Safety Recommendations for Safety-Critical Design Patterns

The concept of design patterns, which is considered as one of the commonly used techniques in the development of software and hardware systems, is applicable to be used in the design of safety-critical embedded systems. While several safety metrics and assessment methods have been proposed to evaluate safety-critical systems, most of these methods cannot be used for safety-critical design patterns, due to the fact that a design pattern presents a high-level abstract solution to commonly recurring design problem and it is not related to a specific application or to a specific case. This paper proposes a system of safety recommendations for safety-critical design patterns, which can be used in the assessment of design patterns for safety-critical embedded systems to reflect the severity of failure in the target application. The proposed safety recommendations are based on the safety recommendations of the IEC 61508 standard, and contain additional 3 types of recommendations: weakly not recommend, weakly recommended, and moderately recommended

Inhibitors of Bacterial \u3cem\u3eN\u3c/em\u3e-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic Acid Desuccinylase (DapE) and Demonstration of in vitro Antimicrobial Activity

The dapE-encoded N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE) is a critical bacterial enzyme for the construction of the bacterial cell wall. A screen biased toward compounds containing zinc-binding groups (ZBG’s) including thiols, carboxylic acids, boronic acids, phosphonates and hydroxamates has delivered a number of micromolar inhibitors of DapE from Haemophilus influenzae, including the low micromolar inhibitor L-captopril (IC50 = 3.3 μM, Ki = 1.8 μM). In vitro antimicrobial activity was demonstrated for l-captopril against Escherichia coli

Особенности формирования коммуникативной компетенции в условиях краткосрочного обучения

Статья посвящена исследованию проблемы обучения русскому языку турецких студентов на краткосрочных языковых курсах. Выделены причины, которые способствуют повышению интереса к русскому языку в Турции. Определены цели и задачи краткосрочных курсов. Подчёркнута роль внеурочных мероприятий, учебных пособий в развитии коммуникативных способностей учащихся и успешной адаптации в новых социокультурных условиях

Synthesis of Substituted 2-Amino-Cyclobutanones

A series of weakly nucleophilic nitrogen derivatives including carbamates, amides, sulfonamides, and anilines were reacted with 1,2‐bis(trimethylsilyloxy)cyclobutene under acidic conditions to afford various substituted 2‐aminocyclobutanone derivatives 3a–i in modest to excellent yields

The application of an audited self-management approach to manage nutrient losses in the Hurunui River catchment.

Water quality impairment is becoming an increasing problem in Canterbury, and throughout New Zealand. In North Canterbury, the Hurunui River has been associated with elevated nutrient levels. Not only are elevated nutrient levels a threat to the environmental and cultural values of the area, they also threaten the economic and social aspirations of the community. The community has aspirations to intensify land use in the catchment by increasing the area of irrigated land. To manage nutrient levels in the catchment and to ensure the goals of the community are realised the Hurunui and Waiau Regional Plan sets forth a requirement that an audited self-management (ASM) approach be applied in the region, which is identified in the Canterbury Water Management Strategy as a key tool for the management of water quality. This study investigates the application of an ASM approach in the Hurunui River catchment and by the use of semi-structured interviews seeks to identify the ASM features and institutional arrangements key stakeholders in the catchment are willing to support. The majority of the key features of an ASM approach are supported in the catchment including governance arrangements, farm environment plans, audits, enforcement mechanisms and effective communication measures. There were areas of divergence in the stakeholders’ opinions however, with differences relating to who administers the enforcement programme, and the public reporting of audit results. The institutional arrangements supported by the interview participants in the application of an ASM approach are compared to the design features outlined by Elinor Ostrom (1990). The majority of the institutional arrangements supported by stakeholders align with Ostrom’s features including: the freedom of resource users to make their own day-to-day choices; the desire for monitoring; the increasing severity of sanctions on those non-complying resource users; the need for conflict-resolution mechanisms; and that management collectives should retain the freedom to frame their own rules. An area which does not align with these design features was the hesitation of some organisation representatives to allow land users to have direct input into the rules governing the application of an ASM approach. The research identifies obstacles to the effective application of ASM. Specifically the issues of scientific uncertainty, the promotion of economic over environmental values, and the feeling of lack of involvement felt by some stakeholders, are identified as significant obstacles. To overcome these issues solutions are offered including further water quality monitoring, the promotion of further stakeholder interaction and the continuation of discussions to find an equitable solution to nutrient allocation concerns. Finally, the research presents several recommendations for the consideration of those undertaking the implementation of an ASM approach in the Hurunui River catchment and elsewhere, these include agreement upon the final boundaries for management groups, further investigation into management group governance and data management systems, ensuring audits are undertaken by fully trained and accredited auditors, ensuring that audit results are reported in a manner than generates corrective action, and providing opportunities for land users to frame the rules for an ASM approach

The impact of digital technology on health of populations affected by humanitarian crises: Recent innovations and current gaps

Digital technology is increasingly used in humanitarian action and promises to improve the health and social well-being of populations affected by both acute and protracted crises. We set out to (1) review the current landscape of digital technologies used by humanitarian actors and affected populations, (2) examine their impact on health and well-being of affected populations, and (3) consider the opportunities for and challenges faced by users of these technologies. Through a systematic search of academic databases and reports, we identified 50 digital technologies used by humanitarian actors, and/or populations affected by crises. We organized them according to the stage of the humanitarian cycle that they were used in, and the health outcomes or determinants of health they affected. Digital technologies were found to facilitate communication, coordination, and collection and analysis of data, enabling timely responses in humanitarian contexts. A lack of evaluation of these technologies, a paternalistic approach to their development, and issues of privacy and equity constituted major challenges. We highlight the need to create a space for dialogue between technology designers and populations affected by humanitarian crises