Success criteria analysis in support of probabilistic risk assessment for nuclear power plants: application on SGTR accident

Success criteria analysis(SCA) bridges the gap between deterministic and probabilistic approaches for risk assessment of complex systems. To develop a risk model,SCA evaluates systems behaviour in response to postulated accidents using deterministic approach to provide required information for the probabilistic model. A systematic framework is proposed in this article for extracting the front line systems success criteria. In this regard, available approaches are critically reviewed and technical challenges are discussed. Application of the proposed methodology is demonstrated on a typical Westinghouse-type nuclear power plant. Steam generator tube rupture is selected as the postulated accident. The methodology is comprehensive and general; therefore, it can be implemented on the other types of plants and complex systems.

Quantitative risk assessment & leak detection criteria for a subsea oil export pipeline

A quantitative risk assessment （QRA） based on leak detection criteria （LDC） for the design of a proposed subsea oil export pipeline is presented in this paper. The objective of this QRA/LDC study was to determine if current leak detection methodologies were sufficient, based on QRA results, while excluding the use of statistical leak detection; if not, an appropriate LDC for the leak detection system would need to be established. The famous UK PARLOC database was used for the calculation of pipeline failure rates, and the software POSVCM from MMS was used for oil spill simulations. QRA results revealed that the installation of a statistically based leak detection system （LDS） can significantly reduce time to leak detection, thereby mitigating the consequences of leakage. A sound LDC has been defined based on QRA study results and comments from various LDS vendors to assist the emergency response team （ERT） to quickly identify and locate leakage and employ the most effective measures to contain damage.

The Credit Risk Assessment Model of Internet Supply Chain Finance: Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model with the Principle of Variable Weight

The characteristics of the financing model are firstly analyzed when the e-commerce enterprises participate in the supply chain finance. Internet supply chain finance models are divided into three categories with the standard of whether the electronic commerce enterprises provide funds for small and medium enterprises instead of banks. And then we further study the financing process and the functions of the e-commerce platform with specific examples. Finally, combined with the characteristics of the supply chain finance model, we set up a small and medium enterprises credit evaluation model based on the principle of variable weight with its dynamic data. At the same time, a multi-time points and multi-indicators decision-making method based on the principle of variable weight is proposed and a specific example is presented. In this paper, the multi-criteria decision-making model with the principle of variable weight has been used two times. At last, a typical case has been analyzed based on this model with a higher accuracy rate of credit risk assessment.

Assessment criteria for nonverbal interaction contents in r-learning

r-learning,which is based on e-learning and u-learning,is defined as a learning support system that intelligent robots serve verbal and nonverbal interactions on ubiquitous computing environment.In order to guarantee the advantages of r-learning contents with no limits of timc and place and with nonverbal interaction which are not in e-learning contents,in recent years,assessment criteria for r-learning contents are urgently rcquired.Therefore,the reliable and valid assessment criteria were developed for nonverbal interaction contents in r-learning,and its detailed research content is as follows.First,assessment criteria for nonverbal interaction in r-learning contents will be specified into gesture,facial expression,semi-verbal message,distance,physical contact and time.Second,the validity of the developed assessment criteria will be proved by statistics.Consequently,the assessment criteria for nonverbal interaction contents will be helpful when choosing the better r-learning content and producing the better r-learning content,and the reliability of school education is improved ultimately.

Preliminary aquatic life criteria development and ecological risk assessment of ammonia in seven major river basins in China

Ammonia is one of the basin indices which are nation-controlled in the waterenvironmental management. In order to assess the differences of ammonia criteria indifferent basins, 7 major basins are used for the study object, including Songhua River,Liaohe River, Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and ZhujiangRiver, referring the water environmental criteria technology of the United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency, based on the effects of water characteristics on theecotoxicity of ammonia, and in summer and non-summer situation, aquatic life criteriais derived for ammonia. The results showed that: (a) The differences between thecriteria values in different basins and different seasons were significant. The differencesbetween the criteria values in different basins were greater than 6 times, while those indifferent seasons in the same basin were greater than 2 times. (b) The summer acuteand chronic criteria for Huaihe River were 0.37 mg/L and 0.06 mg/L while thenon-summer values were 0.81 mg/L and 0.15 mg/L. Both the summer and thenon-summer values were lowest in all of the seven basins. (c) The preliminaryassessment of Ammonia exposure ecological risk indicated that was the lowest inZhujiang River, and it was much lower in Songhua River, Liaohe River and YangtzeRiver, and was higher in Yellow River, and the highest in both Haihe River and HuaiheRiver. Haihe River has 7 sections while 2 in high risk, and Huaihe River has 27 sectionswhile sixteen in high risk. According to the differences of the criteria values for ammoniain seven basins in different seasons and difference of ammonia ecological riskassessment, it is suggested that it should be managed by different policies.

Combined Life Cycle Assessment and Costing Analysis Optimization Model Using Multiple Criteria Decision Making in Earth-Resource Systems

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a comprehensive method to evaluate all attributes or aspects of potential environmental impact throughout a product’s lifecycle. Financial impacts are often added to the systemic evaluation process to reflect both environmental and economic assessment. For the specific application of LCA informing design of new technologies, when numerous variables are undecided or under defined, the process of forming an inventory of complete dataset is very difficult. Accumulating the early data consumes time, and limits application of LCA to new technologies and projects. As such, LCA may not normally be associated with forecasting or guiding a design/production process with an incomplete data set. Here, a life cycle assessment optimization model (LCAO) is described for incomplete data sets, based on the life cycle inventory (LCI) hybrid method and a modified multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) approach. The approach requires data, but can proceed in the given an incomplete or uncertain data set. The model of the algorithm also shows promising results to reveal previously unknown key variables within the dataset, which can then facilitate the minimization of environmental impact while maximizing economic benefits in product design.

The Credit Risk Assessment Model of Internet Supply Chain Finance: Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model with the Principle of Variable Weight

The characteristics of the financing model are firstly analyzed when the e-commerce enterprises participate in the supply chain finance. Internet supply chain finance models are divided into three categories with the standard of whether the Electronic commerce enterprises provide funds for small and medium enterprises instead of banks. And then we further study the financing process and the functions of the e-commerce platform with specific examples. Finally, combined with the characteristics of the supply chain finance model, we set up a small and medium enterprises credit evaluation model based on the principle of variable weight with its dynamic data. At the same time, a multi time points and multi indicators decision-making method based on the principle of variable weight is proposed and a specific example is presented. In this paper, the Multi-criteria decision-making model with the principle of variable weight has been used two times. At last, a typical case has been analyzed based on this model with a higher accuracy rate of credit risk assessment.

Some Analyses Concerning Interpretation Quality Assessment Criteria——A Case Study of TEM8 Interpretation Test

his paper,through analyzing the current TEM8 interpretation test,concludes that the present TEM 8 interpretation test has various unsatisfactory points in its interpretation quality assessment criteria.Therefore,in light of the interpretation quality assessment criteria proposed by Butler,this paper put forwards some constructive suggestions in this aspect,which will be helpful to get better and fair assessment results.

Multi-Criteria Assessment of Biofuel Production in Small Islands

This paper discusses various policy alternatives for the implementation of a biofuel crop on an island scale. It adopts an integrated approach by carrying out Multi-Criteria Assessment, as well as using a Geographical Information System. The assessment is based on an interdisciplinary research project carried out by the University of La Laguna to evaluate the agricultural and chemical feasibility, and the socio-economic implications of the cultivation of Jatropha as a source of biofuel on one of the Canary Islands, Fuerteventura. A number of alternatives were analysed for growing Jatropha, and the results suggest that the best alternative involves using Typic Torrifluents soil and irrigation with reclaimed Recycled Urban Wastewater at 75% evapotranspiration cover.

Selection of Renewable Energy Based on Life Cycle Assessment and Multi-Criteria Decision Making

The development of renewable energy has become an important issue nowadays owing to the growing concerns about global warming and shortage of fossil fuels. The present study proposes an approach that integrates life cycle assessment (LCA), 3E (Energy-Economics-Environment) indicators and multi-criteria analysis (MCA) to evaluate environmental impacts and find the best choice or better choices among various renewable energy development plans. Several alternatives of wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) systems are considered in the case study since they are found to be more feasible in Taiwan in a preliminary study. By using the proposed approach, the result indicates that the major environmental impacts arising from the development of wind turbines and PV systems in Taiwan are the generation of respiratory inorganics and minerals as well as the consumption of fossil fuels. Based on experts’ opinions, the outcome of multi-criteria analysis suggests that wind turbines have more advantages than PV systems in Taiwan. In particular, among the studied systems, a 2500-kW offshore wind turbine system has the greatest integrated performance, and a 4500-kW onshore wind turbine system comes in second.

Assessment of clinical and radiological response to sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Sorafenib is an effective anti-angiogenic treatment forhepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). The assessment of tumor progression in patients treated with sorafenib is crucial to help identify potentially-resistant patients,avoiding unnecessary toxicities. Traditional methods to assess tumor progression are based on variations in tumor size and provide unreliable results in patients treated with sorafenib. New methods to assess tumor progression such as the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors or European Association for the Study of Liver criteria are based on imaging to measure the vascularization and tumor volume(viable or necrotic). These however fail especially when the tumor response results in irregular development of necrotic tissue. Newer assessment techniques focus on the evaluation of tumor volume,density or perfusion. Perfusion computed tomography and Dynamic ContrastEnhanced-UltraS ound can measure the vascularization of HCC lesions and help predict tumor response to antiangiogenic therapies. Mean Transit Time is a possible predictive biomarker to measure tumor response. Volumetric techniques are reliable,reproducible and time-efficient and can help measure minimal changes in viable tumor or necrotic tissue,allowing the prompt identification of non-responders. Volume ratio may be a reproducible biomarker for tumor response. Larger trials are needed to confirm the use of these techniques in the prediction of response to sorafenib.

Qualitative visual trichotomous assessment improves the value of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in predicting the prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Introduction:Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose(18F-FDG)positron emission tomography/computed tomography(PET/CT)is a powerful tool for monitoring the response of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL)to therapy,but the criteria to interpret PET/CT results remain under debate.We investigated the value of post-treatment PET/CT in predicting the prognosis of DLBCL patients when interpreted according to qualitative visual trichotomous assessment(QVTA)criteria compared with the Deauvil e criteria.Methods:In this retrospective study,final PET/CT scans of DLBCL patients treated with rituximab-based regimens between October 2005 and November 2010 were interpreted using the Deauvil e and QVTA criteria.Survival curves were estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis and compared using the log-rank test.Results:A total of 253 patients were enrol ed.The interpretation according to the Deauvil e criteria revealed that 181patients had negative PET/CT scan results and 72 had positive results.The 3 year overal survival(OS)rate was significantly higher in patients with negative scan results than in those with positive results(91.6%vs.57.5%,P<0.001).The72 patients with positive scan results according to the Deauville criteria were divided into two groups by the interpretation according to the QVTA criteria:29 had indeterminate results,and 43 had positive results.The 3 year OS rate was significantly higher in patients with indeterminate scan results than in those with positive results(91.2%vs.33.5%,P<0.001)but was similar between patients with negative and indeterminate scan results(91.6%vs.91.2%,P=0.921).Conclusions:Compared with the Deauvil e criteria,using the QVTA criteria for interpreting post-treatment PET/CT scans of DLBCL patients is likely to reduce the number of false positive results.The QVTA criteria are feasible for therapeutic outcome evaluation and can be used to guide risk-adapted therapy.

Seismic vulnerability assessment of urban buildings and traffic networks using fuzzy ordered weighted average

Urban buildings and urban traffic network are considered as the vital arteries of cities which have particular effects especially after the crisis in the search and rescue operations. The aim of this study is to determine the vulnerability of urban areas especially, buildings and traffic networks using multicriteria geographic information systems and decisionmaking methods. As there are many effective criteria on the seismic vulnerability that they have uncertain and vague properties, the method of this paper is applying fuzzy ordered weighted average(OWA) to model the seismic vulnerability of urban buildings and traffic networks in the most optimistic and pessimistic states. The study area is district 6 of Tehran that is affected by the four major faults, and thus will be threatened by the earthquakes. The achieved results illustrated the vulnerability with different degrees of risk levels including very high, high, medium, low and very low. The results show that in the most optimistic case 14% and in the pessimistic case 1% of buildings tolerate in very low vulnerability. The vulnerability of urban street network also indicates that in the optimistic case 12% and in the pessimistic case at most 9% of the area are in appropriate condition and the North and NorthEast of the study area are more vulnerable than South of it.

Assessment and Feedback

Assessment and learning must not be considered as two separate processes. In fact, assessment is an integral part of the learning process; it can be learning experience in itself. Active assessment strategies help students better understand the content they learn and develop skills that will be useful to them throughout their lives. Some of those skills are the ability to prepare effective oral and written reports and the ability to cooperate successfully with peers. Action research represents the process of systematic inquiry and it helps teachers to assess learning from the perspective of what they do in the classroom. The purpose is to find out ＂why＂ or ＂how＂ something happened the way it did. Therefore, a situation or problem should be carefully examined by a teacher. Teachers should analyze their own beliefs, values, and assumptions about teaching and learning, knowledge and curriculum, and how these impact the way they interact with students. Feedback should be used as part of assessment activities. Learning experience of students facilitated by teachers can be assessed through feedback.

The Implementation of the Common Assessment Framework at the General Hospital of Attica “KAT”

This paper discusses the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework(CAF)in the Greek civil service.CAF is based on the principles of total quality management(TQM)and is a tool for improving the performance of public bodies.Key element in its implementation is the dimension of organization self-assessment.This article defines the conceptual framework and analyses the management terms related to its application.Methods used include a review of academic and practical literature,as well as the case study of a particular department of the Greek public administration:a public hospital.In addition,the paper presents the prerequisites for CAF implementation and provides a detailed description of the criteria.Finally,implementation progress in the selected public service is assessed and some recommendations for improvement are made.In conclusion,good practices and lessons learned from the implementation of the CAF are discussed.

Stipulation of the criteria for the construction of eco agricultural county in China

The criteria for the construction of an eco agricultural county in China were suggested. The criteria should coordinate social, economic, and environmental effects together. At first, it emphasizes on the social effect input into the system, which includes population control, cultural, scientific, and moral education, technical training and so on. Secondly, economic criteria are mainly those of the increase of gross national product(GNP) and income per capita every year. Finally, the technical criteria consist of not only the grain yield, commodity percentage of the agricultural product, cultivated output/input, animal husbandry production value/total agricultural production value and other agricultural criteria, but also environmental criteria, such as the percentage of forest and grass cover, degenerated land under control, recycling of organic waste, recommended fertilization, integrated pest management, treatment of discharged wastes and others. In an eco agricultural system, the realization of these criteria by three different development steps were recommended too.

Human Brucellosis Mimicking Axial Spondyloarthritis: a Challenge for Rheumatologists when Applying the 2009 ASAS Criteria

Although the development of the 2009 Sp A classification criteria by Assessment of Spondylo Arthritis international Society（ASAS） represents an important step towards a better definition of the early disease stage particularly in axial spondyloarthritis（ax Sp A）, the specificity of the criteria has been criticized these days. As the commonest zoonotic infection worldwide, human brucellosis can mimic a large number of diseases, including Sp A. This study was performed to determine the frequency of rheumatologic manifestations in patients with brucellosis and the chance of misdiagnosing them as having ax Sp A in central China. The results showed that clinical manifestations of ax Sp A could be observed in brucellosis. Over half of patients had back pain, and one fifth of the patients with back pain were less than 45 years old at onset and had the symptom for more than 3 months. Two young males were falsely classified as suffering from ax Sp A according to the ASAS criteria, and one with MRI proved sacroiliitis was once given Etanercept for treatment. Therefore, differential diagnosis including human brucellosis should always be kept in mind when applying the ASAS criteria, even in traditionally non-endemic areas.

Education Training Improvement of Built Environment and Energy Application Engineering in Line with the ABET Criteria

Built Environment and Energy Application Engineering(BEEAE),namely Heating,Ventilating,Air Conditioning and Refrigerating(HVAC&R),is one of the international accreditation programs.Its knowledge system of professional theory and professional education in accredited engineering academic programs must meet the requirements of the relevant international engineering certification.In view of professional engineers and technicians training of BEEAE,the professional training programs and the knowledge system are compared and explored in line with the international certification criteria.This study compares the items and requirements of different international certification criteria,and summarizes the experienced methods of education training.The undergraduate education and training programs are then improved in accordance with the requirements from international certification criteria.The BEEAE education training schemes should combine the knowledge system of the national professional guidance standards with the items from international certification criteria.

水利工程施工的IT2FS-MARCOS风险评价

为解决专家决策的主观性造成的风险评价不确定性和不同风险参数权重下考虑多种风险因子评价问题,这里提出一种基于IT2FS-MARCOS法的水利工程施工风险评价方法。首先确定水利工程施工风险指标评估体系,运用最优最劣法(BWM)融合基于层间相关性的客观赋权法(CRITIC)的组合赋权法对各风险参数的权重进行分析;然后引入区间2型模糊集(IT2FS)改进多准则决策中的基于折衷方案的备选方案排序法(MARCOS)计算各风险因素的效用函数值,基于效用函数值进行风险因素分析和评价。结合工程实例应用,表明:地质、天气条件和作业计划安排等风险因素危险程度较高,其中地质条件对该施工项目安全威胁最大,为水利工程施工需重点管理的风险因子。该模型的特点是不仅考虑了专家评价的模糊性,而且采用多准则决策方法避免对风险参数简单加权,与优劣解距离法(TOPSIS)相比,本方法与工程实际符合得更好,有望为处理水利工程不确定信息下的风险评价提供一种新的思路。

长护险失能等级评估标准的适应性调整与优化研究

当前,我国长护险试点城市的失能等级评估标准正逐渐趋同,但在调整过程中仍存在难题,也存在潜在的政策困境,容易导致评估结果失真,陷入“再碎片化”陷阱。对此,提出失能等级评估的优化策略:提高失能评估的精准度,促进长期护理服务更加公平;建立常态化的动态评估机制,促进失能等级评估更有效率;把控长护险待遇给付,促进基金支付更加可持续。