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In particle therapy for cancer treatment, the radiation dose to tissues around the tumour can be reduced by employing a rotating gantry—a mechanical structure allowing the delivery of the particle beam to the patient from various angles. Gantries for ion therapy can benefit from the integration of superconducting magnets to minimize the size and weight of the machine. One significant challenge associated with the supporting system of superconducting elements is related to the management of their accuracy during both alignment and operational phases. Concurrently, heat flow from room temperature to cryogenic temperatures through the supporting system must be restricted as the ratio of power needed to operate the cooling system is around 1000 times the power extracted at cryogenic temperature. The design of the supports must consider the variability of the load during operation, i.e. guarantee accuracy of the cold-mass pose (position and rotation) under its own weight during a 360 ∘ gantry rotation. A literature review had been done highlighting the possible application of a novel exact-constrained solution for the support of superconducting magnets. Within the framework of the European project HITRIplus (heavy Ion Therapy Research Integration), this study proposes the design and optimization of a support system based on a 6 degrees of freedom parallel mechanism (exactly constrained kinematics). A mathematical model is proposed, referred as "error model", to estimate the accuracy of the pose of the cold-mass due to major unrecoverable errors. The error model estimates the contribution of main error sources: the elasticity of the supports, the elasticity of the vacuum vessel enclosure and the influence of backlash in the joints. An optimization genetic algorithm has been developed and employed to find the optimal configuration of supports that simultaneously increases the accuracy and minimizes heat-loads to the cold-mass. The error model has been validated by finite element analysis, showing its validity for the optimization process. The optimised solution has been compared to solutions that were proposed initially based on common sense, intuition and had been manually refined: the optimized solution shows considerable improvements in the overall accuracy of the system and a substantial reduction of the heat-loads. The optimized solution also implements a pre-load system to eliminate backlash in the joints: this considerably improves the accuracy of the system. The error model presented allows computationally cheaper optimizations and variations of the designed architecture (i.e. variation in cross sections, change in material, change in geometry, implementation of pre-load etc...) with respect to a classic approach based only on finite element analysis. Furthermore, thanks to the kinematics characteristic of the proposed architecture, the 6-legs design clears the way for a more reliable implementation of an automated positioning system with respect to classical over-constrained architectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this research were 1) to develop a support system for the followup on basic education quality assessment and accreditation and 2) to assess and test the system's effectiveness. There were two phases that allowed the research objective, and this paper will show the result of the first objective, which is one part of the whole research. The target groups in the first phase were 1) 15 quality assurance experts selected by purposive sampling, 2) nine quality assurance and information technology specialists selected by purposive sampling, and 3) administrators and teachers who will be using the system and IT specialists who are responsible for the information system in the Office of Educational Standards and Quality Assessment (Public Organization). The tools used in this research consisted of the expert interview questionnaire, the expert discussion questionnaire and discussion recording form, and a system performance evaluation form. The statistic was using mean and S.D. The research found that 1) the support system for the follow-up on basic education quality assessment and accreditation consists of input, process, output, and feedback sections. This system has three stakeholders: administrators, monitoring supervisors (ONESQA and area), and schools. The system structure has two main components: frontend and backend functions. 2) the overall system was evaluated as effective at the highest level. The usefulness of the system and the consistency of the system's objectives were evaluated to be the most efficient. The aspect of functionality, the ability to display results as needed, and the ability to provide advice and assistance were most effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Mining Magazine is the property of China Mining Magazine Co., Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Agricultural Outlook (1673-3908) is the property of Institute of Agricultural Information, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tunnel Construction / Suidao Jianshe (Zhong-Yingwen Ban) is the property of Tunnel Construction Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With the continuous deepening that humans exploit underground space, tunnel engineering passing through sensitive strata, e.g., ultralarge buried depth, high water pressure, and active faults, has become more frequent. However, the current tunnel-supporting concept emphasizes the passive regulation effect of the primary support and the secondary lining on the surrounding rock deformation and ignores the principle of fully utilizing the self-bearing capacity of the surrounding rock in the New Austrian Tunneling method. Therefore, the current supporting system is not ideal for controlling the deformation under these sensitive strata, and it is imperative to propose an active supporting system that can mobilize the surrounding rock to be self-supporting. In this paper, through mathematically analyzing the deformation monitoring data of 203 tunnel sections, a deformation control benchmark under the active deformation control concept is proposed. The deformation control effect of the prestressed rock bolt is obtained based on field measurements and numerical calculations. Furthermore, the proposed virtual supporting force method is used to solve the range and parameters required for advanced support. Finally, the active supporting parameters satisfying the deformation control benchmark are obtained by using the elastic–plastic theory. The results show that the established deformation control benchmark can be used to evaluate the active supporting parameters. On this basis, the solving method for the active supporting system and its parameter are constructed. By adopting this method, the suitable forms and parameters of the prestressed rock bolt and the range and parameters of the advanced support in different geological environments are obtained. Finally, the composition forms and parameters of the active supporting systems with different lithologies and different buried depths are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Railway Construction Technology is the property of Railway Construction Technology Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A concrete-filled steel tubular (CFT) yieldable support is proposed as a new passive support system in deep tunnels to improve the stability of soft rock mass, which consists of a CFT arc, a porous metal connector, and a steel tube. The connector provides a new yieldable mechanism; that is, the constant yield resistance and large deformation under compression can be determined by the void ratio and porous length of the connector. The test results indicate that the load–displacement response for the CFT yieldable support can be divided into four stages, namely, elastic stage, yieldable stage I, load transition stage, and yieldable stage II. A numerical model is then developed to investigate the deformation of a deep tunnel supported by the CFT supporting system. The results indicate that a higher concrete strength can lead to a lower deformation of the CFT yieldable support. The deformation of the tunnel roof can be effectively controlled by using higher-strength concrete. The void ratio obviously influences the deformation of the roof, and a higher void ratio tends to lead to a larger deformation. Finally, an empirical approach is suggested to predict the initial resistance and bearing capacity of the CFT yieldable support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the construction of deep -water caps near the embankment, the design ideas of the supporting system under unbalanced soil pressure were put forward. Relying on the design and construction of the supporting structure in the south tower cap of the Long tan Yangtze River Bridge project, the scheme of anti-slide piles + steel sheet pile cofferdams combined with auxiliary dewatering can better solve the supporting problem of this kind of foundation pit. At the same time, the influence of the foundation pit excavation process of the cap on the embankment was theoretically analyzed, the deep soil displacement and cofferdam structure stress at the side of the embankment were monitored during the construction, and the reasons for the difference displacement between the theoretical calculation and the practice were discussed, so as to ensure the construction safety of the cap and the stability of the embankment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic research is increasingly international. Collaboration across cultural and geographic boundaries increases efficiency and speeds up the new discoveries of science and technology by combining skills. However, the management of international research collaborations is far from simple. The equity and impact of a partnership must be supported by strong management and support systems. The success in organizing a research partnership is substantially dependent on the supporting management system. Researchers who search for partnerships, obtain funding and are responsive partners should be supported by the State. The Government should assist these partnerships, not only regulate and control them. Providing support e.g., matching funds, assisting capacity building for researchers, developing infrastructure and institutional development capacity, and providing research management training can boost the achievement of ideal international research collaborations with high impacts and benefits for all parties. This research examined the conditions and obstacles for international research collaborations in Indonesia of various research and development institutions and universities with their international research partners. Qualitative methods were used. The study used a range of research permit and publication indicators to measure the benefits obtained from international partnerships. It was found that one of the most successful international research partnerships in Indonesia, which has existed for 20 years, has been able to achieve optimal benefit-sharing such as co-authorship, co-supervision, mobility of students and staff, and capacity building of the Indonesian scientists and institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a pervasive health concern affecting millions of individuals. However, there remain significant barriers to providing resources and addressing the needs of individuals living with PTSD. To address this treatment gap, we have collaborated with clinical experts to develop PTSDialogue-a conversational agent (CA) that aims to support effective self-management of PTSD. In this work, we have focused on assessing the feasibility and acceptance of PTSDialogue for individuals living with PTSD., Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with individuals living with PTSD ( N = 12 ). Participants were asked about their experiences with the PTSDialogue and their perceptions of its usefulness in managing PTSD. We then used bottom-up thematic analysis with a qualitative interpretivist approach to analyze the interview data., Results: All participants expressed that PTSDialogue could be beneficial for supporting PTSD treatment. We also uncovered key opportunities and challenges in using CAs to complement existing clinical practices and support longitudinal self-management of PTSD. We highlight important design features of CAs to provide effective support for this population, including the need for personalization, education, and privacy-sensitive interactions., Conclusion: We demonstrate the acceptability of CAs to support longitudinal self-management of PTSD. Based on these findings, we have outlined design recommendations for technologies aiming to reduce treatment and support gaps for individuals living with serious mental illnesses., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

The steel shell for the immersed tube tunnel of the Shenzhen -Zhongshan Link is huge in size and weight. The temporary storage and system transformation of these steel shells in the unloading barge area of immersed tube prefabrication yard are very important points on the critical path in the construction of the immersed tube tunnel. In order to guarantee the safety and success of the construction operation, a supporting system based on the current situation of foundation in unloading barge area and the equipment condition of the prefabricating yard was designed. The calculation results illustrate: the maximum local deformation on the bottom plate is 3.74 mm, the vertical stress on the single cement buttress is 188 t, and each buttress is evenly stressed. It meets the design requirement and has been applied to multiple steel -shell tube sections at present. The application results show that the system can effectively guarantee the safety of the temporary storage and system transformation of immersed steel shell, which provides a reference for the similar projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Coatings & Protection / Tuceng yu Fanghu is the property of Coating & Protection Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Physical exercise programs are required to improve students' physical ability, physical fitness, self-responsibility, and satisfaction to remain physically active for a lifetime. The supporting system's demanding characteristics include lack of school leadership support, and lack of communication skills among students is considered an essential factor in the physical education system.Objective: In this paper, an Internet of Things (IoT)-based intelligent physical support framework (IoT-IPSF) has been proposed to encourage education leadership and student social interaction in the physical education system.Method: Training service analysis is introduced to improve adequate leadership support, helping in the physical education system's growth. Self-determination analysis is integrated with IoT-IPSF to enhance effective communication among school teachers, educational experts, and curriculum officers in the physical education system.Results: The simulation results show that the proposed method achieves a high accuracy ratio of 98.7%, an efficiency ratio of 95.6, student performance 97.8%, fitness level 82.3%, activity involvement 94.5% compared to other existing models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affected by environmental pollution, the process of urban ecological civilization construction will be hindered.In view of the severe situation of resource shrinking, serious environmental pollution, and ecosystem degradation, it is necessary to establish an ecological civilization concept of respect, obedience, protection of nature, and sustainable development. In this paper, we have carried out research on the role of environmental ethics education in urban ecological civilization construction for promoting the sustainable development of urban ecological civilization construction.In order to build the support system of environmental ethics education and the construction of urban ecological civilization, it is necessary to use the organic integration of environmental ethics education of rational ecological people and beautiful cities and the identity of legal governance of environmental ethics education and the construction of urban ecological civilization system. Eventually, the organic integration of environmental ethics education and urban ecological civilization construction can be realized.Environmental ethics education is the ethical basis for enhancing the consciousness of urban ecological civilization construction, the ethical support for improving the quality of urban ecological environment, and the ethical guarantee for improving the urban ecological civilization system.Based on the above three directions, we have systematically studied the role of environmental ethics education in the construction of urban ecological civilization, so as to promote the sustainable development of urban ecological civilization. This research shows that environmental ethics education can enhance citizens ' environmental awareness and provide a strong guarantee for the construction of urban ecological civilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the dynamic design of the large deformation of weak surrounding rock in Muzhailing Tunnel, the article introduced the special geological environment of the tunnel, analyzed the causes of the primary support intruding into tunnel structure gauge and the secondary lining cracking during construction, and studied the special measures to solve the problem of the large deformation in weak surrounding rock with extreme crystal stress, such as the multiple support system, enlargement of the advance heading for stress release, the reinforcement of long system anchor bolt (anchor cable), the reinforcement of invert steel truss and the setting of cushion structure. The engineering practice suggested, the technical countermeasures adopted were safe, reliable and effective, and the problems to be solved in construction were discussed, which could be used for reference in similar projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technology of advanced solid state fermentation (ASSF) from sweet sorghum to produce fuel ethanol has broad prospects under the background of shortage of energy. In order to realize the large-scale, automatic and continuous production of the process, a type of rotary drum bioreactor is developed. The supporting system of the bioreactor is mainly composed by friction ring, supporting wheel and wheel shaft, which is the most decisive factor for the safety and stable operation of bioreactor. The pattern design of bioreactor supporting system refers to the rotary kiln used in metallurgical or construction material industry. However, due to the differences in construction, stream characteristics and the load condition between two types of equipment, the analysis of the supporting systems are distinguishing. The bioreactor and its supporting system is failure in operation mainly caused by fatigue crack on the surface of welding joint and stiffness deficiency of cylinder. By analyzing the rotating characteristics of sweet sorghum bagasse in bioreactor, the load condition on the friction ring and cylinder, which considered as a whole element due to two parts welding together, was determined. Based on APDL programing in ANSYS, a three dimensional multi-body model for three parts of supporting system with complex loading of distribution was modeled according to the actual dimension of the parts. The contact elements were used on the interface of friction ring and supporting wheel and the interface fit of wheel and its shaft. SOLID186, a three dimensional element with 20 nodes was selected to build entity. TARGE170 and CONTA174, the interface contact element provided by ANSYS, were selected to simulate the relative motion of parts in the system. Using the manner of key points and lines controlling in the meshing, 5 400 elements were divided. Numerical simulations of contact nonlinear finite elements were presented on the mechanical behavior of the supporting system in the working condition. The stress distribution of friction ring, supporting wheel and the shaft was solved. Cylinder deformation and fatigue failure were focused in finite element analysis. Through the method of path analysis, the maximum deformation on the cylinder was determined, which was combined with welding deformation to be considered as a control condition in the process of design and manufacture of cylinder. The design parameter refers to the deformation deviation of external pressure vessel on Chinese standard. The generation and diffusion of fatigue crack on the end surface of wheel shaft and the welding joint between friction ring and cylinder were predicted. Reducing the welding residual stress and the stress concentration on key parts was an effective method to avoid fatigue damage, which could be carried out by improved specification on fabrication drawings of equipment. High stress concentration was shown in contour at the internal discontinuity of supporting wheel. So fillets were designed at the connection of the ribs and the inner wheel on fabrication drawing. Electrical stress measurement method was used to indicate the effectiveness of finite element analysis of supporting system. The results showed that the maximum simulation error was 8.61% and the stress distribution obtained by finite element calculation was of high accuracy. These findings can apply as instructions for the design of similar rotary equipment applied in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents various concepts of three-phase power rectifiers with improved quality of converted electric power. This effect is obtained by modulating the currents in the DC output circuits of the rectifiers by means of power electronics controlled voltage or current sources, working as a so-called voltage or current modulators. For further quality improvement of the grid currents of the analyzed systems, it was proposed to use an additional controlled current source connected in parallel to the DC load, hereinafter referred to as a supporting system. The original elaborated method of controlling this source (supporting system) was presented. The main goal of the work was to propose a solution for an effective method of improving the quality of energy conversion in rectifier systems, especially high power ones, by using controlled current sources in DC circuits, operating as the power electronics current modulator and the supporting system.

The magnetic-liquid suspension guide-way (MLSG) adopts the double support form of permanent magnetic suspension and hydrostatic pressure. It can greatly enhance the bearing capacity and rigidity of the guide-way system. The liquid film thickness is the main influencing factor on both the bearing capacity of the hydrostatic system and the permanent magnetic force. This paper analysed the effect of liquid film thickness on the static, dynamic and vibration index of MLSG. Firstly, this paper introduced the structural characteristics and supporting mechanism of MLSG. Secondly, based on flow equation, the static pressure equation, the permanent magnetic force equation and the force balance equation, the transfer function of single DOF supporting system of MLSG in constant flow supply mode is presented, and analysed the influence of the thickness of liquid film on single DOF supporting performance of MLSG. The results show that with the increase of the thickness of the liquid film, the bearing capacity of guide-way, the static stiffness, the dynamic stiffness and the natural frequency decrease, and the adjust time, the total power loss, the amplitude amplification coefficient increases, the phase margin is almost unchanged. The study can provide a theoretical basis for the design of MLGS in engineering practice.

The article presents point of view on the Book of Building object as a potential and valuable source of information and knowledge about the technical condition of the building. As the basis of the research conducted, the significance and the role of the management of the building during its operation were pointed out, focusing on multi-family residential buildings. Their operation is related to the phenomenon of technical consumption, which causes can be found at the design stage. The factors related to the operating phase are significantly influenced by technical factors. These are environmental and utility factors. Maintenance and repair activities are necessary to counteract the wear and tear of the object. Their scheduling currently requires a lot of analysis and experience. In order to support the planning of maintenance activities, a database has been developed, which develops towards the knowledge base and the construction of a management support system. The article presents the structure of the database. The innovative element of this database is the use of text mining techniques to obtain information and represent them. Further research will continue on mining techniques which will be used to build knowledge base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As user-centric innovation has recently emerged as a successful way of developing new products, services, and concepts, it is worth considering the perspectives of potential technology users during R&D project selection processes. Nevertheless, little effort has been made to reflect customer-perceived value in establishing selection criteria, with the focus mainly on technological potential instead. Therefore, this study aims to develop an R&D project selection model incorporating not only technological potential but also customer-perceived value. For this purpose, a new R&D project evaluation model and process is proposed, and its feasibility is tested by potential users in a real scenario. The automobile industry is suitable for our evaluation model because it is a B2C and system-based industry where customer needs are critical to market success and a number of R&D projects are proposed every year. Finally, a supporting tool is developed to help interact with various evaluators and visualize the evaluation results, as customer involvement is recommended for accurate project evaluation from the perspective of technology users. This study is one of the earliest attempts to reflect customer-perceived value in R&D project selection, and practically, the research outputs are expected to be useful to automobile manufacturers in creating value from R&D projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]