Product Service System Innovation in the Smart City

Product service systems (PSS) may usefully form part of the mix of innovations necessary to move society toward more sustainable futures. However, despite such potential, PSS implementation is highly uneven and limited. Drawing on an alternate socio-technical perspective of innovation, this paper provides fresh insights, on among other things the role of context in PSS innovation, to address this issue. Case study research is presented focusing on a use orientated PSS in an urban environment: the Copenhagen city bike scheme. The paper shows that PSS innovation is a situated complex process, shaped by actors and knowledge from other locales. It argues that further research is needed to investigate how actors interests shape PSS innovation. It recommends that institutional spaces should be provided in governance landscapes associated with urban environments to enable legitimate PSS concepts to co-evolve in light of locally articulated sustainability principles and priorities

Vulnerability analysis of satellite-based synchronized smart grids monitoring systems

The large-scale deployment of wide-area monitoring systems could play a strategic role in supporting the evolution of traditional power systems toward smarter and self-healing grids. The correct operation of these synchronized monitoring systems requires a common and accurate timing reference usually provided by a satellite-based global positioning system. Although these satellites signals provide timing accuracy that easily exceeds the needs of the power industry, they are extremely vulnerable to radio frequency interference. Consequently, a comprehensive analysis aimed at identifying their potential vulnerabilities is of paramount importance for correct and safe wide-area monitoring system operation. Armed with such a vision, this article presents and discusses the results of an experimental analysis aimed at characterizing the vulnerability of global positioning system based wide-area monitoring systems to external interferences. The article outlines the potential strategies that could be adopted to protect global positioning system receivers from external cyber-attacks and proposes decentralized defense strategies based on self-organizing sensor networks aimed at assuring correct time synchronization in the presence of external attacks

Компьютерное моделирование напряженно-деформированного состояния сварных конструкций

В данной работе показано, что при оценке и обеспечении живучести сварныхметаллоконструкций важную роль играют технологические факторы. Учет их влияния реализуется на основе применения метода конечных элементов. Описана численная методика расчета остаточных сварочных напряжений и деформаций в элементах сварных металлоконструкций.Численнообосновантехнологическийметодповышенияживучестиуказанногоклассаметаллоконструкций

Antichain cutsets of strongly connected posets

Rival and Zaguia showed that the antichain cutsets of a finite Boolean lattice are exactly the level sets. We show that a similar characterization of antichain cutsets holds for any strongly connected poset of locally finite height. As a corollary, we get such a characterization for semimodular lattices, supersolvable lattices, Bruhat orders, locally shellable lattices, and many more. We also consider a generalization to strongly connected hypergraphs having finite edges.Comment: 12 pages; v2 contains minor fixes for publicatio

Synchronous oceanic spreading and continental rifting in West Antarctica

Magnetic anomalies associated with new ocean crust formation in the Adare Basin off north-western Ross Sea (43 – 26 Ma) can be traced directly into the Northern Basin that underlies the adjacent morphological continental shelf, implying a continuity in the emplacement of oceanic crust. Steep gravity gradients along the margins of the Northern Basin, particularly in the east, suggest that little extension and thinning of continental crust occurred before it ruptured and the new oceanic crust formed, unlike most other continental rifts and the Victoria Land Basin further south. A pre-existing weak crust and localisation of strain by strike slip faulting are proposed as the factors allowing the rapid rupture of continental crust

The role of mental disorders in the risk and speed of transition to alcohol use disorders among community youth

Background Among adolescents and young adults with DSM-IV alcohol use disorders (AUDs), there are inter-individual differences in the speed of transition from initial alcohol use (AU) to AUD. AUDs are highly co-morbid with other mental disorders. The factors associated with rapid transition from first AU to AUD remain unknown and the role of mental disorders in rapid transitions is unclear. Given this background we examined (1) whether prior anxiety, mood, externalizing and non-alcohol substance use disorders are related to the risk and speed of transition from first AU to DSM-IV alcohol abuse (AA) and alcohol dependence (AD) and (2) whether early age of onset of prior mental disorders (PMDs) is a promoter of rapid transition. Method A total of 3021 community subjects (97.7% lifetime AU) aged 14-24 years at baseline were followed up prospectively for up to 10 years. AU and mental disorders were assessed with the DSM-IV/M-CIDI. Results Among subjects with lifetime AU, several PMDs, such as specific phobia, bipolar disorder and nicotine dependence, were associated with an increased risk of AUD independent of externalizing disorders. Associations of PMDs with the speed of transition to AUDs were mostly weak and inconsistent. Only social phobia and externalizing disorders were associated with faster transitions to AD even after adjustment for other PMDs. Earlier age of onset of PMD was not associated with rapid transition. Conclusions Mental disorders are associated with the risk of AUD. With the possible exception of social phobia and externalizing disorders, they do not promote rapid transition, even if they occur particularly early. Future research needs to identify factors relevant to rapid transition to AU

Heavy Metal and Contaminant Loading in the Oder River Floodplains and Consequences for Livestock Management

The predominately pristine lower Oder floodplains have experienced sedimentation and enrichment of heavy metals and contaminants since the start of industrialization in the region. With the creation of the German-Polish National Park, which included the flooded grassland area, intensive milk production has been prohibited. The objective of this research was to estimate the impact of the floodplain heavy metal and contaminant levels on the lower Oder region. Soil and plant content were analyzed for three transects according to accepted DIN methods. High content in soil did not consistently result in high plant contents; however, higher content levels were often observed in hollows. A particular vegetation characteristic of heavy metal soil content was not observed. Exceeded levels in terms of the German fodder ordinance were most frequently detected for Cadmium and Manganese. Extensive pasturing of suckler cows and young or beef cattle is possible with the exception of problem areas

Long Term Results for the Naturalisation of River Valley Grassland in the Lower Floodplains of the River Oder

The flooded grassland area in the lower reaches of the River Oder covers about 10,000 ha, of which 4,000 ha are situated on the German side and the remainder in Poland. In spite of extreme flooding conditions (annual winter flooding from 15 Dec. to 15 April and occasional summer flooding) the area was used very intensively in GDR times. After the political change in 1989, the management of the cross-border GermanPolish National Park, which was situated in this area, was changed abruptly to extensive grassland utilisation. This paper reports on changes in the composition and productivity of the grassland

5 years of experience implementing a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus search and destroy policy at the largest university medical center in the Netherlands

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a rigorous search and destroy policy for controlling methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection or colonization. DESIGN: Hospital-based observational follow-up study. SETTING: Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, a 1,200-bed tertiary care center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. METHODS: Outbreak control was accomplished by the use of active surveillance cultures for persons at risk, by the preemptive isolation of patients at risk, and by the strict isolation of known MRSA carriers and the eradication of MRSA carriage. For unexpected cases of MRSA colonization or infection, patients placed in strict isolation or contact isolation and healthcare workers (HCWs) were screened. We collected data from 2000-2004. RESULTS: During the 5-year study period, 51,907 MRSA screening culture