The Integration of Social Media Data in Emergency Management: an Innovative Decision Support System

The upsurge of social media platforms has opened to the prospect of integrating the information provided by citizens through these channels into the traditional emergency management process. This paper presents the Civil Protection Emergency System model designed for the Italo-Croatian decision support system developed in the Interreg project E-CITIJENS. Seismic, flood and forest fire are the risk typologies addressed. The model specifies the key steps that allow the system, a semantically enriched web-enabled platform, to identify and analyse significant social media posts that can provide Civil Protection authorities with additional real-time data regarding potential or ongoing emergencies in a designated geographical area. The approach chosen is to retrieve from social media the posts containing specific terms used by citizens during emergencies (i.e. an initial project terminology was developed) and to classify them according to their relative importance compared to the other posts selected, identifying those to be evaluated first by the Civil Protection staff. This is achieved by calculating the total score of each post as the sum of the scores attributed to the initial terminology keywords therein contained (i.e. three severity scales were defined to rank the terms according to their potential hazard level). This novel Civil Protection Emergency System model has been applied to a set of simulated emergency events with the aim of testing the algorithm and to verify the effectiveness of the platform in order to assess if it could provide helpful additional information to Civil Protection, improving its overall emergency coping capacity

Application of multivariate statistical methods to the modelling of a flue gas treatment stage in a waste-to-energy plant

Among all the macro-pollutants released by waste combustion, acid contaminants such as sulphur dioxide, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride have the lowest emission standards in environmental regulations in EU, USA and China. Their removal is thus a key step of flue gas treatment in waste-to-energy (WtE) plants. A widespread approach for acid gas removal is by in-duct injection of dry powdered sorbents, which neutralize the acid pollutants by gas-solid reaction. However, systems based on dry injection, albeit cost-effective and easy to operate, suffer from a limited knowledge of the gas-solid reaction process at industrial operating conditions. High excess of sorbent feed rate is generally required to obtain high acid gas removal efficiencies. The present study proposes a multivariate statistical approach to the modelling of acid gas treatment units, with the aim of extracting information from real process data in order to derive a predictive model of dynamic acid gas removal efficiency. Specifically, process data regarding the composition of the flue gas, the sorbent feed and other operating conditions were elaborated to characterise the different phenomena that influence acid gas abatement. Eventually, a partial least squares (PLS) regression was set up to predict the outlet concentration of hydrogen chloride as a function of the measured process variables. The resulting model is a step forward with respect to previously available stationary models. Its simplicity and low computational cost could make PLS a promising candidate for model-based process control. Nonetheless, a linear approach such as PLS still comes short of predicting large instantaneous deviations from the typical range of operation (e.g. abrupt peaks in inlet acid gas load), for which a modification of the PLS model to incorporate non-linear behaviour is envisaged

Domino effects related to explosions in the framework of land use planning

The present study analyses the possible escalation due to the damage of industrial equipment containing hazardous materials loaded by pressure waves produced either by an accidental source as a Vapour Cloud Explosion, or by a voluntary external attack such as the explosion of a TNT charge located nearby the industrial facility. The results obtained evidence the similarities and the differences for the two explosion sources in terms of structural damage, loss of containment and of expected impacts on the population. In particular, a specific vulnerability assessment was carried out defining a case-study in order to evidence the different potential impact of domino effect triggered by internal process causes respect to escalation scenarios caused by external acts of interference. © 2013, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l

Effect of the Sintering Conditions on the Neck Growth during the Powder Bed Fusion with Electron Beam (PBF-EB) Process

A distinctive characteristic of the powder bed fusion with electron beam (PBF-EB) process is the sintering of the powder particles. For certain metallic materials, this is crucial for the success of the subsequent step, the melting, and, generally, the whole process. Despite the sintering mechanisms that occur during the PBF-EB process being similar to well-known powder metallurgy, the neck growth rates are significantly different. Therefore, specific analyses are needed to understand the influence of the PBF-EB process conditions on neck growth and neck growth rate. Additionally, some aspects, such as the rigid body motion of the particles during the sintering process, are still challenging to analyze. This work systematically investigated the effects of different particle diameters and particle diameter ratios. Additionally, the impact of the rigid body motion of the particles in the sintering was analyzed. This work demonstrated that the sintering results significantly depended on the EB-PBF process conditions

Damage models for storage and process equipment involved in flooding events

The present study focuses on the accidents caused by the impact of floods on storage and process equipment. This type of accident is classified as a NaTech (Natural-Technological) event and resulted in severe consequences in several past accidents. A methodology was developed for the determination of vulnerability models aimed at the estimation of equipment damage probability on the basis of severity or intensity parameters of the flooding. A mechanical model was developed, based on the comparison between the flooding intensity and the resistance of a vessel and/or its support. Simplified vulnerability functions were derived. Finally, a case-study was set up and analysed to show the potentialities of the methodology and the implementation of results in quantitative risk analysis. © 2013, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l

Relation Between EEG Measures and Upper Limb Motor Recovery in Stroke Patients: A Scoping Review

Current clinical practice does not leverage electroencephalography (EEG) measurements in stroke patients, despite its potential to contribute to post-stroke recovery predictions. We review the literature on the effectiveness of various quantitative and qualitative EEG-based measures after stroke as a tool to predict upper limb motor outcome, in relation to stroke timeframe and applied experimental tasks. Moreover, we aim to provide guidance on the use of EEG in the assessment of upper limb motor recovery after stroke, suggesting a high potential for some metrics in the appropriate context. We identified relevant papers (N = 16) from databases ScienceDirect, Web of Science and MEDLINE, and assessed their methodological quality with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal. We applied the Preferred Reporting Systems for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Framework. Identified works used EEG to identify properties including event-related activation, spectral power in physiologically relevant bands, symmetry in brain dynamics, functional connectivity, cortico-muscular coherence and rhythmic coordination. EEG was acquired in resting state or in relation to behavioural conditions. Motor outcome was mainly evaluated with the Upper Limb Fugl-Meyer Assessment. Despite great variability in the literature, data suggests that the most promising EEG quantifiers for predicting post-stroke motor outcome are event-related measures. Measures of spectral power in physiologically relevant bands and measures of brain symmetry also show promise. We suggest that EEG measures may improve our understanding of stroke brain dynamics during recovery, and contribute to establishing a functional prognosis and choosing the rehabilitation approach

Data-driven Models for Advanced Control of Acid Gas Treatment in Waste-to-energy Plants

This paper presents a study of identification and validation of data-driven models for the description of the acid gas treatment process, a key step of flue gas cleaning in waste-to-energy plants. The acid gas removal line of an Italian plant, based on the injection of hydrated lime, Ca(OH)2, for the abatement of hydrogen chloride, HCl, is investigated. The final goal is to minimize the feed rate of reactant needed to achieve the required HCl removal performance, also reducing as a consequence the production of solid process residues. Process data are collected during dedicated plant tests carried out by imposing Generalized Binary Noise (GBN) sequences to the flow rate of Ca(OH)2. Various input-output and state-space models are identified with success, and related model orders are optimized. The models are then validated on different datasets of routine plant operation. The proposed modeling approach appears reliable and promising for control purposes, once implemented into advanced model-based control structures

Accident scenarios caused by lightning impact on atmospheric storage tanks

In recent years, severe natural events raised the concern for the so-called NaTech (natural-technological) accident scenarios: Technological accidents caused by the impact of a natural event on an industrial facility or infrastructure. Severe scenarios typical of the process industry, as fires, explosions, toxic releases, and water pollution were reported as the consequence of natural events in industrial areas. The historical analysis of accidental scenarios triggered by lightning shows that the impact of a lightning on an atmospheric storage tank might be the initiating event of a severe accident. The analysis of past accident evidences that several alternative damage mechanisms and accident scenarios may follow lightning impact. Although lightning hazard is well known and is usually considered in the risk analysis of chemical and process plants, well accepted quantitative procedures to assess the contribution of accidents triggered by lightning to industrial risk are still lacking. In particular, the approaches to the assessment of accident scenarios following lightning strike are mostly based on expert judgment. In the present study, a detailed methodology is presented for the assessment of quantified event trees following lightning impact on an atmospheric tank. Different damage mechanisms have been considered in order to assess the frequencies of loss of containment due to lightning strikes. The results were used in a case study to assess the overall risk due to lightning impact scenarios in typical lay-outs of tank farms of oil refineries. Copyright © 2013, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l

Renewable Energy Storage System Based on a Power-to-Gas Conversion Process

Abstract The increasing penetration of renewable energy generation in the electric energy market is currently posing new critical issues, related to the generation prediction and scheduling, due to the mismatch between power production and utilization. In order to cope with these issues, the implementation of new large scale storage units on the electric network is foreseen as a key mitigation strategy. Among large scale technologies for the electric energy storage, the Power-to-Gas solution can be regarded as a long-term viable option, provided that the conversion efficiency is improved and aligned with other more conventional storage alternatives. In this study, a Power-to-Gas storage system is investigated, including as main components a high-temperature electrolyzer for hydrogen generation and a Sabatier reactor for methane production. The high-temperature Solide Oxide Electrolyser Cell (SOEC) technology, currently under development, is considered as a promising solution for hydrogen generation, due to the expected higher efficiency values, in comparison with conventional low-temperature electrolysis technologies. In order to evaluate the performance of the system and the energy efficiency, in this study a numerical model of the SOEC integrated with the Sabatier reactor has been implemented, including also the necessary additional auxiliaries, which can significantly affect the energy conversion performance. The whole energy conversion and storage system has been analyzed, taking into account different layout variants, by means of Aspen HysysTM numerical tool, based on a lumped modelling approach. The various Power-to-Gas storage configurations have been compared, with the aim to optimize both the system's efficiency and the composition of the produced gas stream

Cinematic and aesthetic cartographies of subjective mutation

This article exmaines the use of cinema as a mapping of subjective mutation in the work of Deleuze, Gauttari and Berardi. Drawing on Deleuze's distinciton between the reduction of the art-work to the symptom and the idea of art as symptomatology, the article focuses on Berardi's use of cinematic examples, posing the quesiton in each case of to what extent they function as symptomatologies or mere symptoms of cultural and subjective mutations in examples ranging from Bergman's Persona to Van Sant's Elephant to finish on speculations about Fincher's The Social Network as a cirtical engagement with subjective mutation in the 21st Century