Instrument Control Research Articles

Фінансово-економічний інструментарій забезпечення ефективності реалізації корпоративної інтеграції та контролю в акціонерних товариствах

The purpose of this study was to systematize the tools and generalize the features of the corporate control implementation in a joint-stock company. The scientific and methodical approach to developing the instrumental support for corporate control implementation by the different groups of corporate relations participants has been substantiated. The composition of main characteristics and requirements for using the various instruments of corporate control implementation has been established. These requirements determine the effectiveness of corporate control instrument using bycorporate relations participants. The features of corporate control instruments usage has been reviewed in terms of such types of control as insider, outsider and mixed. The necessity of corporate control instruments developing through orientation on the institutionalization corporate cooperation forms and considering the conditions of national economy market transformation has been proven. The original approach to determining the motivational complexes of groups of corporate relations participants is proposed. This approach has taken into account the nature of corporate control claims. Such a proposal will prevent the aggravation of socio-economic contradictions and corporate conflicts which may be an obstacle to the sustainable development of a jointstock company.

COLONIAL UNREASON: GANDHI’S REACTION TO THE PLAGUE AND PERSECUTION IN COLONIAL SOUTH AFRICA

During his stay in Colonial South Africa over a period of almost twenty-one years, he witnessed a wanton exhibition of colonial unreason by the British. The ‘colonial unreason’ involves the process of legitimization of irrationality in order to achieve control over the colonised subjects. This paper, therefore, deals with Gandhi's reaction to the discriminatory treatment and severe persecution of the British Indians by the colonial dispensation over the outbreak of plague both during and after the second Boer war (from 11 October 1899 to 31 May 1902). Gandhi wrote extensively about the unleashing of discriminatory action against the British Indians in colonial South Africa as the coloniser apprehended or more often accused maliciously the community of having carried the plague virus. Several measures were taken to punish the Indians apart from the prevailing colonial coercion. In the name of precaution or prevention, punishments and unlawful segregation were taken up as the new normal. This was nothing new in the colonial normative. It was rather a rigorous intensification of the already prevailing colonial modes of control. The champions of reason, liberalism and human rights legitimized unreason as an instrument of control or public safety. In the name of prevention, persecution became the norm. This research revisits the plague in South Africa through the writings of Gandhi in order to understand the colonial apathy against the British Indians.

The use of the Eriksen Flanker Task as training instrument for cognitive control in inhibition disorder

A frequently used cognitive task to measure participants’ cognitive performance is the so-called Eriksen Flanker task (1974). This task requires a response where you have to indicate the direction of a central arrow, which is flanked with (un)corresponding arrows at its side. The Flanker task has many modified versions, adjusted to the different ways you can use the task to measure different aspects of executive cognitive functions. Such cognitive tasks, although often too simple and straightforward to represent daily life, tell us a lot about one’s executive cognitive functioning. Executive functions are very important for human behavior because they help us to engage with our surroundings and to participate in society. Problems of inhibition may have neural causes and may lead to negative behavioral consequences. Inhibitory problems can be determined by the Flanker task which might also be useful to practice cognitive control in individuals suffering from inhibitory disorders.

Reproductive birth control after the coronavirus pandemic

Changes in measures and instruments of birth control are one of the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic in all countries with increased significance of reproductive components, i.e. concerning physiological capabilities of conception, gestation and childbirth. Pandemic-associated measures had diverse impacts on restrictive (aimed at reducing fertility) and expansionary (aimed at increasing fertility) methods of reproductive regulation: it did not take methods of pregnancy prevention and artificial termination of pregnancy long to adapt to the new conditions without changing the established trends, while assisted reproductive technologies, following administrative bans of the first days of mass lockdowns, demonstrated new development directions upon removal of bans. Against the background of the progress in the medical component, increasingly bringing in- vitro fertilization closer to natural conception, the scale of state funding and the number of free of charge programs for patients have increased, however, due to anti-epidemic control, cross-border reproductive care or fertility tourism, relevant for surrogacy and reproductive donation, has become more complicated. In Russia, this has intensified public discussions and contributed to further elaboration of reproductive legislation.

HUBUNGAN TINGKAT ANXIETY DENGAN KONTROL ASMA BRONKIAL

Bronchial asthma is still a health problem that is included in the top 10 deadly diseases in the world. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between Anxiety Levels and Control of Bronchial Asthma. The type of research used is descriptive research with a cross sectional research design. The place of research was carried out at the Sukamerindu Health Center in 2020. The sample in this study was bronchial asthma patients, totaling 30 respondents. Measurement of anxiety level using the HARS scale instrument and measurement of bronchial asthma control using the ACT (Asthma Control Test) instrument. Data were analyzed by chi-square. The results showed that more than some respondents had controlled asthma and more than some respondents did not experience anxiety (normal). The results of the chi-square statistical test showed that there was a relationship between anxiety levels and control of bronchial asthma in the Sukamerindu Pueskesmas Work Area, Bengkulu City. The conclusion in this study is that the level of anxiety can affect the control of bronchial asthma. Researchers suggest that the Sukamerindu Public Health Center can provide education to asthma patients so that they can control their anxiety so that asthma becomes more controlled.

Kontrola parlamentarna rządu w systemach ustrojowych II Rzeczypospolitej w dyskursie polskiej doktryny przedwojennej i współczesnej

The Second Republic of Poland implemented in the first years of independence a significant part of the achievements of Western European parliamentarism with regard to the control function of the executive (government). While in the West the parliament’s powers of scrutiny over the government were mostly subject to regulation by ordinary law, in Poland and other states revived or established in Europe after World War I, the bulk of them became the subject of legal regulation at the level of constitutions, ordinary laws and/or parliamentary rules of procedure. In Poland, law and customs shaped through parliamentary practice played a relatively large role in this regard. During the Second Republic, there were three consecutive constitutional systems in force – the so-called Little Constitution of 1919, the March Constitution of 1921. (since December 1922) and the April Constitution of 1935.The control of the government by parliament was developed to the fullest extent during the period of so-called parliamentary rule, i.e. in the years 1919–1926. After the May coup began, visible mainly in the area of political and parliamentary practice, the process of gradual reduction of the control function of parliament, which found its final legal definition in the provisions of the Basic Law of April 1935. The control function of parliament was exercised at first by the Legislative Sejm, and then, from the end of 1922, by the Sejm and the Senate (the latter to a relatively modest extent). With regard to the criterion of the timing of control activities, parliamentary control of the government was divided in pre-war doctrine into preliminary and subsequent (follow-up). The post-war doctrine, following the position formulated in German science in the second half of the 19th century, also distinguished current control. Implementation of the parliament’s control function in the Second Republic included a very rich catalog of tools (means) of influencing the government. The pre-war doctrine organized them according to the criterion of the timing of control measures or their expediency. After World War II, based on the systemic criterion, ordinary (plenary debate on government policy, parliamentary inquiries and interpellations) and extended (appointment of stand- ing and extraordinary parliamentary committees with, among other things, controlling or investigative powers) means of control were distinguished, as well as statutory preliminary control (passing the budget, giving consent to the ratification of international agreements and issuing certain administrative acts), which tools are characteristic of parliamentary systems assuming the supremacy of parliament over the government. In another view, the instruments of parliamentary control were divided (on the basis of the March Constitution) into traditional means of control (interpellations, committees of inquiry, discharge, control of state debts, approval of temporary restrictions on civil rights and freedoms) and those arising from the principles of the parliamentary-cabinet form of government (debate on the prime minister’s exposé, asking questions, hearing government representatives in plenary and in committees, passing resolutions), as well as sanctions applied as a result of control (such as holding the government and individual ministers politically and constitutionally accountable). In doctrine and parliamentary practice, the greatest differences of opinion with regard to the characterized issues arose and continue to this day, in addition to systematizing issues, such issues as the scope and tools of preliminary parliamentary control, the control of decree legislation, the scope and effects of parliamentary interpellations and questions, extraordinary committees of inquiry, political and parliamentary and constitutional responsibility of the executive branch.

Facile and highly precise pH-value estimation using common pH paper based on machine learning techniques and supported mobile devices

Numerous scientific, health care, and industrial applications are showing increasing interest in developing optical pH sensors with low-cost, high precision that cover a wide pH range. Although serious efforts, the development of high accuracy and cost-effectiveness, remains challenging. In this perspective, we present the implementation of the machine learning technique on the common pH paper for precise pH-value estimation. Further, we develop a simple, flexible, and free precise mobile application based on a machine learning algorithm to predict the accurate pH value of a solution using an available commercial pH paper. The common light conditions were studied under different light intensities of 350, 200, and 20 Lux. The models were trained using 2689 experimental values without a special instrument control. The pH range of 1: 14 is covered by an interval of ~ 0.1 pH value. The results show a significant relationship between pH values and both the red color and green color, in contrast to the poor correlation by the blue color. The K Neighbors Regressor model improves linearity and shows a significant coefficient of determination of 0.995 combined with the lowest errors. The free, publicly accessible online and mobile application was developed and enables the highly precise estimation of the pH value as a function of the RGB color code of typical pH paper. Our findings could replace higher expensive pH instruments using handheld pH detection, and an intelligent smartphone system for everyone, even the chef in the kitchen, without the need for additional costly and time-consuming experimental work.

Portable instrument and current polarization limitations of high sensitivity constant-potential capacitive readout with polymeric ion-selective membranes

In this work, the development of a portable device integrated with electronic circuits, termed PotentioCap, is described for the constant-potential coulometric readout of ion-selective membranes. A range of capacitors (22–220µF) included in the device can be automatically chosen by the control software. The device was evaluated in standard pH solutions and stabilized seawater samples using a hydrogen-selective electrode placed in series with one capacitor. The transient current and integrated charge over time correlate well with that from capacitive readout using a benchtop potentiostat using an external electronic circuit. The capacitor of 47µF is sufficient to amplify the current signal of 0.01 pH unit change with slopes of 2.68µC/decade and 2.49µC/decade in standard pH solutions and stabilized seawater samples, respectively. Unfortunately, however, instrumental control of the measurement protocol, as opposed to the chemical reconditioning reported earlier, results in an order of magnitude larger measurement error (precision of 0.6mpH). To understand this the Nernst-Planck equation is used to describe the effects of constant and exponential decay currents with ion-selective membranes. Numerical simulations show that the passage of 0.2µC of charge across the membrane causes a ∼1 % change in membrane concentration. The resulting phase boundary potential is shown to drift in the same manner as that observed experimentally with current polarized membranes. Furthermore, an improved capacitive model using an RC time constant is proposed by additionally considering the potential change with time. The model results compare favorably with the experimental data. Electric migration is shown not to be a significant contribution to the transient current. We discuss solutions to overcome the observed limitation of potential stability, which currently holds back the realization of ultra-high sensitivity measurements with ion-selective membranes.

Exploring the Teaching Reform of Industry-Education Integration in Engineering Ethics and Project Management Course

Engineering ethics and project management are the most extendable courses in the quality course group, which is the characteristic core curriculum system of measurement and control technology and instrument specialty. This course is divided into two parts: engineering ethics and engineering project management. In view of the society's increasing emphasis on engineering ethics and the key role of engineering project management in solving complex engineering problems, the traditional purely theoretical teaching method is no longer suitable for the new teaching needs in the contemporary context. Therefore, in order to improve the teaching quality and the students' learning effect of the extensible and open knowledge, the major of measurement and control technology and instrument of Changzhou Institute of Technology invited the technical directors of representative enterprises in the industry such as Changzhou Promise Management Consulting Co., Ltd. to analyze the classroom cases of relevant knowledge, so as to realize the teaching reform of industry education integration of joint teaching between schools and enterprises. Bring the latest industrial status and development trend of measurement and control technology and instrument technology into classroom teaching, effectively improve teaching quality, and deeply cultivate students' engineering ethics and project management awareness.

Anatomical and functional conditions of the pelvic floor muscles after assisted vaginal delivery

BACKGROUND: The main function of the muscles of the perineum is to preserve the syntopy and topography of the organs of the abdominal cavity and small pelvis. Clinically, various groups of complaints that significantly worsen the patients quality of life manifest pelvic floor muscle failure. Currently, one of the most commonly discussed causes of pelvic organ prolapse is still considered obstetric trauma.
 AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the anatomical and functional conditions of the pelvic floor muscles after normal physiologic childbirth and childbirth with the use of obstetric forceps.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted in Maternity Hospital No. 13 (Saint Petersburg, Russia) in 20202021, which involved 137 patients who delivered through the natural birth canal with the use of obstetric forceps (main group, n = 47) or without the use of delivery instruments (control group, n = 90) six months after delivery. A comprehensive assessment of the condition of the pelvic floor muscles was carried out using the validated PFDI-20 questionnaire and ultrasound examination of the pelvic floor structures at rest. A functional assessment of the condition was carried out using the Pneumatic Pelvic Muscle Trainer XFT-0010.
 RESULTS: Evaluating complaints using the PFDI-20 scale revealed that the median was 6.00 1.77 points in the main group and 5.50 1.29 points in the control group, the differences being not significant (p = 0.8). The ultrasound examination showed no significant difference in decreases in the thickness of the tendon center of the perineum and m. bulbocavernosus between the study groups; m. puborectalis thickness in the main group did not differ significantly from the norm either. The assessment of the functional condition of the pelvic floor muscles revealed no significant differences between the patients of the study groups.
 CONCLUSIONS: The data obtained demonstrate the safety of the use of obstetric forceps for the anatomical and functional viabilities of the pelvic floor muscles and do not have significant differences compared to childbirth performed without the use of delivery instruments. However, the use of obstetric forceps in the practice of obstetricians and gynecologists can be a reliable tool that does not affect the quality of life of patients in the long term.

Adaptative damping assistance in bimanual laparoscopic surgery.

Laparoscopic surgery has demonstrated various advantages for the patients' care, but also presents some difficulties for the surgeons, such as kinematic restrictions. Robotic comanipulation, in which control of instruments is shared between the robot and the surgeon, can provide adaptative damping assistance which allows stabilisation of movements. The objective of the present study was to determine the contribution of this assistance on a bimanual laparoscopic task. Adaptative damping was studied on Peg Transfer task, performed by eighteen surgery-naive subjects. This exercise was repeated seven times without (Classic repetitions) and seven times with comanipulated robots (Robot repetitions), in a randomised order. We measured task performance, using Peg Transfer score; gesture performance, using hand oscillations and travelled distance; eye-tracking movements as an indicator of emergence of expertise. Participants' perceived workload was assessed by NASA TLX questionnaire, and difference in impression between the two conditions by UEQ questionnaire. Adaptative damping improved gesture performance (oscillations F(1,17) = 23.473, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.580), with a statistically significant simple effect on the tool oscillation for both non-dominant (p < 0.001) and dominant hands (p = 0.005), without influencing task performance (mean Peg Transfer score t(17) = 0.920, p = 0.382, d = 0.29), but deteriorating eye-tracking movements associated with emergence of expertise (mean fixation rate per second F(1,17) = 6.318, p = 0.022, η2 = 0.271), at the cost of a high perceived workload (NASA TLX score 59.78/100). Assistance by adaptative damping applied by comanipulated robots improved gesture performance during a laparoscopic bimanual task, without impacting task's performance without allowing the emergence of comportments associated with an expertise, and at the cost of a high perceived workload. Further research should investigate this assistance on more precise and clinical tasks performed by professionals.

Introduction of interactive remote monitoring at SUERC

SUERC has implemented remote control of routine and experimental NEC spectrometer operations.Through secure tunnelling, a dedicated laptop for each spectrometer can execute parts of the AccelNET (Accelerator NETwork control system) suite and communicate remotely with the underlying database: instrument control pages are accessible and changes to the run list can be effected in the dosimetry manager (DMAN). X-forwarding facilitates the use of the abc data reduction software upon the large remote dataset, allowing the operator to evaluate data quality mid-run, while screen-sharing is employed to provide flexible access options. AccelNET’s read-only html output (formerly the predominate form of remote monitoring) remains accessible for ‘casual’ progress checking by non-operators.While there are limitations to each technology used, these changes to our setup and operating procedures have had positive effects both for operators, and upon the smooth delivery of sample data.

The MUSCAT Readout Electronics Backend: Design and Pre-deployment Performance

MUSCAT is a new large-format 1.1 mm continuum camera for local and extra-galactic astronomy currently being installed at the 50 m Large Millimetre Telescope Alfonso Serrano, LMT. The focal plane is populated with 1458 feedhorn coupled Aluminium LEKIDs, cooled to 130 mk, and read out with 6 frequency division multiplexed RF readout chains, each with a 500 MHz bandwidth. The nominal mux ratio is sim 250 resonators per chain with an average spacing of 2 MHz between resonators. In each RF chain, the multiplexed waveform generation/decomposition is performed with the BLAST-TNG firmware on a ROACH2 FPGA board with a MUSIC DAC/ADC. The quadrature modulated IF signals are mixed to and from the LEKID readout band on a custom card that houses IQ mixers, a programmable synthesizer, and additional programmable input and output gain control and filtering. Within the cryostat, the RF signals are attenuated prior to reaching the focal plane array and then amplified at 4K. A novel software system controls all the programmable hardware and handles instructions from the LMT instrument control system to record and store observation data, as well as performing automated resonator retuning and providing results of quick look analysis to the telescope operators. In this paper, we present the detailed design and in-lab performance of the cryogenic and room temperature electronics, and the software control system.

Redução da Jornada de Trabalho como Instrumento Político, de Gestão e de Controle

Abstract Reduced working time is a topic widely discussed in organization studies, mainly its benefits. However, the literature does not deeply emphasize the power and control dynamics oftentimes observed in its implementation by organizations. The aim of the current article is to help fulfilling this gap by exploring different concepts about reduced working time in place in Brazilian federal educational institutions that have adopted the thirty-hour workweek as standard for their technical-administrative employees. A case study was carried out through observation, documental analysis and eighteen semi-structured interviews conducted with both workers subjected to shorter working hours and managers working under the conventional forty-hour week standard. Based on the results, despite its notable benefits for the work/life balance, the reduced working time has three interrelated purposes, namely: political, management, and control instrument. This research made it possible to reveal how management and control instruments can be incorporated to a policy focused on reduced working time, to highlight the complexity and controversy of power relation, as well as contributed to organization studies, based on rationalization about life and its temporal dimensions.

Closing Ranks

Soon after his arrival as newly appointed governor of Iraq, al-Ḥajjāj (d. 95/714) faced a standoff with a prominent member of the Baṣran garrison, Ibn al-Jārūd al-ʿAbdī (d. 76/695). In this article, I track the course of this rebellion as an example of a political system that, lacking a hegemonic system of coercion and control, was rather characterized by multiple overlapping centers authority in which the caliph, his governor, and those under their rule all played a part. Within this system, power was in an ongoing state of contestation as it was conceived of in different ways by the various stakeholders. Ibn al-Jārūd’s rebellion thus operated as a form of political negotiation, following established, if fragile, norms of communication within which violence was a calculated gambit, one of a repertoire of available and accepted tactical options. Indeed, despite the violent death of Ibn al-Jārūd and a number of his close followers, his supporters, high-ranking commanders among them, were reintegrated into the caliphate and were soon participating again in the political system, including through rebellions. The article thus argues for a re-evaluation of revolts and for their conceptualization not as a breakdown of government structures or as a rejection of them by those rebelling but rather as an understood and even inevitable feature of a political system in which certain tensions between different centers of authority and instruments of control could be mediated and resolved only through open conflict.

Reduced Working Time as Political, Management and Control Instrument

Resumo A redução da jornada de trabalho é um tema amplamente abordado em estudos organizacionais, em especial quanto aos seus benefícios. Contudo, a literatura dá menor ênfase às dinâmicas de poder e controle que podem estar presentes em sua implementação pelas organizações. Este artigo procura avançar sobre essa lacuna ao explorar as diferentes concepções que a jornada reduzida assumiu no contexto de uma instituição federal de ensino brasileira que adotou jornada de trinta horas semanais para seus servidores técnico-administrativos. Para isso, foi efetivado um estudo de caso por meio de observação, análise documental e dezoito entrevistas semiestruturadas, que incluíram tanto trabalhadores que cumpriam jornada reduzida quanto gestores que atuavam em jornada convencional de quarenta horas semanais. Os resultados indicaram que, apesar dos seus benefícios – notadamente no equilíbrio entre a vida laboral e pessoal –, a jornada reduzida apresenta três finalidades inter-relacionadas: a de um instrumento político, de gestão, e de controle sobre os trabalhadores. Partindo de reflexões sobre a racionalização da vida e de sua dimensão temporal, a pesquisa possibilitou, como contribuição aos estudos organizacionais, desvelar como instrumentos de gestão e controle podem ser incorporados em uma política de redução de jornada de trabalho, evidenciando a complexidade e a controvérsia presentes nas relações de poder.

Legalization of press control under democratic backsliding: The case of post-national security law Hong Kong

During democratic backsliding, the state can curtail press freedom through the legalization of press control, that is, the establishment and utilization of legal instruments for the purpose of controlling the media and journalistic work. Drawing upon the literature on authoritarian rule of law, this article emphasizes that legalization of press control has to be examined by paying attention to both the conspicuous and subtle measures that constitute the legal minefield for journalism, the evolution of official discourses that aim at legitimizing the laws and their implementation, and the changing politics of self-censorship as journalists and the society react to emerging legal risks. The empirical analysis focuses on Hong Kong after the establishment of the National Security Law in June 2020. The article offers an updated analytical account of press freedom in Hong Kong and the conceptualization of a process possibly observable in other authoritarian states or hybrid regimes.

Committees of Inquiry: Some remarks on accountability in practice

Accountability of public authorities remains an ambiguous category, even though it is of crucial importance to the exercise of democratic governance. In this paper, accountability, understood narratively as the ability to receive a report from the exercise of power - is described through the lenses of activity of committees of inquiry. The analysis of the legal framework of the functioning of this instrument, the subject matter under consideration over the years, as well as the frequency and results of committees' activities, has been carried out under three different constitutional systems (Germany, Italy, Poland). Conclusions drawn from this comparison may constitute an interesting introduction to the study of social and political expectations and attitudes towards this well-known parliamentary tool, the evolution of the significance of classical instruments of government control, and the change in the nature of Agent-Principal relations in contemporary legal cultures.

Najwyżej zatwierdzone rozporządzenie Komitetu Ministrów „W sprawie trybu cenzurowania rękopisów kazań wygłaszanych w kościołach rzymskokatolickich” jako instrument kontroli Kościoła rzymskokatolickiego w Imperium Rosyjskim

THE HIGHEST APPROVED REGULATION OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS “ON THE PROCEDURE FOR CENSORING MANUSCRIPTS OF SERMONS PREACHED IN ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES” AS AN INSTRUMENT OF CONTROL OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE This article attempts to trace the Russian imperial policy towards the Roman Catholic Church through the lens of a normative and legal document from the times of the Russian Empire – the Highest Approved Regulation of the Committee of Ministers “On the procedure for censoring manuscripts of sermons preached in Roman Catholic churches”. This document established control of the Church by introducing censorship, and thus interfering with the process of preparing, censoring and approving sermons written by the Roman Catholic clergy.

Design and implementation of an instrument control platform for future beamline experiments at SPring-8

BL-774 is a control, data acquisition, and online analysis platform for addressing the requirements in future beamline experiments at SPring-8-II. To date, we have achieved implementations related to “robustness and flexibility” and “configuration management”. These implementations were made possible by the two-phase development workflow. The two-phase development is characterized by a dedicated rapid application development environment that beamline scientists can use rapidly and easily in real beamline environments, and web-based graphical user interfaces that BL-774 software developers have incorporated the achievements of the beamline scientists as part of the official release of the beamline control software. BL-774 has been introduced in two beamlines to date, and we plan to implement it in more beamlines while adding more features. We plan to integrate BL-774 seamlessly with other systems that are currently under development in the facility, such as two-dimensional detector systems and SPring-8 data centers. By introducing BL-774 in conjunction with other infrastructure in the facility, more advanced experimental operations, such as feedback operations based on online data analysis or remote operations from outside the beamlines, are to be expected. This paper presents the design and implementation of BL-774 and its introduction into a beamline at SPring-8.