Dewatering behaviour of water treatment sludges associated with contaminated site remediation in Antarctica

Sludge reduction and dewatering is an important aspect of water and waste water treatment. This is especially true in the case of Australia's Antarctic contaminated site remediation program, where the reduction in volume of wastes to be returned to Australia can lead to significant transport and handling cost savings. The dewatering characterisation of water treatment sludges from an Antarctic contaminated site was conducted using a theory of suspension dewatering developed by Buscall, Landman and White. This theory uses fundamental material properties of compressibility and permeability to determine the diffusivity of a suspension. Diffusivity is a useful property that can be used to directly compare the dewaterability of various sludges. In this investigation, several water treatment sludges were collected and characterised in the field to determine the impact of temperature and additives on compressibility, permeability and diffusivity. The Antarctic sludges were found to be less compressible and less permeable than materials such as mineral suspensions and alum water treatment sludges. Compressibility was found to decrease with the addition of powdered coagulation aids such as bentonite and chitosan.     

The TPTP Problem Library and Associated Infrastructure

This paper describes the First-Order Form (FOF) and Clause Normal Form (CNF) parts of the TPTP problem library, and the associated infrastructure. TPTP v3.5.0 was the last release containing only FOF and CNF problems, and thus serves as the exemplar. This paper summarizes the history and development of the TPTP, describes the structure and contents of the TPTP, and gives an overview of TPTP related projects and tools.     

Through the looking glass darkly? When self-doubts turn into relationship insecurities.

The authors argue that individuals regulate perceptions of their relationships in a self-protective way, finding virtue in their partners only when they feel confident that their partners also see virtues in them. In 4 experiments, the authors posed an acute threat to low and high self-esteem individuals' feelings of self-worth (e.g., guilt about a transgression, fears of being inconsiderate or intellectually inept). They then collected measures of confidence in the partner's positive regard and acceptance (i.e., reflected appraisals) and perceptions of the partner. The results revealed that low self-esteem individuals reacted to self-doubt with heightened doubts about their partners' regard, which then tarnished impressions of their partners. In contrast, high self-esteem individuals reacted to self-doubts by becoming more convinced of their partners' continued acceptance, using their relationships as a resource for self-affirmation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recognition of emergent human behaviour in a smart home: A data mining approach

Motivated by a growing need for intelligent housing to accommodate ageing populations, we propose a novel application of intertransaction association rule (IAR) mining to detect anomalous behaviour in smart home occupants. An efficient mining algorithm that avoids the candidate generation bottleneck limiting the application of current IAR mining algorithms on smart home data sets is detailed. An original visual interface for the exploration of new and changing behaviours distilled from discovered patterns using a new process for finding emergent rules is presented. Finally, we discuss our observations on the emergent behaviours detected in the homes of two real world subjects.     

The application of IT in organisations: Some trends and issues

Abstract

This paper describes some trends and issues in the application of information technology in organisations. Technology trends are outlined in the areas of computing power, telecommunications, networking, software and standards. Some trends in the applications of IT are described with respect to developments in information systems and office automation. Some differences in the likely role of IT in the industrialised and developing countries are discussed. The second half of the paper deals with issues in the management of IT applications in organisations, and issues are identified as being political, organisational and social in nature in addition to technical. A social systems framework is proposed for the analysis of these issues. Some specific IT issues are then discussed involving alternative stakeholder perspectives, the analysis of decision making processes, the process of consultation and communication and the organisational impacts of IT applications.     

Promatech公司推出多用剑杆织机

意大利织机制造商Ｐｒｏｍａｔｅｃｈ公司以Ｓｏｍｅｔ品牌推出了一种新型剑杆织机。这种以“Ａｌｐｈａ”命名的织机于２００１年９月底首次在一个演示间里亮相，随后又成为新加坡ＩＴＭＡ　Ａｓｉａ展会上的一个亮点。Ｓｏｍｅｔ公司剑杆织机产品经理Ｐｉｅｒｍａｒｃｏ　Ａｒｎｏｌｄｉ先生说，这种新型织机操作简便，可靠性高和多用性强，能以非常高的织造速度织许多种织物。一、Ａｌｐｈａ剑杆织机的性能１．操作简便Ａｌｐｈａ的设计使操作工很容易接近机器和修复断头。例如：打纬点与胸梁之间的距离大幅度缩短，使操作工更容易用手来…     

Precipitation Coating of Rare-Earth Orthophosphates on Woven Ceramic Fibers—Effect of Rare-Earth Cation on Coating Morphology and Coated Fiber Strength

Monazite (La, Ce, Nd, and GdPO₄) and xenotime (Tb, Dy, and YPO₄) coatings were deposited on woven Nextel^™ 610 and 720 fibers by heterogeneous precipitation from a rare-earth citrate/phosphoric acid precursor. Coating phases and microstructure were characterized by SEM and TEM, and coated fiber strength was measured after heat treatment at 1200°C for 2 h. Coated fiber strength increased with decreasing ionic radius of the rare-earth cation in the monazite and xenotime coatings, and correlates with the high-temperature weight loss and the densification rate of the coatings. Dense coatings with trapped porosity and high weight loss at a high temperature degrade fiber strength the most. The degradation is consistent with stress corrosion driven by thermal residual stress from coating precursor decomposition products trapped in the coating at a high temperature.     

Constructing a Complex Precast Tilt-Up-Panel Structure Utilizing an Optimization Model, 3D CAD, and Animation

This paper presents the concept used to construct a complex residential tilt-up-panel structure utilizing three-dimensional (3D) modeling and animations. The residence comprises of 108 precast concrete panels of varying rectangular shapes with “dog legs” and window and door “cutouts” that look like an assembled jigsaw puzzle. The erection and installation procedure called for a maximum panel-to-panel joint tolerance of 1.27?cm (0.5?in.), often in 90° joints between panels. 3D animations were used to experiment with the construction process on the computer screen prior to construction in order to avoid potential costly on-site errors. In addition, the 3D animations were also used as a training tool for the contractors. This paper focuses on describing the methodology used to integrate a crane selection algorithm and optimization model with 3D modeling and animation for the selection, utilization, and location of cranes on construction sites. Analytical optimization processes were used to decrease the traveling time and distance of the selected crane, to improve the crane lifting sequence and to minimize the use of panel casting slabs.