惰气发生器的工作原理及其在FPSO上的应用

油轮在储、卸油作业及运输过程中,惰气系统的功用一是封舱惰化,降低封闭空间内的含氧量并排出可燃碳氢气体以达到防暴的目的,另外可以用来进行气体置换,用新鲜的空气置换封闭空间内的惰性气体,提高氧气含量,以达到舱内安全作业的要求。基于南海XJ23—1 FPSO项目,详细介绍了惰气发生器系统用于FPSO的组成特点及工作原理,包括风机、供油泵、甲板水封泵、海水冷却泵、惰气发生器、甲板水封罐和压力真空断路器在整个系统中的功用、动作逻辑,同时,分别就惰性体气发生器的空气模式和惰性气体模式两种工作方式在FPSO上的应用进行了详细阐述。     

“同一健康”失序与全球疫情问题

历史上反复出现的重大公共卫生突发事件,大都是“同一健康”失序的体现,其背后则潜藏着人与动物二元对立的认识论误区。理性的人与作为机器的动物之间的森严等级关系,造成了“自我”对“他者”的支配与控制,鼓励了人类对动物和环境的践踏。然而在人类对动物和环境肆意妄为的同时,其自身也以全球疫情、气候变暖等形式受到了反噬。历次针对疫情的“战争总动员”就源于普遍联系的健康网络中人与动物关系的破坏。如果我们不认真反思这种认识论上的误区,那么历次疫情爆发不过是未来更多危机的彩排。只有瓦解泾渭分明的二元对立,在全球范围内展开普遍合作、践行“同一健康”议题,人类才能与动物、环境共同生活与共同发展,在拥有“同一世界”的同时,享有“同一健康”。     

The electrical breakdown of liquid dielectrics

Throughout this paper data have been presented showing that the apparent inconsistency of the reported dielectric strength behavior of insulating liquids can be satisfactorily correlated if proper consideration be given to the state of the “purity” of the liquid itself. As a result it is suggested that insulating liquids should be classified as (a) “pure,” indicating those liquids free from dissolved gases as primary “impurities”; and (b) “impure,” including those liquids which contain dissolved gas. The breakdown mechanism depends on the distinctive behavior of these two general classes. “Pure” liquid breakdown is a function of charged particle formation. In part, this may be caused by the assumption of a charge by molecular aggregates, colloidal-like in nature. In part, the charge may arise from molecular ionization by collision. The latter occurs chiefly in the voltage range immediately preceding electrical rupture and is the chief cause of “pure” liquid insulation failure. The presence of the first type of charge—that is, the existence of a difference of potential between molecular aggregates and the liquid—is chiefly responsible for the variation in the time factor to breakdown.The breakdown of “impure” liquids is a function of dissolved gas elimination. This dissolved gas is eliminated as a result of changing solubility produced (a) by electro-striction effects, or (b) by changing pressure or temperature. The presence of secondary impurities such as dust particles and fibers, acts chiefly through the effect on increasing gassing tendencies.It is suggested further that the localization of dielectric breakdown in liquids, irrespective of the type or degree of “purity,” is chiefly in the “neutral membrane” located near the electrodes and formed by the discharge of particles. Such a “neutral membrane” results in a space charge effect giving marked drop in potential and as a result promoting ionization by collision effects in “pure” liquids and electro-striction effects in “impure” liquids.     

The “big red button” is too late: an alternative model for the ethical evaluation of AI systems

As a way to address both ominous and ordinary threats of artificial intelligence (AI), researchers have started proposing ways to stop an AI system before it has a chance to escape outside control and cause harm. A so-called “big red button” would enable human operators to interrupt or divert a system while preventing the system from learning that such an intervention is a threat. Though an emergency button for AI seems to make intuitive sense, that approach ultimately concentrates on the point when a system has already “gone rogue” and seeks to obstruct interference. A better approach would be to make ongoing self-evaluation and testing an integral part of a system’s operation, diagnose how the system is in error and to prevent chaos and risk before they start. In this paper, we describe the demands that recent big red button proposals have not addressed, and we offer a preliminary model of an approach that could better meet them. We argue for an ethical core (EC) that consists of a scenario-generation mechanism and a simulation environment that are used to test a system’s decisions in simulated worlds, rather than the real world. This EC would be kept opaque to the system itself: through careful design of memory and the character of the scenario, the system’s algorithms would be prevented from learning about its operation and its function, and ultimately its presence. By monitoring and checking for deviant behavior, we conclude, a continual testing approach will be far more effective, responsive, and vigilant toward a system’s learning and action in the world than an emergency button which one might not get to push in time.     

The dinosaur from 600 BCE! Interpreting the dragon of Babylon,from archaeological excavation into fringe science

In 1918, German archaeologist Robert Koldewey, excavator of Babylon, Iraq, observed that the depiction of the fantastical “dragon of Babylon” on the sixth century BCE Ishtar Gate must reference a real animal whose closest relatives would be dinosaurs like the iguanodon. Though ignored within archaeology, Koldewey’s comments were taken up in German-American popular science writer Willy Ley’s “romantic zoology” (1941), then by Bernard Heuvelmans (1955), founding figure in the fringe field of cryptozoology. Their interpretations would ultimately inspire expeditions by the International Society of Cryptozoologists in Central Africa to find the Mokele-Mbembe, a “living dinosaur,” and migrate into Young Earth Creationist and ancient aliens theories. An analysis of Koldewey’s marginal academic observation serves as a means of considering the process of knowledge formation and canonization and the unpredictable life of scholarly ideas.     

水环境污染治理的“智慧模式”构建——以江苏省无锡市为例

水环境污染问题是困扰人们的生产生活以及生态可持续发展的一大难题。江苏省无锡市对水环境污染的治理有其自身的特色和成功经验。在水环境污染治理上,"智慧模式"对于传统模式来说体现出自身的优势。研究和总结无锡市治理水环境污染的经验和不足,在治理的做法上有许多"智慧"成分,并关注智慧化的发展,已具备构建"智慧模式"的基础。通过对无锡市的分析,在治理技术与手段、主体与结构、权责分配以及制度安排和模式构建等方面提出构建水环境污染治理的"智慧模式"。     

Probe measurements in the normal electric arc

Probe measurements have been made in cadmium, thallium and carbon arcs by sweeping the probe through the arc at a constant velocity and measuring the current collected by the throw on a ballistic galvanometer with different probe potentials applied. The voltage-current characteristic was analyzed to get a measure of the positive ion concentration, the average electron temperature and the space potential by the Langmuir method. The cathode falls found were each equal to, or only slightly higher than, the ionization potential of the active gas, and were 9.0 volts in the cadmium arc, 6.5 volts in the thallium arc and 5.0 volts in the carbon arc. The last value is to be compared with the ionization potential of the cyanogen molecule of 4.4 volts. The anode fall found in the carbon arc was 16.5 volts. These values for the carbon are agree almost exactly with the “forward” and “back” E.M.F.'s measured by Duddell and others at the cathode and the anode but not identified by them as the cathode and anode falls. The electron velocities were found to be Maxwellian with average velocities sufficiently high to account for the ionization known to exist. Over parts of the are stream where the fields were found to be large the electrons showed corresponding increases in average temperature and evidence that only about three-quarters of the energy gained by the electrons from the field between collisions is lost by the lectrons while the remaining quarter is retained and made evident by the steady increase in the electron temperature. As the current flowing through the arc was increased, the radiation per unit volume and also the positive ion current per unit length of the probe were found to increase very rapidly indicating an increase in the efficiency of the ionization process as the current increases. It is thought that this observation is closely related to the fact that the voltage drop across the arc decreases as the arc current increases.     

Studies on a multidimensional public opinion network model and its topic detection algorithm

“We the Media” networks are real time and open, and such networks lack a gatekeeper system. As netizens’ comments on emergency events are disseminated, negative public opinion topics and confrontations concerning those events also spread widely on “We the Media” networks. Gradually, this phenomenon has attracted scholarly attention, and all social circles attach importance to the phenomenon as well. In existing topic detection studies, a topic is mainly defined as an "event" from the perspective of news-media information flow, but in the “We the Media” era, there are often many different views or topics surrounding a specific public opinion event. In this paper, a study on the detection of public opinion topics in “We the Media” networks is presented, starting with the characteristics of the elements found in public opinions on “We the Media” networks; such public opinions are multidimensional, multilayered and possess multiple attributes. By categorizing the elements’ attributes using social psychology and system science categories as references, we build a multidimensional network model oriented toward the topology of public opinions on “We the Media” networks. Based on the real process by which multiple topics concerning the same event are generated and disseminated, we designed a topic detection algorithm that works on these multidimensional public opinion networks. As a case study, the “Explosion in Tianjin Port on August 12, 2015″ accident was selected to conduct empirical analyses on the algorithm's effectiveness. The theoretical and empirical research findings of this paper are summarized along the following three aspects. 1. The multidimensional network model can be used to effectively characterize the communication characteristics of multiple topics on “We the Media” networks, and it provided the modeling ideas for the present paper and for other related studies on “We the Media” public opinion networks. 2. Using the multidimensional topic detection algorithm, 70% of the public opinion topics concerning the case study event were effectively detected, which shows that the algorithm is effective at detecting topics from the information flow on “We the Media” networks. 3. By defining the psychological scores of single and paired Chinese keywords in public opinion information, the topic detection algorithm can also be used to judge the sentiment tendencies of each topic, which can facilitate a timely understanding of public opinion and reveal negative topics under discussion on “We the Media” networks.     

研究生国际化培养需求及对策——以市政工程专业为例

在“一带一路”合作倡议背景下,我国的水务企业正逐渐将先进的技术和优质的服务带向“一带一路”沿线国家。作为为水务企业培养人才的市政工程专业,其研究生的国际化水平是水务企业成功占领国际市场的关键。该文分析了“一带一路”倡议对市政工程专业硕士研究生国际化培养的需求、目前市政工程研究生国际化培养的现状以及面临的主要问题,在此基础上,从研究生能力提升、课程设置以及研究生导师团队建设等角度提出了相应的对策和建议。     

Testing the contribution of multi-skilled employees to the financial performance of high-tech organizations

This paper presents a study that found no support for the claim: “Employees with multiple skills enable organizations to thrive in dynamically changing and unpredictable environments.” The study showed that the “multi-skilled worker” (MSW) was a non-significant predictor of financial performance in a statistical analysis of companies that operated in these environments. A sample of companies drawn from three high-technology industries (suppliers to the automotive industry, electronic instrumentation, and semiconductor manufacturers) showed no relationship between employee skill diversity and financial performance. As a result, it appears that the benefits of a multi-skilled workforce may be overstated in terms of its contribution to the organization's financial performance. Or, it may simply suggest that the additional profits generated by responsive, multi-skilled employees are insufficient to offset the additional costs associated with training and hiring them. Companies should be aware of these issues when considering plans to expand employee skill sets as part of a strategy for improving responsiveness.     

A short account of the theory of lubrication. III. dimensional theory,with applications

In Part I properties of the scale coördinate, of the form: B(n + θ) are discussed. n is shown to be associated with the operation of counting scale marks, θ with the operation of estimating between them, and B, with the operational and configurational aspects of that part of apparatus which lies adjunct to the scale system.In Part II three types of measurement codification are discussed: (a) the differential interval; (b) the finite amorphous interval; (c) the scale interval; a relationship among them is postulated.In Part III the finite differences in scale coördinates are defined and simple theorems are used to illustrate these definitions. Simple difference equations in scale coördinates are solved to illustrate macroscopic “selection principles” arising partly out of the methodology of codifying a coincidence in scale coördinates.In Part IV an example of causally related dimensional systems is described by use of the scale coördinate. This example is taken from the perfect gas law and Van der Waals' gas law.     

苍术属药用植物的研究

  Genus Atractylodes (Fam. Compositae) is the main  source of two important Chinese traditional drugs, “Baizhu”and “Cangzhu”,  both being long used as a stomachic.      After a general survey and taxonomical study, it has been found that “Baizhu” was only derived from A. macrocephala Koidz. (A. ovata auct. Fl. Orient. Asiat. non A. P. DC.), while “Cangzhu” were mainly from A. lancea (Thunb.) DC. and A. lancea DC. var. chinensis Kitam.      Comparison of the components in the rhizomes of Chinese Atractylodes  has been made by TLC and GLC.  The results have shown to be in accordance with their mor- phological features and pharmaceutical merits.      “Baizhu”, A. macrocephala, with its leave pinnately incised, is characterized by the presence of rich atractylon and absence or lack of atractylodin.  As for “Cangzhu”, A. lancea and A. lancea var. chinensis with their leave not incised or only lobed, are cha- racterized by high contents of atractylodin, β-eudesmol and hinesol, but poor in atrac- tylon.      The above conclusion may be of value to both the classification and utilization of this group of Chinese medicinal plants.       

The impact of the customer relationship management on the organization performance

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a very important growing business practice in today's environment. It is used for managing the interaction between a company and its future and current customers. CRM approach's task is analyzing data about the history of customers with a company. It focuses on a way to retain customers, therefore it helps the growth of sales. This leads to improvement of company's business relationship with customers. Current study's goal is to determine how technology, organizational capability, customer orientation, and customer knowledge management influence CRM success. We try to see that how the performance of an organization is affected by the achievement of CRM. For testing the hypotheses, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was adopted. Results have indicated that the success of CRM is highly influenced through “information technology use”, also “customer orientation”, “organizational capability”, and “customer knowledge management” are related to CRM success. Finally, along with the future research avenues and limitations, study implications and findings are discussed.     

Networked predictive control for linear systems with quantizers by an event-driven strategy

In this paper, networked predictive control is investigated for a networked control system with quantizers by an event-driven strategy. An event generator is designed according to a deviation of state estimation between the current time and last trigger time. A predictive strategy is proposed to compensate effect of network-induced delays and packet dropouts. The quantizers are used to deal with signals by converting real-valued signals into effective ones in both feedback and forward channels. Based on a “zoom” strategy, sufficient conditions are given to ensure stabilization of the networked control system by solving linear matrix inequalities. A simulation example is proposed to exhibit advantages and availability of the developed techniques.     

International comparisons of R&D effort: The case of the Canadian pharmaceutical industry

The Canadian federal government, anxious to stimulate innovation, announced recently a policy objective for the economy: the attainment of industrial research expenditures reaching 1.5 percent of the gross national product. The proposed substantial increase over the current level is rationalized by comparison with economy-wide research intensities (GERD/GNP) in other OECD countries.This paper questions the economic validity and policy relevance of international aggregate comparisons. It argues that inter-country comparisons should take place at individual industry levels where technologies are similar and proposes a methodology for formulating R&D spending targets of this kind. The procedure is to estimate a model of the determinants of R&D intensity with data from several “criterion countries” and employ the results to “predict” a specific industry's research intensity in another country.In this paper such a model is formulated for the pharmaceutical industry of seven OECD countries. Plausible parameter estimates are derived and used to “forecast” the research intensity of the Canadian pharmaceutical industry. It is found that given the predominance of foreign ownership, the nature of patent protection and the level of other relevant variables in Canada, the performance of this sector is much above the OECD-derived standard; this Canadian industry presumably does not require governmental attention to its R&D activities.     

Stresses in thin films for hyperfiltration

An elastic and a viscoelastic analyses have been performed to determine the extent to which thin polymer films used in “hyperfiltration” process of desalination of brackish or sea water may be stressed. It was found that if pores of the size comparable to the thickness of the film exist in the rigid supporting material, stress of the order of magnitude comparable to the ultimate strength of the film may be induced.     

Influence of human behavior and the principle of least effort on library and information science research

This study identified the influence of the main concepts contained in Zipf's classic 1949 book entitled Human Behavior and the Principle of Least Effort (HBPLE) on library and information science (LIS) research. The study analyzed LIS articles published between 1949 and 2013 that cited HBPLE. The results showed that HBPLE has a growing influence on LIS research. Of the 17 cited concepts that were identified, the concept of “Zipf's law” was cited most (64.8%), followed by “the principle of least effort” (24.5%). Although the concept of “the principle of least effort,” the focus of HBPLE, was not most frequently observed, an increasing trend was evident regarding the influence of this concept. The concept of “the principle of least effort” has been cited mainly by researchers of information behavior and served to support the citing authors’ claims. By contrast, the concept of “Zipf's law” received the most attention from bibliometrics research and was used mainly for comparisons with other informetrics laws or research results.     

Supporting “Everyday Analysts” in Safety- and Time-Critical Situations

The need for quick, timely, and accurate information is critical in emergency events. During mass emergencies, people assemble information from both official and unofficial sources. As digital access expands, people will increasingly incorporate information from digital sources into decision making and assess it against the local circumstances they experience. If we extrapolate what such behavior means for the future, we can see that information management under emergency conditions will need to become increasingly socially distributed. The key question then is how to assess the quality of information: how “good” or “bad” it is; whether it is “misinformation” or “disinformation.” Borrowing from Simon's notion of satisficing, the authors argue that people's assessment of information helpfulness and credibility is a function of the “everyday analytic” skills they employ during mass emergencies. To facilitate the critical work of “everyday analysts,” we outline a research agenda for the development of analytical support tools.