Distance Relay Co-ordination Using Support Vector Machines in Power Transmission System

In this paper, a new approach to enhance the transmission system distance relay co-ordination is presented. The approach depends on the apparent impedance loci seen by the distance relay during all possible disturbances. In a distance relay, the impedance loci seen at the relay location is obtained by extensive transient stability studies. Support vector machines (SVMs), a class of patterns classifiers are used in discriminating zone settings (zone-1, zone-2 and zone-3) using the signals to be used by the relay. Studies on a sample 9-bus are presented for illustrating the proposed scheme.

Owner-driven decision support in holding-specific forest planning

Socio-economic and demographic changes among family forest owners and demands for versatile forestry decision aid motivated this study, which sought grounds for owner-driven forest planning. Finnish family forest owners’ forest-related decision making was analyzed in two interview-based qualitative studies, the main findings of which were surveyed quantitatively. Thereafter, a scheme for adaptively mixing methods in individually tailored decision support processes was constructed. The first study assessed owners’ decision-making strategies by examining varying levels of the sharing of decision-making power and the desire to learn. Five decision-making modes – trusting, learning, managing, pondering, and decisive – were discerned and discussed against conformable decision-aid approaches. The second study conceptualized smooth communication and assessed emotional, practical, and institutional boosters of and barriers to such smoothness in communicative decision support. The results emphasize the roles of trust, comprehension, and contextual services in owners’ communicative decision making. In the third study, a questionnaire tool to measure owners’ attitudes towards communicative planning was constructed by using trusting, learning, and decisive dimensions. Through a multivariate analysis of survey data, three owner groups were identified as fusions of the original decision-making modes: trusting learners (53%), decisive learners (27%), and decisive managers (20%). Differently weighted communicative services are recommended for these compound wishes. The findings of the studies above were synthesized in a form of adaptive decision analysis (ADA), which allows and encourages the decision-maker (owner) to make deliberate choices concerning the phases of a decision aid (planning) process. The ADA model relies on adaptability and feedback management, which foster smooth communication with the owner and (inter-)organizational learning of the planning institution(s). The summarized results indicate that recognizing the communication-related amenity values of family forest owners may be crucial in developing planning and extension services. It is therefore recommended that owners, root-level planners, consultation professionals, and pragmatic researchers collaboratively continue to seek stable change.

Comparative effects of thermal and high pressure processing on phenolic phytochemicals in different strawberry cultivars

Abstract It is widely considered that high pressure processing (HPP) results in better retention of micronutrients and phytochemicals compared to thermal pasteurization (TP), although some studies indicate that this may not be true in all cases. The aims of this study were (1) to objectively compare the effects of HPP under commercial processing conditions with thermal pasteurization (TP) on the stability of phenolic antioxidants in strawberries following processing and during storage and (2) to evaluate the influence of varietal differences and hence differences in biochemical composition of strawberries on the stability of phenolic antioxidants. Strawberry puree samples from cultivars Camarosa, Rubygem, and Festival were subjected to HPP (600 MPa/20 °C/5 min) and TP (88 °C/2 min). The activities of oxidative enzymes were evaluated before and after processing. Furthermore, the antioxidant capacity (total phenolic content (TPC), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP)) and individual anthocyanins (by HPLC) were determined prior to and following processing and after three months of refrigerated storage (4 °C). Depending on the cultivar, HPP caused 15–38% and 20–33% inactivation of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase, respectively, compared to almost complete inactivation of these enzymes by TP. Significant decreases (p < 0.05) in ORAC, FRAP, TPC and anthocyanin contents were observed during processing and storage of both HPP and TP samples. Anthocyanins were the most affected with only 19–25% retention after three months of refrigerated storage (4 °C). Slightly higher (p < 0.05) loss of TPC and antioxidant capacity were observed during storage of HPP samples compared to TP. Industrial Relevance: The results of the study demonstrated that both high pressure processing and thermal pasteurization result in high retention of phenolic phytochemicals in strawberry products. Under the conditions investigated, high pressure processing did not result in a better retention of phenolic phytochemicals compared to thermal pasteurization. In fact, a slightly higher loss of total polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity were observed during refrigerated storage of HPP processed samples. Our results showed that, high pressure processing may not always be a better alternative to thermal processing for strawberry puree processing if the main objective is better retention of phenolic antioxidants. However, it should be noted that other quality attributes such as sensory properties, where distinct advantages of HPP are expected, were outside the scope of this study.

Latent class and genetic analysis does not support migraine with aura and migraine without aura as separate entities

Latent class and genetic analyses were used to identify subgroups of migraine sufferers in a community sample of 6,265 Australian twins (55% female) aged 25-36 who had completed an interview based on International Headache Society (IHS) criteria. Consistent with prevalence rates from other population-based studies, 703 (20%) female and 250 (9%) male twins satisfied the IHS criteria for migraine without aura (MO), and of these, 432 (13%) female and 166 (6%) male twins satisfied the criteria for migraine with aura (MA) as indicated by visual symptoms. Latent class analysis (LCA) of IHS symptoms identified three major symptomatic classes, representing 1) a mild form of recurrent nonmigrainous headache, 2) a moderately severe form of migraine, typically without visual aura symptoms (although 40% of individuals in this class were positive for aura), and 3) a severe form of migraine typically with visual aura symptoms (although 24% of individuals were negative for aura). Using the LCA classification, many more individuals were considered affected to some degree than when using IHS criteria (35% vs. 13%). Furthermore, genetic model fitting indicated a greater genetic contribution to migraine using the LCA classification (heritability, h(2)=0.40; 95% CI, 0.29-0.46) compared with the IHS classification (h(2)=0.36; 95% CI, 0.22-0.42). Exploratory latent class modeling, fitting up to 10 classes, did not identify classes corresponding to either the IHS MO or MA classification. Our data indicate the existence of a continuum of severity, with MA more severe but not etiologically distinct from MO. In searching for predisposing genes, we should therefore expect to find some genes that may underlie all major recurrent headache subtypes, with modifying genetic or environmental factors that may lead to differential expression of the liability for migraine.

Pressure-induced polymorphous crystallization in bulk Si20Te80 glass

The effect of pressure on the electrical resistivity of bulk Si20Te80 glass has been studied up to a pressure of 8 GPa. A discontinuous transition occurs at a pressure of 7 GPa. The X-ray diffraction studies on the pressure quenched sample show that the high pressure phase is crystalline with hexagonal structure (c/a = 1.5). On heating, the high pressure hexagonal phase has on exothermic decomposition atT = 586 K into two crystalline phases, which are the stable phases tellurium and SiTe2 obtained by simple heating of the glass.

Non-ohmic conduction and electrical switching under pressure of the charge transfer complexo-tolidine-iodine

The current voltage characteristics ofo-tolidine-iodine, with stoichiometry 1:1 grown from benzene, have been studied under high pressures upto 6 GPa atT=300 K andT=77 K. The characteristics show a pronounced deviation from ohmicity beyond a certain current for all pressures studied. At room temperature, beyond a threshold field the system switches from a low conductingOFF state to a high conductingON state with σON/σOFF ∼ 103. TheOFF state can be restored by the application of an a.c. pulse of low frequency. The temperature dependence of the two states studied indicates that theOFF state is semiconducting while theON state, beyond a certain applied pressure is metallic. The characteristics atT=77 K do not show any switching.

Pressure-induced first-order transition in layered crystalline semiconductor GeSe to a metallic phase

The electrical resistivity of layerd crystalline GeSe has been investigated up to a pressure of 100 kbar and down to liquid-nitrogen temperature by use of a Bridgman anvil device. A pressure-induced first-order phase transition has been observed in single-crystal GeSe near 6 GPa. The high-pressure phase is found to be quenchable and an x-ray diffraction study of the quenched material reveals that it has the face-centered-cubic structure. Resistivity measurements as a function of pressure and temperature suggest that the high-pressure phase is metallic.

An explicit finite element modelling method for masonry walls under out-of-plane loading

An explicit finite element modelling method is formulated using a layered shell element to examine the behaviour of masonry walls subject to out-of-plane loading. Masonry is modelled as a homogenised material with distinct directional properties that are calibrated from datasets of a “C” shaped wall tested under pressure loading applied to its web. The predictions of the layered shell model have been validated using several out-of-plane experimental datasets reported in the literature. Profound influence of support conditions, aspect ratio, pre-compression and opening to the strength and ductility of masonry walls is exhibited from the sensitivity analyses performed using the model.

AQUAMAN: a web-based decision support system for irrigation scheduling in peanuts

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an economically important legume crop in irrigated production areas of northern Australia. Although the potential pod yield of the crop in these areas is about 8 t ha(-1), most growers generally obtain around 5 t ha(-1), partly due to poor irrigation management. Better information and tools that are easy to use, accurate, and cost-effective are therefore needed to help local peanut growers improve irrigation management. This paper introduces a new web-based decision support system called AQUAMAN that was developed to assist Australian peanut growers schedule irrigations. It simulates the timing and depth of future irrigations by combining procedures from the food and agriculture organization (FAO) guidelines for irrigation scheduling (FAO-56) with those of the agricultural production systems simulator (APSIM) modeling framework. Here, we present a description of AQUAMAN and results of a series of activities (i.e., extension activities, case studies, and a survey) that were conducted to assess its level of acceptance among Australian peanut growers, obtain feedback for future improvements, and evaluate its performance. Application of the tool for scheduling irrigations of commercial peanut farms since its release in 2004-2005 has shown good acceptance by local peanuts growers and potential for significantly improving yield. Limited comparison with the farmer practice of matching the pan evaporation demand during rain-free periods in 2006-2007 and 2008-2009 suggested that AQUAMAN enabled irrigation water savings of up to 50% and the realization of enhanced water and irrigation use efficiencies.

Effect of pressure on the electrical resistivity of bulk Ge20Te80 glass

An irreversible pressure induced semiconductor-to-metal transition in bulk Ge20Te80 glass is observed at about 5 GPa pressure. The high pressure phase has a face centered cubic structure with a lattice constant 6.42 A° as deduced by X-ray diffraction studies on the pressure quenched samples. The temperature and pressure dependence of the electrical resistivity confirms the observed transition to be a semiconductor-to-metal transition. The temperature dependence of thermo electric power is also reported.

Inventory Management Performance in Indian Machine Tool SMEs: What factors do influence them

These instructions give on basic guidelines for preparing papers for the IEEM 2008 Proceedings. Inventory Management (IM) plays a decisive role in the enhancement of efficiency for manufacturing enterprise competitiveness. Therefore, major manufacturing industries are following inventory management practices as a strategy to improve efficiency and achieve competitiveness. However, the spread of inventory management culture among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is limited due to lack of initiation, expertise and financial limitations in developed countries, leave alone developing countries.With this backdrop, this paper makes an attempt to ascertain the factors which influence the IM performance of SMEs in the machine tools industry of Bangalore, India. This issue is probed based on primary data gathered from 91 SMEs. The paper brings out that two sets of factors namely organizational support and external pressure have a positive impact on the inventory performance of SMEs.

Employees’ eldercare demands, strain, and perceived support

Purpose In many countries, both the number of older people in need of care and the number of employed caregivers of elderly relatives will increase over the next decades. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which perceived organizational, supervisor, and coworker support for eldercare reduce employed caregivers’ strain and weaken the relationship between eldercare demands and strain. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 100 employed caregivers from one organization. Findings Results showed that eldercare demands were positively related to strain, and perceived organizational eldercare support (POES) was negatively related to strain. In addition, high POES weakened the relationship between eldercare demands and strain. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design and use of self-report scales constitute limitations of the study. Practical implications POES is a resource for employed caregivers, especially when their eldercare demands are high. Originality/value This research highlights the relative importance of different forms of perceived support for reducing employed caregivers’ strain and weakening the relationship between eldercare demands and strain.

Diet and the development of atherosclerosis: a whole-diet approach from childhood to adulthood

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality in the world. Studies of the impact of single nutrients on the risk for CVD have often provided inconclusive results, and recent research in nutritional epidemiology with a more holistic whole-diet approach has proven fruitful. Moreover, dietary habits in childhood and adolescence may play a role in later health and disease, either independently or by tracking into adulthood. The main aims of this study were to find childhood and adulthood determinants of adulthood diet, to identify dietary patterns present among the study population and to study the associations between long-term food choices and cardiovascular health in young Finnish adults. The study is a part of the multidisciplinary Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study, which is an ongoing, prospective cohort study with a 21-year follow-up. At baseline in 1980, the subjects were children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 years (n included in this study = 1768), and young adults aged 24 to 39 years at the latest follow-up study in 2001 (n = 1037). Food consumption and nutrient intakes were assessed with repeated 48-hour dietary recalls. Other determinations have included comprehensive risk factor assessments using blood tests, physical measurements and questionnaires. In the latest follow-up, ultrasound examinations were performed to study early atherosclerotic vascular changes. The average intakes showed substantial changes since 1980. Intakes of fat and saturated fat had decreased, whereas the consumption of fruits and vegetables had increased. Intake of fat and consumption of vegetables in childhood and physical activity in adulthood were important health behavioural determinants of adult diet. Additionally, a principal component analysis was conducted to identify major dietary patterns at each study point. A similar set of two major patterns was recognised throughout the study. The traditional dietary pattern positively correlated with the consumption of traditional Finnish foods, such as rye, potatoes, milk, butter, sausages and coffee, and negatively correlated with fruit, berries and dairy products other than milk. This type of diet was independently associated with several risk factors of CVD, such as total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and C-reactive protein concentrations among both genders, as well as with systolic blood pressure and insulin levels among women. The traditional pattern was also independently associated with intima media thickness (IMT), a subclinical predictor of CVD, in men but not in women. The health-conscious pattern, predominant among female subjects, non-smokers and urbanites, was characterised by more health-conscious food choices such as vegetables, legumes and nuts, tea, rye, fish, cheese and other dairy products, as well as by the consumption of alcoholic beverages. This pattern was inversely, but less strongly, associated with cardiovascular risk factors. Tracking of the dietary pattern scores was observed, particularly among subjects who were adolescents at baseline. Moreover, a long-term high intake of protein concurrent with a low intake of fat was positively associated with IMT. These findings suggest that food behaviour and food choices are to some extent established as early as in childhood or adolescence and may significantly track into adulthood. Long-term adherence to traditional food choices seems to increase the risk for developing CVD, especially among men. Those with intentional or unintentional low fat diets, but with high intake of protein may also be at increased risk for CVD. The findings offer practical, food-based information on the relationship between diet and CVD and encourage further use of the whole-diet approach in epidemiological research. The results support earlier findings that long-term food choices play a role in the development of CVD. The apparent influence of childhood habits is important to bear in mind when planning educational strategies for the primary prevention of CVD. Further studies on food choices over the entire lifespan are needed.