Developing social impact assessment guidelines in a pre-existing policy context

Few jurisdictions have translated internationally agreed social impact assessment (SIA) principles into statutory provisions. Governments and regulatory bodies tend to provide developers with high-level frameworks, or require that social impacts be ‘considered’, without specifying how this is to be done. In Australia, this lack of clarity leaves all parties uncertain about requirements for SIA. The New South Wales (NSW) Government’s 2017 release of the SIA guideline for State-significant mining, petroleum and extractive industry development represents an attempt to clarify requirements and provide guidance. In this paper, we describe the process of bringing this guideline to fruition from the perspective of being directly involved in its development, and highlight the challenges involved in integrating leading-practice principles into the state’s pre-existing policy framework. While the guideline represents a significant advance in policy-based SIA guidance, some aspects leave room for improvement. The real test of the guideline’s impact will lie in its influence on SIA practice in NSW, and ultimately in social outcomes for communities affected by resources projects.     

Impact of the anode operating conditions on the liquid water distribution in the cathode gas diffusion layer

Previous experimental results indicate that the humidification conditions at the anode have an impact on the liquid water distribution in the cathode gas diffusion layer. Numerical simulations are developed to reproduce and analyze this effect. Results consistent with the experimental results are first obtained by playing with the partition coefficients of an advanced pore network model computing the liquid water formation and transfer in the cathode gas diffusion layer (GDL) for a large range of operating conditions. Then, a model for the full anode – cathode assembly is developed by combining the pore network model of the cathode GDL and a 1D model describing the heat and water transfer in the various components of the anode-cathode assembly. This enables one to generalize the dry – wet regime diagram introduced in a previous work by incorporating the effect of the humidity condition at the anode.     

澳大利亚“基于能力本位的评估”模式及对我国高职教育 质量评估的启 示

澳大利亚职业教育在全球享有较高的声誉,这与其坚持严格的"基于能力本位的评估"(competency based assessment, CBA)密不可分。介绍了澳大利亚CBA的内涵特征,并详细描述"准备评估、开发评估工具、开展评估、对评估结果进行评估"的CBA运作过程,关注评估工具的开发和后续常规系统性检查及完善,以期对我国的高等职业教育质量评估起到启示和借鉴作用。     

APP软件性能效率研究

性能效率是APP软件的重要质量属性，但目前缺乏APP软件性能效率的通用模型。分析了APP软件的性能特征，基于ISO/IEC 25010标准提出了APP软件的性能效率模型，定义了APP软件性能效率的子特性和度量指标。基于提出的APP软件性能效率模型，通过实验对APP软件的性能效率进行了度量及相关分析。     

Damage evolution in polymer due to exposure to high-pressure hydrogen gas

The use of hydrogen as a fuel is increasing exponentially, and the most economical way to store and transport hydrogen for fuel use is as a high-pressure gas. Polymers are widely used for hydrogen distribution and storage systems because they are chemically inert towards hydrogen. However, when exposed to high-pressure hydrogen, some hydrogen diffuses through polymers and occupies the preexisting cavities inside the material. Upon depressurization, the hydrogen trapped inside polymer cavities can cause blistering or cracking by expanding these cavities. A continuum mechanics–based deformation model was deployed to predict the stress distribution and damage propagation while the polymer undergoes depressurization after high-pressure hydrogen exposure. The effects of cavity size, cavity location, and pressure inside the cavity on damage initiation and evolution inside the polymer were studied. The stress and damage evolution in the presence of multiple cavities was also studied, because interaction among cavities alters the damage and stress field. It was found that all these factors significantly change the stress state in the polymer, resulting in different paths for damage propagation. The effect of adding carbon black filler particles and plasticizer on the damage was also studied. It was found that damage tolerance of the polymer increases drastically with the addition of carbon black fillers, but decreases with the addition of the plasticizer.     

Practical Application of the Probabilistic‐Statistical Model of the Suspension Separation in Hydrocyclones

An effective practical approach that allows not only a significant reduction in the scope of practical experiments in the course of studying suspension separation processes in hydrocyclones, but also makes it possible to assess the intensity of random components of the processes and define the interrelation between such components and hydrodynamics of flows in a hydrocyclone is presented. Within the frames of the developed probabilistic‐statistical model of suspension separation in hydrocyclones on the basis of statistical self‐similarity properties, a relationship was found between determined and random components of the processes. This allowed transitioning from three‐parameter probability density functions for suspension particles in hydrocyclones to two‐parameter functions; thus significantly improving the efficiency of practical application of the developed model.     

冷链条件下气调包装酱卤鸭肉制品货架期预测模型的建立

目的 以气调包装酱卤鸭肉制品为研究对象,在冷链温度范围内建立一套准确、高效的货架期预测模型。方法 利用选择性培养基测定不同温度下产品各微生物数量,确定4~25℃条件下产品优势腐败菌。对乳酸菌数量与感官评定值进行了回归分析确定最小腐败量Ns。分别采用修正的Gompertz方程和平方根方程建立一、二级模型,并通过预测值与实测值对比验证模型的可靠性。结果 确定了4~25℃条件下产品优势腐败菌为乳酸菌,最小腐败量Ns=6.14(lg(cfu /g))。一、二级模型拟合度均良好,三种温度下模型预测值与实际值间的差异均在30％左右,波动幅度在10%以内。结论 实现了对4~25℃内任何时间点产品剩余货架期的预测,为冷链条件下气调包装酱卤鸭肉制品品质的变化提供了理论指导。     

Flow state monitoring of gas-water two-phase flow using multi-Gaussian mixture model based on canonical variate analysis

As a highly complex and time-varying process, gas-water two-phase flow is commonly encountered in industries. It has a variety of typical flow states and transition flow states. Accurate identification and monitoring of flow states is not only beneficial to further study of two-phase flow but also helpful for stable operation and economic efficiency of process industry. Combining canonical variate analysis (CVA) and Gaussian mixture model (GMM), a strategy called multi-CVA-GMM is proposed for flow state monitoring in gas-water two-phase flow. CVA is used to extract flow state features from the perspective of correlation between historical data and future data, which solves the cross correlation and temporal correlation of multi-sensor measurement data. GMM calculates the possibility that the current flow state belongs to each typical flow pattern and judges the current flow state by probability indicators. It is conducive to follow-up use of Bayesian inference probability and Mahalanobis distance-based (BID) indicator for flow state monitoring, which avoids repeated traversal of multiple CVA-GMM models and improves the efficiency of the monitoring process. The probability indicators can also be used to analyze transition flow states. The method combining the probabilistic idea of GMM with the deterministic idea of multimodal modeling can accurately identify the current flow state and effectively monitor the evolution of flow state. The multi-CVA-GMM method is validated by using the measured data of the horizontal flow loop of gas-water two-phase flow experimental facility, and its effectiveness is proved.     

Skeletal Muscle Health and Cognitive Function: A Narrative Review

Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function with advancing age. It involves both complex genetic and modifiable risk factors, such as lack of exercise, malnutrition and reduced neurological drive. Cognitive decline refers to diminished or impaired mental and/or intellectual functioning. Contracting skeletal muscle is a major source of neurotrophic factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which regulate synapses in the brain. Furthermore, skeletal muscle activity has important immune and redox effects that modify brain function and reduce muscle catabolism. The identification of common risk factors and underlying mechanisms for sarcopenia and cognition may allow the development of targeted interventions that slow or reverse sarcopenia and also certain forms of cognitive decline. However, the links between cognition and skeletal muscle have not been elucidated fully. This review provides a critical appraisal of the literature on the relationship between skeletal muscle health and cognition. The literature suggests that sarcopenia and cognitive decline share pathophysiological pathways. Ageing plays a role in both skeletal muscle deterioration and cognitive decline. Furthermore, lifestyle risk factors, such as physical inactivity, poor diet and smoking, are common to both disorders, so their potential role in the muscle–brain relationship warrants investigation.