The centralization index: A measure of local spatial segregation

Segregated areas may occur around an attractive park or a waste incinerator, but the magnitude and group membership of the people in closest proximity will likely be difierent. We therefore introduce a local segregation measure that can be applied to any location within a metropolitan area, and that can identify the group that is relatively more concentrated around that reference location. We further introduce an inference approach to identify the statistical significance of a particular segregation value. In an exploratory setting the index can be used to generate a map of hot spots, and seed the question: “why is this group significantly concentrated around that location?”     

Operational management of trunk main discolouration risk

Despite significant on-going investment, water companies continue to receive an unacceptable number of discolouration related customer contacts. In this paper, data from intensive distribution system turbidity monitoring and cluster analysis of discolouration customer contacts indicate that a significant proportion of these contacts are due to material mobilising from the trunk main system, and operational flow increases are shown to have a higher discolouration risk than burst incidents. A trunk main discolouration incident highlighting this risk is discussed, demonstrating the need for pro-active trunk main risk assessments. To identify the source of the material event flow rates were modelled using the PODDS (prediction of discolouration in distribution systems) discolouration model. Best practice pro-active management is demonstrated in a case study where the PODDS model is used to implement managed incremental flow changes on a main with known discolouration risk with no discolouration impact to customers and significant cost savings.     

ESMRMB 2017, 34th Annual Scientific Meeting,Barcelona, ES,October 19–October 21: Abstracts,Thursday

Objective

Current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) axon diameter measurements rely on the pulsed gradient spin-echo sequence, which is unable to provide diffusion times short enough to measure small axon diameters. This study combines the AxCaliber axon diameter fitting method with data generated from Monte Carlo simulations of oscillating gradient spin-echo sequences (OGSE) to infer micron-sized axon diameters, in order to determine the feasibility of using MRI to infer smaller axon diameters in brain tissue.

Materials and methods

Monte Carlo computer simulation data were synthesized from tissue geometries of cylinders of different diameters using a range of gradient frequencies in the cosine OGSE sequence . Data were fitted to the AxCaliber method modified to allow the new pulse sequence. Intra- and extra-axonal water were studied separately and together.

Results

The simulations revealed the extra-axonal model to be problematic. Rather than change the model, we found that restricting the range of gradient frequencies such that the measured apparent diffusion coefficient was constant over that range resulted in more accurate fitted diameters. Thus a careful selection of frequency ranges is needed for the AxCaliber method to correctly model extra-axonal water, or adaptations to the method are needed. This restriction helped reduce the necessary gradient strengths for measurements that could be performed with parameters feasible for a Bruker BG6 gradient set. For these experiments, the simulations inferred diameters as small as 0.5 μm on square-packed and randomly packed cylinders. The accuracy of the inferred diameters was found to be dependent on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), with smaller diameters more affected by noise, although all diameter distributions were distinguishable from one another for all SNRs tested.

Conclusion

The results of this study indicate the feasibility of using MRI with OGSE on preclinical scanners to infer small axon diameters.

     

An Improved On-line Contingency Screening for Power System Transient Stability Assessment

This paper presents a contingency screening method and a framework for its on-line implementation. The proposed method carries out contingency screening and on-line stability assessment with respect to first-swing transient stability. For that purpose, it utilizes the single machine equivalent method and aims at improving the prior developed contingency screening approaches. In order to determine vulnerability of the system with respect to a particular contingency, only one time-domain simulation needs to be performed. An early stop criteria is proposed so that in a majority of the cases the simulation can be terminated after a few hundred milliseconds of simulated system response. The method’s outcome is an assessment of the system’s stability and a classification of each considered contingency. The contingencies are categorized by exploiting parameters of an equivalent one machine infinite bus system. A novel island detection approach, appropriate for an on-line application since it utilizes efficient algorithms from graph theory and enables stability assessment of individual islands, is also introduced. The New England and New York system as well as the large-scale model of the Continental-European interconnected system are used to test the proposed method with respect to assessment accuracy and computation time.     

Knowledge formation and learning in the management of projects: A problem solving perspective

In contrast to traditional projects, which are assumed to be fully specified and then executed with little learning anticipated, complex projects cannot be fully specified at the outset and require continuous learning over their life cycles. Nevertheless, the key role of knowledge formation and learning in managing complex projects is under-developed for expanding project capability boundaries to include knowledge uncertainty and indeterminacy.     

The Effects of Annealing After Equal Channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE) on Mechanical and Magnetic Properties of 49Fe-49Co-2V Alloy

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) of 49Fe-49Co-2V, also known as Hiperco® 50A or Permendur-2V, greatly improves the strength and ductility of...     

High Temperature Oxidation Behavior of Conventional and Nb-Modified MAR-M246 Ni-Based Superalloy

The present investigations focused on the thermal oxidation of two variants of MAR-M246 alloy having the same contents of Ta and Nb in at. pct, considering the effects of total replacement of Ta by Nb. The alloys were produced by investment casting using high purity elements in induction furnace under vacuum atmosphere. The alloys were oxidized pseudo-isothermally at 800 °C, 900 °C and 1000 °C up to 1000 hours under lab air. Protective oxidation products growing on the surface of the oxidized samples were mainly Al₂O₃, Cr₂O₃. Other less protective oxide such as spinels (NiCr₂O₄ and CoCr₂O₄) and TiO₂ were also detected as oxidation products. The conventional alloy exhibited slight internal oxidation at 800 °C and an enhanced resistance at 900 °C and 1000 °C. The Nb-modified alloy presented an exacerbated internal oxidation and nitridation at 900 °C and 1000 °C and an enhanced resistance at 800 °C. At 1000 °C, Nb-modified alloy was particularly affected by excessive spalling as the main damage mechanisms. From a kinetic point of view, both alloys exhibit the same behavior at 800 °C and 900 °C, with k_p values typical of alumina forming alloys (2 × 10⁻¹⁴ to 3.6 × 10⁻¹³ g² cm⁻⁴ s⁻¹). However, Ta modified alloys exhibited superior oxidation resistance at 1000 °C when compared to the Nb modified alloy due to better adherence of the protective oxide scale.

     

Substrate Stimulated Orientation for Pure Aluminum

Oriented materials are of great importance, but their formation is rarely described. Here, nine Al/Al₂O₃ systems were designed to identify the dominant factors. Electron back-scattered diffraction indicates that the new Al crystal(s) with one or multiple orientation(s) can be stimulated by one single-crystal Al₂O₃ substrates. Synchrotron radiation diffraction shows that the preferred orientation(s) is/are determined based on the initial stage of the liquid–solid transition. The nonpreferred orientation can be suppressed through competition.

     

OPTIMAL MAINTENANCE SCHEDULING FOR WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

The scheduling of maintenance for water distribution systems is a complex task encompassing a wide range of alternatives. The methodology presented in this paper can consider the major piping alternatives of replacing and cleaning, and relining. It also considers the potential of pumping improvements while accounting for the costs of maintenance, failure and operations for a multiple-period planning horizon. To solve the problem a nonlinear optimization model is linked with a network simulation model. The application showed that the procedure can determine solutions in reasonable times.