Whose fault is it anyway? A practical illustration of human factors in process safety

Major process accidents have typically occurred not through a single failure, but through a combination of events, some of which had contributors from past actions and failures (latent or unrevealed failures). People are integral and key features of business systems; therefore systems, tools, and equipment should be designed with the potential capabilities and limitations of people in mind. This paper demonstrates the benefits of using human factors approaches to improve system safety and reliability. Practical examples from past experience are quoted and a framework for human error prediction is described. Guidance is given on the practicalities of deriving recommendations from these types of studies.     

Single-shot, two-dimensional ballistic imaging through scattering media

Imaging through scattering materials is an important research area that is generally limited to medical diagnostic applications. Published techniques typically use a method of time- or coherence-gating of ballistic photons that separates these early photons in order to acquire an image without the large background created by the later-arriving diffuse light. Because of the limited number of ballistic photons and the typically low signal-to-noise ratios of these schemes, a large number of averages or scans is necessary. If the desired image is changing rapidly, however, single images of this transient are required. We have therefore evaluated a two-dimensional, single-shot method that can be used for imaging rapid transients in scattering environments.     

Brain levels of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-acylethanolamine phospholipids in mice during pentylenetetrazol-induced seizure

The N-acylethanolamine phospholipids (NAPE) are precursors for N-acylethanolamines (NAE), including anandamide (20∶4-NAE), which is a ligand for the cannabinoid receptors. Previously, NAPE were believed to be found only in injured tissue, e.g., after neurodegenerative insults. Neuronal injury may occur in response to seizure activity. Therefore, we investigated the effect of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures in PTZ-kindled mice on the level of NAPE in the brain. Male NMRI mice were kindled with PTZ injections 3 times/wk, thereby developing clonic seizures in response to PTZ. Mice were killed within 30 min after the clonic seizure on the test day (12th injection) and the brains were collected. Eight species of NAPE were analyzed as the glycerophospho-N-acylethanolamines by high-performance liquid chromatography-coupled electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. No effect of the PTZ kindling on the NAPE levels in murine brains was observed. Total NAPE in control mice cortex (n=4) was 16.4±3.0 μmol/g wet weight of which 20∶4-NAPE accounted for 3.6 mol%, and the major species was 16∶0-NAPE, accounting for 52.1 mol%. Determination of the activity of NAPE-hydrolyzing phospholipase D and of N-acyltransferase in brain membrane preparations from adult and 3-d-old mice revealed an enzyme pattern in the adult mice that was favorable for NAE accumulation as opposed to NAPE accumulation. Thus, there was no difference in NAPE levels; at present, however, this does not exclude that NAE may accumulate during seizure.     

Investigating design issues in household environments

This paper argues that the current involvement of end users in the design of technological artefacts is too superficial. It is common to involve people in requirements generation, but rarely in product inception or design. A study is reported involving five households in central Scotland, who were each visited on three occasions, using a new investigative framework. Illustrative examples are provided of the strengths and weaknesses of the methods used. Despite the latter, it is demonstrated that the general public can both generate and critique design ideas and that valuable contributions to understanding people's relationships with technologies can be expected both from children and from the elderly. Electronic Publication     

High-throughput nuclear magnetic resonance analysis using a multiple coil flow probe

An automated method for high-throughput nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been developed using a four-coil Multiplex NMR probe. The probe is constructed with solenoidal microcoils optimized for detection of small volume, mass-limited samples and a flow-through design. Four samples can be simultaneously injected into the Multiplex probe with a robotics liquid handler and then analyzed in rapid succession using a selective excitation experiment. Due to the simultaneous injection of four samples and the reduced analysis time with rapid selective excitation, the analysis rate achieved thus far is as low as 1 sample/34 s for 1D 1H NMR.     

String matching with simple devices

With the help of a general simulation technique of deterministic finite two-way multi-head automata by automata with blind heads we show O(n²/logn) to be an upper time bound on string matching. This result is tight by a previously known lower bound.     

Learning Paths to Offshore Outsourcing: From Cost Reduction to Knowledge Seeking

A corporation's offshore outsourcing may be seen as the result of a discrete, strategic decision taken in response to an increasing pressure from worldwide competition. However, empirical evidence of a representative cross-sector sample of international Danish firms indicates that offshore sourcing in low-cost countries is best described as a learning-by-doing process in which the offshore outsourcing of a corporation goes through a sequence of stages towards sourcing for innovation. Initially, a corporation's outsourcing is driven by a desire for cost minimization. Over a period of time the outsourcing experience lessens the cognitive limitations of decision-makers as to the advantages that can be achieved through outsourcing in low-cost countries: the insourcer/vendor may not only offer cost advantages, but also quality improvement and innovation. The quality improvements that offshore outsourcing may bring about evoke a realization in the corporation that even innovative processes can be outsourced.     

监控线路连接交流负载的电压定时器

一个简单的监控线路连接的交流负载供电所用的时间(如图1).可以转换成标准单线协议所用时间的计数值.当给交流负载供电时,光隔离器以交流线路频率向单线计数器DS2423 IC的输入端提供脉冲.