An Extension of the Sustainability Index Definition in Water Resources Planning and Management

The sustainability index (SI) is a relatively new concept for measuring the performance of water resource systems over long time periods. Its definition is aimed at providing an indication of the integral behaviour of the system with regards to possible undesired consequences if misbalance of available and required waters occurs. SI is initially defined as a product and later reformulated as a geometric mean of performance indicators: reliability, resilience and vulnerability. As an extension of a recently published methodology to compute and use SI, in this paper we propose introducing two more indicators of system performance: (1) reliability of annual firm (safe) water as a system yield and (2) deviation of reservoir levels from corresponding rule curves. The last indicator is of particular importance if there are multi-purpose reservoirs in the system because reservoirs are the most important and sensitive regulators of the water regime within the system. We also propose a framework for assessing system performance in a systematic manner to compute SI at various locations within the system if different operating strategies are applied and, finally, how to evaluate strategies according to the resulting SI by using multi-criteria methods. A case study example from Serbia is used to illustrate the results of measuring sustainability under alternative operating scenarios for a system with three reservoirs and two diversion structures.     

Developing a model to assess the success of e-learning systems: evidence from a manufacturing company in transitional economy

This paper examines the success of an e-learning system in a company from the perspective of employees by using a multimethod approach. For this purpose Moodle learning management system was used. The success of e-learning as an information system was evaluated using four constructs of the updated DeLone and McLean IS success model—system quality, use, user satisfaction and net benefits, and adding one more construct—user performance. In this research a combination of observation and survey as two different research methods was used, which allowed the new measure to be incorporated into the model. Empirical assessment was carried out by exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The research model was found to be valid and reliable. The results provide an expanded understanding of the constructs that measure the success of an e-learning system, helping to more deeply understand the key success dimensions and their interrelationships. The implications of our work were discussed. The DeLone and McLean IS success model applied equally well. However, the use of observation as a method of data collection revealed the weaknesses of the original model.     

The influence of bile salts on the distribution of simvastatin in the octanol/buffer system

Abstract

Introduction: Distribution coefficient (D) is useful parameter for evaluating drugs permeability properties across biological membranes, which are of importance for drugs bioavailability. Given that bile acids are intensively studied as drug permeation-modifying and -solubilizing agents, the aim of this study was to estimate the influence of sodium salts of cholic (CA), deoxycholic (DCA) and 12-monoketocholic acids (MKC) on distribution coefficient of simvastatin (SV) (lactone [SVL] and acid form [SVA]) which is a highly lipophilic compound with extremely low water solubility and bioavailability.

Methods: LogD values of SVA and SVL with or without bile salts were measured by liquid–liquid extraction in n-octanol/buffer systems at pH 5 and 7.4. SV concentrations in aqueous phase were determined by HPLC-DAD. Chem3D Ultra program was applied for computation of physico-chemical properties of analyzed compounds and their complexes.

Results: Statistically significant decrease in both SVA and SVL logD was observed for all three studied bile salts at both selected pH. MKC exerted the most pronounced effect in the case of SVA while there were no statistically significant differences between observed bile salts for SVL. The calculated physico-chemical properties of analyzed compounds and their complexes supported experimental results.

Conclusions: Our data indicate that the addition of bile salts into the n-octanol/buffer system decreases the values of SV distribution coefficient at both studied pH values. This may be the result of the formation of hydrophilic complexes increasing the solubility of SV that could consequently impact the pharmacokinetic parameters of SV and the final drug response in patients.     

Neural network Reinforcement Learning for visual control of robot manipulators

It is known that most of the key problems in visual servo control of robots are related to the performance analysis of the system considering measurement and modeling errors. In this paper, the development and performance evaluation of a novel intelligent visual servo controller for a robot manipulator using neural network Reinforcement Learning is presented. By implementing machine learning techniques into the vision based control scheme, the robot is enabled to improve its performance online and to adapt to the changing conditions in the environment. Two different temporal difference algorithms (Q-learning and SARSA) coupled with neural networks are developed and tested through different visual control scenarios. A database of representative learning samples is employed so as to speed up the convergence of the neural network and real-time learning of robot behavior. Moreover, the visual servoing task is divided into two steps in order to ensure the visibility of the features: in the first step centering behavior of the robot is conducted using neural network Reinforcement Learning controller, while the second step involves switching control between the traditional Image Based Visual Servoing and the neural network Reinforcement Learning for enabling approaching behavior of the manipulator. The correction in robot motion is achieved with the definition of the areas of interest for the image features independently in both control steps. Various simulations are developed in order to present the robustness of the developed system regarding calibration error, modeling error, and image noise. In addition, a comparison with the traditional Image Based Visual Servoing is presented. Real world experiments on a robot manipulator with the low cost vision system demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Recommendations for tool-handle material choice based on finite element analysis

Huge areas of work are still done manually and require the usages of different powered and non-powered hand tools. In order to increase the user performance, satisfaction, and lower the risk of acute and cumulative trauma disorders, several researchers have investigated the sizes and shapes of tool-handles. However, only a few authors have investigated tool-handles' materials for further optimising them. Therefore, as presented in this paper, we have utilised a finite-element method for simulating human fingertip whilst grasping tool-handles. We modelled and simulated steel and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber as homogeneous tool-handle materials and two composites consisting of EPDM rubber and EPDM foam, and also EPDM rubber and PU foam. The simulated finger force was set to obtain characteristic contact pressures of 20 kPa, 40 kPa, 80 kPa, and 100 kPa. Numerical tests have shown that EPDM rubber lowers the contact pressure just slightly. On the other hand, both composites showed significant reduction in contact pressure that could lower the risks of acute and cumulative trauma disorders which are pressure-dependent. Based on the results, it is also evident that a composite containing PU foam with a more evident and flat plateau deformed less at lower strain rates and deformed more when the plateau was reached, in comparison to the composite with EPDM foam. It was shown that hyper-elastic foam materials, which take into account the non-linear behaviour of fingertip soft tissue, can lower the contact pressure whilst maintaining low deformation rate of the tool-handle material for maintaining sufficient rate of stability of the hand tool in the hands. Lower contact pressure also lowers the risk of acute and cumulative trauma disorders, and increases comfort whilst maintaining performance.     

Anwendung eines Stranggieß-Simulationsmodells bei Štore Steel – II

This paper represents the elements and the use of the upgraded simulation system, developed in the last half decade for ?tore Steel billet caster. The simulation system is used in the context of the state-of-the-art automation and information of the twenty-five year-old three-strand Concast billet continuous caster for dimensions square 140 and 180 mm with the capacity of 160,000 tons/year. The simulation system is used in the off-line and on-line modes. The off-line mode is used in order to set the proper process parameters and to calculate the temperature field, macrosegregation, and grain structure of the strand. It is also used to calculate the changes in the caster design such as the secondary cooling and the position of the SEN. The on-line model is used in automatic casting control system. The paper represents an update of our BHM publication of 2005 (Application of Continous Casting Simulation at ?tore Steel, BHM, Vol. 150, No. 9, 300–306).     

Shear bond strength to dentine of dental adhesives containing hydroxyapatite nano-fillers

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of hydroxyapatite (HAP) nano-rods (HAP_rods) and HAP nano-sticks (HAP_sticks) added to commercial adhesives on the macro-shear bond strength (SBS) to dentine and morphology of the adhesive–dentine interface. HAP was added to Single Bond Universal (SBU, 3M ESPE) and Te-Econom Bond (TeE; Ivoclar Vivadent), in the form of water suspensions to avoid agglomeration of nano-particles and to achieve HAP concentrations of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 wt%. Following a ‘total-etch’ or a ‘self-etch’ protocol, the adhesives were applied to flat dentine surface of 162 intact human, third molars (N = 6/group). Composite (Z250, 3M ESPE) was built-up using a split stainless steel mould, 3 mm in diameter. SBS was tested using a universal testing machine at 1 mm/min until fracture. Data were statistically analysed using two-way and one-way analysis of variance with Tukey’s post-test (α = 0.05). HAP_rods had no significant effect on SBS of the tested adhesives while HAP_sticks improved bond strength to dentine only of adhesives applied following the ‘total-etch’ total-etch protocol. SBS values of SBU containing 1% HAP_sticks (15.10 ± 2.96 MPa) and TeE containing 0.5% HAP_sticks applied following the total-etch protocol (12.96 ± 4.48 MPa) were higher than those of their respective control groups (10.36 ± 2.68 and 7.97 ± 3.64 MPa). Samples with higher SBS showed more ‘mixed’ failures. HAP nano-fillers may improve bond strength of total-etch adhesives without an adverse effect on adhesive dispersion on dentine and its ability to infiltrate dentinal tubules.     

Non‐dominated sorting particle swarm optimization (NSPSO) and network security policy enforcement for Policy Space Analysis

Network operators depend on security services with the aim of safeguarding their IT infrastructure. Various types of network security policies are employed on a global scale and are disseminated among several security middleboxes implemented in networks. But, owing to the complications in security policies, it is not quite efficient to directly use the path‐wise enforcement schemes that are prevalent. The major motivation of this work is to improve security levels and solve the policy enforcement problem. For the first time, this work reports the issue of policy enforcement on middleboxes. The major contribution of this work is to design security policy enforcement as a Weighted K Set Covering Problem, and we designed a Policy Space Analysis (PSA) tool intended for a group of operations in the security policy. This PSA tool was developed based on range‐signified hyper‐rectangles, which are indexed by the Hilbert R‐tree. Leveraging the PSA, we first investigated the topological features of various kinds of policies. Balancing the PSA tool in a non‐dominated sorting particle swarm optimization technique exposes the intrinsic difficulties of this security strategy and provides guidance for designing the enforcement approach. In addition, in this research, a new fuzzy rule‐based classification system is introduced for packet classification. A scope‐wise policy enforcement algorithm was proposed, which chooses a moderate number of enforcement network nodes for deploying multiple policy subsets in a greedy manner. This scheme is much quicker compared with the first one and therefore has found its application in real‐time deployments.     

Evaluation of microbial toxins,trace elements and sensory properties of a high-theabrownins instant Pu-erh tea produced using Aspergillus tubingensis via submerged fermentation

Theabrownins (TB) are polymeric phenolic compounds associated with the multiple bioactivities of Pu-erh tea, a post-fermented Chinese dark tea. High-TB instant Pu-erh tea was produced via a novel submerged fermentation (SF) using Aspergillus tubingensis and compared with samples produced commercially via the conventional solid-state fermentation (SSF). Viable microorganisms and microbial toxins, especially aflatoxins B₁, G₁, B₂, G₂, cyclopiazonic acid, fumonisins B₁, B₂, B₃ and ochratoxin A, were below the detection limit in all samples. Fewer microbial metabolites were found in SF instant tea compared with the SSF teas. Based on an adult consuming 1 g of instant Pu-erh tea daily, the dietary intake of investigated elements was below the safe limits recommended by various authorities. Tasters viewed the instant tea infusions as very mild, smooth, mellow and full. This suggested that submerged fermentation using A. tubingensis offers a speedy and safe alternative to commercial production of instant Pu-erh tea.     

Application of bicubic splines in the boundary element method

In this paper, we proposed the method for improving the accuracy of BEM, which is based on application of bicubic splines for interpolation functions. Application of bicubic splines ensures continuity of class C¹ at the boundaries of element. Such an interpolation results in smooth approximation of the surface sources leading to high accuracy of computation. Set of integral equations is solved by implementation of Galerkin method for determination of unknown coefficients.The accuracy of the proposed approach is illustrated by comparison of the solution of electric field in thin-plate capacitor by BEM using bicubic splines, second-order polynomial, linear and piecewise-constant interpolation.