System Unavailability Research Articles

Splenic Vessels as a Rescue for Pediatric Kidney Retransplantation in Children With Iliac-caval Agenesis or Thrombosis.

Unavailability of the iliac-caval system due to thrombosis or aberrant anatomy may preclude kidney transplantation (KT) in small infants, exposing them to the complications of long-term dialysis. A tailored approach may enable KT also in these difficult patients. We report the cases of 2 pediatric patients with a history of long-term hemodialysis, a previously failed KT, pending exhaustion of vascular accesses for dialysis, and unsuitability of the iliac-caval axis as a site for KT. Both patients were successfully managed by using splenic vessels as a source of arterial inflow or venous drainage during KT. Notably, one patient also had a previous liver transplant. Both kidney grafts showed primary function. Posttransplant courses were uneventful, and no rejection episode was observed. At 64- and 10-mo follow-ups, both children had optimal renal function and excellent quality of life. When the iliac-caval system is unavailable, kidney graft implantation on splenic vessels represents a safe and effective option for pediatric KT.

Security and Privacy in IoT-based Healthcare Systems: A Review

IoT-based healthcare solutions have transformed patient care and improved results. These technologies capture and store sensitive patient data, raising security and privacy concerns. The paper first discusses IoT-based healthcare system security issues. It evaluates cyber threats, system unavailability, and vulnerabilities attackers can use to get patient data. The report also tackles IoT-based healthcare system privacy issues such illegal data access and sharing and patient data breach concerns. The study proposes numerous frameworks and solutions to protect patient data in IoT-based healthcare systems. Blockchain technology can increase data security and privacy by offering a transparent, decentralized, tamperresistant database. The report also discusses differential privacy, a statistical method that adds noise to sensitive patient data to protect privacy. The study also examines how AI and ML can detect and mitigate security vulnerabilities in IoT-based healthcare systems. The study also emphasizes the need for uniform security and privacy standards to protect patient data across healthcare companies. The report stresses the importance of integrating security and privacy into IoT-based healthcare systems from the start. In conclusion, the study emphasizes security and privacy in IoT-based healthcare systems and the problems of protecting patient data. It explores standardized security and privacy protocols and many frameworks and solutions to address these issues.

Geographic Information System for Mapping Agricultural Land in North Samarinda District

This research is motivated by the unavailability of an information system that facilitates data processing of agricultural land for rice commodities at the Agricultural Extension Center of Suluh Manuntung Lempake and the delivery of information that is easily accessible in the form of a web regarding the mapping of agricultural land and land data for rice commodities. North Samarinda sub-district is the center of food crop agriculture and the most cultivated by the community is rice, which has the largest rice harvest area compared to other sub-districts. Ease of access to that information can be presented in the form of a Geographic Information System or GIS (Geographic Information System). GIS is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, organize and display all types of geographic data. The results of this study are to build an information system application to facilitate data processing and delivery of information regarding agricultural land mapping as well as farmer data information and farmer group harvest data in North Samarinda District, which is presented in the form of WebGIS mapping of agricultural land for rice commodities, for public knowledge. That the District of North Samarinda has the potential to produce plants that are beneficial to the community.

IoT-Based Detection and Early Warning System for Acid Leaking in Underground Pipeline

Leaks in pipelines caused by acid are destructive to both economic growth and capital which should be avoided at all costs. Damage to underground pipelines is caused by a hard-to-find leak, the unavailability of a real-time monitoring system and the lack of a pipeline history database. The aim of this work is to develop an early warning system to detect acid leaking in the pipeline using Internet of Things (IoT) technology. To detect changes in the pH of acid soil parameters near the pipeline, two mechanisms are required: first, to provide an early warning before the leak is detected and second, to report the occurrence of the leak. The notification system is equipped with three LED indicators, each showing the offline, online and signal detection status. The novelty of the work is a prototype that can detect the acid leak in the pipeline and record the pH values in a database for future research. Using continuous pH monitoring, real-time analysis and a database, this system can detect leaks before they become a major problem. Consequently, the manufacturing industry will benefit from this initiative as it is automated, efficient and cost-effective.

Therapeutic silencing of mTOR by systemically administered siRNA-loaded neutral liposomal nanoparticles inhibits DMBA-induced mammary carcinogenesis.

Mammary carcinogenesis possesses great challenges due to the lack of effectiveness of the multiple therapeutic options available. Gene therapy-based cancer treatment strategy provides more targeting accuracy, fewer side effects, and higher therapeutic efficiency. Downregulation of the oncogene mTOR by mTOR-siRNA is an encouraging approach to reduce cancer progression. However, its employment as means of therapeutic strategy has been restricted due to the unavailability of a suitable delivery system. A suitable nanocarrier system made up of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) has been developed to prevent degradation and for proficient delivery of siRNA. This was followed by in vitro and in vivo anti-breast cancer efficiency analysis of the mTOR siRNA-loaded neutral liposomal formulation (NL-mTOR-siRNA). In our experiment, a profound reduction in MCF-7 cell growth, proliferation and invasion was ascertained following extensive downregulation of mTOR expression. NL-mTOR-siRNA suppressed tumour growth and restored morphological alterations of DMBA-induced breast cancer. In addition, neutral liposome enhanced accumulation of siRNA in mammary cancer tissues facilitating its deep cytosolic distribution within the tumour, which allows apoptosis thereby facilitating its anti-tumour potential. Hence, the current study highlighted the augmented ground for therapies aiming toward cancerous cells to diminish mTOR expression by RNAi in managing mammary carcinoma.

Plastic Eating Enzymes: A Step Towards Sustainability.

The large-scale usage of petro-chemical-based plastics has proved to be a significant source of environmental pollution due to their non-biodegradable nature. Microbes-based enzymes such as esterases, cutinases, and lipases have shown the ability to degrade synthetic plastic. However, the degradation of plastics by enzymes is primarily limited by the unavailability of a robust enzymatic system, i.e., low activity and stability towards plastic degradation. Recently, the machine learning strategy involved structure-based and deep neural networks show desirable potential to generate functional, active stable, and tolerant polyethylene terephthalate (PET) degrading enzyme (FAST-PETase). FAST-PETase showed the highest PET hydrolytic activity among known enzymes or their variants and degraded broad ranges of plastics. The development of a closed-loop circular economy-based system of plastic degradation to monomers by FAST-PETase followed by the re-polymerization of monomers into clean plastics can be a more sustainable approach. As an alternative to synthetic plastics, diverse microbes can produce polyhydroxyalkanoates, and their degradation by microbes has been well-established. This article discusses recent updates in the enzymatic degradation of plastics for sustainable development.

Inspection and maintenance optimization for heterogeneity units in redundant structure with Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm III

Redundant structure has been widely deployed to improve system reliability, as when one unit fails, the system can continue to function by using another one. Most existing studies rely on the similar assumption that the heterogeneous units are subject to periodic inspections and identical in terms of their aging situations and the numbers of resisted shocks. In practice, it is often adequate to trigger a unit individually in the event of a single shock, which intensifies the degradation of that unit, accordingly, requiring a sooner inspection to ensure its safety. In this study, the stochastic dependency among units is addressed firstly by introducing a novel activation sequence. Secondly, an adaptive system-level inspection policy is proposed by prioritizing the unit with a worse state. Finally, we take advantage of Monte Carlo methods to simulate the whole process and estimate two objectives, referring to the average system unavailability and maintenance cost, in a designed service time. It is found that the two objectives are contradictory through numerical examples. The Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm III (NSGA-III) algorithm, therefore, has been employed to find the optimal solutions in system unavailability and cost, which provide clues for practitioners in decision-making.

Development Employee Payment Information System on CV Borneo Andeska Maja Samarinda

This research is motivated by the unavailability of an employee payroll information system that facilitates data processing on CV Borneo Andeska Maja Samarinda in finance/treasury. Current the company from the finance/treasury section is still using Microsoft Excel in making employee salary recaps. Therefore the purpose of making a payroll information System in this study is to provide convenience and help reduce administrative costs or administrative costs and of course it can be a better information system. As for the development using the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) with the PHP Programing language Framework Laravel. The data structure used is Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) and Physical Diagram Model (PDM) and for the database using phpMySQL. The result of this study are expected to provide convenience for the company CV Borneo Andeska Maja Samarinda, especially in the finance department in terms of employee payroll which is carried out every month.

Sistem Informasi Smart Security untuk Perumahan dengan QR Code Berbasis Web

This information system aims to make it easier for security officers to record residents who enter or leave the housing. This information system helps the housing admin get data on residents who enter and leave housing. There is no data collection system available for residents who will enter or leave the Graha Bakti Persada housing area. The unavailability of a support system that can be used as an effort to prevent crime. Building a Smart Security Information System with a web-based QR Code. Create a system that makes it easier for security officers. see the QR Code results based on the appropriate citizen ID in the database. The research methodology is to analyze the problems that occur, and design procedures. Suggestions that can be used as a reference for further system developers are the need to improve functions and menus in the application.

ASSESSMENT ON THE EFFECT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING DISORDERS IN VULNERABILITY TO DEPRESSION AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MERU COUNTY, KENYA

Purpose: Assessment on the effect of executive functioning disorders in vulnerability to depression among adolescents in secondary schools in Meru County, Kenya.
 Methodology: The study adopted descriptive research design to gather both qualitative and quantitative data. Secondary schools were sampled using proportionate stratified sampling method to obtain 27 secondary schools in Meru County. The principals/deputy principals and counseling teachers were interviewed. Mathematics and English teachers answered a questionnaire, while the students were assessed using depression tool. Pretesting of data collecting instruments was done in 3 schools in the neighboring Tharaka Nithi County; Ikuu girls’ secondary school, Chuka boys’ high school and Ndagani mixed day secondary school. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage and median. Additionally, inferential statistics such as linear regression and multiple regressions inclusive of regression coefficients were established. SPSS was used to analyze the data presented. The findings were presented using tables, explanations, and diagrams. Content analysis method was used for qualitative analysis purposes.
 Results: The questionnaires results indicated that majority, 128 (89%) of Mathematics and English teachers strongly agreed that the school was keen on ensuring that corporal punishment is not administered hence alternative ways so as to reduce mental effect such as cognitive deficits (mean of 5). Nevertheless, 68(47%) strongly disagreed and 38(26%) disagreed that there were systems in school for students to speak out when they are undergoing physical and mental torture (mean of 2). On the interview results, principals and counseling teachers indicated that students with executive functions disorder got bullied, had low self-esteem, indiscipline issues such as fighting the students laughing at their weaknesses, and got low grades. The intervention measures implemented by the school included observing and singling out cases. The R value was 0.943 and the R-square was 0.890. This meant that executive functioning disorder had an 89% influence on vulnerability to depression whereas 11% was as a result of other factors not addressed in the study. The significance value was 0.000 hence below 0.05. This made the study reject the null hypothesis that executive functioning deficits have no statistically significant effect on vulnerability to depression among adolescents in secondary school in Meru County, Kenya.
 Conclusion: Though there were awareness campaigns on mental issues as a result of drug and substance abuse, there still lacked awareness made on mental issues due to cognitive deficits making students unable to multitask, manage time and lack attention. This lack of awareness was caused due to unavailability of systems and communication channels that students suffering from cognitive deficits could speak up on to get help.
 Recommendations: The study recommends that on executive function disorder, the management of the school should beef up on creating awareness of how mental issues can lead to drug and substance abuse by the students. There should be provision of finances by the ministry of education to schools to be able to have print media such as posters, magazines, newsletters and pamphlets on what executive function disorders are, how can one tell they suffer from them and the various treatment methods in place.

Impact of Tropical Cyclone Avoidance on Fishing Vessel Activity over Coastal China Based on Automatic Identification System Data during 2013–2018

Tropical cyclones (TCs) may cause severe impacts on the activities of coastal fishing vessels. Due to the unavailability or unacceptability of detailed Automatic Identification System (AIS) data that are capable of differentiating fishing activity from navigation, as well as the lack of detailed models and observation data of TC winds, few studies have provided quantitative and reliable assessment of the impacts of TCs on fishing activities. In this study, we modeled snapshots for the TC winds of 52 TCs over the Northwest Pacific (NWP) basin from 2013 to 2018, as well as daily fishing hours and daily hours of presence (hereafter “vessel hours”) of fishing vessels. Based on these data, the spatiotemporal pattern of fishing vessel activity over offshore China was first analyzed and mapped. Then, a TC wind hazard index and absolute and relative impact indices were proposed to assess the impact of the 52 TCs on fishing and vessel hours. Their relationship was then fitted with the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the log-normal distribution. The results show that in the 2013−2018 period, the most active fishing areas were located in the South China Sea. In each instance, an increase was first observed in the initial several years; then a decrease followed in the yearly total fishing hours per vessel in the remaining years. The relative impact index was significantly correlated to the TC wind hazard index proposed in this study. Based on the quantitative relationship between the specified TC hazard index and the impact indices, it is possible to implement a pre-cyclone rapid loss assessment due to TC avoidance in the future.

Failure analysis of repairable systems with k-out-of-m configuration considering with common cause failure and maintenance correlation based on goal oriented method

System reliability directly affects the application of Prognostic and Health Management (PHM) technology. This paper proposed a new Goal Oriented (GO) methodology for failure probability analysis of repairable systems with the Common Cause Failure (CCF) and maintenance correlation (MC). It should be noted that the considered repariable systems in this study are k-out-of-m configuration. Firstly, an improved GO algorithm solving the CCF is elaborated. Second, a failure analysis framework for repairable systems taken into account of CCF and MC is developed based on Markov theory. Finally, the new GO methodology is applied in analysising the dynamic unavailability of Hydraulic Oil Supply System (HOSS) of heavy vehicles. Comparisons with two traditional methods indicated that the proposed methodology provides higher efficiency. Furthermore, this work can widen the application of GO methodology.

Performance modeling for condition-based activation of the redundant safety system subject to harmful tests

Redundancy is a widely adopted measure for the enhancement of safety system performance. This fault-tolerance design can keep the system functioning through one unit if the other has failed. Besides the continuous aging degradation, mechanical units expose to random shocks, resulting in the dependence. In practice, it is often sufficient to activate only one unit in case of a shock so that the degradation will then be intensified. Unit-level failure occurs when the total degradation level reaches a certain level and will keep hidden. Thus, periodic tests are arranged to reveal the system state, accompanying the side effects on the existing degradation given the test-induced additional stress. A novel condition-based activation policy is proposed based on the system state, referring to how to preset the allocation of units to withstand potential shocks in the upcoming test interval. In this paper, analytical formulas are developed to evaluate system performance with the involvement of these aforementioned factors. Finally, numerical examples are presented to find an optimal test and activation policy to reach minimum system unavailability in a given service time horizon. This study is expected to provide clues for practitioners in the optimal test and operation of redundant structure.

Implementation of Android-Based Parking Management Applications

Parking problems are one of the problems faced in every city, especially in big cities. The availability of limited parking spaces and the unavailability of a parking system that can support the ease of parking management are essential things that must be found as the best solution. The parking application developed can provide information easily. In addition, parking users also get convenience in placing orders, extending time, or canceling. The parking system can provide comfort for parking management to manage parking areas with an efficient system, not only in terms of information but also in terms of payment, by utilizing digital payment methods. The parking application developed based on Android is an alternative that provides user-friendly solutions and parking management. The application has worked well based on trials with various scenarios, both normal scenarios (without cancellation or without extension) and testing with abnormal conditions. From the usability test of 40 respondents with ten questions from the SUS method, an average score of 76 was obtained.

Enhancing the Robustness of INS-DVL Navigation Using Rotational Model of AUV in the Presence of Model Uncertainty

Nowadays, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) are used in environmental studies, ocean floor mapping, and measuring water properties. Navigation of these vehicles is one of the most challenging issues due to the unavailability of global positioning system (GPS) signal underwater. Inertial navigation is a method commonly used for underwater navigation. If a low-cost Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is used, navigation quality will decline rapidly due to sensor inherent error. Although using a Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) speedometer sensor helps limit this error to some extent, it does not yield acceptable accuracy in low-cost IMUs. Filtering the gyro based on the AUV rotational dynamics model can improve the quality of angular velocity measurements and increase the Inertial Navigation System (INS)-DVL navigation accuracy. The presence of uncertainty in the rotational model parameters reduces the navigation algorithm’s performance. In this paper, at first, a simplified rotational model of AUV is presented, and its parameters are identified utilizing data acquired in real experiments. Then a robust Kalman filter for gyro output is proposed to enhance the navigation algorithm performance in the presence of model parameter uncertainty. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, non-robust and robust filtered gyro outputs are used in the INS-DVL algorithm, and the results are compared with each other. Two types of the robust Kalman filter, stationary and finite horizon, are invoked. According to the field tests, navigation error decreases by 50% using the stationary robust Kalman filter compared to the non-robust Kalman filter.

A Survey of NFV Network Acceleration from ETSI Perspective

Network function virtualization (NFV) enables network operators to save costs and flexibility by replacing dedicated hardware with software network functions running on commodity servers. There is a high need for network acceleration to achieve performance comparable to hardware, which is vital for the implementation of NFV. The necessity of NFV acceleration stems from the lengthy packet delivery path following virtualization and the unavailability of generic operating system designs to serve network-specific scenarios. Therefore, the software approach alters the operating system’s processing architecture through Kernel Bypass or offload packet processing to hardware. A typical classification scheme divides it into two main categories based on technology with software and hardware. Only these two categories can be utilized to rapidly and easily establish a classification system. However, it is difficult to suggest the specifics and peculiarities of any acceleration approach during real-world operation. For a more comprehensive classification of NFV acceleration, we refer to the ETSI NFV architectural framework in this research. As the framework clearly illustrates, the technical infrastructure layer of NFV and the corresponding management roles provides a comprehensive and intuitive view of the differences between these acceleration technologies, solutions, and initiatives. Additionally, we conducted an analysis to identify opportunities for improvement in existing solutions and propose new research programs. We expect that NFV will increasingly rely on cloud services in the future. Since cloud services do not offer a choice of hardware, our acceleration method will be primarily software-based.

What Can We Learn from Single Sarcomere and Myofibril Preparations?

Sarcomeres are the smallest functional contractile unit of muscle, and myofibrils are striated muscle organelles that are comprised of sarcomeres that are strictly aligned in series. Furthermore, passive forces in sarcomeres and myofibrils are almost exclusively produced by the structural protein titin, and all contractile, regulatory, and structural proteins are in their natural configuration. For these mechanical and structural reasons single sarcomere and myofibril preparations are arguably the most powerful to answer questions on the mechanisms of striated muscle contraction. We developed and optimized single myofibril research over the past 20 years and were the first to mechanically isolate and test single sarcomeres. The results from this research led to the uncovering of the crucial role of titin in muscle contraction, first molecular explanations for the origins of the passive and the residual force enhancement properties of skeletal and cardiac muscles, the discovery of sarcomere length stability on the descending limb of the force-length relationship, and culminating in the formulation of the three-filament theory of muscle contraction that, aside from actin and myosin, proposes a crucial role of titin in active force production. Aside from all the advantages and possibilities that single sarcomere and myofibril preparations offer, there are also disadvantages. These include the fragility of the preparation, the time-consuming training to master these preparations, the limited spatial resolution for length and force measurements, and the unavailability of commercial systems for single sarcomere/myofibril research. Ignoring the mechanics that govern serially linked systems, not considering the spatial resolution and associated accuracies of myofibril systems, and neglecting the fragility of myofibril preparations, has led to erroneous interpretations of results and misleading conclusions. Here, we will attempt to describe the methods and possible applications of single sarcomere/myofibril research and discuss the advantages and disadvantages by focusing on specific applications. It is hoped that this discussion may contribute to identifying the enormous potential of single sarcomere/myofibril research in discovering the secrets of muscle contraction.

Design of a modified atmosphere storage system for shelf life enhancement of mango ( Mangifera indica , cv. Amrapali )

Modified atmosphere storage (MAS) system was developed under passive as well as active conditions for bulk handling and storage of mango. The developed mathematical model used in the design process was validated and found to be appropriate, as indicated by moduli (E < 10%). The use of O2 absorber in the active MAS system has extended the shelf life of mango by 3.5 times as compared to control along with maintaining good quality attributes at the end of the storage period at ambient temperature (27°C). It may be due to attainment of an early dynamic equilibrium O2 and CO2 concentrations which were much close to the targeted level. The shelf life of mango under control, passive and active condition was found to be 4, 10 and 14 days, respectively. The extra shelf life gained by mango under active MAS condition may provide buffer period for storage, retailing and distribution during supply chain. Novelty impact statement The main cause of post-harvest loss of crop like mango and other fresh produce is the poor handling due to unavailability of a bulk storage system at on-farm level. Therefore, it is essential to develop an economical storage system which can facilitate large quantity storage of mango to the farmers at their orchard level itself. Hence, in the above context, our study is an attempt made to develop, design and compare an active as well as passive MAS system for mango. These uniquely developed and designed MAS systems were evaluated under passive as well as active condition by storing 100 kg of mango inside them. From the results, it was quite clear that an active MAS system can provide long-term storage of mango even at on-farm storage condition and can also facilitate a buffer period to the farmers during retailing and distribution.

Analysis of an unmitigated 2-inch cold leg LOCA transient with ASTEC and MELCOR codes

The analyses of postulated severe accident sequences play a key role for the international nuclear technical scientific community for the study of the effect of possible actions to prevent significant core degradation and mitigate source term release. To simulate the complexity of phenomena involved in a severe accident, computational tools, known as severe accident codes, have been developed in the last decades. In the framework of NUGENIA TA-2 ASCOM project, the analysis of an unmitigated 2-inch cold leg LOCA transient, occurring in a generic western three-loops PWR-900 MWe, has been carried out with the aim to give some insights on the modelling capabilities of these tools and to characterize the differences in the calculations results. The ASTEC V2.2b code (study carried out with ASTEC V2, IRSN all rights reserved, [2021]), and MELCOR 2.2 code have been used in this code-to-code benchmark exercise. In the postulated transient, the unavailability of all active injection coolant systems has been considered and only the injection of accumulators has been assumed as accident mitigation strategy.

Analysis of Fukushima Daiichi unit 4 spent fuel pool using MELCOR

A spent fuel pool is a temporary storage facility designed to store the nuclear fuel assemblies removed from the reactor core. Here, the depleted fuel is vertically arranged in racks structures, accurately spaced to ensure subcriticality safety margins. Until the events occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi power plants, severe accidents in spent fuel pools had never been considered as a major safety concern, mainly because of their slow progression. However, extremely unlikely accident events, aggravated by the loss of site power, highlighted the vulnerability of nuclear fuel stored within spent fuel pools. During these accident sequences, reactor fuel rods can generate enough decay heat to vaporize the coolant around them, causing, during unmitigated scenarios, the uncovering and melting of fuel bundles after several days. In past years, new features have been introduced in the MELCOR code for the evaluation of potential risks associated to accident progression in spent fuel pools. In this paper, the accidental sequence of a loss of cooling accident in a boiling water reactor spent fuel pool is analysed with version 2.2 of the MELCOR code. The spent fuel pool of the Fukushima Daiichi unit 4 has been selected as reference. Main accident events, such as fuel uncovering, claddings oxidation, hydrogen generation, and fission products release, have been analysed assuming the unavailability of safety systems.