The World robot summit disaster robotics category – achievements of the 2018 preliminary competition

The World Robot Summit is a robot Olympics and aims to be held in a different country every four years from 2020. The concept of the Plant Disaster Prevention challenge is daily inspections, checks, and emergency response in industrial plants, and in this competition, robots must carry out these types of missions in a mock-up plant. The concept of the Tunnel Disaster Response and Recovery challenge is emergency response to tunnel disasters, and is a simulation competition whereby teams compete to show their ability to deal with disasters, by collecting information and removing debris. The Standard Disaster Robotics challenge assesses, in the form of a contest, the standard performance levels of a robot that are necessary for disaster prevention and emergency response. The World Robot Summit Preliminary Competition was held at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2018, and 36 teams participated in the Disaster Robotics Category. UGVs and UAVs contended the merits of new technology for solving complex problems, using core technologies such as mobility, sensing, recognition, performing operations, human interface, autonomous intelligence etc., as well as system integration and implementation of strategies for completing missions, gaining high-level results.     

Professional design of chemical plants based on problem-based learning on a pilot plant

This work describes a novel teaching methodology and its application in a subject framed in the last course of the master’s degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Seville. The main aim consists of promoting a way to facilitate professional practice in this field to the students. Authors also aim at guiding the transition to the new learning requirements demanded by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).The novel methodology is based on the development of a detailed design of a pilot plant that can be further evaluated by the students themselves. Students are also allowed to run experiments at the facility and carry out several standard tests to verify the quality of the results of their works. The novelty of this proposal consists of incorporating a real installation available in our department to drive new learning methodologies applied in Chemical Engineering curricula. The methodology is distributed across several tasks: training (self-learning), project execution and supervision, comparison with a real installation and pilot plant experiences. The application of the proposed teaching methodology provided quality didactic material production, high satisfaction of the students with the new learning approach and the fact that they gained practical experience at industrial scale.     

电厂锅炉补给水处理中全膜法处理工艺的应用研究

以某电厂为背景,针对其中的全膜法展开探讨,涉及到工艺流程、相关构筑物以及设备参数等多方面内容,并将其与离子交换法进行了对比分析,结果显示,全膜法的可行性更高,能达到无酸碱排放的效果,能够发挥出显著的社会效益,以期给相关工程提供可行参考,由此推动电厂炉给水处理工作的持续开展。     

Crowding as an Agronomic Factor Determining the Development of Plants and the Productivity of Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.)

ABSTRACT

Nine sowing densities of linseed were compared in a two-year experiment. Self-regulation of the density of a linseed stand resulted in a differentiated branching of the plants. The number of capsules on a linseed shoot, as well as seeds in the capsule, and the number of seeds from the shoot were highly varied from year to year, and there is even a stronger differentiation in the weight of 1000 seeds. Linear relationships were noted between the mass of seeds from the linseed plant and the number of capsules. The yield of linseed was affected by both factors. An increasing sowing rate reduced the seed yield from the shoot and the plant. At lower seeding rates, the lateral shoots contributed in the seeds yield of the plant to a higher degree compared to the main ones.     

城市大型给水工程系统迁建设计

在环保督察背景下,城市饮用水水源保护问题凸显。以铜陵为例,介绍城市大型取水口、对应水厂系统迁建设计案例。铜陵市三水厂横港取水口水源保护区内存在多座码头,结合铜陵市长江岸线规划、现状供水布局及存在问题,将横港取水口、三水厂整体迁建至下游新民取水口附近,设计规模为30万m^3/d,同步建设配套给水管道,将原三水厂改造为加压泵站,工程建成后逐步关停现状一、二水厂,形成更加科学合理的供水系统。     

Adaptive retrieval practice with multiple-choice questions in the university classroom

Retrieval practice promotes retention more than restudying (i.e., the testing effect) and is applied to many educational settings. However, little research has investigated means to enhance this effect in educational settings. Theoretical accounts assume retrieval practice to be the most effective whenever retrieval is difficult but successful. Therefore, we developed a novel retrieval practice procedure, which adapts to learners' abilities and can be applied irrespective of learning content. This adaptive procedure aims to make retrieval gradually easier whenever students provide an incorrect answer. In a field experiment, students read book chapters as part of a weekly university course. In three consecutive weeks, they then practiced reading assignments by (a) adaptive testing, (b) non-adaptive testing and (c) restudy. In Week 4, a surprise criterial test took place. Restudy outperformed both testing conditions, whereas adaptive testing performed equally well as non-adaptive testing. However, exploratory analyses revealed that with increasing retention intervals, the superiority of restudy disappeared. Furthermore, whenever participants fully read the assignments and retention intervals increased, adaptive testing outperformed non-adaptive testing. In sum, adaptive retrieval practice did not prove to be generally superior, but retention interval and students' preparation for class might be conditions rendering adaptive retrieval useful in educational settings.     

Development of a procedure writers’ guide framework: Integrating the procedure life cycle and reflecting on current industry practices

The current study aims to advance a procedure development process that will create procedures as effective safeguards. Several past incidents identified that many current procedural systems failed to support workers conducting their work safely and effectively. There is currently a dearth of systematic inquiry regarding the procedure development process. A key element of the procedure development process is writers' guide, which dictates how these procedures should be developed, written, reviewed and managed. The current effort collected 16 writers' guides across various industries such as chemical, oil and gas, nuclear, and energy. Different components of these writers' guides were identified, summarized, and later categorized according to a newly developed writers' guide framework. The framework uses four phases of the procedure life cycle and five sections for procedure content. The analysis showed that industry practices primarily focus on general goals of the procedure, writing style, and review process. Many important components of the procedure, such as process hazard information, execution challenges, and training requirements were not addressed adequately. Of the 41 components, there were only 3 that 80% of the writers' guides contained suggesting little consensus about the content. The proposed writers' guide framework organizes all components including low frequency of appearance ones in different phases of procedure life cycle. The significance of the current procedure writers' guide framework is that it not only produces a structure for a comprehensive writers’ guide but also opens an opportunity for future improvement in current procedure writing practices.     

Ergonomics interventions to reduce musculoskeletal risk factors in a truck manufacturing plant

Ergonomic interventions may potentially reduce MSDs, but the context of industries (barriers, ever-changing situations, dialogue processes) might play a significant role in the success of interventions. This study evaluates the effectiveness of ergonomic interventions including engineering/technical and organizational interventions, and the involvement of the stakeholders in reducing musculoskeletal risk factors/symptoms. A pre-post-test experimental study in non-randomized groups was performed over three years in a sector of a truck assembly plant. The mean age of the operators in the sector for the initial and second assessment time was 42.0 (±7.6) years and 39.0 (±8.7), respectively. The mean length of work experience in the current job was 15.2 (±7.2) years and 13.9 (±7.3) for the initial and second assessment times, respectively. Five engineering ergonomic solutions and organizational interventions were implemented after a comprehensive ergonomic analysis. The organizational interventions consisted mostly of transferring and redistributing the tasks, i.e., ergonomically balancing and redesigning of the workstations. Before performing the interventions, the findings of the ergonomic study were presented at several meetings to encourage the involvement of the stakeholders (including managers, engineers, and operators) in the interventions. This study showed that a combination of ergonomic measures—engineering and organizational interventions—could reduce physical workloads. Musculoskeletal symptoms decreased after interventions although the difference was not significant.