Academic literature on the topic 'Elimination of obstacles'

The article researches the practice of delimiting an accomplice from a co-executor. In cases where an accomplice intellectually or physically assists in the commission of a crime in the future or promises to provide such assistance after its completion, problems with the qualifications of his actions, as a rule, do not arise. A particular difficulty represents the legal assessment of the elimination of obstacles by the accomplice of the encroachment by the “main” performer. The author sets himself the goal of a scientifically grounded definition of the type of accomplice in a crime, which contributes to its commission by eliminating obstacles in the process of fulfilling the objective side. To achieve this goal, the normative and formal legal approaches were used, the decisions of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the doctrinal provisions of the criminal were studied were studied. In the article, the author reasonably proposes that a person who removes obstacles to the implementation of the method of crime during the execution of its objective side be recognized as a co-executor. When deciding on the content of the objective side, one should issue not only from the abstract features of the corresponding composition, but also take into account the specific method of the actually committed encroachment. It is proposed to clarify in the legislative definition of an accomplice that a person who contributed to the commission of a crime by eliminating obstacles is recognized as an accomplice only if such elimination was carried out at the stage of preparation for the crime.

AbstractThe introduction of efficacious new hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatments galvanized the World Health Organization to define ambitious targets for eliminating HCV as a public health threat by 2030. Formidable obstacles to reaching this goal can best be overcome through a micro-elimination approach, which entails pursuing elimination goals in discrete populations through multi-stakeholder initiatives that tailor interventions to the needs of these populations. Micro-elimination is less daunting, less complex, and less costly than full-scale, country-level initiatives to eliminate HCV, and it can build momentum by producing small victories that inspire more ambitious efforts. The micro-elimination approach encourages stakeholders who are most knowledgeable about specific populations to engage with each other and also promotes the uptake of new models of care. Examples of micro-elimination target populations include medical patients, people who inject drugs, migrants, and prisoners, although candidate populations can be expected to vary greatly in different countries and subnational areas.

The objectives of this study are: to find out the procedure for the elimination of Regional Property (BMD) at the Regional Financial and Asset Management Agency (BPKAD) Serang Regency, to find out what obstacles occur in the implementation of the elimination of Regional Property (BMD) at the Regional Asset Management Agency. Regional Finance and Assets (BPKAD) Serang Regency. The results of the study indicate that the abolition of State Property has been carried out according to the procedures and the obstacles faced and overcome.

In Case C-76/90 Säger, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that the EU free movement provisions require not only the elimination of all discrimination on grounds of nationality but also the abolition of any restriction, when it is liable to prohibit or otherwise impede economic activities. A national measure that is liable to prohibit or otherwise impede economic activities restricts free movement even in cases where there is no allegation of discrimination on grounds of nationality. The alleged 'problem' with this formulation is that it makes no reference to the size or scale of the impediment: it is sufficient that there is one or liable to be one (there is no de minimis rule). Also, it is not necessary to establish a discrimination of cross-border activity. It is a controversial question whether, on this basis, non-discriminatory tax measures can be tested against the free movement provisions. The prevailing view in literature is that the Säger formula cannot, without modification, be applied in direct tax cases, because another approach would encroach too much on the tax sovereignty of EU Member States. This article examines whether this fear is justified. It does so by having recourse to Robert Alexy's theory of principles and a thorough analysis of ECJ case law.

AbstractThe paper discusses the right to water as an integral part of a third generation rights in terms of its feasibility. The author tries to point out the need of participation of the private sector in solutions for effective elimination of indisputable humanitarian crisis in the world caused by scarcity of the clean water and most importantly by inadequate access to clean water sources. A long time struggle towards fighting poverty and ensuring basic need for life only by means of official authorities proves that despite indisputable political and normative progress, states consistently fail in meeting demands of implementation. Therefore the author emphasizes the necessity of cooperative action of a private sector and public sector stemming into a participative solution.

Abstract The paper proposes solution for two important issues connected to navigation of independent mobile platforms in an unknown environment. First issue relates to obstacle map, estimated based on stereovision images. It provides a basis for further platform path-planning. The main problem that has to be solved in obstacle map derivation is elimination of artifacts resulting from depth estimation. Thus a two-step artifact filtering procedure is proposed, which exploits both within-frame spatial correlations as well as temporal, between-frame correlations to do this task. Second procedure, based on well-known Lees algorithm is designed for obtaining vehicle collisionless path. Such routes need to be updated on-the-fly to take into account moving obstacles or newly detected objects. The main idea of the proposed approach is to identify regions where environment has changed and to execute a procedure of selective path updates. As a result, an optimal path can be derived at a computational expense comparable to the heuristic Lifelong A* search. Experiment results demonstrate efficiency of the two discussed approaches for platform operation control in real environments, where both static and moving obstacles are present.

This article is based on the results of an empirical study of social entrepreneurship development in St. Petersburg and the Rus sian Federation regions. The study was aimed at analyzing the dynamics of social business, and identifying obstacles and barriers of its development. The difficulties faced by entre preneurs in the development of this form of business are clarified; the necessary measures to support social entrepreneurs are identified; recommendations on elimination of obstacles to its development are formulated.

Despite the decrease in malaria mortality and morbidity, it remains a significant public health problem in India. India is targeting malaria elimination from the country by 2030. Different areas in India are in different phases of malaria elimination. The emerging resistance in vectors as well parasite have added necessity to accelerate the malaria elimination programme. Forested areas remain the foci for malaria transmission due to favourable human and environmental factors. Here, we analysed the longitudinal data from 2000 to 2019 to see the trends in forest malaria in India. Population living in forested areas are major malaria contributors. From 2000 to 2019, ~32% of malaria cases and 42% of malaria related deaths were reported from forested districts which represent only ~6.6% of the total Indian population. Increasing insecticide resistance, a high percentage of submicroscopic infections and challenging to test and treat communities are the crucial components of the prevailing obstacles of forested malaria. To achieve the elimination goal, efforts should be intensified with more resources diverted to the forested areas. Malaria control in forested areas will bring fruitful results for malaria control in India.

Дисертаційна робота на здобуття наукового ступеня кандидата технічних наук за спеціальністю 05.11.13 – прилади і методи контролю та визначення складу речовини. – Харківський національний університет радіоелектроніки, Харків, 2019. Дисертація присвячена підвищенню завадостійкості теплової дефектоскопії багатошарових стільникових конструкцій і трубопроводів шляхом зниження завад в тепловому неруйнівному контролі як за рахунок вибору режиму контролю за критерієм максимуму відношення сигнал / завада, так і за допомогою подальшої комп'ютерної обробки отриманих експериментальних даних. Запропоновано теплофізичні моделі багатошарових стільникових конструкцій і трубопроводів. Розроблено програмний пакет "TermoPro_TFH_Statistic" і на його основі проведено чисельні експерименти по вибору режимів теплової дефектоскопії. Проведено ряд натурних і лабораторних експериментів з дослідження впливу завад на тепловий неруйнівний контроль. Розроблено ряд фільтрів, а також послідовність їх застосування для істотного зниження рівня завад при проведенні ТДС. Завдяки цьому підвищилась чутливість теплової дефектоскопії до виявлення дефектів типу "непроклей" в стільникових структурах – розмір порогового дефекту знижений з 6 мм до 3 мм, а достовірність їх виявлення зросла на 17-20%.
The dissertation on the receipt of scientific degree of candidate of engineering sciences on speciality 05.11.13 – devices and methods of testing and materials composition determination. Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics, Kharkiv, 2019. The dissertation is devoted to the question of immunity to interference improvement in the thermal non-destructive testing of multilayered honeycomb constructions and pipelines, both by the monitoring mode selection with the criterion of maximum signal-to-interference ratio, and by the further computer processing of obtained experimental data. Thermophysical models of multilayered honeycomb constructions are proposed. The software package "TermoPro_TFH_Statistic" was worked out and number of experiments at the thermal flaw detection modes selection were performed on its basis. A number of full-size and laboratory-scale experiments were conducted to investigate the interference effect on thermal non-destructive testing. A number of filters have been worked out, as well as the sequence of their use to significantly reduce the interference level during the thermal flaw detection. Due to this, the sensitivity of thermal defectoscopy to detection of defects of the "non-adhesive" type in honeycomb structures increased – the size of the threshold defect was decreased from 6mm to 3mm, and the reliability of their detection increased by 17-20%.

Дисертаційна робота на здобуття наукового ступеня кандидата технічних наук за спеціальністю 05.11.13 - прилади і методи контролю та визначення складу речовини. – Харківський національний університет радіоелектроніки, Харків, 2019. Дисертація присвячена підвищенню завадостійкості теплової дефектоскопії багатошарових стільникових конструкцій і трубопроводів шляхом зниження завад в тепловому неруйнівному контролі як за рахунок вибору режиму контролю за критерієм максимуму відношення сигнал / завада, так і за допомогою подальшої комп'ютерної обробки отриманих експериментальних даних. Запропоновано теплофізичні моделі багатошарових стільникових конструкцій і трубопроводів. Розроблено програмний пакет "TermoPro_TFH_Statistic" і на його основі проведено чисельні експерименти по вибору режимів теплової дефектоскопії. Проведено ряд натурних і лабораторних експериментів з дослідження впливу завад на тепловий неруйнівний контроль. Розроблено ряд фільтрів, а також послідовність їх застосування для істотного зниження рівня завад при проведенні ТДС. Завдяки цьому підвищилась чутливість теплової дефектоскопії до виявлення дефектів типу "непроклей" в стільникових структурах – розмір порогового дефекту знижений з 6 мм до 3 мм, а достовірність їх виявлення зросла на 17 -20%.
The dissertation on the receipt of scientific degree of candidate of engineering sciences on speciality 05.11.13 – devices and methods of testing and materials composition determination. Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics, Kharkiv, 2019. The dissertation is devoted to the question of immunity to interference improvement in the thermal non-destructive testing of multilayered honeycomb constructions and pipelines, both by the monitoring mode selection with the criterion of maximum signal-to-interference ratio, and by the further computer processing of obtained experimental data. Thermophysical models of multilayered honeycomb constructions are proposed. The software package "TermoPro_TFH_Statistic" was worked out and number of experiments at the thermal flaw detection modes selection were performed on its basis. A number of full-size and laboratory-scale experiments were conducted to investigate the interference effect on thermal non-destructive testing. A number of filters have been worked out, as well as the sequence of their use to significantly reduce the interference level during the thermal flaw detection. Due to this, the sensitivity of thermal defectoscopy to detection of defects of the "non-adhesive" type in honeycomb structures increased – the size of the threshold defect was decreased from 6mm to 3mm, and the reliability of their detection increased by 17-20%.

This thesis examines what political conditions must be established and what obstacles overcome, nationally and internationally, in order for the five 'official' nuclear weapon states (NWS) under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT)— China, France, Russia, the UK and the US—to abolish their nuclear weapons. In order to assess the explanatory power of existing mainstream and realist perspectives regarding the causes and consequences of NWS nuclear possession and disarmament, a substantial evidence base is utilised. Academic, advocacy and government documents, as well as interviews with a range of practitioners in this field, are drawn on to develop an institutional-historical analysis of nuclear politics in and between NWS. From this assessment of the existing literature, it is argued that whilst mainstream and realist works have some value, there are several gaps in and problems with their analysis that need to be addressed. For example, such works do not provide a full account of nuclear politics because they mainly focus on the international level, so that the role domestic politics plays in nuclear matters is not properly considered. In order to rectify this deficiency, I adopt a critical and normative approach and develop the domestic politics model of nuclear possession to better imagine the political causes and consequences of nuclear disarmament. The approach adopted, which I term institutional democratisation, proposes that if nuclear weapons are to be permanently eliminated then legitimate forms of power, including popular, democratic movements driven by principles of equality and justice, need to be developed in NWS that are capable of controlling and eliminating the bomb. This is necessary because the behaviour of nuclear weapon decision- making elites across NWS—and the institutions they inhabit and maintain—present the principal barrier to meaningful progress on eliminating nuclear weapons. Nuclear disarmament will thus both contribute to reformed domestic, regional and international political orders and benefit from wider, progressive change at each of these levels.

AbstractThis book presents an overview of policies and practices aimed at promoting equity in access to higher education. Despite an initial idea that massification of higher education would have, at least, attenuated differences in the access of higher education related to the social background of students and their families, it has been observed that equity has not been achieved. Chapter 10.1007/978-3-030-69691-7_2 presents a theoretical background of the problem based on the positional character of higher education. Chapters 10.1007/978-3-030-69691-7_3 to 10.1007/978-3-030-69691-7_9 present several national cases, including the U.S., Brazil and a number of European countries. All these chapters present a critical analysis of access policies and of why they have failed to promote equity in the sense of fairness, meaning ensuring the elimination of obstacles to achieving educational potential resulting from personal and social factors. Chapter 10.1007/978-3-030-69691-7_10 presents the conclusions of the book.

Malaria, the severe vector-borne disease has embedded serious consequences on mankind since ages, causing deterioration of health, leading to deaths. The causative parasite has a wide distribution aligned from tropical to subtropical regions. Out of all the five species Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum have registered about more than 600 million cases worldwide. Throughout the decades, identification of various antimalarial drugs, targets, preventive measures and advancement of vaccines were achieved. The key to executing malaria elimination is the appropriate laboratory diagnosis. Development includes positive scientific judgments for a vaccine, advanced progress of 3 non-pyrethroid insecticides, novel genetic technologies, possibilities to alter malaria parasite mediation by the mosquito, identification of drug resistance markers, initiation of Plasmodium vivax liver stage assessment, perspective to mathematical modeling and screening for active ingredients for drugs and insecticides. Although the last century witnessed many successful programs with scientific progress, however, this was matched with notable obstacles. The mutation in the genes has changed the overall gameplay of eradication. This chapter aims to examine the numerous experimental and theoretical works that have been established in the last two decades along with the ongoing methodologies consisting of detailed explanations necessary for the establishment of new targets and drugs.

It is evident that traditional research methods are going to change. The research should be based on the possibility of quick access to information, interactivity and interaction of participants in search for information, elimination of temporal and spatial obstacles. Everything mentioned above requires the use of new research technologies, including blockchain technology. This technology allows solving the problems of collection and systematization of scientific data, access to it within the framework of project operation and implementation at any organization, and joint efforts of various structures. Data saved in blocks and stored on different servers can be accessed by different users. It reduces the cost of coordinating the actions of different users who want to obtain certain information. This article explores how blockchain technology is changing traditional methods of applied research in bioinformatics.

This chapter examines women’s rights. Section 2 describes the treatment of women in international law prior to the adoption of the UN Charter, in order to highlight the significance of the subsequent shift to the promotion of women’s equality. It examines the non-discrimination approach favoured by the drafters of the founding human rights instruments, highlighting the importance of the approach as well as some of its limitations. Section 3 examines the innovative approach taken in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the drafters of which aimed to address the problems attending the concept of non-discrimination by promoting a strong version of women’s substantive equality. Section 4 considers the strategy of ‘gender mainstreaming’ adopted in the 1990s, which sought to reinterpret mainstream human rights to be inclusive of women’s experiences. Section 5 concludes by highlighting some continuing obstacles presented by the law itself, which prevent women from successfully claiming and enjoying human rights.

This chapter examines the struggle for women’s rights and gender equality in Pakistan in recent decades through the lens of the experimentalist account of human rights. It describes the work of women’s groups and other activists in Pakistan to advance the rights of women in a highly patriarchal political and social system, and their engagement over time with international human rights law and institutions as part of those efforts, in particular the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Activists have drawn on the support of transnational networks and have used international human rights institutions, including CEDAW as well as the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council, to increase pressure on governmental and other domestic actors to introduce change. Despite the huge scale of the social and political obstacles facing their efforts at reform, many significant changes have been introduced as a consequence of domestic mobilization and engagement. The chapter outlines some of these contested legal and political processes over time and the reforms that have gradually been brought about, as well as the limitations they have confronted.

Emerging markets are amongst some of the fastest-growing economies on the globe. However, it is necessary to enhance human capital to enable the long-term development of a nation. The theory states that the increase in workforce participation favorably impacts GDP per capita. Additionally, developing markets can grow even further if they increase women’s rates in the labor market. The authors’ desire is to determine the main obstacles for women in the job market and identify the impact of female participation on national development. The authors applied the following methods of work: description and compilation of different literature and deduction method to show which relevant factors are recommended to make higher women’s economic activity to impacts the economy in a broader sense. The results show that Emerging markets must overcome gender inequalities, properly enforce female-related regulations, and invest in human development. The results also point out the relevance of a country’s level of development, culture, education, female-related laws, and their influence on women’s decision or ability to work. The discussion demonstrates that the rate of women in the workforce is increasing, but it is still severely lower than the men’s rate. The main issues are cultural stereotypes, limited access to the job market, and difficulties with combining work and childcare. When it comes to infrastructure and educational possibilities, remote areas are still underdeveloped. Furthermore, gender bias is still deeply rooted in rural society. The elimination of these stereotypes and the improvement (and enforcement) of women-related policies will contribute to higher female workforce participation in the future.

Previous chapters present the characteristics of drug movement through the body. Diffusion is an essential mode of transport at the microscopic scale; concentration gradients drive a substantial fraction of the molecular movements within cells and the extracellular space. The confinement and regulated passage of molecules within compartments of a tissue or cell is also essential for function; membranes confine molecules to spatial locations and regulate transport between these isolated spaces (Chapter 5). Membranes frequently are the major obstacles to the entry or distribution of therapeutic compounds (Chapter 7). Therefore, much of the effort in drug design and drug delivery is devoted to overcoming these diffusional or membrane barriers. This chapter describes strategies for manipulating agents in order to increase their biological activity. The sections orbit a central assumption: i.e., agents can be modified to make analogous agents (analogs), which are chemically distinct from the original compound, but produce a similar biological effect. Nature uses a similar strategy, called “biotransformation” to assure elimination of many toxic compounds and drugs. Substantial chemical modification is often needed in order to impact physical properties that influence drug distribution such as stability or solubility; the challenge of drug modification is to identify chemical features that can be changed without sacrificing biological activity. Often, our understanding of the relationship between chemical structure and biological function for an agent is incomplete, making the rational production of analogs difficult. Drug modifications are frequently directed at altering properties that influence the concentration of the compound (i.e., its solubility), the duration of action (which is usually related to its stability in tissue), or the ability of drug molecules to move between compartments in tissues (which is often related to its permeability in membranes). A chemical modification can effect multiple properties, so these divisions are frequently not as distinct as the section headings suggest. Many agents are protected from degradation within tissues by binding. Binding provides a mechanism for sequestering an unstable or potent compound within a region of a tissue. Protective binding occurs frequently within the plasma and extracellular matrix (ECM); the complex molecular composition of these tissues provides many potential binding sites.

Artificial Potential Field (APF) theory is a unique branch of robotic path planning, which could be capable of handling the need for high dimensional robotic obstacle avoidance. However, APF theories have general performance issues which often make them undesirable in application. This research analyzes the Secant Approach; an algorithm developed to follow the APF style of path planning, but which has guaranteed convergence and obstacle avoidance properties in n-dimensional space. Using a unique potential function, the Secant Approach can guarantee a global minimum at the target while provably eliminating local minimums at other locations. Also, a control scheme has been developed which has guaranteed convergence properties. The Secant Approach is therefore capable of guiding various forms of robotic applications to target positions in n-dimensional space, making the theory a powerful path planning tool. This analysis examines the structure of the Secant Approach and extends the theory to include variable radius, solid obstacles.

Abstract This paper deals with debottlenecking approach of complex and integrated system through means of Holistic Modeling for optimizing hydrocarbon evacuation. As prudent operator for the complex network, it is crucial to pursue strategic ideas and innovative concepts to optimize supply demand balance, fulfill contractual obligations to optimize resources to maximize value creation, whilst protecting investment decisions for monetization of the new field development. It therefore necessitates to prioritize system reliability and de-bottlenecking initiatives to implement successful business plans with appropriate timely reconfiguration at various intensities of the network. It is consequently essential to decipher the pain points by performing root cause analysis and troubleshooting to achieve optimal fit for purpose solution by gaining better understanding of network characteristic, supply distribution & operating topology. Paper focus on a bold step change that was commenced to develop an end-to-end Holistic Network Model from well head (fields) to product delivery to scrutinize the network and propose suitable alleviation by appraising the debottleneck requirement at offshore riser collection manifold which serves as integrated facility for multiple hubs and fields. Model was validated with plant information and deployed to yield robust & realistic results. Multiple sensitivity scenarios were accomplished to analyze current riser manifold configuration limitation checks for tie-back of new field such as ullage opportunity, pressure variations, hydraulic fluxes, potential choking of low-pressure wells/fields and prospective blending specifications violations etc. Obstacles across affected manifold could be estimated and its reconfiguration was planned by means of variations in operating philosophy, alterations in the manifold assembly with appropriate manifold debottlenecking recommendation. Analytics of Integrated Network modelling could qualify not only technical obligations but also empower representative economic evaluation for debottlenecking by appending precise requirement in terms of manifold reconfiguration, backed up by appraised data from network model. Model output also assisted to gauze the potential for enhancing network capacity by implementing appropriate reforms to optimize evacuation for new field line ups. Integrated network model developed with an aid of basic network elements can be subjected to estimate vital features for comprehensive network such as pressure and flow across the various nodes in the system. Methodology describes how by developing an integrated network model that summarize the granularity of a highly complex offshore gas network has facilitated to strategize the manifold reconfiguration and appraise debottleneck requirement besides proposing appropriate mitigation. With integrated network modeled on a single platform allows a uniform data transfer from various elements such as fields, facilities, pipelines, gas highways and terminals into the model which assist for network optimization. The situational analysis via modeling could enable the elimination of new dedicated infrastructure for field evacuation leading to CAPEX optimization there by facilitating its optimal monetization. It reveals extensive usage of model with physical boundaries steering decision for project implementation.

The feasibility of using a constrained Delaunay triangulation method for determining optimal flight trajectories of unmanned air vehicles in a constrained environment is explored. Current methods for developing optimal flight trajectories have yet to achieve computational times that allow for real-time implementation. The proposed method alleviates the dependency of problem specific parameters while eliminating constraints on the Non-Linear Program. Given an input of obstacles with n vertices, a constrained Delaunay triangulation is performed on the space. Converting the vertices of the triangulation to barycentric coordinates on a phased approach defines the state bounds and max time for each phase. With two-dimensional aircraft dynamics, direct orthogonal collocation methods are performed to compute the optimal flight trajectory. Results illustrate computational times and feasibility of Small Unmanned Aircraft System flight trajectories through polygon constraints.

Oil discharges from a ship’s propeller shaft system are an issue for commercial ship owners. A 2010 study by a New York Consulting firm estimated the total worldwide amount of lubricants from operational discharges from ships would be about 130 to 244 million litres annually. To add perspective, oil pollution from the Exxon Valdez tanker spill in 1989 was 41.6 million litres. Most ships use mineral oil to lubricate the propeller shaft and the oil is contained in the propeller shaftline by the aft seal – which is the oil to sea interface. According to the new U.S. Environment Protection Agency Vessel General Permit (VGP), all vessels built on or after Dec. 19, 2013 and trading in US waters must use an environmentally acceptable lubricant (EAL) in all oil to sea interfaces before their next drydocking. This paper will review: the renaissance of seawater based systems, a general description of a seawater lubricated bearing system, current commercial ship users and results, lower operating costs with “free” seawater and no aft seal, conversions of existing ships and resistance of shipyards to change standard designs from oil to seawater. The paper will also review new Classification rules from LR, CCS and BV for seawater lubricated propeller shaft systems, allowing the shaft to remain in place if monitoring conditions are met - which removes a major obstacle that ship owners had with seawater-based propeller shaft bearing systems.

Abstract In Japan, which has a wide EEZ, there are high expectations for the potential of MRE. The spread of MRE may produce various effects such as eliminating dependence on other countries for energy supply and revitalizing local economies through business entry. On the other hand, consensus building with various stakeholders at the time of project development is considered a major obstacle to dissemination. In order to promote commercialization of the MRE development, not only the evaluation of economic feasibility but also various aspects such as environmental conservation and coexistence with other industries should be integrated and evaluated. A rational system should be established to select suitable sites that all stakeholders can be convinced. In this study, especially on offshore wind power generation, existing studies on selecting suitable sites in consideration of economic, environmental, and social aspects were investigated as well as the related efforts of each country to review the current status of marine spatial planning and extract issues for MRE deployment in Japan. A preliminary economic evaluation for offshore wind power generation around Japan was also carried out.

Boom lifts are useful throughout a variety of industries, such as manufacturing, maintenance service, real estate management, and construction. Boom lifts are designed to allow operator mobility at high elevations and are often used as a substitute for traditional ladders, man-baskets on lift trucks and scaffolding. Although boom lifts are very practical and efficient in allowing personnel to work at high elevations and in areas with limited access, several known hazards exist with boom lifts such as falls, machine tipping, crushes, collapse of machine and electrocution. Although boom lift operator manuals and safety literature discuss the aforementioned hazards, they do not or incompletely discuss the hazard of suddenly released stored energy when stored energy is rapidly converted from potential energy to kinetic energy through the boom to the operator platform. One example of rapid conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy involves the boom lift driven over a sudden drop off such as a curb. A relatively low drop off can be amplified substantially by the lever arm of the boom, and as a result, the operator platform and operator(s) within, rapidly accelerate. A second example is when the operator platform is snagged on an external structure and continued hydraulic movement builds up potential energy within the boom. The buildup of potential energy can suddenly and unexpectedly release if the platform springs free from entanglement with the structure. Such release results in the boom, the platform, and the operator(s) rapidly accelerating. During the rapid acceleration experienced in both examples, operators can potentially be and have historically been violently thrown against the railing of the platform, ejected from the platform, and/or crushed by any nearby overhead obstacles. The purpose of this paper is to address, analytically quantify, and propose engineering solutions to guard against the sudden conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy on boom lifts. This hazard is currently not discussed or incompletely discussed in boom lift operator manuals and safety literature. Analytical techniques are used to quantify the rapid acceleration experienced by operator platforms and operators upon the sudden conversion of potential to kinetic energy in various scenarios. Further, the principles of safety engineering are utilized to determine methods to eliminate or reduce the frequency and severity of injuries associated with the sudden conversion of potential to kinetic energy on boom lifts. This engineering and safety engineering analysis demonstrates that the sudden conversion of energy on boom lifts can rapidly accelerate the operator platform and operator(s) within. Further, there are technologically feasible designs that protect operators against the sudden conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy on boom lifts. Such improved, safer designs are more effective at eliminating or reducing the frequency and severity of injuries than simply warning against the hazards.

Negative pressure is one of the metastable states of liquids at which it can be extended up to a certain limit without a gap of continuity. There are numerous experimental studies where a negative pressure up to 40 MPa has been obtained at laboratory conditions. However, these results of the experimental works were not practically implemented, as real liquids both in the nature and the technological processes contain impurities. Under certain kinetic and hydrodynamic conditions the waves of negative pressure in real liquids (crude oil, water, and water-based solutions) were observed. The wave of negative pressure is a turned soliton wave with one negative hump. It is a conservative wave, which maintains its shape and dimensions, and travels long distances with the speed of sound. An advanced technology of generation of the negative pressure wave in real systems allowed creating completely new energy saving technology. This technology based on negative pressure phenomenon has been already used for increasing oil production efficiency during various oil well operations, cleaning of oil well bore, and pipelines from various accumulations. It is shown that a new technology has a lot of potentials for bottom-hole cleaning operations, oil recovery enhancement, pipeline transportation, gas-lift operation etc. Negative pressure is known to be one of the metastable states at which liquids can be extended up to a certain limit. Theoretic evaluations show that in pure liquids negative pressure may reach large values while the liquid may stand significant extending efforts. For instance, the maximum negative pressure that may be sustained by ideally pure water is estimated as −109N/m2. It means that an imaginable rope of completely pure water with the diameter of 0.01m can sustain a huge extending effort more than 105 N. It is evident that the real experimental values of negative pressure are much less than the corresponding theoretic estimations. It is connected with the impossibility of obtaining ideally pure liquids without any “weak places” (gas bubbles, admixture, etc) and with the circumstance that in experience, the rupture often happens not in the liquid volume but on the surface touching the walls of the vessels weakened by the existence of thin films, embryos, etc. There are numerous results of the experimental work of static and dynamic character, where negative pressure has appeared in one or another degree [1]. In laboratory conditions, negative pressure apparently was first revealed in the experiences made by F. M. Donny (1843), who used degassed sulfuric acid and obtained negative pressure only −0.012 MPa. Among the further attempts of receiving bigger negative pressure, it is worth mentioning the experiences made by O.Reynolds, M.Bertelot and J.Meyer. Basing upon a centrifugal method and using mercury, L.J.Briggs obtained the record value of negative pressure (−42.5 MPa). But as a matter of fact, beginning from the first experiences by F. M. Donny, the main condition in the investigations for the appearance of negative pressure has been the homogeneous character of the liquid and high degree of the purity the liquid-vessel system. Significant values of negative pressure has been obtained under those conditions, however these results of a great scientific importance have no effective applications in practice as real liquids in Nature and technological processes are heterogeneous multicomponent systems. A long-term experimental work has been done to generate negative negative pressure in real liquid systems and investigate influence of this state on thermohydrodynamical characteristics of natural and technological processes [2,3]. Basing on the idea that negative pressure can be created due to the sudden character of extending efforts a direct wave of the negative pressure in real liquids (water, oil, solutions etc.) have been obtained experimentally. For impulsive entering into metastable (overheated) zone in a phase diagram “liquid-vapor” the pressure should drop so fast that the existing centers of evaporation (bubbles, embryos, admixtures etc.) would not be able to manifest themselves for this period. In these terms purity of the liquid is not decisive, and herewith there might exist states of an overheated liquid with the manifestation of negative pressure. It was determined that wave of the negative pressure resembling overturned soliton wave with one but negative peak propagates with speed of sound. The typical variation of the pressure in the petroleum stream in pipe is given in Figure 1. Reversed wave of the negative pressure was not recorded during the experiments. Evidently this is associated with considerable structural changes in the liquid after the passing of the direct wave. The arising negative pressure though being a short-term, results in a considerable overheating of the fluid system and leads to spontaneous evaporation and gas-emanation with the further cavitation regime. It was determined that after passing of the negative pressure wave hydraulic resistance in the system becomes much less, and significant increase of permeability of the porous medium and intensification of the filtration process take place. On the base of the investigations it was made a conclusion that any discharge in the hydraulic systems when the drop of the pressure requires much less time that relaxation of the pressure in the system inevitably results in the arising of rarefaction wave, in particular, the negative pressure wave [4]. The larger is the hydraulic system and the higher is the depression of the pressure, the more intensively the negative pressure wave may manifest itself. In certain terms waves of the positive pressure may be reflected from free surfaces, different obstacles, from contact surfaces between phases in the form of the reverse wave of the negative pressure. On this base there were presented numerous theoretical and experimental works on the simulation of the process, investigation of impact of the negative pressure on certain physical features of real systems [5]. The negative pressure wave may lead to very hard complications: showings of oil and gas leading sometimes to dreadful open fountains, borehole wall collapse, column crushing, gryphon appearance [6]. Analysis of numerous facts of complications, troubles in wells as water-oil-gas showings, crushing of columns, collapses, gryphon formation demonstrates that they arise usually as a result of round-trip operations in drilling of wells and their capital repairs. The negative pressure wave may be initiated by a sudden pulling of pipes or drilling equipment, as well as their sudden braking, quick opening of a valve at the well exit, etc, resulting in metastable extension of the working fluid agent. Though impulse negative pressure manifests itself as a significant dynamic factor, its structural consequences are more dangerous for an oil well. Moving along a well the negative pressure wave results in the spontaneous boiling of the water in the drilling fluid, and as a result of considerable reduction of its specific weight the hydrostatic column is “switched-off’ for some seconds and this may be sufficient for oil and gas showings of the well to be appeared accompanied often by crushing of columns and collapsing of wells due to great destroying energy manifestation. Negative pressure waves may be considered also as one of the dominant factors in geophysical processes, especially, in evolution and appearance of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes [7,8]. Extreme dynamic processes in the underground medium as a matter of fact can be considered as a synergetic manifestation of the negative pressure together with other thermohydrodynamical factors. The waves of negative pressure in the underground environment may be initiated by tectonic dislocations and faults as a result of different dynamic processes, dramatic decrease of pressure during the displacement of fluids and rocks. They may arise also in the form of a reverse waves as a result of reflection of ordinary seismic waves from different underground surfaces. On the basis of received results the method of artificial creation of negative pressure waves has been created [4]. The essence of the method is that negative pressure waves can be generated by means of discharge in hydraulic systems (pipes, wells, etc) when the drop of the pressure takes place during the characteristic time much less than that of pressure relaxation in the system. The greater is the volume of hydraulic system and the higher is the depression of the pressure, the more intensively the negative pressure wave may manifest itself. This method was taken as a basis of elaboration of principally new technologies and installations to increase effectiveness and efficiency of some oil recovery processes. It has been worked out and widely tested in field conditions new technologies on using of the negative pressure phenomenon for cleaning of oil producing hydraulic systems/well bore, pipeline/from various accumulations and increasing of effectiveness of oil producing at different well operation methods. The technology provides generation negative pressure waves in the well using the special mechanisms that leads to the shock depression impact upon the oil stratum, and as a result, to considerable growth in the oil influx, bottom-hole cleaning, accompanied by essential saving both reservoir and lifting energies, elimination and prevention of sandy bridging, paraffin, silt, water, etc. accumulations. For implementations of these technologies corresponding installations have been elaborated, in part, equipments for cleaning out of oil holes from sand plugs, increasing of efficiency and effectiveness of gas-lift well operations and bottom-hole pumping. In cleaning out of oil-holes from sand plugs the most operative and effective liquidation of different sand plugs irrespective of their rheological character is provided, associated with complete bottom-hole cleaning, essential increase of oil recovery and overhaul period. Elaborated equipment is simple and easy to use. Other comparatively advantageous application of the technology provides increase of efficiency of a gas-lift well operation, expressed in considerable reduction of a specific gas consumption associated with essential increase of oil recovery and overhaul period. The design of the equipment is reliable and simple to service. There are different modifications of the equipment for single-row, double-row lifts in packer and packerless designs. The introduced technologies have passed broad test in field conditions. The operative and complete cleaning of numerous oil wells was carried out, where the altitude of sand plugs varied from 20m to 180m; oil output of wells and their overhaul period have been increased and specific gas discharge reduced significantly.

The project was originally aimed at investigating and developing new efficient methods for cost effective removal of ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO), in particular broiler and laying houses (NH₃) and hog houses (H₂S). In both cases, the principal idea was to design and operate a dedicated air collection system that would be used for the treatment of the gases, and that would work independently from the general ventilation system. The advantages envisaged: (1) if collected at a point close to the source of generation, pollutants would arrive at the treatment system at higher concentrations; (2) the air in the vicinity of the animals would be cleaner, a fact that would promote animal growth rates; and (3) collection efficiency would be improved and adverse environmental impact reduced. For practical reasons, the project was divided in two: one effort concentrated on NH₃₍g₎ removal from chicken houses and another on H₂S₍g₎ removal from hog houses. NH₃₍g₎ removal: a novel approach was developed to reduce ammonia emissions from CAFOs in general, and poultry houses in particular. Air sucked by the dedicated air capturing system from close to the litter was shown to have NH₃₍g₎ concentrations an order of magnitude higher than at the vents of the ventilation system. The NH₃₍g₎ rich waste air was conveyed to an acidic (0<pH<~5) bubble column reactor where NH₃ was converted to NH₄⁺. The reactor operated in batch mode, starting at pH 0 and was switched to a new acidic absorption solution just before NH₃₍g₎ breakthrough occurred, at pH ~5. Experiments with a wide range of NH₃₍g₎ concentrations showed that the absorption efficiency was practically 100% throughout the process as long as the face velocity was below 4 cm/s. The potential advantages of the method include high absorption efficiency, lower NH₃₍g₎ concentrations in the vicinity of the birds, generation of a valuable product and the separation between the ventilation and ammonia treatment systems. A small scale pilot operation conducted for 5 weeks in a broiler house showed the approach to be technically feasible. H₂S₍g₎ removal: The main goal of this part was to develop a specific treatment process for minimizing H₂S₍g₎ emissions from hog houses. The proposed process consists of three units: In the 1ˢᵗ H₂S₍g₎ is absorbed into an acidic (pH<2) ferric iron solution and oxidized by Fe(III) to S⁰ in a bubble column reactor. In parallel, Fe(III) is reduced to Fe(II). In the 2ⁿᵈ unit Fe(II) is bio-oxidized back to Fe(III) by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (AF).In the 3ʳᵈ unit S⁰ is separated from solution in a gravity settler. The work focused on three sub-processes: the kinetics of H₂S absorption into a ferric solution at low pH, the kinetics of Fe²⁺ oxidation by AF and the factors that affect ferric iron precipitation (a main obstacle for a continuous operation of the process) under the operational conditions. H₂S removal efficiency was found higher at a higher Fe(III) concentration and also higher for higher H₂S₍g₎ concentrations and lower flow rates of the treated air. The rate limiting step of the H₂S reactive absorption was found to be the chemical reaction rather than the transition from gas to liquid phase. H₂S₍g₎ removal efficiency of >95% was recorded with Fe(III) concentration of 9 g/L using typical AFO air compositions. The 2ⁿᵈ part of the work focused on kinetics of Fe(II) oxidation by AF. A new lab technique was developed for determining the kinetic equation and kinetic parameters (KS, Kₚ and mₘₐₓ) for the bacteria. The 3ʳᵈ part focused on iron oxide precipitation under the operational conditions. It was found that at lower pH (1.5) jarosite accumulation is slower and that the performance of the AF at this pH was sufficient for successive operation of the proposed process at the H₂S fluxes predicted from AFOs. A laboratory-scale test was carried out at Purdue University on the use of the integrated system for simultaneous hydrogen sulfide removal from a H₂S bubble column filled with ferric sulfate solution and biological regeneration of ferric ions in a packed column immobilized with enriched AFbacteria. Results demonstrated the technical feasibility of the integrated system for H₂S removal and simultaneous biological regeneration of Fe(III) for potential continuous treatment of H₂S released from CAFO. NH₃ and H₂S gradient measurements at egg layer and swine barns were conducted in winter and summer at Purdue. Results showed high potential to concentrate NH₃ and H₂S in hog buildings, and NH₃ in layer houses. H₂S emissions from layer houses were too low for a significant gradient. An NH₃ capturing system was designed and tested in a 100-chicken broiler room. Five bell-type collecting devices were installed over the litter to collect NH₃ emissions. While the air extraction system moved only 10% of the total room ventilation airflow rate, the fraction of total ammonia removed was 18%, because of the higher concentration air taken from near the litter. The system demonstrated the potential to reduce emissions from broiler facilities and to concentrate the NH₃ effluent for use in an emission control system. In summary, the project laid a solid foundation for the implementation of both processes, and also resulted in a significant scientific contribution related to AF kinetic studies and ferrous analytical measurements.