South Carolina Board of Pharmacy news

The Board of Pharmacy at the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation publishes a newsletter with news articles to promote compliance of pharmacy and drug law.

South Carolina Board of Pharmacy news

The Board of Pharmacy at the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation publishes a newsletter with news articles to promote compliance of pharmacy and drug law.

South Carolina Board of Pharmacy news

The Board of Pharmacy at the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation publishes a newsletter with news articles to promote compliance of pharmacy and drug law.

South Carolina's highway safety and performance plan FFY 2010

This document describes the 2010 highway safety plan for South Carolina. It includes information on state certification and assurances, overview of the Section 402 Highway Safety Program, projects to be implemented, program administration, alcohol countermeasures, motorcycle safety, youth alcohol and traffic safety, traffic records and police traffic services.

Fiscal Year 2015-16 Accountability Report

Each year the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation sends a report to the Office of State Budget that includes the agency's mission, goals and objectives to accomplish the mission, and performance measures regarding the goals and objectives.

South Carolina Board of Registration for Foresters newsletter

The South Carolina Board of Registration for Foresters at the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation publishes a newsletter on board and agency events, activities, and statistics.

El efecto de la definición regulatoria de banda ancha sobre la difusión y la competencia del mercado de servicios de Internet fijo en Colombia

A partir de la dinámica evolutiva de la economía de las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones y el establecimiento de estándares mínimos de velocidad en distintos contextos regulatorios a nivel mundial, en particular en Colombia, en el presente artículo se presentan diversas aproximaciones empíricas para evaluar los efectos reales que conlleva el establecimiento de definiciones de servicios de banda ancha en el mercado de Internet fijo. Con base en los datos disponibles para Colombia sobre los planes de servicios de Internet fijo ofrecidos durante el periodo 2006-2012, se estima para los segmentos residencial y corporativo el proceso de difusión logístico modificado y el modelo de interacción estratégica para identificar los impactos generados sobre la masificación del servicio a nivel municipal y sobre las decisiones estratégicas que adoptan los operadores, respectivamente. Respecto a los resultados, se encuentra, por una parte, que las dos medidas regulatorias establecidas en Colombia en 2008 y 2010 presentan efectos significativos y positivos sobre el desplazamiento y el crecimiento de los procesos de difusión a nivel municipal. Por otra parte, se observa sustituibilidad estratégica en las decisiones de oferta de velocidad de descarga por parte de los operadores corporativos mientras que, a partir del análisis de distanciamiento de la velocidad ofrecida respecto al estándar mínimo de banda ancha, se demuestra que los proveedores de servicios residenciales tienden a agrupar sus decisiones de velocidad alrededor de los niveles establecidos por regulación.

Sistema de busca avançada de dados espaciais voltados ao licenciamento ambiental do Estado do Mato Grosso.

Este trabalho descreve a implementação computacional de um sistema de busca avançada em plataforma Web, para dados de empreendimentos e atividades passíveis de licenciamento ambiental, cadastrados no Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul - Brasil, com suporte a pesquisa espacial. Será também detalhada o aplicativo para cadastramento destes empreendimento e atividades. Estes módulos foram integrados ao Sistema Interativo de Suporte ao Licenciamento ambiental ? SISLA e estão em etapa de teste pelos técnicos do IMASUL. O aplicativo de cadastro pretende contribuir para a integração dos empreendimentos rurais neste Estado e a busca avançada tem se mostrado uma ferramenta poderosa de informação aos sistema de monitoramento ambiental.

Macroinvertebrados aquáticos como bioindicadores no processo de licenciamento ambiental no Brasil

Resumo: Licenciamento ambiental no Brasil é um procedimento com vários níveis e etapas, concebido como ferramenta preventiva aos potenciais danos ambientais causados pela implantação de empreendimentos. Embora este procedimento seja obrigatório desde meados da década de 1980, ainda é limitado no que diz respeito ao uso de informações biológicas para a avaliação e o monitoramento de ambientes aquáticos. Neste processo, o órgão licenciador (federal, estadual ou municipal) define as variáveis a serem medidas, tendo como referência o tipo e a magnitude do empreendimento e as características específicas do local proposto para sua instalação. Respostas biológicas devem ser usadas para medir os impactos sobre ecossistemas aquáticos e os macroinvertebrados constituem um grupo que apresenta vantagens como bioindicadores, sendo os mais utilizados para este fim. Em 2011, o Grupo de Trabalho Intersetorial em Biomonitoramento foi criado para discutir o uso de macroinvertebrados em programas de monitoramento. Este trabalho apresenta as reflexões e propostas deste grupo e fornece subsídios para a inclusão destes organismos nos termos de referência a serem aplicados nos processos de licenciamento ambiental no Brasil. Abstract: In Brazil, the environmental licensing process has many stages, and it was designed as a tool to identify the potential and to prevent environmental damages caused by enterprises. Although this procedure is required since the mid-1980s, it is still limited regarding the use of bioassessment and biomonitoring of aquatic ecosystems. In this process, the agency responsible for the licensing (federal, state or local) is the responsible for defining the parameters to be measured. Those parameters are required based on the type and magnitude of the project, and the specific environment and location proposed for its installation. We recommend that biological responses should be used to assess and monitor stressors on aquatic ecosystems. Macroinvertebrates have been used worldwide as bioindicators because they have some advantages over other biological groups for this purpose. In 2011, the ?Intersectoral Working Group on Biomonitoring? was created to discuss the use of macroinvertebrates in biomonitoring programs. This paper presents proposals and recommendations aiming to stimulate and provide guidance for the use of this group in the context of the environmental licensing process in Brazil. Resumen: En Brasil, el proceso de licenciamiento ambiental tiene varios niveles y etapas. Fue diseñado como una herramienta de prevención de posibles daños ambientales causados por la ejecución de proyectos. Aunque este procedimiento exista desde la década de 1980, siegue con limitaciones en relación al uso de la información biológica para la evaluación y control de los ecosistemas acuáticos. En este proceso, la agencia de licenciamiento (federal, estadual o local) es la que define las variables a mensurar en función del tipo y la magnitud del proyecto y las características específicas del lugar propuesto para su instalación. Las respuestas biológicas deben ser utilizadas para evaluar los impactos a los ambientes acuáticos, y el grupo de los macroinvertebrados tienen ventajas sobre otros grupos biológicos y son los más utilizados para este fin. En 2011, el ?Grupo de Trabajo Intersectorial de Biomonitoreo? fue creado para discutir el uso de los macro-invertebrados en los programas de monitoreo ambiental. Este artículo presenta reflexiones y propuestas de este grupo y ofrece subsidios para la inclusión de estos organismos en los términos de referencia que serán aplicados en el proceso de licenciamiento ambiental en Brasil.

Essays in Vertical Agreements and Consumer Behavior

This thesis collects three independent essays and a literature review. Two of them relate to vertical agreements. The first essay explores a retailer's choice in allocating control rights over the decision of retail prices. Results show that retailers adopt a hybrid configuration as a middle ground between two extremes, where pricing decisions are delegated, for all products, either to retailer or manufacturers. The second essay investigates the make-it-or-license-it choice of a brand owner under the risk of moral hazard when licensing the extension product to a third party. Brand licensing emerges as an equilibrium choice under brand dilution (respectively, enhancement) when the consumer perceives a large (small) distance between the extension product and parent brand. The third essay explores the issue of rating bubbles within online feedback systems by means of a field experiment. The analysis found the presence of positive social influence bias, in that high ratings affect the individual rating behavior in a significant way. The last paper is accompanied by a thorough and deep review of the literature about the consequences of online user ratings on product sales/performance (economic dimension) and product adoption/rating behavior (behavioral dimension). The topic is increasingly investigated by academic researchers and industry professionals alike. This overview presents established results and insights as issues for future research.

Modelling, control and testing of internal combustion engines to minimize consumption and pollutant emissions

The objective of the PhD thesis was to research technologies and strategies to reduce fuel consumption and pollutants emission produced by internal combustion engines. In order to meet this objective my activity was focused on the research of advanced controls based on cylinder pressure feedback. These types of control strategies were studied because they present promising results in terms of engine efficiency enhancement. In the PhD dissertation two study cases are presented. The first case is relative to a control strategy to be used at the test bench for the optimisation of the spark advance calibration of motorcycle Engine. The second case is relative to a control strategy to be used directly on board of mining engines with the objective or reducing the engine consumption and correct ageing effects. In both cases the strategies proved to be effective but their implementation required the use of specific toolchains for the measure of the cylinder pressure feedback that for a matter of cost makes feasible the strategy use only for applications: • At test bench • In small-markets like large off-road engines The major bottleneck that prevents the implementation of these strategies on mass production is the cost of cylinder pressure sensor. In order to tackle this issue, during the PhD research, the development of a low-cost sensor for the estimation of cylinder pressure was studied. The prototype was a piezo-electric washer designed to replace the standard spark-plug washer or high-pressure fuel injectors gasket. From the data analysis emerged the possibility to use the piezo-electric prototype signal to evaluate with accuracy several combustion metrics compatible for the implementation of advanced control strategies in on-board applications. Overall, the research shows that advanced combustion controls are feasible and beneficial, not only at the test bench or on stationary engines, but also in mass-produced engines.

Novel methods of state estimation and parameter identification for high-performance motorcycles

This research activity aims at providing a reliable estimation of particular state variables or parameters concerning the dynamics and performance optimization of a MotoGP-class motorcycle, integrating the classical model-based approach with new methodologies involving artificial intelligence. The first topic of the research focuses on the estimation of the thermal behavior of the MotoGP carbon braking system. Numerical tools are developed to assess the instantaneous surface temperature distribution in the motorcycle's front brake discs. Within this application other important brake parameters are identified using Kalman filters, such as the disc convection coefficient and the power distribution in the disc-pads contact region. Subsequently, a physical model of the brake is built to estimate the instantaneous braking torque. However, the results obtained with this approach are highly limited by the knowledge of the friction coefficient (μ) between the disc rotor and the pads. Since the value of μ is a highly nonlinear function of many variables (namely temperature, pressure and angular velocity of the disc), an analytical model for the friction coefficient estimation appears impractical to establish. To overcome this challenge, an innovative hybrid solution is implemented, combining the benefit of artificial intelligence (AI) with classical model-based approach. Indeed, the disc temperature estimated through the thermal model previously implemented is processed by a machine learning algorithm that outputs the actual value of the friction coefficient thus improving the braking torque computation performed by the physical model of the brake. Finally, the last topic of this research activity regards the development of an AI algorithm to estimate the current sideslip angle of the motorcycle's front tire. While a single-track motorcycle kinematic model and IMU accelerometer signals theoretically enable sideslip calculation, the presence of accelerometer noise leads to a significant drift over time. To address this issue, a long short-term memory (LSTM) network is implemented.

Progettazione e analisi di un forcellone per prototipo di una motocicletta supersportiva.

Questa tesi tratterà principalmente la fase di studio preliminare e successivamente la progettazione del retrotreno di una moto supersportiva. Il lavoro centrale della tesi si è focalizzato quindi sul forcellone posteriore di questa nuova motocicletta. È stato dunque indispensabile valutare, definire e progettare anche altri componenti meccanici ad esso collegati come ad esempio lo schema sospensivo posteriore e l’ingombro dell’impianto di scarico. Alla base di questo progetto c’è la volontà di creare una moto supersportiva con cilindrata pari a 1000 cm3 e capace di erogare oltre 200 cv che possa essere venduta nel mercato europeo ad un prezzo concorrenziale. Per tale scopo sono state prese in considerazione e successivamente studiate in modo molto approfondito motociclette già in commercio capaci di rispettare tali vincoli progettuali. L’evoluzione naturale di tale studio si è fondata sulla valutazione delle diverse scelte progettuali e le diverse metodologie di produzione. Le motociclette sono state scansionate per intero per valutarne le geometrie fondamentali e successivamente è stato creato un modello dei componenti passando da una valutazione preliminare degli ingombri fino ad ottenere dei veri e propri componenti realizzabili attraverso le diverse tecnologie. Il componente è stato simulato attraverso analisi FEM seguendo una procedura standard all’interno dell’azienda che ha permesso di evidenziare le geometrie critiche che successivamente sono state migliorate alla luce di tali risultati. Per ottenere un buon prodotto a livello di leggerezza e proprietà meccaniche si è scelto come materiale la lega di alluminio da fonderia che in futuro sarà anche utilizzata per la produzione di serie. Questo processo produttivo è funzionale per ridurre i costi in fase di realizzazione per una produzione in serie ed un altro importante vantaggio è dato dal fatto che in questo modo si possono evitare spiacevoli fenomeni legati alla saldatura dell’alluminio.

Progettazione e analisi di un telaio per un prototipo di motocicletta supersportiva

Il progetto di tesi è stato svolto all’interno del reparto R&D dell’azienda Modena40, startup con sede a Rimini (RN) che si occupa di design e progettazione di motociclette. Il progetto a cui ho preso parte è stato commissionato dal produttore cinese CF Moto, di cui Modena40 rappresenta il reparto ricerca e sviluppo europeo. Esso riguarda la progettazione di un primo prototipo marciante di motocicletta sportiva, con lo scopo di svolgere test su strada per la definizione di geometrie, ergonomia ed aerodinamica. La progettazione inizierà con un benchmark delle sportive con motore V4 attualmente sul mercato. Successivamente verranno progettate tutte le componenti utili allo studio preliminare. Ho ricoperto il ruolo di ingegnere progettista, con il compito di progettare il telaio e curarne le fasi di prototipazione. Si progetterà un telaio modulare suddiviso in più parti avvitate tra loro, ognuna con un processo di produzione dedicato, per consentire una facile realizzazione e facili modifiche in fase di sviluppo. Il telaio sarà progettato tenendo conto di scelte target come ingombri, ergonomia e calcoli strutturali. All’interno della tesi sarà quindi illustrata la teoria di base e le successive scelte tecniche, discutendo e giustificando il processo che ha portato alle conclusioni raggiunte.

Analysis on the implementation of V2X communications for PTWs

Inter-vehicular communications have been gaining momentum throughout the last years and they now occupy a prominent position among the objectives of car manufacturers. Motorcycle manufacturers want to keep pace with the 4 wheels world in order to make Powered Two-wheelers (PTW) integral part of the future connected mobility. The requirements for implementing inter-vehicular communication systems for motorcycles are the subjects of discussion in this thesis. The first purpose of this thesis is to introduce the reader to the world of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, focusing on the Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) and the two main current technologies: ITS-G5, which is based on IEEE 802.11p, and cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X). The evolution of these technologies will be also treated. Afterwards, the core of this work is presented: the analysis of the system architecture, including hardware, security, HMI, and peculiar challenges, for implementing V2X systems in motorcycles.