Comparative Analysis of Building Rating Systems and Occupant Rating Systems

To begin with, rating systems are a beneficial tool in determining the efficiency of a building’s ability to utilise its resources effectively. In this study, the two elements under comparison are the Building Rating Systems (BRSs) and Occupant Rating Systems (ORSs). The main objective of this paper is to be able to examine the most commonly applied international and national BRS and ORS and, based on that, discover the possibility of developing an integration of both the BRS and ORS into one rating system. Quite simply, a BRS is a method by which buildings are assessed and given a score based on numerous features such as the efficiency of each of the services, total energy consumption, and alternate options of consumption. There are various BRSs that are implemented globally, each with its own set of criteria and specifications. Thus, based on the analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of both types of rating systems, it could be deduced that a well-rounded rating system with all technical and non-technical aspects combined would be beneficial to both the efficiency of the building as well as the building occupants’ health and well-being.

Comparative Analysis between Community and Occupants’ Rating Systems for Sustainable Urban Communities (SUC)

Overpopulation globally is an addressed issue impacting human lives, marine lives, and the surrounding ecosystem;it is adding pressure on the available resources that should be optimized to suit the needs. Yet with improper management of resources and monitoring of daily activities, the environment will be further negatively impacted. With overpopulation higher urbanization rates are noticed with the demand of seeking better health facilities, better education, better jobs and better well-being;this progression is driving more demand into the infrastructure sector to be able to accommodate the growth rates. Hence, the need to having sustainable communities aiming at optimizing the resources used, working towards more feasible, environmentally friendly and cost-effective communities with a better occupant’s experience is in action. Sustainable development goals (SDG) are vital goals developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 2015 to address and guide through 17 interconnected global goals serving the previously mentioned trend. Out of the 17 goals, Sustainable Cities and Communities (goal #11) and Good Health and Well-Being (goal #3) are the focus of this paper directed towards holding a comparative analysis between the community scale commonly known and mostly used rating system Leadership of Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-Cities and Communities) (USA) versus similar rating systems like Tarsheed-Communities (Egypt) and Estidama-Pearl (UAE) rating systems meeting sustainable development goal #11. Conjointly, another complimenting comparative review of the occupant’s health and wellbeing rating systems, such as Fitwel (USA) and Well (USA) are studied under sustainable development goal #3;however, they are focused on a building scale assessment. Living Community Challenge (LCC, USA) rating system linking community rating system with health & wellbeing credits was first issued in 2006, yet is it not cost effective neither easy to apply acting as a primary step while being affordable, accessible, and easy to implement. The objective of this paper is to highlight the pros and gaps under both categories of studies of community rating system and occupants’ health & wellbeing rating systems based on scientific content and commercial acceptance and do-ability. This comparison is done via comparing credits and sections within each rating system type;this will support in addressing the focal points needed for an integrated rating system between both categories that will serve in meeting SDG Sustainable Cities and Communities (goal #11) and Good Health and Well-Being (goal #3).

Coal mine entry rating system:A case study

Coal mines are continuously seeking to determine the performance of entries with different ground control products and installation methods.There are many factors that impact how an entry will perform which include but are not limited to geology,overburden,bolting type and pattern,and mine design.At the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH),research has been instituted to examine the relationship of the parts of a coal mine entry as a system and not as individual components.To study this relationship,the first step in this study was to create a numeric rating system that accurately reflects visual observations of the mine entry and is easy to implement.NIOSH researchers devised this rating system to improve upon previous ideas,offering increased flexibility which can be incorporated into an overall entry condition that offers different levels of confidence based on the user’s time devoted to the inspection.This new entry rating system was implemented at three different mines over varying periods of time to evaluate the ground response to the geology,bolt installation pattern,stress changes by mining,overburden,and time dependency.

Development of Jacket Platform Tsunami Risk Rating System in Waters Offshore North Borneo

This work details the simulation of tsunami waves generated by seaquakes in the Manila Trench and their effect on fixed oil and gas jacket platforms in waters offshore North Borneo. For this study, a four-leg living quarter jacket platform located in a water depth of 63 m is modelled in SACS v5.3. Malaysia has traditionally been perceived to be safe from the hazards of earthquakes and tsunamis. Local design practices tend to neglect tsunami waves and include no such provisions. In 2004, a 9.3Mw seaquake occurred off the northwest coast of Aceh, which generated tsunami waves that caused destruction in Malaysia totalling US$ 25 million and 68 deaths. This event prompted an awareness of the need to study the reliability of fixed offshore platforms scattered throughout Malaysian waters. In this paper, we present a review of research on the seismicity of the Manila Trench, which is perceived to be high risk for Southeast Asia. From the tsunami numerical model TUNA-M2, we extract computer-simulated tsunami waves at prescribed grid points in the vicinity of the platforms in the region. Using wave heights as input, we simulate the tsunami using SACS v5.3 structural analysis software of offshore platforms, which is widely accepted by the industry. We employ the nonlinear solitary wave theory in our tsunami loading calculations for the platforms, and formulate a platform-specific risk quantification system. We then perform an intensive structural sensitivity analysis and derive a corresponding platform-specific risk rating model.

Economical operation of Baosteel's oxygen generating system

Baosteel＇s 60000 m^3/h air separation unit （ASU） is the largest oxygen generating system in China. The operational cost of such a giant system is very high. How to reduce the operational cost is a critical issue. This paper discusses the system＇s characteristics,the current operational status and the difficulties in reducing the cost,and analyzes relevant indicators, such as the technical and economical indicators of individual units and systems as well as the indicators concerning the costs. The relationship between the cost and each economical indicator and measures to optimize an economical operation of the oxygen generating system are also discussed in this paper.

Modification of rock mass rating system:Interbedding of strong and weak rock layers

Rock mass classification systems are the very important part for underground projects and rock mass rating(RMR) is one of the most commonly applied classification systems in numerous civil and mining projects. The type of rock mass consisting of an interbedding of strong and weak layers poses difficulties and uncertainties for determining the RMR. For this, the present paper uses the concept of rock bolt supporting factor(RSF) for modification of RMR system to be used in such rock mass types. The proposed method also demonstrates the importance of rock bolting practice in such rock masses. The geological parameters of the Shemshak Formation of the Alborz Tunnel in Iran are used as case examples for development of the theoretical approach.

Developing Sustainability Rating System for Healthcare Facilities: Focus on Egypt

Healthcare is one of the core operating sectors all over the world with a designated Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being of the international Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), while three other goals addressed the eradication of causes of healthcare problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the increase of healthcare expenditure to be $2 - $4 Billion USD by the year 2030 as a result of Climate change. As a developing country, Egypt has a fast-growing healthcare sector, which is a good opportunity to direct the sector towards a more sustainable development scheme to reduce the cost of the service, while maintaining a high service level for the patience and reducing the environmental impacts of operation, which are the pillars of sustainable development. The aim of the work presented is to develop sustainability rating system for new and existing healthcare facilities suitable to the Egyptian context that encourages the facilities to operate more sustainably using the concept of cradle-to-cradle resources management. The rating system developed is based on a points system with the awardable levels of achievement: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The points divided among three main categories: Energy, Water and Habitat, and additionally, two general prerequisites are added for the top management commitment towards sustainability and developing an environmental management plan. The system divides the facilities into new and existing, with each type having different awardable points that take into consideration the differences in applicability between the two types of facilities.

The Development of an Alternative Method for the Sovereign Credit Rating System Based on Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System

The main purpose of this article is to determine the factors affecting credit rating and to develop the credit rating system based on statistical methods, fuzzy logic and artificial neural network. Variables used in this study were determined by the literature review and then the number of them was reduced by using stepwise regression analysis. Resulting variables were used as independent variables in the logistic model and as input variables for ANN and ANFIS model. After evaluating the models and comparing with each other, the ANFIS model was chosen as the best model to forecast credit rating. Rating determination was made for the countries that haven’t had a credit rating. Consequently, the ANFIS model made consistent, reliable and successful rating forecasts for the countries.

Governance or reputation?Flexible tax enforcement and excess goodwill:Evidence from the taxpaying credit rating system in China

This study investigates the effect of flexible tax enforcement on firms’excess goodwill using unique manually collected data on taxpaying credit rating in China from 2014 to 2021.We document that A-rated taxpayer firms have less excess goodwill;A-rated firms reduce excess goodwill by 0.005 vis-a-vis non-Arated firms,which accounts for 100%of the mean value of excess goodwill.This finding holds after multiple robustness tests and an endogeneity analysis.Moreover,this negative effect is more pronounced in firms with low information transparency,that are non-state-owned and that are located in regions with low tax enforcement intensity.The channel test results suggest that taxpaying credit rating system as flexible tax enforcement reduces firms’excess goodwill through a reputation-based effect and not a governance-based effect.This study reveals that the taxpaying credit rating system in China as flexible tax enforcement can bring halo effect to A rating firms,thereby limiting irrational M&As and breaking goodwill bubble.

INTERFACE BEHAVIOR AND DECAY RATES OF COMPRESSIBLE NAVIER-STOKES SYSTEM WITH DENSITY-DEPENDENT VISCOSITY AND A VACUUM

In this paper,we study the one-dimensional motion of viscous gas near a vacuum,with the gas connecting to a vacuum state with a jump in density.The interface behavior,the pointwise decay rates of the density function and the expanding rates of the interface are obtained with the viscosity coefficientμ(ρ)=ρ^(α)for any 0<α<1;this includes the timeweighted boundedness from below and above.The smoothness of the solution is discussed.Moreover,we construct a class of self-similar classical solutions which exhibit some interesting properties,such as optimal estimates.The present paper extends the results in[Luo T,Xin Z P,Yang T.SIAM J Math Anal,2000,31(6):1175-1191]to the jump boundary conditions case with density-dependent viscosity.

Effects of cross-Kerr coupling on transmission spectrum of double-cavity optomechanical system

We theoretically study the transmission spectrum of the cavity field in a double-cavity optomechanical system with cross-Kerr(CK) effect. The system consists of two tunneling coupling optomechanical cavities with a mechanical resonator as a coupling interface. By doping CK medium into the mechanical resonator, CK couplings between the cavity fields and the mechanical resonator are introduced. We investigate the effects of CK coupling strength on the transmission spectrum of the cavity field, including the transmission rate, nonreciprocity and four-wave mixing(FWM). We find that the transmission spectrum of the probe field can show two obvious transparent windows, which can be widened by increasing the CK coupling strength. For the transmission between the two cavity fields, the perfect nonreciprocity and reciprocity are present and modulated by CK coupling and phase difference between two effective optomechanical couplings. In addition, the effects of the optomechanical and CK couplings on FWM show that the single peak of FWM is split into three symmetrical peaks due to the introduction of the CK effect.

Cooperative Rate Splitting Transmit Design for Full-Duplex-Enabled Multiple Multicast Communication Systems

This paper examines the performance of Full-Duplex Cooperative Rate Splitting(FD-CRS)with Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer(SWIPT)support in Multiple Input Single Output(MISO)networks.In a Rate Splitting Multiple Access(RSMA)multicast system with two local users and one remote user,the common data stream contains the needs of all users,and all users can decode the common data stream.Therefore,each user can receive some information that other users need,and local users with better channel conditions can use this information to further enhance the reception reliability and data rate of users with poor channel quality.Even using Cell-Center-Users(CCUs)as a cooperative relay to assist the transmission of common data can improve the average system speed.To maximize the minimum achievable rate,we optimize the beamforming vector of Base Station(BS),the common streamsplitting vector,the cooperative distributed beamvector and the strong user transmission power under the power budget constraints of BS and relay devices and the service quality requirements constraints of users.Since the whole problem is not convex,we cannot solve it directly.Therefore,we propose a low complexity algorithm based on Successive Convex Approximation(SCA)technology to find the optimal solution to the problemunder consideration.The simulation results show that FD C-RSMA has better gain andmore powerful than FD C-NOMA,HD C-RSMA,RSMA and NOMA.

Studies of an event-building algorithm of the readout system for the twin TPCs in HFRS

The High-energy Fragment Separator(HFRS),which is currently under construction,is a leading international radioactive beam device.Multiple sets of position-sensitive twin time projection chamber(TPC)detectors are distributed on HFRS for particle identification and beam monitoring.The twin TPCs'readout electronics system operates in a trigger-less mode due to its high counting rate,leading to a challenge of handling large amounts of data.To address this problem,we introduced an event-building algorithm.This algorithm employs a hierarchical processing strategy to compress data during transmission and aggregation.In addition,it reconstructs twin TPCs'events online and stores only the reconstructed particle information,which significantly reduces the burden on data transmission and storage resources.Simulation studies demonstrated that the algorithm accurately matches twin TPCs'events and reduces more than 98%of the data volume at a counting rate of 500 kHz/channel.

Building and characterizing a stylus ion-trap system

Cold trapped ions can be excellent sensors for ultra-precision detection of physical quantities,which strongly depends on the measurement situation at hand.The stylus ion trap,formed by two concentric cylinders over a ground plane,holds the promise of relatively simple structure and larger solid angle for optical access and fluorescence collection in comparison with the conventional ion traps.Here we report our fabrication and characterization of the first stylus ion trap constructed in China,aiming for studying quantum optics and sensing weak electric fields in the future.We have observed the stable confinement of the ion in the trapping potential for more than two hours and measured the heating rate of the trap to be dε/dt=7.10±0.13 meV/s by the Doppler recooling method.Our work starts a way to building practical quantum sensors with high efficiency of optical collection and with ultimate goal for contributing to future quantum information technology.

Power Allocation for SE Maximization in Uplink Massive MIMO System Under Minimum Rate Constraint

In this paper,we optimize the spectrum efficiency(SE)of uplink massive multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO)system with imperfect channel state information(CSI)over Rayleigh fading channel.The SE optimization problem is formulated under the constraints of maximum power and minimum rate of each user.Then,we develop a near-optimal power allocation(PA)scheme by using the successive convex approximation(SCA)method,Lagrange multiplier method,and block coordinate descent(BCD)method,and it can obtain almost the same SE as the benchmark scheme with lower complexity.Since this scheme needs three-layer iteration,a suboptimal PA scheme is developed to further reduce the complexity,where the characteristic of massive MIMO(i.e.,numerous receive antennas)is utilized for convex reformulation,and the rate constraint is converted to linear constraints.This suboptimal scheme only needs single-layer iteration,thus has lower complexity than the near-optimal scheme.Finally,we joint design the pilot power and data power to further improve the performance,and propose an two-stage algorithm to obtain joint PA.Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed schemes,and superior SE performance is achieved.

Intelligent reflecting surface for sum rate enhancement in MIMO systems

The research for the Intelligent Reflecting Surface(IRS)which has the advantages of cost and energy efficiency has been studied.Channel capacity can be effectively increased by appropriately setting the phase value of IRS elements according to the channel conditions.However,the problem of obtaining an appropriate phase value of IRs is difficult to solve due to the non-convex problem.This paper proposes an iterative algorithm for the alternating optimal solution in the Single User Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output(SU-MIMO)systems.The proposed iterative algorithm finds an alternating optimal solution that is the phase value of IRS one by one.The results show that the proposed method has better performance than that of the randomized IRS systems.The number of iterations for maximizing the performance of the proposed algorithm depends on the channel state between the IRS and the receiver.

Reliability-BasedModel for Incomplete Preventive ReplacementMaintenance of Photovoltaic Power Systems

At present,the operation and maintenance of photovoltaic power generation systems mainly comprise regular maintenance,breakdown maintenance,and condition-based maintenance,which is very likely to lead to over-or under-repair of equipment.Therefore,a preventive maintenance and replacement strategy for PV power generation systems based on reliability as a constraint is proposed.First,a hybrid failure function with a decreasing service age factor and an increasing failure rate factor is introduced to describe the deterioration of PV power generation equipment,and the equipment is replaced when its reliability drops to the replacement threshold in the last cycle.Then,based on the reliability as a constraint,the average maintenance cost and availability of the equipment are considered,and the non-periodic incomplete maintenance model of the PV power generation system is established to obtain the optimal number of repairs,each maintenance cycle and the replacement cycle of the PV power generation system components.Next,the inverter of a PV power plant is used as a research object.The model in this paper is compared and analyzed with the equal cycle maintenance model without considering reliability and the maintenance model without considering the equipment replacement threshold,Through model comparison,when the optimal maintenance strategy is(0.80,4),the average maintenance cost of this paper’s model are decreased by 20.3%and 5.54%and the availability is increased by 0.2395% and 0.0337%,respectively,compared with the equal-cycle maintenance model without considering the reliability constraint and the maintenance model without considering the equipment replacement threshold.Therefore,this maintenance model can ensure the high reliability of PV plant operation while increasing the equipment availability to improve the system economy.

A comprehensive review of heart rate variability as an indicator in the regulation of the autonomic nervous system by acupuncture:a bibliometric analysis

This study sought to conduct a bibliometric analysis of acupuncture studies focusing on heart rate variability(HRV)and to investigate the correlation between various acupoints and their effects on HRV by utilizing association rule mining and network analysis.A total of 536 publications on the topic of acupuncture studies based on HRV.The disease keyword analysis revealed that HRV-related acupuncture studies were mainly related to pain,inflammation,emotional disorders,gastrointestinal function,and hypertension.A separate analysis was conducted on acupuncture prescriptions,and Neiguan(PC6)and Zusanli(ST36)were the most frequently used acupoints.The core acupoints for HRV regulation were identified as PC6,ST36,Shenmen(HT7),Hegu(LI4),Sanyinjiao(SP6),Jianshi(PC5),Taichong(LR3),Quchi(LI11),Guanyuan(CV4),Baihui(GV20),and Taixi(KI3).Additionally,the research encompassed 46 reports on acupuncture animal experiments conducted on HRV,with ST36 being the most frequently utilized acupoint.The research presented in this study offers valuable insights into the global research trend and hotspots in acupuncture-based HRV studies,as well as identifying frequently used combinations of acupoints.The findings may be helpful for further research in this field and provide valuable information about the potential use of acupuncture for improving HRV in both humans and animals.

A combined method using Lattice Boltzmann Method(LBM)and Finite Volume Method(FVM)to simulate geothermal reservoirs in Enhanced Geothermal System(EGS)

With the development of industrial activities,global warming has accelerated due to excessive emission of CO_(2).Enhanced Geothermal System(EGS)utilizes deep geothermal heat for power generation.Although porous medium theory is commonly employed to model geothermal reservoirs in EGS,Hot Dry Rock(HDR)presents a challenge as it consists of impermeable granite with zero porosity,potentially distorting the physical interpretation.To address this,the Lattice Boltzmann Method(LBM)is employed to simulate CO_(2)flow within geothermal reservoirs and the Finite Volume Method(FVM)to solve the energy conservation equation for temperature distribution.This combined method of LBM and FVM is imple-mented using MATLAB.The results showed that the Reynolds numbers(Re)of 3,000 and 8,000 lead to higher heat extraction rates from geothermal reservoirs.However,higher Re values may accelerate thermal breakthrough,posing challenges to EGS operation.Meanwhile,non-equilibrium of density in fractures becomes more pronounced during the system's life cycle,with non-Darcy's law becoming significant at Re values of 3,000 and 8,000.Density stratification due to buoyancy effects significantly impacts temperature distribution within geothermal reservoirs,with buoyancy effects at Re=100 under gravitational influence being noteworthy.Larger Re values(3,000 and 8,000)induce stronger forced convection,leading to more uniform density distribution.The addition of proppant negatively affects heat transfer performance in geothermal reservoirs,especially in single fractures.Practical engineering considerations should determine the quantity of proppant through detailed numerical simulations.

Signed PageRank on Online Rating Systems

The ratings in many user-object online rating systems can reflect whether users like or dislike the objects,and in some online rating systems,users can directly choose whether to like an object.So these systems can be represented by signed bipartite networks,but the original unsigned node evaluation algorithm cannot be directly used on the signed networks.This paper proposes the Signed Page Rank algorithm for signed bipartite networks to evaluate the object and user nodes at the same time.Based on the global information,the nodes can be sorted by the Signed Page Rank values in descending order,and the result is SR Ranking.The authors analyze the characteristics of top and bottom nodes of the real networks and find out that for objects,the SR Ranking can provide a more reasonable ranking which combines the degree and rating of node,and the algorithm also can help us to identify users with specific rating patterns.By discussing the location of negative edges and the sensitivity of object SR Ranking to negative edges,the authors also explore that the negative edges play an important role in the algorithm and explain that why the bad reviews are more important in real networks.