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The security of distributed applications backed by blockchain technology relies mainly on keeping the associated cryptographic keys (i.e. private keys) in well-protected storage. Since they are the unique proof of ownership of the underlying digital assets. If the keys are stolen or lost, there is no way to recover the assets. The cold wallet is a good candidate for basic use cases, but it has a substantial challenge for more complex applications as it does not scale. Warm and hot wallets are more convenient options for blockchain-based solutions that aim to transact in a cloud environment. In this work, we focus on Hardware Security Module (HSM) based wallet. The HSM is the de-facto standard device designed to manage high-value cryptographic keys and to protect them against hacks. In this demonstration, we present an HSM-based working prototype that secures the entire life cycle of Ethereum public and private keys.

The development of highly innovative techniques and technologies to enhance performance and technical sustainability of materials used in the field of cultural heritage conservation is providing conservators with innovative nanocomposites materials, including protective coatings, by merging the performances of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) with conventional chemicals. However, the human health and environmental risks that may potentially arise from these new materials are still largely unknown, requiring an adequate assessment and management along their entire life cycle. Concerns could emerge due to the leaching of the material containing NPs or of the NPs alone, especially during their use (exposure of the treated object to, e.g., heavy or acid rain) and disposal (when the wasted product is processed in, e.g., waste water treatment plants). To date, no standard leaching test methods have been specifically developed for nano-enabled products, with the consequent lack of data on the NPs potential exposure also in the field of cultural heritage. Therefore, an extensive review over the last 10 years by querying to the Scopus database “nanoparticles”, “leaching” and “coatings” has been herein reported to clearly highlight (i) the standard test methods used or adapted to estimate the NPs leaching from nano-based coatings; (ii) the available studies in which the NPs leaching from nano-based coatings was estimated without following any specific standard test method; (iii) the works focusing on other nanocomposite materials performances than leaching, in which standard test methods were applied, potentially useful to indirectly estimate NPs leaching. All the information gathered by this bibliographic search have been used to identify the most promising leaching tests for NPs estimation to be applied in the field of cultural heritage, especially for both large, e.g., building façades, and small, e.g., bronze works of art, surface areas from which the leaching of nano-based materials could be significant in terms of human health and ecological risks, based also on the (eco)toxicity of the leachate. The derived information can thus ultimately support effective risk management of innovative nano-enabled products, including the implementation of Safe by Design approaches.

We present the research findings of the DOE-funded Hydrogen Storage Engineering Center of Excellence (HSECoE) related to liquid-phase and slurry-phase chemical hydrogen storage media and their potential as future hydrogen storage media for automotive applications. Chemical hydrogen storage media other than neat liquid compositions will prove difficult to meet the DOE system level targets. Solid- and slurry-phase chemical hydrogen storage media requiring off-board regeneration are impractical and highly unlikely to be implemented for automotive applications because of the formidable task of developing solid- or slurry-phase transport systems that are commercially reliable and economical throughout the entire life cycle of the fuel. Additionally, the regeneration cost and efficiency of chemical hydrogen storage media is currently the single most prohibitive barrier to implementing chemical hydrogen storage media. Ideally, neat liquid-phase chemical hydrogen storage media with net-usable gravimetric hydrogen capacities of greater than 7.8 wt% are projected to meet the 2017 DOE system level gravimetric and volumetric targets. The research presented herein is a collection of research findings that do not in and of themselves warrant a dedicated manuscript. However, the collection of results do, in fact, highlight the engineering challenges and short-comings in scaling up and demonstrating fluid-phase ammonia borane and alane compositions that all future materials researchers working in hydrogen storage should be aware of.

For a slab avalanche to release, a weak layer buried below a cohesive snow slab is required, and the system of weak layer and slab must support crack propagation over large distances. This process, called “dynamic crack propagation”, is highly relevant for avalanche release, and computational models are nowadays able to model crack propagation over increasingly larger scales. Field measurements on dynamic crack propagation are however very scarce, although these are required to validate models. We therefore performed a series of flat field PST experiments up to ten meters long over a period of 10 weeks. During this time, PST results evolved from crack arrest to full propagation and back to crack arrest – reflecting the life cycle of the weak layer. All PST experiments were analyzed using digital image correlation to derive high-resolution displacement fields to compute dynamic crack propagation metrics, including crack length and speed as well as touchdown distance, the distance from the crack tip to the trailing point where the slab comes into contact with the substratum. Comparing the displacement fields during sawing to a mechanical model, we estimated the effective elastic modulus of slab and weak layer as well as the specific fracture energy of the weak layer. Our results show how dynamic crack propagation characteristics change over the life cycle of a weak layer and how these measures relate to snowpack properties such as load and effective elastic modulus of the slab. We found that crack speed was highest for PSTs resulting in full propagation and that the touchdown length increased with increasing elastic modulus of the slab. Our dataset provides unique insight into the dynamics of crack propagation, and provides valuable data to validate models used to study sustained crack propagation.

Environmental impact assessment studies are mandatory for major industrial or infrastructure projects in most countries. These studies are usually limited to on-site impacts during exploitation but do not consider indirect impacts generated off-site or those concerning other steps of the project, including dismantling. National regulations in various countries have recently begun to include these neglected impacts to obtain a better appreciation of project trade-offs. Several scientists have highlighted the substantial potential of using the life cycle assessment methodology to increase the level of detail and completeness of environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies. Even if mining activities are known to produce significant local impacts, their consequences outside an extraction site have not yet been well documented. The implementation of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology in the EIA procedure has been carried out in a Au mining project by separating on-site and off-site impacts during the entire life cycle of the mine from prospection to site restoration following the end of exploitation. Mining projects occur over large time periods and require diverse materials and processes. The main difficulty of such analysis is the data collection that needs to be extrapolated for some of the activities. Even with these limitations, the Afema case study highlighted the significant share of off-site impacts (from a spatial perspective) and the major contribution of the exploitation phase of the mine (from a temporal perspective). Operating activities, especially excavation, ore, and waste rock transportation, blasting, ore processing, and tailing treatments, are the main impacts produced during the exploitation phase and are involved in climate change, particulate matter formation, and land destruction. Therefore, this standardized LCA method should be recommended by the regulatory authorities for use in EIA procedures. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:465-479. © 2020 SETAC.

Built infrastructures are continuously at risk from deterioration. The application of optimization algorithms to the entire life cycle of built infrastructure from early stage design to maintenance activities planning can best improve the life cycle performance of the built infrastructure and minimize the life-cycle cost and environmental impact. However, there remains a gap in fundamental or application-based research on life-cycle optimization of the durability performance. It is partially because there are no available durability models that are fundamental in nature and accurate enough to be integrated with optimization algorithms. This research presents an innovative framework to optimize life cycle durability performance of reinforced concrete infrastructure with accurate prediction using a recently developed multi-physics computational durability model. Various optimization variables throughout the entire life cycle of built infrastructures are enabled. A case study is presented to demonstrate the application of this framework to optimize the durability performance of a reinforced concrete structure.

El autismo es un trastorno psicológico que se caracteriza por la intensa concentración de una persona en su propio mundo interior y la progresiva pérdida de contacto con la realidad exterior. Es una palabra que hace referencia a una gran variedad de trastornos del desarrollo que algunas personas sufren desde el nacimiento o desarrollan en los primeros años de vida, una persona que sufre afecciones que se incluyen dentro de este espectro tiene trastorno del espectro autista y perdurara a lo largo de todo su ciclo vital. Los datos más recientes que maneja el Centro de Control de Enfermedades de los Estados Unidos revelan que a 1 de cada 68 niños es diagnosticado con algún tipo de Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA).

10 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables, supplementary material https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.05106.007, [EN] The age and growth patterns of the mesopelagic fish Ceratoscopelus maderensis (family Myctophidae) of the western Mediterranean Sea were described throughout its entire life cycle (from larvae to adult stages) using the sagittae otoliths of 59 individuals collected in December 2009. Three characteristic zones were identified along the cross-section of the sagittae (larval, metamorphic and juvenile-adult zones). Assuming growth rings as daily increments, the age of the analysed individuals (from 3.5 to 64 mm standard length [SL]) would range from 7 to 332 days. The relationship between the number of increments and the fish SL was fitted to a von Bertalanffy growth model (SL=70.5899×(1–exp(–0.0501(t+2.6705))). The growth pattern of C. maderensis in the western Mediterranean Sea was similar to that reported for this species in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. Though from a body size of 40-45 mm SL, growth rates declined more slowly in individuals from the western Mediterranean Sea, growth differences between these individuals and those from the northeast Atlantic Ocean were not statistically significant. This study provides new insights into the age and growth patterns of one of the most abundant mesopelagic fish species in the Mediterranean Sea that have clear implications for the study and management of marine ecosystems, [ES] En el presente trabajo se describen la edad y los patrones de crecimiento desde la fase larvaria hasta la fase adulta del pez mesopelágico Ceratoscopelus maderensis (familia Myctophidae) del Mediterráneo occidental. Para ello, se analizó el otolito sagitta de 59 individuos capturados en diciembre de 2009. Se identificaron tres zonas en la sagitta, cada una de las cuales se corresponde con una fase del desarrollo ontogenético del pez: larvaria, metamórfica y juvenil-adulta. Asumiendo que los anillos de crecimiento son diarios, la edad de los individuos analizados (de 3.5 a 64 mm de longitud estándar [SL]) oscilaría entre 7 y 332 días. La relación entre el número de incrementos y la SL de los peces se ajustó al modelo de crecimiento de von Bertalanffy (SL=70.5899×(1–exp(–0.0501(t+2.6705))). El patrón de crecimiento de C. maderensisen el Mediterráneo occidental fue similar al previamente descrito para esta especie en el Noreste del Océano Atlántico. A pesar de que, a partir de 40-45 mm SL, las tasas de crecimiento disminuyeron más lentamente en los individuos del Medi-terráneo occidental, las diferencias de crecimiento entre estos individuos y los del Noreste del Océano Atlántico no fueron estadísticamente significativas. Los resultados de este estudio aportan nuevos conocimientos sobre la edad y el crecimiento de una de las especies más abundantes del Mar Mediterráneo, lo cual tiene claras implicaciones de cara al estudio y la gestión de los ecosistemas marinos, The authors are very grateful to the IDEADOS project (CTM2008-04489-C03-02) and for the technical sup-port offered by José Manuel Fortuño (ICM) and Silvia Pérez-Mayol of the Sclerochronology Service at IME-DEA (UIB-CSIC), With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)

One of the tasks that the legislator has assigned to the chambers of commerce and industry is that of business promotion. This is to be understood as a first professional help for companies. Important: A chamber of commerce and industry may only ever provide information or initial advice—nothing more. However, discussions with CCI specialists can—and should—serve as a basis for further advice from specialised providers such as management advisory services, tax and law firms. The services provided by the CCI cover the entire life cycle of the company and thus many different areas: from the founding of the company to securing skilled workers and company succession. The chapter begins with an interview explaining the idea of business promotion. A portrait then introduces the Information and Service Centre of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Munich, the first point of contact for all questions concerning the entire range of services offered by the Chamber. Then the chapter takes a look at selected service areas. Finally, it describes the regional offices and the work of the CCI Academy.

Large-scale membrane technology has been widely implemented and rapidly growing for roughly 40 years. However, considering its entire life cycle, there are aspects being characterized by low sustai...

The paper proposes an algorithm for choosing the optimal voltage class of a power supply distribution grid of gas well clusters, in which there is a multiple electrical load increase during field’s life cycle. Building a mathematical model with considering factors allows to design both a trunk line and a single radial grid and evaluate the magnitude and direction of the influence of individual factors, i.e. to conduct a quantitative analysis of the gas field power supply diagram. An extreme experiment is used to construct mathematical models. The optimization parameter is accepted as economic-the minimum of discounted costs. The paper presents six response functions-regression equations. The distribution grids of a number of operating gas fields in Western Siberia have been investigated taking into account the entire life cycle of the field at “PRON” computer program. The proposed algorithm can be used in the design of the power supply system for new gas fields, which allows to select the optimal voltage class for the power supply system of gas clusters, considering the entire life of the gas field, taking into account the minimum discounted costs. It can improve the efficiency of decisions, reduce funds and design time.

Due to the large-scale demolition waste generated by large-scale urban renewal projects, the environmental impacts caused by the demolition wastes during recycling cannot be ignored. However, existing research lacks the entire life cycle carbon emission assessment of demolition waste, and few studies involve the removal of carbon emissions from the waste recycling stage. In order to quantitatively evaluate the environmental impacts of the fixed disposal of demolition waste, this study uses the entire life cycle assessment theory, based on the basic data of energy consumption in four stages of demolition stage, collecting and sorting, transportation, and recycling stage. Considering the environmental cost and environmental benefit of the entire life cycle of fixed disposal, the environmental impacts assessment model of the entire life cycle of fixed disposal is established. The carbon emissions generated by fixed disposal at all stages of the life cycle were measured, and the environmental benefits of recycled building materials were taken into account to compare with the carbon emissions generated by traditional landfill. Exploring the causes of carbon emissions from various stages of fixed disposal and the environmental benefits of recycled building materials produced during the waste recycling stage, proposing energy-saving and emission reduction, and determining the fixed disposal method for low-carbon emission demolition waste, have reference value. The study can effectively evaluate the environmental benefits of fixed disposal, and provide a reference for the development of demolition waste resource management policies.

This paper explores whether additive manufacturing (AM) is more environmentally friendly than conventional manufacturing (CM) for the production of medical implants. The environmental impact of manufacturing the femoral component of a knee implant made from Ti-6Al-4V material was investigated. One AM method (electron beam melting (EBM)) and one CM method (milling) were analysed for the production of this part. A cradle to grave life cycle approach was utilised for each manufacturing method focusing on the primary energy consumption (PEC) and CO2 emissions. It was found that when the entire life cycle of the implant is considered, EBM is a more environmentally friendly method of producing the implant. This is mainly due to the complex geometry of the implant. For complex geometries, lots of waste material is generated using CM processes, whereas much less material is wasted using the AM process. The production of the raw material, Ti-6Al-4V, has a high PEC and associated CO2 emissions, so the amount of required raw material for either manufacturing method is the most important factor from an environmental perspective. Finally, the article presents the plans for future work and some remarks are concluded. Science Foundation Ireland

Successful implementation of construction and demolition (C&D) waste management is conducive to urban sustainability. With the rapid development of information and communication technology, smart management of C&D waste (SMCDW) is an inevitable trend. In the literature, more and more scholars have studied the application of emerging technologies or methods in C&D waste management, such as BIM and GIS. However, a comprehensive review of the main existing technologies or methods in SMCDW has not yet been systematically described and analyzed. To bridge this research gap, an analysis and review on the topic of SMCDW is conducted. Forty papers are retrieved according to a rigorous set of procedures. Through the analysis of these papers, five categories of existing technologies and methods in SMCDW are identified, including BIM, GIS, big data, AI and other particular technologies or methods. Among them, BIM has the highest application frequency and a wide range of applications, while GIS is the second one. Limited by the lack of data at this stage, the utilization of big data and AI is still less. Based on the analytical review, the limitations of previous studies are further summarized, such as the lack of comprehensive application of various technologies or methods, and the lack of exploration of SMCDW from the perspective of entire life cycle. Moreover, some potential future research directions are further suggested.

Widespread environmental awareness to achieve product sustainability has triggered great efforts to use more environmentally friendly materials in product design. One of the most promising solutions to meet these needs is the use of wood and plastic composite fibers to reduce reliance on synthetic fibers as reinforcement and fillers for polymer composite construction. Much effort has gone into fully quantifying the benefits of Plastic Wood Composites (PWC) for various applications such as automobiles, building materials, and household appliances. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is one of the efforts of personal watercraft whose main objective is to determine the potential environmental impact of the use of these materials on the environment as a whole. One of the main benefits of conducting life cycle analysis is the ability to provide a more holistic view of environmental impacts, covering the entire life cycle of the product, from the extraction of raw materials to the end. life, allowing justified decisions on the suitability of the use of PWC for specific applications that must be scientifically made. This chapter provides an overview of the LCA method, followed by a description of its uses with PWC in various applications. The advantages and disadvantages of the LCA method compared to personal watercraft are discussed, as well as a final conclusion on the future directions of the LCA application for personal watercraft.

Building information technology with BIM (Building Information Modeling) has become the core technology that supports the construction industry to realize functional transformation, upgrading and transformation, changing lanes, technological innovation, production mode and management mode innovation. Its application range has gradually penetrated into various buildings, including industrial plants, residential buildings, etc. The application of BIM covers the entire life cycle of the project, including the planning, design, and construction of the design plan, extending to operation, until the house is destroyed. This article elaborates on the status of BIM application, its characteristics, its application in life cycle management and future trends.

Although digital technology has altered the innovation processes of firms in every industry, the existing literature continues to describe innovation as a sequence of two discrete and unidirectional activities: creation and diffusion. This study proposes that digital innovation should instead be understood as a development process that continues across the entire life cycle, often in collaboration with users. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 22 managers, the paper proposes an empirically grounded framework that explicates digital innovation as a continuous and iterative effort. The paper specifies principles for organizing digital innovation over time as centered on adaptation (containing core and peripheral elements) and user comprehension (containing user proximity and user sensing) of an already launched digital object. For managers, the key implication is that this process is not the exclusive preserve of any specific unit but should instead involve the whole organization.

Solar cell performance at low light intensity is practically important for power generation capacity in the entire life cycle. Our previous study demonstrated that glass frit, which is an indispensable constituent in paste for metallization of the cells, decreases the performance at low light intensity by causing shunts and recombination in the cells. Furthermore, our study has shown that aluminum in silver/aluminum paste for the metallization of n-type solar cells affects the reaction system among silver, glass frit, and silicon substrate during the firing process; as a result, aluminum mitigates shunts and recombination due to the paste. Thus, it can be possible that the aluminum mitigates the degradation of the low light performance due to the glass frit, because it has been reported that the performance of solar cells with low shunt resistance becomes lower at low light intensity. For this reason, in this study, the effects of aluminum on shunts, recombination, and low light performance of the cells due to glass frit are investigated. In conclusion, the aluminum decreases the recombination caused by the glass frit, resulting in mitigation of a decrease in open-circuit voltage and an increase in series-resistance due to the frit; then, the aluminum alleviates the degradation of the solar cell performance due to the frit at low light intensity.

Resilience partnerships have become the new norm in disaster risk reduction and resilience (Action and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (Sendai Framework)). The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction partnership, facilitated by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), specifically advocated for an inclusive, multi-stakeholder and shared responsibility approach to disaster resilience and risk reduction. Consequently, an ample selection of collaborative partnership between different levels of government, and between governments and business and civic sectors, has blossomed across the world. Whilst the need for multi-stakeholder cooperation is undeniable, such partnership are, however, often either ad hoc and reactive in nature or principally limited to sharing of information and good practices. Hence, whilst useful, in a sense of developing capabilities in resilience, partnerships should be more long term and concrete and have a clear value proposal throughout the entire life cycle of disasters.

This chapter deals with the use of the nanoscale in the production of food and packaging as well as medical equipment and materials. On the nanoscale, materials behave differently from their macroscale counterparts. In the case of food and packaging, this is especially important because nanoscale materials may have undesirable effects on human health. The use of the nanoscale in medical products, such as medicines and hospital equipment, may also affect human health. In addition, nanoscale materials may have unknown environmental effects. In the United States and the European Union , legal standards produced mainly by regulatory agencies are already in place. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has also produced several directive and regulatory documents. Such regulatory texts may serve as an inspiration to assist other countries where specific nanoregulation does not yet exist, such as Brazil. Therefore, based on bibliographic research, this chapter builds a framework model relating established legal standards with NanoAction principles and the principles and rules already in force in Brazil. This third corpus—of Brazilian rules and principles—does not explicitly mention nanotechnologies, nanomaterials, or nanoparticles. However, its content can be associated with specific NanoAction principles as well as the legal standards instituted by the United States, European Union , and the OECD. Thus, a normative model emerges that can serve to regulate the entire life cycle of nanomaterials, even without legislative prognosis currently in force. In its totality, this chapter opens a space in which research structures a “regulatory environment” with plural sources and the participation of various social actors involved with the world on a nanoscale.

During the entire life cycle of rock and soil anchors, owing to the influence of adverse factors such as the working environment, load change, and anchor performance degradation, the working load of the anchor will continue to increase and the mechanical properties will continue to deteriorate, which significantly affects the safety and stability of rock and soil anchors. Therefore, this study focuses on the deformation and failure characteristics of anchors under loading and corrosion conditions by means of indoor simulation tests under laboratory conditions. The results indicate the following. (1) There are obvious cracks on the surfaces of specimens 2# and 10#. In the two groups of specimens, the corroded bolt surface exhibited a corrosion phenomenon. This indicates that the corrosion environment conditions cause a certain degree of damage to the anchored rock mass. (2) Under the same gradient load condition, three observable cracks were found in the 10# anchorage specimens and one observable crack was found in the 2# anchorage specimens. Therefore, it is clear that the damage degree of the anchor increases with an increase in the corrosion time. (3) Under the condition of corrosion environment, the strain in the lower part of the specimen is generally greater than that in the upper part of the specimen, and the failure of this group of specimens in the loading process is mostly splitting failure, which is basically generated along the trend of the strain nephogram, and shear failure occurs with the extension and diffusion of cracks.

Green materials are an emerging solution for reducing waste and pollution. Various studies show that green materials have reached every aspect of product design, which covers the entire life cycle of a product from conceptual design to disposal, causing a minimal adverse impact on the environment by the optimized use of resources. Green materials-based products have the target to minimize the effects of human actions on the environment and ecosystem. Nevertheless, the production of biocompatible composites with the necessary hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity, adhesion, affinity, and mechanical properties pose significant challenges. These issues have, to an extent, been addressed through nanotechnological interventions. Nanobiopolymers have shown immense potential in the biomedical, food, and electronic industries and it may be justly expected that further research into advanced green nanocomposites may be the solution to waste management, pollution control, and lower cost of production. This chapter highlights the future aspects and prospects of green materials toward sustainable production and recycling. To save the environment and reduce the product cost, green materials are essential for sustainable development for the current global issues.

With the further popularization of 3D design in substation engineering, the previous works provide lots of data foundations for digital operation and maintenance. Different from the editing requirements of the model in the design stage, higher requirements are put forward for the corresponding speed of the model and the bearing capacity of the graphics platform in the operation and maintenance stage. At present, the application methods of model library are mainly based on geographic information data (GIS) and vector graphics platform. In this paper, the model data are analysed and compared from the dimensions of analytic speed, graphic effect, operation efficiency, integrity and storage space, etc. The graph platform based on geographic information data can better support the application of the model in operation and maintenance stage.

To effectively reuse machine parts for the development of a circulating society, it is essential to manage each part throughout its life cycle. Therefore, we propose a part agent that manages the part information and supports the user in reusing the part. A part agent is a network agent that autonomously acts corresponding to an individual part, manages information regarding a part from manufacturing to disposal, and proposes actions such as disposal and reuse to its user at an appropriate time. This activity promotes part reuse, reduce, and recycle. However, it is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of a part agent by implementing it in an actual product and operating the product throughout its life cycle. Hence, we developed a system to simulate the behavior of parts and products throughout the entire life cycle with the part agent installed. There are several means to reuse products and the appropriate reuse method for the user differs according to the environment and the user’s manner of thinking. In this study, we conducted a life cycle simulation considering different reuse methods using the part agents.

Here we describe methods for (a) collecting starfish during their breeding period; (b) maintaining adults with fully grown gonads in laboratory aquaria; (c) rearing fertilized eggs to brachiolaria larvae, and (d) inducing larvae to metamorphose into juveniles under laboratory conditions. Such protocols should facilitate various analyses of starfish development throughout the entire life cycle of these model organisms.

used police dogs as partner to solve crimes that would otherwise be difficult for an average police officer. Dogs, known as a man’s best friend, have fulfilled this role remarkably because of their noses that are highly sensitive in detecting smells, even going so far as detecting objects under running water. Unfortunately, not all dogs are suited to be a police dog, also known as K9s. This research aims to help the Philippine Coast Guard K9 (PCGK9) in managing their K9 assets efficiently and effectively throughout the K9s entire life cycle. The main objective of this project is to design, develop, and implement a Management Information System specifically created for the needs of PCGK9. The system developed known as K9MIS mainly focused on monitoring the K9 assets of the organization and their performance. It also includes the management of inventory assets as well as transactional processes. And lastly, the system generates different reports that consist of the consolidated data, which will then be used for managerial decisions.

Este estudo realiza uma reflxão sobre a preservação de documentos arquivísticos digitais em uma perspectiva sistêmica, pautada em padrões reconhecidos pela literatura científia. De tal forma, utilizase da visão holística para ressaltar a pertinência da preservação ser pensada em todo o ciclo de vida dos documentos. A metodologia parte do levantamento bibliográfio composto por artigos, livros e publicações técnicas, para assim, obter uma revisão narrativa. Ressalta-se que a preservação digital tem evoluído para novos patamares e requer o uso de padrões para implementar sistemas informatizados confiveis. Com isso, pode-se envolver todo o ciclo vital em uma cadeia de custódia ininterrupta capaz de assegurar a autenticidade dos documentos digitais. Por fi, defende-se uma abordagem sistêmico-holística, em que os documentos são planejados e produzidos tendo em vista a preservação e o acesso em longo prazo.

Life cycle assessment is a methodology to assess environmental impacts associated with a product or system/process by accounting resource requirements and emissions over its life cycle. The life cycle consists of four stages: material production, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life. This study highlights the need to conduct life cycle assessment (LCA) early in the new product development process, as a means to assess and evaluate the environmental impacts of (nano)enhanced carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) prototypes over their entire life cycle. These prototypes, namely SleekFast sailing boat and handbrake lever, were manufactured by functionalized carbon fibre fabric and modified epoxy resin with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The environmental impacts of both have been assessed via LCA with a functional unit of &lsquo, 1 product piece&rsquo, Climate change has been selected as the key impact indicator for hotspot identification (kg CO2 eq). Significant focus has been given to the end-of-life phase by assessing different recycling scenarios. In addition, the respective life cycle inventories (LCIs) are provided, enabling the identification of resource hot spots and quantifying the environmental benefits of end-of-life options.

The multi-signal flow graph model is the most widely used Testability model, but its ability to handle uncertain information is weak, and the failure information utilization rate is low, which cannot provide researchers with more data support. Moreover, the model cannot update the structure and parameters through learning. The model established may not be suitable for all stages of the entire life cycle of the equipment, and there is a risk of requiring multiple modeling. In order to solve the above problems, a Bayesian network was introduced and a MSFG-BN combined model was proposed. The multi-signal flow graph was used to reduce the difficulty of modeling the Bayesian network. The Bayesian network was used to increase the processing of uncertain information and improve the information utilization. At the same time, with the help of Bayesian network learning capabilities, the model can update its own structure and parameters, improving the applicability of the model at all stages. It has been verified that the model can play its role effectively.

Cladocerans are a diverse group of species that show rapid responses to changes in environmental conditions. This adaptive capacity has important implications for egg production and life cycle, especially in transitory environments such as temporary waterbodies. The present study investigated the life history and egg production of Alona gutatta Sars, 1862 (Crustacea, Cladocera), an abundant and frequent species from a high-altitude temporary pond (Lagoa Seca, Minas Gerais, Brazil). Newly hatched neonates were monitored in relation to time of maturation, number of eggs produced per female and time of survival. Neonates required a mean of 8 days to mature. A. guttata survived for a mean of 30.9 ± 8.1 days and produced 2 eggs per brood, generating a mean of 10.95 ± 6.41 neonates during the entire life cycle. The rapid development, short time to produce eggs and long life cycle are important adaptations to the adverse environmental conditions of temporary aquatic environments, which can contribute to the rapid colonization of Alona guttata in transitory ecosystems. Resumo Os cladóceros formam um grupo diverso de espécies que apresentam respostas rápidas às mudanças nas condições ambientais. Essa capacidade adaptativa tem implicações importantes para a produção de ovos e para o ciclo de vida, especialmente em ambientes transitórios, como corpos d'água temporários. O presente estudo investigou a história de vida e a produção de ovos da espécie Alona guttata Sars, 1862 (Crustacea, Cladocera) coletada em uma lagoa temporária de altitude (Minas Gerais, Brasil). Organismos recém eclodidos foram observados (em condições de laboratório) em relação ao tempo de maturação, número de ovos produzidos por fêmea e tempo de sobrevivência. Os neonatos levaram em média 8 dias para atingir o primeiro estágio de maturação. As fêmeas produziram 2 ovos por ninhada e geraram uma média de 10,95 ± 6,41 neonatos durante todo o ciclo de vida. A. guttata apresentou uma média de 30,9 ± 8,1 dias de sobrevivência. O rápido desenvolvimento, o pouco tempo para a produção de ovos e o ciclo de vida longo são adaptações importantes às condições ambientais adversas de ambientes aquáticos temporários, que podem contribuir para a rápida colonização de Alona guttata em ecossistemas transitórios.

With the development of modern technology, the degree of integration between design business and information technology is increasing. The digital design with three-dimensional digital design as the core will become the main axis throughout the whole process and the entire life cycle management. Through the gradual exploration and application in the power industry, certain results have been achieved in three-dimensional digital design, but the main problems remain in the local scope of individual units, and the overall lack of technical standards and development plans. Based on the full understanding and research of transformer substation design status and three-dimensional digital design, this paper draws the design depth of each professional three-dimensional digital design at each design stage by analyzing the application of three-dimensional digital design in the feasibility study, preliminary design and construction drawing stage. This paper provides a reference for comprehensive promotion of applications.

Recent decades have witnessed wave and tidal energy technology receiving considerable attention because of their low carbon emissions during electricity production. However, indirect emissions from their entire life cycle should not be ignored. Therefore, life cycle assessment (LCA) has been widely applied as a useful approach to systematically evaluate the environmental performance of wave and tidal energy technologies. This study reviews recent LCA studies on wave and tidal energy systems for stakeholders to understand current status of methodological practice and associated inherent limitations and reveal future research needs for application of LCA on wave and tidal technologies. The conformance of the selected LCAs to ISO 14040 (2006) and 14044 (2006) are critically analyzed in strict accordance with the ISO stepwise methodologies, namely, goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis, as well as life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). Our systematically screening of these studies indicates that few of the selected studies are of strict conformance with ISO 14040 and 14044 standards, which makes the results unreliable and thus further reduces the confidence of interested stakeholders. Further, our review indicates that current LCA practice on wave and tidal energies is lacking consideration of temporal variations, which should be addressed in future research, as it causes inaccuracy and uncertainties.

The calculation of the energy cost of a cultivation is a determining factor in the overall assessment of agricultural sustainability. Most studies mainly examine the entire life cycle of the operation, considering reference values and reference databases for the determination of the machinery contribution to the overall energy balance. This study presents a modelling methodology for the precise calculation of the energy cost of performing an agricultural operation. The model incorporates operational management into the calculation, while simultaneously considering the commercially available machinery (implements and tractors). As a case study, the operation of tillage was used considering both primary and secondary tillage (moldboard plow and field cultivator, respectively). The results show the importance of including specific operation parameters and the available machinery as part of determining the accurate total energy consumption, even though the field size and available time do not have a significant effect.

A helicopter is a specific product, not only because of the unique technical and operational characteristics of the equipment but also because of the relatively high production and operating costs. Until recently, the manufacturers of helicopter equipment in the Russian Federation, when developing a marketing policy, focused mainly on the value of production costs. However, the prospective buyer also takes into account the costs of the entire life cycle of a helicopter. This approach should not only be taken into account by Russian helicopter builders but also actively applied to reduce operating costs by introducing new design and technological solutions.

Journal of photogrammetry, remote sensing and geoinformation science : PFG 88, 33-42 (2020). doi:10.1007/s41064-020-00090-4, Published by Springer International Publishing, [Cham]

From the preceding chapters it became clear that hazards can be associated with the handling and conversion of materials in process plants. This is true as well for the erection and the demolition after the end of the industrial activity, hence for the entire life cycle.

Like many nations, Mexico is reviewing its waste management laws and policies in the face of growing evidence of the ubiquity, longevity, and negative effects of plastic waste in the environment, particularly in aquatic habitats. Split into two sections, this chapter will first explore the current Mexican legal framework and regulatory mechanisms regarding single-use plastics through its legal structure starting with the Constitution and continuing with self-executing international treaties, federal legislation, and related regulations. Although the analysis is not extended to the legal activities at state and municipality levels, it is noted that some states and municipalities have, as a result of international and local public pressure, enacted legislation regarding single-use plastics, generally targeting plastic bags and straws. In part two, a framework is proposed for a national legislative approach to address plastic pollution in the waterways of Mexico. Such an approach is intended to reconcile the differences across the states and provide a uniform regulatory structure, which draws upon the best practices to date from an international context. The proposed framework requires the creation of a hierarchy of plastics that identifies those that are beneficial to a healthy society and those that are detrimental. The resulting hierarchy suggests which plastics should, and should not, be in the stream of commerce. From there, the legal framework focuses on defining the composition of the polymers to be used for the chosen plastics to emphasize health, recyclability, and technical compatibility with closed loop systems where possible. Such uniformity is intended to enhance the value of the plastic waste to ensure products will in fact be recycled and that there will be a market for the material. To better protect Mexico’s waterways and aquatic life, the legal mechanisms must ensure that the federal legal framework for pollution meets constitutional requirements and considers the entire life cycle of plastics from production to the end of its life.

Wear is the main cause of the failure of the ball screw pair, which seriously affects its accuracy and service life. Therefore, it is necessary to build and analyze the wear model of ball screw pairs based on analyzing wear mechanism in depth. At present, the study of ball screw wear model mostly adopts the theory of adhesion wear. It is believed that the wear amount during normal wear period is proportional to time. But in fact, this conclusion cannot express the change of the whole wear process. Based on the wear mechanism of the ball screw pair, this paper deeply analyzes the influence of abrasive wear on the ball screw during the entire life cycle. And according to the Archard wear theory, a wear model considering the impact of abrasive particles is established. In this model, the wear of the ball screw pair is exponentially related to time. The experiments verify the applicability and accuracy of the model set out in this paper, which provides a theoretical foundation for the following research on the accuracy maintenance of ball screw pairs.

Nuclear power plant safety grade software performs important safety functions in nuclear power plants, and the consequences are very serious once the failure occurs. In order to ensure the safety and reliability of such software, software verification and validation of the entire life cycle is required in accordance with standards and regulations. Traceability analysis is an important method for software verification and validation. How to use this method correctly in engineering practice is one of the difficulties of software V&V. In the industry, requirements are often split and itemized according to document chapters, and then traceability analysis is performed. This can lead to poor results in retrospective analysis and is time consuming and labor intensive. Based on the experience of engineering practice, this paper discusses in detail the advantages and disadvantages of different requirements items methods, the main points of traceability analysis, traceability analysis and other V&V tasks. Finally, the itemization method based on quality attribute is proposed, and the execution method and suggestion of traceability analysis are given, which provides a technical reference for the traceability analysis of the safety software of nuclear power plants.

The great complexity of plant metabolism, with multiple subcellular compartments, cell types, tissues and organs, greatly complicates its analysis. This problem is compounded by the extensive changes that occur in metabolism over time, both during day/night cycles and throughout the course of an entire life cycle. In this context in silico network flux analysis, including both isotope labelling and stoichiometric modelling approaches, represent an important tool to study plant metabolism, providing a framework for the integration of data from a number of experimental strategies. Together, these methods have provided insight into the subcellular distribution of metabolic flux, the interactions between different cell types, source and sink relationships between organs, and how metabolic flux alters over time both at the cellular and whole plant scale. In this review we discuss how network flux analysis has contributed to our understanding of the spatial and temporal organisation of plant metabolism, looking in detail at key studies that address questions surrounding plant metabolism at different scales, from subcellular to whole plant.

The present study analysed the condition factor (K) and the hepato-somatic index (I H ) of the Brazilian sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon lalandii during its entire life cycle. Discontinuity of liver growth was observed after sexual maturity. High condition values were recorded in the length classes of 300-350 mm (neonates), when the livers represented about 8% of total mass, decreasing until the length classes of 400-450 and 450-500 mm in females and males, respectively. Seasonal analysis exhibited low I H values in the summer, while for K, low values were in spring, indicating greater investment for body growth during spring and for gonad maturation in summer. Such findings indicate that this small coastal shark species accumulates reserve substances in the liver that will be used during reproduction. The decline in I H values in juveniles suggests that reserves provisioned by the mother to the neonate liver can be used in the first months of life.

Models are central for the development and management of complex systems. In order to be useful along the entire life cycle of software they must provide reliable support and enable automatic management. For that purpose, they must be precise, consistent, correct, and be subject to stringent quality verification and control criteria. Model automation calls for deep formal study of models, so that tools can provide inclusive support to users. This paper deals with optimization of multiplicity constraints in Class Models, i.e., models that provide abstraction on the static structure of software. The paper introduces an in-depth analysis of redundancy of multiplicity constraints, i.e., multiplicities that cannot be realized in any legal instance. The analysis includes: (1) a formal study of gaps of redundancies in multiplicity intervals; (2) algorithmic and rule-based methods for removing redundancies in multiplicity constraints; (3) a formal study of completeness of the algorithmic procedures, with respect to most UML class model constraints. The algorithmic procedures are implemented in our FiniteSatUSE tool. To the best of our knowledge, there is no previous study of properties of multiplicity redundancy, no completeness analysis of tightening methods, and no systematic study of these features with respect to most UML class model constraints.

In recent years, urban flooding has occurred frequently in different cities in China. This has caused huge economic and environmental damages. As one of the main elements in the concept of sponge city – a potential solution to this problem – permeable pavements have attracted great attentions. This new technology has the ability to mitigate urban flooding effectively and it also provides other environmental benefits. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a newly developed evaluation approach that can be applied to estimate the environmental impacts of pervious pavements in the entire life cycle.This study propose a basic model which can be applied to both permeable asphalt pavements and permeable concrete pavements to evaluate their environmental impacts. The impacts of this technology are investigated on urban flooding, water recycling and water purification. Then a comparison between permeable asphalt pavement and dense-graded asphalt pavement is conducted for a typical four-lane secondary road. Results indicate that in 10 km of the modeled road, 49TJ of energy consumption, 6700 t of equivalent carbon dioxide emissions, 0.1 t of lead emissions and 1 t of zinc emissions can be avoided if the permeable pavements is used. Moreover, the most significant reduction in energy consumption, GHG emissions, lead emissions and zinc emissions occurs in the use phase. Keywords: Life cycle assessment, Permeable pavements, Permeability, Environmental impacts

The prediction of performance degradation is significant for the health monitoring of rolling bearing, which helps to greatly reduce the loss caused by potential faults in the entire life cycle of rotating machinery. As a new method of machine learning based on statistical learning theory, least squares support vector machine is developed and has achieved good results. However, it lacks the description of the time-sum effect and delay characteristics, which cannot fully describe the performance degradation process. To overcome the problem, a new time shift least squares support vector machine with integral operator is proposed. What is more, multivariable prediction model is introduced to describe the process from multiple perspectives. In this model, different features are extracted to construct sample pairs through a moving window. Then these features are decomposed in time domain using a set of orthogonal basis functions to simplify computation. Furthermore, the model adaptability is also improved through an iterative updating strategy. Bearing fault experiments show that the proposed model outperforms the general method.

Critical infrastructure systems (CISs) have a fundamental role in delivering commodities that are essential to various functions in urban systems. The resilience of CISs concerns the robustness of system performance against extreme events, the ineffectiveness of disturbance propagation, and the efficiency of post-disaster system performance restoration. The resilience of CISs is significantly impacted by the interconnectivity among CISs and the interactions among different systems. Although this impact has been recognized by numerous studies, it has rarely been comparatively assessed using different metrics that reflect the different perspectives of various stakeholders. Moreover, the existing literature on the impact of interdependencies in the context of CIS disaster risk reduction has primarily focused on the resistance stage rather than the entire life cycle of disaster events. To address these gaps, this study assesses this impact at different stages of the life cycle of disturbance events, analyzes the effect of interdependencies on determining the total resilience of CISs, and discusses the implications of the results in the context of resilience enhancement of CISs in practice. To achieve this objective, this study models interconnected CISs using four different network-based approaches, simulates the disturbance propagation process and system restoration process of CISs in three different scenarios, and measures the resilience of disturbed CISs with three different resilience metrics. A case study of three CISs in a middle-sized city in Eastern China was conducted. The CISs included an electric power system, a telecommunication system, and a water supply system. The results revealed that the vulnerability of CISs to extreme events would be significantly underestimated if interdependencies of the CISs were not considered, which would cause a misleading estimation of the total resilience of the CISs. The findings also suggested the importance of considering the interdependencies of CISs in the sequencing of restoration tasks to optimize the efficiency of post-disaster restoration tasks.

While an ever-growing percentage of the world's population is urban, the rate at which cities grow is not uniform. The lifetime of individual cities includes periods of fast growth, slow growth and periods of shrinkage. There exists an extensive literature concerned with possible means to manage specific pathologies. It is our view that the design of specific policies should be the result of a comprehensive model of urban health. While not all cities go through the entire life cycle, a comprehensive theory of cities and specific policies need to include specification of the interaction of the various forces that shape the entire range of urban patterns and identification of specific combinations of values that create phase transitions among these patterns. To sort these ideas we suggest that there is a need to consider and incorporate the structure and timing of innovation activities, agglomeration effects that they generate, interurban migration patterns and assorted feedback mechanisms. We hypothesize that these flows depend on the activity rhythms of the various processes and their differential impact on cities. We present a biology inspired rudimentary framework as a basis for the construction of an ABM of cities with a focus on the nature of time and as a basis for analyzing urban dynamics. 1

Chinese libraries, from academic to public, are undergoing or preparing for transformation, to meet users' ever changing needs and expectations in the new social, economic, and technological environment. However, there are many factors deeply embedded in the process which may cause potential risks for the transformation. This paper has surveyed the perceptions of library professionals on such risks, and proposes 40 possible risk indicators (RIs) which comprehensively cover the entire life cycle of library transformation. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and multi-dimensional analysis have been used to categorize risks into different types and dimensions. It reveals that library professionals are aware of potential risks, especially the ones from inside the field. Their awareness is positively affected by their current positions in the profession. In general, they are likely to overlook some types of potential risks such as the ones from the leadership, originating outside the library community, or involving long-term uncertainty. The authors suggest library practitioners should be fully aware of the potential risks and their dynamic nature, and should take the opportunity to promote leadership and management in the process of transformation, and to cooperate with parties outside of the library community, thus making the library transformation rational and successful.