Design for safety: theoretical framework of the safety aspect of BIM system to determine the safety index

Despite the safety improvement drive that has been implemented in the construction industry in Singapore for many years, the industry continues to report the highest number of workplace fatalities, compared to other industries. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the theoretical framework of the safety aspect of a proposed BIM System to determine a Safety Index. An online questionnaire survey was conducted to ascertain the current workplace safety and health situation in the construction industry and explore how BIM can be used to improve safety performance in the industry. A safety hazard library was developed based on the main contributors to fatal accidents in the construction industry, determined from the formal records and existing literature, and a series of discussions with representatives from the Workplace Safety and Health Institute (WSH Institute) in Singapore. The results from the survey suggested that the majority of the firms have implemented the necessary policies, programmes and procedures on Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) practices. However, BIM is still not widely applied or explored beyond the mandatory requirement that building plans should be submitted to the authorities for approval in BIM format. This paper presents a discussion of the safety aspect of the Intelligent Productivity and Safety System (IPASS) developed in the study. IPASS is an intelligent system incorporating the buildable design concept, theory on the detection, prevention and control of hazards, and the Construction Safety Audit Scoring System (ConSASS). The system is based on the premise that safety should be considered at the design stage, and BIM can be an effective tool to facilitate the efforts to enhance safety performance. IPASS allows users to analyse and monitor key aspects of the safety performance of the project before the project starts and as the project progresses

Quantum dot dephasing by fractional quantum Hall edge states

We consider the dephasing rate of an electron level in a quantum dot, placed next to a fluctuating edge current in the fractional quantum Hall effect. Using perturbation theory, we show that this rate has an anomalous dependence on the bias voltage applied to the neighboring quantum point contact, which originates from the Luttinger liquid physics which describes the Hall fluid. General expressions are obtained using a screened Coulomb interaction. The dephasing rate is strictly proportional to the zero frequency backscattering current noise, which allows to describe exactly the weak to strong backscattering crossover using the Bethe-Ansatz solution

Implementation of three-qubit Toffoli gate in a single step

Single-step implementations of multi-qubit gates are generally believed to provide a simpler design, a faster operation, and a lower decoherence. For coupled three qubits interacting with a photon field, a realizable scheme for a single-step Toffoli gate is investigated. We find that the three qubit system can be described by four effective modified Jaynes-Cummings models in the states of two control qubits. Within the rotating wave approximation, the modified Jaynes-Cummings models are shown to be reduced to the conventional Jaynes-Cummings models with renormalized couplings between qubits and photon fields. A single-step Toffoli gate is shown to be realizable with tuning the four characteristic oscillation periods that satisfy a commensurate condition. Possible values of system parameters are estimated for single-step Toffli gate. From numerical calculation, further, our single-step Toffoli gate operation errors are discussed due to imperfections in system parameters, which shows that a Toffoli gate with high fidelity can be obtained by adjusting pairs of the photon-qubit and the qubit-qubit coupling strengthes. In addition, a decoherence effect on the Toffoli gate operation is discussed due to a thermal reservoir.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, to appear in PR

Generating and Adding Flows on Locally Complete Metric Spaces

As a generalization of a vector field on a manifold, the notion of an arc field on a locally complete metric space was introduced in \cite{BC}. In that paper, the authors proved an analogue of the Cauchy-Lipschitz Theorem i.e they showed the existence and uniqueness of solution curves for a time independent arc field. In this paper, we extend the result to the time dependent case, namely we show the existence and uniqueness of solution curves for a time dependent arc field. We also introduce the notion of the sum of two time dependent arc fields and show existence and uniqueness of solution curves for this sum.Comment: 29 pages,6 figure

Photo-assisted Andreev reflection as a probe of quantum noise

Andreev reflection, which corresponds to the tunneling of two electrons from a metallic lead to a superconductor lead as a Cooper pair (or vice versa), can be exploited to measure high frequency noise. A detector is proposed, which consists of a normal lead--superconductor circuit, which is capacitively coupled to a mesoscopic circuit where noise is to be measured. We discuss two detector circuits: a single normal metal -- superconductor tunnel junction and a normal metal separated from a superconductor by a quantum dot operating in the Coulomb blockade regime. A substantial DC current flows in the detector circuit when an appropriate photon is provided or absorbed by the mesoscopic circuit, which plays the role of an environment for the junction to which it couples. Results for the current can be cast in all cases in the form of a frequency integral of the excess noise of the environment weighted by a kernel which is specific to the transport process (quasiparticle tunneling, Andreev reflection,...) which is considered. We apply these ideas to the measurement of the excess noise of a quantum point contact and we provide numerical estimates of the detector current.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure

Pathways to clinical CLARITY: volumetric analysis of irregular, soft, and heterogeneous tissues in development and disease

AbstractThree-dimensional tissue-structural relationships are not well captured by typical thin-section histology, posing challenges for the study of tissue physiology and pathology. Moreover, while recent progress has been made with intact methods for clearing, labeling, and imaging whole organs such as the mature brain, these approaches are generally unsuitable for soft, irregular, and heterogeneous tissues that account for the vast majority of clinical samples and biopsies. Here we develop a biphasic hydrogel methodology, which along with automated analysis, provides for high-throughput quantitative volumetric interrogation of spatially-irregular and friable tissue structures. We validate and apply this approach in the examination of a variety of developing and diseased tissues, with specific focus on the dynamics of normal and pathological pancreatic innervation and development, including in clinical samples. Quantitative advantages of the intact-tissue approach were demonstrated compared to conventional thin-section histology, pointing to broad applications in both research and clinical settings.</jats:p

DECOLORIZATION OF AZO DYES BY PURPLE NON-SULFUR BACTERIA

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

Molecular characterisation of Haemoglobin Constant Spring and Haemoglobin Quong Sze with a combine-amplification refractory mutation system

Background: The interaction of the non-deletional α +- thalassaemia mutations Haemoglobin Constant Spring and Haemoglobin Quong Sze with the Southeast Asian double α-globin gene deletion results in non-deletional Haemoglobin H disease. Accurate detection of non-deletional Haemoglobin H disease, which is associated with severe phenotypes, is necessary as these mutations have been confirmed in the Malaysian population. Methods: DNA from two families with Haemoglobin H disease was extracted from EDTA-anticoagulated whole blood and subjected to molecular analysis for α-thalassaemia. A duplex polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the Southeast Asian α-globin gene deletion. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was then carried out to determine the presence of Haemoglobin Constant Spring and Haemoglobin Quong Sze. A combine- amplification refractory mutation system protocol was optimised and implemented for the rapid and specific molecular characterisation of Haemoglobin Constant Spring and Haemoglobin Quong Sze in a single polymerase chain reaction. Results and Conclusions: The combine- amplification refractory mutation system for Haemoglobin Constant Spring and Haemoglobin Quong Sze, together with the duplex polymerase chain reaction, provides accurate pre- and postnatal diagnosis of non-deletional Haemoglobin H disease and allows detailed genotype analyses using minimal quantities of DNA

Thalassemia intermedia in HbH-CS disease with compound heterozygosity for β-thalassemia: challenges in hemoglobin analysis and clinical diagnosis

Co-inheritance of α-thalassemia with homozygosity or compound heterozygosity for β-thalassemia may ameliorate β-thalassemia major. A wide range of clinical phenotypes is produced depending on the number of α-thalassemia alleles (-α/αα --/αα, --/-α). The co-inheritance of β-thalassemia with α-thalassemia with a single gene deletion (-α/αα) is usually associated with thalassemia major. In contrast, the co-inheritance of β-thalassemia with two α-genes deleted in cis or trans (--/αα or -α/-α) generally produces β-thalassemia intermedia. In Southeast Asia, the most common defect responsible for α-thalassemia is the Southeast Asian (SEA) deletion of 20.5 kilobases. The presence of the SEA deletion with Hb Constant Spring (HbCS) produces HbH-CS disease. Co-inheritance of HbH-CS with compound heterozygosity for β-thalassemia is very rare. This study presents a Malay patient with HbH-CS disorder and β° /β +-thalassemia. The SEA deletion was confirmed in the patient using a duplex-PCR. A Combine-Amplification Refractory Mutation System (C-ARMS) technique to simultaneously detect HbCS and Hb Quong Sze confirmed HbCS in the patient. Compound heterozygosity for CD41/ 42 and Poly A was confirmed using the ARMS. This is a unique case as the SEA α-gene deletion in cis (-- SEA/αα) is generally not present in the Malays, who more commonly posses the two α-gene deletion in trans (-α/-α). In addition, the β-globin gene mutation at CD41/42 is a common mutation in the Chinese and not in the Malays. The presence of both the SEA deletion and CD41/42 in the mother of the patient suggests the possible introduction of these two defects into the family by marriage with a Chinese