Assessment matrix for timber structures : basis for standardized building checks

How can futurily be secured enabling people to enter stable and utilisable buildings permanently and everywhere for them to stay, live and work safely? In order to avoid catastrophies like the collapse of the Bad Reichenhall ice pavillion (Germany) in 2006, a method of evaluation (= assessment matrix) had been designed which will be used to assess constructions prospectively. The matrix developed in this dissertation has its main focus on bearing timber constructions, independent of size and age. The actual scientific level of information referring to main methods of contruction, current examination methods, handling of potential damage and knowledge of material properties is included in this matrix. Besides a social relevance the matrix as well serves conservation of structural cultural assets – in view of a lasting development, too. It is supposed to be constituted as a foundation of legally obligated monitoring for all buildings in future. The matrix has been tested on several buildings with timber construction for a longer period of time already. Three buildings are case studies of this dissertation and helped to prove and finally validate the matrix. Based on the dissertation, it is the aim to create a new EU directive to regulate a continuous supervision of buildings in dependence on serviceability and stability. Finally a test badge similar to the german TÜV seals should be attached visibly to everybody at the building. It displays approval for a certain period of time and could soon be definite equipment of all buildings to raise awareness within the population

Dynamic Weights in Multi-Objective Deep Reinforcement Learning

Many real-world decision problems are characterized by multiple conflicting objectives which must be balanced based on their relative importance. In the dynamic weights setting the relative importance changes over time and specialized algorithms that deal with such change, such as a tabular Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithm by Natarajan and Tadepalli (2005), are required. However, this earlier work is not feasible for RL settings that necessitate the use of function approximators. We generalize across weight changes and high-dimensional inputs by proposing a multi-objective Q-network whose outputs are conditioned on the relative importance of objectives and we introduce Diverse Experience Replay (DER) to counter the inherent non-stationarity of the Dynamic Weights setting. We perform an extensive experimental evaluation and compare our methods to adapted algorithms from Deep Multi-Task/Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning and show that our proposed network in combination with DER dominates these adapted algorithms across weight change scenarios and problem domains

„Dieses Mal ist es anders“ – oder doch nicht? Eine genderpolitische Analyse der Europawahl 2014 und ihrer Folgen. TAIF Nr, 9/2014 = "This time it's different" - or not? A gender analysis of the 2014 European elections and its consequences. TAIF No. 9/2014

„This time it’s different“ was the slogan launched by the European Commission to mobilize voters for the 2014 European election. This motto referred to the fact that the May 2014 election was the first one based on the Lisbon Treaty, which was enacted in 2009. This treaty endows the European Parliament with greater powers in many ways, amongst other with regard to electing the Commission president. The European Parliament has made extensive use of these rights via a strategy of “Spitzenkandidaten” in the electoral campaign. This paper analyses the 8th election to the European Parliament from a gender perspective. In so doing, it employs the dual concept of representation as “standing for”, i.e. descriptive representation, and “acting for”, i.e. substantive representation. Based on this model we analyze the composition of the European Parliament in greater detail and reflect our findings in the light of long-term trends. In addition, the current process of electing a new European Commission is scrutinized. Based on our findings pertaining to women’s descriptive representation we then consider the options for greater substantive representation of gender issues in the period 2014 to 2019

Large Time Existence for Thin Vibrating Plates

We construct strong solutions for a nonlinear wave equation for a thin vibrating plate described by nonlinear elastodynamics. For sufficiently small thickness we obtain existence of strong solutions for large times under appropriate scaling of the initial values such that the limit system as $h\to 0$ is either the nonlinear von K\'arm\'an plate equation or the linear fourth order Germain-Lagrange equation. In the case of the linear Germain-Lagrange equation we even obtain a convergence rate of the three-dimensional solution to the solution of the two-dimensional linear plate equation

An Empirical Investigation Focusing on the Composition and Performance of the Fortune 500

Each year Fortune Magazine categorizes American corporations into a snapshot view of how each performed in the previous year. The list compiles the top 500 companies based upon revenue. The following article looks closer at the NAICS industry sectors that make up the 2008 Fortune 500 list and the performance level of each sector represented using multiple dimensions of analysis. This research investigates the 2008 Fortune 500 companies in terms of their NAICS industry sector, geography, revenue generation, and profitability. The study further explores employment levels and labor productivity within and across sectors. Additionally, the education levels attained by the top executive are revealed. Finally, the report compares industry sectors in an effort to better understand the composition of the 2008 Fortune 500 list and its contribution to the American economy as a whole

Enhancing Europe’s power: a rejoinder

This rejoinder responds to the eight comments to our report on ‘Enhancing Europe’s Global Power: A Scenario Exercise with Eight Proposals’. We address questions related to our definition of Europe, the notion of power, context and appropriateness of the scenario approach, the feasibility of enhancing European power, the rationale behind the proposed eight measures as well as the way ahead. Finally, we highlight green policies together with media and communication as promising candidates to increase European power

POD for optimal control of the Cahn-Hilliard system using spatially adapted snapshots

The present work considers the optimal control of a convective Cahn-Hilliard system, where the control enters through the velocity in the transport term. We prove the existence of a solution to the considered optimal control problem. For an efficient numerical solution, the expensive high-dimensional PDE systems are replaced by reduced-order models utilizing proper orthogonal decomposition (POD-ROM). The POD modes are computed from snapshots which are solutions of the governing equations which are discretized utilizing adaptive finite elements. The numerical tests show that the use of POD-ROM combined with spatially adapted snapshots leads to large speedup factors compared with a high-fidelity finite element optimization

The Challenge of University Resilience: Practicing What We Preach & How Faculty & Staff Can Make a Difference

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, students at colleges and universities along the Gulf Coast found themselves in a predicament. The classrooms they once filled and the residence halls they called home were destroyed or uninhabitable. At that point, many colleges and universities not directly impacted by the storm opened their doors to these students. While these same schools understood the impact that a major disaster could potentially have on their own operations, many may not have taken the opportunity to create resilient institutions through mitigation and preparedness. Like local governments, universities and colleges face major obstacles in overcoming the challenges of working toward resilience. Lack of financial resources, knowledgeable staff, and time constraints are common to many organizations. And, while faculty members are often overwhelmed with the demands of their own positions and staff members often have to do more with less, it is important for all college and university personnel to understand that resilience is not a trend, but rather a necessity and that universities must think beyond emergency management focused plans. This roundtable brings together a diverse group of individuals at colleges and universities, including faculty, college and university police officers, and a university registrar who have identified creative and innovative methods of overcoming the challenge of resiliency

The Challenge of University Resilience: Practicing What We Preach & How Faculty & Staff Can Make a Difference

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, students at colleges and universities along the Gulf Coast found themselves in a predicament. The classrooms they once filled and the residence halls they called home were destroyed or uninhabitable. At that point, many colleges and universities not directly impacted by the storm opened their doors to these students. While these same schools understood the impact that a major disaster could potentially have on their own operations, many may not have taken the opportunity to create resilient institutions through mitigation and preparedness. Like local governments, universities and colleges face major obstacles in overcoming the challenges of working toward resilience. Lack of financial resources, knowledgeable staff, and time constraints are common to many organizations. And, while faculty members are often overwhelmed with the demands of their own positions and staff members often have to do more with less, it is important for all college and university personnel to understand that resilience is not a trend, but rather a necessity and that universities must think beyond emergency management focused plans. This roundtable brings together a diverse group of individuals at colleges and universities, including faculty, college and university police officers, and a university registrar who have identified creative and innovative methods of overcoming the challenge of resiliency

Effect of nitrous oxide on folate coenzyme distribution and de novo synthesis of thymidylate in human bone marrow cells

Abstract The effect of nitrous oxide on intracellular folate metabolism of the human bone marrow was studied in vitro. Bone marrow cells, obtained from healthy volunteers, were incubated with 5 × 10−8m-[3H]5-formyltetrahydrofolate (5-formylTHF) for 18 hr to label intracellular folate pools. Subsequently the cells were exposed to nitrous oxide for up to 10 hr, and the intracellular folate coenzyme levels were quantitated by HPLC. The dU suppression test was carried out on part of the bone marrow samples in order to measure folate-dependent synthesis of the DNA precursor thymidylate (dTMP). After 5 hr exposure to nitrous oxide the de novo dTMP synthesis of the bone marrow cells was significantly decreased (P < 0.05), and this reduced synthesis persisted at 10 hr. After both 5 and 10 hr of exposure to nitrous oxide the amount of 10-formylTHF was reduced (P < 0.05) while that of 5-methylTHF was increased (P < 0.05). At 10 hr the level of THF was also decreased (P < 0.05). This study shows that nitrous oxide exposure of human bone marrow cells causes a redistribution of the various folate coenzymes which supports the idea of ‘functional cobalamin deficiency’. Moreover it seems probable that following prolonged exposure to nitrous oxide, not only folate-dependent dTMP synthesis but also de novo purine synthesis is reduced