Reliability analysis of a spar buoy-supported floating offshore wind turbine

textWhile wind energy has witnessed faster growth than any other renewable energy source in recent years, two issues—the decreasing availability of large land expanses for new wind farms and transmission difficulties arising from siting wind farms in remote regions far from load centers—have slowed down this growth considerably. Siting wind turbines offshore places the generating capacity closer to population and load centers; thus, reducing grid congestion. Also, at offshore sites, one can expect higher wind speeds, decreased turbulence, and reduced noise and visual impact constraints. Offshore wind turbines that have been built thus far have had foundations (such as monopiles or jacket structures) that have extended to the seabed. Such offshore wind turbines have thus been confined to shallow waters closer to the shore. Sites farther offshore provide better wind resources (i.e., less turbulence and smoother, stronger winds) while also reducing visual impact, noise, etc. However, deeper waters encountered at such sites make bottom-supported turbines less economical. Wind turbines mounted atop floating platforms are, thus, being considered for deeper water offshore sites. Various floating platform concepts are under consideration; the chief differences among them arise from the way they provide stability to counter the large mass of the rotor-nacelle assembly located high above the mean water level. Of these alternative concepts, the spar buoy platform is a deep draft structure with a low center of gravity, below the center of buoyancy. Reliability analysis of a spar buoy-supported floating offshore 5MW wind turbine based on stochastic simulation is the subject of this study. Environmental data from a selected deepwater reference site are employed in the numerical studies. Using time-domain simulations, the dynamic behavior of the coupled platform-turbine system is studied; statistics of tower and rotor loads as well as platform motions are estimated and critical combinations of wind speed and wave height identified.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Monitoring and Failure Recovery of Cloud-Managed Digital Signage

Digitaal signage kasutatakse laialdaselt erinevates valdkondades, nagu näiteks transpordisüsteemid, turustusvõimalused, meelelahutus ja teised, et kuvada teavet piltide, videote ja teksti kujul. Nende ressursside usaldusväärsus, vajalike teenuste kättesaadavus ja turvameetmed on selliste süsteemide vastuvõtmisel võtmeroll. Digitaalse märgistussüsteemi tõhus haldamine on teenusepakkujatele keeruline ülesanne. Selle süsteemi rikkeid võib põhjustada mitmeid põhjuseid, nagu näiteks vigased kuvarid, võrgu-, riist- või tarkvaraprobleemid, mis on üsna korduvad. Traditsiooniline protsess sellistest ebaõnnestumistest taastumisel hõlmab sageli tüütuid ja tülikaid diagnoose. Paljudel juhtudel peavad tehnikud kohale füüsiliselt külastama, suurendades seeläbi hoolduskulusid ja taastumisaega.Selles väites pakume lahendust, mis jälgib, diagnoosib ja taandub tuntud tõrgetest, ühendades kuvarid pilvega. Pilvepõhine kaug- ja autonoomne server konfigureerib kaugseadete sisu ja uuendab neid dünaamiliselt. Iga kuva jälgib jooksvat protsessi ja saadab trace’i, logib süstemisse perioodiliselt. Negatiivide puhul analüüsitakse neid serverisse salvestatud logisid, mis optimaalselt kasutavad kohandatud logijuhtimismoodulit. Lisaks näitavad ekraanid ebaõnnestumistega toimetulemiseks enesetäitmise protseduure, kui nad ei suuda pilvega ühendust luua. Kavandatud lahendus viiakse läbi Linuxi süsteemis ja seda hinnatakse serveri kasutuselevõtuga Amazon Web Service (AWS) pilves. Peamisteks tulemusteks on meetodite kogum, mis võimaldavad kaugjuhtimisega kuvariprobleemide lahendamist.Digital signage is widely used in various fields such as transport systems, trading outlets, entertainment, and others, to display information in the form of images, videos, and text. The reliability of these resources, availability of required services and security measures play a key role in the adoption of such systems. Efficient management of the digital signage system is a challenging task to the service providers. There could be many reasons that lead to the malfunctioning of this system such as faulty displays, network, hardware or software failures that are quite repetitive. The traditional process of recovering from such failures often involves tedious and cumbersome diagnosis. In many cases, technicians need to physically visit the site, thereby increasing the maintenance costs and the recovery time. In this thesis, we propose a solution that monitors, diagnoses and recovers from known failures by connecting the displays to a cloud. A cloud-based remote and autonomous server configures the content of remote displays and updates them dynamically. Each display tracks the running process and sends the trace and system logs to the server periodically. These logs, stored at the server optimally using a customized log management module, are analysed for failures. In addition, the displays incorporate self-recovery procedures to deal with failures, when they are unable to create connection to the cloud. The proposed solution is implemented on a Linux system and evaluated by deploying the server on the Amazon Web Service (AWS) cloud. The main result of the thesis is a collection of techniques for resolving the display system failures remotely

Perception and Attitudes of Canadians living with Parkinson’s disease towards using Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are becoming increasingly prevalent commercially and have potential to increase road safety for at risk populations, such as those with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This thesis presents the results of a survey study (n= 153) exploring the perception and attitudes of Canadians living with PD towards using ADAS. Most participants had a favourable perception of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use towards ADAS. Most participants found ADAS slightly, quite or extremely beneficial, good, rewarding and pleasant. Perceived ease of use and previous experience were determinants for intention to use ADAS in the next year. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of were determinants for intention to purchase a vehicle with ADAS features in the future. These findings provide insight to optimize technology design and develop client-centered interventions to assist drivers with PD to incorporate these technologies into their driving

INVESTIGATION OF EFFECT OF CLOFAZIMINE ON TOXIN PRODUCTION OF CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE STRAINS

Clostridioles difficile is a ubiquitous anaerobic gram-positive bacterium that is responsible for severe gastrointestinal diseases. Lack of drugs for relapse of C. difficile infections (CDI) and emergence of strains that produce virulent toxins and spores establish an urgent need for an alternative treatment for CDI. KTI explored the potential of Clofazimine, an FDA approved drug for leprosy, for treatment of CDI due to its antimicrobial activity and low propensity to develop resistance. In the current study we study the effect of i) sub-inhibitory drug concentration of clofazimine on toxin levels of C. Difficile, ii) probiotics on C. difficile, and iii) combination of probiotics and clofazimine. Clofazimine is successful in reducing toxin levels of C. difficile at growth-inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations. We also see a direct correlation between toxin levels and the growth kinetics of the bacteria. Probiotic does not affect the growth of the bacteria as well as the toxin levels of the bacteria. CFZ is also successful in specific killing of C. difficile in presence of bacterial strains of probiotic. In conclusion, CFZ shows excellent in-vitro activity in reduction of toxin levels of C. difficile

Experimental performance evaluation of NB-IoT

Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is gaining prominence as a key Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology for IoT applications. Since it operates on licensed frequency spectrum it can provide guarantees to applications demanding Quality of Service (QoS). NB-IoT has emerged as a competitive rival for other LPWAN technologies such as LoRa and Sigfox, which work in the unlicensed frequency spectrum and are vulnerable to interference. Therefore, NB-IoT is the trivial fit for industries and other business companies that demand guaranteed services. In this paper the different features of the NB-IoT technology have been studied on the commercial Orange network in Belgium using the ublox SARA-N210 module [1] as the user equipment (UE). We focused on the device and network performance in terms of setup times, signal quality, throughput, latency, and reliability and studied the network dynamicity on signal strength. These observations are then compared with the theoretical defined limits of NB-IoT

Warthin-like mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid gland: a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant salivary gland tumor. Although the parotid gland is the most common site of involvement, other major salivary glands and the minor salivary glands—most commonly of the palate—also can be involved. The management of mucoepidermoid carcinoma depends on the grade of the tumor and the adequacy of resection. We present the case of a 56-year-old female presenting a painless progressive cheek mass over 2 months. Imaging and fine-needle aspiration cytology provided the diagnosis of Mucoepidermoid carcinoma. A superficial parotidectomy was done, and the histopathology revealed a predominantly cystic tumor with a bilayered epithelium of oncocytic and basal cells. Moderate nuclear pleomorphism with infiltration of atypical squamous cells in few glandular cysts was seen. Special staining revealed the presence of intracellular mucin. A diagnosis of Warthin-like variant of MEC was made, based on these findings. After the surgical procedures, the patient is disease-free at 8 months of follow-up. The Warthin-like variant is a rare variant of MEC with fewer than 10 cases described in the English literature. Various differential diagnoses include the malignant transformation of Wartin tumor (WT), squamous metaplasia of WT, and metastasis from a distant primary. We emphasize the role of routine microscopy in identifying rare variants of common malignancies. Even though translocation studies are helpful in diagnosis, the typical histopathological findings should confirm it

RFID Based Automatic Shopping Cart

Large grocery stores are nowadays used by millions of people for the acquisition of an enlarging number of products. Product acquisition represents a complex process that comprises time spent in corridors, product location and checkout queues. On the other hand, it is becoming increasingly difficult for retailers to keep their clients loyal and to predict their needs due to the influence of competition and the lack of tools that discriminate consumption patterns. In this article it is presented the proposal of an architecture and solution of an innovative system for the acquisition of products in grocery stores (Intelligent Cart). The Intelligent Cart explores emerging mobile technologies and automatic identification technologies (such as RFID) as a way to improve the quality of services provided by retailers and to augment the consumer value thus allowing to save time and money. Keywords: Automatic Product Identification; Electronic Services; Grocery Stores, RFID, Intelligent car

Exploring anesthesiologist niche in burn management: Putting the tube where it belongs. A case series on difficult airways in burns

Burn injuries are complex and challenging, requiring a multidisciplinary approach. We have done more than 15 cases of severely distorted airways in patients with burns (photos attached); although the basic case management remains the same, there are a plethora of other concerns that make these patients unique. The most unique and severe 11 cases we have discussed assiduously. Out of all the concerns, airway management remains the most challenging one. Timely intervention and keen vigilance are required to prevent a disaster later on

Primary colonic liposarcomatosis: report of a case with review of literature

LiposarcomaThe colon is a rare site of occurrence of liposarcoma, as either the primary site or by secondary involvement from a retroperitoneal liposarcoma. Liposarcomatosis denotes simultaneous occurrence of multiple liposarcomas. There are only 17 cases of primary colonic liposarcoma reported in the English literature—one of which was primary colonic liposarcomatosis. We depict the second case of primary colonic liposarcomatosis in a 57-year-old female who presented with abdominal swelling and pain. On exploratory laparotomy, two large masses were seen arising from the wall of the right colon along with multiple smaller masses attached to the colon. Right hemicolectomy with en bloc excision of the masses was performed along with hysterectomy and pelvic floor repair. Macroscopically, multiple exophytic masses and one endophytic mass were identified. The exophytic masses were of variable size and were found to hang from the colon by a thin pedicle simulating variable-sized appendices epiploicae. Histopathologically, the lesions showed the morphology of well-differentiated liposarcoma. This appears to be a case of primary colonic liposarcomatosis. There is only one other similar case reported in the English literature, to the best of our knowledge

A case of ostium secundum atrial septal defect for major decompressive spine surgery – covering the paths still left untreaded

Atrial septal defect (ASD) accounts for 35% of all congenital heart diseases in adults. Patients usually present in their twenties or thirties owing to gradually progressive right ventricular remodeling because of left to right shunt, right-sided heart failure, and pulmonary hypertension. In this case report, we present the management of young female patient with ASD posted for D5 spine decompression and fixation. Patients with congenital heart disease for spine surgery present with unique set of challenges for anesthesiologists. Well-prepared anesthesia plan is essential to prevent increase in shunt fraction, shunt reversal, hypoxia, hypercapnia, acidosis, and hypothermia along with careful addressal of positioning issues to ensure smooth recovery of patient