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Problem, research strategy, and findings: Despite growing interest by practitioners in using exploratory scenarios within urban planning practice, there are few detailed guidelines for how to do this. Through the discussion of five case examples, we illustrate different approaches to linking exploratory scenarios to different planning contexts. We conclude by observing that to directly inform a plan, regardless of the specific approach taken, exploratory scenarios in urban planning must incorporate stakeholder values and not only rely on expert judgment and analysis. Takeaway for practice: Exploratory scenarios are effective for analyzing uncertainty within a planning process. However, exploratory scenarios can be incorporated into planning practice in different ways, ranging from workshops among experts that aim to cultivate general learning to complex projects that result in highly detailed scenarios and recommendations for plans. Practitioners can draw on the cases we present to inspire planning methods for particular projects, taking into account specific contexts and goals.

Surgical resection is the main clinical method for the treatment of bone tumors. A critical procedure for bone tumor resection is to plan a set of cut planes that enable resecting the bone tumor with a safe margin while preserving the maximum amount of healthy bone. Currently, the surgeons rely on manual methods to plan the cut planes, which highly depend on the surgeons’ experiences and have been demonstrated to be error-prone, and in turn, increase the recurrence rate or resect much healthy bone. This study targets on improving the precision of cut plane planning for the image guided pelvis tumor resection surgeries. A semi-automatic approach to cut plane planning was proposed via a coarse-to-fine strategy. It can efficiently identify a dangerous region in the 3D space, which contains the bone tumor and its surrounding normal tissue with a safe margin. By projecting the dangerous region into an appropriate 2D space, a segmented boundary-constrained linear regression method was leveraged to plan a set of 3D cut planes that ensure the minimum area of the resected specimen in the 2D space while having the dangerous region cleared. Further, a coarse-to-fine 3D cut plane planning method was developed by incorporating a 3D cut plane refinement scheme with our 2D planning method. Extensive experiments, on the surgical data from nine previous pelvis tumor resection surgeries, demonstrated that our proposed approach substantially improved the localization precision of cut planes ( ${p} ) and decreased the amount of resected specimen ( ${p} ), as compared to the manual method.

The article discusses statistical methods of experiment planning for determining the significance of influencing factors on the course of the corrosion process. The application of the proposed method in conjunction with spectral monitoring methods is shown. Mathematical models are presented that allow to investigate the corrosion process with various combinations of influencing factors. The response surface of the dependent variable on the most significant factors is constructed. The conclusion is made that spectral methods can be used to determine the corrosion state of reinforced concrete structures.

The paper presents the results of theoretical and experimental studies aimed at optimizing the decortication process of industrial hemp stems. In order to achieve this goal, physical and mechanical properties of industrial hemp straw stems were investigated, with the choice of the main quality indicator - diameter, which directly influences the bast output. Also, with the help of mathematical planning of the experiment, the optimal treatment mode for the stems of industrial hemp with clearing of wood of 5-6% was calculated.

While there is a growing body of scholarship on regional competitiveness, little attention has been paid to the planning methods that can pursue this objective. Public planners are mainly relying o...

In the conventional setup planning methods, the required fixtures are planned in a sequential order relative to other activities of the setup planning. In the present study, a new approach has been...

The ongoing reform of public administration and the budgetary system has increasingly focused on improving budgetary efficiency. The best method to achieve this is a program-targeted method of planning and financing budget expenditures. While earlier planning in terms of the functions of local governments did not create incentives for optimal allocation of funds and focused only on the costs of maintaining the relevant bodies and subordinate institutions, the application of program-targeted planning requires a shift in the focus of budgetary expenditures towards results. Developed countries have begun to apply these planning methods since the middle of the last century, and to date there has been a wealth of experience that can be used in the practice of the Russian Federation, for which this method of planning expenditures is still quite new and causes a number of problems and difficulties in implementation. The article presents an overview study and systematization of the problems of implementation and evaluation of the effectiveness of the program-targeted method of planning state and municipal expenditures in the Russian Federation. The author identifies main difficulties faced by the budget system in 2018-2019, makes conclusions and recommendations for its improvement in the Russian Federation.

Automated, connected, electrified, and shared mobility will be cornerstones of the transportation future. Research to quantify the potential benefits and drawbacks of practice, and to identify barr...

Latest standards for transmission system planning require investigation of the performance during the simulta neous loss of two elements and an assessment of the risk of cascading outages. Consequently, transmission system expansion must also be supported by in-depth security analyses. In this study, we propose a risk-informed transmission expansion planning method. At the core of the method is an AC based cascading failure model that simulates the power system responses after contingencies. The method aims to provide an optimal expansion plan striking the balance between the cost of expansion and the risk of systemic failures. Addressing this chal lenge requires a simulation based multi-objective optimization, which we tackle using a meta-heuristic algo rithm. The tool developed for transmission expansion planning is applied to the IEEE 118-bus system and compared with state-of-the-art transmission expansion approaches. Remarkably, the proposed TEP procedure produces solutions that improve system security at comparable expansion costs., Electric Power Systems Research, 204, ISSN:0378-7796, ISSN:1873-2046

The development of an integrated energy system (IES) is conducive to promoting the transformation of the energy system and helping to achieve the ‘double carbon’ goal in China. The IES integrates cooling, heating, electricity, gas, and other energy resources, which is significantly more difficult than single energy network planning. This paper systematically sorts out the process of IES network planning and proposes an improved methodology. Firstly, the bottom-up dynamic multiple-load forecasting method of 8760 h a year is proposed as the basis of system configuration and capacity selection. Subsequently, a planning method for energy station location and route optimization using the Dijkstra algorithm is constructed by applying the P-median optimization model. Finally, when optimizing the capacity allocation of the IES, the complementary characteristics of natural gas, electricity and heat, as well as the corresponding energy demand characteristic, have been fully considered, so that the optimization objectives can be reasonably determined. Through the actual calculation, it is found that the optimization method proposed in this paper can reduce the construction cost of the network by 41%. The work combines the process of energy network planning and capacity configuration of IES, which provides a simple, easy and economical solution for IES planning in new areas.

It is of great value to research the problem of forest pest and disease control. Currently, helicopters play an important role in dealing with this problem. However, the spraying route planning still depends on the pilot’s driving experience, which leads to low efficiency and less accurate coverage. For this reason, this paper attempts to use intelligent algorithms to plan the pesticide spraying route for helicopters. When the helicopter is conducting spraying operations in multiple forest areas, the routes are divided into two parts: pesticide spraying routes for individual forest areas and dispatch routes between multiple forest areas. First, the shorter spraying route with fewer turnarounds for individual forest areas was determined. Then a two-layer intelligent algorithm, a combination of a genetic algorithm (GA) and ant colony optimization algorithm (ACO), was designed to determine the dispatch route between multiple forest areas, which is referred to as GAACO-GA. The performance was evaluated in self-created multiple forest areas and compared with other two-layer intelligent algorithms. The results show that the GAACO-GA algorithm found the shortest dispatch route (5032.75 m), which was 5.60%, 5.45%, 6.54%, and 4.07% shorter than that of GA-GA algorithm, simulated annealing-GA (SA-GA) algorithm, ACO-GA algorithm, and particle swarm optimization-GA (PSO-GA) algorithm, respectively. A spraying experiment with a helicopter was conducted near Pigzui Mountain, Huai’an City, Jiangsu Province, China. It was found that the flight path obtained from the proposed algorithm was 5.43% shorter than that derived from a manual planning method. The dispatch route length was reduced by 16.93%, the number of turnarounds was reduced by 11 times, and the redundant coverage was reduced by 17.87%. Moreover, helicopter fuel consumption and pesticide consumption decreased by 10.56% and 5.43%, respectively. The proposed algorithm can shorten the application route, reduce the number of turnarounds and the cost of spraying operations, and has the potential for use in spraying operations in smart forestry and agriculture.

Development of computer-aided de novo design methods to discover novel compounds in a speedy manner to treat human diseases has been of interest to drug discovery scientists for the past three decades. In the beginning, the efforts were mostly concentrated to generate molecules that fit the active site of the target protein by sequential building of a molecule atom-by-atom and/or group-by-group while exploring all possible conformations to optimize binding interactions with the target protein. In recent years, deep learning approaches are applied to generate molecules that are iteratively optimized against a binding hypothesis (to optimize potency) and predictive models of drug-likeness (to optimize properties). Synthesizability of molecules generated by these de novo methods remains a challenge. This review will focus on the recent development of synthetic planning methods that are suitable for enhancing synthesizability of molecules designed by de novo methods.

The use of retired batteries from electric vehicles as a second-life battery energy storage system has been recognized as a way to break the high investment cost limitation of battery energy storage systems with the associated cost reduction of a park-level integrated energy system. The battery degradation and replacements should be further considered in the planning period, especially compared with new battery energy storage systems. Additionally, there is a lack of discussion on utilizing thermal energy storage systems in coordination with second-life battery to reduce degradation. For this reason, an electric/thermal hybrid energy storage system planning method for park-level integrated energy systems with second-life battery utilization is proposed. A cumulative battery life loss calculation model is developed. A bi-level optimal planning model of electric/thermal hybrid energy storage system using second-life batteries, including an upper-level planning model and a lower-level operating model, is proposed. At the upper level, to maximize the net present value during the planning stage, the capacity of the hybrid energy storage system as well as when the second-life battery energy storage system needs to be replaced are optimized. At the lower level, the operation schemes are optimized to obtain the minimum annual operating cost, which are fed back to the upper level. The proposed method considers continuous capacity degradation of second-life batteries and mutually beneficial relationships between thermal energy storage and second-life batteries. Finally, a case study demonstrates the economic effectiveness and battery service life improvement of the proposed planning method.

Compared with debris flows in other areas, debris flows in scenic areas not only seriously threaten residents, tourists, roads, walkways and other infrastructure, but also cause considerable damage to the landscapes and ecosystems of these areas. Extreme rainfall events in the future will increase the complexities and challenges involved in debris flow control in scenic areas. Currently, the systematic planning of the entire scenic area is not considered in the treatment of debris flows. It is not possible to realize the rapid planning of any debris flow gully control project in a scenic area and to quantify the volume of debris flow material held by each engineering structure. Based on field investigations and data collected from debris flow control projects in gullies in Jiuzhaigou Valley in China, an engineering planning method for debris flow control projects in scenic areas is herein proposed. Based on the planning method for debris flow control engineering in scenic areas, the challenges confronting existing control projects in scenic areas are discussed. Moreover, based on the example of Jiuzhaigou Valley, corresponding control engineering schemes for debris flow gullies in Xiajijie Lake Gully, Zhuozhui Gully, Xuan Gully, Pingshitou Gully, and West-Zhuozhui Gully are formulated. Four control patterns for debris flow disasters in scenic areas are proposed, namely, “blocking + deposit stopping”, “deposit stopping”, “blocking”, and “drainage + deposit stopping”, which provide a systematic control strategy for post-earthquake debris flow disaster management in Jiuzhaigou Valley and other similar scenic areas.

Combining different fiber types may improve the mechanical properties of fiber reinforced concrete. The present study is focused on investigating hybrid fiber reinforced concrete (HFRC) with steel and basalt fiber. Mechanical properties of fiber reinforced fine-grained concrete are investigated. The results demonstrate that using optimal steel and basalt fiber reinforcement ratios avoids concrete mixtures’ segregation and improves their homogeneity. Concrete with hybrid steel and basalt fiber reinforcement has higher strength. Effective methodology for proper design of HFRC compositions was proposed. It is based on the mathematical experiments planning method. The proposed method enables optimal mix proportioning of high-strength fine-grained concrete with hybrid steel and basalt fiber reinforcement.

The power of landscape architecture cannot be underestimated as a tool to not only enhance the aesthetics of a public space but also improve its safety, with knock-on benefits for peoples' mobility and happiness. It is employed in urban regeneration projects, which seek to reverse the decline of public spaces by improving the physical structure, as well as the economy. Regeneration can help to reduce issues associated with unemployment, poor health, crime and education, while simultaneously improving the physical environment. Professor Hisashi Shibata is a landscape architect and urban designer based in the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Fukuoka University, Japan. He has an interest in urban regeneration, with a focus on ensuring the safety of public spaces and enhancing their beauty. He believes that this can have a significant impact on quality of life and ultimately contribute to improved society.

Military course of action for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has the characteristics with antagonism of both sides, uncertainty of execution results, diversity of war ways and urgency of war time. According to this, a novel mission planning method for UAVs’ course of action is proposed in this paper, which is based on a two-segment nested scheme generation strategy. The method is mainly divided into two parts: task decomposition stage and resource scheduling stage. Compared with other methods, this method can generate multiple schemes automatically of the whole operational process, and the generated schemes have great advantages in diversity and task completion time. And the correlation coefficient can be adjusted to realize the tendency of different optimization indexes. The effectiveness of this method is verified by the modelling and simulation of UAV cooperative operation.

Creating an effective and efficient distribution plan is a considerable challenge owing to urgency, incomplete information, and surging demands. In this study, a planning method based on a sliding time window series is designed to solve the problem of drug distribution in earthquake responses. First, this study presents a method designed to generate a series of sliding time windows considering time-varying demands. Second, a method is proposed to determine the effectiveness of the drug distribution plan according to its evaluation standards. Third, a dynamic planning model is established considering the sliding time window series and group information updates. Fourth, a simulation study is conducted to test the models and algorithms. Simulation results show that specific drug distribution plans should be provided to emergency planners in the event of an earthquake. The sliding time window series and group information updates are key factors in creating an effective drug distribution plan as part of an earthquake response.

The following paper will introduce the general criteria on the Forest Fire Fighting (FFF) planning, with a focus on: 1) Historical facts; properties of the first planning; from fire control to fire management; from emergency model to risk reduction; revaluation of the traditional use of fire; from war on fire to cohabitation coexistence with fire; FST Fire Smart (Tedim et al.,. 2015); 2) FFF planning rules before the recent review. This analysis will show the reasons of the new planning setting for national parks, underlining the following requirements: - updating the manual and the technical standards, due to a new experience acquired; - plans standardization to allow plans comparison. The paper describes the review criteria and the new setting requirements either to show the job done by the planners, either to avoid the introduction of new planning method, which has not been sufficiently tested or is too difficult to apply. The starting point of this analysis will be the Forest Fire Fighting plan of each National Park. The results will show the most significant features and an overall opinion on the planning examined will follow. The plans schedule will describe which of plans is under review, previous examined and expired. A great focus will be on each different situation subjected to fire, from physiological problems to seriously pathological one. The main step of this paper will be the description of the advantages deriving from the risk analysis, the concept of critical fire, the objective selected with RASMAP, a reference of the environmental description of the territories (already debated in other planning papers). The setting of the new plans will be done showing: - the analysis of the Park fires; - the forecast and identification of the highest risk areas, with the help of cartography; - the objectives definition (RASMAP); - the planned interventions to achieve the RASMAP (the logical framework).

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of a modified template system and double computed tomography scan procedure to maintain mandibular width in cases of mandibular reconstruction. Study design Ten patients who underwent mandibular reconstruction with a fibular flap were enrolled. The surgeries were planned with a computer-aided surgical simulation (CASS) planning method. Following double computed tomography scan procedure, the template system was designed in a computer and was fabricated using a three-dimensional printing technique. The cutting guides were designed with the holes of the conventional reconstruction plate on the remnant mandibular segments. After surgery, the outcome evaluation was compared by first superimposing the post-operative computed tomography model onto the planned model and then measuring the differences between the planned and actual outcomes. Results All surgeries were completed successfully using the template system. With the use of the templates, the largest linear root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) between the planned and post-operative remnant segments was 1.01 mm, and the largest angular RMSD was 4.05°. Conclusions The authors conclude that this template system and double computed tomography scan procedure provides a reliable method to maintain mandibular width in mandibular reconstruction using a fibular flap.

Forest management has evolved from a typically productive approach, which evaluates silvicultural techniques and planning methods according to wood production levels, to the current approach where sustainability becomes the aim and social and environmental variables are fundamental. Various questions related to biodiversity, preservation and active conservation of forest systems, are discussed. Active conservation of forest systems consists in systemic silviculture for natural forests, renaturalization for forests which have been heavily simplified by management in the past, and traditional silvicultural activities connected to local traditional knowledge where anthropologic, historical, cultural and landscape aspects are important. Systemic silviculture considers the forest a complex biological system where humankind can intervene within the limits of the system’s functionality, without reducing complexity and biodiversity, i.e. respecting the rights of the forest.

The aim of this retrospective study was to determine if the split x-jaw planning technique could be used with Varian linear accelerators to improve plan conformity and limit dose to organs at risk (OAR) for planning target volumes that require field sizes larger than the 15 cm extent of the multileaf collimator in the x-jaw position. Traditional planning techniques include limited and open x-jaw methods. The study population included 20 randomly selected patients with endometrial carcinoma. Treatment plans for each patient were designed using split, limited, and open x-jaw volumetric modulated arc radiotherapy for comparison purposes. Dose statistics including the PTV conformity index and dose to OAR were used to evaluate plan performance. The split x-jaw planning method had the most consistent conformity index (0.98 ± 0.02), followed by the open (01 ± 0.03), and the limited (1.04 ± 0.05) techniques. On average, the split method better spared the OAR. In comparison to the limited and open techniques, the split method reduced the dose to the bowel by 3.8%, rectum by 3.2%, sigmoid by 2.1%, right femoral head by 3.5%, and left femoral head by 3.9%. The split and open techniques showed comparable bladder results and were superior over the limited method. The monitor units were highest with the split method leading to increased treatment times. The split x-jaw planning technique should be used with Varian linear accelerators to produce superior volumetric modulated arc radiotherapy plans for planning target volumes larger than the maximum extent of the multileaf collimator in the x-jaw direction.

Introduction There are several methods for correcting distal femoral valgus deformity in skeletally mature patients including fixator-assisted plating (FAP), fixator-assisted nailing (FAN) and nailing using the reverse planning method. The fixator-assisted techniques have been previously compared in the literature and found to be similarly accurate. This study is the first to compare all three procedures in a single series. Materials and methods A retrospective review of patients who had undergone distal femoral valgus correction at a single institution between March 2017 and February 2020 was undertaken. Three different patient groups were identified based on the surgical technique used: the FAP, the FAN and the reverse planning method. The mechanical lateral distal fimoral angle (mLDFA) was recorded and compared preoperatively and postoperatively. The body mass index (BMI), duration of surgery, postoperative range of motion (ROM) and complication profile for each patient were also recorded and compared. Results A total of 27 limbs in 24 patients were included in this study. There were 8 male and 16 female patients. There were 10 limbs from 9 patients in the reverse planning group, 11 limbs from 11 patients in the FAN group and 6 limbs from 4 patients in the FAP group. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean preoperative and postoperative mLDFA for each of the individual groups (p < 0.0001 for each group). All patients had restoration of the mLDFA to within normal limits except one patient in the reverse planning group. This was purposefully performed to compensate for an ipsilateral proximal tibial deformity. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean preoperative and postoperative mLDFA across the groups (p = 0.2897 and 0.3440, respectively). The operative time of the reverse planning method and the FAP were significantly shorter than FAN (p = 0.0016 and p = 0.0035, respectively). The mean final knee ROM amongst the groups was similar (p = 0.8190). We recorded no infections or union complications in any group. There was one case of hardware irritation causing lateral knee pain that did not require treatment in the reverse planning group and one fracture through a temporary half-pin site in the FAN group. All six plates in the FAP group had to be removed following union on account of localised discomfort from the hardware. Conclusion The reverse planning method, the FAN and the FAP are comparable in terms of accuracy in achieving correction of distal femur valgus deformity in skeletally mature patients. The reverse planning method had the best combination of outcomes in this study since it was just as accurate as the FAN and the FAP techniques and did not require any additional surgeries. While both the reverse planning and the FAP were faster than the FAN technique, the reverse planning method allows the ability to perform both deformity correction and lengthening. Ultimately, the decision of which technique to use depends on a combination of the patient's preference and the surgeon's level of comfort with the technique. How to cite this article Iobst C, Waseemuddin M, Bafor A. Accuracy and Safety of Distal Femoral Valgus Correction: A Comparison of Three Techniques. Strategies Trauma Limb Reconstr 2020;15(1):41–46.

Polyphenolic vegetable complexes are active antioxidants and play an important role in the processes of free radicals quenching in the human body. The aim of the work was to develop an immobilization method as a way for improving the stability of polyphenols in dried cowberry squeezing extract (DCSE) and to develop semi-finished minced meat products with antioxidant effect without changing their nutritional value. Experiments were carried out to study the nutritional value of DCSE. The presence of a large number of polyphenolic compounds in DCSE and a high radical-binding ability of the extract were revealed. Based on the mathematical planning method, an offal paste composition was obtained, which was used to obtain pellets, and the formulation of semi-finished minced meat products with pellets was optimized. It was established that preliminary immobilization of DCSE on offal pellets components allows to increase the level of total antioxidant content in the minced meat. Subsequent heat treatment of semi-finished minced meat products produced from such minced meat showed an increase in stability and, thus, bioavailability of antioxidants and the possibility of obtaining a finished product with antioxidant effect. The antioxidant effect of cowberry squeezing extract in the meat system is proved: accumulation of lipid oxidative decomposition products in the meat system during storage of frozen semi-finished minced meat products was inhibited to a greater extent when using offal pellets with immobilized compounds of cowberry squeezing extract. This work was carried out as part of the State Assignment of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 19.5486.2017/BCh and the «Young Scientists of ESSTU‑2019» grant.

This paper considers a sign-based approach to the problem of modeling the goal-setting process and integrating it with behavior planning methods. The GoalMAP algorithm, which is based on a psychologically plausible sign-based world model of a cognitive agent, is proposed. The algorithm implements an iterative hierarchical planning process with emphasis on the stage of setting or selecting a new goal. The complexity of the behavior planning algorithm is estimated. Model experiments with a software implementation of the constructed algorithms that demonstrates key features of the adopted approach are performed.

전쟁 패러다임을 바꿀 새로운 무기체계의 출현을 예고하는 과학기술의 발전과 정치적 변화에 따른 주적개념의 혼돈은 지금까지와 다른 소요기획 방법을 요구한다. 그러나 한국군은 이러한 급격한 시대적 변화의 상황에서도 여전히 지나치게 소요군 중심의 군사전략 선도형 소요기획방법을 적용하고 있다. 기술발전 속도가 빠르고 주적개념이 혼돈되는 상황에서 기술에 대한 지식이 상대적으로 부족한 소요군이 적을 상대로 하여 첨단기술을 활용한 운용개념을 적시에 정립하는 것은 제한된다. 첨단기술에 대한 전쟁에서의 운용개념을 완벽하게 수립 후 소요를 제기하고 개발을 하는 방식은 전력화 기간을 장기화하고 기술이 진부화되어 실제 전장에서뿐 아니라 무기시장에서도 경쟁력을 갖기 힘들다. 본 연구는 이런 시대 상황에서 한국군 소요기획의 한계를 살펴보고 개선방안을 제시하기 위해 기술혁신과 프로젝트의 성공을 가늠하는 핵심패러다임인 수요견인/기술주도 이론을 적용하였다. 한국군은 주로 북한군 위협, 군사전략변화, 기존무기체계의 노후(결함) 교체 필요성 등에 의해 무기체계 소요가 발생하는 지나친 수요견인형 소요기획방식에 치중해 있으며 이를 극복하기 위해 기술주도형 방식을 조화롭게 적용해야 한다. 이를 위해 소요기획 단계에서부터 ADD와 개발 업체들의 적극적인 참여 보장, 소요군과 국방부 등에 기술적인 조언이 가능한 과학기술 참모조직 보강, 기존 소요기획 프로세스와 구분된 개방형 소요기획 프로세스를 채택해야 한다.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been proposed for a wide range of applications. Their use in wilderness search and rescue (WiSAR), in particular, has been investigated for fast search-area coverage from a high vantage point. The probability of success in such searches, however, can be further improved utilizing cooperative systems that employ both UAVs and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). In this paper, we present a new coordinated-search planning method, for collaborative UAV-UGV teams. The proposed method, particularly developed for WiSAR, considers the search area to be continuously growing and that the search is sparse. It is also assumed that targets detected by UAVs must be identified by a ground-level searcher. The UAV/UGV motion-planning method presented herein, therefore, has two major components: (i) coordinated search and (ii) joint target identification. The novelty of the proposed method lies in its use of (i) time-dependent target-location iso-probability curves, and (ii) an effective and efficient coordinated target-identification algorithm. The method has been validated via numerous simulated WiSAR searches for varying scenarios. Furthermore, extensive comparative experiments with other methods have shown that our method has higher rates of target detection and shorter search times, significantly outperforming alternative techniques by 75% – 255% in terms of target detection probability.

To overcome the issues of inflexible interactive mode, low negotiation efficiency and poor dynamic response capability of satellite clusters, we propose a new multi-dimensional and multi-Agent clusters collaboration model (MDMA-CCM), including task pre-processing, allocation, scheduling and re-planning under failed conditions. First, the task clustering based pre-processing method is adopted to improve the observation efficiency by combining potential targets. Second, the Contract Net Protocol (CNP) based secondary allocation strategy is developed to effectively increase the observation benefit and reduce the impact of task conflicts through announcement, bidding and awarding. Third, a new Interactively Re-planning Method (IRM) is proposed to effectively reduce the loss by re-inserting tasks in case of failure. Simulation results show that the new planning model not only has obvious advantages in calculation time, but also outperforms the centralized multi-Agent system in terms of benefit value and completion rate.

تکمن أهمية مدينة حمص فى أنها ثالث مدينة فى الجمهورية السورية من حيث المساحة والأهمية التاريخية، فقد لعبت دورا هاما فى التاريخ الإسلامى بشکل مباشر وذلک لموقعها الجغرافى کقاعدة دفاعية محصنة ضد الهجمات الخارجية من قبل الصليبين والتتار، أو من الأخطار الداخلية کثورات البدو، أو بشکل غير مباشر لمشارکتها فى دعم الحملات بشکل کامل لمواجهة الإعتداءات. کما کان للنشاط الإقتصادى نتيجة لموقعها الجغرافى، يحدها من الشمال مدينة حلب، من الجنوب مدينة دمشق، من الشرق تدمر وحماه، من الغرب البحر المتوسط، ومن الشمال الغربي مدينة مصياف - وطبيعة تربتها، ومناخها أثره فى الثراء المعمارى بها، والدليل على ذلک هو ارتفاع القيمة السنوية للخراج الذى کانت تدفعه الى الدول التابعة لها على مر العصور، والذى اثر بدوره على حرکة البناء والعمران سواء بمدينة حمص او بسوريا ککل، تمثلت هذه الحرکة فى کثرة المنشآت المعمارية سواء الدينية او المدنية او الجنائزية ومن الجدير بالذکر ان مدينة حمص دخلت خلال العصر الإسلامى فترات ازدهار تارة وفترات رکود تارة أخرى، أثرت بواقع الأمر على ازدهار المنشآت أو فقرها، ولم تتوجه عين الباحثين إليها بشکل مدقق الأمر الذى أتاح المجال للباحث للتعرف على العديد من أساليب التخطيط المتنوعة المستخدمة فى البناء إلى جانب التعرف على أهم الوحدات المعمارية والعناصر الإنشائية بها. جاء البحث ليلقي الضوء على احد آثار المدينة وهو مسجد القصير وما يتضمنه من وحدات وعناصر معمارية ذات الخصائص والمميزات المختلفة من خلال منهج بحثي يعتمد على محورين على الوجه التالي:- المحور الأول: المنهج التوثيقي القائم على الدراسة الميدانية. المحور الثانى: المنهج الإستقرائي التحليلي. The importance of Homs is the third city in the Syrian Republic in terms of area and historical importance. It has played an important role in Islamic history directly because of its geographic location as a defensive base immune to external attacks by the Crusaders and Tatars, To participate fully in supporting campaigns to counter attacks. As for the economic activity as a result of its geographical location, it is bounded to the north by Aleppo, from the south by Damascus, from the east by Tadmur and Hama, from the west by the Mediterranean Sea and from the north west by the city of Musayaf. The increase in the annual value of the abscess that was paid to its countries throughout the ages, which in turn affected the movement of construction and construction, both in the city of Homs or Syria as a whole, was a movement in many architectural facilities, whether religious or civil or funerary It is worth mentioning that during the Islamic era, the city of Homs entered periods of boom and other periods of stagnation, which affected the prosperity of establishments or their poverty. The researchers did not approach them in an accurate manner, which allowed the researcher to learn about the various planning methods used in construction Alongside the identification of the most important architectural units and their structural elements The research came to shed light on one of the effects of the city,the mosque of the short and its elements and architectural elements with different characteristics and characteristics through a research methodology depends on two axes as follows: The first axis: the documentary approach based on the field study. The second axis: analytical inductive method.

Purpose This study aims to compare stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) planning of epilepsy that complies with Radiosurgery or Open Surgery for Epilepsy (ROSE) guidelines in GammaKnife, non‐coplanar conformal (NCC) plan in Eclipse, dynamic conformal arc (DCA) plan in Brainlab, and a volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plan in Eclipse. Methods Twenty plans targeting Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) was generated using GammaKnife, Eclipse with 20 NCC beams, Brainlab with 5 DCA, and Eclipse VMAT with 4 arcs observing ROSE trial guidelines. Multivariate analysis of variance and Wilcoxon signed‐rank test were used to compare dosimetric data of the plans and perform pairwise comparison, respectively. Results The plans obeyed the recommended prescription isodose volume (PIV) within 5.5–7.5 cc and maximum doses to brainstem, optic apparatus (OA) of 10 and 8 Gy, respectively, for a prescription dose of 24 Gy. The volumes of the target were in the range 4.0–7.4 cc. Mean PIV, maximum dose to brainstem, OA were 6.5 cc, 10 Gy, 7.9 Gy in GammaKnife; 7.2 cc, 6.1 Gy, 4.5 Gy in Eclipse NCC; 7.2 cc, 6.4 Gy, 5.7 Gy in Brainlab DCA; and 5.2 cc, 8.4 Gy, 6.1 Gy in Eclipse VMAT plans, respectively. Multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences among the 4 SRS planning techniques (P‐values

The Blade Integrated Disk (Blisk) is one of the key components in the aero-engine, it is generally manufactured by the multi-axis milling and almost 90% raw materials are removed. To avoid the full immersion of a cutter in the rough machining of a blisk channel, the trochoidal milling is a promising strategy since it can keep a small immersion angle in the rough milling process while maintaining the high machining efficiency. However, while toolpaths are being planned for the trochoidal milling process, the conventional methods are mainly for the planar machining area with fixed tool orientations, which cannot be used for complex channels where the multi-axis machining should be employed. To this end, this paper presents a four-axis trochoidal toolpath planning method with a ball-end cutter, and thus the blisk channel can be machined efficiently. For this to happen, the trochoidal paths are planned in the parametric domain and then mapped into the physical domain, with tool orientations controlled by the quaternion interpolation method to have smooth tool movement along the toolpaths. Both geometric simulation and physical milling experiments of the proposed method have convincingly demonstrated the validation of the proposed method. Keywords: Aero-engine, Blisk, Machining, Toolpath planning, Trochoidal milling

One of the issues general AI game players are required to deal with is the different reward systems in the variety of games they are expected to be able to play at a high level. Some games may present plentiful rewards which the agents can use to guide their search for the best solution, whereas others feature sparse reward landscapes that provide little information to the agents. The work presented in this paper focuses on the latter case, which most agents struggle with. Thus, modifications are proposed for two algorithms, Monte Carlo Tree Search and Rolling Horizon Evolutionary Algorithms, aiming at improving performance in this type of games while maintaining overall win rate across those where rewards are plentiful. Results show that longer rollouts and individual lengths, either fixed or responsive to changes in fitness landscape features, lead to a boost of performance in the games during testing without being detrimental to non-sparse reward scenarios.

SUMMARYDuring visual servoing space activities, the attitude of free-floating space robot may be disturbed due to dynamics coupling between the satellite base and the manipulator. And the disturbance may cause communication interruption between space robot and control center on earth. However, it often happens that the redundancy of manipulator is not enough to fully eliminate this disturbance. In this paper, a method named off-line optimizing visual servoing algorithm is innovatively proposed to minimize the base disturbance during the visual servoing process where the degrees-of-freedom of the manipulator is not enough for a zero-reaction control. Based on the characteristic of visual servoing process and the robot system modeling, the optimal control method is applied to achieve the optimization, and a pose planning method is presented to achieve a second-order continuity of quaternion getting rid of the interruption caused by ambiguity. Then simulations are carried out to verify the method, and the results show that the robot is controlled with optimized results during visual servoing process and the joint trajectories are smooth.

In this study, Big Data Analytics has been applied to implement smart manufacturing services performed by local commercial laundry Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), which, to be sp...

The article reveals issues related to the relevance of the use of energy efficient technologies and architectural and planning methods of dealing with adverse climatic conditions in the modern world. The concept of extremality is revealed in architecture and a classification of extreme conditions is presented. The analysis of the state policy in the field of efficient use of energy resources was carried out and the vector of development of energy saving programs for Russia was determined. The purpose of the work was based on the analysis of modern foreign design and construction experience to identify the advantages and disadvantages of facilities using energy efficient technologies and architectural planning methods to combat adverse climatic conditions, and determine the prospects of their use in the domestic construction practice. The study of the influence of extreme climatic conditions on the architectural and planning solutions of buildings was carried out and the peculiarities of their design, primarily related to the issues of improving energy efficiency, were revealed. It was concluded that the objects under study can be considered as one of the directions for the development of sustainable architecture.

A novel path and velocity planning method for lane changing collision avoidance of intelligent vehicle based on cubic 3-D Bezier curve is proposed in this paper to enhance the flexibility of path and guarantee the conformity to the realistic lane changing maneuver. Owing to the characteristic of 3-D Bezier curve, the velocity information is appended to the path to establish a real-time correspondence between them. In the XY plane, the integrated path is divided into a collision avoidance path and a lane changing path, which is combined with two asymmetrical Bezier curves. And the velocity planning of two paths is implemented by the same curve in the Z axis. The objective functions and dynamic constraints are formulated to solve the optimal problems of the path and velocity planning for satisfying different traffic situations. The simulations are performed in the CarSim-Simulink co-simulation platform and the results show the performance and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

The collection of big data, as an alternative to traditional resource-intensive manual data collection approaches, has become significantly more feasible over the past decade. The availability of s...

High-level efficiency and safety are of great significance for improving the fighting capability of an aircraft carrier. One way to enhance efficiency and safety level is to organize the carrier aircraft into combat effectively. This paper studies the mission planning problem for a team of carrier aircraft launching, and a novel distributed mission planning architecture is proposed. The architecture is hierarchical and is comprised of four levels, namely, the input level, the coordination level, the path planning level and the execution level. Realistic constraints in each level of the distributed architecture, such as the vortex flow effect, the crowd effect and the motion of aircraft, are considered in the model. To solve this problem, a distributed path planning algorithm based on the asynchronous planning strategy is developed. The proposed Mission Planning Approach for Carrier Aircraft Launching (MPACAL) is validated using the setups of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Compared to the isolated planning architecture and the centralized planning architecture, the proposed distributed planning architecture has advantages in coordinating the launch tasks not only belonging to the same catapult but also when all different catapults are considered. The proposed MPACAL provides a modeling method for the flight deck operation on aircraft carrier. Keywords: Aircraft carrier, Carrier aircraft, Distributed planning architecture, Mission planning, Path planning

To investigate if the conventional localizer radiograph (LR) can be replaced by a synthetic LR (SLR), generated from a low-dose spiral CT scan, for CT scan planning with minimal changes to current clinical workflows.A dosimetric comparison of SLRs and LRs was made using Monte Carlo methods. Water equivalent diameters (WEDs) of a centered and mis-centered phantom were estimated from low-dose spiral CT scans and LRs acquired at different angles. Body sizes, in the form of two lengths and two diameters obtained from SLRs and LRs, were compared for 10 patients (4 men and 6 women with a mean age of 74.8 and 76.2 years respectively) undergoing CT of thorax and abdomen. The image quality of SLRs for CT scan planning relative to LRs was rated using a 5-grade scale by four radiologists and two CT radiographers.An SLR can be obtained at a comparable effective dose to that of traditionally acquired LRs: 0.14 mSv. WEDs from LRs were more affected by mis-centering than WEDs calculated from low-dose spiral scans. One significant discrepancy of estimated body sizes was observed, the broadest part of the patient that on lateral localizers showed a mean deviation of 17.7 mm (range: 7.3-28.7 mm, p 0.001). The anteroposterior/posteroanterior SLR image quality was assessed as better compared to an LR while the same could not be shown for lateral localizers.SLRs based on low-dose spiral scans can replace LRs for CT planning.