Modular Scheme Research Articles

A Survey of Monte Carlo Methods for Noisy and Costly Densities With Application to Reinforcement Learning and ABC

SummaryThis survey gives an overview of Monte Carlo methodologies using surrogate models, for dealing with densities that are intractable, costly, and/or noisy. This type of problem can be found in numerous real‐world scenarios, including stochastic optimisation and reinforcement learning, where each evaluation of a density function may incur some computationally‐expensive or even physical (real‐world activity) cost, likely to give different results each time. The surrogate model does not incur this cost, but there are important trade‐offs and considerations involved in the choice and design of such methodologies. We classify the different methodologies into three main classes and describe specific instances of algorithms under a unified notation. A modular scheme that encompasses the considered methods is also presented. A range of application scenarios is discussed, with special attention to the likelihood‐free setting and reinforcement learning. Several numerical comparisons are also provided.

Providing Guidance and Counseling Services in Time of Covid-19 Pandemic: Lived Experiences of Guidance Designates

The pandemic era has directed a new facade of education from traditional to a more conducive system of virtual and modular schemes. The Guidance Designates are equally tasked to play a crucial part in this abrupt transition as the teachers. They, too, are directed to maintain relationships on top of the delivery of guidance and counseling services at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to meet the needs of students and families and let the education roll. This descriptive phenomenological study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of public junior high school guidance designates in the delivery of guidance and counseling services during the pandemic. The participants of this study were five guidance designates in public junior high schools identified using purposive sampling who took part in the unstructured in-depth interview. The study revealed that guidance designates faced issues, struggles, and sentiments in the delivery of guidance services during the time of pandemic. They utilized various alternatives for the delivery of appropriate services to clients despite unreachable ones. Despite their feelings of boredom and loneliness, they found meaning in their chosen profession by becoming grateful for the designation, and their commitment to serving the clients ignited the passion to go on despite the odds. Their enjoyment with colleagues acts as their strong social support during the crucial times of the pandemic. Thus, these experiences honed them to be shade shifters that remained resilient and flexible in the delivery of guidance and counseling services in the pandemic era.

Специфика реализации модульной программы переподготовки по формированию компетенций безопасного труда персонала нефтегазовой отрасли

The research is aimed at the identification of specifics in implementation of modular retraining program developing competencies in occupational safety for staff members in oil and gas industry. The article focuses on the need for developing competencies in occupational safety for staff members in oil and gas industry, presents a conceptual and modular scheme for developing competencies in occupational safety for staff members in oil and gas industry, discusses the assessment of changing level of competencies in occupational safety as a result of implementing the conceptual and modular scheme. The research is scientifically novel since it presents a new conceptual and modular scheme and a new retraining program evolved for developing competencies in occupational safety for staff members in oil and gas industry; a procedure of evaluating the completion of the retraining program using testing by modules has been developed; the experience of testing the implementation and a qualitative assessment of the efficiency of the developed program has been realized. The research identifies that the use of a conceptual and modular scheme and the retraining program developed on its basis for additional vocational education has a positive effect on occupational safety competencies, which, in its turn, reduces the occurrence of emergencies and industrial accidents in the researched industry.

Modular CSI Quantization for FDD Massive MIMO Communication

We consider high-dimensional MIMO transmissions in frequency division duplexing (FDD) systems. For precoding, the frequency selective channel has to be measured, quantized and fed back to the base station by the users. When the number of antennas is very high this typically leads to prohibitively high quantization complexity and large feedback. In 5G New Radio (NR), a modular quantization approach has been applied for this, where first a low-dimensional subspace is identified for the whole frequency selective channel, and then subband channels are linearly mapped to this subspace and quantized. We analyze how the components in such a modular scheme contribute to the overall quantization distortion. Based on this analysis we improve the technology components in the modular approach and propose an orthonormalized wideband precoding scheme and a sequential wideband precoding approach which provide considerable gains over the conventional method. We compare the performance of the developed quantization schemes to prior art by simulations in terms of the projection distortion, overall distortion and spectral efficiency, in a scenario with a realistic spatial channel model.

An Efficient Modular Optimization Scheme for Unbalanced Active Distribution Networks With Uncertain EV and PV Penetrations

Integrated control strategies with Network Reconfiguration (NR), Demand Response (DR), and voltage control can reduce peak demand, energy loss, and system-wide unbalances in modern three-phase active Electric Distribution Networks (EDNs). However, simultaneous handling of these strategies is computationally complex and challenging. This paper presents a stochastic optimization formulation that slices the problem, solves the sub-problems separately, and splices them back to find optimal solutions efficiently. At the outset, all constraint-violating configurations are eliminated using a graph-theory-based edge traversal search developed from the classic Knuth’s Algorithm-S. Subsequently, deploying suitable indices, cyclic NR-DR assignments are performed to find near-optimal topologies and load schedules concerning the minimum loss, peak load, and unbalances. Further, Voltage Regulators (VRs) are set to achieve loss and unbalance reduction with minimal tap operations. The proposed scheme is tested on the modified IEEE 123-node test feeder with extensive EV and PV penetrations. The results show that this modular scheme provides superior solutions with an almost 75% reduction in time than the conventional co-optimization method. Various other case studies illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Modularization Design for Smart Industrial Service Ecosystem: A Framework Based on the Smart Industrial Service Identification Blueprint and Hypergraph Clustering

Compared with the conventional industrial product–service system, the smart industrial service ecosystem (SISE) mentioned in this study contains more service activity according to the characteristics of the industrial context, participation of various stakeholders and smart interconnected technologies. This study proposes a detailed modularization design framework for SISE, which can be referenced in various industrial contexts. Firstly, the context-based smart industrial service identification blueprint (SISIB) is proposed to describe the operation model of SISE and identify the service components. The SISIB can ensure that the designers understand the service and work process of the system and improve or carry out the smart industrial service (SIS) component identification. In the case of this article, SIS components from different industrial levels can be systematically identified. Secondly, smart collaboration and sustainable development principles are proposed for measuring the correlation degree among the service components. Considering the complexity and multi-level distribution nature of service components, the hyperedge concept is presented to realize the correlation comparison among the service components, and the evaluation linguistics is applied to handle the decision uncertainties. With this method, the effective correlation comparison between service components can be formed with few hyperedges. Thirdly, the hypergraph clustering theory is applied to define the SISE service module partition. The triangular fuzzy number is first used in hyperedge strength evaluation to comply with the vague linguistics from service design experts. The normalized hypergraph cut principle is realized using the K nearest neighbors (kNN) algorithm, and with this method, the new unified hypergraph and related Laplace matrix can be obtained. Then, the relevant eigenvalue of that Laplace matrix is gained, and the component clustering visualization is realized using the k-means algorithm. After the clustering is performed, several modular design schemes can be gained. In order to select the best modularization scheme, we referenced the modularity concept and realized the quality measurement for the modular design using hypergraph modularity criteria. Regarding these three steps, a detailed modularization case study for a renewable electricity service ecosystem design is presented to verify the viability and feasibility of the study in service modular design. The result showed that the framework in this study can realize the visible and clearance service component identification in a smart connected multi-level industrial context. The modular design scheme based on hypergraph can also achieve high modularity with a more convenient correlation evaluation.

4D printing of multi-stimuli responsive rigid smart composite materials with self-healing ability

Smart materials combined with favourable mechanical strength, high self-healing efficiency, and multi-stimuli responsive ability show promising applications in diverse fields, such as biotechnology and minimally invasive devices. However, the mutually exclusive conflicts among these properties make it challenging to balance them simultaneously. In this study, we proposed a multi-stimuli responsive rigid smart material based on modularization scheme for the first time, which can respond to temperature and magnetic stimulation, are designed and successfully prepared by 4D printing of shape memory epoxy resin, Fe3O4@GO, and self-healing microcapsules. The resultant smart materials show excellent tensile strength (17.2 MPa), high self-healing efficiency (91.2%) at room temperature, and rapid magnetic-stimuli responsive (15 s). It is worth noting that the recovery rate of fractured samples can be still up to 82.0% after three times fracture repairs, suggesting their strong self-healing ability at room temperature. More importantly, the obtained materials can be further exploited for a wide variety of applications, such as smart space deformable structures, temperature sensors, and grippers, exhibiting enormous potential for the development of next-generation smart structural components.

Design of a Modular Exoskeleton Based on Distributed Central Pattern Generators

Current exoskeleton designs have opened new ways to therapists and patients for muscle maintenance and strength recovery therapy approaches. However, some issues remain to be solved. Lack of adaptation, versatility, or overweight are some of the main factors that should be improved. In this article, we present a novel design for a functional modular exoskeleton composed of four independent active joints using a decentralized electronic architecture, being the first wearable exoskeleton to apply this technology. This new approach avoids the use of a main processor, and the modular scheme allows every possible configuration between the hip and knee. The decentralized electronic architecture is enabled by implementing adaptive central pattern generator (CPG) algorithms in each module controller. Each CPG has been trained to mimic the joint trajectory of a healthy person walking. The communication between modules assures their coordination through synchronization terms. The operation of each configuration was first tested on a bench at different speeds and later used by a healthy subject. These tests show how the decentralized control strategy maintains the synchronization between modules, reproducing and adapting the trained walking pattern. These results prove that our proposal is suitable for the development of exoskeletons focused on personalized therapies.

Olov Oscarsson (1931-1996) of Lund University, a Pioneer in Cerebellar Neurobiology.

The present Cerebellar Classic highlights the experimental work of the Swedish neurophysiologist Olov Oscarsson (1931-1996) on the afferent innervation of the cerebellum by axons emanating from neurons in the spinal cord and the inferior olive. Historically, the schemes of cerebellar division had been principally based on the external morphology of lobules and fissures. However, the macroscopic anatomical division of the cerebellum does not coincide with its pattern of functional organization. By defining a system of longitudinal somatotopy, Oscarsson contributed to the much needed plan of cerebellar division that correlates experimental information on axonal connections with physiology. His contribution has ultimately led to the currently accepted microzonal modular scheme of cerebellar corticonuclear microcomplexes.

Design of portable high-speed oscilloscope analyzer for multifunctional integrated signal testing

In response to the multifunctional test and miniaturized requirements for broadband signal analysis, this paper designs a new portable high-speed oscilloscope analyzer (HOA) based on USB3.0 interface. It not only has high-speed and high-resolution signal acquisition and analysis functions, but also can generate broadband arbitrary waveforms for the testing occasions associated with excitation signals. First, a modularized scheme is proposed for the HOA design, and then the specific implementation key technologies are discussed in detail. The design is to achieve a time base of 400 ps/div ∼ 50 s/div, input impedance of 50 Ω or 1MΩ, vertical sensitivity of 1 mV/div ∼ 5 V/div(@1MΩ) or 1 mV/div ∼ 1 V/div(@50 Ω), input coupling mode of DC or AC. The test results show that the designed HOA has very high signal acquisition performance, such as 2.2 GHz analog bandwidth, 5GSPS sampling rate, 12-bit resolution, 1Gpts storage depth, maximum 2.062million wfms/s three-dimension waveform mapping and fast data recording. And it also integrates an arbitrary waveform generation with 110 MHz bandwidth, 500MSPS sampling rate and 16-bit resolution. In addition, the analyzer in portability also has the characteristics of small size, light weight and low power consumption.

Keyless Authentication for AWGN Channels

This work establishes that the physical layer can be used to perform information-theoretic authentication in additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels, as long as the adversary is not omniscient. The model considered consists of an encoder, decoder, and adversary, where the adversary knows the message given to the encoder, has a non-causal noisy observation of the encoder’s transmission and may use unlimited transmission power, while the decoder observes a noisy version of the sum of the encoder and adversary’s outputs. A method to modify a generic existing channel code to enable authentication is presented. This method relies on injecting message-dependent noise into the transmission and accepting the transmission as authentic only if the correct noise levels for the decoded message are observed. One drawback to this method is that the encoder must still transmit a low-power signal in the case where there is no message to send. It is shown that this modification costs an asymptotically negligible amount of the coding rate, while still enabling authentication as long as the adversary’s observation is not noiseless. Also notable is that this modification is not (asymptotically) a function of the statistical characterization of the adversary’s channel and no secret key is required. We believe these features will pave the way for a robust practical implementation. Using these results, the channel-authenticated capacity is calculated and shown to be equal to the non-adversarial channel capacity. As our results will show, information-theoretic authentication in AWGN channels is possible without the need for the legitimate party to have a model-based advantage over the adversary. While this modular scheme is designed for use in the given channel model, it is applicable to a wide range of settings.

Организационно-управленческие пути повышения уровня гарантий конституционных прав и свобод личности в условиях кризиса

Problems of organizing the provision of human and civil rights and freedoms in a crisis are considered. It is proposed to fix organizational and managerial ways to increase the level of guarantees for the exercise of rights in a strategic document with a description of the modular scheme of the document and a definition of risks and ways to manage them.

Modular Furniture Design by Using Intelligent Platform and Wireless Sensors.

The continuous development of the society has led to the improvement of people's quality of life and consumption level. At the same time, peoples demand for all aspects of production and life is also increasing, thus promoting the emergence and innovation of intelligent household appliances. To manage these devices conveniently and quickly and enrich family life, "smart home" bureau plays a very important role. Smart home, which enters people's family life, uses communication technology, Internet connection technology, automatic fire control technology, network wiring technology, and visual and audio transmission technology to communicate with home. Mobile terminals have been developed, and more and more PC functions have been realized. Based on the hardware platform of the smart home management system, two solutions were put forward. The first solution is combined with the current 5G network, and through it, the user can control the mobile phone and other mobile terminals on the corresponding application operation instructions to create. The second solution is the design of the web server intelligent management system, for relevant information. It is collected into the database of the server, allows remote access to the node and subscriber information related to storage in the database through the Internet, and searches the information to control the home lighting and temperature. This system is designed to imitate the modular scheme, which includes the central control module, sensor data acquisition module, and software module. Finally, on the browser side and the electronic devices of Android operating system, it realizes the wireless control of lighting, air conditioning, washing machine, and other devices, as well as the detection of the home environment.

Research on modular scheme of aviation emergency rescue for natural disasters

Aviation emergency rescue is the core part of China's emergency rescue system and the main rescue force, which plays an important role in disaster relief, rescue materials transfer, casualty transportation, air rescue, major health and epidemic prevention. Based on H145 helicopter, the modular design concept is adopted to redesign the aviation rescue equipment, and the modular structure layout of the cabin is completed for major natural disasters. Aiming at the path planning problem of rescue helicopter, based on the improved ant colony algorithm, the optimal path planning of helicopter is completed by comprehensively considering the constraints of helicopter flight performance and flight environment. Through the use of medical data interaction technology, a standardized transport information service platform is established, which solves the problem of medical information island between the transfer unit, the transport unit and the evacuation hospital when the helicopter performs the aviation emergency rescue task, realizes the interconnection of medical data, effectively shortens the response time of aviation emergency rescue and improves the rescue efficiency.

Design of an Indirectly Coupled Filter Building Block for Modular Interleaved AC–DC Converters

This article presents the analysis and realization of a modular interconnected filter building block (FBB) operating under a single and multichannel (parallel three-phase converter blocks) configuration without loss of attenuation to any harmonic components. Emphasis is on the design of coupled inductor (CI) and boost inductor. In order to achieve a modular scheme with interleaved operation, indirect coupling between converters is realized using the secondary loop (SL)-based interconnection with inserted impedance. Here the “SL” serves as an additional pass for average grid side currents for <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">N</i> channels. A building block type configuration has been proposed using this topology, inspired by the power electronics building block (PEBB) nature. The purpose of the loop is to interconnect the parallel converters in series using an arrangement of CIs. In addition, a boost inductor has been introduced in the SL to realize a power factor correction rectifier operation. The CI serves as the circulating current filter while reflecting channel currents toward the SL. To meet conducted electromagnetic interference (EMI) limits, a two-stage <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">LCLC</i> filter has been integrated with the FBB by introducing the point of common coupling (PCC) connection between two stages for filter size reduction. A design procedure is presented to meet power quality, circulating current, and EMI limits as per industry standards (EN-55011 and IEEE-519/1594). The proposed FBB has been characterized using 3L-NPC converters enabled with 1.2 kV Silicon Carbide based modules with comprehensive performance validation up to three channels in parallel with 15-kW power rating per channel.

Mathematical Modeling of the Combined Heat Supply System of a Solar House

Today, increasing energy efficiency in residential heating systems, saving fuel and energy resources, and improving the efficiency of using devices based on renewable energy sources is an urgent issue. The purpose of the article is to develop a mathematical model of the heat balance and conduct a theoretical study of one-story rural houses based on the use of solar energy in a non-stationary mode. To achieve this goal, an experimental one-story solar house with autonomous heat supply was built. The heat supply of the experimental solar house mainly uses solar energy, and when the heat supply load exceeds this load, the traditional boiler device is used. The power supply of the experimental solar house is provided by a solar panel (photovoltaic converter). A heat balance scheme for a solar house with autonomous heat supply and an electrothermal scheme of a physical model are proposed. Based on the proposed schemes, a mathematical model of heat balance and a calculation algorithm based on the heat balance equation of the dynamic state of the heat supply system of a one-story experimental solar house in a non-stationary mode have been developed. On the basis of mathematical modeling, the influence of the heat capacity of the wall structure on the temperature regime of the building was studied. On the basis of the MATLAB-Simulink program, the main temperature characteristics were built, on which the change in the temperature of the internal air of the building was analyzed depending on the ambient temperature. On the basis of the program, a modular scheme of the dynamic model was built. Based on the modular scheme, the results of the experiment on changing the air inside the solar house and the outdoor temperature are presented in the form of a graph. The mathematical model of the thermal balance of the building in dynamic mode and the obtained calculation results are recommended for use in the development of energy-efficient solar houses.

Core components-oriented modularisation methodology for complex products

ABSTRACT As a cost-saving and environmental-friendly product strategy, modular design is an effective approach to shorten lead-time and reduce cost for development of products. However, the modular design of products with complex structure might be plagued by the difficulty of product structure modeling and unreasonable structural modular schemes. In this study, a core components-oriented modularisation method is presented to solve the problem of module division of complex products. The structural model of complex products is reasonably simplified by screening core components, which further reduces the modeling difficulty and improves the solution efficiency of module division scheme. Firstly, a hybrid structure decomposition method is proposed to obtain all components of complex products according to the different structure characteristics of each subsystem of complex products. Secondly, the core components of complex products are screened by calculating the whole life cycle cost (WLCC) of each component, and the design structure matrix (DSM) model of complex products is established according to the relationship between the core components. Finally, the module division scheme of complex products is obtained via hierarchical clustering and modularity evaluation. Effectiveness and robustness of the method are demonstrated through comparison experiments for the modular design of a hydraulic excavator case.

A Novel Solid-State Switch Scheme With High Voltage Utilization Efficiency by Using Modular Gapped MOV for DC Breakers

Metal oxide varistors (MOV) is often used to limit the overvoltage generated by the current breaking of dc breaker to protect power electronic device from breakdown. However, while suppressing overvoltage, the MOV also causes the degradation of continuous operating voltage capability. This letter proposes a novel solid-state switch scheme with high voltage utilization efficiency by using modular gapped-MOV (MG-MOV) for dc breakers. The breakable gap is first applied to the protection of power electronic devices. By using the gap to share the voltage in the static-state and be broken down in the dynamic state, the overvoltage and continuous operating voltage of the solid-state switch can be decoupled. Moreover, based on the modular scheme, the instability of the gap discharges and the voltage imbalance of the series devices can be solved well. The working mechanism, voltage-balance and stability issue of the MG-MOV are discussed in detail in this letter, and a 15-kA prototype is developed to verify the feasibility of the novel solid-state switch scheme. The experiment under results show that voltage utilization efficiency can be increased from 44.4% to 72.0% by using MG-MOV.

A Comprehensive Framework for the Modular Development of Condition Monitoring Systems for a Continuous Dry Granulation Line

The development of condition monitoring systems often follows a modular scheme where some systems are already embedded in certain equipment by their manufacturers, and some are distributed across various equipment and instruments. This work introduces a framework for guiding the modular development of monitoring systems and integrating them into a comprehensive model that can handle uncertainty of predictions from the constituent modules. Furthermore, this framework improves the robustness of the modular condition monitoring systems as it provides a methodology for maintaining quality assurance and preventing unnecessary shutdowns in the event of some modules going off-line due to condition-based maintenance interventions.

Open science failed to penetrate academic hiring practices: a cross-sectional study

Background and ObjectiveTo evaluate the current hiring practices of academic institutions around the world, with regard to the mention of advertisements for Open Science (OS) in research based, faculty, and postdoctoral positions. Study DesignCross-sectional study, using 189 global institutions from the Center for Science and Technology Leiden ranking of world universities of 2017, including the U15 Group (Canadian Research-Intensive Universities), and five self-selected supplementary institutions. MethodsThe main outcome measure for our study is the level of OS in job advertisements, assessed using the Modified Open Science Modular Scheme. ResultsAfter assessing 305 job advertisements for academic positions in 91 institutions, only 2 (0.6%) had any explicit mention of OS in their job advertisements on the Modified Open Science Modular Scheme. The sample assessed the level of open science for 39.0% Associate and/or Assistant professor positions, 30.8% Researcher and/or Postdoctoral fellow positions, and 18.7% of Tenured positions. The remaining 11.5% were for positions such as lectureship, research associate, chair, dean, director and other. ConclusionThis study emphasizes the need for increased recognition of OS as a characteristic in research-active job advertisements. As evident in the alarmingly low percentage of job advertisements that mentioned OS (0.6%), the movement towards enhanced OS profiles across academic institutions is highly encouraged. This can be achieved through increased recognition of OS in research job advertisements and demonstrating the means in which institutions promote OS such as, encouraging preprints, publishing in open access journals, and the importance of data sharing.