Description File Research Articles

A Primer to the Structure, Content and Linkage of the FDA's Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) Files.

Introduction and Background:The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database is a publicly available resource providing over 4 million records relating to medical device safety. Using downloadable MAUDE files avoids limitations of the online MAUDE search interface. However, naive file usage can result in errors, while independent discovery of the nuances required to correctly work with the database can be time-consuming. Practical information is provided to shorten this learning curve and obtain accurate results when using the MAUDE database files.MAUDE File Descriptions:The MAUDE database consists of 135 fields in four primary (Master Event, Device, Patient, Text) and two supplemental (Device Problems and Problem Code Descriptions) file types. When combined, these six files provide a detailed account of an adverse event or product problem report. Website instructions for joining the files are incomplete. Comprehensive details are provided to enable precise file linking.Lessons Learned:MAUDE files have irregularities that must be understood to download and work with the data efficiently. Accurate results depend upon combining the files correctly and understanding the difference between report and event denominators. Appreciating data availability can facilitate successful MAUDE investigations.Conclusion:The MAUDE database can provide key insights about medical device safety. Detailed information is provided about the structure, content and interrelationships of the MAUDE database files to enable investigators to use this valuable resource more quickly and accurately.

The Powerful Method of Characteristics Module in Advanced Neutronics Lattice Code KYLIN-2

Due to powerful geometry treatment capability, method of characteristics (MOC) currently becomes one of the best method to solve neutron transport equation. In MOC method, boundary condition treatment, complex geometry representation, and advanced acceleration method are the key techniques to develop a powerful MOC code to solve complex problem. In this paper, we developed a powerful MOC module, which can treat different boundary conditions with two methods. For problems with special border shapes and boundary condition, such as rectangle, 1/8 of square, hexagon, 1/3 of hexagon, 1/6 of hexagon problems with reflection, rotation, and translation boundary condition, the MOC module adopts periodic tracking method, with which rays can return to start point after a certain distance. For problems with general border shapes, the MOC module uses ray prolongation method, which can treat arbitrary border shapes and boundary conditions. Meanwhile, graphic user interface based on computer aided design (CAD) software is developed to generate the geometry description file, in which geometry is represented by “lines and arcs” method. With the graphic user interface, the geometry and mesh can be described and modified correctly and fast. In order to accelerate the MOC transport calculation, the generalized coarse mesh finite difference (GCMFD) is used, which can use irregular coarse mesh diffusion method to accelerate the transport equation. The MOC module was incorporated into advanced neutronics lattice code KYLIN-2, which was developed by Nuclear Power Institute of China (NPIC) and used to simulate the assembly of current pressurized water reactor (PWR) and advanced reactors, to solve the transport equation with multigroup energy structure in cross sections database. The numerical results show that the KYLIN-2 code can be used to calculate 2D neutron transport problems in reactor accurately and fast. In future, the KYLIN-2 code will be released and gradually become the main neutron transport lattice code in NPIC.

IEC 61850 Configuration Solution to Distributed Intelligence in Distribution Grid Automation

To solve the configuration issue when using International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61850 for distributed intelligence in Distribution Automation Systems (DAS), this paper proposes the configuration solution in terms of semantic models and processing methods. Firstly, the special requirements of the DAS configuration are analyzed, consisting of the system boundary of a configuration project, the topology configuration for distributed applications, and the automatic identification of the Intelligent Electronic Devices (IED). The new models of Process, Line, and other elements are then presented based on the System Configuration Language (SCL) to describe the distribution network topology. The planned contents are allocated into a new format of the Configured IED Description (CID) file to realize the distributed applications. A register service is designed, which fulfills the automatic identification of IEDs when they are remotely placed into a DAS. The service checks the configuration status in real-time and automates the whole configuration engineering process. The case study shows that the proposed solution allows an IED to detect the real-time topology and re-establish the data flow configuration with peer IEDs independently from the master station; thus the distributed applications can be performed more autonomously and efficiently.

Yale-CMU-Berkeley dataset for robotic manipulation research

In this paper, we present an image and model dataset of the real-life objects from the Yale-CMU-Berkeley Object Set, which is specifically designed for benchmarking in manipulation research. For each object, the dataset presents 600 high-resolution RGB images, 600 RGB-D images and five sets of textured three-dimensional geometric models. Segmentation masks and calibration information for each image are also provided. These data are acquired using the BigBIRD Object Scanning Rig and Google Scanners. Together with the dataset, Python scripts and a Robot Operating System node are provided to download the data, generate point clouds and create Unified Robot Description Files. The dataset is also supported by our website, www.ycbbenchmarks.org, which serves as a portal for publishing and discussing test results along with proposing task protocols and benchmarks.

Structured I/O streams in Clive: a toolbox approach for wide area network computing

Most distributed applications and tools used in wide area networks and Cloud computing environments use the UNIX I/O framework. In this framework, processes use file descriptors for standard I/O and file access, with the traditional open/close/read/write interface. Although this design has proven to be excellent since the 1970s, it is not appropriate for today wide-area systems because of the implied RPCs and network latency. There are systems relying on message streams that perform well in such environments, but they depart from the toolbox approach embraced by UNIX, making it harder to combine existing programs to solve new tasks. In this paper we describe the design, implementation, and usage of a new I/O framework, built to enable the construction of services in environments with high latency, while preserving the programmability of the system as a whole and making it convenient to combine existing tools and programs. The framework relies on named channels for I/O. Each channel carries a stream of typed data including directory entries, raw bytes, and other application-specific data. Separate commands using the framework may be combined as in UNIX, but still tolerate high latencies as found in distributed and Cloud computing environments, enabling a toolbox approach in such environments.

Hosting Data Packages via drat: A Case Study with Hurricane Exposure Data.

Data-only packages offer a way to provide extended functionality for other R users. However, such packages can be large enough to exceed the package size limit (5 megabytes) for the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN). As an alternative, large data packages can be posted to additional repostiories beyond CRAN itself in a way that allows smaller code packages on CRAN to access and use the data. The drat package facilitates creation and use of such alternative repositories and makes it particularly simple to host them via GitHub. CRAN packages can draw on packages posted to drat repositories through the use of the 'Additonal_repositories' field in the DESCRIPTION file. This paper describes how R users can create a suite of coordinated packages, in which larger data packages are hosted in an alternative repository created with drat, while a smaller code package that interacts with this data is created that can be submitted to CRAN.

VolNet: a framework for analysing network-based artefacts from volatile memory

Volatile memory contains an affluence of information regarding the current state of the running system. Memory forensics techniques inspect RAM to extract information such as credentials, encryption keys, network activity and logs, malware, MFT records and the set of processes, open file descriptors currently executed by the operating system, etc. To achieve retrievability of potential artefacts, a memory dump should be taken prior to shutting down the system. It is the most vital aspect for carving information residing into the volatile memory. Volatile memory dump is used for offline investigation of volatile data. The analysis provides information regarding the activities being performed over the running system. This research focuses on our developed framework called as VolNet through which investigator can extract and analyse the artefacts related to network communication, social chats, cloud-based artefacts, private browsing and anonymous surfing and other potential artefacts that can be obtained from RAM dumps of live systems.

VolNet: a framework for analysing network-based artefacts from volatile memory

Volatile memory contains an affluence of information regarding the current state of the running system. Memory forensics techniques inspect RAM to extract information such as credentials, encryption keys, network activity and logs, malware, MFT records and the set of processes, open file descriptors currently executed by the operating system, etc. To achieve retrievability of potential artefacts, a memory dump should be taken prior to shutting down the system. It is the most vital aspect for carving information residing into the volatile memory. Volatile memory dump is used for offline investigation of volatile data. The analysis provides information regarding the activities being performed over the running system. This research focuses on our developed framework called as VolNet through which investigator can extract and analyse the artefacts related to network communication, social chats, cloud-based artefacts, private browsing and anonymous surfing and other potential artefacts that can be obtained from RAM dumps of live systems.

Design and development of a CNC machining process knowledge base using cloud technology

Nowadays, computer numerical control (CNC) machine tool undertakes more processing tasks than other common machine tools because of its highly automated machining ability and high performance. However, due to the lack of intelligence in machining process planning, machining procedure of products mostly depends on process planners rather than CNC machine tools. To make product quality less dependable on process planner’s ability and improve the efficiency of process planning in order to fulfill changeable market, this paper presents an approach to design and develop CNC machining process knowledge base using cloud technology. The general standard STEP-NC is mapped to web ontology language (OWL) to describe machining process-related knowledge in a readable and comprehensible way. This mapping relation also makes knowledge suitable for storage in HBase. Through this ontology model, descriptive and logical knowledge can be collected. Hadoop platform is used in this approach to provide the NoSQL database HBase for large-scale knowledge storage and MapReduce programming model for large-scale knowledge processing. Taking advantage of MapReduce, knowledge query engine and reasoning engine can be developed. Users can submit task and resource descriptive files to the cloud through CNC controller and get machining process solutions from knowledge base. Evaluation mechanism is also adopted to filter low-quality knoweldge.

OpenGridMap: towards automatic power grid simulation model generation from crowdsourced data

OpenGridMap is an open source project that crowdsources realistic power grid data to be used for research purposes. In this paper, we propose an approach for the automatic generation of power gird simulation models from crowdsourced data. The proposed approach orders the crowdsourced data into a power circuit relation which is then used to produce a CIM description file and subsequently a power grid simulation model. We provide experiments which demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach on OpenGridMap data. Given the large amount of crowdsourced data available, our approach has the potential to generate power grid simulations of larger size, more variety and more accuracy than the currently available state-of-the-art test power grids.

Rule-Based Generation of Ancient Chinese Architecture from the Song Dynasty

Ancient Chinese architecture from the Song dynasty is a prominent example of the ancient oriental architectures. The cai-fen system was a module system used for the carpentry of Song architectures, which was specified by the governmental manual, the Yingzao Fashi (State Building Standards) compiled by Li Jie [1103]. We present a rule-based approach for generation of ancient Chinese architectures from the Song dynasty. Based on the special module system and the hierarchical topology of structural patterns in traditional Chinese architectures, the approach parameterizes the wooden elements of buildings and formalizes the construction rules for different architecture styles. In the approach, XML-based description files are generated for displaying the construction process. What the approach generates are standard architectures that strictly follow the ancient Chinese governmental manual. To demonstrate the efficiency of our approach, architectures in different styles have been generated based on their corresponding rules. The fundamental difference between our approach and previous works is that we apply and implement the module system in digitalization of ancient Chinese architecture.

Implementation features of the third-party DLL connection mechanism in the information system «Channel»

The work objective is to develop a method of the dynamic link libraries mechanism application with aprior unknown number and type of the exported functions parameters of DLL on the example of the information system “Channel”. The system “Channel” allows simulating the noise-immune digital communication channels and solving the problem of matching the communication channel and the algebraic method of the jamproof protection of this channel. The main feature of the system is that it can be used not only by the researchers who do not have programming skills, but also by experts in the computing aids programming. The first-mentioned group can use the existing system software, and experts can further develop and connect their own libraries to expand the capabilities of the information system. Problems that arise when expanding the information system functional by the third-party developers through the DLL technique are described. The main difficulty is the prior uncertainty in the names, parameters, and parameter types of the DLL external functions. The problem-solving technique for the of third-party libraries connection developers is the master program abstraction from the data used by the plugins, the unification of requirements to the external libraries, the supply of each library with a special description file, and the creation of the input parameter editing procedure for each library. The result is a quality operation of the information system “Channel” with the external libraries under observing a number of agreements by the DLL developers. The conclusion is made that the resulting solution can be used in other systems as well. Ключевые слова: информационная система, ИС «Канал», динамически подключаемые библиотеки, помехоустойчивый канал связи, расширение системы, внешние функции, сторонние разработчики, DLL. Keywords: information system, “Channel” IS, dynamic link libraries, noiseless communication channel, system expansion, external function, third-party developers, DLL.

Correcting Inconsistencies and Errors in Bacterial Genome Metadata Using an Automated Curation Tool in Excel (AutoCurE).

Whole-genome data are invaluable for large-scale comparative genomic studies. Current sequencing technologies have made it feasible to sequence entire bacterial genomes with relative ease and time with a substantially reduced cost per nucleotide, hence cost per genome. More than 3,000 bacterial genomes have been sequenced and are available at the finished status. Publically available genomes can be readily downloaded; however, there are challenges to verify the specific supporting data contained within the download and to identify errors and inconsistencies that may be present within the organizational data content and metadata. AutoCurE, an automated tool for bacterial genome database curation in Excel, was developed to facilitate local database curation of supporting data that accompany downloaded genomes from the National Center for Biotechnology Information. AutoCurE provides an automated approach to curate local genomic databases by flagging inconsistencies or errors by comparing the downloaded supporting data to the genome reports to verify genome name, RefSeq accession numbers, the presence of archaea, BioProject/UIDs, and sequence file descriptions. Flags are generated for nine metadata fields if there are inconsistencies between the downloaded genomes and genomes reports and if erroneous or missing data are evident. AutoCurE is an easy-to-use tool for local database curation for large-scale genome data prior to downstream analyses.

SeDuS: segmental duplication simulator.

SeDuS is the first flexible and user-friendly forward-in-time simulator of patterns of molecular evolution within segmental duplications undergoing interlocus gene conversion and crossover. SeDuS introduces known features of interlocus gene conversion such as biased directionality and dependence on local sequence identity. Additionally, it includes aspects such as different selective pressures acting upon copy number and flexible crossover distributions. A graphical user interface allows fast fine-tuning of relevant parameters and straightforward real-time analysis of the evolution of duplicates. SeDuS is implemented in C++ and can be run via command line or through a graphical user interface developed using Qt C++. Source code and binary executables for Linux, OS X and Windows are freely available at www.biologiaevolutiva.org/sedus/. A tutorial with a detailed description of implementation, parameters and output files is available online. arcadi.navarro@upf.edu.

Client-server architecture for pre and post-processing of real problems involving two-dimensional generalized coordinates

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to propose a Web environment for pre-processing and post-processing for 2D problems in generalized coordinate systems. Design/methodology/approach – The system consists of a Web service for client-server communication, a database for user information, simulation requests and results storage, a module of (for) calculation processing (front-end) and a graphical interface for visualization of discretized mesh (back-end). Findings – The Web system was able to model real problems and situations, where the user can describe the problem or upload a geometry file descriptor, generated from computer graphics software. The Web system, programmed for finite difference solutions, was able to generate a mesh from other complex methods, such as finite elements method, adapting it to the proposed Web system, respecting the finite difference mesh structure. Research limitations/implications – The proposed Web system is limited to solve partial differential equations by finite difference discretization. We need to study about refinement and parameters adaptations to solve partial differential equations simulated with other methods. Practical implications – The Web system includes implications for the development of a powerful real problems simulator, which is useful for computational physics researchers and engineers. The Web system uses several technologies, such as Primefaces, JavaScript, JQuery and HTML, to provide an interactive user interface. Originality/value – The main contribution of this work is the availability of a generic Web architecture for including other types of coordinate systems and to solve others partial differential equations. Moreover, this paper presents an extended version of the work presented in ICCSA 2014.

A dynamic map application for the assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution

Groundwater pollution is a major environmental concern at global scale. It usually restricts the use of water resources for domestic, agricultural or industrial purposes, with significant impact on human well-being. Aquifer remediation may be very difficult or even impossible due to technical and/or economic constraints. To help prevent groundwater pollution, several cartographic methods have already been developed. Geographical information systems (GIS) provide useful tools for understanding the spatial distribution of groundwater vulnerability to pollution. This paper presents a new tool to produce groundwater vulnerability to pollution maps under a GIS open source environment. This application was developed within the QGIS software. The tool determines the spatial distribution of the DRASTIC index and incorporates all the procedures required under a single plugin. One of the main advantages of this application is the easiness to use and the possibility of viewing different results modifying indexes, weight values and table descriptions or importing the input data attribute file description. The user can also generate the maps according to his perception regarding each aquifer system. This application is free and presents a valuable contribution to assess and map groundwater vulnerability to pollution through a GIS open source.

Research on the Development Approach for Reusable Model in Parallel Discrete Event Simulation

Model reuse is an essential means to meet the demand of model development in complex simulation. An effective approach to realize the model reusability is to establish standard model specification including interface specification and representation specification. By standardizing model’s external interfaces, Reusable Component Model Framework (RCMF) achieves the model reusability acting as an interface specification. However, the RCMF model is presently developed just through manual programing. Besides implementing model’s business logic, modeler should also ensure the model strictly following the reusable framework, which is very distracting. And there lacks model description information for instructing model reuse or integration. To address these issues, we first explored an XML-based model description file which completed RCMF as the model representation and then proposed a RCMF model development tool—SuKit. Model description file describes a RCMF model and can be used for regenerating a model and instructing model integration. SuKit can generate a skeleton RCMF model together with a model-customized description file with the configured information. Modeler then just needs to concentrate on the model processing logic. The case study indicates that SuKit has good capability of developing RCMF models and the well-formed description file can be used for model reuse and integration.

Against the Mental Files Conception of Singular Thought

It has become popular of late to identify the phenomenon of thinking a singular (or de re) thought with that of thinking with a mental file. Proponents of the mental files conception of singular thought (the MFC) claim that one thinks a singular thought about an object o iff one employs a mental file to think about o. I argue that this is false by arguing that there are what I call descriptive mental files, so some file-based thought is not singular thought. Descriptive mental files are mental files for which descriptive information plays four roles: determines which object the file is about, if any, it sets limits on possible mistakes that fall within the scope of successful reference for the file, it acts as a ‘gatekeeper’ for the file, and it determines persistence conditions for the file. Contrary to popular assumption, a description playing these roles is consistent with the file-theoretic framework. Recognising this allows us to distinguish the notion of singular thought from that of file-thinking and better understand the nature and role of both.

Research on the Secondary System Design Method of Smart Substation

This paper presents the design of intelligent substation secondary system which is the method to design units of electricity drawing software as a platform to the primary system and the secondary device ICD grid model file for initial design information. Designers carried out a system model configuration of secondary device, performed a virtual terminal connection to generate visual virtual secondary circuit, network interoperability and functional physical wiring diagram which is used to describe the configuration and structure of the intelligent substation secondary system and SCD file and CID is automatically generated into description files. This method provides a visual means of intelligent substation secondary system design and standardization of substation in favor of system integration work, but also conducive to intelligent substation installation, updating expansion and renovation.

Automatic recovery from resource exhaustion exceptions by collecting leaked resources

Despite the availability of garbage collectors, programmers must manually manage non-memory finite system resources such as file descriptors. Resource leaks can gradually consume all available resources and cause programs to raise resource exhaustion exceptions. However, programmers commonly provide no effective recovery approach for resource exhaustion exceptions, which often causes programs to halt without completing their tasks. In this paper, we propose to automatically recover programs from resource exhaustion exceptions caused by resource leaks. We transform programs to catch resource exhaustion exceptions, collect leaked resources, and then retry the failure code. A resource collector is designed to identify leaked resources and safely release them. We implement our approach for Java programs. Experimental results show that our approach can successfully handle resource exhaustion exceptions caused by reported resource leaks and allow programs to complete their tasks with an average execution time increase of 2.52% and negligible bytecode size increase.