Opportunities for development of elevated electric transport in a large city

Modern large cities include both historically developed central parts and rapidly developing peripheral neighborhoods. Today, transport flows are formed not only by traditional bus, trolleybus, and tram routes, but also by significant fleets of taxis and private vehicles. An increase in traffic load and a shortage of parking spaces significantly reduces the capacity of roads and negatively affects the environmental situation. Ensuring transport accessibility based on the development of underground urban transport, the metro, is accompanied by great labor intensity, time and financial costs. Residents of large cities try to use bicycles, electric scooters, monowheels for intra-city movements. However, in winter in Russia this type of ecological personal transport becomes less accessible. A promising option for the development of public transport for large cities with a significant length of the street network in the absence of the technical possibility of expanding the roadway, can be an elevated electric transport (monorail). Using the example of the city of Samara, where the level of automobilization in 2019 reached 344 cars per 1000 people, the possibilities of developing the transport system of a large city with the inclusion of a monorail transport section in such a system are considered. This innovative solution will improve transport accessibility and reduce the negative impact on the urban environment. The average payback period of the project will be 4.4 years.

Gastroschisis Complicated by Colonic Atresia

Introduction: Gastroschisis with colonic atresia is a rare association. Due to its rarity and variation in presentation, no standardized surgical treatment option exists. Complicated gastroschisis is associated with a higher morbidity and mortality than intestinal atresia or gastroschisis alone. Methods: This is a case report of a neonate with congenital gastroschisis. On day of life 1, a silo was placed. On day of life 4, the upper portion of silo contents appeared more congested with dusky discoloration and the patient was oliguric. She was taken to the operating room for exploration. Results: The patient required resection of the terminal ileum and an atretic portion of the cecum due to necrosis. Four days later, primary closure of the gastroschisis defect was performed with creation of an end ileostomy. Elective ileostomy takedown was performed 5 months later. She returned to the operating room for anastomotic revision and gastrostomy tube placement for intestinal dysmotility and prolonged ileus. Tube feedings were discontinued 3 months post-operatively. Conclusions: Gastroschisis with intestinal atresia is associated with increased hospital length of stay, longer duration of parenteral nutrition, more severe intestinal dysfunction, increased surgical complications, and higher mortality than gastroschisis or intestinal atresia alone. With associated colonic atresia, loss of a significant length of bowel due to necrosis, including the ileocecal region, is almost unavoidable. An already compromised blood supply to the atretic bowel is further impaired by a tight abdominal wall defect and postnatal increases in gravitational force. Complicated gastroschisis remains a complex surgical challenge requiring further discussion.

Swirling to improve heat transfer in the MHD flow of liquid metal in a duct

The subject of this study is the effect of the initial “swirling” of the flow by installing cylindrical elements in the initial flow region affected by strong magnetic field. In particular, various designs (longitudinal, transverse, and inclined arrangement with respect to the magnetic field) and the dimensions of the cylinders are considered. To create liquid metal systems that are more predictable and possibly more efficient from the point of view of thermal hydraulics, we experimentally studied the flow in a rectangular channel with dimensions of 56×16 mm. For the first time, it was found that the presence of an initial flow disturbance leads to significant changes in the flow at a significant length (700 mm).

FDS simulation of smoke backlayering in emergency lay-by of a road tunnel with longitudinal ventilation

This paper investigates smoke movement and its stratification in a lay-by of a 900 m long road tunnel by computer simulation using Fire Dynamics Simulator. The lay-by is located upstream of the fire in its vicinity. The influence of lay-by geometry on smoke spread is evaluated by comparison with a fictional tunnel without lay-by. Several fire scenarios with various tunnel slopes and heat release rates of fire in the tunnels without and with the lay-by are considered. The most significant breaking of smoke stratification and decrease of visibility in the area of the lay-by can be observed in the case of zero slope tunnel for more intensive fires with significant length of backlayering. Several other features of smoke spread in the lay-by are analysed as well. The parallel calculations were performed on a high-performance computer cluster.

P081 Assessment of Change in Palatoglossus Length with Mandibular Advancement and Relationship to Response to Mandibular Advancement Splint Therapy in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

Background The palatoglossus is a muscle of the soft palate extending from the palatine aponeurosis inferolaterally along the pharyngeal wall inserting at the posterolateral surface of the tongue. Palatoglossal stimulation dilates the retropalatal space in subjects with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Whether there is alteration in palatoglossus length during mandibular advancement and how this relates to Mandibular Advancement Splint (MAS) outcomes is unknown. Methods Participants with OSA referred for MAS underwent upper airway MRI with and without mandibular advancement. The linear distance between the origin of the palatoglossus muscle at the palatine aponeurosis and its insertion at the tongue was measured to approximate palatoglossus length. The difference in measured lengths with and without mandibular advancement was calculated. Change in palatoglossus with advancement was compared to treatment outcomes. Progress to date 71 participants with mean±SD AHI 26.0±16.1 events/hr were included in our study. Mean±SD palatoglossus length was 49.58±5.74mm. With mandibular advancement, mean±SD palatoglossus length was 51.21±5.46mm this was a significant change in length of mean±SD 1.63±4.3mm. This was a mean±SD 4.79±9.08% alteration in length with mandibular advancement. Treatment response was not significantly related to change in palatoglossus length (p> 0.05). Intended outcome and Impact Our intention was to demonstrate significant length alteration in palatoglossus with mandibular advancement and correlate this to treatment outcome. This may highlight palatoglossus as a target for MAS or other OSA therapies for future clinicians.

Analysis of a Symmetrical Ferrofluid Sloshing Vibration Energy Harvester

Ferrofluid sloshing vibration energy harvesters use ferrofluid sloshing movement as a moving magnet between a fixed coil to induce current and, in turn, harvest energy from external excitations. A symmetric ferrofluid sloshing vibration energy harvester configuration is introduced in this study which utilizes four external, symmetrically placed, permanent magnets to magnetize a ferrofluid inside a tank. An external sinusoidal excitation of amplitude 1 m/s2 is imparted, and the whole system is studied numerically using a level-set method to track the sharp interface between ferrofluid and air. The system is studied for two significant length scales of 0.1 m and 0.05 m while varying the four external magnets’ polarity arrangements. All of the system configuration dimensions are parametrized with the length scale to keep the system configuration invariant with the length scale. Finally, a frequency sweep is performed, encompassing the structure’s first modal frequency and impedance matching to obtain the system’s energy harvesting characteristics.

Subsea Tree Fatigue Mitigation Solutions For Shallow Water Drilling

The offshore drilling industry is advancing technologies to extend deep water drilling technologies and attain feasibility of operations at deeper depths and higher pressures. However, shallow water operations themselves pose a certain unique set of challenges that need to be addressed with customized and innovative solutions. While shallow water poses certain benefits and conveniences to the operations, like ease of retrieval and better access to wells, there are significant challenges in terms of operational down time caused by limited operability and poor drilling riser and subsea hardware fatigue performance. Shallow water operations do not have the advantage of deep water drilling where the motions and loads imparted to the subsea blowout preventer (BOP) are relatively decoupled and damped out by hydrodynamic damping from the significant length of the water column. Thus, the vessel motions and wave hydrodynamic loads imparted on the riser are transferred to the wellhead and subsea hardware. In this paper the fatigue challenges encountered for drilling wells in 530 ft water depth from a sixth generation moored semi-submersible rig are explored. The fatigue loading is critical for the subsea tree connector which is characterized by a high stress amplification factor (SAF). Multiple riser space-out solutions were evaluated including fairings, helically-grooved buoyancy, joints with rope, and modifications to the telescopic joint each of which will be presented in the paper along with combination of different damping parameters to optimize the fatigue performance. The paper will present the subsea tree connector fatigue performance for different riser space-out options and make recommendations for future operations with similar conditions. Other challenges encountered in fatigue evaluation will be discussed. This will highlight the current assumptions and unknowns in data that can form the subject of evaluation for a future joint industry study.

Bronze-casting workshops of the Vengerovo-2 settlement (Baraba forest steppe)

The formation of the early bronze-casting production in Baraba and the appearance of products of the Seima-Turbino type were completed within the 3rd — early 2nd mil. BC — during the existence of the Krotovo Cul-ture. Plenty of work has been devoted to its characterization; the presence of bronze-casting on the sites has been noted, but special studies of this type of sources are extremely few. The purpose of this paper is to present the characteristics of the production areas associated with the processing of non-ferrous metals, based on mate-rials of the Vengerovo-2 settlement of the Krotovo Culture. Production sites were studied in six dwellings of the settlement. The uniformity of the workshops has been revealed in terms of site planning and principles of organi-zation of the production, although differences in scale have been noted. The use of two types of the forges has been recorded. In all these workshops and in other sites of the culture, a multifunctional sub-rectangular hearth buried in the ground with the walls and floor lined with fragments of ceramics or clay coating was found (with di-mensions of 1.65×0.87–2.3×0.9×0.21–0.52 m). The second type of the forges is less common — a small round or oval pit (0.4–0.5 m in diameter) with the bottom and walls lined with baked clay or fragments. The smelting was carried out with forced air supply. The casting of the metal was taking place next to the forge. Crushed bones were used as fuel. The production complex demonstrates extensive external economic and commercial ties. This is manifested by penetration of significant volumes of non-ferrous metal into the ore-barren areas of the Central Baraba, as well as by the presence of imported foundry equipment (molds made of marl and talc). The simultaneous presence inside the casters’ dwellings of bones of taiga-zone animals and those living in the southern, steppe regions indicates significant length of the supply routes. The specific features and unification of the production of the manufacturing equipment, nature of the work carried out, volume of heats, and a large number of similar-type forms suggest specialization of the village in the bronze casting production.

Consistent ultra-long DNA sequencing with automated slow pipetting

Background Oxford Nanopore Technologies’ instruments can sequence reads of great length. Long reads improve sequence assemblies by unambiguously spanning repetitive elements of the genome. Sequencing reads of significant length requires the preservation of long DNA template molecules through library preparation by pipetting reagents as slowly as possible to minimize shearing. This process is time-consuming and inconsistent at preserving read length as even small changes in volumetric flow rate can result in template shearing. Results We have designed SNAILS (Slow Nucleic Acid Instrument for Long Sequences), a 3D-printable instrument that automates slow pipetting of reagents used in long read library preparation for Oxford Nanopore sequencing. Across six sequencing libraries, SNAILS preserved more reads exceeding 100 kilobases in length and increased its libraries’ average read length over manual slow pipetting. Conclusions SNAILS is a low-cost, easily deployable solution for improving sequencing projects that require reads of significant length. By automating the slow pipetting of library preparation reagents, SNAILS increases the consistency and throughput of long read Nanopore sequencing.

Developing management policies and analyzing impact of change orders on labor productivity in construction projects

Purpose The inevitable change orders in construction projects have either direct or indirect impacts on a project’s duration. Reduced productivity is one of the indirect consequences that lead to major delays in the completion of the project. The purpose of this study is to develop a model that could quantify the impact of change orders on labor productivity and result in the establishment of policies to lessen their effects. Design/methodology/approach A model was developed to analyze the effects of change orders on labor productivity, then policies for managing their impacts on productivity and project duration were established. A water treatment case study was selected to serve as the scenario in which to implement and evaluate the model and policies. Findings The results of this study indicated that pressure to adhere to a schedule initially leads to an increase in labor productivity, but it is often followed by a significant drop that is a result of employee frustration. It was concluded that the pressure can be positive if it is applied for a short period of time; however, it continues for a significant length of time, the duration of the project will increase appreciably. Originality/value The proposed model can be implemented to identify the factors that affect labor productivity in a construction project. Its utilization will also help project managers assess when change orders occur and determine, which policies will be most effective in optimizing labor productivity.