Search

The construction of (hierarchical) curl‐conforming basis functions has been a hot topic in the last decades in the finite element community. Especially, functions applied to simplices have been quite popular after the work by Nédélec in 1980. Many mixed‐order and full‐order families have been provided in the last years, but sometimes, it is difficult to assess if they belong to the original space proposed by Nédélec (especially when orthogonalization procedures are applied). Here, a tool to determine if a family of basis functions belongs to the Nédélec space is provided. Since affine coordinates are the most frequent choice for simplices, particularities about its use with this kind of coordinates are detailed. A detailed survey of existing families is provided, and the practical application of the tool to a representative set of these families is discussed. The tool is also available for the community in a public repository. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Collision ESD between charged metallic objects below 1000 V causes electromagnetic interference in electronic equipment and devices. This interference is being observed to intensify at lower charging voltages. The phenomenon was first identified by Masmitsu Honda, but its underlying mechanism remains unclear even today. Originally, the charging voltage and spark length of collision ESD are unknown due to measurement difficulties, making it extremely challenging to establish the relationship between the radiated electric field strength and the spark property in such cases. In this study, to clarify the above mentioned electromagnetic phenomenon in collision ESD, a method of calculating the radiated electric field along with a spark length estimated from the measurement strength of radiated field peak is presented using the spark resistance law developed by Rompe and Weizel. The validity is confirmed by our previous measurement data on radiated electric field due to the collision ESD between charged spherical electrodes with a diameter of 30 mm at charging voltages from 300 to 600 V, employing an optical field probe with a wideband up to 10 GHz. The estimated spark length is verified by comparing it with the spark lengths based on an empirical Paschen's formula between fixed electrodes and the discharge data from past literature on metal electrodes, revealing the peculiarity effect of the radiated electric field strength caused by “constant breakdown potential gradient” that occurs at charging voltages below 1000 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge graphs have recently been introduced to the verification strategy field successfully representing the complexity of verification in real‐life applications. This format provides a scale‐free analysis of verification strategies compared to the more traditional verification artifacts such as requirement traceability matrices and verification matrices. Complexities can be observed visually and numerically both in terms of the problem scope and the entity interdependencies. In this paper, we retrieve verification strategy information patterns representing different aspects of verification. This is achieved by tapping into the network properties of knowledge graphs. They are dissected to detect knowledge patterns emerging from different parts of the verification artifacts. Similarities and differences between the two verification strategies are explained numerically and semantically. Seemingly unrelated requirements and verification activities are connected through indirect connections, and orthogonalities between independent requirements are analyzed. These findings validate the scalability of verification planning and assessment based on knowledge graphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that children do not always trust gossip, do they spontaneously check what they are told? We provided 5‐ (N = 32) and 6‐year olds (N = 32) with gossip concerning characters in a cartoon they were watching, and examined whether they verified the gossip by actively re‐watching the relevant episodes. Six‐year olds were more likely to verify gossip than 5‐year olds. When gossip targeted their favourite characters, children were more likely to verify negative when compared with positive gossip. However, when gossip targeted children's disliked characters, they showed no such valence bias. These results indicate that children's verification of gossip increases with age, and they evaluate claims selectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At Norwegian offshore platforms, wind speed is observed at heights between approx. 35 and approx. 150 m a.s.l. These observations are used to estimate 10‐m wind speed, by a power law with a constant wind shear coefficient. The resulting 10‐m wind speed is then distributed to the Global Telecommunication System (GTS) and used for assimilation and verification purposes by the meteorological community. However, multiple methods with varying results exist for the reduction of wind speed from the original measurement height to 10 m. The resulting estimate of 10‐m wind speed is therefore sensitive to the choice of method. The use of such observations may therefore be suboptimal in forecast analysis and make the forecast verification difficult to interpret. This study investigates how the use of these observations impacts forecasts from the operational regional forecast system used at MET Norway and the Global Integrated Forecast System operated by ECMWF for the period 2017–2023. Both forecast systems assimilated the observations over major parts of the period and the presented results indicate that the use of these observations increased the initial errors in the forecasts. This is confirmed in a data denial experiment over a shorter period of time. The verification results show that both forecast systems underestimate the wind speed at the original measurement heights, while the results for 10‐m verification vary with the interpolation method between original sensor height and 10 m. The forecasts show in general more wind than the GTS‐distributed estimates and are in better agreement with more advanced interpolation methods. The verification results show a strong dependency on the vertical stability of the atmosphere. The major differences between the forecast systems are that the regional system shows less bias, while the standard deviations of the errors are slightly lower in the global system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: SRS MapCHECK (SMC) is a commercially available patient‐specific quality assurance (PSQA) tool for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) applications. This study investigates the effects of degree of modulation, location off‐axis, and low dose threshold (LDT) selection on gamma pass rates (GPRs) between SMC and treatment planning system, Analytical Anisotropic Algorithm (AAA), or Vancouver Island Monte Carlo (VMC++ algorithm) system calculated dose distributions. Methods: Volumetric‐modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans with modulation factors (MFs) ranging from 2.7 to 10.2 MU/cGy were delivered to SMC at isocenter and 6 cm off‐axis. SMC measured dose distributions were compared against AAA and VMC++ via gamma analysis (3%/1 mm) with LDT of 10% to 80% using SNC Patient software. Results: Comparing on‐axis SMC dose against AAA and VMC++ with LDT of 10%, all AAA‐calculated plans met the acceptance criteria of GPR ≥ 90%, and only one VMC++ calculated plan was marginally outside the acceptance criteria with pass rate of 89.1%. Using LDT of 80% revealed decreasing GPR with increasing MF. For AAA, GPRs reduced from 100% at MF of 2.7 MU/cGy to 57% at MF of 10.2 MU/cGy, and for VMC++ calculated plans, the GPRs reduced from 89% to 60% in the same MF range. Comparison of SMC dose off‐axis against AAA and VMC++ showed more pronounced reduction of GPR with increasing MF. For LDT of 10%, AAA GPRs reduced from 100% to 83% in the MF range of 2.7 to 9.8 MU/cGy, and VMC++ GPR reduced from 100% to 91% in the same range. With 80% LDT, GPRs dropped from 100% to 42% for both algorithms. Conclusions: MF, dose calculation algorithm, and LDT selections are vital in VMAT‐based SRT PSQA. LDT of 80% enhances sensitivity of gamma analysis for detecting dose differences compared to 10% LDT. To achieve better agreement between calculated and SMC dose, it is recommended to limit the MF to 4.6 MU/cGy on‐axis and 3.6 MU/cGy off‐axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystallography at low resolution must determine the atomic model from less experimental observations, which is challenging in the absence of a model. In addition, model bias is more severe when independent experimental data are scarce. Our methods solve the phase problem by combining the location of accurate model fragments using Phaser with density modification and interpretation of the resulting maps using SHELXE. From a partial, correct structure, the density modification process and the stereochemical constraints draw the rest of the structure, validating the result. This same principle is now exploited at low resolution. Coiled coils are important, ubiquitous structures but notoriously difficult to phase and to predict. Both correct solutions and incorrect ones are poorly discriminated by the crystallographic figures of merit as long as helices are correctly oriented. We incorporate coiled‐coil verification, designed to set up competing, incompatible structural hypotheses to probe both the results and establish the power of the data to discriminate them. Efficiency of coiled‐coil phasing and validation in test cases from 3 to 4 Å is demonstrated in ARCIMBOLDO_LITE, placing single helices, and in ARCIMBOLDO_SHREDDER, with fragments derived from AlphaFold models. SHELXE tracing at low resolution has been enhanced, maintaining its local character but extending the environment assessment. For non‐helical structures, verification is demonstrated in the fragment location process. Its use is exemplified with the solution of the VSR1 structure at 3.5 Å, depending on LLG optimization and the emergence of new features in the electron density. Relying on verification, we have extended the use of the ARCIMBOLDO software to low resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dengue fever is a source of substantial health burden in Vietnam. Given the well‐established influence of temperature and precipitation on vector biology and disease transmission, predictions of meteorological variables, such as those issued by ECMWF as a world‐leading provider of global ensemble forecasts, are likely to be valuable model inputs to a future dengue early warning system. In the absence of established verification at municipal and regional scales, this study assesses the skill of rainy season (May–October) ensemble precipitation and 2‐m temperature retrospective forecasts over North and South Vietnam initialized for dates during the period 2001–2020, evaluated against the ERA5 reanalysis for the same period. Forecasts are found to be significantly skilful compared with both climatology and persistence for lead times up to 10 days, including for cumulative precipitation values considered against independent rain gauge data. Rank histograms demonstrate that ensembles generally avoid excessive bias and consistently positive CRPSS values indicate substantial skill for temperature and cumulative precipitation forecasts for all spatial scales considered, despite differences in rainy season characteristics between North and South Vietnam. This forecast reliability demonstrates that meteorological input data based on ECMWF ensemble forecasts would add appreciably more value to the development of a future dengue early warning system compared to reference forecasts like climatology or persistence. These results raise hope for further exploration of predictive skill for relevant meteorological variables, particularly focused on their downscaling to produce district‐level epidemiological forecasts for urban areas where dengue is most prevalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The specification of requirements and tests are crucial activities in automotive development projects. However, due to the increasing complexity of automotive systems, practitioners fail to specify requirements and tests for distributed and evolving systems with complex interactions when following traditional development processes. To address this research gap, we propose a technique that starts with the early identification of validation concerns from a stakeholder perspective, which we use to systematically design tests that drive a scenario‐based modeling and analysis of system requirements. To ensure complete and consistent requirements and test specifications in a form that is required in automotive development projects, we develop a Model‐Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methodology. This methodology supports system architects and test designers in the collaborative application of our technique and in maintaining a central system model, in order to automatically derive the required specifications. We evaluate our methodology by applying it at KOSTAL (Tier1 supplier) and within student projects as part of the masters program Embedded Systems Engineering. Our study corroborates that our methodology is applicable and improves existing requirements and test specification processes by supporting the integrated and stakeholder‐focused modeling of product and validation systems, where the early definition of stakeholder and validation concerns fosters a problem‐oriented, iterative and test‐driven requirements modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semantic Web Technologies (SWTs) provide an approach to the structuring and understanding of data. SWTs utilize ontologies, reasoners, and query languages to structure existing knowledge, validate knowledge, and infer new knowledge. Ontologies in particular play a central role in enabling reusability and interoperability between domains. A common way to organize ontologies and their dependencies is in a layered ontology stack. These layers often incorporate top‐level, core and domain ontologies. Libraries of standard instances can also be used. Federating the conceptualization of a domain across upper‐ and lower‐level ontologies improves the reusability of higher‐level terminology in other domains, and therefore improves interoperability between them. The University of Arizona Ontology Stack (UAOS) is a layered, modular ontology stack that has been developed to support digital engineering activities at the University of Arizona. It is based on the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO), and currently comprises five core ontologies and 12 domain ontologies. The UAOS reuses existing ontologies and standards wherever possible. The core ontologies, for example, are based on the Common Core Ontologies, developed at CUBRC, and the Provenance Notation (PROV‐N), a W3C standard. Domain ontologies include the System Architecture Ontology, based on ISO 42010, and the Orbits and Trajectories Ontology, based on CUBRC's Space Object Ontology. In this paper, we report on the development of the UAOS, present examples of how it has been used to support digital engineering research, discuss the challenges of integrating ontologies from multiple sources into a cohesive stack, and highlight topics of interest for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to complexity increases in modern systems and the digitalization paradigm shift, industrial development requires the integration of new technologies and methods to keep product quality high while reducing time to market. One emerging paradigm in the Systems Engineering (SE) discipline is ModelBased methods and technologies, and correspondingly Model‐Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is seeing increased adoption. With mature MBSE application, several benefits can be expected from the availability of models, even from the very early stages of development, enabling increased communication clarity, cross‐domain collaboration, traceability, and analysis. Notably, MBSE enables (Co‐)simulation even at the early stage of architecture/design by leveraging model‐based capabilities. Co‐simulation specifically enables a smooth and seamless integration of different models defined across layers of abstraction, for example, system logical architecture and system physical architecture. However, while MBSE is assisting with many aspects of development it is still a predominantly isolated set of activities throughout the development, especially on the left‐hand side of the traditional V‐model. In this work we discuss the status of Co‐simulation in industrial MBSE and list several existing challenges, then we propose a novel framework for implementing Co‐simulation and exemplify using a real scenario how we might address the observed challenges. The framework hinges on the newly proposed SSP standard and extends the currently industrially adopted FMI (version 3) standard through embedding the FMI file format using various scripts, demonstrated in the Python language for this paper. Finally, we propose a set of recommendations for future investigations to strengthen Co‐simulation in industrial MBSE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I study a persuasion game between a privately informed agent and a decision maker (DM) who can imperfectly verify the statements made by the agent by observing a signal that is correlated with the agent's information. I find that whether or not the DM benefits from communicating with the agent depends on whether the DM's signal and the agent's private information satisfy a weak affiliation condition. I then discuss the significance of this result to the debate over the use of self‐appraisals in business. I argue that, in general, self‐appraisals are only useful when the workers' abilities are multidimensional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decadal predictions focus regularly on the predictability of single values, like means or extremes. In this study we investigate the prediction skill of the full underlying surface temperature distributions on global and European scales. We investigate initialized hindcast simulations of the Max Planck Institute Earth system model decadal prediction system and compare the distribution of seasonal daily temperatures with estimates of the climatology and uninitialized historical simulations. In the analysis we show that the initialized prediction system has advantages in particular in the North Atlantic area and allow so to make reliable predictions for the whole temperature spectrum for two to 10 years ahead. We also demonstrate that the capability of initialized climate predictions to predict the temperature distribution depends on the season. Plain Language Summary: The usual way to make statements about temperatures two to 10 years in advance is by using one value. This could be the average, minimum or maximum temperature over some time period. Nevertheless, this simplification hides that this represents only partial information about the full distribution of temperature values. We demonstrate that a climate model is in many areas, especially over and around the North Atlantic, better in predicting the temperature multiple years ahead than assuming a constant climate. We also show that in some areas a climate model, which is starting from a specific point of observations is better than one which does not do that. This shows that it is possible and useful to apply climate predictions to predict the future not only for averages, but for the whole distribution. Key Points: Potential of decadal prediction of temperature distributionsVariability in prediction skill vary regionally over seasonsThe North Atlantic offers an important area where temperature distribution predictability is improved by initialization [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Team formation in an environment where some relevant parameters are not known in advance is a challenging problem. Communicating automata and distributed algorithms have been used to describe protocols for team formation. A high‐level specification provides a mathematical description of a protocol or a program. TLA +$$ {}^{+} $$ is a formal specification language designed to provide high‐level specifications of concurrent and distributed systems. The associated model checker known as TLC is capable of model checking the TLA +$$ {}^{+} $$ specifications. Recently, formal specification of a team formation protocol is given using TLA +$$ {}^{+} $$ when there is a single initiator (an agent or a robot) that initiates the team formation. Using TLA +$$ {}^{+} $$, we examine the formal specification for the multiple initiator situation and demonstrate that a composition technique can yield a single monolithic specification for the multiple initiator situation from the single initiator situation specification. We have used models of varying sizes, and the TLC model checker has confirmed that the protocol's specifications meet certain desired characteristics in each case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Met Office GloSea5‐GC2 sub‐seasonal‐to‐seasonal 40‐member lagged ensemble consists of members who are up to 10 days different in age such that the between‐ensemble‐member bias is not internally consistent. Reforecasts tend to be used to convert these ensemble forecasts into anomalies from a normal state. These anomalies are however not that useful for applications where individual ensemble members are needed to drive downstream applications in the hazard and impact space. Here we explore whether there is a way of correcting for the within‐ensemble bias without using reforecasts. An investigation into the individual daily precipitation distributions from the JJAS 2019 Indian monsoon season, stratified by forecast horizon, highlights how the distribution changes, and shows that the model distribution is markedly different to the observed. Initial results suggest that it could be better to use recent model forecast distribution(s) as the reference for adjusting the model rainfall accumulations as a function of lead day horizon, that is, not attempting to correct the members to a vastly different (observed) distribution shape, but a more subtle shift towards the model's best guess of reality, rather than reality itself, to remove the between‐ensemble‐member bias. A combination of Exponential and Generalized Pareto distributions are used for parametric quantile mapping to remove this internal ensemble bias using computationally efficient pre‐computed lookup tables. Within‐ and out‐of‐sample results for the 2019 and 2020 monsoon seasons show that the method is effective in tightening precipitation gradients, with improvements in spread, accuracy and skill, especially for low accumulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Currently, inter‐organizational process collaboration (IOPC) has been widely used in the design and development of distributed systems that support business process execution. Blockchain‐based IOPC can establish trusted data sharing among participants, attracting more and more attention. The core of such study is to translate the graphical model (e.g., BPMN) into program code called smart contract that can be executed in the blockchain environment. In this context, a proper smart contract plays a vital role in the correct implementation of block‐chain‐based IOPC. In fact, the quality of graphical model affects the smart contract generation. Problematic models (e.g., deadlock) will result in incorrect contracts (causing unexpected behaviors). To avoid this undesired implementation, this article explores to generate smart contracts by using the verified formal model as input instead of graphical model. Specifically, we introduce a prototype framework that supports the automatic generation of smart contracts, providing an end‐to‐end solution from modeling, verification, translation to implementation. One of the cores of this framework is to provide a CSP#‐based formalization for the BPMN collaboration model from the perspective of message interaction. This formalization provides precise execution semantics and model verification for graphical models, and a verified formal model for smart contract generation. Another novelty is that it introduces a syntax tree‐based translation algorithm to directly map the formal model into a smart contract. The required formalism, verification, and translation techniques are transparent to users without imposing additional burdens. Finally, a set of experiments shows the effectiveness of the framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamical seasonal forecast models are improving with time but tend to underestimate the amplitude of atmospheric circulation variability and to have lower skill in predicting summer variability than in winter. Here, we construct Nonlinear AutoRegressive Moving Average models with eXogenous inputs (NARMAX) to develop the analysis of drivers of North Atlantic atmospheric circulation and jet‐stream variability, focusing on the East Atlantic (EA) and Scandinavian (SCA) patterns as well as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index. New time series of these indices are developed from empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. Geopotential height data from the ERA5 reanalysis are used to generate the EOFs. Sets of predictors with known associations with these drivers are developed and used to formulate a sliding‐window NARMAX model. This model demonstrates a high degree of predictive accuracy, as indicated by its average correlation coefficients over the testing period (2006–2021): 0.78 for NAO, 0.83 for EA and 0.68 for SCA. In comparison, the SEAS5 and GloSea5 dynamical forecast models exhibit lower correlations with observed circulation changes: for NAO, the correlation coefficients are 0.51 for SEAS5 and 0.34 for GloSea5, for EA they are 0.15 and 0.09, respectively, and for SCA, they are 0.28 and 0.24, respectively. Comparison of NARMAX predictions with forecasts and hindcasts from the SEAS5 and GloSea5 models highlights areas where NARMAX can be used to help improve seasonal forecast skill and inform the development of dynamical models, especially in the case of summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Verification activities are intended to reduce the costs of system development by identifying design errors before deploying the system. However, subcontractors in multi‐firm projects are motivated to implement locally cost‐effective verification strategies over verification strategies that benefit the main contractor. Incentivizing verification activities is one mechanism by which the contractor can motivate subcontractors to implement verification strategies desirable to the contractor. In this paper, we present a belief‐based modeling concept for determining optimal verification strategies for general development plans. The results show that the optimal incentives are a function of the subordinate firm's beliefs and the influence exerted by the subordinate firm on the supervising firm with respect to verification activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subseasonal‐to‐seasonal (S2S) forecasts span the prediction range of weeks to 2–3 months ahead, bridging the gap between medium‐range and seasonal weather forecasts. There has been growing interest in S2S forecasts in recent years, largely because of the many potential uses of forecasts spanning these timescales. However, the skill of S2S forecasts beyond the first 2 weeks or so is poor, potentially limiting the usability of these forecasts. We show in this study that when considering accumulated temperatures, there is in fact good forecasting skill over Europe for accumulation periods up to 30 days ahead. Using a set of S2S hindcasts, we show using both a deterministic and a probabilistic measure of skill that the accumulated 2‐metre temperature forecasts out to 30 days are skilful over most of Europe. In summer, South West Europe has highest skill, while in winter North East Europe has highest skill. As an example application of such forecasts, we also evaluate the skill for summer cooling degree‐days (CDD) and winter heating degree‐days (HDD). For 30‐day winter HDD, there is good skill in all four European regions; for 30‐day summer CDD, the skill is limited in North West Europe, but still good in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several methods and software for the homogenization of climate data series but there is not any exact mathematical theory of homogenization. As we see, the basic problem of homogenization is the unreasonable dominance of the practical procedures over the theory. Therefore we try to formulate some questions of homogenization in accordance with the mathematical conventions. The topics to be discussed are as follows. (a) Themes and systems—meteorological, mathematical and software links. (b) Mathematical formulation of climate data series homogenization and special case of normal distribution. (c) Additive and multiplicative spatiotemporal models for climate data series homogenization. (d) Mathematical overview of methodological questions as, spatial comparison of series, inhomogeneity detection and adjustment of series, in accordance with the WMO Guidelines on Homogenisation (2020). (e) The last topic is the new version of MASH for homogenization of mean and standard deviation. The earlier versions of our method MASH (Multiple Analysis of Series for Homogenization; Szentimrey) were developed formerly at the Hungarian Meteorological Service. These procedures aimed to homogenize the daily and monthly data series in the mean, that is, the first order moment. The new version MASHv4.01 has been developed for joint homogenization of mean and standard deviation using some mathematical results. Theoretically, in case of normal distribution, the homogenization of mean and standard deviation is sufficient since if the first two moments are homogenous then the higher order moments are also homogeneous. An interactive automatic algorithm also was developed in this new version in order to make the homogenization easier for the users. We will present a summary of the software MASH where our intention was to develop a flexible, interactive automatic, artificial intelligence (AI) system. We finish the paper with some comments connected to the theoretical evaluation and benchmark validation of the methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiosonde observations over Antarctica and the surrounding oceans were enhanced during the Year of Polar Prediction in the Southern Hemisphere (YOPP‐SH) summer Special Observing Period (SOP). Observing System Experiments (OSEs) were conducted in a continuous cycling framework using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model and its data assimilation system. Routinely available observations were assimilated in the CTL (control) experiment, and special radiosonde observations from the YOPP‐SH SOP were additionally assimilated in the YOPP experiment. The results were compared to investigate the effects of additional radiosonde observations on analyses and forecasts over and around Antarctica. Verifications against ERA5 re‐analysis, radiosonde observations, and Automatic Weather Station (AWS) observations show overall positive effects of additional radiosonde observations. These positive effects are most noticeable in temperature at lower levels at earlier forecast lead times; afterward, wind forecast improvements at upper levels are the most noticeable. Although routine and special radiosonde observations are concentrated over the eastern and coastal regions of Antarctica (compared to the western and inland regions), the effects of the extra data spread in longitudinal and latitudinal directions; therefore, the effects on the forecasts are not limited to only the areas near the radiosonde observations. A case study reveals how cyclone forecasts are improved through the assimilation of the additional YOPP‐SH SOP radiosonde observations. This study provides insights into future observation strategies in Antarctica, such as horizontal/vertical observation locations, observation variables, and so forth to maximize effects of new observations on forecasts over Antarctica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Verification of blood collection tubes is essential for clinical laboratories. The aim of this study was to assess performance of candidate tubes from four alternative suppliers for routine diagnostic haematology testing during an impending global shortage of blood collection tubes. Methods: A multicentre verification study was performed in Cape Town, South Africa. Blood from 300 healthy volunteers was collected into K2EDTA and sodium citrate tubes of BD Vacutainer® comparator tubes and one of four candidate tubes (Vacucare, Vacuette®, V‐TUBE™ and Vacutest®). A technical verification was performed, which included tube physical properties and safety. Routine haematology testing was performed for clinical verification. Results: Vacucare tubes did not have a fill‐line indicator, Vacuette® tubes had external blood contamination on the caps post‐venesection and Vacutest® tubes had hard rubber stoppers. K2EDTA tubes of Vacuette®, Vacucare and Vacutest® performed similarly to the comparator. Unacceptable constant bias was seen for PT in Vacucare (95% CI −2.38 to −0.10), Vacutest® (95% CI −1.91 to −0.49) and Vacuette® (95% CI 0.10–1.84) tubes and for aPTT in Vacuette® (95% CI 0.22–2.00) and V‐TUBE™ (95% CI −2.88 to −0.44). Unacceptable %bias was seen for aPTT in Vacucare (95% CI 2.78–4.59) and Vacutest® tubes (95% CI 2.53–3.82; desirable ±2.30), and in V‐TUBE™ for mean cell volume (95% CI 1.15–1.47, desirable ±0.95%) and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (95% CI −1.65 to −0.93, desirable ±0.43%). Conclusion: Blood collection tubes introduce variability to routine haematology results. We recommend that laboratories use one brand of tube. Verification of new candidate tubes should be performed to ensure consistency and reliable reporting of results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current Eurocode revision process is sought to improve Eurocode 7 for application to rock engineering, while including only techniques and procedures that are in widespread customary use. The revision process has exposed much about the application of the Eurocodes to rock engineering, thereby offering hints as to what material should be included in the next revision – tentatively suggested for publication in 2035. Crucially, ideas have developed about how rock engineering practice may need to develop to embrace the principles on which the Eurocodes are based. In particular, aspects of determining the properties of rock masses, and design verification by observational methods, partial factors, numerical modelling, and prescriptive rules are all thought to require significant improvement or dramatic modification. This paper highlights challenges identified regarding the application of the Eurocodes to rock engineering, and which will need to be addressed in the future. Ideas are presented about how these challenges may be overcome, but these are given in the spirit of stimulating ongoing conversation within the rock mechanics and rock engineering community rather than presenting definite proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The second generation of Eurocode 7 aims at covering ground, including both soil and rock. Current practice of ground engineering forms the basis, and the aim is to include rock engineering, improving ease of use, harmonization of regulations, and covering new developments. This paper deals with EN 1997 part 1 addressing the general rules of geotechnical design, connected to EN 1990, the basis of structural and geotechnical design, and parts 2 and 3 of EN 1997. The design process from ground investigation to the verification of limit states is illustrated with a focus on rock engineering. The following topics are dealt with in more detail: Geotechnical Categories: They are now based on Consequence Classes and newly introduced Geotechnical Complexity Classes. A limit state design to be sufficient has to be combined with other checks depending on these classes.Replacement of the Design Approaches of the current Eurocode 7: Ultimate limit states will be verified by a combination of Verification Cases with partial factors on actions and action effects, and sets of partial factors on ground properties and resistances, respectively.Application of numerical methods, where a ULS‐verification with two sets of partial factors is defined.Use of probabilistic methods in design by calculation, especially appropriate in cases where properties of discontinuities govern the design.Practice of the Observational Method, including design variants and regulations about their choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In today's era of fast‐growing network‐enabled devices combined, it increases the complexity of the network. This leads to the massive data packet transfer on the network via the data plane in a software‐defined networking environment. The programmable packet processing in a data plane may introduce indirect bugs that are hard to catch manually. To avoid catastrophic after‐effects, such programs need to be formally verified. Researchers have proposed various tools and techniques to verify the data plane program using the P4 language. Most of the researchers have used the concept of assertion and symbolic execution to provide P4 verification approaches. As symbolic execution does not scale up well, researchers have proposed different techniques, which include the use of constraints, slicing of the program, parallelization, data plane verification, program verification, and so on. The tools have experimented with different choices for compiler optimization. In this article, we perform a pervasive survey on various verification tools and techniques based on data plane programming using domain‐specific language like P4 from the inception of the concept. We have compared the packet processing tools developed as per the requirement of time with their ideology and the impact of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study using the component‐based finite element method to analyze the behavior bolted joints in fire. The model was verified and validated on analytical and experimental results at elevated temperature. In this work, the plates are modelled using shell elements and the bolt is represented by non‐linear springs. The elements are analyzed by geometrically and materially nonlinear analysis with imperfections (GMNIA). Consequently, the method used in this work can give reasonable results to predict the behavior of joints at elevated temperature. It is predicting the resistance and the stiffness for design of steel structure at elevated temperature by 3D model with members represented by 1D or 2D elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floods as a result of severe storms cause significant impacts on lives and properties. Therefore, timely and accurate forecasts of the storms will reduce the associated risks. In this study, we look at the characteristics of a storm on 28 June, 2018 in Kumasi from a rain gauge network and satellite data, and reanalysis data. The storm claimed at least 8 lives and displaced 293 people in Kumasi, Ghana. The ability of satellite and reanalysis data to capture the temporal variations of the storm was assessed using a high temporal resolution (accumulation per minute) rain gauge data. We employed the observation data from the Dynamics–Aerosol–Chemistry–Cloud Interactions in West Africa (DACCIWA) rain gauges to assess the storm's onset, duration, and cessation. Subsequently, the performance of the ERA5 reanalysis and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite precipitation estimates in capturing the rainfall is assessed. Both GPM and the ERA5 had difficulty reproducing the hourly pattern of the rain. However, the GPM produced variability that is similar to the observed. Generally, the region of maximum rainfall was located in the southern parts of the study domain in ERA5, while GPM placed it in the northern parts. The study contributes a verification measure to improve weather forecasting in Ghana as part of the objectives of the GCRF African Science for Weather Information and Forecasting Techniques (SWIFT) project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control systems are typically tightly embedded into their environment to enable adaptation to environmental effects. As the complexity of such adaptive systems is rapidly increasing, there is a strong need for coherent tool‐centric approaches to aid their systematic development. This paper proposes an end‐to‐end component‐based specification, design and verification approach for adaptive systems based on the integration of a high‐level scenario language (sequence chart variant) and an adaptation definition language (statechart extension) in the open source Gamma tool. The scenario language supports high‐level constructs for specifying contracts and the adaptation definition language supports the flexible activation and deactivation of static contracts and managed elements (state‐based components) based on internal changes (e.g., faults), environmental changes (e.g., varying context) or interactions. The approach supports linking managed elements to static contracts to formally verify their adherence to the specified behavior at design time using integrated model checkers. Implementation can be derived from the adaptation model automatically, which can be tested using automated test generation and verified at runtime by contract‐based monitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some types of software systems, like event‐based and non‐deterministic ones, are usually specified as rules so that we can analyse the system behaviour by drawing inferences from firing the rules. However, when the fuzzy rules are used for the specification of non‐deterministic behaviour and they contain a large number of variables, they constitute a complex form that is difficult to understand and infer. A solution is to visualise the system specification with the capability of automatic rule inference. In this study, by representing a high‐level system specification, the authors visualise rule representation and firing using fuzzy coloured Petri‐nets. Already, several fuzzy Petri‐nets‐based methods have been presented, but they either do not support a large number of rules and variables or do not consider significant cases like (a) the weight of the premise's propositions in the occurrence of the rule conclusion, (b) the weight of conclusion's proposition, (c) threshold values for premise and conclusion's propositions of the rule, and (d) the certainty factor (CF) for the rule or the conclusion's proposition. By considering cases (a)–(d), a wider variety of fuzzy rules are supported. The authors applied their model to the analysis of attacks against a part of a real secure water treatment system. In another real experiment, the authors applied the model to the two scenarios from their previous work and analysed the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a unified formal framework, Formal Framework For FLUID (F3FLUID), for the development of safety‐critical interactive systems. This framework is based on the Formal Language of User Interface Design (FLUID) pivot modeling language defined in the FORMEDICIS project, which enables high‐level system requirements for interactive systems to be specified in the FLUID language. This modeling language is specifically designed for handling concepts of safety‐critical interactive systems, including domain knowledge. A FLUID model is used as a source model for the generation of several target models in different modeling languages to support the formal verification methods, such as theorem proving and model checking. In this paper, we use the Event‐B modeling language for checking functional behaviors, user interactions, safety properties, and domain properties. A FLUID model is transformed into an Event‐B model, and then, the Rodin tool is used to check the internal consistency with respect to the given safety properties. We illustrate the operational semantics of the FLUID language, and the transformation strategy of FLUID models into Event‐B models, including the tool development. We use the ProB model checker to analyze the temporal properties and to animate the formalized specification. In addition, an interactive cooperative objects (ICOs) model is derived from the Event‐B model for animation, visualization and validation of dynamic behaviors, visual properties, and task analysis. Finally, an industrial case study, complying with the ARINC 661 standard, Multi‐Purpose Interactive Applications (MPIA), is used to illustrate the effectiveness of our F3FLUID framework for the development of safety‐critical interactive systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When developing cyber‐physical systems (CPS), the context is of vital importance. CPS interact with the world not only through sensing the environment and acting upon it (like embedded systems) but also by communicating with other CPS (like systems in the Internet of Things [IoT]). This means that the context interactions CPS must deal with are much greater than regular embedded or IoT systems: On the one hand, external systems and human users constrain the specific interaction among them. On the other hand, properties of these external systems, human users, and laws, regulations, or standards constrain the way the CPS must be developed. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive, ontologically grounded context modeling framework to systematically explore the problem space in which a CPS under development will operate. This allows for the systematic elicitation of requirements for the CPS, early validation and verification of its properties, and safety assessment of its context interactions at runtime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Named Data Networking (NDN) is a new promising architecture of information‐centric networking, which supports multicast of data and adopts the publish/subscribe model in the network. The features of NDN, including name‐based data and in‐network caching, make it a promising Internet architecture for cyber‐physical systems (CPSs). Named‐Data Link State Routing (NLSR) protocol is the routing protocol for NDN, which is designed to disseminate link state advertisements (LSAs) to both build a network topology and distribute all the name prefixes to every node in the network. In this paper, we make the very first attempt to formally model and verify some fundamental properties of the NLSR protocol using model checker UPPAAL. We validate the NLSR protocol modeled into timed automata with simulator in UPPAAL. We verify our model with four fundamental properties (termination, reachability of Sync Interest, reachability of Sync Data, and digest synchronization). The first synchronization problem is found in a scenario with two nodes topology. We give the improved model that owns a valid result in digest synchronization verification. To capture more problems, we make the model to support the simulation of temporary network crash. The second synchronization problem is also exposed in two comparative scenarios. We also propose a mechanism implemented in our model, which has a valid result in digest synchronization verification. We hope that our study and preliminary results would help enhancing the adaptability and robustness of NLSR protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We herein present for the first time a micro liquid chromatography‐electrospray ionization high‐resolution tandem‐mass spectrometry (μLC‐ESI MS/HR MS) procedure to detect phosphonylated tyrosine (Tyr) and lysine (Lys) residues obtained from human hair exposed to organophosphorus nerve agents (OPNA). In general, toxic OPNA react with endogenous blood proteins causing the formation of adducts representing well‐known targets for biomedical analysis to prove exposure. In contrast, no protein‐derived biomarker has been introduced so far to document local exposure of hair. Accordingly, we developed and characterized a μLC‐ESI MS/HR MS method for the analysis of scalp hair exposed to OPNA in vitro. Type I and Type II keratin from hair was dissolved during lysis, precipitated and subjected to pronase‐catalyzed hydrolysis yielding single adducted Lys and in a much higher amount Tyr residues. Exposure to sarin caused the adduction of an isopropyl methylphosphonic acid moiety and exposure to VX yielded adducts of ethyl methylphosphonic acid, well suited as biomarkers of exposure. These were of appropriate stability in the autosampler for 24 h. The biomarker yield obtained from hair of six individuals as well as from hair of six different parts of the body of one individual (armpit, beard, leg, arm, scalp, and pubic) differed reasonably indicating the variable individual protein composition and structure of hair. Exposed hair stored at ambient temperature for 9 weeks with contact to air and daylight showed stability of all adducts and therefore their suitability for verification of exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Material properties of historical steels from exhibition hall 12 in Leipzig at elevated temperatures This paper describes material investigations on historic steel structures. In the course of the reconstruction of the exhibition hall 12 in Leipzig, parts of the original load‐bearing structure are to be restored and integrated into the new building. In order to verify the resistance of the structure, material tests were carried out on the steels and the riveted joints both under ambient temperature and at elevated temperatures. In analogy to the regulations of Eurocode 3, calculation values for the verification were derived from the test results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in combination with patient‐specific medical images has been used to correlate flow phenotypes with disease initiation, progression and outcome, in search of a prospective clinical tool. A large number of CFD software packages are available, but are typically based on rigid domains and low‐order finite volume methods, and are often implemented in massive low‐level C++ libraries. Furthermore, only a handful of solvers have been appropriately verified and validated for their intended use. Our goal was to develop, verify and validate an open‐source CFD solver for moving domains, with applications to cardiovascular flows. The solver is an extension of the CFD solver Oasis, which is based on the finite element method and implemented using the FEniCS open source framework. The new solver, named OasisMove, extends Oasis by expressing the Navier–Stokes equations in the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation, which is suitable for handling moving domains. For code verification we used the method of manufactured solutions for a moving 2D vortex problem, and for validation we compared our results against existing high‐resolution simulations and laboratory experiments for two moving domain problems of varying complexity. Verification results showed that the L2 error followed the theoretical convergence rates. The temporal accuracy was second‐order, while the spatial accuracy was second‐ and third‐order using ℙ1/ℙ1 and ℙ2/ℙ1 finite elements, respectively. Validation results showed good agreement with existing benchmark results, by reproducing lift and drag coefficients with less than 1% error, and demonstrating the solver's ability to capture vortex patterns in transitional and turbulent‐like flow regimes. In conclusion, we have shown that OasisMove is an open‐source, accurate and reliable solver for cardiovascular flows in moving domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates simulated radiance forecasts from a series of controlled experiments consisting of FV3‐LAM forecasts with different configurations of model physics and vertical resolution. The forecasts were produced during the 2020 Hazardous Weather Testbed Spring Forecasting Experiments on the same forecast cases. The evaluation includes grid‐point, neighborhood‐based and object‐based verification. The experiments include forecasts that were identical except for the physics (EMC‐LAM vs. EMC‐LAMx), vertical resolution (EMC‐LAMx vs. NSSL‐LAM), or combined initial conditions, physics and vertical resolution (GSL‐LAM). It is found that the EMC‐LAM generally provided better simulated radiance forecasts than the other three configurations at most forecast lead times, due to its unique physics configuration. All configurations generally over‐forecasted high level clouds. EMC‐LAM reduced the over‐forecasting of high clouds, but also under‐forecasted the coverage of mid‐level clouds. In contrast, at early lead times the EMC‐LAM had relatively poor performance relative to the other forecasts. Furthermore, EMC‐LAM was an outlier in terms of the vertical structure of clouds. It is also found that the NSSL‐LAM consistently improved upon the EMC‐LAMx, which had fewer vertical levels than NSSL‐LAM. Compared to EMC‐LAMx, NSSL‐LAM had less cloud over‐forecasting bias, especially with small cloud objects, and less overall error. The differences between EMC‐LAMx and GSL‐LAM were generally much smaller than the differences between EMC‐LAMx and EMC‐LAM/NSSL‐LAM. Finally, it is found that a non‐linear bias correction conditioned on symmetric brightness temperature reduced the overall root‐mean‐square error by about a factor of 2 while improving the unrealistic vertical structure of clouds in the EMC‐LAM. Plain Language Summary: While forecasts from different convection‐allowing model (CAM) configurations are often evaluated in terms of simulated reflectivity or precipitation, many users are also interested in simulated brightness temperature and associated cloud features. This study evaluates the forecast performance of several configurations of the FV3‐LAM CAM in terms of simulated infrared brightness temperature. The different configurations highlight the impacts of vertical resolution and physical parameterizations, in particular. It is found that the older physics parameterization, with Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory microphysics and Eddy‐Diffusivity Mass‐Flux boundary layer, performed generally better than a newer configuration, with Thompson microphysics and Mellor‐Yamada‐Nakanishi‐Niino boundary layer, that had previously been found to improve precipitation and simulated reflectivity forecasts. The difference is related to both the presence of an additional cumulus parameterization in the older physics, as well as the tendency of the newer Thompson microphysics scheme to produce large regions of high cloud near deep convection. However, at early lead times the older physics configuration took longer to spin up ongoing convection. It is also found that enhanced vertical resolution consistently improved the forecasts. A caveat to these conclusions is that the FV3‐LAM and its physics configuration are undergoing continuous development which may change these results in the newest model versions. Key Points: FV3‐LAM physics configuration strongly impacts the performance of simulated brightness temperature forecastsVertical resolution has a consistent impact, related to a reduction in over‐forecasting of small clouds with enhanced vertical resolutionBias correction greatly reduces the brightness temperature forecast errors as well as reducing errors in cloud vertical structure [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AADL—architecture analysis and design language—has proven to be important in developing real‐time embedded systems. However, its formalization capability is still limited, which makes it difficult to produce a consistent model; particularly, in the case where several models are combined together. Therefore, using formal verification is an effective way to meet the consistency requirements of the AADL model. This paper proposes a model‐based engineering approach that uses timed automata (TA) formalism to aggregate multiple AADL models into a single composite model. Based on the set of input AADL models, the proposed approach creates a consistent composed model as well as support model checking verification. The effectiveness of this contribution is evaluated through two case studies; a multicamera surveillance system and a drone system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earthquake shaking more intense than that used to size the horizontal clearance between a base‐isolated building and near‐rigid perimeter moat wall will result in hard impact, producing high‐frequency, high‐amplitude acceleration response in the structure and supported equipment. This paper provides a design solution for the damaging effects of hard impact by installing a compliant engineered element in the load path between the base‐isolated building and the moat wall, resulting in soft impact and a much smaller acceleration response. The engineered element assumed herein is a commercial‐off‐the‐shelf marine fender with mechanical properties determined by physical testing. The attachment of a flexible engineered element, with well‐defined stiffness and damping, to a near‐rigid moat wall, simplifies the numerical modeling of the building‐moat wall system and eliminates the need to bound the lateral stiffness of the wall for impact calculations. The simple model of the engineered element can be implemented in commercial finite element codes. Theory is developed for two‐sided impact of a single‐degree‐of‐freedom oscillator. Analytical solutions are derived for the shifted first‐mode frequency of the impacted oscillator and for its free‐vibration response. The shifted first‐mode frequency is a function of the composite lateral stiffness of the isolator‐engineered element assembly and its earthquake‐induced displacement. Local peaks in the spectral response of the impacted oscillator form at odd integer multiples of the shifted first‐mode frequency. The analytical solutions can be used to verify, in part, the numerical model used for impact analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure predictions have matched the accuracy of experimental structures from close homologues, providing suitable models for molecular replacement phasing. Even in predictions that present large differences due to the relative movement of domains or poorly predicted areas, very accurate regions tend to be present. These are suitable for successful fragment‐based phasing as implemented in ARCIMBOLDO. The particularities of predicted models are inherently addressed in the new predicted_model mode, rendering preliminary treatment superfluous but also harmless. B‐value conversion from predicted LDDT or error estimates, the removal of unstructured polypeptide, hierarchical decomposition of structural units from domains to local folds and systematically probing the model against the experimental data will ensure the optimal use of the model in phasing. Concomitantly, the exhaustive use of models and stereochemistry in phasing, refinement and validation raises the concern of crystallographic model bias and the need to critically establish the information contributed by the experiment. Therefore, in its predicted_model mode ARCIMBOLDO_SHREDDER will first determine whether the input model already constitutes a solution or provides a straightforward solution with Phaser. If not, extracted fragments will be located. If the landscape of solutions reveals numerous, clearly discriminated and consistent probes or if the input model already constitutes a solution, model‐free verification will be activated. Expansions with SHELXE will omit the partial solution seeding phases and all traces outside their respective masks will be combined in ALIXE, as far as consistent. This procedure completely eliminates the molecular replacement search model in favour of the inferences derived from this model. In the case of fragments, an incorrect starting hypothesis impedes expansion. The predicted_model mode has been tested in different scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Validation of risk prediction models in independent data provides a more rigorous assessment of model performance than internal assessment, for example, done by cross-validation in the data used for model development. However, several differences between the populations that gave rise to the training and the validation data can lead to seemingly poor performance of a risk model. In this paper we formalize the notions of "similarity" or "relatedness" of the training and validation data, and define reproducibility and transportability. We address the impact of different distributions of model predictors and differences in verifying the disease status or outcome on measures of calibration, accuracy and discrimination of a model. When individual level information from both the training and validation data sets is available, we propose and study weighted versions of the validation metrics that adjust for differences in the risk factor distributions and in outcome verification between the training and validation data to provide a more comprehensive assessment of model performance. We provide conditions on the risk model and the populations that gave rise to the training and validation data that ensure a model's reproducibility or transportability, and show how to check these conditions using weighted and unweighted performance measures. We illustrate the method by developing and validating a model that predicts the risk of developing prostate cancer using data from two large prostate cancer screening trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Users can apply three processes to develop confidence in decision‐making tools like models and indices—validation, verification, and observation. The utility of the Cumulative Resilience Screening Index (CRSI) was demonstrated by combining the processes of verification and observation using real‐world natural hazard events (i.e., hurricanes, inland flooding, and wildfires). The ability of CRSI to determine the counties most vulnerable to hazards and least likely to recover quickly from natural hazards is demonstrated using these natural hazard events from outside the original index construction data set. Using Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Michael, the counties in Texas and Florida/Georgia, respectively, experiencing the most damage and the most extended recovery intervals were determined accurately. Similarly, the most vulnerable and least recoverable counties were correctly identified as those associated with the Great Louisiana Flood of 2016. Finally, three different types of wildfires in California were examined to determine the likelihood of recovery and the strength of pre‐event planning. All models and indices developed for use by decision‐makers should consider undertaking this verification or a similar validation operation to enhance user confidence. Plain Language Summary: The manuscript provides a set of observational verifications of the Cumulative Resilience Screening Index that uses hurricanes, floods, and wildfires in the period of 2016–2019. These verifications will provide users with additional confidence in the results of the index. Key Points: VerificationNatural hazardsResilience [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic structural analysis may be applied without any difficulty and with little effort for structural member verifications with regard to lateral torsional buckling of doubly symmetric rolled I sections. Suchlike analyses can be performed based on the plastic zone theory, specifically using finite beam elements with seven degrees of freedom and 2nd order theory considering material nonlinearity. The existing Eurocode enables these approaches and the coming‐up generation will provide corresponding regulations in EN 1993‐1‐14. The investigations allow the determination of computationally accurate limit loads, which are determined in the present paper for selected structural systems with different sets of parameters, such as length, steel grade and cross section types. The results are compared to approximations gained by more sophisticated FEM analyses (commercial software Ansys Workbench applying solid elements) for reasons of verification/validation. In this course, differences in the results of the numerical models are addressed and discussed. In addition, results are compared to resistances obtained by common design regulations based on reduction factors χlt including regulations of EN 1993‐1‐1 (including German National Annex) as well as prEN 1993‐1‐1: 2020‐08 (proposed new Eurocode generation). Concluding, correlations of results and their advantages as well as disadvantages are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphatase and tensin homolog‐long (PTEN‐L) is a translational isoform of PTEN, which exists in both intracellular and extracellular locations. Previous studies demonstrated that PTEN‐L could inhibit oncogenesis due to its lipid phosphatase activity. However, recent studies found that PTEN‐L could promote the proliferation of some types of cancer cells. Moreover, as a protein phosphatase, PTEN‐L can suppress mitophagy by counteracting PTEN‐induced putative kinase protein 1 (PINK1)‐Parkin‐mediated ubiquitin phosphorylation, namely, PTEN‐L is critical for exploring the mitophagy progression and the treatment of mitochondrial diseases. Accounting for the critical functions of PTEN‐L, its antibody can be used for the treatment or prognosis of tumors and mitochondrial diseases. Currently, the commercial antibody of PTEN‐L is not available. In our study, the recombinant PTEN‐L protein was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 and used as an antigen to immunize Japan's big‐eared white rabbit for the preparation of polyclonal antibody. The PTEN‐L protein can be captured by PTEN‐L antibody specifically and effectively. Taken together, a PTEN_L antibody is a valuable tool for further exploring the function of PTEN‐L in oncogenesis and mitochondrial diseases, and it would be a new choice for the prognosis or treatment of cancer and mitochondrial diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Global Environmental Multiscale Model (GEM) is currently in operational use for data assimilation and forecasting at 25–15 km scales; regional 10 km scales over North America; and 2.5 km scales over Canada. To evaluate the GEM model for forecasting applications in Iran, global daily temperature and precipitation outputs of GEM at a 25 km scale were compared to data sets from hydrometeorological stations and the De Martonne climate classification method was used to demarcate climate zones for comparisons. GEM model outputs were compared to observations in each of these zones. The results show good agreement between GEM outputs and measured daily temperatures with Kling‐Gupta efficiencies of 0.76 for the arid, 0.71 for the semiarid, and 0.78 for the humid regions. There is also an agreement between GEM outputs and measured annual precipitation with differences of 50% for the arid, 36% for the semiarid, and 15% for the humid region. There is a ~13% systematic difference between the elevation of stations and the average elevation of corresponding GEM grid cells; differences in elevation associated with forcing data sets can be potentially corrected using environmental lapse rates. Compared with hydrometeorological data sets, the GEM model precipitation outputs are less accurate than temperature outputs, and this may influence the accuracy of potential Iranian forecasting operations utilizing GEM. The results of this study provide an understanding of the operation and limitations of the GEM model for climate change and hydro‐climatological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systems engineering has embraced MBSE and other digital engineering techniques that have been in use in software engineering for decades. One area that MBSE lacks is automation of verification and validation of requirements for standards. System models require rework to model standards and in the case of reuse, extensive verification to ensure they have been implemented properly. SysML can utilize architectural constraints for system models in a similar way to how software engineers use architectural constraints in software architectures. Architectural constraints can be used to verify conformance with architectural decisions and standard implementation. This tool can be applied to automated standard compliance verification using query functions for analysis or validation suites for fast verification of architectural constraints. This technique has been applied to larger Reference architectures with success in finding errors architecture design as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decade has seen an increase in calls for theoretical foundations of systems engineering (SE) along with a transformation to a model‐based and digital paradigm. This transformation is expected to facilitate improved verification. In fact, the literature suggests that the increased complexity of modern engineered systems is challenging the feasibility of traditional verification methods and requires new methods to cope with the change. Furthermore, a review of the SE literature suggests limited focus on verification research. Our research leverages systems theory to characterize the relationships between the verification artifacts. Specifically, we use systems theoretic morphisms to characterize the equivalence preservation between system requirements and verification requirements as well as between a system design and verification models. Although in initial form as provided in this article, our metamodel of verification artifacts is expected to contribute to the theoretical foundations of SE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents research related to developing a thermal model for three‐core power cable systems used in offshore wind farms. Three‐core power cable systems are a significantly more complicated thermo‐electrical system than single‐core power cables, primarily due to the geometric asymmetry and the number of heat sources. There are tools available that can model thermal transients in three‐core cable systems, but these tools demand a nontrivial level of prerequisite knowledge and training on the part of the user. Therefore, this research aimed at developing and testing a first principle model specifically tuned for thermal transients in three‐core cables. The model has been tested by comparing its predictions with empirical temperature data collected from heat cycle testing on three‐core cables at Nexans' facilities. To increase the quality of the predictions, part of the research was also to measure the thermal properties of swellable tape and filling compound (used in three‐core cables). The first principle model's predictions correspond well with the empirical data, the research results are promising. The model must be tested more thoroughly with different use cases before it can complement or replace current working methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The meteorology community primarily assesses tropical cyclone (TC) forecast skill using track and intensity errors. These metrics are frequently uncorrelated and can offer conflicting information about model performance. Continued improvements in intensity forecasting require improved representation of physical processes over multiple scales, and model verification of TC spatial structure can contribute to these improvements. To date, there are limited studies into forecast model representation of wind fields. More work is needed to better understand model deficiencies in skillfully predicting TC size metrics. In this study, we demonstrate an object‐based approach that can reveal structural differences in TC wind fields. Object‐based methods have been underutilized, and these methods, along with spatial metrics, can serve as additional verification methods for assessing storm structure in both observations and model simulations. Specifically, we illustrate this approach by examining a major difference between the Tiedtke and Kain–Fritsch cumulus parametrization schemes: The Tiedtke scheme includes convective momentum transport while the Kain–Fritsch scheme does not. We create three experiments of Hurricane Isabel (2003) using the Weather Research and Forecasting model using the Kain–Fritsch and Tiedtke cumulus parametrization schemes and an altered Tiedtke scheme with convective momentum transport turned off. Within the three experiments, we generate a small ensemble of four simulations to avoid drawing erroneous conclusions due to growth of numerical noise. Then, we use object‐based methods to measure and compare spatial attributes of the low‐level wind fields to confirm the dominant influence of momentum transport in influencing the TC spatial structure. Our spatial metric approach offers an objective suite of structural attributes that could be useful in diverse applications. A future goal is to use spatial metrics in systematic verification studies of TCs in operational model forecasts and climate model simulations, which may offer great benefit to operational forecasters and numerical model developers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the potential of a multiphysics regional ensemble prediction system to improve forecasts of wind turbine icing, examining several error‐representation schemes to capture the forecasting uncertainties of the icing process. An 11‐member multiphysics ensemble based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is run for two winter periods over Europe. Regional verification of surface variables shows that parametrization diversity makes the multiphysics ensemble less underdispersive compared with the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) global ensemble, without deteriorating the overall forecast accuracy significantly, in particular at forecast ranges below 36 hr. Probability forecasts of active ice growth in the day‐ahead time range (12–36 hr) are derived for two wind farms on hilly terrain in Central Europe and their skill is assessed in terms of relative operating characteristics, reliability, and potential economic value (PEV). Probability forecasts enhance the maximum PEV significantly, but the improvement of the multiphysics ensemble seems modest compared with a simple neighbourhood ensemble approach. Icing forecasts are affected by a considerable degree of overconfidence, meaning that forecast probabilities cannot be used at face value, but require calibration for users to draw benefit from them. The multiphysics ensemble fares slightly better in this regard; however, results point to persistent ensemble underdispersiveness and yet underrepresented forecast uncertainty. Overall, findings show that a large portion of the gain in skill through the use of probabilistic icing forecasts is obtained with a computationally cheap neighbourhood method, a technique easily accessible to forecast users without complex ensemble prediction systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]