Reliability-based optimization of water distribution networks

The water distribution system serves as a basic necessity for society. Due to its large size and involvement of various components, it is one of the most expensive civil infrastructures and thus demands optimization. Much work has been done for reducing the distribution system cost. However, with only one objective, the obtained solutions may not be practical to implement. Thus, improving cost along with the efficiency of the network is the demand of the hour. The present work introduces a unique parameter-less methodology for generating Pareto fronts without involving the concept of non-dominance. The methodology incorporates the Jaya optimization model for a bi-objective problem, one being the reduction in network cost and the other is improving the reliability index of the network. The efficiency of the proposed work is analyzed for three different benchmark problems. The Jaya technique is found to be very efficient and fast when compared with the other evolutionary technique applied for the same networks. The parameter-less nature of the Jaya technique smoothens the process to a very large extent as no synchronization of algorithm parameters is required.

Formalization of tasks generation for complex of interactive web-tests on math

The approach to the formalization of the generation of problem situations applicable to the development of tutoring programs consisting of many tasks is considered. The main errors arising during the software-based generation of parameters are specified. Mathematical modeling of parametrical generation algorithms examined by examples of tasks that make up complex tests on mathematics for secondary schools. The parametric generation method proposed in the article allows getting the large quantitative variations in task problem situations. Thereby, every learner will get a personal unique set of tasks. The structure and functionality of web-tests complex consisting of tasks generated via the proposed method are described. The subject of research in the article is the process of computer training in mathematics. The goal is to develop a method for task generation for mathematical disciplines. Tasks. Research and analysis of the set of mathematical problems. Parameterization of each task and development method and algorithms for automated generation parameters with the determination of incorrect combinations of parameters or problem situations that have no solution. Estimation of borders of admissible for approximate answers. Evaluation of the user solution of a single task and a sequence of tasks. The general objective of the work is to make the software product consisting of a sequence of mathematics tasks. The software should have an extended user interface for the graphical presentation of various problem situations in various mathematical topics. The program must be accessible via the Internet. The following results were obtained: developed methods and algorithms of task generation, which provide correct problem situations and unique parameter sets for each user; described the program complex structure and developed the software system of mathematical web-tests provides two levels of difficulty. Conclusion. The scientific novelty lies in the development of the method of task generation for interactive web tests on the mathematics and its computer implementation with the possibility of graphical representation of tasks and checking of tasks correctness.

AUTOMOTIVE HEALTH TRACKING USING IOT AND ARDUINO

This paper is concerned with the development of an embedded system for detecting the vehicle condition by monitoring the internal parameters used in evaluating the vehicle's current health condition. An in-vehicle embedded system is being developed in this project to generate a vehicle health report (VHR) whenever the user requires it. It predicts future errors, allowing the driver to travel without interruption and avoid accidents. As a result, it warns the driver of potential errors and assists him in driving safely. The data needed to generate the health report is made up of parameter values (outputs of in-built sensors) from various systems inside the vehicle. Our framework is based on the Arduino and IoT stages, which are used to separate various parameters, for example, motor warming and fuel pipe blockage, for safe and cautious driving. The data is sent to IoT, where it can be checked by both the vehicle manufacturer via distributed computing and the vehicle owner via the Android application. The equipment unit consists of an Arduino, a WI-FI module, a portable Androidbased device, and a unique parameter checking sensors module. The ESP8266 WiFi Module is a self-contained SOC with integrated TCP/IP protocol stack that can give any microcontroller access to your WiFi network, which is used in current generation automotive.

Effects of Mass and Damping on Flow-Induced Vibration of a Cylinder Interacting with the Wake of Another Cylinder at High Reduced Velocities

Flow-induced vibration is a canonical issue in various engineering fields, leading to fatigue or immediate damage to structures. This paper numerically investigates flow-induced vibrations of a cylinder interacting with the wake of another cylinder at a Reynolds number Re = 150. It sheds light on the effects of mass ratio m*, damping ratio, and mass-damping ratio m*ζ on vibration amplitude ratio A/D at different reduced velocities Ur and cylinder spacing ratios L/D = 1.5 and 3.0. A couple of interesting observations are made. The m* has a greater influence on A/D than ζ although both m* and ζ cause reductions in A/D. The m* effect on A/D is strong for m* = 2–16 but weak for m* > 16. As opposed to a single isolated cylinder case, the mass-damping m*ζ is not found to be a unique parameter for a cylinder oscillating in a wake. The vortices in the wake decay rapidly at small ζ. Alternate reattachment of the gap shear layers on the wake cylinder fuels the vibration of the wake cylinder for L/D = 1.5 while the impingement and switch of the gap vortices do the same for L/D = 3.0.

Allocation Problems, by the Method of Alternative Representation of the Inverse Set, for Values of Cooperative TU Games

In earlier works, we introduced the Inverse Problem, relative to the Shapley Value, as follows: for a given n-dimensional vector L, find out the transferable utilities’ games , such that The same problem has been discussed further for Semivalues. A connected problem has been considered more recently: find out TU-games for which the Shapley Value equals L, and this value is coalitional rational, that is belongs to the Core of the game . Then, the same problem was discussed for other two linear values: the Egalitarian Allocation and the Egalitarian Nonseparable Contribution, even though these are not Semivalues. To solve such problems, we tried to find a solution in the family of so called Almost Null Games of the Inverse Set, relative to the Shapley Value, by imposing to games in the family, the coalitional rationality conditions. In the present paper, we use the same idea, but a new tool, an Alternative Representation of Semivalues. To get such a representation, the definition of the Binomial Semivalues due to A. Puente was extended to all Semivalues. Then, we looked for a coalitional rational solution in the Family of Almost Null games of the Inverse Set, relative to the Shapley Value. In each case, such games depend on a unique parameter, so that the coalitional rationality will be expressed by a simple inequality, determined by a number, the coalitional rationality threshold. The relationships between the three numbers corresponding to the above three efficient values have been found. Some numerical examples of the method are given.

Optimal Parameter Selection for Constraint-Following Control for Mechanical Systems Based on Stackelberg Game

This paper proposes an optimal parameter design of control scheme for mechanical systems by adopting the Stackelberg game theory. The goal of the control is to drive the mechanical system to follow the prescribed constraints. The system uncertainty is (possibly fast) time-varying and bounded. A β-measure is defined to gauge the performance. A robust control is proposed to render the β-measure uniformly ultimately bounded. This control scheme is based on feasible design parameters (i.e., parameters within prescribed range), whose choice may not be unique. For optimal (unique) parameter selection, a Stackelberg game is formulated. By taking the control design parameters as the players, for each player, a cost function is built with the consideration of the performance cost, the time cost and the control cost. To follow, the Stackelberg strategy is then carried out via backward induction, which results in the choice of the optimal parameters.

Diving into a Simple Anguilliform Swimmer’s Sensitivity

Synopsis Computational models of aquatic locomotion range from modest individual simple swimmers in 2D to sophisticated 3D multi-swimmer models that attempt to parse collective behavioral dynamics. Each of these models contain a multitude of model input parameters to which its outputs are inherently dependent, that is, various performance metrics. In this work, the swimming performance’s sensitivity to parameters is investigated for an idealized, simple anguilliform swimming model in 2D. The swimmer considered here propagates forward by dynamically varying its body curvature, similar to motion of a Caenorhabditis elegans. The parameter sensitivities were explored with respect to the fluid scale (Reynolds number), stroke (undulation) frequency, as well as a kinematic parameter controlling the velocity and acceleration of each upstroke and downstroke. The input Reynolds number and stroke frequencies sampled were from [450, 2200] and [1, 3] Hz, respectively. In total, 5000 fluid–structure interaction simulations were performed, each with a unique parameter combination selected via a Sobol sequence, in order to conduct global sensitivity analysis. Results indicate that the swimmer’s performance is most sensitive to variations in its stroke frequency. Trends in swimming performance were discovered by projecting the performance data onto particular 2D subspaces. Pareto-like optimal fronts were identified. This work is a natural extension of the parameter explorations of the same model from Battista in 2020.

Calibrating a regional glacier model using post-LIA glacier length changes in the Alps

<p>We present an approach to calibrate a regional glacier model based on the well observed period since the mid-19<sup>th</sup> century LIA maximum.<br>We chose 30 glaciers distributed across the entire European Alps with frequent length change observations in that period. These glaciers account for 25% of today's total glacier area in the Alps. We run simulations with the Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM, https://oggm.org) driven by HISTALP (http://www.zamg.ac.at/histalp) gridded climate data. To calibrate the glaciers individually, we vary three model parameters within a reasonable range: (i) a precipitation scaling factor governing average mass-turnover and mass-balance profiles, (ii) the ice creep parameter governing basal sheer stress and the dynamics of ice flow, and (iii) a constant mass balance perturbation applied to the yearly mass-balance. This results in  1365 unique parameter combinations which were tested for all glaciers. We chose individual parameter subsets for every glacier based on objective criteria minimizing the difference between modeled and observed length changes.</p><p>We find that there is no unique parameter combination satisfying our criteria for all glaciers. It is also challenging to identify an ideal parameter combination for each individual glacier, since there is a trade-off between reproducing variability (useful for paleo-climate interpretations) and reproducing observed length change (useful for projections and planing).<br>Furthermore, model and input data uncertainties are variable in time, leading to non-unique optimal parameter sets. Therefore, we rely on an ensemble of simulations consisting of the best runs with respect to multiple statistical measures. Together with a cross-validation procedure, the ensemble produces a probabilistic uncertainty range which can be applied to Holocene glacier reconstructions and future evolution scenarios.</p>

Development of an In Vitro System to Study the Interactions of Aerosolized Drugs with Pulmonary Mucus

Mucus is the first biological component inhaled drugs encounter on their journey towards their pharmacological target in the upper airways. Yet, how mucus may influence drug disposition and efficacy in the lungs has been essentially overlooked. In this study, a simple in vitro system was developed to investigate the factors promoting drug interactions with airway mucus in physiologically relevant conditions. Thin layers of porcine tracheal mucus were prepared in Transwell® inserts and initially, the diffusion of various fluorescent dyes across those layers was monitored over time. A deposition system featuring a MicroSprayer® aerosolizer was optimized to reproducibly deliver liquid aerosols to multiple air-facing layers and then exploited to compare the impact of airway mucus on the transport of inhaled bronchodilators. Both the dyes and drugs tested were distinctly hindered by mucus with high logP compounds being the most affected. The diffusion rate of the bronchodilators across the layers was in the order: ipratropium ≈ glycopyronnium > formoterol > salbutamol > indacaterol, suggesting hydrophobicity plays an important role in their binding to mucus but is not the unique parameter involved. Testing of larger series of compounds would nevertheless be necessary to better understand the interactions of inhaled drugs with airway mucus.

RUSSIAN ADVERB DAVNO ‚LONG AGO, FOR A LONG TIME‘ REVISITED FROM A CORPUS PERSPECTIVE

During the last twenty years, the Russian adverb davno ‘long ago, for a long time’ was widely discussed in literature. It was recognized that the unique parameter of davno is its inability to be the theme of a sentence. Moreover, if davno functions in the context of aspectual forms relating to the past it can only be the rheme. In the context of the aspectual verbal forms relating to the past but preserving the connection with the moment of speech, davno can be either the rheme proper, or a component of the rheme. A classic example of an aspectual verb form referring to the past is the general factual meaning of the imperfective aspect. At present, the spoken data corpora can shed light on the communicative structure analysis, since the prosodic structure of the sound speech provides a straightforward access to the communicative structure. Novel parameters of davno are as follows. 1) Whereas davno is traditionally recognized as a word of rhematic polarity it can nevertheless function as a component of the theme in the context of attributive clauses and constructions (Davno soglasovannyj visit dolzhen byl sostojatjsja v aprele ‘A visit planned long ago would take place in April’). 2) The general factual meaning of the imperfective aspect, contrary to what was assumed before, is not an absolute prerequisite for davno to function as the rheme. The spoken corpus showed that in the context of negation and in the context of the verbs of speech, the general factual allows for davno to function as a component of the rheme but not the rheme proper (Ja davno tebja ne videl ‘I have not been seeing you for a long time’; My davno govorili, chto nasha zadacha — eto borjba s terrorismom ‘We have been insisting for a long time that our main goal is the struggle against terrorism’). 3) A specific type of questions with the initial davno (as well as with other adverbs with the meaning of a considerable quantity like chasto ‘often’, mnogo ‘much’, and daleko ‘far away’) is singled out. Such questions cannot be unambiguously classified either as yes-no-questions or as wh-questions (I davno vy zdesj stoite? ‘And how long are you staying here?’). A description of unique prosody of such questions is given. 4) In the context of discourse continuity, davno acquires the rising prosody which is in fact uncharacteristic of a word, which is unable be the theme (Xotel eto sdelat’ davno, no teperj sdelaju tochno ‘I wished to do it long ago, but now I will do it for sure’). The rising tone is accounted for by the meaning of continuity, which has the same prosody as the theme. 5) In constructions kogda-to davno ‘once upon a time’, ochenj davno ‘very long ago’, davno-davno ‘very long ago’, davnymdavno ‘very long ago’, dovoljno davno ‘quite long ago’, ne tak davno ‘not so long ago’ davno loses its rhematic polarity. The parameters of davno are exemplified by spoken fragments taken from the Multimodal corpus of the Russian National corpus, and the minor working collection of the Russian speech recordings specifically set up for this investigation. The software program Praat was used in the process of analyzing the sound data.