (1)-oxide/Co 6 Fe 2 B 2 (4)/Ir 22 Mn 78 (12)/Ni 79 Fe 21 (5)/Ta(5) (thickness unit: nm) was used. This method involved depositing thin multi-layer stacks by sputtering system, and depositing a Pt nano-pillar using a focused ion beam which acted both as a top contact and as an etching mask. The advantages of this process over the traditional process using e-beam and optical lithography in that it involve only few processing steps, e.g. it does not involve any lift-off steps. In order to evaluate the nanofabrication techniques, the DBMTJs with the dimensions of 200 nmx400 nm, 200 nmx200 nm nano-scale were prepared and their R-H, I-V characteristics were measured.

A clinical and SEM evaluation of the efficiency of sofscale gel and hand scaling and hand scaling alone.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, K; Vandana, K L; Reddy, V Ramesh

2002-01-01

The purpose of this study is to compose between hand scaling with abd without the calculus solvent gel (sofscale) and ultrasonic instrumentation at clinical and SEM level. 30 patients belonging to the age group of 17-50 year were selected. Patients selected were subjected to three different scaling modalities namely hand scaling (control), hand scaling using sofscale (Experimental quadrant A) and ultrasonic scaling (Experimental quadrant B), in three different quadrants. Case report forms were used to document the tooth sensitivity, soft tissue pain after scaling, patient preference of instrumentation, ease of calculus removal, patient comfort, soft tissue irritation, time taken for scaling, Bleeding while scaling, pre and post operative sulcus bleeding index. In addition to the clinical criteria, the teeth treated were extracted and evaluated using the scanning electron microscope to show potential effects on cemntal surfaces. No difference in tooth sensitivity was appreciated between control and experimental quadrant A. There was a higher degree of tooth sensitivity when treated with ultrasonic. Patients in control group appreciated a higher degree of soft tissue pain. Hand scaling using softscale produced a lesser amount of pain and treatment with ultrasoincs was the least painful. Most of the patients preferred ultrasonic scaling (70%) Calculus removal was easier. Hand scaling using sofscale gel results in more patient comfort when compared to hand scaling alone. There was no significant difference in patient comfort between handscaling using sofscale and ultrasonic scaling. The percentage of reduction of sulcus bleeding index showed no difference between the 3 scaling modalities SEM evaluation revealed that there was no significant difference the 3 scaling modalities in relation to residual calculus, cleaning efficiency and damage to the root surface. This study concluded that treatment with sofscale gel appears to be safe and effective method for removal

Control Coordination of Large Scale Hereditary Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

1985-07-01

Theory - A Hilbert Space Approach, (Academic Press, New York, 1982). [4] W. Findeisen , F. N. Bailey, M. Brdys, K Malinowski, P. Tatjewski and A. Wozniak... Findeisen et al. (1980), in the sense that local models are used in the design of component control laws and a higher level coordination problem is...Vol. 1, pp. 590-591, 1985. 3. W. Findeisen , F.N. Bailley, M. Brdys, K. Malinowski, P. Tatjewski and A. Wozniak, Control Coordination in Hierarchical

Framework for Evaluating the Health Impact of the Scale-Up of Malaria Control Interventions on All-Cause Child Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Yé, Yazoume; Eisele, Thomas P.; Eckert, Erin; Korenromp, Eline; Shah, Jui A.; Hershey, Christine L.; Ivanovich, Elizabeth; Newby, Holly; Carvajal-Velez, Liliana; Lynch, Michael; Komatsu, Ryuichi; Cibulskis, Richard E.; Moore, Zhuzhi; Bhattarai, Achuyt

2017-01-01

Abstract. Concerted efforts from national and international partners have scaled up malaria control interventions, including insecticide-treated nets, indoor residual spraying, diagnostics, prompt and effective treatment of malaria cases, and intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This scale-up warrants an assessment of its health impact to guide future efforts and investments; however, measuring malaria-specific mortality and the overall impact of malaria control interventions remains challenging. In 2007, Roll Back Malaria's Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group proposed a theoretical framework for evaluating the impact of full-coverage malaria control interventions on morbidity and mortality in high-burden SSA countries. Recently, several evaluations have contributed new ideas and lessons to strengthen this plausibility design. This paper harnesses that new evaluation experience to expand the framework, with additional features, such as stratification, to examine subgroups most likely to experience improvement if control programs are working; the use of a national platform framework; and analysis of complete birth histories from national household surveys. The refined framework has shown that, despite persisting data challenges, combining multiple sources of data, considering potential contributions from both fundamental and proximate contextual factors, and conducting subnational analyses allows identification of the plausible contributions of malaria control interventions on malaria morbidity and mortality. PMID:28990923

Volumetric water control in a large-scale open canal irrigation system with many smallholders: The case of Chancay-Lambayeque in Peru

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vos, J.M.C.; Vincent, L.F.

2011-01-01

Volumetric water control (VWC) is widely seen as a means to increase productivity through flexible scheduling and user incentives to apply just enough water. However, the technical and social requirements for VWC are poorly understood. Also, many experts assert that VWC in large-scale open canals

Scaling and scale invariance of conservation laws in Reynolds transport theorem framework

Science.gov (United States)

Haltas, Ismail; Ulusoy, Suleyman

2015-07-01

Scale invariance is the case where the solution of a physical process at a specified time-space scale can be linearly related to the solution of the processes at another time-space scale. Recent studies investigated the scale invariance conditions of hydrodynamic processes by applying the one-parameter Lie scaling transformations to the governing equations of the processes. Scale invariance of a physical process is usually achieved under certain conditions on the scaling ratios of the variables and parameters involved in the process. The foundational axioms of hydrodynamics are the conservation laws, namely, conservation of mass, conservation of linear momentum, and conservation of energy from continuum mechanics. They are formulated using the Reynolds transport theorem. Conventionally, Reynolds transport theorem formulates the conservation equations in integral form. Yet, differential form of the conservation equations can also be derived for an infinitesimal control volume. In the formulation of the governing equation of a process, one or more than one of the conservation laws and, some times, a constitutive relation are combined together. Differential forms of the conservation equations are used in the governing partial differential equation of the processes. Therefore, differential conservation equations constitute the fundamentals of the governing equations of the hydrodynamic processes. Applying the one-parameter Lie scaling transformation to the conservation laws in the Reynolds transport theorem framework instead of applying to the governing partial differential equations may lead to more fundamental conclusions on the scaling and scale invariance of the hydrodynamic processes. This study will investigate the scaling behavior and scale invariance conditions of the hydrodynamic processes by applying the one-parameter Lie scaling transformation to the conservation laws in the Reynolds transport theorem framework.

Australia's continental-scale acoustic tracking database and its automated quality control process

Science.gov (United States)

Hoenner, Xavier; Huveneers, Charlie; Steckenreuter, Andre; Simpfendorfer, Colin; Tattersall, Katherine; Jaine, Fabrice; Atkins, Natalia; Babcock, Russ; Brodie, Stephanie; Burgess, Jonathan; Campbell, Hamish; Heupel, Michelle; Pasquer, Benedicte; Proctor, Roger; Taylor, Matthew D.; Udyawer, Vinay; Harcourt, Robert

2018-01-01

Our ability to predict species responses to environmental changes relies on accurate records of animal movement patterns. Continental-scale acoustic telemetry networks are increasingly being established worldwide, producing large volumes of information-rich geospatial data. During the last decade, the Integrated Marine Observing System's Animal Tracking Facility (IMOS ATF) established a permanent array of acoustic receivers around Australia. Simultaneously, IMOS developed a centralised national database to foster collaborative research across the user community and quantify individual behaviour across a broad range of taxa. Here we present the database and quality control procedures developed to collate 49.6 million valid detections from 1891 receiving stations. This dataset consists of detections for 3,777 tags deployed on 117 marine species, with distances travelled ranging from a few to thousands of kilometres. Connectivity between regions was only made possible by the joint contribution of IMOS infrastructure and researcher-funded receivers. This dataset constitutes a valuable resource facilitating meta-analysis of animal movement, distributions, and habitat use, and is important for relating species distribution shifts with environmental covariates.

Optomechanical Design of a Hard X-ray Nanoprobe Instrument with Nanometer-Scale Active Vibration Control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, D.; Preissner, C.; Smolyanitskiy, A.; Maser, J.; Winarski, R.; Holt, M.; Lai, B.; Vogt, S.; Stephenson, G. B.

2007-01-01

We are developing a new hard x-ray nanoprobe instrument that is one of the centerpieces of the characterization facilities of the Center for Nanoscale Materials being constructed at Argonne National Laboratory. This new probe will cover an energy range of 3-30 keV with 30-nm spacial resolution. The system is designed to accommodate x-ray optics with a resolution limit of 10 nm, therefore, it requires staging of x-ray optics and specimens with a mechanical repeatability of better than 5 nm. Fast feedback for differential vibration control between the zone-plate x-ray optics and the sample holder has been implemented in the design using a digital-signal-processor-based real-time closed-loop feedback technique. A specially designed, custom-built laser Doppler displacement meter system provides two-dimensional differential displacement measurements with subnanometer resolution between the zone-plate x-ray optics and the sample holder. The optomechanical design of the instrument positioning stage system with nanometer-scale active vibration control is presented in this paper

Mineral scale management. Part II, Fundamental chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Alan W. Rudie; Peter W. Hart

2006-01-01

The mineral scale that deposits in digesters and bleach plants is formed by a chemical precipitation process.As such, it is accurately modeled using the solubility product equilibrium constant. Although solubility product identifies the primary conditions that must be met for a scale problem to exist, the acid-base equilibria of the scaling anions often control where...

Small-Scale Helicopter Automatic Autorotation : Modeling, Guidance, and Control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Taamallah, S.

2015-01-01

Our research objective consists in developing a, model-based, automatic safety recovery system, for a small-scale helicopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in autorotation, i.e. an engine OFF flight condition, that safely flies and lands the helicopter to a pre-specified ground location. In pursuit

Growth of wrinkle-free graphene on texture-controlled platinum films and thermal-assisted transfer of large-scale patterned graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jae-Kyung; Kwak, Jinsung; Park, Soon-Dong; Yun, Hyung Duk; Kim, Se-Yang; Jung, Minbok; Kim, Sung Youb; Park, Kibog; Kang, Seoktae; Kim, Sung-Dae; Park, Dong-Yeon; Lee, Dong-Su; Hong, Suk-Kyoung; Shin, Hyung-Joon; Kwon, Soon-Yong

2015-01-27

Growth of large-scale patterned, wrinkle-free graphene and the gentle transfer technique without further damage are most important requirements for the practical use of graphene. Here we report the growth of wrinkle-free, strictly uniform monolayer graphene films by chemical vapor deposition on a platinum (Pt) substrate with texture-controlled giant grains and the thermal-assisted transfer of large-scale patterned graphene onto arbitrary substrates. The designed Pt surfaces with limited numbers of grain boundaries and improved surface perfectness as well as small thermal expansion coefficient difference to graphene provide a venue for uniform growth of monolayer graphene with wrinkle-free characteristic. The thermal-assisted transfer technique allows the complete transfer of large-scale patterned graphene films onto arbitrary substrates without any ripples, tears, or folds. The transferred graphene shows high crystalline quality with an average carrier mobility of ∼ 5500 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) at room temperature. Furthermore, this transfer technique shows a high tolerance to variations in types and morphologies of underlying substrates.

Magnetic Reconnection May Control the Ion-scale Spectral Break of Solar Wind Turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Vech, Daniel; Mallet, Alfred; Klein, Kristopher G.; Kasper, Justin C.

2018-03-01

The power spectral density of magnetic fluctuations in the solar wind exhibits several power-law-like frequency ranges with a well-defined break between approximately 0.1 and 1 Hz in the spacecraft frame. The exact dependence of this break scale on solar wind parameters has been extensively studied but is not yet fully understood. Recent studies have suggested that reconnection may induce a break in the spectrum at a “disruption scale” {λ }{{D}}, which may be larger than the fundamental ion kinetic scales, producing an unusually steep spectrum just below the break. We present a statistical investigation of the dependence of the break scale on the proton gyroradius ρ i , ion inertial length d i , ion sound radius ρ s , proton–cyclotron resonance scale ρ c , and disruption scale {λ }{{D}} as a function of {β }\\perp i. We find that the steepest spectral indices of the dissipation range occur when β e is in the range of 0.1–1 and the break scale is only slightly larger than the ion sound scale (a situation occurring 41% of the time at 1 au), in qualitative agreement with the reconnection model. In this range, the break scale shows a remarkably good correlation with {λ }{{D}}. Our findings suggest that, at least at low β e , reconnection may play an important role in the development of the dissipation range turbulent cascade and cause unusually steep (steeper than ‑3) spectral indices.

The silicon chip: A versatile micro-scale platform for micro- and nano-scale systems

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Edward

Cutting-edge advances in micro- and nano-scale technology require instrumentation to interface with the external world. While technology feature sizes are continually being reduced, the size of experimentalists and their instrumentation do not mirror this trend. Hence there is a need for effective application-specific instrumentation to bridge the gap from the micro and nano-scale phenomena being studied to the comparative macro-scale of the human interfaces. This dissertation puts forward the idea that the silicon CMOS integrated circuit, or microchip in short, serves as an excellent platform to perform this functionality. The electronic interfaces designed for the semiconductor industry are particularly attractive as development platforms, and the reduction in feature sizes that has been a hallmark of the industry suggests that chip-scale instrumentation may be more closely coupled to the phenomena of interest, allowing finer control or improved measurement capabilities. Compatibility with commercial processes will further enable economies of scale through mass production, another welcome feature of this approach. Thus chip-scale instrumentation may replace the bulky, expensive, cumbersome-to-operate macro-scale prototypes currently in use for many of these applications. The dissertation examines four specific applications in which the chip may serve as the ideal instrumentation platform. These are nanorod manipulation, polypyrrole bilayer hinge microactuator control, organic transistor hybrid circuits, and contact fluorescence imaging. The thesis is structured around chapters devoted to each of these projects, in addition to a chapter on preliminary work on an RFID system that serves as a wireless interface model. Each of these chapters contains tools and techniques developed for chip-scale instrumentation, from custom scripts for automated layout and data collection to microfabrication processes. Implementation of these tools to develop systems for the

Controlling Barium Sulphate Scale Deposition Problems in an unbleached Kraft Paper Mill

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Sithole, Bruce

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Troubleshooting of scale deposits and defects in paper samples showed that the problem was caused by barium sulphate and calcium sulphate scales. However, it was ascertained that barium sulphate was more of a concern than calcium sulphate...

Development and external validation of a new PTA assessment scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacobs Bram

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Post-traumatic amnesia (PTA is a key symptom of traumatic brain injury (TBI. Accurate assessment of PTA is imperative in guiding clinical decision making. Our aim was to develop and externally validate a short, examiner independent and practical PTA scale, by selecting the most discriminative items from existing scales and using a three-word memory test. Methods Mild, moderate and severe TBI patients and control subjects were assessed in two separate cohorts, one for derivation and one for validation, using a questionnaire comprised of items from existing PTA scales. We tested which individual items best discriminated between TBI patients and controls, represented by sensitivity and specificity. We then created our PTA scale based on these results. This new scale was externally evaluated for its discriminative value using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC analysis and compared to existing PTA scales. Results The derivation cohort included 126 TBI patients and 31 control subjects; the validation cohort consisted of 132 patients and 30 controls. A set of seven items was eventually selected to comprise the new PTA scale: age, name of hospital, time, day of week, month, mode of transport and recall of three words. This scale demonstrated adequate discriminative values compared to existing PTA scales on three consecutive administrations in the validation cohort. Conclusion We introduce a valid, practical and examiner independent PTA scale, which is suitable for mild TBI patients at the emergency department and yet still valuable for the follow-up of more severely injured TBI patients.

Quantifying consumer portion control practices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Spence, M.; Lähteenmäki, Liisa; Stancu, Violeta

2015-01-01

of Ireland. Three factors were extracted and named: measurement-strategy scale, eating-strategy scale, and purchasing-strategy scale. The eating-strategy scale score was the highest, while the measurement-strategy scale carried the lowest frequency score. For each strategy scale score, the strongest...... predictor was GHI, followed by gender. Having higher GHI and being female were independently associated with more frequent portion control. Both the eating-strategy scale score and the purchasing-strategy scale score were negatively associated with pizza portion size consumption estimates. In conclusion......, while this study demonstrates that the reported use of portion control practices is low, the findings provide preliminary evidence for their validity. Further studies are needed to explore how portion control practices are used in different kinds of portion size decisions and what their contribution...

Modelling of rate effects at multiple scales

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, R.R.; Simone, A.; Sluys, L. J.

2008-01-01

, the length scale in the meso-model and the macro-model can be coupled. In this fashion, a bridging of length scales can be established. A computational analysis of  a Split Hopkinson bar test at medium and high impact load is carried out at macro-scale and meso-scale including information from  the micro-scale.......At the macro- and meso-scales a rate dependent constitutive model is used in which visco-elasticity is coupled to visco-plasticity and damage. A viscous length scale effect is introduced to control the size of the fracture process zone. By comparison of the widths of the fracture process zone...

A flux-scaling scenario for high-scale moduli stabilization in string theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ralph Blumenhagen

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Tree-level moduli stabilization via geometric and non-geometric fluxes in type IIB orientifolds on Calabi–Yau manifolds is investigated. The focus is on stable non-supersymmetric minima, where all moduli are fixed except for some massless axions. The scenario includes the purely axionic orientifold-odd moduli. A set of vacua allowing for parametric control over the moduli vacuum expectation values and their masses is presented, featuring a specific scaling with the fluxes. Uplift mechanisms and supersymmetry breaking soft masses on MSSM-like D7-branes are discussed as well. This scenario provides a complete effective framework for realizing the idea of F-term axion monodromy inflation in string theory. It is argued that, with all masses close to the Planck and GUT scales, one is confronted with working at the threshold of controlling all mass hierarchies.

A flux-scaling scenario for high-scale moduli stabilization in string theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blumenhagen, Ralph [Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Font, Anamaría [Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics, LMU, Theresienstr. 37, 80333 München (Germany); Fuchs, Michael [Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Herschmann, Daniela, E-mail: herschma@mpp.mpg.de [Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Plauschinn, Erik [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Galileo Galilei”, Università di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy); Sekiguchi, Yuta; Wolf, Florian [Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics, LMU, Theresienstr. 37, 80333 München (Germany)

2015-08-15

Tree-level moduli stabilization via geometric and non-geometric fluxes in type IIB orientifolds on Calabi–Yau manifolds is investigated. The focus is on stable non-supersymmetric minima, where all moduli are fixed except for some massless axions. The scenario includes the purely axionic orientifold-odd moduli. A set of vacua allowing for parametric control over the moduli vacuum expectation values and their masses is presented, featuring a specific scaling with the fluxes. Uplift mechanisms and supersymmetry breaking soft masses on MSSM-like D7-branes are discussed as well. This scenario provides a complete effective framework for realizing the idea of F-term axion monodromy inflation in string theory. It is argued that, with all masses close to the Planck and GUT scales, one is confronted with working at the threshold of controlling all mass hierarchies.

Biological and physical controls in the Southern Ocean on past millennial-scale atmospheric CO2 changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottschalk, Julia; Skinner, Luke C; Lippold, Jörg; Vogel, Hendrik; Frank, Norbert; Jaccard, Samuel L; Waelbroeck, Claire

2016-05-17

Millennial-scale climate changes during the last glacial period and deglaciation were accompanied by rapid changes in atmospheric CO2 that remain unexplained. While the role of the Southern Ocean as a 'control valve' on ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange has been emphasized, the exact nature of this role, in particular the relative contributions of physical (for example, ocean dynamics and air-sea gas exchange) versus biological processes (for example, export productivity), remains poorly constrained. Here we combine reconstructions of bottom-water [O2], export production and (14)C ventilation ages in the sub-Antarctic Atlantic, and show that atmospheric CO2 pulses during the last glacial- and deglacial periods were consistently accompanied by decreases in the biological export of carbon and increases in deep-ocean ventilation via southern-sourced water masses. These findings demonstrate how the Southern Ocean's 'organic carbon pump' has exerted a tight control on atmospheric CO2, and thus global climate, specifically via a synergy of both physical and biological processes.

Large-scale block adjustment without use of ground control points based on the compensation of geometric calibration for ZY-3 images

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Bo; Wang, Mi; Xu, Wen; Li, Deren; Gong, Jianya; Pi, Yingdong

2017-12-01

The potential of large-scale block adjustment (BA) without ground control points (GCPs) has long been a concern among photogrammetric researchers, which is of effective guiding significance for global mapping. However, significant problems with the accuracy and efficiency of this method remain to be solved. In this study, we analyzed the effects of geometric errors on BA, and then developed a step-wise BA method to conduct integrated processing of large-scale ZY-3 satellite images without GCPs. We first pre-processed the BA data, by adopting a geometric calibration (GC) method based on the viewing-angle model to compensate for systematic errors, such that the BA input images were of good initial geometric quality. The second step was integrated BA without GCPs, in which a series of technical methods were used to solve bottleneck problems and ensure accuracy and efficiency. The BA model, based on virtual control points (VCPs), was constructed to address the rank deficiency problem caused by lack of absolute constraints. We then developed a parallel matching strategy to improve the efficiency of tie points (TPs) matching, and adopted a three-array data structure based on sparsity to relieve the storage and calculation burden of the high-order modified equation. Finally, we used the conjugate gradient method to improve the speed of solving the high-order equations. To evaluate the feasibility of the presented large-scale BA method, we conducted three experiments on real data collected by the ZY-3 satellite. The experimental results indicate that the presented method can effectively improve the geometric accuracies of ZY-3 satellite images. This study demonstrates the feasibility of large-scale mapping without GCPs.

Wafer-scale self-organized InP nanopillars with controlled orientation for photovoltaic devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanatinia, Reza; Berrier, Audrey; Dhaka, Veer; Perros, Alexander P; Huhtio, Teppo; Lipsanen, Harri; Anand, Srinivasan

2015-10-16

A unique wafer-scale self-organization process for generation of InP nanopillars is demonstrated, which is based on maskless ion-beam etching (IBE) of InP developed to obtain the nanopillars, where the height, shape, and orientation of the nanopillars can be varied by controlling the processing parameters. The fabricated InP nanopillars exhibit broadband suppression of the reflectance, 'black InP,' a property useful for solar cells. The realization of a conformal p-n junction for carrier collection, in the fabricated solar cells, is achieved by a metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) overgrowth step on the fabricated pillars. The conformal overgrowth retains the broadband anti-reflection property of the InP nanopillars, indicating the feasibility of this technology for solar cells. Surface passivation of the formed InP nanopillars using sulfur-oleylamine solution resulted in improved solar-cell characteristics. An open-circuit voltage of 0.71 V and an increase of 0.13 V compared to the unpassivated device were achieved.

Wafer-scale self-organized InP nanopillars with controlled orientation for photovoltaic devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanatinia, Reza; Berrier, Audrey; Anand, Srinivasan; Dhaka, Veer; Perros, Alexander P; Huhtio, Teppo; Lipsanen, Harri

2015-01-01

A unique wafer-scale self-organization process for generation of InP nanopillars is demonstrated, which is based on maskless ion-beam etching (IBE) of InP developed to obtain the nanopillars, where the height, shape, and orientation of the nanopillars can be varied by controlling the processing parameters. The fabricated InP nanopillars exhibit broadband suppression of the reflectance, ‘black InP,’ a property useful for solar cells. The realization of a conformal p–n junction for carrier collection, in the fabricated solar cells, is achieved by a metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) overgrowth step on the fabricated pillars. The conformal overgrowth retains the broadband anti-reflection property of the InP nanopillars, indicating the feasibility of this technology for solar cells. Surface passivation of the formed InP nanopillars using sulfur-oleylamine solution resulted in improved solar-cell characteristics. An open-circuit voltage of 0.71 V and an increase of 0.13 V compared to the unpassivated device were achieved. (paper)

Periodontitis and dental scaling associated with pyogenic liver abscess: A population-based case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeh, Y-T; Wang, B-Y; Lin, C-W; Yang, S-F; Ho, S-W; Yeh, H-W; Huang, J-Y; Chang, Y-C; Yeh, C-B

2018-05-18

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between periodontitis, dental scaling (DS) and pyogenic liver abscesses (PLAs). A nationwide population-based case-control study was applied using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. We identified and enrolled 691 PLA patients, who were individually matched by age and sex to 2764 controls. Conditional logistic regression was applied to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) in patients with exposure to periodontitis and DS before PLA. After adjusting for other confounding factors, periodontitis remained a risk factor for PLA among patients aged 20-40 years, with an aOR of 2.31 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.37-3.90, P = .0018). In addition, the average aOR for PLA was significantly lower among patients with one DS (aOR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.59-0.96) and more than one DS (aOR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.39-0.95) within 1 year before the index date. According to these results, we concluded that adult patients with periodontitis aged periodontal patients subjected to at least 2 DS per year are less at risk for PLA than controls. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Application of fundamental principles to mineral scale reduction : case studies

Science.gov (United States)

Peter W. Hart; Alan W. Rudie

2005-01-01

This paper will present several successful case studies where scale has been eliminated in mills including calcium carbonate scale in a white liquor strainer, calcium oxalate scale in the D0 stage, enzymatic treatment of brown stock to eliminate oxalate scale, and control of barium sulfate scale.

The effect of control parameters to the quality of small-scale wood pellet combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruusunen, M. (Oulu Univ. (Finland). Contol Engineering Lab.), Email: mika.ruusunen@oulu.fi; Korpela, T.; Bjoerkqvist, T. (Tampere Univ. of Technology (Finland). Dept. of Automation Science and Engineering), Email: timo.korpela@tut.fi, Email: tomas.bjorqvist@tut.fi

2009-07-01

The target is to clear out control variables and requirements for clean small-scale wood pellet combustion (<100 kW{sub th}). Experimental runs were carried out in the form of design of experiments (DOE) with two commercial 15 kW pellet burners, namely a horizontal gas-burner and a conventional horizontal burner in a 20 kW commercial pellet boiler. Analysed variables were fuel power, draught, air flows, and fuel feed period, and research variables were CO, O{sub 2} and efficiency. The target was to identify and characterise separately the magnitude and direction of the effect of each factor. After process identification and variable optimisation, the results show strong influence of the studied control parameters on the efficiency and the emissions. The effects and interactions between different process variables were rather similar with both burners. The major effects for CO levels were fuel feed and additionally draught affected in case of wood gas combustion. Additionally, the effects on combustion efficiency is described by draught, air feed and fuel feed period. Furthermore, the fuel feed period affected the excess air level in case of direct combustion principle. It was noticed, however, that the combustion properties and optimal parameter values vary significantly between the two cases. (orig.)

Hydrologic controls on basin-scale distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates

Science.gov (United States)

Bertuzzo, E.; Ceola, S.; Singer, G. A.; Battin, T. J.; Montanari, A.; Rinaldo, A.

2013-12-01

The presentation deals with the role of streamflow variability on basin-scale distributions of benthic macroinvertebrates. Specifically, we present a probabilistic analysis of the impacts of the variability along the river network of relevant hydraulic variables on the density of benthic macroinvertebrate species. The relevance of this work is based on the implications of the predictability of macroinvertebrate patterns within a catchment on fluvial ecosystem health, being macroinvertebrates commonly used as sensitive indicators, and on the effects of anthropogenic activity. The analytical tools presented here outline a novel procedure of general nature aiming at a spatially-explicit quantitative assessment of how near-bed flow variability affects benthic macroinvertebrate abundance. Moving from the analytical characterization of the at-a-site probability distribution functions (pdfs) of streamflow and bottom shear stress, a spatial extension to a whole river network is performed aiming at the definition of spatial maps of streamflow and bottom shear stress. Then, bottom shear stress pdf, coupled with habitat suitability curves (e.g., empirical relations between species density and bottom shear stress) derived from field studies are used to produce maps of macroinvertebrate suitability to shear stress conditions. Thus, moving from measured hydrologic conditions, possible effects of river streamflow alterations on macroinvertebrate densities may be fairly assessed. We apply this framework to an Austrian river network, used as benchmark for the analysis, for which rainfall and streamflow time-series and river network hydraulic properties and macroinvertebrate density data are available. A comparison between observed vs "modeled" species' density in three locations along the examined river network is also presented. Although the proposed approach focuses on a single controlling factor, it shows important implications with water resources management and fluvial

Control and data acquisition of the ITER full-scale ion source for the neutral beam test facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luchetta, Adriano; Manduchi, Gabriele; Taliercio, Cesare; Paolucci, Francesco; Sartori, Filippo; Svensson, Lennart; Labate, Carmelo Vincenzo; Breda, Mauro; Capobianco, Roberto; Molon, Federico; Moressa, Modesto; Simionato, Paola; Zampiva, Enrico; Barbato, Paolo; Polato, Sandro

2015-01-01

Highlights: • This paper describes the requirements and architecture of the control and data acquisition system of the ITER full-ion source experiment in the neutral beam test facility. • The system architecture integrates various popular software frameworks. • Slow control is based on the EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System) framework. • Fast control is based on the MARTe (Multi-threaded Application Real-Time executor) framework. • Data acquisition is based on the MDSplus framework. - Abstract: The neutral beam test facility, which is under construction in Padova, Italy, is developing the ITER full-scale ion source for the ITER heating neutral beam injectors, referred to as the SPIDER experiment, and the full-size prototype injector, referred to as MITICA. The SPIDER control and data acquisition system (CODAS) has been developed and its construction will start in 2014. Slow control and data acquisition will be based on the ITER CODAC core system software suite that has been designed to facilitate the integration of ITER plant systems with CODAC. Fast control and data acquisition will use solutions specific to the test facility, as the corresponding concepts are not ready-to-use in the ITER design. The ITER hardware catalog for fast control has been taken into consideration. The software development will be based on the integration of MDSplus and MARTe, two framework software packages that are well known in the fusion community, targeting data organization and fast real-time control, respectively. The paper revises the system requirements and the system design and shows the results already achieved in terms of system integration. In addition, the paper will report the experience in the usage of different cooperating software frameworks and in the integration of industrial procured plant systems.

Control and data acquisition of the ITER full-scale ion source for the neutral beam test facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luchetta, Adriano, E-mail: adriano.luchetta@igi.cnr.it [Consorzio RFX (CNR, ENEA, INFN, Università di Padova, Acciaierie Venete SpA), Padova (Italy); Manduchi, Gabriele; Taliercio, Cesare [Consorzio RFX (CNR, ENEA, INFN, Università di Padova, Acciaierie Venete SpA), Padova (Italy); Paolucci, Francesco; Sartori, Filippo [Fusion for Energy, Barcelona (Spain); Svensson, Lennart [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90046 St. Paul Lez Durance (France); Labate, Carmelo Vincenzo [Association ENEA-CREATE, Department of Engineering, University of Naples “Parthenope” (Italy); Breda, Mauro; Capobianco, Roberto; Molon, Federico; Moressa, Modesto; Simionato, Paola; Zampiva, Enrico; Barbato, Paolo; Polato, Sandro [Consorzio RFX (CNR, ENEA, INFN, Università di Padova, Acciaierie Venete SpA), Padova (Italy)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • This paper describes the requirements and architecture of the control and data acquisition system of the ITER full-ion source experiment in the neutral beam test facility. • The system architecture integrates various popular software frameworks. • Slow control is based on the EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System) framework. • Fast control is based on the MARTe (Multi-threaded Application Real-Time executor) framework. • Data acquisition is based on the MDSplus framework. - Abstract: The neutral beam test facility, which is under construction in Padova, Italy, is developing the ITER full-scale ion source for the ITER heating neutral beam injectors, referred to as the SPIDER experiment, and the full-size prototype injector, referred to as MITICA. The SPIDER control and data acquisition system (CODAS) has been developed and its construction will start in 2014. Slow control and data acquisition will be based on the ITER CODAC core system software suite that has been designed to facilitate the integration of ITER plant systems with CODAC. Fast control and data acquisition will use solutions specific to the test facility, as the corresponding concepts are not ready-to-use in the ITER design. The ITER hardware catalog for fast control has been taken into consideration. The software development will be based on the integration of MDSplus and MARTe, two framework software packages that are well known in the fusion community, targeting data organization and fast real-time control, respectively. The paper revises the system requirements and the system design and shows the results already achieved in terms of system integration. In addition, the paper will report the experience in the usage of different cooperating software frameworks and in the integration of industrial procured plant systems.

Optimizing Implementation of Obesity Prevention Programs: A Qualitative Investigation Within a Large-Scale Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Kozica, Samantha L; Teede, Helena J; Harrison, Cheryce L; Klein, Ruth; Lombard, Catherine B

2016-01-01

The prevalence of obesity in rural and remote areas is elevated in comparison to urban populations, highlighting the need for interventions targeting obesity prevention in these settings. Implementing evidence-based obesity prevention programs is challenging. This study aimed to investigate factors influencing the implementation of obesity prevention programs, including adoption, program delivery, community uptake, and continuation, specifically within rural settings. Nested within a large-scale randomized controlled trial, a qualitative exploratory approach was adopted, with purposive sampling techniques utilized, to recruit stakeholders from 41 small rural towns in Australia. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with clinical health professionals, health service managers, and local government employees. Open coding was completed independently by 2 investigators and thematic analysis undertaken. In-depth interviews revealed that obesity prevention programs were valued by the rural workforce. Program implementation is influenced by interrelated factors across: (1) contextual factors and (2) organizational capacity. Key recommendations to manage the challenges of implementing evidence-based programs focused on reducing program delivery costs, aided by the provision of a suite of implementation and evaluation resources. Informing the scale-up of future prevention programs, stakeholders highlighted the need to build local rural capacity through developing supportive university partnerships, generating local program ownership and promoting active feedback to all program partners. We demonstrate that the rural workforce places a high value on obesity prevention programs. Our results inform the future scale-up of obesity prevention programs, providing an improved understanding of strategies to optimize implementation of evidence-based prevention programs. © 2015 National Rural Health Association.

Scalable multi-objective control for large scale water resources systems under uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Giuliani, Matteo; Quinn, Julianne; Herman, Jonathan; Castelletti, Andrea; Reed, Patrick

2016-04-01

The use of mathematical models to support the optimal management of environmental systems is rapidly expanding over the last years due to advances in scientific knowledge of the natural processes, efficiency of the optimization techniques, and availability of computational resources. However, undergoing changes in climate and society introduce additional challenges for controlling these systems, ultimately motivating the emergence of complex models to explore key causal relationships and dependencies on uncontrolled sources of variability. In this work, we contribute a novel implementation of the evolutionary multi-objective direct policy search (EMODPS) method for controlling environmental systems under uncertainty. The proposed approach combines direct policy search (DPS) with hierarchical parallelization of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) and offers a threefold advantage: the DPS simulation-based optimization can be combined with any simulation model and does not add any constraint on modeled information, allowing the use of exogenous information in conditioning the decisions. Moreover, the combination of DPS and MOEAs prompts the generation or Pareto approximate set of solutions for up to 10 objectives, thus overcoming the decision biases produced by cognitive myopia, where narrow or restrictive definitions of optimality strongly limit the discovery of decision relevant alternatives. Finally, the use of large-scale MOEAs parallelization improves the ability of the designed solutions in handling the uncertainty due to severe natural variability. The proposed approach is demonstrated on a challenging water resources management problem represented by the optimal control of a network of four multipurpose water reservoirs in the Red River basin (Vietnam). As part of the medium-long term energy and food security national strategy, four large reservoirs have been constructed on the Red River tributaries, which are mainly operated for hydropower

Wind-tunnel tests of a 1/4 scale model of the Bell XS-1 transonic airplane. 1: Longitudinal stability and control characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Donlan, C. J.; Kemp, W. B., Jr.; Polhamus, E. C.

1976-01-01

A 1/4 scale model of the Bell XS-1 transonic aircraft was tested in the Langley 300 mile-per-hour 7 by 10 foot tunnel to determine its low speed longitudinal stability and control characteristics. Pertinent longitudinal flying qualities expected of the XS-1 research airplane were estimated from the results of these tests including the effects of compressibility likely to be encountered at speeds below the force break. It appears that the static longitudinal stability and elevator control power will be adequate, but that the elevator control force gradient in steady flight will be undesirably low for all configurations. It is suggested that a centering spring be incorporated in the elevator control system of the airplane in order to increase the control force gradient in steady flight and in maneuvers.

Effectiveness of a controlled release chlorhexidine chip (PerioColTM‑CG as an adjunctive to scaling and root planing when compared to scaling and root planing alone in the treatment of chronic periodontitis: A comparative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kameswari Kondreddy

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Aims and objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a controlled-release chlorhexidine chip as an adjunctive therapy to scaling and root planing when compared with scaling and root planing alone in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. Materials and Methods: 20 patients with a total number of 40 posterior sites were selected. These sites were divided into two groups in a split mouth design,: Group A (control site had 20 sites treated with scaling and root planing alone and Group B (test site had 20 sites treated with scaling and root planing and PerioCol TM -CG. The clinical parameters (Plaque index, bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level were recorded at baseline, 90 th and 180 th day for both the groups. Results: When both groups were compared the change in Plaque index was significantly higher in Group B when compared to Group A on the 90 th day and 180 th day. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean percentage of gingival bleeding sites between the two groups on the 90 th day, though Group B showed a statistically higher reduction in the mean percentage of gingival bleeding sites at the end of 180 th day. There was no statistically significant difference in probing pocket depth between the two groups on both 90 th and 180 th day. Gain in clinical attachment level was significantly higher in Group B when compared to Group A on the 90 th and 180 th day. Conclusion: From the results observed in this study, it can be concluded that the adjunctive use of PerioCol TM -CG was safe and provided significant improvement in both Plaque index and gingival bleeding index. It was also more favorable than scaling and root planing alone for gain in clinical attachment level.

Hierarchical, decentralized control system for large-scale smart-structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Algermissen, Stephan; Fröhlich, Tim; Monner, Hans Peter

2014-01-01

Active control of sound and vibration has gained much attention in all kinds of industries in the past decade. Future prospects for maximizing airline passenger comfort are especially promising. The objectives of recent research projects in this area are the reduction of noise transmission through thin walled structures such as fuselages, linings or interior elements. Besides different external noise sources, such as the turbulent boundary layer, rotor or jet noise, the actuator and sensor placement as well as different control concepts are addressed. Mostly, the work is focused on a single panel or section of the fuselage, neglecting the fact that for effective noise reduction the entire fuselage has to be taken into account. Nevertheless, extending the scope of an active system from a single panel to the entire fuselage increases the effort for control hardware dramatically. This paper presents a control concept for large structures using distributed control nodes. Each node has the capability to execute a vibration or noise controller for a specific part or section of the fuselage. For maintenance, controller tuning or performance measurement, all nodes are connected to a host computer via Universal Serial Bus (USB). This topology allows a partitioning and distributing of tasks. The nodes execute the low-level control functions. High-level tasks like maintenance, system identification and control synthesis are operated by the host using streamed data from the nodes. By choosing low-price nodes, a very cost effective way of implementing an active system for large structures is realized. Besides the system identification and controller synthesis on the host computer, a detailed view on the hardware and software concept for the nodes is given. Finally, the results of an experimental test of a system running a robust vibration controller at an active panel demonstrator are shown. (paper)

Toward industrial scale synthesis of ultrapure singlet nanoparticles with controllable sizes in a continuous gas-phase process

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Jicheng; Biskos, George; Schmidt-Ott, Andreas

2015-10-01

Continuous gas-phase synthesis of nanoparticles is associated with rapid agglomeration, which can be a limiting factor for numerous applications. In this report, we challenge this paradigm by providing experimental evidence to support that gas-phase methods can be used to produce ultrapure non-agglomerated “singlet” nanoparticles having tunable sizes at room temperature. By controlling the temperature in the particle growth zone to guarantee complete coalescence of colliding entities, the size of singlets in principle can be regulated from that of single atoms to any desired value. We assess our results in the context of a simple analytical model to explore the dependence of singlet size on the operating conditions. Agreement of the model with experimental measurements shows that these methods can be effectively used for producing singlets that can be processed further by many alternative approaches. Combined with the capabilities of up-scaling and unlimited mixing that spark ablation enables, this study provides an easy-to-use concept for producing the key building blocks for low-cost industrial-scale nanofabrication of advanced materials.

Deformation Partitioning: The Missing Link Between Outcrop-Scale Observations And Orogen-Scale Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Attia, S.; Paterson, S. R.; Jiang, D.; Miller, R. B.

2017-12-01

self-consistent Multi-Order Power-Law Approach (MOPLA) to multi-scale field observations, we constrain likely paleo-tectonic controls of orogenic structural evolution rather than predicting a unique, but likely incorrect deformation history.

Cross-scale controls on carbon emissions from boreal forest megafires.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Xanthe J; Rogers, Brendan M; Baltzer, Jennifer L; Cumming, Steven G; Day, Nicola J; Goetz, Scott J; Johnstone, Jill F; Schuur, Edward A G; Turetsky, Merritt R; Mack, Michelle C

2018-04-26

Climate warming and drying is associated with increased wildfire disturbance and the emergence of megafires in North American boreal forests. Changes to the fire regime are expected to strongly increase combustion emissions of carbon (C) which could alter regional C balance and positively feedback to climate warming. In order to accurately estimate C emissions and thereby better predict future climate feedbacks, there is a need to understand the major sources of heterogeneity that impact C emissions at different scales. Here, we examined 211 field plots in boreal forests dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana) or jack pine (Pinus banksiana) of the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada after an unprecedentedly large area burned in 2014. We assessed both aboveground and soil organic layer (SOL) combustion, with the goal of determining the major drivers in total C emissions, as well as to develop a high spatial resolution model to scale emissions in a relatively understudied region of the boreal forest. On average, 3.35 kg C m -2 was combusted and almost 90% of this was from SOL combustion. Our results indicate that black spruce stands located at landscape positions with intermediate drainage contribute the most to C emissions. Indices associated with fire weather and date of burn did not impact emissions, which we attribute to the extreme fire weather over a short period of time. Using these results, we estimated a total of 94.3 Tg C emitted from 2.85 Mha of burned area across the entire 2014 NWT fire complex, which offsets almost 50% of mean annual net ecosystem production in terrestrial ecosystems of Canada. Our study also highlights the need for fine-scale estimates of burned area that represent small water bodies and regionally specific calibrations of combustion that account for spatial heterogeneity in order to accurately model emissions at the continental scale. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Universal Scaling Relations in Scale-Free Structure Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Guszejnov, Dávid; Hopkins, Philip F.; Grudić, Michael Y.

2018-04-01

A large number of astronomical phenomena exhibit remarkably similar scaling relations. The most well-known of these is the mass distribution dN/dM∝M-2 which (to first order) describes stars, protostellar cores, clumps, giant molecular clouds, star clusters and even dark matter halos. In this paper we propose that this ubiquity is not a coincidence and that it is the generic result of scale-free structure formation where the different scales are uncorrelated. We show that all such systems produce a mass function proportional to M-2 and a column density distribution with a power law tail of dA/d lnΣ∝Σ-1. In the case where structure formation is controlled by gravity the two-point correlation becomes ξ2D∝R-1. Furthermore, structures formed by such processes (e.g. young star clusters, DM halos) tend to a ρ∝R-3 density profile. We compare these predictions with observations, analytical fragmentation cascade models, semi-analytical models of gravito-turbulent fragmentation and detailed "full physics" hydrodynamical simulations. We find that these power-laws are good first order descriptions in all cases.

The motivation for special interests in individuals with autism and controls: Development and validation of the special interest motivation scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Grove, Rachel; Roth, Ilona; Hoekstra, Rosa A

2016-06-01

Clinical observations and first person accounts of living with autism suggest that individuals with autism are highly motivated to engage in special interests, and that these interests remain important throughout life. Previous research assessing special interests has mainly focused on parental reports of children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). To better understand the significance of and motivations for engaging in special interests it is essential to use self-report ratings. This paper aims to systematically explore the motivations for engagement in special interests, and whether these differ in adults with ASC, first-degree relatives and general population controls. The Special Interest Motivation Scale (SIMS) was developed to assess motivation to engage in special interests. The internal structure of this scale was evaluated using factor analysis, and mean scores on the SIMS factors were subsequently compared across individuals with autism, parents and general population controls. Factor analysis indicated a 20-item SIMS containing five factors assessing Personal life values and goals; Intrinsic interest and knowledge; Prestige; Engagement and "flow" and Achievement. Individuals with autism were more motivated by Intrinsic interest and knowledge and by Engagement and flow than controls. The 20-item SIMS is a quick to administer measure that provides a reliable description of motivation to engage in special interests. This study indicates that individuals with ASC are highly motivated to engage in their special interest, and are more motivated than controls by intrinsic motivational factors, some of which are associated with positive affect. This has implications for research and clinical practice. Autism Res 2016, 9: 677-688. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Speculation about near-wall turbulence scales

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yurchenko, N F

2008-01-01

A strategy to control near-wall turbulence modifying scales of fluid motion is developed. The boundary-layer flow is shown to respond selectively to the scale of streamwise vortices initiated, e.g. with the spanwise regular temperature distribution over a model surface. It is used to generate sustainable streamwise vortices and thus to optimize integral flow characteristics.

Fan-out Estimation in Spin-based Quantum Computer Scale-up.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Thien; Hill, Charles D; Hollenberg, Lloyd C L; James, Matthew R

2017-10-17

Solid-state spin-based qubits offer good prospects for scaling based on their long coherence times and nexus to large-scale electronic scale-up technologies. However, high-threshold quantum error correction requires a two-dimensional qubit array operating in parallel, posing significant challenges in fabrication and control. While architectures incorporating distributed quantum control meet this challenge head-on, most designs rely on individual control and readout of all qubits with high gate densities. We analysed the fan-out routing overhead of a dedicated control line architecture, basing the analysis on a generalised solid-state spin qubit platform parameterised to encompass Coulomb confined (e.g. donor based spin qubits) or electrostatically confined (e.g. quantum dot based spin qubits) implementations. The spatial scalability under this model is estimated using standard electronic routing methods and present-day fabrication constraints. Based on reasonable assumptions for qubit control and readout we estimate 10 2 -10 5 physical qubits, depending on the quantum interconnect implementation, can be integrated and fanned-out independently. Assuming relatively long control-free interconnects the scalability can be extended. Ultimately, the universal quantum computation may necessitate a much higher number of integrated qubits, indicating that higher dimensional electronics fabrication and/or multiplexed distributed control and readout schemes may be the preferredstrategy for large-scale implementation.

Ultra-thin and strong formvar-based membranes with controlled porosity for micro- and nano-scale systems

Science.gov (United States)

Auchter, Eric; Marquez, Justin; Stevens, Garrison; Silva, Rebecca; Mcculloch, Quinn; Guengerich, Quintessa; Blair, Andrew; Litchfield, Sebastian; Li, Nan; Sheehan, Chris; Chamberlin, Rebecca; Yarbro, Stephen L.; Dervishi, Enkeleda

2018-05-01

We present a methodology for developing ultra-thin and strong formvar-based membranes with controlled morphologies. Formvar is a thin hydrophilic and oleophilic polymer inert to most chemicals and resistant to radiation. The formvar-based membranes are viable materials as support structures in micro- and macro-scale systems depending on thinness and porosity control. Tunable sub-micron thick porous membranes with 20%–65% porosity were synthesized by controlling the ratios of formvar, glycerol, and chloroform. This synthesis process does not require complex separation or handling methods and allows for the production of strong, thin, and porous formvar-based membranes. An expansive array of these membrane characterizations including chemical compatibility, mechanical responses, wettability, as well as the mathematical simulations as a function of porosity has been presented. The wide range of chemical compatibility allows for membrane applications in various environments, where other polymers would not be suitable. Our formvar-based membranes were found to have an elastic modulus of 7.8 GPa, a surface free energy of 50 mN m‑1 and an average thickness of 125 nm. Stochastic model simulations indicate that formvar with the porosity of ∼50% is the optimal membrane formulation, allowing the most material transfer across the membrane while also withstanding the highest simulated pressure loadings before tearing. Development of novel, resilient and versatile membranes with controlled porosity offers a wide range of exciting applications in the fields of nanoscience, microfluidics, and MEMS.

An evaluation of a pre-scaling gel (SofScale) on the ease of supragingival calculus removal.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, S R; Foyle, D M; Daniels, J

1994-09-01

SofScale is a pre-scaling gel, containing disodium EDTA and sodium lauryl sulphate, which is claimed to soften calculus and therefore facilitate its removal. 31 subjects were treated in a double blind randomised placebo controlled split mouth study to evaluate this product. Test or placebo gels were applied to the lingual surfaces of the mandibular teeth for 4 min and the time taken to complete the removal of supragingival calculus recorded. The operator recorded on which side the calculus was considered easier to remove and the patient indicated how comfortable the scaling had been. The mean calculus index was 1.99 for the SofScale group and 1.97 for the placebo. The mean time taken to complete scaling was 5.31 min for both groups. Using the Student t-test, there were no statistically significant differences (p > 0.7) between either the calculus index or time taken to complete the scaling between the groups. The operator did not consider SofScale to facilitate calculus removal and patients did not find calculus removal more comfortable when SofScale had been used. There was no increased sensitivity in the SofScale group following scaling. The results of this study do not support the use of SofScale as an adjunct to scaling.

Visuomotor Dissociation in Cerebral Scaling of Size

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Potgieser, Adriaan R. E.; de Jong, Bauke M.

2016-01-01

Estimating size and distance is crucial in effective visuomotor control. The concept of an internal coordinate system implies that visual and motor size parameters are scaled onto a common template. To dissociate perceptual and motor components in such scaling, we performed an fMRI experiment in

Flight Investigation of the Stability and Control Characteristics of a 0.13-Scale Model of the Convair XFY-1 Vertically Rising Airplane During Constant-Altitude Transitions, TED No. NACA DE 368

Science.gov (United States)

Lovell, Powell M., Jr.; Kibry, Robert H.; Smith, Charles C., Jr.

1953-01-01

An investigation is being conducted to determine the dynamic stability and control characteristics of a 0.13-scale flying model of the Convair XFY-1 vertically rising airplane. This paper presents the results of flight tests to determine the stability and control characteristics of the model during constant-altitude slow transitions from hovering to normal unstalled forward flight. The tests indicated that the airplane can be flown through the transition range fairly easily although some difficulty will probably encountered in controlling the yawing motions at angles of attack between about 60 and 40. An increase in the size of the vertical tail will not materially improve the controllability of the yawing motions in this range of angle of attack but the use of a yaw damper will make the yawing motions easy to control throughout the entire transitional flight range. The tests also indicated that the airplane can probably be flown sideways satisfactorily at speeds up to approximately 33 knots (full scale) with the normal control system and up to approximately 37 knots (full scale) with both elevons and rudders rigged to move differentially for roll control. At sideways speeds above these values, the airplane will have a strong tendency to diverge uncontrollably in roll.

Optomechanical design of a hard x-ray nanoprobe instrument with active vibration control in nanometer scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, D.; Maser, J.; Holt, M.; Winarski, R.; Preissner, C.; Smolyanitskiy, A.; Lai, B.; Vogt, S.; Stephenson, G.

2007-01-01

We are developing a new hard x-ray nanoprobe instrument that is one of the centerpieces of the characterization facilities of the Center for Nanoscale Materials being constructed at Argonne National Laboratory. This new probe will cover an energy range of 3-30 keV with 30-nm spatial resolution. The system is designed to accommodate x-ray optics with a resolution limit of 10 nm, therefore, it requires staging of x-ray optics and specimens with a mechanical repeatability of better than 5 nm. Fast feedback for differential vibration control between the zone-plate x-ray optics and the sample holder has been implemented in the design using a digital-signal-processor-based real-time closed-loop feedback technique. A specially designed, custom-built laser Doppler displacement meter system provides two-dimensional differential displacement measurements with subnanometer resolution between the zone-plate x-ray optics and the sample holder. The optomechanical design of the instrument positioning stage system with nanometer-scale active vibration control is presented in this paper.

Large-scale control of mosquito vectors of disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtis, C.F.; Andreasen, M.H.

2000-01-01

By far the most important vector borne disease is malaria transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes causing an estimated 300-500 million clinical cases per year and 1.4-2.6 million deaths, mostly in tropical Africa (WHO 1995). The second most important mosquito borne disease is lymphatic filariasis, but there are now such effective, convenient and cheap drugs for its treatment that vector control will now have at most a supplementary role (Maxwell et al. 1999a). The only other mosquito borne disease likely to justify large-scale vector control is dengue which is carried in urban areas of Southeast Asia and Latin America by Aedes aegypti L. which was also the urban vector of yellow fever in Latin America. This mosquito was eradicated from most countries of Latin America between the 1930s and 60s but, unfortunately in recent years, it has been allowed to re-infest and cause serious dengue epidemics, except in Cuba where it has been held close to eradication (Reiter and Gubler 1997). In the 1930s and 40s, invasions by An. gambiae Giles s.l., the main tropical African malaria vector, were eradicated from Brazil (Soper and Wilson 1943) and Egypt (Shousha 1947). It is surprising that greatly increased air traffic has not led to more such invasions of apparently climatically suitable areas, e.g., of Polynesia which has no anophelines and therefore no malaria. The above mentioned temporary or permanent eradications were achieved before the advent of DDT, using larvicidal methods (of a kind which would now be considered environmentally unacceptable) carried out by rigorously disciplined teams. MALARIA Between the end of the Second World War and the 1960s, the availability of DDT for spraying of houses allowed eradication of malaria from the Soviet Union, southern Europe, the USA, northern Venezuela and Guyana, Taiwan and the Caribbean Islands, apart from Hispaniola. Its range and intensity were also greatly reduced in China, India and South Africa and, at least temporarily, in

Laboratory-scale column study for remediation of TCE-contaminated aquifers using three-section controlled-release potassium permanganate barriers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Baoling; Li, Fei; Chen, Yanmei; Fu, Ming-Lai

2013-05-01

A laboratory-scale study with a sand column was designed to simulate trichloroethylene (TCE) pollution in the aquifer environment with three-section controlled-release potassium permanganate (CRP) barriers. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of CRP barriers in remediation of TCE in aquifers in a long-term and controlled manner. CRP particles with a 1:3 molar ratio of KMnO4 to stearic acid showed the best controlled-release properties in pure water, and the theoretical release time was 138.5 days. The results of TCE removal in the test column indicated that complete removal efficiency of TCE in a sand column by three-section CRP barriers could be reached within 15 days. The molar ratio of KMnO4 to TCE in the three-section CRP barriers was 16:1, which was much lower than 82:1 as required when KMnO4 solution is used directly to achieve complete destruction of TCE. This result revealed that the efficiency of CRP for remediation of TCE was highly improved after encapsulation.

Control of hydrogen sulphide in full-scale anaerobic digesters using ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

scale anaerobic digesters (ADs) at a largescale municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Iron (III) ('ferric') chloride was applied at a range of 24–105 mg FeCl3/L with and without alkali solution using different strategies. Introduction points ...

Parallel Optimization of Polynomials for Large-scale Problems in Stability and Control

Science.gov (United States)

Kamyar, Reza

In this thesis, we focus on some of the NP-hard problems in control theory. Thanks to the converse Lyapunov theory, these problems can often be modeled as optimization over polynomials. To avoid the problem of intractability, we establish a trade off between accuracy and complexity. In particular, we develop a sequence of tractable optimization problems --- in the form of Linear Programs (LPs) and/or Semi-Definite Programs (SDPs) --- whose solutions converge to the exact solution of the NP-hard problem. However, the computational and memory complexity of these LPs and SDPs grow exponentially with the progress of the sequence - meaning that improving the accuracy of the solutions requires solving SDPs with tens of thousands of decision variables and constraints. Setting up and solving such problems is a significant challenge. The existing optimization algorithms and software are only designed to use desktop computers or small cluster computers --- machines which do not have sufficient memory for solving such large SDPs. Moreover, the speed-up of these algorithms does not scale beyond dozens of processors. This in fact is the reason we seek parallel algorithms for setting-up and solving large SDPs on large cluster- and/or super-computers. We propose parallel algorithms for stability analysis of two classes of systems: 1) Linear systems with a large number of uncertain parameters; 2) Nonlinear systems defined by polynomial vector fields. First, we develop a distributed parallel algorithm which applies Polya's and/or Handelman's theorems to some variants of parameter-dependent Lyapunov inequalities with parameters defined over the standard simplex. The result is a sequence of SDPs which possess a block-diagonal structure. We then develop a parallel SDP solver which exploits this structure in order to map the computation, memory and communication to a distributed parallel environment. Numerical tests on a supercomputer demonstrate the ability of the algorithm to

Distributed Model Predictive Control over Multiple Groups of Vehicles in Highway Intelligent Space for Large Scale System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tang Xiaofeng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the three time warning distances for solving the large scale system of multiple groups of vehicles safety driving characteristics towards highway tunnel environment based on distributed model prediction control approach. Generally speaking, the system includes two parts. First, multiple vehicles are divided into multiple groups. Meanwhile, the distributed model predictive control approach is proposed to calculate the information framework of each group. Each group of optimization performance considers the local optimization and the neighboring subgroup of optimization characteristics, which could ensure the global optimization performance. Second, the three time warning distances are studied based on the basic principles used for highway intelligent space (HIS and the information framework concept is proposed according to the multiple groups of vehicles. The math model is built to avoid the chain avoidance of vehicles. The results demonstrate that the proposed highway intelligent space method could effectively ensure driving safety of multiple groups of vehicles under the environment of fog, rain, or snow.

Pilot-Scale Demonstration of ALTA for NOx Control in Pulverized Coal-Fired Boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrew Fry; Devin Davis; Marc Cremer; Bradley Adams

2008-04-30

This report describes computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and pilot-scale testing conducted to demonstrate the ability of the Advanced Layered Technology Approach (ALTA) to reduce NO{sub x} emissions in a pulverized coal (PC) boiler. Testing specifically focused on characterizing NO{sub x} behavior with deep burner staging combined with Rich Reagent Injection (RRI). Tests were performed in a 4 MBtu/hr pilot-scale furnace at the University of Utah. Reaction Engineering International (REI) led the project team which included the University of Utah and Combustion Components Associates (CCA). Deep burner staging and RRI, combined with selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR), make up the Advanced Layered Technology Approach (ALTA) for NO{sub x} reduction. The application of ALTA in a PC environment requires homogenization and rapid reaction of post-burner combustion gases and has not been successfully demonstrated in the past. Operation of the existing low-NO{sub x} burner and design and operation of an application specific ALTA burner was guided by CFD modeling conducted by REI. Parametric pilot-scale testing proved the chemistry of RRI in a PC environment with a NOx reduction of 79% at long residence times and high baseline NOx rate. At representative particle residence times, typical operation of the dual-register low-NO{sub x} burner provided an environment that was unsuitable for NO{sub x} reduction by RRI, showing no NOx reduction. With RRI, the ALTA burner was able to produce NO{sub x} emissions 20% lower than the low-NO{sub x} burner, 76 ppmv vs. 94 ppmv, at a burner stoichiometric ratio (BSR) of 0.7 and a normalized stoichiometric ratio (NSR) of 2.0. CFD modeling was used to investigate the application of RRI for NO{sub x} control on a 180 MW{sub e} wall-fired, PC boiler. A NO{sub x} reduction of 37% from baseline (normal operation) was predicted using ALTA burners with RRI to produce a NO{sub x} emission rate of 0.185 lb/MBtu at the horizontal nose of

Phase-relationships between scales in the perturbed turbulent boundary layer

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobi, I.; McKeon, B. J.

2017-12-01

The phase-relationship between large-scale motions and small-scale fluctuations in a non-equilibrium turbulent boundary layer was investigated. A zero-pressure-gradient flat plate turbulent boundary layer was perturbed by a short array of two-dimensional roughness elements, both statically, and under dynamic actuation. Within the compound, dynamic perturbation, the forcing generated a synthetic very-large-scale motion (VLSM) within the flow. The flow was decomposed by phase-locking the flow measurements to the roughness forcing, and the phase-relationship between the synthetic VLSM and remaining fluctuating scales was explored by correlation techniques. The general relationship between large- and small-scale motions in the perturbed flow, without phase-locking, was also examined. The synthetic large scale cohered with smaller scales in the flow via a phase-relationship that is similar to that of natural large scales in an unperturbed flow, but with a much stronger organizing effect. Cospectral techniques were employed to describe the physical implications of the perturbation on the relative orientation of large- and small-scale structures in the flow. The correlation and cospectral techniques provide tools for designing more efficient control strategies that can indirectly control small-scale motions via the large scales.

Scaling Phenomena in Desalination With Multi Stage Flash Distillation (MSF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siti-Alimah

2006-01-01

Assessment of scaling phenomena in MSF desalination has been carried out. Scale is one of predominantly problem in multi stage flash (MSF) desalination installation. The main types of scale in MSF are carbonate calcium (CaCO 3 ), hydroxide magnesium (Mg(OH) 2 ) and sulphate calcium (CaSO 4 ). CaCO 3 and Mg(OH) 2 scales result from the thermal decomposition of bicarbonate ion, however sulphate calcium scale result from reaction of calcium ion and sulfate ion present in seawater. The rate of formation scale in seawater depends on temperature, pH, concentration of ions, supersaturated solution, nucleation and diffusion. The scales in MSF installation can occur inside heat exchanger tube, brine heater tubes, water boxes, on the face of tube sheets and demister pads. Scaling reduces effectiveness (production and heat consumption) of the process. To avoid the reductions in performance caused by scale precipitation, desalination units employ scale control. To control this scaling problem, the following methods can be used; acid, additive (scale inhibitors) and mechanical cleaning. Stoichiometric amounts of acid must be added to seawater, because addition excess of acid will increase corrosion problems. Using of scale inhibitors as polyphosphates, phosphonates, polyacrylates and poly maleates have advantage and disadvantage. (author)

Investigating textural controls on Archie's porosity exponent using process-based, pore-scale modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Q.; Zhang, C.

2017-12-01

Archie's law is an important empirical relationship linking the electrical resistivity of geological materials to their porosity. It has been found experimentally that the porosity exponent m in Archie's law in sedimentary rocks might be related to the degree of cementation, and therefore m is termed as "cementation factor" in most literatures. Despite it has been known for many years, there is lack of well-accepted physical interpretations of the porosity exponent. Some theoretical and experimental evidences have also shown that m may be controlled by the particle and/or pore shape. In this study, we conduct a pore-scale modeling of the porosity exponent that incorporates different geological processes. The evolution of m of eight synthetic samples with different particle sizes and shapes are calculated during two geological processes, i.e., compaction and cementation. The numerical results show that in dilute conditions, m is controlled by the particle shape. As the samples deviate from dilute conditions, m increases gradually due to the strong interaction between particles. When the samples are at static equilibrium, m is noticeably larger than its values at dilution condition. The numerical simulation results also show that both geological compaction and cementation induce a significant increase in m. In addition, the geometric characteristics of these samples (e.g., pore space/throat size, and their distributions) during compaction and cementation are also calculated. Preliminary analysis shows a unique correlation between the pore size broadness and porosity exponent for all eight samples. However, such a correlation is not found between m and other geometric characteristics.

Modified scaling function projective synchronization of chaotic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Yu-Hua; Zhou Wu-Neng; Fang Jian-An

2011-01-01

This paper investigates a kind of modified scaling function projective synchronization of uncertain chaotic systems using an adaptive controller. The given scaling function in the new method can be an equilibrium point, a periodic orbit, or even a chaotic attractor in the phase space. Based on LaSalle's invariance set principle, the adaptive control law is derived to make the states of two chaotic systems function projective synchronized. Some numerical examples are also given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. (general)

Dynamic Modeling, Optimization, and Advanced Control for Large Scale Biorefineries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prunescu, Remus Mihail

with a complex conversion route. Computational fluid dynamics is used to model transport phenomena in large reactors capturing tank profiles, and delays due to plug flows. This work publishes for the first time demonstration scale real data for validation showing that the model library is suitable...

Water hammer and column separation due to accidental simultaneous closure of control valves in a large scale two-phase flow experimental test rig

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bergant, A.; Westende, van 't J.M.C.; Koppel, T.; Gale, J.; Hou, Q.; Pandula, Z.; Tijsseling, A.S.

2010-01-01

A large-scale pipeline test rig at Deltares, Delft, The Netherlands has been used for filling and emptying experiments. Tests have been conducted in a horizontal 250 mm diameter PVC pipe of 258 m length with control valves at the downstream and upstream ends. This paper investigates the accidental

Automated control of a solar microgrid-powered air compressor for use in a small-scale compressed air energy storage system

OpenAIRE

Williams, Joshua N.

2017-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited As part of the Office of Naval Research's study of advanced energy technologies, this research examined the development and implementation of a control system for the compression phase of a small-scale compressed air energy storage system, using a solar-powered microgrid to store energy as compressed air for later use. The compression system is composed of numerous commercial-off-the-shelf components wherever possible. All electronic c...

A multi-scale controlled tissue engineering scaffold prepared by 3D printing and NFES technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feifei Yan

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The current focus in the field of life science is the use of tissue engineering scaffolds to repair human organs, which has shown great potential in clinical applications. Extracellular matrix morphology and the performance and internal structure of natural organs are required to meet certain requirements. Therefore, integrating multiple processes can effectively overcome the limitations of the individual processes and can take into account the needs of scaffolds for the material, structure, mechanical properties and many other aspects. This study combined the biological 3D printing technology and the near-field electro-spinning (NFES process to prepare a multi-scale controlled tissue engineering scaffold. While using 3D printing technology to directly prepare the macro-scaffold, the compositing NFES process to build tissue micro-morphology ultimately formed a tissue engineering scaffold which has the specific extracellular matrix structure. This scaffold not only takes into account the material, structure, performance and many other requirements, but also focuses on resolving the controllability problems in macro- and micro-forming which further aim to induce cell directed differentiation, reproduction and, ultimately, the formation of target tissue organs. It has in-depth immeasurable significance to build ideal scaffolds and further promote the application of tissue engineering.

Power Take-Off Simulation for Scale Model Testing of Wave Energy Converters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scott Beatty

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Small scale testing in controlled environments is a key stage in the development of potential wave energy conversion technology. Furthermore, it is well known that the physical design and operational quality of the power-take off (PTO used on the small scale model can have vast effects on the tank testing results. Passive mechanical elements such as friction brakes and air dampers or oil filled dashpots are fraught with nonlinear behaviors such as static friction, temperature dependency, and backlash, the effects of which propagate into the wave energy converter (WEC power production data, causing very high uncertainty in the extrapolation of the tank test results to the meaningful full ocean scale. The lack of quality in PTO simulators is an identified barrier to the development of WECs worldwide. A solution to this problem is to use actively controlled actuators for PTO simulation on small scale model wave energy converters. This can be done using force (or torque-controlled feedback systems with suitable instrumentation, enabling the PTO to exert any desired time and/or state dependent reaction force. In this paper, two working experimental PTO simulators on two different wave energy converters are described. The first implementation is on a 1:25 scale self-reacting point absorber wave energy converter with optimum reactive control. The real-time control system, described in detail, is implemented in LabVIEW. The second implementation is on a 1:20 scale single body point absorber under model-predictive control, implemented with a real-time controller in MATLAB/Simulink. Details on the physical hardware, software, and feedback control methods, as well as results, are described for each PTO. Lastly, both sets of real-time control code are to be web-hosted, free for download, modified and used by other researchers and WEC developers.

Development the Controller Input Power of Peripheral Interfacing Controller Using Other Micro controller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syirrazie Che Soh; Harzawardi Hashim; Nor Arymaswati Abdullah; Nur Aira Abdul Rahman; Mohd Ashhar Khalid

2011-01-01

This Controller Input Power of a Peripheral Interfacing Controller was developed using the other micro controller. This paper discuss the switching technique are practiced using proper electronic device to develop the controller, thus enable to control the input power of a PIC in order to expand their interfacing capacity and control. This may allow the PIC could be used to acquire input and control output signal from electronic and electromechanical device and instrument as well as software in wide scale and application. (author)

Psychometric properties of the reassurance-seeking scale in a Turkish sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Gençöz, Tülin; Gençöz, Faruk

2005-02-01

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Reassurance-Seeking Scale in a sample of 102 Turkish undergraduate students. High internal consistency reliability was found for the Reassurance-Seeking Scale (alpha=.86). Factor analysis of the scale identified a single component that accounted for 71% of the total variance. The scale was significantly positively correlated with the Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory and had a significantly negative correlation with the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. Partial correlations of Reassurance-seeking with Depression scores as controlled by Anxiety scores and with Anxiety scores as controlled by Depression scores indicated that Reassurance-seeking scores maintained association with Depression but not with Anxiety. All these findings were in line with expectations.

Operational experience in chemical control of scale in boilers at the Ostrava-Karvina power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sikora, E; Srovnal, O

1988-03-01

Discusses methods for buildup removal from coal-fired boilers in power plants. Buildup types are analyzed. Standardized methods for buildup removal tested on a commercial scale in the power plants are comparatively evaluated. Scaling in the boiler heat exchange system is investigated. Using hydrofluoric acid for scale removal is discussed. Concentration of hydrofluoric acid ranges from 1.5% to 2.0%. Ryphalgan and Kaptax are used as corrosion inhibitors. Syntron B is also used for scale removal during boiler operation (at a pressure to 6.4% and temperature below 270 C). Efficiency of scale removal using various reagents is discussed. 4 refs.

Pertinent spatio-temporal scale of observation to understand suspended sediment yield control factors in the Andean region: the case of the Santa River (Peru)

Science.gov (United States)

Morera, S. B.; Condom, T.; Vauchel, P.; Guyot, J.-L.; Galvez, C.; Crave, A.

2013-11-01

Hydro-sedimentology development is a great challenge in Peru due to limited data as well as sparse and confidential information. This study aimed to quantify and to understand the suspended sediment yield from the west-central Andes Mountains and to identify the main erosion-control factors and their relevance. The Tablachaca River (3132 km2) and the Santa River (6815 km2), located in two adjacent Andes catchments, showed similar statistical daily rainfall and discharge variability but large differences in specific suspended-sediment yield (SSY). In order to investigate the main erosion factors, daily water discharge and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) datasets of the Santa and Tablachaca rivers were analysed. Mining activity in specific lithologies was identified as the major factor that controls the high SSY of the Tablachaca (2204 t km2 yr-1), which is four times greater than the Santa's SSY. These results show that the analysis of control factors of regional SSY at the Andes scale should be done carefully. Indeed, spatial data at kilometric scale and also daily water discharge and SSC time series are needed to define the main erosion factors along the entire Andean range.

The ConCom Safety Management Scale: developing and testing a measurement instrument for control-based and commitment-based safety management approaches in hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Alingh, Carien W; Strating, Mathilde M H; van Wijngaarden, Jeroen D H; Paauwe, Jaap; Huijsman, Robbert

2018-03-06

Nursing management is considered important for patient safety. Prior research has predominantly focused on charismatic leadership styles, although it is questionable whether these best characterise the role of nurse managers. Managerial control is also relevant. Therefore, we aimed to develop and test a measurement instrument for control-based and commitment-based safety management of nurse managers in clinical hospital departments. A cross-sectional survey design was used to test the newly developed questionnaire in a sample of 2378 nurses working in clinical departments. The nurses were asked about their perceptions of the leadership behaviour and management practices of their direct supervisors. Psychometric properties were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis and reliability estimates. The final 33-item questionnaire showed acceptable goodness-of-fit indices and internal consistency (Cronbach's α of the subscales range: 0.59-0.90). The factor structure revealed three subdimensions for control-based safety management: (1) stressing the importance of safety rules and regulations; (2) monitoring compliance; and (3) providing employees with feedback. Commitment-based management consisted of four subdimensions: (1) showing role modelling behaviour; (2) creating safety awareness; (3) showing safety commitment; and (4) encouraging participation. Construct validity of the scale was supported by high factor loadings and provided preliminary evidence that control-based and commitment-based safety management are two distinct yet related constructs. The findings were reconfirmed in a cross-validation procedure. The results provide initial support for the construct validity and reliability of our ConCom Safety Management Scale. Both management approaches were found to be relevant for managing patient safety in clinical hospital departments. The scale can be used to deepen our understanding of the influence of patient safety management on healthcare professionals

Short Personality and Life Event scale for detection of suicide attempters.

Science.gov (United States)

Artieda-Urrutia, Paula; Delgado-Gómez, David; Ruiz-Hernández, Diego; García-Vega, Juan Manuel; Berenguer, Nuria; Oquendo, Maria A; Blasco-Fontecilla, Hilario

2015-01-01

To develop a brief and reliable psychometric scale to identify individuals at risk for suicidal behaviour. Case-control study. 182 individuals (61 suicide attempters, 57 psychiatric controls, and 64 psychiatrically healthy controls) aged 18 or older, admitted to the Emergency Department at Puerta de Hierro University Hospital in Madrid, Spain. All participants completed a form including their socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, and the Personality and Life Events scale (27 items). To assess Axis I diagnoses, all psychiatric patients (including suicide attempters) were administered the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Descriptive statistics were computed for the socio-demographic factors. Additionally, χ(2) independence tests were applied to evaluate differences in socio-demographic and clinical variables, and the Personality and Life Events scale between groups. A stepwise linear regression with backward variable selection was conducted to build the Short Personality Life Event (S-PLE) scale. In order to evaluate the accuracy, a ROC analysis was conducted. The internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach's α, and the external reliability was evaluated using a test-retest procedure. The S-PLE scale, composed of just 6 items, showed good performance in discriminating between medical controls, psychiatric controls and suicide attempters in an independent sample. For instance, the S-PLE scale discriminated between past suicide and past non-suicide attempters with sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 75%. The area under the ROC curve was 88%. A factor analysis extracted only one factor, revealing a single dimension of the S-PLE scale. Furthermore, the S-PLE scale provides values of internal and external reliability between poor (test-retest: 0.55) and acceptable (Cronbach's α: 0.65) ranges. Administration time is about one minute. The S-PLE scale is a useful and accurate instrument for estimating the risk of suicidal behaviour in

Controlling You Watching Me: Measuring Perception Control on Social Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Keep, Melanie; Attrill-Smith, Alison

2017-09-01

Online self-presentation assumes that individuals intentionally control how others perceive them based on their online behaviors. Existing tools are limited in their ability to measure this notion of perception control and there is little understanding around factors which may affect the desire for perception control. This article reports on the development of a perception control scale and comparisons of perception control across age and between genders. A total of 222 participants completed an online survey with items measuring perception control and participant demographics. A principal component analysis revealed a one-factor, 12-item scale explaining 41.14% of the variance. Perception control was found to increase with age and did not differ between genders. Results are consistent with existing impression management research suggesting that while participants of both genders desire to control how others perceive them, as a person's sense of self stabilizes over time, they are less motivated to change their behaviors to control others' impressions of them.

Simulation test of PIUS-type reactor with large scale experimental apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamaki, M.; Tsuji, Y.; Ito, T.; Tasaka, K.; Kukita, Yutaka

1995-01-01

A large scale experimental apparatus for simulating the PIUS-type reactor has been constructed keeping the volumetric scaling ratio to the realistic reactor model. Fundamental experiments such as a steady state operation and a pump trip simulation were performed. Experimental results were compared with those obtained by the small scale apparatus in JAERI. We have already reported the effectiveness of the feedback control for the primary loop pump speed (PI control) for the stable operation. In this paper this feedback system is modified and the PID control is introduced. This new system worked well for the operation of the PIUS-type reactor even in a rapid transient condition. (author)

Large scale replacement of fuel channels in the Pickering CANDU reactor using a man-in-the-loop remote control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stratton, D.

1991-01-01

Spar Aerospace Limited of Toronto is presently under contract to Ontario Hydro to design a Remote Manipulation and Control System (RMCS) to be used during the large scale replacement of the fuel channels in the Pickering A Nuclear Generating Station. The system is designed to support the replacement of all 390 fuel channels in each of the four reactors at the Pickering A station in a safe manner that minimizes worker radiation exposure and unit outage time

Large-scale exact diagonalizations reveal low-momentum scales of nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Forssén, C.; Carlsson, B. D.; Johansson, H. T.; Sääf, D.; Bansal, A.; Hagen, G.; Papenbrock, T.

2018-03-01

Ab initio methods aim to solve the nuclear many-body problem with controlled approximations. Virtually exact numerical solutions for realistic interactions can only be obtained for certain special cases such as few-nucleon systems. Here we extend the reach of exact diagonalization methods to handle model spaces with dimension exceeding 1010 on a single compute node. This allows us to perform no-core shell model (NCSM) calculations for 6Li in model spaces up to Nmax=22 and to reveal the 4He+d halo structure of this nucleus. Still, the use of a finite harmonic-oscillator basis implies truncations in both infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) length scales. These truncations impose finite-size corrections on observables computed in this basis. We perform IR extrapolations of energies and radii computed in the NCSM and with the coupled-cluster method at several fixed UV cutoffs. It is shown that this strategy enables information gain also from data that is not fully UV converged. IR extrapolations improve the accuracy of relevant bound-state observables for a range of UV cutoffs, thus making them profitable tools. We relate the momentum scale that governs the exponential IR convergence to the threshold energy for the first open decay channel. Using large-scale NCSM calculations we numerically verify this small-momentum scale of finite nuclei.

The role of storm scale, position and movement in controlling urban flood response

Science.gov (United States)

ten Veldhuis, Marie-claire; Zhou, Zhengzheng; Yang, Long; Liu, Shuguang; Smith, James

2018-01-01

The impact of spatial and temporal variability of rainfall on hydrological response remains poorly understood, in particular in urban catchments due to their strong variability in land use, a high degree of imperviousness and the presence of stormwater infrastructure. In this study, we analyze the effect of storm scale, position and movement in relation to basin scale and flow-path network structure on urban hydrological response. A catalog of 279 peak events was extracted from a high-quality observational dataset covering 15 years of flow observations and radar rainfall data for five (semi)urbanized basins ranging from 7.0 to 111.1 km2 in size. Results showed that the largest peak flows in the event catalog were associated with storm core scales exceeding basin scale, for all except the largest basin. Spatial scale of flood-producing storm events in the smaller basins fell into two groups: storms of large spatial scales exceeding basin size or small, concentrated events, with storm core much smaller than basin size. For the majority of events, spatial rainfall variability was strongly smoothed by the flow-path network, increasingly so for larger basin size. Correlation analysis showed that position of the storm in relation to the flow-path network was significantly correlated with peak flow in the smallest and in the two more urbanized basins. Analysis of storm movement relative to the flow-path network showed that direction of storm movement, upstream or downstream relative to the flow-path network, had little influence on hydrological response. Slow-moving storms tend to be associated with higher peak flows and longer lag times. Unexpectedly, position of the storm relative to impervious cover within the basins had little effect on flow peaks. These findings show the importance of observation-based analysis in validating and improving our understanding of interactions between the spatial distribution of rainfall and catchment variability.

Decoupling processes and scales of shoreline morphodynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Hapke, Cheryl J.; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Henderson, Rachel E.; Schwab, William C.; Nelson, Timothy R.

2016-01-01

Behavior of coastal systems on time scales ranging from single storm events to years and decades is controlled by both small-scale sediment transport processes and large-scale geologic, oceanographic, and morphologic processes. Improved understanding of coastal behavior at multiple time scales is required for refining models that predict potential erosion hazards and for coastal management planning and decision-making. Here we investigate the primary controls on shoreline response along a geologically-variable barrier island on time scales resolving extreme storms and decadal variations over a period of nearly one century. An empirical orthogonal function analysis is applied to a time series of shoreline positions at Fire Island, NY to identify patterns of shoreline variance along the length of the island. We establish that there are separable patterns of shoreline behavior that represent response to oceanographic forcing as well as patterns that are not explained by this forcing. The dominant shoreline behavior occurs over large length scales in the form of alternating episodes of shoreline retreat and advance, presumably in response to storms cycles. Two secondary responses include long-term response that is correlated to known geologic variations of the island and the other reflects geomorphic patterns with medium length scale. Our study also includes the response to Hurricane Sandy and a period of post-storm recovery. It was expected that the impacts from Hurricane Sandy would disrupt long-term trends and spatial patterns. We found that the response to Sandy at Fire Island is not notable or distinguishable from several other large storms of the prior decade.

The weak-scale hierarchy and discrete symmetries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haba, Naoyuki; Matsuoka, Takeo; Hattori, Chuichiro; Matsuda, Masahisa; Mochinaga, Daizo.

1996-01-01

In the underlying Planck scale theory, we introduce a certain type of discrete symmetry, which potentially brings the stability of the weak-scale hierarchy under control. Under the discrete symmetry the μ-problem and the tadpole problem can be solved simultaneously without relying on some fine-tuning of parameters. Instead, it is required that doublet Higgs and color-triplet Higgs fields reside in different irreducible representations of the gauge symmetry group at the Planck scale and that they have distinct charges of the discrete symmetry group. (author)

Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory-2 restructured form (MMPI-2-RF) scale score differences in bariatric surgery candidates diagnosed with binge eating disorder versus BMI-matched controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Marek, Ryan J; Ben-Porath, Yossef S; Ashton, Kathleen; Heinberg, Leslie J

2014-04-01

Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is among the most common psychiatric disorders in bariatric surgery candidates. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) is a broadband, psychological test that includes measures of emotional and behavioral dysfunction, which have been associated with BED behaviors in bariatric surgery candidates; however these studies have lacked appropriate controls. In the current study, we compared MMPI-2-RF scale scores of bariatric surgery patients diagnosed with BED (BED+) with BMI-matched controls without BED (BED-). Three-hundred and seven BED+ participants (72.64% female and 67.87% Caucasian; mean BMI of 51.36 kg/m(2) [SD = 11.94]) were drawn from a large, database (N = 1304). Three-hundred and seven BED- participants were matched on BMI and demographics (72.64% female, 68.63% Caucasian, and mean BMI of 51.30 kg/m(2) [SD = 11.70]). The BED+ group scored significantly higher on measures of Demoralization, Low Positive Emotions, and Dysfunctional Negative Emotions and scored lower on measures of Antisocial Behaviors, reflecting behavioral constraint. Optimal T-Score cutoffs were below the traditional 65 T score for several MMPI-2-RF scales. MMPI-2-RF externalizing measures also added incrementally to differentiating between the groups beyond the Binge Eating Scale (BES). BED+ individuals produced greater elevations on a number of MMPI-2-RF internalizing scales and externalizing scales. Use of the test in conjunction with a clinical interview and other self-report data can further aid the clinician in guiding patients to appropriate treatment to optimize outcome. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A novel adaptive synchronization control of a class of master-slave large-scale systems with unknown channel time-delay

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Qikun; Zhang, Tianping

2015-05-01

The paper addresses a practical issue for adaptive synchronization in master-slave large-scale systems with constant channel time-delay., and a novel adaptive synchronization control scheme is proposed to guarantee the synchronization errors asymptotically converge to the origin, in which the matching condition as in the related literatures is not necessary. The real value of channel time-delay can be estimated online by a proper adaptation mechanism, which removes the conditions that the channel time-delay should be known exactly as in existing works. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.

ARRA-Multi-Level Energy Storage and Controls for Large-Scale Wind Energy Integration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David Wenzhong Gao

2012-09-30

intelligent controller that increases battery life within hybrid energy storage systems for wind application was developed. Comprehensive studies have been conducted and simulation results are analyzed. A permanent magnet synchronous generator, coupled with a variable speed wind turbine, is connected to a power grid (14-bus system). A rectifier, a DC-DC converter and an inverter are used to provide a complete model of the wind system. An Energy Storage System (ESS) is connected to a DC-link through a DC-DC converter. An intelligent controller is applied to the DC-DC converter to help the Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) to regulate output power and also to control the operation of the battery and supercapacitor. This ensures a longer life time for the batteries. The detailed model is simulated in PSCAD/EMTP. Additionally, economic analysis has been done for different methods that can reduce the wind power output fluctuation. These methods are, wind power curtailment, dumping loads, battery energy storage system and hybrid energy storage system. From the results, application of single advanced HESS can save more money for wind turbines owners. Generally the income would be the same for most of methods because the wind does not change and maximum power point tracking can be applied to most systems. On the other hand, the cost is the key point. For short term and small wind turbine, the BESS is the cheapest and applicable method while for large scale wind turbines and wind farms the application of advanced HESS would be the best method to reduce the power fluctuation. The key outcomes of this project include a new intelligent controller that can reduce energy exchanged between the battery and DC-link, reduce charging/discharging cycles, reduce depth of discharge and increase time interval between charge/discharge, and lower battery temperature. This improves the overall lifetime of battery energy storages. Additionally, a new design method based on probability help optimize the

Copper atomic-scale transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Fangqing; Kavalenka, Maryna N; Röger, Moritz; Albrecht, Daniel; Hölscher, Hendrik; Leuthold, Jürgen; Schimmel, Thomas

2017-01-01

We investigated copper as a working material for metallic atomic-scale transistors and confirmed that copper atomic-scale transistors can be fabricated and operated electrochemically in a copper electrolyte (CuSO 4 + H 2 SO 4 ) in bi-distilled water under ambient conditions with three microelectrodes (source, drain and gate). The electrochemical switching-on potential of the atomic-scale transistor is below 350 mV, and the switching-off potential is between 0 and -170 mV. The switching-on current is above 1 μA, which is compatible with semiconductor transistor devices. Both sign and amplitude of the voltage applied across the source and drain electrodes ( U bias ) influence the switching rate of the transistor and the copper deposition on the electrodes, and correspondingly shift the electrochemical operation potential. The copper atomic-scale transistors can be switched using a function generator without a computer-controlled feedback switching mechanism. The copper atomic-scale transistors, with only one or two atoms at the narrowest constriction, were realized to switch between 0 and 1 G 0 ( G 0 = 2e 2 /h; with e being the electron charge, and h being Planck's constant) or 2 G 0 by the function generator. The switching rate can reach up to 10 Hz. The copper atomic-scale transistor demonstrates volatile/non-volatile dual functionalities. Such an optimal merging of the logic with memory may open a perspective for processor-in-memory and logic-in-memory architectures, using copper as an alternative working material besides silver for fully metallic atomic-scale transistors.

Debt Out of Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Achtziger, Anja; Hubert, Marco; Kenning, Peter

2015-01-01

In a representative sample of the German population (n = 946), we explored the links between self-control, compulsive buying, and debts. Participants completed the self-control scale (Tangney, Boone, & Baumeister, 2004) and the German Addictive Buying Scale (Raab, Neuner, Reisch, & Scherhorn, 2005......, there was a gender effect on compulsive buying: women were more prone to compulsive buying than men. Age also was significantly negatively related to compulsive buying and positively linked to self-control. Household income was not linked to self-control, compulsive buying, and debts. Implications for practice...

SCALE: A modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation: Control modules C4, C6

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

This Manual represents Revision 5 of the user documentation for the modular code system referred to as SCALE. The history of the SCALE code system dates back to 1969 when the current Computational Physics and Engineering Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) began providing the transportation package certification staff at the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission with computational support in the use of the new KENO code for performing criticality safety assessments with the statistical Monte Carlo method. From 1969 to 1976 the certification staff relied on the ORNL staff to assist them in the correct use of codes and data for criticality, shielding, and heat transfer analyses of transportation packages. However, the certification staff learned that, with only occasional use of the codes, it was difficult to become proficient in performing the calculations often needed for an independent safety review. Thus, shortly after the move of the certification staff to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the NRC staff proposed the development of an easy-to-use analysis system that provided the technical capabilities of the individual modules with which they were familiar. With this proposal, the concept of the Standardized Computer Analyses for Licensing Evaluation (SCALE) code system was born. This volume is part of the manual related to the control modules for the newest updated version of this computational package.

Feedback-Based Admission Control for Firm Real-Time Task Allocation with Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piotr Dziurzanski

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Feedback-based mechanisms can be employed to monitor the performance of Multiprocessor Systems-on-Chips (MPSoCs and steer the task execution even if the exact knowledge of the workload is unknown a priori. In particular, traditional proportional-integral controllers can be used with firm real-time tasks to either admit them to the processing cores or reject in order not to violate the timeliness of the already admitted tasks. During periods with a lower computational power demand, dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS can be used to reduce the dissipation of energy in the cores while still not violating the tasks’ time constraints. Depending on the workload pattern and weight, platform size and the granularity of DVFS, energy savings can reach even 60% at the cost of a slight performance degradation.

A New Lebanese Medication Adherence Scale: Validation in Lebanese Hypertensive Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Bou Serhal, R; Salameh, P; Wakim, N; Issa, C; Kassem, B; Abou Jaoude, L; Saleh, N

2018-01-01

A new Lebanese scale measuring medication adherence considered socioeconomic and cultural factors not taken into account by the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). Objectives were to validate the new adherence scale and its prediction of hypertension control, compared to MMAS-8, and to assess adherence rates and factors. A cross-sectional study, including 405 patients, was performed in outpatient cardiology clinics of three hospitals in Beirut. Blood pressure was measured, a questionnaire filled, and sodium intake estimated by a urine test. Logistic regression defined predictors of hypertension control and adherence. 54.9% had controlled hypertension. 82.4% were adherent by the new scale, which showed good internal consistency, adequate questions (KMO coefficient = 0.743), and four factors. It predicted hypertension control (OR = 1.217; p value = 0.003), unlike MMAS-8, but the scores were correlated (ICC average measure = 0.651; p value < 0.001). Stress and smoking predicted nonadherence. This study elaborated a validated, practical, and useful tool measuring adherence to medications in Lebanese hypertensive patients.

A New Lebanese Medication Adherence Scale: Validation in Lebanese Hypertensive Adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Bou Serhal

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background. A new Lebanese scale measuring medication adherence considered socioeconomic and cultural factors not taken into account by the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8. Objectives were to validate the new adherence scale and its prediction of hypertension control, compared to MMAS-8, and to assess adherence rates and factors. Methodology. A cross-sectional study, including 405 patients, was performed in outpatient cardiology clinics of three hospitals in Beirut. Blood pressure was measured, a questionnaire filled, and sodium intake estimated by a urine test. Logistic regression defined predictors of hypertension control and adherence. Results. 54.9% had controlled hypertension. 82.4% were adherent by the new scale, which showed good internal consistency, adequate questions (KMO coefficient = 0.743, and four factors. It predicted hypertension control (OR = 1.217; p value = 0.003, unlike MMAS-8, but the scores were correlated (ICC average measure = 0.651; p value < 0.001. Stress and smoking predicted nonadherence. Conclusion. This study elaborated a validated, practical, and useful tool measuring adherence to medications in Lebanese hypertensive patients.

Effect of organic on chemical oxidation for biofouling control in pilot-scale seawater cooling towers

KAUST Repository

Al-Bloushi, Mohammed

2017-09-14

Due to the scarcity of potable water in many regions of the world, the demand for seawater as an alternative evaporative cooling medium in cooling towers (CTs) has increased significantly in recent years. Seawater make-up in CTs is deemed the most feasible because of its unlimited supply in the coastal areas of Gulf and Red Sea. However, the seawater CTs have higher challenges greatly mitigating their performances because it is an open system where biofouling and bio-corrosion occurring within the fillers and piping of recirculation systems. Their pilot-scale CTs were constructed to assess the performance of three types of oxidizing biocides or oxidants, namely chlorine, chlorine dioxide (ClO2) and ozone, for biofouling control. The test results showed that the addition of organic (5mg/L of methanol (MeOH)) increased the bacterial growth in CT basin. All oxidants were effective in keeping the microbial growth to the minimum. Oxidation increased the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) level from 270 to 600mV. Total residual oxidant (TRO) was increased with oxidation but it was slightly increased with organic addition. Other parameters including pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), conductivity levels were not changed. However, higher formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) was detected with chlorination and ozonation. This indicates the organic level should be limited in the oxidation for biofouling control in seawater CTs.

Effect of organic on chemical oxidation for biofouling control in pilot-scale seawater cooling towers

KAUST Repository

Al-Bloushi, Mohammed; Saththasivam, Jayaprakash; Jeong, Sanghyun; Amy, Gary L.; Leiknes, TorOve

2017-01-01

Due to the scarcity of potable water in many regions of the world, the demand for seawater as an alternative evaporative cooling medium in cooling towers (CTs) has increased significantly in recent years. Seawater make-up in CTs is deemed the most feasible because of its unlimited supply in the coastal areas of Gulf and Red Sea. However, the seawater CTs have higher challenges greatly mitigating their performances because it is an open system where biofouling and bio-corrosion occurring within the fillers and piping of recirculation systems. Their pilot-scale CTs were constructed to assess the performance of three types of oxidizing biocides or oxidants, namely chlorine, chlorine dioxide (ClO2) and ozone, for biofouling control. The test results showed that the addition of organic (5mg/L of methanol (MeOH)) increased the bacterial growth in CT basin. All oxidants were effective in keeping the microbial growth to the minimum. Oxidation increased the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) level from 270 to 600mV. Total residual oxidant (TRO) was increased with oxidation but it was slightly increased with organic addition. Other parameters including pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), conductivity levels were not changed. However, higher formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) was detected with chlorination and ozonation. This indicates the organic level should be limited in the oxidation for biofouling control in seawater CTs.

A river-scale Lagrangian experiment examining controls on phytoplankton dynamics in the presence and absence of treated wastewater effluent high in ammonium

Science.gov (United States)

Kraus, Tamara; Carpenter, Kurt; Bergamaschi, Brian; Parker, Alexander; Stumpner, Elizabeth; Downing, Bryan D.; Travis, Nicole; Wilkerson, Frances; Kendall, Carol; Mussen, Timothy

2017-01-01

Phytoplankton are critical component of the food web in most large rivers and estuaries, and thus identifying dominant controls on phytoplankton abundance and species composition is important to scientists, managers, and policymakers. Recent studies from a variety of systems indicate that ammonium ( NH+4) in treated wastewater effluent decreases primary production and alters phytoplankton species composition. However, these findings are based mainly on laboratory and enclosure studies, which may not adequately represent natural systems. To test effects of effluent high in ammonium on phytoplankton at the ecosystem scale, we conducted whole-river–scale experiments by halting discharges to the Sacramento River from the regional wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and used a Lagrangian approach to compare changes in phytoplankton abundance and species composition in the presence (+EFF) and absence (−EFF) of effluent. Over 5 d of downstream travel from 20 km above to 50 km below the WWTP, chlorophyll concentrations declined from 15–25 to ∼2.5 μg L−1, irrespective of effluent addition. Benthic diatoms were dominant in most samples. We found no significant difference in phytoplankton abundance or species composition between +EFF and −EFF conditions. Moreover, greatest declines in chlorophyll occurred upstream of the WWTP where NH+4 concentrations were low. Grazing by clams and zooplankton could not account for observed losses, suggesting other factors such as hydrodynamics and light limitation were responsible for phytoplankton declines. These results highlight the advantages of conducting ecosystem-scale, Lagrangian-based experiments to understand the dynamic and complex interplay between physical, chemical, and biological factors that control phytoplankton populations.

JV TASK 45-MERCURY CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES FOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES BURNING LIGNITE COAL, PHASE I BENCH-AND PILOT-SCALE TESTING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

John H. Pavlish; Michael J. Holmes; Steven A. Benson; Charlene R. Crocker; Edwin S. Olson; Kevin C. Galbreath; Ye Zhuang; Brandon M. Pavlish

2003-10-01

The Energy & Environmental Research Center has completed the first phase of a 3-year, two-phase consortium project to develop and demonstrate mercury control technologies for utilities that burn lignite coal. The overall project goal is to maintain the viability of lignite-based energy production by providing utilities with low-cost options for meeting future mercury regulations. Phase I objectives are to develop a better understanding of mercury interactions with flue gas constituents, test a range of sorbent-based technologies targeted at removing elemental mercury (Hg{sup o}) from flue gases, and demonstrate the effectiveness of the most promising technologies at the pilot scale. The Phase II objectives are to demonstrate and quantify sorbent technology effectiveness, performance, and cost at a sponsor-owned and operated power plant. Phase I results are presented in this report along with a brief overview of the Phase II plans. Bench-scale testing provided information on mercury interactions with flue gas constituents and relative performances of the various sorbents. Activated carbons were prepared from relatively high-sodium lignites by carbonization at 400 C (752 F), followed by steam activation at 750 C (1382 F) and 800 C (1472 F). Luscar char was also steam-activated at these conditions. These lignite-based activated carbons, along with commercially available DARCO FGD and an oxidized calcium silicate, were tested in a thin-film, fixed-bed, bench-scale reactor using a simulated lignitic flue gas consisting of 10 {micro}g/Nm{sup 3} Hg{sup 0}, 6% O{sub 2}, 12% CO{sub 2}, 15% H{sub 2}O, 580 ppm SO{sub 2}, 120 ppm NO, 6 ppm NO{sub 2}, and 1 ppm HCl in N{sub 2}. All of the lignite-based activated (750 C, 1382 F) carbons required a 30-45-minute conditioning period in the simulated lignite flue gas before they exhibited good mercury sorption capacities. The unactivated Luscar char and oxidized calcium silicate were ineffective in capturing mercury. Lignite

Political consultation and large-scale research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bechmann, G.; Folkers, H.

1977-01-01

Large-scale research and policy consulting have an intermediary position between sociological sub-systems. While large-scale research coordinates science, policy, and production, policy consulting coordinates science, policy and political spheres. In this very position, large-scale research and policy consulting lack of institutional guarantees and rational back-ground guarantee which are characteristic for their sociological environment. This large-scale research can neither deal with the production of innovative goods under consideration of rentability, nor can it hope for full recognition by the basis-oriented scientific community. Policy consulting knows neither the competence assignment of the political system to make decisions nor can it judge succesfully by the critical standards of the established social science, at least as far as the present situation is concerned. This intermediary position of large-scale research and policy consulting has, in three points, a consequence supporting the thesis which states that this is a new form of institutionalization of science: These are: 1) external control, 2) the organization form, 3) the theoretical conception of large-scale research and policy consulting. (orig.) [de

The role of storm scale, position and movement in controlling urban flood response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.-C. ten Veldhuis

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The impact of spatial and temporal variability of rainfall on hydrological response remains poorly understood, in particular in urban catchments due to their strong variability in land use, a high degree of imperviousness and the presence of stormwater infrastructure. In this study, we analyze the effect of storm scale, position and movement in relation to basin scale and flow-path network structure on urban hydrological response. A catalog of 279 peak events was extracted from a high-quality observational dataset covering 15 years of flow observations and radar rainfall data for five (semiurbanized basins ranging from 7.0 to 111.1 km2 in size. Results showed that the largest peak flows in the event catalog were associated with storm core scales exceeding basin scale, for all except the largest basin. Spatial scale of flood-producing storm events in the smaller basins fell into two groups: storms of large spatial scales exceeding basin size or small, concentrated events, with storm core much smaller than basin size. For the majority of events, spatial rainfall variability was strongly smoothed by the flow-path network, increasingly so for larger basin size. Correlation analysis showed that position of the storm in relation to the flow-path network was significantly correlated with peak flow in the smallest and in the two more urbanized basins. Analysis of storm movement relative to the flow-path network showed that direction of storm movement, upstream or downstream relative to the flow-path network, had little influence on hydrological response. Slow-moving storms tend to be associated with higher peak flows and longer lag times. Unexpectedly, position of the storm relative to impervious cover within the basins had little effect on flow peaks. These findings show the importance of observation-based analysis in validating and improving our understanding of interactions between the spatial distribution of rainfall and catchment variability.

Development and validation of the Stirling Eating Disorder Scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, G J; Power, K G; Miller, H R; Freeman, C P; Yellowlees, A; Dowds, T; Walker, M; Parry-Jones, W L

1994-07-01

The development and reliability/validity check of an 80-item, 8-scale measure for use with eating disorder patients is presented. The Stirling Eating Disorder Scales (SEDS) assess anorexic dietary behavior, anorexic dietary cognitions, bulimic dietary behavior, bulimic dietary cognitions, high perceived external control, low assertiveness, low self-esteem, and self-directed hostility. The SEDS were administered to 82 eating disorder patients and 85 controls. Results indicate that the SEDS are acceptable in terms of internal consistency, reliability, group validity, and concurrent validity.

Modeling and Coordinated Control Strategy of Large Scale Grid-Connected Wind/Photovoltaic/Energy Storage Hybrid Energy Conversion System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lingguo Kong

2015-01-01

Full Text Available An AC-linked large scale wind/photovoltaic (PV/energy storage (ES hybrid energy conversion system for grid-connected application was proposed in this paper. Wind energy conversion system (WECS and PV generation system are the primary power sources of the hybrid system. The ES system, including battery and fuel cell (FC, is used as a backup and a power regulation unit to ensure continuous power supply and to take care of the intermittent nature of wind and photovoltaic resources. Static synchronous compensator (STATCOM is employed to support the AC-linked bus voltage and improve low voltage ride through (LVRT capability of the proposed system. An overall power coordinated control strategy is designed to manage real-power and reactive-power flows among the different energy sources, the storage unit, and the STATCOM system in the hybrid system. A simulation case study carried out on Western System Coordinating Council (WSCC 3-machine 9-bus test system for the large scale hybrid energy conversion system has been developed using the DIgSILENT/Power Factory software platform. The hybrid system performance under different scenarios has been verified by simulation studies using practical load demand profiles and real weather data.

When to Spray: a Time-Scale Calculus Approach to Controlling the Impact of West Nile Virus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Thomas

2009-12-01

Full Text Available West Nile Virus (WNV made its initial appearance in the New York City (NYC metropolitan area in 1999 and was implicated in cases of human encephalitis and the extensive mortality in crows (Corvus sp. and other avian species. Mosquitoes were found to be the primary vectors and NYC's current policy on control strategies involved an eradication program that depends on the synchronicity of the summer mosquito population's increases with the occurrence of cases in humans. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether this is the most effective control strategy because past mathematical models assumed discrete behavior that is modeled by difference equations for a single summer season was most important to the virus's life cycle. However, both surviving mosquito eggs and surviving migratory birds incubate the virus during the winter, leading to a continuation of infections in the following warmer spring and summer when the birds return and the eggs hatch. Additionally, the virulence of WNV has been observed to fluctuate with changes in temperature toward warmer conditions. Models are required that account for these multi-seasonal dynamics and time-scale calculus is a newly developed method for resolving the behavior of systems that exhibit both discrete and continuous behavior. We found that, although the static states of the new temperature delay model are no different from older models, simulations indicate that the rate of the infection is affected by avian recovery at a lower temperature threshold. Consequently, eradication strategies should consider that controlling mosquitoes during the fall when colder temperatures occur would cause a fast and efficient drop to a disease-free state. This could prove rather more effective than mosquito control in the warmer months.

Scaling and prescaling in quarkonium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warner, R.C.; Joshi, G.C.

1979-01-01

Recent experiments in the upsilon region indicate the quark mass dependence of quark-antiquark bound state properties. Classes of quark-antiquark potentials exhibiting scaling of energy level spacing with quark mass are presented, and the importance of mass dependence of bound state properties in investigating the nature of the potential is emphasised. The scaling potentials considered are V=V(msup(1/2)r), which exhibits constant level spacing, and V=bmsup(α)rsup(β), and its generalizations, which has scaling of energy levels controlled by the exponents α and β. The class of potentials yielding constant level spacing is shown to be consistent with the interpretation of the state recently observed at 9.46 GeV in e + e - annihilations as a bound state of a new quark and antiquark with esub(p)=1/3

Validation of three compulsive buying scales on an Italian sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Tommasi, Marco; Busonera, Alessandra

2012-12-01

Compulsive shopping is an impulse control disorder that produces psychological distress. Appropriate measurement scales of compulsive buying are important to identify compulsive buyers. Three compulsive buying scales (Faber and O'Guinn scale, Edwards scale, Yale and Brown scale) were tested in an Italian sample composed of 438 participants randomly selected from the general population. Self-report questionnaires measured psychiatric dysfunctions and personality traits. The data confirmed that high anxiety, obsessive-compulsive dysfunctions, depression, psychoticism, and low self-esteem were associated with inappropriate shopping. The Faber and O'Guinn scale and Edwards Scale are appropriate for surveys, while the Yale and Brown scale are more appropriate for clinical diagnosis of psychological dependences.

Validation of the Parental Facilitation of Mastery Scale-II.

Science.gov (United States)

Zalta, Alyson K; Allred, Kelly M; Jayawickreme, Eranda; Blackie, Laura E R; Chambless, Dianne L

2017-10-01

To develop a more reliable and comprehensive version of the Parental Facilitation of Mastery Scale (PFMS) METHOD: In Study 1, 387 undergraduates completed an expanded PFMS (PFMS-II) and measures of parenting, perceived control, responses to early life challenges, and psychopathology. In Study 2, 182 trauma-exposed community participants completed the PFMS-II and measures of perceived control, psychopathology, and well-being RESULTS: In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis of the PFMS-II revealed two factors. These factors replicated in Study 2; one item was removed to achieve measurement invariance across race. The final PFMS-II comprised a 10-item overprotection scale and a 7-item challenge scale. In both samples, this measure demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity and was more reliable than the original PFMS. Parental challenge was a unique predictor of perceived control in both samples CONCLUSION: The PFMS-II is a valid measure of important parenting behaviors not fully captured in other measures. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cascading failure in the wireless sensor scale-free networks

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hao-Ran; Dong, Ming-Ru; Yin, Rong-Rong; Han, Li

2015-05-01

In the practical wireless sensor networks (WSNs), the cascading failure caused by a failure node has serious impact on the network performance. In this paper, we deeply research the cascading failure of scale-free topology in WSNs. Firstly, a cascading failure model for scale-free topology in WSNs is studied. Through analyzing the influence of the node load on cascading failure, the critical load triggering large-scale cascading failure is obtained. Then based on the critical load, a control method for cascading failure is presented. In addition, the simulation experiments are performed to validate the effectiveness of the control method. The results show that the control method can effectively prevent cascading failure. Project supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, China (Grant No. F2014203239), the Autonomous Research Fund of Young Teacher in Yanshan University (Grant No. 14LGB017) and Yanshan University Doctoral Foundation, China (Grant No. B867).

Oil Reservoir Production Optimization using Optimal Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Völcker, Carsten; Jørgensen, John Bagterp; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

2011-01-01

Practical oil reservoir management involves solution of large-scale constrained optimal control problems. In this paper we present a numerical method for solution of large-scale constrained optimal control problems. The method is a single-shooting method that computes the gradients using the adjo...... reservoir using water ooding and smart well technology. Compared to the uncontrolled case, the optimal operation increases the Net Present Value of the oil field by 10%.......Practical oil reservoir management involves solution of large-scale constrained optimal control problems. In this paper we present a numerical method for solution of large-scale constrained optimal control problems. The method is a single-shooting method that computes the gradients using...

Comparative reproductive and physiological responses of northern bobwhite and scaled quail to water deprivation

Science.gov (United States)

Giuliano, W.M.; Patino, R.; Lutz, R.S.

1998-01-01

We compared reproductive and physiological responses of captive female northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) under control and water deprivation conditions. Scaled quail required less food and water to reproduce successfully under control conditions than northern bobwhite. Additionally, in scaled quail, serum osmolality levels and kidney mass were unaffected by water deprivation, whereas in northern bobwhite, serum osmolality levels increased and kidney mass declined. This finding indicates that scaled quail may have osmoregulatory abilities superior to those of northern bobwhite. Under control conditions, northern bobwhite gained more body mass and produced more but smaller eggs than scaled quail. Under water deprivation conditions, northern bobwhite lost more body mass but had more laying hens with a higher rate of egg production than scaled quail. Our data suggest that northern bobwhite allocated more resources to reproduction than to body maintenance, while scaled quail apparently forego reproduction in favor of body maintenance during water deprivation conditions.

Control of air toxics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livengood, C.D.

1995-01-01

For more than 10 years, Argonne National Laboratory has supported the US DOE's Flue Gas Cleanup Program objective by developing new or improved environmental controls for industries that use fossil fuels. Argonne's pollutant emissions research has ranged from experiments in the basic chemistry of pollution-control systems, through laboratory-scale process development and testing, to pilot-scale field tests of several technologies. The work on air toxics is currently divided into two components: Investigating measures to improve the removal of mercury in existing pollution-control systems applied to coal combustion; and, Developing sensors and control techniques for emissions found in the textile industry

Wake flow control using a dynamically controlled wind turbine

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo, Ricardo; Wang, Yeqin; Pol, Suhas; Swift, Andy; Hussain, Fazle; Westergaard, Carsten; Texas Tech University Team

2016-11-01

A wind tunnel based "Hyper Accelerated Wind Farm Kinematic-Control Simulator" (HAWKS) is being built at Texas Tech University to emulate controlled wind turbine flow physics. The HAWKS model turbine has pitch, yaw and speed control which is operated in real model time, similar to that of an equivalent full scale turbine. Also, similar to that of a full scale wind turbine, the controls are developed in a Matlab Simulink environment. The current diagnostic system consists of power, rotor position, rotor speed measurements and PIV wake characterization with four cameras. The setup allows up to 7D downstream of the rotor to be mapped. The purpose of HAWKS is to simulate control strategies at turnaround times much faster than CFD and full scale testing. The fundamental building blocks of the simulator have been tested, and demonstrate wake steering for both static and dynamic turbine actuation. Parameters which have been studied are yaw, rotor speed and combinations hereof. The measured wake deflections for static yaw cases are in agreement with previously reported research implying general applicability of the HAWKS platform for the purpose of manipulating the wake. In this presentation the general results will be introduced followed by an analysis of the wake turbulence and coherent structures when comparing static and dynamic flow cases. The outcome of such studies could ultimately support effective wind farm wake flow control strategies. Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF).

Model based multivariable controller for large scale compression stations. Design and experimental validation on the LHC 18KW cryorefrigerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bonne, François; Bonnay, Patrick [INAC, SBT, UMR-E 9004 CEA/UJF-Grenoble, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble (France); Alamir, Mazen [Gipsa-Lab, Control Systems Department, CNRS-University of Grenoble, 11, rue des Mathématiques, BP 46, 38402 Saint Martin d' Hères (France); Bradu, Benjamin [CERN, CH-1211 Genève 23 (Switzerland)

2014-01-29

In this paper, a multivariable model-based non-linear controller for Warm Compression Stations (WCS) is proposed. The strategy is to replace all the PID loops controlling the WCS with an optimally designed model-based multivariable loop. This new strategy leads to high stability and fast disturbance rejection such as those induced by a turbine or a compressor stop, a key-aspect in the case of large scale cryogenic refrigeration. The proposed control scheme can be used to have precise control of every pressure in normal operation or to stabilize and control the cryoplant under high variation of thermal loads (such as a pulsed heat load expected to take place in future fusion reactors such as those expected in the cryogenic cooling systems of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ITER or the Japan Torus-60 Super Advanced fusion experiment JT-60SA). The paper details how to set the WCS model up to synthesize the Linear Quadratic Optimal feedback gain and how to use it. After preliminary tuning at CEA-Grenoble on the 400W@1.8K helium test facility, the controller has been implemented on a Schneider PLC and fully tested first on the CERN's real-time simulator. Then, it was experimentally validated on a real CERN cryoplant. The efficiency of the solution is experimentally assessed using a reasonable operating scenario of start and stop of compressors and cryogenic turbines. This work is partially supported through the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA) Goal Oriented Training Program, task agreement WP10-GOT-GIRO.

Elders Health Empowerment Scale

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Introduction: Empowerment refers to patient skills that allow them to become primary decision-makers in control of daily self-management of health problems. As important the concept as it is, particularly for elders with chronic diseases, few available instruments have been validated for use with Spanish speaking people. Objective: Translate and adapt the Health Empowerment Scale (HES) for a Spanish-speaking older adults sample and perform its psychometric validation. Methods: The HES was adapted based on the Diabetes Empowerment Scale-Short Form. Where "diabetes" was mentioned in the original tool, it was replaced with "health" terms to cover all kinds of conditions that could affect health empowerment. Statistical and Psychometric Analyses were conducted on 648 urban-dwelling seniors. Results: The HES had an acceptable internal consistency with a Cronbach's α of 0.89. The convergent validity was supported by significant Pearson's Coefficient correlations between the HES total and item scores and the General Self Efficacy Scale (r= 0.77), Swedish Rheumatic Disease Empowerment Scale (r= 0.69) and Making Decisions Empowerment Scale (r= 0.70). Construct validity was evaluated using item analysis, half-split test and corrected item to total correlation coefficients; with good internal consistency (α> 0.8). The content validity was supported by Scale and Item Content Validity Index of 0.98 and 1.0, respectively. Conclusions: HES had acceptable face validity and reliability coefficients; which added to its ease administration and users' unbiased comprehension, could set it as a suitable tool in evaluating elder's outpatient empowerment-based medical education programs. PMID:25767307

Differential Relationships Between Diabetes Knowledge Scales and Diabetes Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Aprill Z; Walker, Rebekah J; Egede, Leonard E

2017-08-01

Background Diabetes affects more than 29 million people in the US and requires daily self-management in addition to knowledge of the disease. Three knowledge assessments used are the Michigan Brief Diabetes Knowledge Test (DKT), Starr County Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ), and Kaiser DISTANCE Survey (DISTANCE). Purpose The purpose of the study was to test the discriminate validity of 3 diabetes knowledge scales and determine which is best associated with diabetes self-care and glycemic control. Methods Three hundred sixty-one adults with type 2 diabetes were recruited from primary care clinics. Four analyses were conducted to investigate the validity and relationships of the scale: alpha statistic to test internal validity, factor analysis to determine how much of the variance was explained, Pearson's correlation between the 3 scales, and Pearson's correlation between each scale, self-care, and outcomes. Results The DKQ had an alpha of 0.75, the DKT had an alpha of 0.49, and DISTANCE had an alpha of 0.36. The DKQ was significantly correlated with glycemic control. The DKT scale was significantly associated with general diet, the DISTANCE survey was significantly associated with exercise, and both DKT and DISTANCE were significantly associated with foot care. Conclusion Correlations among the 3 scales were modest, suggesting the scales are not measuring the same underlying construct. These findings indicate that researchers should carefully select scales appropriate for study goals or to appropriately capture the information being sought to inform practice.

The design and construction of a controllable reactor with a HTS control winding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wass, Torbjoern; Hoernfeldt, Sven; Valdemarsson, Stefan

2006-01-01

Reactive power compensation is vital for obtaining efficient operation of long transmission power lines or cables. The need of reactive power changes with the load of the transmission line. Discrete units of conventional reactors are therefore switched in and out in order to obtain more efficient reactive power compensation. A continuous reactive compensation will reduce the transmission losses and increase the transmission capacity of active power. We have designed and constructed a one phase small scale prototype of a controllable shunt reactor with a high temperature superconducting control winding. The reactor consists basically of two windings and an iron core. The control winding is placed so that it generates a DC magnetic field perpendicular to the main AC magnetic field. Thus the DC current in the control winding can control the direction of the magnetization of the iron core and thereby the reactance of the reactor. Such a control winding will have low losses and give the reactor a large dynamic range. For this small scale reactor we found that the reactive power could be varied with a factor six. We have demonstrated the feasibility to design large scale controllable shunt reactors with large dynamic range and low losses utilizing a control winding made of a high temperature superconductor

Modelling the ability of source control measures to reduce inundation risk in a community-scale urban drainage system

Science.gov (United States)

Mei, Chao; Liu, Jiahong; Wang, Hao; Shao, Weiwei; Xia, Lin; Xiang, Chenyao; Zhou, Jinjun

2018-06-01

Urban inundation is a serious challenge that increasingly confronts the residents of many cities, as well as policymakers, in the context of rapid urbanization and climate change worldwide. In recent years, source control measures (SCMs) such as green roofs, permeable pavements, rain gardens, and vegetative swales have been implemented to address flood inundation in urban settings, and proven to be cost-effective and sustainable. In order to investigate the ability of SCMs on reducing inundation in a community-scale urban drainage system, a dynamic rainfall-runoff model of a community-scale urban drainage system was developed based on SWMM. SCMs implementing scenarios were modelled under six design rainstorm events with return period ranging from 2 to 100 years, and inundation risks of the drainage system were evaluated before and after the proposed implementation of SCMs, with a risk-evaluation method based on SWMM and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Results show that, SCMs implementation resulting in significantly reduction of hydrological indexes that related to inundation risks, range of reduction rates of average flow, peak flow, and total flooded volume of the drainage system were 28.1-72.1, 19.0-69.2, and 33.9-56.0 %, respectively, under six rainfall events with return periods ranging from 2 to 100 years. Corresponding, the inundation risks of the drainage system were significantly reduced after SCMs implementation, the risk values falling below 0.2 when the rainfall return period was less than 10 years. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of SCMs on mitigating inundation, and quantified the potential of SCMs on reducing inundation risks in the urban drainage system, which provided scientific references for implementing SCMs for inundation control of the study area.

Feedback Control of MEMS to Atoms

CERN Document Server

Shapiro, Benjamin

2012-01-01

Feedback Control of MEMS to Atoms illustrates the use of control and control systems as an essential part of functioning integrated miniaturized systems. The book is organized according to the dimensional scale of the problem, starting with microscale systems and ending with atomic-scale systems. Similar to macroscale machines and processes, control systems can play a major role in improving the performance of micro- and nanoscale systems and in enabling new capabilities that would otherwise not be possible. The majority of problems at these scales present many new challenges that go beyond the current state-of-the-art in control theory and engineering. This is a result of the multidisciplinary nature of micro/nanotechnology, which requires the merging of control engineering with physics, biology and chemistry. This book: Shows how the utilization of feedback control in nanotechnology instrumentation can yield results far better than passive systems can Discusses the application of control systems to problems...

Large-scale networks in engineering and life sciences

CERN Document Server

Findeisen, Rolf; Flockerzi, Dietrich; Reichl, Udo; Sundmacher, Kai

2014-01-01

This edited volume provides insights into and tools for the modeling, analysis, optimization, and control of large-scale networks in the life sciences and in engineering. Large-scale systems are often the result of networked interactions between a large number of subsystems, and their analysis and control are becoming increasingly important. The chapters of this book present the basic concepts and theoretical foundations of network theory and discuss its applications in different scientific areas such as biochemical reactions, chemical production processes, systems biology, electrical circuits, and mobile agents. The aim is to identify common concepts, to understand the underlying mathematical ideas, and to inspire discussions across the borders of the various disciplines.  The book originates from the interdisciplinary summer school “Large Scale Networks in Engineering and Life Sciences” hosted by the International Max Planck Research School Magdeburg, September 26-30, 2011, and will therefore be of int...

Microfluidic Experiments Studying Pore Scale Interactions of Microbes and Geochemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, M.; Kocar, B. D.

2016-12-01

Understanding how physical phenomena, chemical reactions, and microbial behavior interact at the pore-scale is crucial to understanding larger scale trends in groundwater chemistry. Recent studies illustrate the utility of microfluidic devices for illuminating pore-scale physical-biogeochemical processes and their control(s) on the cycling of iron, uranium, and other important elements 1-3. These experimental systems are ideal for examining geochemical reactions mediated by microbes, which include processes governed by complex biological phenomenon (e.g. biofilm formation, etc.)4. We present results of microfluidic experiments using a model metal reducing bacteria and varying pore geometries, exploring the limitations of the microorganisms' ability to access tight pore spaces, and examining coupled biogeochemical-physical controls on the cycling of redox sensitive metals. Experimental results will provide an enhanced understanding of coupled physical-biogeochemical processes transpiring at the pore-scale, and will constrain and compliment continuum models used to predict and describe the subsurface cycling of redox-sensitive elements5. 1. Vrionis, H. A. et al. Microbiological and geochemical heterogeneity in an in situ uranium bioremediation field site. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71, 6308-6318 (2005). 2. Pearce, C. I. et al. Pore-scale characterization of biogeochemical controls on iron and uranium speciation under flow conditions. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46, 7992-8000 (2012). 3. Zhang, C., Liu, C. & Shi, Z. Micromodel investigation of transport effect on the kinetics of reductive dissolution of hematite. Environ. Sci. Technol. 47, 4131-4139 (2013). 4. Ginn, T. R. et al. Processes in microbial transport in the natural subsurface. Adv. Water Resour. 25, 1017-1042 (2002). 5. Scheibe, T. D. et al. Coupling a genome-scale metabolic model with a reactive transport model to describe in situ uranium bioremediation. Microb. Biotechnol. 2, 274-286 (2009).

Determining the Control Circuitry of Redox Metabolism at the Genome-Scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Federowicz, Stephen; Kim, Donghyuk; Ebrahim, Ali

2014-01-01

-scale metabolic model to show that ArcA and Fnr regulate >80% of total metabolic flux and 96% of differential gene expression across fermentative and nitrate respiratory conditions. Based on the data, we propose a feedforward with feedback trim regulatory scheme, given the extensive repression of catabolic genes...

Wind Farm Wake Models From Full Scale Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Torben; Bak, Thomas

2012-01-01

This investigation is part of the EU FP7 project “Distributed Control of Large-Scale Offshore Wind Farms”. The overall goal in this project is to develop wind farm controllers giving power set points to individual turbines in the farm in order to minimise mechanical loads and optimise power. One...... on real full scale data. The modelling is based on so called effective wind speed. It is shown that there is a wake for a wind direction range of up to 20 degrees. Further, when accounting for the wind direction it is shown that the two model structures considered can both fit the experimental data...

uncertain dynamic systems on time scales

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Lakshmikantham

1995-01-01

Full Text Available A basic feedback control problem is that of obtaining some desired stability property from a system which contains uncertainties due to unknown inputs into the system. Despite such imperfect knowledge in the selected mathematical model, we often seek to devise controllers that will steer the system in a certain required fashion. Various classes of controllers whose design is based on the method of Lyapunov are known for both discrete [4], [10], [15], and continuous [3–9], [11] models described by difference and differential equations, respectively. Recently, a theory for what is known as dynamic systems on time scales has been built which incorporates both continuous and discrete times, namely, time as an arbitrary closed sets of reals, and allows us to handle both systems simultaneously [1], [2], [12], [13]. This theory permits one to get some insight into and better understanding of the subtle differences between discrete and continuous systems. We shall, in this paper, utilize the framework of the theory of dynamic systems on time scales to investigate the stability properties of conditionally invariant sets which are then applied to discuss controlled systems with uncertain elements. For the notion of conditionally invariant set and its stability properties, see [14]. Our results offer a new approach to the problem in question.

Watershed Controls on the Proper Scale of Economic Markets for Pollution Reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Rigby, J.; Doyle, M. W.; Yates, A.

2010-12-01

Markets for tradable discharge permits (TDPs) are an increasingly popular policy instrument for obtaining cost-effective nutrient reduction targets across watersheds. Such markets are also an emerging, dynamic coupling between economic institutions and stream hydrology/biogeochemistry as trading markets become explicit determinants for the spatial distribution of stream nutrient loads. A central problem in any environmental market program is setting the size of the market, as there are distinct trade-offs for large versus small markets. While the overall cost-effectiveness of permit trading increases with the size of the market, the potential for localized and highly damaging nutrient concentrations, or “hotspots”, also increases. Smaller market size reduces the potential for hot spots by dispersing the location of trades, but this may increase the net costs of water quality compliance significantly through both the restriction of possible trading partners and price manipulation by market participants. This project couples a microeconomic model for TDPs (based on possible configurations of mutually exclusive trading zones within the basin) with a semi-distributed water quality model to examine watershed controls on the configuration and scale of such markets. Our results show a wide variation in total annual cost of pollution abatement based on choice of market design -- often with large differences in cost between very similar configurations. This framework is also applied to a 10-member trading program among wastewater treatment plants in the Neuse River, NC, in order to assess (1) the optimum market design for the Upper Neuse basin and (2) how these costs compare with expected costs under alternative market structures (e.g., trading ratio system) and (3) the cost improvements over traditional command-and-control regulatory frameworks. We find that the optimal zone configuration is almost always a lower cost option when compared to a trading ratio scheme and

Deposit control in process cooling water systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venkataramani, B.

1981-01-01

In order to achieve efficient heat transfer in cooling water systems, it is essential to control the fouling of heat exchanger surfaces. Solubilities of scale forming salts, their growth into crystals, and the nature of the surfaces play important roles in the deposition phenomenon. Condensed phosphates, organic polymers and compounds like phosphates are effective in controlling deposition of scale forming salts. The surface active agents inhibit crystal growth and modify the crystals of the scale forming salts, and thus prevent deposition of dense, uniformly structured crystalline mass on the heat transfer surface. Understanding the mechanism of biofouling is essential to control it by surface active agents. Certain measures taken in the plant, such as back flushing, to control scaling, sometimes may not be effective and can be detrimental to the system itself. (author)

Program planning for large-scale control system upgrades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madani, M.; Giajnorio, J.; Richard, T.; Ho, D.; Volk, W.; Ertel, A.

2011-01-01

Bruce Power has been planning to replace the Bruce A Fuel Handling (FH) computer systems including the Controller and Protective computers for many years. This is a complex project, requiring an extended FH outage. To minimize operational disruption and fully identify associated project risks, Bruce Power is executing the project in phases starting with the Protective Computer replacement. GEH-C is collaborating with Bruce Power in a Preliminary Engineering (PE) phase to generate a project plan including specifications, budgetary cost, schedule, risks for the Protective computer replacement project. To assist Bruce Power in its evaluation, GEH-C's is using 6-Sigma methodologies to identify and rank Critical to Quality (CTQ) requirements in collaboration with Bruce Power Maintenance, Operations, Plant Design and FH Engineering teams. PE phase established the project scope, hardware and software specifications, material requirements and finally concluded with a recommended hardware platform and approved controls architecture.

Large-scale cryopumping for controlled fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pittenger, L.C.

1977-01-01

Vacuum pumping by freezing out or otherwise immobilizing the pumped gas is an old concept. In several plasma physics experiments for controlled fusion research, cryopumping has been used to provide clean, ultrahigh vacua. Present day fusion research devices, which rely almost universally upon neutral beams for heating, are high gas throughput systems, the pumping of which is best accomplished by cryopumping in the high mass-flow, moderate-to-high vacuum regime. Cryopumping systems have been developed for neutral beam injection systems on several fusion experiments (HVTS, TFTR) and are being developed for the overall pumping of a large, high-throughput mirror containment experiment (MFTF). In operation, these large cryopumps will require periodic defrosting, some schemes for which are discussed, along with other operational considerations. The development of cryopumps for fusion reactors is begun with the TFTR and MFTF systems. Likely paths for necessary further development for power-producing reactors are also discussed

Large-scale cryopumping for controlled fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pittenger, L.C.

1977-07-25

Vacuum pumping by freezing out or otherwise immobilizing the pumped gas is an old concept. In several plasma physics experiments for controlled fusion research, cryopumping has been used to provide clean, ultrahigh vacua. Present day fusion research devices, which rely almost universally upon neutral beams for heating, are high gas throughput systems, the pumping of which is best accomplished by cryopumping in the high mass-flow, moderate-to-high vacuum regime. Cryopumping systems have been developed for neutral beam injection systems on several fusion experiments (HVTS, TFTR) and are being developed for the overall pumping of a large, high-throughput mirror containment experiment (MFTF). In operation, these large cryopumps will require periodic defrosting, some schemes for which are discussed, along with other operational considerations. The development of cryopumps for fusion reactors is begun with the TFTR and MFTF systems. Likely paths for necessary further development for power-producing reactors are also discussed.

Evaluation of the internet use disorder scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hinić Darko

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The main aim of this study is to evaluate the Internet Use Disorder Scale administered to the sample of Internet users in Serbia, as well as to confirm its factorial structure and correlate it with some parameters of Internet use. The total sample included 280 participants, divided into the clinical (70 and control group (210, age (M=26.73, SD=7.830. The control group was randomly formed out of the total number of the participants (327 who voluntarily responded to the test battery and fulfilled the entry criteria. The clinical group comprised the subjects who had sought professional help due to the symptoms of dysfunctional Internet use in some of the institutions or private psychiatric and psycho-therapeutic practices in Serbia, all of whom met the classification criteria of Internet use disorder. The internal consistency of the scale is α=.944, and through factor analysis three factors were extracted, together explaining 67.23% of the total variance: Inability to control behaviour and the consequences, Internet preoccupation and responses to deprivation, Social consequences of Internet use disorder. A statistically significant difference between the total scores of the clinical and control group on the scale was reported (t(278=20.434; p<.000, and all individual items showed significant discriminative values with 89.6% of the participants regularly classified into appropriate categories. In addition, a significant positive correlation between the PUI score and the amount of hours spent online was found (r=.524; p<.001, however the analysis did not show any correlation with the work experience and age variables, nor significant differences by the sex, education and place of residence criterion in the clinical group. These results are similar to the ones with the control group accept for a low correlation between the PUI score and age (r=-0.253; p=.001.

Bridging the Gap between the Nanometer-Scale Bottom-Up and Micrometer-Scale Top-Down Approaches for Site-Defined InP/InAs Nanowires.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guoqiang; Rainville, Christophe; Salmon, Adrian; Takiguchi, Masato; Tateno, Kouta; Gotoh, Hideki

2015-11-24

This work presents a method that bridges the gap between the nanometer-scale bottom-up and micrometer-scale top-down approaches for site-defined nanostructures, which has long been a significant challenge for applications that require low-cost and high-throughput manufacturing processes. We realized the bridging by controlling the seed indium nanoparticle position through a self-assembly process. Site-defined InP nanowires were then grown from the indium-nanoparticle array in the vapor-liquid-solid mode through a "seed and grow" process. The nanometer-scale indium particles do not always occupy the same locations within the micrometer-scale open window of an InP exposed substrate due to the scale difference. We developed a technique for aligning the nanometer-scale indium particles on the same side of the micrometer-scale window by structuring the surface of a misoriented InP (111)B substrate. Finally, we demonstrated that the developed method can be used to grow a uniform InP/InAs axial-heterostructure nanowire array. The ability to form a heterostructure nanowire array with this method makes it possible to tune the emission wavelength over a wide range by employing the quantum confinement effect and thus expand the application of this technology to optoelectronic devices. Successfully pairing a controllable bottom-up growth technique with a top-down substrate preparation technique greatly improves the potential for the mass-production and widespread adoption of this technology.

Cross-Scale Value Trade-Offs in Managing Social-Ecological Systems: The Politics of Scale in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asim Zia

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Management of social-ecological systems takes place amidst complex governance processes and cross-scale institutional arrangements that are mediated through politics of scale. Each management scenario generates distinct cross-scale trade-offs in the distribution of pluralistic values. This study explores the hypothesis that conservation-oriented management scenarios generate higher value for international and national scale social organizations, whereas mixed or more balanced management scenarios generate higher value for local scale social organizations. This hypothesis is explored in the management context of Ruaha National Park (RNP, Tanzania, especially the 2006 expansion of RNP that led to the eviction of many pastoralists and farmers. Five management scenarios for RNP, i.e., national park, game reserve, game control area, multiple use area, and open area, are evaluated in a multicriteria decision analytical framework on six valuation criteria: economic welfare; good governance; socio-cultural values; social equity; ecosystem services; and biodiversity protection; and at three spatial scales: local, national, and international. Based upon this evaluation, we discuss the politics of scale that ensue from the implementation of management alternatives with different mixes of conservation and development goals in social-ecological systems.

Inconsistent classification of pusher behaviour in stroke patients: a direct comparison of the Scale for Contraversive Pushing and the Burke Lateropulsion Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergmann, Jeannine; Krewer, Carmen; Rieß, Katrin; Müller, Friedemann; Koenig, Eberhard; Jahn, Klaus

2014-07-01

To compare the classification of two clinical scales for assessing pusher behaviour in a cohort of stroke patients. Observational case-control study. Inpatient stroke rehabilitation unit. A sample of 23 patients with hemiparesis due to a unilateral stroke (1.6 ± 0.7 months post stroke). Immediately before and after three different interventions, the Scale for Contraversive Pushing and the Burke Lateropulsion Scale were applied in a standardized procedure. The diagnosis of pusher behaviour on the basis of the Scale for Contraversive Pushing and the Burke Lateropulsion Scale differed significantly (χ2 = 54.260, p Pushing (χ2 = 19.148, p Pushing, but pusher behaviour on the Burke Lateropulsion Scale. 64.5% (20 of 31) of them scored on the Burke Lateropulsion Scale on the standing and walking items only. The Burke Lateropulsion Scale is an appropriate alternative to the widely used Scale for Contraversive Pushing to follow-up patients with pusher behaviour (PB); it might be more sensitive to detect mild pusher behaviour in standing and walking. © The Author(s) 2014.

Scared to lose control? General and health locus of control in females with a phobia of vomiting.

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Davidson, Angela L; Boyle, Christopher; Lauchlan, Fraser

2008-01-01

The term emetophobia (i.e., a fear of vomiting) exists as rather an elusive predicament, often eluding conventional treatment. The present study involved 149 participants, consisting of 51 emetophobics, 48 phobic controls (i.e. those who suffered from a different phobia), and 50 nonphobic controls. Participants were administered the Rotter (1966) Locus of Control Scale and the Health Locus of Control Scale by B.S. Wallston, Wallston, Kaplan, and Maides (1976). Significant differences were found among the three groups; specifically, that emetophobics had a significantly higher internal Locus of Control Scale score with regard to both general and health-related issues than did the two control groups. It is suggested that vomiting phobics may have a fear of losing control, and that their vomiting phobia is reflective of this alternative, underlying problem. More research is required to explore the association between emetophobia and issues surrounding control; however, the current study suggests that it may be helpful for therapists to consider this aspect when treating a patient with vomiting phobia. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mechanistically-Based Field-Scale Models of Uranium Biogeochemistry from Upscaling Pore-Scale Experiments and Models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tim Scheibe; Alexandre Tartakovsky; Brian Wood; Joe Seymour

2007-01-01

Effective environmental management of DOE sites requires reliable prediction of reactive transport phenomena. A central issue in prediction of subsurface reactive transport is the impact of multiscale physical, chemical, and biological heterogeneity. Heterogeneity manifests itself through incomplete mixing of reactants at scales below those at which concentrations are explicitly defined (i.e., the numerical grid scale). This results in a mismatch between simulated reaction processes (formulated in terms of average concentrations) and actual processes (controlled by local concentrations). At the field scale, this results in apparent scale-dependence of model parameters and inability to utilize laboratory parameters in field models. Accordingly, most field modeling efforts are restricted to empirical estimation of model parameters by fitting to field observations, which renders extrapolation of model predictions beyond fitted conditions unreliable. The objective of this project is to develop a theoretical and computational framework for (1) connecting models of coupled reactive transport from pore-scale processes to field-scale bioremediation through a hierarchy of models that maintain crucial information from the smaller scales at the larger scales; and (2) quantifying the uncertainty that is introduced by both the upscaling process and uncertainty in physical parameters. One of the challenges of addressing scale-dependent effects of coupled processes in heterogeneous porous media is the problem-specificity of solutions. Much effort has been aimed at developing generalized scaling laws or theories, but these require restrictive assumptions that render them ineffective in many real problems. We propose instead an approach that applies physical and numerical experiments at small scales (specifically the pore scale) to a selected model system in order to identify the scaling approach appropriate to that type of problem. Although the results of such studies will

Mechanistically-Based Field-Scale Models of Uranium Biogeochemistry from Upscaling Pore-Scale Experiments and Models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tim Scheibe; Alexandre Tartakovsky; Brian Wood; Joe Seymour

2007-04-19

Effective environmental management of DOE sites requires reliable prediction of reactive transport phenomena. A central issue in prediction of subsurface reactive transport is the impact of multiscale physical, chemical, and biological heterogeneity. Heterogeneity manifests itself through incomplete mixing of reactants at scales below those at which concentrations are explicitly defined (i.e., the numerical grid scale). This results in a mismatch between simulated reaction processes (formulated in terms of average concentrations) and actual processes (controlled by local concentrations). At the field scale, this results in apparent scale-dependence of model parameters and inability to utilize laboratory parameters in field models. Accordingly, most field modeling efforts are restricted to empirical estimation of model parameters by fitting to field observations, which renders extrapolation of model predictions beyond fitted conditions unreliable. The objective of this project is to develop a theoretical and computational framework for (1) connecting models of coupled reactive transport from pore-scale processes to field-scale bioremediation through a hierarchy of models that maintain crucial information from the smaller scales at the larger scales; and (2) quantifying the uncertainty that is introduced by both the upscaling process and uncertainty in physical parameters. One of the challenges of addressing scale-dependent effects of coupled processes in heterogeneous porous media is the problem-specificity of solutions. Much effort has been aimed at developing generalized scaling laws or theories, but these require restrictive assumptions that render them ineffective in many real problems. We propose instead an approach that applies physical and numerical experiments at small scales (specifically the pore scale) to a selected model system in order to identify the scaling approach appropriate to that type of problem. Although the results of such studies will

Multidimensional health locus of control scales: applicability among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Exploratory factor analysis gave two sub-factors of the MHLC corresponding to internal and provider control over health and having internal consistency reliability of 0.72 and 0.76, respectively. Conclusion: The results lend support to the cultural correspondence of the MHLC instrument, several aspects of its validity and ...

Landslide scaling and magnitude-frequency distribution (Invited)

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Stark, C. P.; Guzzetti, F.

2009-12-01

Landslide-driven erosion is controlled by the scale and frequency of slope failures and by the consequent fluxes of debris off the hillslopes. Here I focus on the magnitude-frequency part of the process and develop a theory of initial slope failure and debris mobilization that reproduces the heavy-tailed distributions (PDFs) observed for landslide source areas and volumes. Landslide rupture propagation is treated as a quasi-static, non-inertial process of simplified elastoplastic deformation with strain weakening; debris runout is not considered. The model tracks the stochastically evolving imbalance of frictional, cohesive, and body forces across a failing slope, and uses safety-factor concepts to convert the evolving imbalance into a series of incremental rupture growth or arrest probabilities. A single rupture is simulated with a sequence of weighted ``coin tosses'' with weights set by the growth probabilities. Slope failure treated in this stochastic way is a survival process that generates asymptotically power-law-tail PDFs of area and volume for rock and debris slides; predicted scaling exponents are consistent with analyses of landslide inventories. The primary control on the shape of the model PDFs is the relative importance of cohesion over friction in setting slope stability: the scaling of smaller, shallower failures, and the size of the most common landslide volumes, are the result of the low cohesion of soil and regolith, whereas the negative power-law tail scaling for larger failures is tied to the greater cohesion of bedrock. The debris budget may be dominated by small or large landslides depending on the scaling of both the PDF and of the depth-length relation. I will present new model results that confirm the hypothesis that depth-length scaling is linear. Model PDF of landslide volumes.

Scale and scaling in agronomy and environmental sciences

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Scale is of paramount importance in environmental studies, engineering, and design. The unique course covers the following topics: scale and scaling, methods and theories, scaling in soils and other porous media, scaling in plants and crops; scaling in landscapes and watersheds, and scaling in agro...

Up-scaling expectations among Pakistan's HIV bureaucrats: entrepreneurs of the self and job precariousness post-scale-up.

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Qureshi, Ayaz

2014-01-01

Existing research has documented how the expansion of HIV programming has produced new subjectivities among the recipients of interventions. However, this paper contends that changes in politics, power and subjectivities may also be seen among the HIV bureaucracy in the decade of scale-up. One year's ethnographic fieldwork was conducted among AIDS control officials in Pakistan at a moment of rolling back a World Bank-financed Enhanced Programme. In 2003, the World Bank convinced the Musharraf regime to scale up the HIV response, offering a multimillion dollar soft loan package. I explore how the Enhanced Programme initiated government employees into a new transient work culture and turned the AIDS control programmes into a hybrid bureaucracy. However, the donor money did not last long and individuals' entrepreneurial abilities were tested in a time of crisis engendered by dependence on aid, leaving them precariously exposed to job insecurity, and undermining the continuity of AIDS prevention and treatment in the country. I do not offer a story of global 'best practices' thwarted by local 'lack of capacity', but an ethnographic critique of the transnational HIV apparatus and its neoliberal underpinning. I suggest that this Pakistan-derived analysis is more widely relevant in the post-scale-up decade.

The role of topography on catchment‐scale water residence time

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McGuire, K.J.; McDonnell, Jeffery J.; Weiler, M.; Kendall, C.; McGlynn, B.L.; Welker, J.M.; Seibert, J.

2005-01-01

The age, or residence time, of water is a fundamental descriptor of catchment hydrology, revealing information about the storage, flow pathways, and source of water in a single integrated measure. While there has been tremendous recent interest in residence time estimation to characterize watersheds, there are relatively few studies that have quantified residence time at the watershed scale, and fewer still that have extended those results beyond single catchments to larger landscape scales. We examined topographic controls on residence time for seven catchments (0.085–62.4 km2) that represent diverse geologic and geomorphic conditions in the western Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Our primary objective was to determine the dominant physical controls on catchment‐scale water residence time and specifically test the hypothesis that residence time is related to the size of the basin. Residence times were estimated by simple convolution models that described the transfer of precipitation isotopic composition to the stream network. We found that base flow mean residence times for exponential distributions ranged from 0.8 to 3.3 years. Mean residence time showed no correlation to basin area (r2 organization (i.e., topography) rather than basin area controls catchment‐scale transport. Results from this study may provide a framework for describing scale‐invariant transport across climatic and geologic conditions, whereby the internal form and structure of the basin defines the first‐order control on base flow residence time.

Proportional and Integral Thermal Control System for Large Scale Heating Tests

Science.gov (United States)

Fleischer, Van Tran

2015-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Armstrong Flight Research Center (Edwards, California) Flight Loads Laboratory is a unique national laboratory that supports thermal, mechanical, thermal/mechanical, and structural dynamics research and testing. A Proportional Integral thermal control system was designed and implemented to support thermal tests. A thermal control algorithm supporting a quartz lamp heater was developed based on the Proportional Integral control concept and a linearized heating process. The thermal control equations were derived and expressed in terms of power levels, integral gain, proportional gain, and differences between thermal setpoints and skin temperatures. Besides the derived equations, user's predefined thermal test information generated in the form of thermal maps was used to implement the thermal control system capabilities. Graphite heater closed-loop thermal control and graphite heater open-loop power level were added later to fulfill the demand for higher temperature tests. Verification and validation tests were performed to ensure that the thermal control system requirements were achieved. This thermal control system has successfully supported many milestone thermal and thermal/mechanical tests for almost a decade with temperatures ranging from 50 F to 3000 F and temperature rise rates from -10 F/s to 70 F/s for a variety of test articles having unique thermal profiles and test setups.

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of two short forms of the social interaction anxiety scale and the social phobia scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Blanc, Allura L; Bruce, Laura C; Heimberg, Richard G; Hope, Debra A; Blanco, Carlos; Schneier, Franklin R; Liebowitz, Michael R

2014-06-01

The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale are widely used measures of social anxiety. Using data from individuals with social anxiety disorder (n = 435) and nonanxious controls (n = 86), we assessed the psychometric properties of two independently developed short forms of these scales. Indices of convergent and discriminant validity, diagnostic specificity, sensitivity to treatment, and readability were examined. Comparisons of the two sets of short forms to each other and the original long forms were conducted. Both sets of scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency in the patient sample, showed expected patterns of correlation with measures of related and unrelated constructs, adequately discriminated individuals with social anxiety disorder from those without, and showed decreases in scores over the course of cognitive-behavioral therapy and/or pharmacotherapy. However, some significant differences in scale performance were noted. Implications for the clinical assessment of social anxiety are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

Finite size scaling and lattice gauge theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berg, B.A.

1986-01-01

Finite size (Fisher) scaling is investigated for four dimensional SU(2) and SU(3) lattice gauge theories without quarks. It allows to disentangle violations of (asymptotic) scaling and finite volume corrections. Mass spectrum, string tension, deconfinement temperature and lattice β-function are considered. For appropriate volumes, Monte Carlo investigations seem to be able to control the finite volume continuum limit. Contact is made with Luescher's small volume expansion and possibly also with the asymptotic large volume behavior. 41 refs., 19 figs

Quality Control Charts in Large-Scale Assessment Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Schafer, William D.; Coverdale, Bradley J.; Luxenberg, Harlan; Jin, Ying

2011-01-01

There are relatively few examples of quantitative approaches to quality control in educational assessment and accountability contexts. Among the several techniques that are used in other fields, Shewart charts have been found in a few instances to be applicable in educational settings. This paper describes Shewart charts and gives examples of how…

Multi-function nuclear weight scale system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Mingquan; Sun Jinhua; Jia Changchun; Wang Mingqian; Tang Ke

1998-01-01

The author introduces the methods to contrive the hardware and software of a Multi-function Nuclear Weight Scale System based on the communication contract in compliance with RS485 between a master (industrial control computer 386) and a slave (single chip 8098) and its main functions

Scaling of Attitudes Toward Population Problems

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Watkins, George A.

1975-01-01

This study related population problem attitudes and socioeconomic variables. Six items concerned with number of children, birth control, family, science, economic depression, and overpopulation were selected for a Guttman scalogram. Education, occupation, and number of children were correlated with population problems scale scores; marital status,…

Adaptive control of anaerobic digestion processes-a pilot-scale application.

Science.gov (United States)

Renard, P; Dochain, D; Bastin, G; Naveau, H; Nyns, E J

1988-03-01

A simple adaptive control algorithm, for which theoretical stability and convergence properties had been previously demonstrated, has been successfully implemented on a biomethanation pilot reactor. The methane digester, operated in the CSTR mode was submitted to a shock load, and successfully computer controlled during the subsequent transitory state.