Kustīgās slodzes dinamiskās iedarbes uz autoceļu tiltiem eksperimentāla izpēte un novērtējums

Using data obtained from the dynamic load testing of bridges a method was developed to evaluate level of the dynamic performance without performing a dynamic load test. In this method a dynamic index of the bridge is calculated. Dynamic index allows to evaluate the dynamic performance level of existing and new structures taking into account such bridge parameters as span length / height ratio, natural frequency, vibration damping coefficient, relative deflection and international roughness index IRI. Dynamic index method can be used by bridge owners and maintainers to determine the dynamic potential of a particular bridge. The maximum allowable values of the dynamic amplification factor for standard prestressed concrete beam bridges were determined. These values were calculated for maximum allowed traffic load in Latvia. The obtained results can be used for the safety assessment of existing and reconstructed reinforced concrete beam bridges.

Agricultural Land Transition in the “Groundnut Basin” of Senegal: 2009 to 2018

The study aims to reveal the transition features of agricultural land use in the Groundnut Basin of Senegal from 2009 to 2018, especially the impact of urbanization on agricultural land and the viewpoint of farmland spatiotemporal evolution. Integrated data of time series MCD12Q1 land-use images of 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018 were used to provide a land transition in agricultural and urban areas through the synergistic methodology. Socio-economic data was also used to serve as a basis for the argument. The results highlight that: (1) Agricultural land increased by 14.53%, with a dynamic index of 1.45 from 2009–2018. (2) Over the same period, urbanization increased by 2.80%, with a dynamic index of 0.28. (3) In different regions, the transition of agricultural land in Kaffrine is most intense (expansion rate: 22.80%). The same situation of urbanization happened in Thiès Region with a value of 7.94%. Except for Thiès, agricultural land in other regions has not yet been subject to major pressure due to urbanization. Overall, the farming system in Groundnut Basin is an extensive model, the recommendations from the point of view of land-use planning and land law are necessary to ensure efficient agricultural land management in the area.

Hydro-Morphological Assessment of Dittaino River, Eastern Sicily, Italy

The present conditions of the Dittaino River were investigated by using tools addressing different components of the IDRAIM (stream hydro-morphological evaluation, analysis, and monitoring system) procedure. After the segmentation of the river, the Morphological Quality Index (MQI) and the Morphological Dynamic Index (MDI) were assessed to analyze its morphological quality and to classify the degree of channel dynamics related to progressive changes occurring in the relative long-term (i.e., 50–100 years), respectively. The results show that 45% and 22% of the analyzed reaches (mainly located in highest zones of the hydrographic network) were, respectively, of high and good quality. The MQI class decreased to good and then to moderate in the downstream direction, and two reaches were of poor class. The highest MDI classes were also mainly identified in the highest zones of the hydrographic network. Some limitations (i.e., the elevated number of indicators, as well as their simplification) and strengths (i.e., the easy applicability to a large number of reaches) were identified during the application of the MQI method to the Dittaino River.

Pindex: Private multi-linked index for encrypted document retrieval

Cryptographic cloud storage is used to make optimal use of the cloud storage infrastructure to outsource sensitive and mission-critical data. The continuous growth of encrypted data outsourced to cloud storage requires continuous updating. Attacks like file-injection are reported to compromise confidentiality of the user as a consequence of information leakage during update. It is required that dynamic schemes provide forward privacy guarantees. Updates should not leak information to the untrusted server regarding the previously issued queries. Therefore, the challenge is to design an efficient searchable encryption scheme with dynamic updates and forward privacy guarantees. In this paper, a novel private multi-linked dynamic index for encrypted document retrieval namely Pindex is proposed. The multi-linked dynamic index is constructed using probabilistic homomorphic encryption mechanism and secret orthogonal vectors. Full security proofs for correctness and forward privacy in the random oracle model is provided. Experiments on real world Enron dataset demonstrates that our construction is practical and efficient. The security and performance analysis of Pindex shows that the dynamic multi-linked index guarantees forward privacy without significant loss of efficiency.

Real-Time Dynamic Behavior Evaluation of Active Distribution Networks Leveraging Low-Cost PMUs

The investigation of real-time dynamic behavior evaluation in the active distribution networks (ADNs) is a challenging task, and it has great importance due to the emerging trend of distributed generations, electric vehicles, and flexible loads integration. The advent of new elements influences the dynamic behavior of the electric distribution networks and increases the assessment complexity. However, the proper implementation of low-cost phasor measurement units (PMUs) together with the development of power system applications offer tremendous benefits. Therefore, this paper proposes a PMU-based multi-dimensional dynamic index approach for real-time dynamic behavior evaluation of ADNs. The proposed evaluation model follows the assessment principles of accuracy, integrity, practicability, and adaptability. Additionally, we introduced low-cost PMUs in the assessment model and implemented them for real-time and high-precision monitoring of dynamic behaviors in the entire distribution network. Finally, a complete model called the real-time dynamic characteristics evaluation system is presented and applied to the ADN. It is pertinent to mention that our proposed evaluation methodology does not rely on the network topology or line parameters of the distribution network since only the phasor measurements of node voltage and line current are involved in the dynamic index system. Thus, the presented methodology is well adaptive to different operation states of ADN despite frequent topology changes. The validation of the proposed approach was verified by conducting simulations on the modified IEEE 123-node distribution network. The obtained results verify the effectiveness and relevance of the proposed model for the real-time dynamic behavior evaluation of ADNs.

Challenges and Recommendations in Big Data Indexing Strategies

Index structures are one of the main strategies for effective data access applied for indexing data. According to expansion of data, traditional indexing strategies on big data meets several challenges that lead to weak performance; they haven't abilities to handle the rapid increase of data in terms of accurate retrieval results and processing time. So, it is necessary to substitute traditional index with another efficient index structure called learned index. Learned index goes to use machine learning models to tackle such issues and achieve more enhancements of processing time and accurate results. In this research, the authors discuss different indexing strategies on big data both traditional and learned indexes, demonstrate the main features of them, perform comparison in terms of its performance, and present big data indexing challenges and solutions. Consequently, the research suggests replacing traditional indexes by dynamic index models, which lead to less processing time and more accurate results taking into consideration specification of hardware used.

Abstract 15178: Mitochondrial Dynamic Modulators Mitigates Mitochondrial Dynamic Index, Biogenesis and Metabolic Impairments in Prediabetic Rats With Cardiac Ischemia-reperfusion Injury

Introduction: Long-term exposure to high-fat diet (HFD) caused obesity, which not only was positively associated with cardiovascular disorders but also had a negative impact on the outcome of acute myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Uncontrolled fission and diminished fusion of cardiac mitochondria augment the impairment of mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism which have been implicated in metabolic diseases and I/R injury pathology. Since cardioprotective efficacy of acute administration of mitochondrial fission inhibitor (Mdivi-1) and fusion promoter (M1) have previously been reported, the effects of chronic treatment with both modulators on cardiac mitochondrial dynamics, biogenesis and lipid metabolism in prediabetic rats subjected to cardiac I/R injury have never been elucidated. Hypothesis: Chronic treatment of Mdivi-1 and M1 after acute myocardial I/R improve mitochondrial dynamic index, biogenesis and metabolic pathway in prediabetic rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats (n=18) were fed with HFD. After 12 weeks, all rats were randomly divided into: 1) HFV (Vehicle, 0.1% DMSO), 2) HFMd (Mdivi-1, 1.2 mg/kg), and 3) HFM1 (M1, 2 mg/kg) with intraperitoneal injection for 14 days. Then, all rats underwent 30 minutes of left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion followed by reperfusion for 120 minutes. The expression of mitochondrial dynamics (p-Drp1 ser616 per Mfn2 ratio or dynamic index), biogenesis (PGC1- α) and lipid metabolism (CPT1) proteins from ischemic area of heart were determined. Results: Chronic treatment of Mdivi-1 and M1 similarly improved cardiac mitochondrial dynamic index (p-Drp1 ser616 per Mfn2 ratio), increased PGC1-α and CPT1 expression levels, when compared to HFV (Fig). Conclusions: Modulating mitochondrial dynamics by chronic treatment of Mdivi-1 and M1 improved cardiac mitochondrial dynamic index, biogenesis and metabolic pathway in prediabetic rats following acute myocardial I/R injury.