Academic literature on the topic 'Duty day'

Abstract A paucity of evidence exists regarding the impact of workplace dietary interventions on employees’ off-duty dietary intakes. This study assessed the impact of workplace dietary interventions that included nutrition education and environmental dietary modification both alone and in combination on employees’ dietary intakes inside (on-duty) and outside (off-duty) of work. A pre–post study on employees’ on and off-duty dietary intakes was undertaken. Data were obtained from a complex workplace dietary intervention study (Food Choice at Work Trial). Four manufacturing workplaces were allocated to: Control (n = 111), nutrition education (n = 226), environmental dietary modification (n = 113) and nutrition education and environmental dietary modification combined (n = 400) (2013–14). Seven- to nine-month follow-up data were obtained for 517 employees (61% response) [Control (n = 67), Education (n = 107), Environment (n = 71) and Combined (n = 272)]. Dietary intakes were measured using 24-h dietary recalls. Differences between on and off-duty mean dietary intakes were compared and regression analyses adjusted for potential confounders. Significant reductions in on-duty intakes of total fat (−14.2 g/day, p = 0.000), saturated fat (−7 g/day, p = 0.000), salt (−1.4 g/day, p = 0.000) and total sugars (−8.9 g/day, p = 0.003) were observed in the Combined and in the Environment [total fat (−11.4 g/d, p = 0.017) and saturated fat (−8.8 g/day, p = 0.000)]. In the Combined, significant changes were also observed in off-duty intakes of total fat (−10.0 g/day, p = 0.001), saturated fat (−4.2 g/day, p = 0.001), salt (−0.7 g/day, p = 0.020) and total sugars (−8.1 g/day, p = 0.020). Food service can have a positive impact in our everyday environments, including inside and outside of work. Dietary interventions combining nutrition education and environmental dietary modification can improve employees’ on and off-duty dietary intakes.

The relative duration of muscle activity during a specified period (duty time) varies depending on activity level and time of the day. Since both the number and the length of activity bursts contribute to the duty time, it was hypothesized that these variables would show intra-day variations similar to those of the duty time. To test this, we determined duty times, burst numbers, and burst lengths per hour, in relation to multiple activity levels, in a 24-hour period of concurrent radio-telemetric long-term electromyograms of various rabbit jaw muscles. The marked intra-day variation of the burst number resembled that of the duty time in all muscles, and was in contrast to the relatively invariable mean burst length. Furthermore, the duty times were more highly correlated with the number than with the length of bursts at all activity levels. Thus, the variation of the duty time in rabbit jaw muscles is caused mainly by changes in burst numbers.

Abstract: Automatic face recognition (AFR) technologies have seen dramatic improvements in performance over the past years, and such systems are now widely used for security and commercial applications. So Smart Attendance using Real Time Face Recognition is a real world solution which comes with day to day activities of handling students. The task is very difficult as the real time background subtraction in an image is still a challenge. To detect real time human face are used and a simple fast Principal Component Analysis has used to recognize the faces de-tested with a high accuracy rate. The matched faces are used to mark attendance of the student. Our system maintains the attendance records of students automatically. Manual entering of in logbooks becomes a difficult task and it also wastes the time. So we designed an efficient module that comprises of face recognition to manage the attendance records of students. Our module enrols the student’s face. Keywords: Automatic Face Recognition(AFR), Employee Attendance System, Attendance Management System(AMS)

This article defends a novel type of institutionalized mass deliberation: Citizen Duty. Citizen Duty would legally require every citizen to engage in one day of diverse, moderated political deliberation prior to major elections. This deliberation would realize a variety of benefits, including wiser electoral decisions and a more respectful electoral process, while avoiding the dangers of citizen deliberation. A comparison with jury duty and with non-deliberative alternatives suggests that Citizen Duty’s substantial economic and liberty costs are justified. Finally, an examination of citizen attitudes towards politics and deliberation suggests that Citizen Duty is not as quixotic as it first appears.

This paper presents an approach for solving the bus crew scheduling problem which considers early, day, and late duty modes with time shift and work intensity constraints. Furthermore, the constraint with the least crew number of a certain duty (e.g., day duty) has also been considered. An optimization model is formulated as a 0-1 integer programming problem to improve the efficiency of crew scheduling at the minimum expense of total idle time of crew for a circle bus line. Correspondingly, a heuristic algorithm utilizing the tabu search algorithm has been proposed to solve the model. Finally, the proposed model and algorithm are successfully tested by a case study.

From 1st January 2014 the Czech Republic has to fullfil new minimum rates of excise duty on tobacco products according to requirements of the European Union. The aim of my thesis is to analyze the current state of tax policy on tobacco taxation and design the future rates with regard to the current structure of the consumption of tobacco products. The first chapter concerns mainly to the Czech legislation, the system of taxation of tobacco products, defines the basic concepts and principles, the second chapter focuses on the development and requirements of European secondary law governing the taxation of tobacco products, which is the means for the harmonization of excise duties in the European Union. There is some space given to the development of the rates of excise duty on tobacco products and revenues of this tax, including their evaluation. The final analysis compares alternatives of the tax rates as they could be set from 2014 following the development of the future exchange rate according to the Ministry of Finance forecasts and at different rates of value added tax.

Diploma thesis "Taxation of spirits in the Czech Republic and in the world" is focused on taxation of this comodity, legislative regulation and description of effects on society. This work is divided into four main chapters. The first two of them describe laws related to taxation of sprits. The main purpose of this section is to focus on the law of the Czech Republic and also on the regulation of the European Union, because the EU regulation has high influence on our country. Apart from those parts this section also contains history of excise duties in our country.The second chapter is oriented on tax and economy theories of excises. After that follows the second half of the work, where I am aiming on costs and revenues in relation with spirits (alcohol in general). The third chapter will describe the method of calculation of costs arising from consumption of alcoholic beverages based on standards of World Health Organisation. At the end of this section social costs concerning consumption of alcohol will be quantified and also compared on international basis. The last chapter will be about revenues from spirits excise duty and I will focus on significance of this tax in the Czech Republic and other OECD countries, tax rates of spirits and in conclusion I am going to find out, if a relation between tax rate size and amount of revenues from spirits excise exists.

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The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) is charged with collecting, maintaining, and reporting information on over 42 million people who are currently or previously connected to Defense. Personnel information is provided by each of the United States Uniformed Services to be passed to the Personnel Data Repository (PDR) to update members' records in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). Records are used to support benefits provided to the members and their families including medical, dental, educational, and life insurance while they are fulfilling their service and after retirement. This research identifies issues with overlaying active duty periods in the PDR; uses statistical data analysis techniques to determine the accuracy of the data fields within the PDR; and provides guidelines for the application of active duty periods to a member's record. This research: (1) maps all active duty date source submissions that modify PDR records for Marine Reservists; (2) determines the business rules for applying changes to active duty date fields and recommends changes; (3) assesses and quantifies data quality of Marine Reservist active duty dates; and (4) makes recommendations for a continuous improvement methodology that the DMDC can implement for the other guard and reserve component data.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the excise duty on tobacco products in the Czech Republic since 1993 up to the present time, especially the development of rates and revenues. Excise duty is imposed on tobacco products in the Czech Republic and also in the other European Union countries. Harmonisation efforts in the European Union and also fiscal need of Czech Republic cause frequent changes in tobacco excise duty rates, which conduces not only to change of tax collection, but can also bring some other related effects. In the theoretical part I first characterize the tax theory with a detailed focus on excise duty on tobacco products. Subsequently I define the meaning of excise duty on tobacco products, the principles and the mechanisms of the tax collection. In the practical part of the thesis I aim at analyse the evolution of the legal framework that affects excise duty on tobacco products and significantly affects the thesis in other sections. Further, I analyse the relationship between the rate of excise duty on tobacco products and tax collection and find out that the higher rate of excise duty not always led to higher tax yields. Finally I assess the effectiveness of the increase of excise duty on tobacco products and its impact on the consumption of tobacco products, illegal market and the public budgets.

Актуальність теми. На сьогоднішні день нерівномірний характер має попит споживачів на електричну потужність. Це призводить до зниження надійності та економічності функціонування енергосистеми, а також погіршенням якості електричної енергії. В зв’язку з цим виникає потреба в регулюванні попиту споживачів на електричну потужність. Викликало необхідність періодичного застосування адміністративних обмежень попиту споживачів на електричну енергію те, що в різні періоди часу енергетична галузь України була дефіцитною. Це пояснюється тим, що, з одного боку, на електростанціях недостатня кількість палива, а з іншого – фізична зношеність значної кількості генеруючого обладнання електростанції, а також електричних мереж. Несприятлива структура генеруючих потужностей спричинила те, що в об’єднаній системі України спостергіється серйозний дефіцит електричної потужності. Мається на увазі, що енергосистемa України недостатньо забезпечена необхiдною кількiстю маневруючих блокiв, які, в свою чергу, можуть швидко виходити нa робочий режим з горячого або холодного резервів, а також змінювати величину виробленої електричної потужності в широких межах. Тому, все більш складною задачею для української енергетичної галузі стає якість електричної енергії, а також надійність забезпечення попиту споживачів на електричну потужність. Відомо, що існують різні методи та способи керування попитом на електричну потужність, основними з яких є методи структурно-технологічного управління, адміністративно-правові методи, економічні та організаційні. Якщо розглядати структурно-технологічні методи, то мова йде про розвантаження енергосистеми при аварійних ситуаціях або дифіциті електричної потужності. Для цього було б доцільно збільшити кількість маневруючих потужностей в ОЕС України, а саме побудові нових гідроакумулюючих електростанцій, побудова та використання парогазових та газотурбінних генеруючих установок, а також модернізації існуючого обладнання ГЕС. Але, на жаль, цей шлях потребує значних фінансових та матеріальних витрат, а також достатньо тривалого часу. Тому необхідно застосовувати такі методи керування попитом споживачів на електричну потужність, які передбачають найменшу кількість витрат та часу, при цьому залишаються ефективними. Мова йде, про економічні методи керування. Таким чином, одним із таких засобів економічного керування попитом споживачів є тарифна система країни, а саме диференційовані за зонами доби тарифи. Диференційовані тарифи в Україні діють з 1995 року. В той час, використання таких тарифів мало сильний стимулюючий ефект у споживачів, при чому з кожним роком їх кількість ставала все більшою. Але, з часом, потреби споживачів на електричну енергію змінились, при чому, диференційовані за зонами доби, а саме коефіцієнти кожної зони, довгий час залишались не змінними. В зв’язку з цим, багато вчених аналізують характер впливу диференційованих тарифів на вирівнювання добових графіків, але разом з тим дана проблема залишається актуальною, адже зонні тарифи втратили свої стимулюючі ефекти до залучення нових споживачів, при чому, їх кількість, навіть, ставала меншою. Відповідно до цього було запропоновано новий спосіб адресного керування попитом споживачів на електричну потужність. Мета й завдання дослідження. Метою роботи є удосконалення механізму адресного керування попитом споживачів на електричну потужність. Для досягнення зазначеної мети були вирішені наступні завдання: • аналiз сучасного стaну eнергeтичної галузi України; • оцінка використання диференційованих за зонами доби тарифів; • визначення характеру та ступеню впливу груп споживачів на формування добового графіка електричного навантаження енергосистеми; • порівняння існуючих меж тарифних зон доби із сучасними потребами споживачів; • удосконалено концепцію та методичні основи побудови та використання мeхaніiму адресного кeрування рeжимами споживання eлeктричної потужностi; • удосконалено розрaхунок коeфіцієнту участi та коефіцiєнту рoзпoдiлу. Об’єкт дослідження. Процеси керування режимами споживання електричної потужності в енергетичній системі. Предмет дослідження. Методи та способи керування режимами споживання електричної потужності в енергетичній системі. Методи дослідження. Методи кореляційного та дисперсійного аналізу, а також математичної статистики застосовуються для визначення характеру та ступеню впливу основних груп споживачів на нерівномірність графіків електричного навантаження енергосистеми; дослідження характеру та ступеню протидії навантаження споживачів, які використовують диференційовані за зонами доби тарифи відповідно до зміни попиту на потужність споживачів, які не використовують ці тарифи; oцiнки пoтeнцiaлу eкoнoмії витрaт eнeргoсистеми на вирoбництвo електричної енергії, яку можливо отримати в результаті вирівнювання нерівномірності її графіка навантаження. Мeтoди встановлення довірчих інтервалів та групування годинних навантажень за допомогою критерія Стьюдента використовуються для виявлення фактичних зон доби зі статистично різним рівнем електричного навантаження енергосистеми та груп споживачів. Методи узагальнення та логічного підходу, методи моделювання графіків електричного навантаження, методи оптимального програмування застосовуються для використання засобу адресного керування режимами споживання електричної потужності в енергосистемі Наукова новизна одержаних результатів. Удосконалено метод визначення тривалості та меж фактичних зон доби зі статистично різним рівнем електричного навантаження, що базується на групуванні погодинних значень навантаження енергосистеми та споживачів електроенергії. Удосконалено показник, який дозволяє оцінити ступінь протидії електричного навантаження «дифтарифних» та «недифтарифних» споживачів. Визначено кількісні показники, а саме коефіцієнт участі та коефіцієнт розподілу, які дозволяють оцінити участь кожного із учасників запропонованого механізму адресного керування попитом споживачів у вирівнюванні нерівномірності графіка електричного навантаження енергосистеми. Практичне значення одержаних результатів. Для ефективного стимулювання споживачів до вирівнювання нерівномірності графіка електричного навантаження ОЕС України може бути застосовано запропоновану концепцію та методичні основи. Також, вона має новий напрямок розвитку ринкових методів керування режимами споживання електричнох потужності в енергосистемі.
Actuality of theme. To date, consumer demand for electricity is uneven. This leads to a decrease in the reliability and efficiency of the functioning of the grid, as well as the deterioration of the quality of electric energy. In connection with this, there is a need to regulate the demand of consumers for electric power. The necessity of the periodic application of administrative constraints on consumer demand for electricity was the fact that the energy sector of Ukraine was scarce at different times. This is explained by the fact that, on the one hand, there is insufficient amount of fuel at power plants, and on the other hand - physical deterioration of a significant amount of generating equipment of the power plant, as well as electric networks. The unfavorable structure of generating capacities was caused by the fact that in the united system of Ukraine there is a serious shortage of electric power. It is understood that Ukraine's energy system is insufficiently equipped with the required number of maneuvering blocks, which, in turn, can quickly enter the operating mode of hot or cold reserves, and also change the amount of electric power produced in a wide range. Therefore, the quality of electric energy, as well as the reliability of ensuring the demand of consumers for electric power, becomes an increasingly complex task for the Ukrainian energy sector. It is known that there are different methods and methods for controlling demand for electric power, the main of which are methods of structural and technological management, administrative and legal methods, economic and organizational. If we consider structural and technological methods, then we are talking about the unloading of the power system in emergency situations or the dipole of electric power. For this purpose, it would be advisable to increase the number of maneuvering capacities in the UES of Ukraine, namely the construction of new hydroelectric power stations, the construction and use of steam and gas turbine generating units, as well as the modernization of the existing equipment of the hydroelectric power station. But, unfortunately, this path requires significant financial and material costs, as well as a sufficiently long time. Therefore, it is necessary to apply such methods of controlling the demand of consumers for electric power, which provide the least amount of time and expenses, while remaining effective. It's about the economic management methods. Thus, one of such means of economic management of consumer demand is the tariff system of the country, namely tariffs differentiated by zones of the day. Differentiated tariffs in Ukraine have been in force since 1995. At that time, the use of such tariffs had a strong stimulating effect on consumers, with what each year their number became more and more. But, over time, the needs of consumers for electric energy have changed, with that, differentiated by zones of the day, namely, the coefficients of each zone, for a long time remained unchanged. In this regard, many scientists analyze the effect of differentiated tariffs on the equalization of daily charts, but at the same time, this problem remains relevant, because zone tariffs have lost their stimulating effects to attract new consumers, and at the same time, their number is even less. Accordingly, a new method of address management of consumer demand for electric power was proposed. The purpose and tasks of the study. The aim of the work is to improve the mechanism of address management of consumer demand for electric power. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved: • analysis of the current state of the Ukrainian energy sector; • estimation of the use of tariff-differentiated zones; • determination of the nature and degree of influence of groups of consumers on the formation of a daily schedule of electric load of the power system; • Comparison of the existing boundaries of the tariff zones of the day with the modern needs of consumers; • The concept and methodical bases of the construction and use of the mechanism of address control of electric power consumption modes have been improved; • The calculation of the participation coefficient and the distribution coefficient has been improved. Object of study. Processes of control of modes of consumption of electric power in the power system. Subject of study. Methods and methods for controlling the demand of electric power consumers in the energy system. Research methods. Methods of correlation and dispersion analysis, as well as mathematical statistics, are used to determine the nature and extent of the impact of major consumer groups on the unevenness of the schedules of the electric load of the power system; the study of the nature and degree of counteraction of the load of consumers, which use differentiated by the zones of the day tariffs in accordance with the change in demand for the power of consumers who do not use these tariffs; Estimating the potential of energy saving in electricity generation for electricity production, which can be obtained as a result of equalizing the unevenness of its loading schedule. Methods for establishing confidence intervals and clustering of hourly loads using Student's criterion are used to identify the actual days of the day with a statistically different level of electrical load of the power system and consumer groups. Methods of generalization and logical approach, methods of modeling electric power schedules, methods of optimal programming are used for the use of address management tools for power consumption in the grid. Scientific novelty of the obtained results. The method of determining the duration and limits of actual days of the day with a statistically different level of electric load, based on the grouping of hourly values of the load of the power system and consumers of electricity, has been improved. The indicator, which allows to assess the degree of counteraction to the electric load of "diffariffic" and "non-dipharmary" consumers, is improved. The quantitative indicators, namely, the coefficient of participation and the distribution coefficient, which allow estimating the participation of each of the participants in the proposed mechanism of address management of consumer demand in the alignment of the unevenness of the schedule of the electric load of the grid. The practical value of the results. For the effective stimulation of consumers to equalize the uneven schedule of electric loading of the UES of Ukraine, the proposed concept and methodical bases can be applied. Also, it has a new direction in developing market-based methods for controlling electricity consumption regimes in the grid.

Lo sviluppo di nuove architetture di convertitori digitale-analogico in grado di operare a radio frequenza comporta nuove sfide e problematiche di cui è necessario che i progettisti tengano conto in fase di design. Il presente lavoro di ricerca, svolto nel corso di 9 mesi di tirocinio presso Xilinx, è focalizzato sullo studio delle non linearità e l’analisi delle prestazioni dell’architettura Two Folded Time Interleaved DAC implementata mediante l’utilizzo di due convertitori Current Steering DAC a 16bit operanti alla frequenza di 10GHz. A tale proposito è stato creato in ambiente Cadence Virtuoso un modello VerilogA dell’architettura che consente di simulare le non idealità statiche e dinamiche e di misurarne l’effetto sulle performance del circuito. Le analisi effettuate hanno dimostrato che uno scostamento del duty cycle del clock del convertitore di appena 100fs dal valore di riferimento comporti il peggioramento del SFDR del segnale di uscita a circa -54 dBc, risultato non accettabile per la maggior parte delle applicazioni in campo wireless. Metodi di calibrazione e correzione delle non idealità, tra cui il segnale di clock, sono quindi necessari per ottenere prestazioni accettabili per il mercato. Lo studio si è quindi posto l’obiettivo di progettare un sistema di misurazione delle non idealità temporali del clock al fine di fornire uno strumento di calibrazione del TIDAC. Nello specifico, è stato progettato un sistema di misura del clock in tecnologia FinFET TSMC a 7nm in grado di garantire che il duty cycle del clock differenziale del TIDAC sia del 50%. Si è poi verificato con opportune simulazioni che il sistema di misura è in grado di misurare lo skew e differenze di duty cycle tra le due fasi del clock con un errore di massimo 45fs e di misurare il duty cycle di ogni singola fase seguendo un approccio robusto a mismatch ed offset del sistema di misura.

The diploma thesis is focused on property taxes in the Czech Republic and Ireland. The first part is aimed at tax theory and history of the property taxes. The next part describes current tax legislation for property taxes in both states. The main aim of this work is to compare the property taxes in the Czech Republic and Ireland and formulate the conclusion with particular property taxes applied in the Czech Republic. This problem is treated in the last chapter.

The aim of the thesis was to analyse dependency between setting of the price level and gasoline quantum sold at a chosen distributor in the Czech Republic and in Poland. In the first part of the thesis, there are characterized price theory, tax theory, theory of state interventions, supply, demand and price elasticity of demand. In the second part, first, there is analysed whole market with fuels in both countries with their comparison. These markets have had slightly different development and they do have different market structure, because of the existence of the market leader in Poland. Second, there are analysed the data of the chosen distributor and analysed dependencies between price and quantum sold. Research showed that there is an existence of dependencies of quantum sold on both change of the absolute price and change of the relative price. These dependencies and the impact of the relative price change is more significant in the Czech Republic than in Poland.

The diploma thesis is focused on the comparison of effective taxation of consumption and structure of tax revenues between new and old member states of the European Union. Two predetermined hypotheses were tested in the comparison analysis. Hypothesis I.: New Member States have less effective taxation of consumption than the old ones Hypothesis II.: Revenues from taxes on consumption in the New Member states is different from the yields in the old Member States.Three indicators were tested gradually: implicit tax rate, share of taxes on consumption to gross domestic product and share of taxes on consumption to total taxation. The aim of the thesis was to confirm or to refute predetermined hypotheses and to discuss results of the analysis. In this analysis was used the method Comparison of two means.

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The thesis aims to reveal the meaning of a cooperatively structured legal process, which involves in theory a substantive decision within a reasonable time that is fair and effective. The paper presents that the scope of this desideratum, to obtain an adequate decision, undergoes a process in which the parties are symmetrical in the proceedings, effectively influencing the decisions taken by the magistrate, who will only be isolated from the parties at the time of the ruling and not at the construction of the proceedings. It starts from a publicist ideal, from a democratic model of process forged through extensive dialogue between the parties and the magistrate, and the resulting dialecticism promotes a genuine contradictory, changing the design of the aphorisms mihi factum dabo tibi ius and iura novit curia, because everyone should contribute to the social peace, with no surprises. The collaboration between the parties brings duties for all parties with no exception, but the most important role belongs to the magistrate, which entails clarification duties, prevention, dialogue and aid. The parties serve diverse interests and contribute little, especially since there is a gap between them, which is exactly the reason of the litigation, including the right against self-incrimination principle. However, they cooperate with the duty of good faith. The study also faces another problem, which is the question of whether or not cooperation is a principle, not as predominant orientation, but as normative species. Finally, for the formation of a cooperative and democratic process, everyone should conduct the process as a working community
A presente dissertação tem como propósito desvelar o significado de um processo estruturado cooperativamente, o que, em tese, implica decisão de mérito em tempo razoável, que seja justa e efetiva. O trabalho expõe que o alcance desse desiderato, para a obtenção de uma decisão adequada, passa por um processo em que as partes são simétricas na condução do processo e influenciam efetivamente nas decisões tomadas pelo magistrado, para que este seja isolado somente no momento em que proferir a decisão, e não na sua construção. Parte de um ideal publicista, de um modelo processual democrático forjado através do amplo diálogo entre as partes e o juiz, e essa dialeticidade promove um contraditório genuíno, mudando a concepção dos aforismos mihi factum dabo tibi ius e iura novit curia, pois todos devem contribuir para que seja atingida a pacificação social, sem surpresas. A colaboração entre os sujeitos correspondem deveres para todos, sem exceção, mas o juiz exerce o papel mais importante, haja vista que possui deveres de esclarecimento, prevenção, diálogo e auxílio. As partes atendem a interesses diversos e pouco contribuem, sobretudo porque há um hiato entre elas, que é exatamente a razão da litigiosidade, inclusive não podem se autoincriminar. No entanto, elas cooperam com o dever de boa-fé. O trabalho também enfrenta outra problemática, que é definir se cooperação é ou não um princípio, não como orientação preponderante, mas como espécie normativa. Por fim, para a conformação de um processo cooperativo e democrático, todos devem conduzir o processo como uma comunidade de trabalho

Abstract DATA of Aerosol Robotic Network (Aeronet) stations and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) were obtained to get valuable and reliable information about the occurrence of dust events. In addition to Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) provide informative and long dust events record. To analyze the dust time series, monthly, annual and seasonal linear trends are applied to the dust time series. This is achieved by summing the total number of dusty hours for each month and then the total number of dusty days for the month is calculated. Dust trend analysis includes; annual, winter, spring, summer and autumn with the rate of change. Dust frequency of seasons in days/season before and after sorting in a descending manner from 1984 to 2013. Satelliteimagesuse for PM2.5 Estimation and concentrations Remote sensing-based measurements Calibration of Field and Laboratory Equipment. Particle concentrations in different size ranges and the total suspended particulate matter in the air in Kuwait. Dust deposition rates were monitored and analyzed in Kuwait at the northern ArabianGulf to estimate quantities of fallen dust within major eight dust trajectories in the ArabianGulf. Kuwait is surrounded by five major sources of dust rather than intermediate dust source areas that are listed. Satelliteimages from 2000 to 2010 were used to identify major dust trajectories within seven major deserts in the world.

AbstractA dust storm is meteorologically defined whenever visibility is less than 1,000 meters (Al-Kulaib 1990). Al-Dousari (2009) lists Kuwait as having one of the highest dust precipitation rates in the world. Safar (1980) states that the annual average number of dusty days due to dust storms or rising dust or suspended dust in Kuwait is 255.4. Forty-seven sampling sites representing all the geomorphological and sedimentological provinces in Kuwait were selected for the installation of dust traps to measure the average annual amount of deposited dust during 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 in tons.km-2.

The author recounts the day he reported for duty in the field hospital. Upon his arrival at Camp Bastion, the largest British overseas base since World War II, the author saw a wounded Gurkha being treated by orthopedic surgeons and scrub nurses. Orthopedic surgeons are plentiful in Bastion, presumably because of too many amputations. The attending anesthetist let the surgeons know periodically how hard he had to work to keep up with the fading Gurkha. The next morning, the patients had all been Afghans. The author describes the mayhem that morning, which he says soon became typical fare. Despite its predictability, he admits he never got used to this prebreakfast ritual, which speaks of the brutality of humanity at war with itself.

The emergence of McCulloch v. Maryland as a foundational case of constitutional law stemmed from several factors, each coming together on its own separate timeline, converging on the years 1895 to 1901. These factors included the personal interest in John Marshall’s jurisprudence held by Supreme Court justices John Marshall Harlan and Horace Gray; the emergence of an autonomous legal profession; the related transition from the Grand Style to a common-law style in constitutional opinion writing; the publication of Harvard Professor James Bradley Thayer’s first-ever constitutional law casebook; and the conservative judicial reaction against the Populist movement. Marshall was canonized in a 1901 “John Marshall Day” centennial celebration consisting of conservative and backward-looking speeches that used Marshall as a symbol to validate conservative judicial activism and laissez-faire jurisprudence.

In antiquity, the idea of padeia organically joined learning and education. In today's world it remains the essence of culture. However, philosophy is now characterized by a spirit of pragmatism that correlates present-day needs with actual sociocultural trends. Humanism can seem today nothing more than an illusion, an unrealizable utopia. Nevertheless, philosophy in its educative role should shape a attitude to life that is not only deep and universal but humanistic as well.

The risky nature of modern civilization finds one of its alternatives and possibilities for overcoming in the theosophical understanding of the duty of the individual to society. This is the thesis of the proposed article. The thesis is defended by comparing elements of the concept of “Risk Society” by the German sociologist Ulrich Beck and the understanding of duty and politics in Helena Blavatsky’s latest work “The Key to Theosophy”. The seemingly paradoxical comparison is argued with the need to find new ways and approaches to overcome the crisis of humanity, which has not yet been able to take advantage of the best achievements and ideas of its great minds over the centuries to this day. Personal change in the direction of high morality and responsibility to all and everything leads to a change in society – this is the main conclusion that is made in the article.

The natural gas supply can vary significantly on a day-to-day or even hour-to-hour basis for a power plant equipped with gas turbines. The influence of such variations could potentially have an adverse effect on the combustion process in terms of emissions and acoustic pulsations, even if the fuel properties are within the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) guidelines. Since the operation of a gas turbine typically requires steady emissions within the air permit as well as low pulsations to limit mechanical damage on the unit, fuel variations could significantly affect how the unit can be operated. To investigate this matter, data from an ALSTOM GT11N1 gas turbine was collected and studied during a 6-month period. The data acquired included on-line gas chromatograph readings, frequency-analyzed combustion instabilities, various process data, as well as ambient conditions. The collected data shows the magnitude of the changes in the emissions and combustion noise with changes in the fuel. The conclusion is that normal day-to-day variations in the natural gas properties do not have a significant effect on the emissions and combustion instabilities; however, larger sudden changes, as exemplified in the paper, could lead to considerable changes in the combustion behavior of the unit.

Bandung Geological Museum as the thematic earth museum in Indonesia has been established on 16 May 1929. This museum has 417,882 collections, there are mineral and rock collections, vertebrate, invertebrate, paleobotanical fossils, and artifacts. As a government museum, the Geological Museum has a duty to disseminating geological information. This article aims to identify the Geological Museum’s activities during the Covid-19 pandemic. After the temporary closure in March 2020, the museum activities were carried out virtually, including Collection Talk, Day and Night at the Museum, virtual tours, Bincang Museum, virtual geoscience socialization, and introduce the collections by social media. Museum Geologi Bandung sebagai museum kebumian di Indonesia telah berdiri sejak 16 Mei 1929. Museum ini memiliki 417.882 koleksi, berupa koleksi mineral dan batuan, fosil vertebrata, fosil invertebrata, fosil paleobotani dan artefak. Sebagai instansi yang bertugas menyebarluaskan informasi kegelogian, dimasa pandemi Covid-19, Museum Geologi berinovasi melakukan kegiatan-kegiatan edukasi dalam bentuk virtual. Tujuan penulisan artikel ini adalah melakukan identifikasi kegiatan dilakukan Museum Geologi selama pandemi Covid-19. Pasca penutupan sementara Museum Geologi pada bulan Maret 2020, kegiatan yang dilakukan berupa kegiatan virtual diantaranya: Collection Talk, Day and Night at the Museum, virtual tour, Bincang Museum, sosialisasi kebumian secara virtual, dan pengenalan koleksi melalui sosial media.

The design principles of the splined-disc-type rotor with Hirth-serration couplings used in all Siemens heavy-duty gas turbines since 1960 are explained. The benefits of this rotor construction are elaborated against the operational requirements imposed on rotors by present-day large advanced gas turbines for electric power generation. Details of the stress assessment, analysis and testing underlying the design, as well as a description of the assembly of the rotor are also presented, using mostly the 170 MW-class 3600 rpm Model V84.3A gas turbine to illustrate the most recent technology.

Availability and Reliability have become a major concern for operating companies; especially for those where unscheduled outages due to purchased power agreements may be highly penalized. On the other hand, high revenues by the sale of electricity can be achieved if the power generating set performs according to its demand. Economic calculations demonstrate that the bottom line between profit and loss lies within the high 90th% of availability. This paper summarizes the results of an analysis based on the regulations in France with its so-called EJP days (Effacement Jour Pointe). Any loss of highly penalized EJP days is quantified based on known RAM (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability) values of the equipment, as these are the Mean Time Between Failures MTBF’s and the Mean Times To Repair MTTR’s of the overall equipment as well as its subassemblies. In formulating the demand, the past 12 years of assigned EJP days by the Electricité de France, EdF, was analyzed to derive probability ratings of seasonal distributions, weekly distributions and day block distributions. The mathematics of this simulation model are based on well proven statistical procedures (i.e. the Monte Carlo Method). By performing parameter variations, the model can also quantitatively predict how much the Mean Time Between Failures of a heavy duty gas turbine must usually be better for this application when compared to an aeroderivative gas turbine. This is because it normally takes longer to repair or replace a heavy duty gas turbine versus an aeroderivative unit in case of a major unscheduled or forced outage.

The public and governmental pressure for lowering GHG emissions from the transportation sector is continuously increasing. Since the release of the new CO2 target figures from the European Commission (EC), formulating massive reduction degrees in the next decade (-15% in 2025 and -37,5% in 2030), substantial initiatives have been engaged to ensure proper achievement and compliance with these ambitious targets. Diesel powered vehicles and, in particular, light-duty Diesel engines have been the major driver for continuous year-to-year fuel consumption reduction rates in the recent past. These achievements so far were mainly based on continuous enhancement of combustion efficiency and reduction of mechanical losses. Based on this experience, it appears unlikely to realize further substantial improvements by extension and prolongation of this technical approach, like requested by the legal authorities for the mid-term future. Double digit lowering rates request for implementation of new features and technologies. As purely electric propulsion systems gain increasing attractiveness for small light-duty applications, due to a better balanced trade-off between costs and daily operational duties, heavier light-duty vehicles, often used for commercial needs, demand different powertrain concepts, especially if heavy goods transportation, long distance driving and/or trailer towing demands are requested as well from the end-user side. In order to safeguard both, upcoming legal GHG reduction norms as well as all-day operational duties, new powertrain configurations are requested. One attractive conceptual layout is found by the mixed-serial hybrid topology, labeled Diesel EMotion. This powertrain concept features a tailored cost-optimized Diesel engine with a strong electric machine as a serial hybrid, while featuring in conjunction with a simple one-speed transmission a direct, highly efficient coupling of the engine with the drive wheels. The vehicle is mainly driven by the electrical machine, especially in urban regimes, but, as soon as vehicle speed and load exceed certain threshold values, the direct connection between engine crankshaft and driving wheels is enacted to realize best fuel efficiency. The paper in hand describes at first the conceptual layout of the advanced powertrain topology for heavy Light-Duty vehicle applications, balancing functional performance in the limited engine operational map with corresponding cost reduction measures. Furthermore, initial functional performance figures, especially in comparison to conventional powertrain definitions as well as to classical serial hybrid designs are displayed. The paper concludes with a summary and parameter ranking in order to determine next steps in realization and industrialization PREPARERD FOR: FISITA 2020 – PRAGUE/CZECH 2020 Topics • Stringent EU CO2 targets in transport sector • New propulsion system topology • Mixed-serial Diesel hybrid layout

The NovaLT™16 gas turbine recently developed in Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE), is part of a larger class of gas turbines (LT class) aiming at covering a wide space in the small power range segment and at introducing in the market a state of the art technology engine for what concerns performance, emissions, operability, durability and maintainability. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the entire validation campaign that was performed at BHGE facilities. This campaign can be divided into 3 different phases. The first phase focused on measuring engine performance in a new, clean and unaltered configuration. The second phase focused on emissions, vibration, thermal distribution, auxiliary system performances and the like, in order to validate the design assumption and calculation results across the full operational range. In this phase, more than 2000 sensors were installed across the entire engine, covering all modules, and all functional tests were performed (inside and outside of design space) to guarantee reliable engine behavior. At the end of this test phase, a full engine teardown was performed to allow a detailed parts inspection that confirmed the achievement of the design intent. The standard maintenance plan of the engine requires 35Kh continuous running. Therefore, the third part of the test aimed at validating engine durability with a full endurance test that allowed the identification and correction of any possible remaining operation problem. In this phase, the engine was still equipped with more than 1000 sensors, and was operated continuously following a well-defined operating profile in order to simulate both mechanical drive and power generation modes. This campaign successfully allowed to fine tune several engine control logic details, to monitor emissions behavior across a wide range of ambient temperature and load condition (the test spans from hot to cold day), to analyze trends of standard engine parameters and special instrumentation and, through planned borescope inspection, to evaluate individual component status versus selected operating profile. Data reported in this paper represent a summary of all the data acquired and post processing results, and illustrate how an endurance test can help tuning machine performance predictions in a wide operating range.

The MS5002E is a 32 MW-class, two-shaft gas turbine suitable for both mechanical and generator drive applications. Its design, based on the latest heavy-duty gas turbine technology, delivers 36% of thermal efficiency and maintains NOx emissions below 25 ppm. After an extensive validation program performed on the First Engine to Test (FETT), the first production unit was shipped to the Yara fertilizer company for its ammonia and nitrate fertilizer plant at Sluiskil in the Netherlands. Yara is the world’s largest supplier of crop nutrients, with sales to more than 120 countries. The unit entered into commercial operation on November 2007, supporting Yara in meeting its environmental plan by replacing an existing, less efficient gas turbine. The engine is operated in generator drive mode, producing 30+ MW of electric power and 50 tons per hour of steam, which is used in the plant process. As of this writing, the unit has exceeded 18,000 hours of continuous service. The performance results and reliability are unusually high for a new machine. This article reports the experience accumulated on the gas turbine during field operations, based both on the day-by-day activity (condition monitoring) and on the special introductory inspection program carried on to date. The improvements already introduced and being introduced on subsequent fleet units are discussed as well. The day-by-day monitoring is supported by an extensive quantity of data collected from the machine and sent via Internet connection to the GE Oil&Gas Remote Monitoring & Diagnostic Center in Florence.

The refuse truck segment of the heavy duty diesel vehicle population has been identified as the most fuel inefficient sector. This is predominantly due to the stop and go driving pattern associated with these trucks. Constantly evolving emissions norms are forcing large truck fleet operators to explore the economic viability of alternative fueled vehicles to combat the increasing operating costs in terms of retrofit requirements of heavy-duty diesel vehicles. The objective of this study was to determine the emissions benefits and the economic viability of introducing liquefied natural gas (LNG), and LNG-Ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) dual-fueled vehicles into the solid resource collection vehicle fleet (SRCV) in the city of Los Angeles. The 12 vehicles tested in this study were part of a multi-fuel refuse truck fleet. It should be noted that these vehicles are not representative of the state-of-the-art advanced technology engines that power the present day fleets. Vehicles were exercised over the AQMD refuse truck cycle and a newly developed compaction cycle on a heavy-duty chassis dynamometer. Regulated emissions together with a whole spectrum of unregulated speciation including the analysis of 1,3 butadiene with an on-site gas chromatograph was performed. Results showed that PM distance-specific mass emissions from LNG-fueled vehicles were on an average 82% lower than diesel trucks equipped with a DPF. Chemical speciation of exhaust from different fueled trucks indicated a characteristic emissions profile specific to the fuel used in these vehicles. While emissions from LNG vehicles were characterized by carbonyls, and other lower chain hydrocarbon compounds, emissions from diesel vehicles were dominated by polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and higher chain hydrocarbons.