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The condition assessment of oil–paper insulation is a vital issue in transformer management. To investigate the effect of moisture content on the accuracy of the prediction model, accelerated ageing experiments were performed with different initial moisture content (IMC) in laboratory condition. Two types of multi-parameter lifetime prediction models, e.g. with and without consideration of IMC, were presented for comparison purpose. The authors found that a better accuracy for its prediction results could be achieved by establishing the prediction models with the consideration of IMC. Besides, models considering IMC have better economic feasibility than that without considering IMC(non-IMC) as its total cost is cheaper according to life cycle cost (LCC) calculations. In addition, failure probability based on the proposed prediction models was also calculated as a direct indicator for evaluating the oil–paper insulation status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) chemical mapping was used to investigate the order of deposition of natural latent fingerprints and laser printed ink on paper. This feasibility study shows that sodium, potassium and C3H5 positive ions were particularly abundant endogenous components of the natural fingerprints and also present in the paper examined, but were mostly absent in the laser printed ink. Mapping of these ions enables the observation of friction ridges from latent prints on the ink surface, only when a fingerprint was deposited above the layer of ink. As a demonstration of proof of concept, blind testing of 21 samples from three donors resulted in a 100% success rate. The sensitivity of this technique was investigated within this trial through the examination of up to fifth depletion fingerprints and ageing of up to 28days. Migration of fingerprint and paper components to the ink surface, although observed with increased ageing time, was not found to compromise determination of the deposition sequence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper focuses on two problems in camera calibration with one-dimensional (1D) objects: (a) to find out the general motion patterns well suited for solving the calibration problem, and (b) to improve the robustness and accuracy of the method. Firstly, a sufficient and necessary condition for the solvability of 1D calibration with general motions is proved. Then the special motion of tossing a 1D object is provided as an example to illustrate the correctness and feasibility of this condition. After that some practical issues on obtaining the solution are inspected. By avoiding singularities, the precision and robustness of the method are improved: the relative mean errors are reduced to less than 5% at the noise level of one pixel which surpasses the state-of-the-art methods of the same category. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel are critiqued from a perspective of broad educational policy and legal influence. The report and the accompanying background papers are endorsed with general acceptance of problem identificaion and formulation. However, the report is challenged for recommendations that are too narrowly conceived, raising questions as ro viability of implementation. Specific issues addressed include treating disproportionate placement as a symptom versus problem, legal and professional policy barriers to implementing the report's recommendations, and the role of courts in resolving scientific disputes and programatic concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]