The Cyber–Physical Systems (CPS) attacks and vulnerabilities are increasing and the consequences of such attacks can be catastrophic. The CPS needs to be self-resilient to cyber-attacks through a ...precise autonomous and timely risk mitigation model that can analyze and assess the risk of the CPS and apply a proper response strategy against the ongoing attacks. There is a limited amount of work on the self-protection of the cyber risks in the CPS. This paper contributes toward the need of advanced security approaches to respond against the attacks across the CPS in an autonomous way, with or without including a system administrator in the loop for troubleshooting based on the criticality of the CPS asset that can be protected, once the alert about a possible intrusion has been raised. To this end, this paper augments our existing security framework with an Autonomous Response Controller (ARC). ARC uses our quantitative Hierarchical Risk Correlation Tree (HRCT) that models the paths an attacker can traverse to reach certain goals and measures the financial risk that the CPS assets face from cyber-attacks. ARC also uses a Competitive Markov Decision Process (CMDP) to model the security reciprocal interaction between the protection system and the attacker/adversary as a multi-step, sequential, two-player stochastic game in which each player tries to maximize his/her benefit. The experiments’ results depict that the accuracy of ARC outperforms the traditional Static Intrusion Response System (S-IRS) by 43.61%. To experimentally test and validate ARC in real-time large-scale data, we run the Aurora attack to open the generator breaker in our testbed to create a cascading failure and voltage collapse. ARC was able to recover the CPS system and provide a timely response in less than 6 s. We compared the output of ARC against the current state of the art, the Suricata intrusion response system. ARC was able to mitigate the single line to ground (SLG) attacks and recover the CPS to its normal state in 122 s before Suricata does.
•In this paper, we introduce a new Autonomous Response Controller (ARC) to respond against the attacks across the Cyber Physical Systems (CPS).•ARC provides a scalable and autonomous way with or without human intervention based on the criticality of the CPS asset that can be protected.•ARC provides quick and timely responses by considering the system situation awareness at each response point using a new intelligent Competitive Markov Model.•ARC composes a long-term response plan that optimizes on long-term gains to respond against the tactic multistage attacks and considers the special CPPS characteristics, requirements, and response impact.•We introduce two practical case studies along with several experiments to evaluate the proposed approaches.
•Considering disruption in supply chain of perishable product and power network.•Integrating supply chain with power network to cope with power network disruption.•Employing four resilient strategies ...to deal with supply chain disruptions.•Presenting a bi-objective linear programming model for the introduced problem.•Applying the proposed model in a real case study in an Iranian dairy company.
The effects of disruption in both supply chain and its infrastructures like power network have not been addressed in previous works, simultaneously. Besides, disruption risks have environmental effects besides their economic effects. For this purpose, this paper studies a resilient-green closed loop supply chain design problem considering the perishable nature of products and disruption risks in both supply chain and power networks. To cope with disruptions five different risk mitigation strategies are employed. We have developed an integrated bi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model to minimize the expected total network cost and the expected total amount of carbon emissions of both networks. The results demonstrate that applying strategy of integrating interdependent networks along with four other resilient strategies, especially “intermediate facility” and “lateral transshipment” strategies, will improve the performance of integrated network significantly. Also, with increasing the lifetime of products, the performance of the proposed model will be improved.
guidelines require an adequate overlap length for reinforcing bars, especially in extended spans of elements constructed from Reinforced Concrete (RC). Insufficient overlap can have adverse effects ...on key characteristics like bending strength and deformability of RC beams. The potential danger of failure in such elements is a significant concern as is considered a potential threat, and this study addresses it through experimental identification and numerical analysis to be mitigated carefully in this study to enhance the safety and sustainability of buildings to mitigate the risk of failure. The current investigation is centered on investigating the structural behavior of cantilevered RC beams exhibiting inadequate overlap between reinforcing bars in the hogging moment region. These beams have been strengthened through the application of ferrocement layers of Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC). The experimental study consisted of eleven beams, which were categorized into four groups and subjected to bending loads until they reached failure. The research assessed various factors, such as the casting method (whether cast-in-situ or precast), the installation technique (involving the use of epoxy, or epoxy with anchors), and the length of the ECC layer. This layer was configured to have a length of 30Ø, 40Ø, and 50Ø, with Ø representing the diameter of the reinforcing bars along the zone subjected to hogging moments. According to findings, strengthening of specimens exhibiting insufficient steel overlap through an ferrocement ECC layer exhibited an improved overall structural behavior compared to the defective control beam. The most significant enhancement in both failure mode and load-deflection behavior was observed in beams strengthened through the incorporation of a cast-in-situ ECC layer with anchor bolts. Additionally, augmenting the strengthening length not only increased the initial stiffness of the reinforced beams but also enhanced their energy absorption capacity. Furthermore, the study involved the construction of a numerical simulation employing the Finite Element Method (FEM) simulating the observed behavior in experimentally tested beams. The model's precision was validated through a comparison of its results with the experimental data, revealing a satisfactory level of accuracy.
•ECC layers enhance cantilevered RC beams with inadequate lap spliced reinforcement.•Beams strengthened with ECC layers exhibit enhanced failure mode and load-deflection behavior.•Anchor bolts with cast-in-situ ECC layers improves failure mode.•FE Models accurately predict beam behavior, offering insights for further research.
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•Persulfate usually needs to be activated for efficient WAS treatment.•Fermentation/digestion is improved as persulfate boosts bioprocesses and community.•Persulfate promotes sludge ...dewatering by decomposing EPS.•The oxides generated by persulfate help to control the environmental risk of WAS.•The knowledge gaps and prospects based on persulfate are identified and discussed.
Persulfate is considered as a promising oxidant, thus the improvement of waste activated sludge (WAS) treatment with persulfate was widely regarded as a promising technology and had been intensively investigated in recent years. However, doubts and debates about its technical and economic viability in full-scale scenarios have been raised. Interestingly, so far, no efforts have been made on either systematic summarization or critical thinking of the application of persulfate to improve WAS treatment. Therefore, it is time to assess whether and how to utilize persulfate in future WAS treatment. The present paper provided an extensive review of the mechanisms, potentials and application of persulfate in WAS treatment. The current understanding of the activation modes and mechanisms of persulfate in sludge treatment were described. Besides, the performance, mechanism and disadvantages of persulfate-based pretreatment in fermentation, digestion and dewatering process were discussed, and the role of persulfate on the removal and control of the toxicity in sludge was paid special attention. The results showed that the oxidant and interaction with microorganisms of persulfate played an important role in improving sludge treatment. Knowledge gaps and current limitations of the persulfate-based applications were identified, and perspectives on the development of persulfate-based applications were discussed. Persulfate-based technology has a great potential in improving WAS treatment, but the practical application of this technology still needs further development and larger scale demonstration. Overall, this review provided a comprehensive current understanding, future directions, and insights into issues related to the application of persulfate to improve WAS.
Risk in international business and its mitigation Cavusgil, S. Tamer; Deligonul, Seyda; Ghauri, Pervez N. ...
Journal of world business : JWB,
February 2020, 2020-02-00, Letnik:
55, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
•Country risk is an imminent and growing derivative of internationalization.•We examine the concept and nature of country risk in international business.•We examine the contextual nature of risk and ...firm sensitivity to risk events.•We discuss conceptual and empirical challenges of risk in international business.•We discuss country risk mitigation and the role of regulation.
While risk mitigation and management preparedness of MNEs have escalated to the top of the corporate agenda, international business literature is lacking pertinent conceptual and empirical studies. As an opener to this special issue, we offer several perspectives on country risk and its mitigation. We discuss conceptual and empirical challenges in researching risk in international business. We conclude with a commentary on the six papers included in this special issue on international business risk.
Green roofs are effective tools for stormwater control in highly urbanized areas since they allow the reduction of peak runoffs and volumes discharged in sewer systems. Their design is quite ...standardized, except for the thickness of the growing medium layer, which is strictly related to vegetation type and rainfall regime. The paper proposes an analytical probabilistic approach that relates the climatic variables, the growing medium thickness, and the water content in the condition of fulfilled field capacity to the probability that runoff from green roofs exceeds a fixed threshold. The developed equations also consider the possibility of a reduced retention capacity due to previous rainfall events, that strongly influence the performance of these green infrastructures, especially when short dry periods and/or low evapotranspiration rates occur. This feature, neglected by the traditional design storm approach, and only partially considered by previous analytical probabilistic models, represent a great potentiality of the proposed equations that are also more user-friendly and less time-consuming than continuous simulation analysis. The focus of the paper is on the influence of climatic parameters on runoff probability. To this aim to perform the monthly analysis is fundamental, especially when there is a strong variability of the climatic parameters throughout the year.
The model was tested in a case study in Milano, Italy. The application presented a good agreement between the results obtained from the proposed equations and those obtained from the continuous simulation of recorded data. The results also highlighted the importance of performing analysis on a monthly scale.
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•The runoff probability estimation considers residual volumes from previous rainfalls.•The evapotranspiration rate is the main parameter influencing green roofs performance.•The antecedent soil moisture condition strongly affects the retention capacity.•A monthly scale is suitable to consider rainfall and evapotranspiration variations.•An increase in growing medium thickness doesn't always significantly reduce runoff.
•Underlying mechanisms of CaO2 disintegrating EPS and cell membrane are reviewed.•Sludge dewatering and minimization can be achieved effectively by CaO2.•Methane production from sludge anaerobic ...digestion can be enhanced significantly by CaO2-based treatment.•SCFA and hydrogen yield in sludge anaerobic fermentation can be improved prominently with CaO2 addition.•CaO2 can promote the removal of emerging contaminants via the generated free radicals oxidation and alkali.
The treatment and disposal of waste activated sludge (WAS) has become one of the major challenges for the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) due to large output, high treatment costs and enriched substantial emerging contaminants (ECs). Therefore, reducing sludge volume, recovering energy and resource from WAS, and removing ECs and decreasing environmental risk have gained increasing attentions. Calcium peroxide (CaO2), a versatile and safe peroxide, has been widely applied in terms of WAS treatment including sludge dewatering, anaerobic sludge digestion and anaerobic sludge fermentation due to its specific properties such as generating free radicals and alkali, etc., providing supports for sludge reduction, recycling, and risk mitigation. This review outlines comprehensively the recent progresses and breakthroughs of CaO2 in the fields of sludge treatment. In particular, the relevant mechanisms of CaO2 enhancing WAS dewaterability, methane production from anaerobic digestion, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and hydrogen production from anaerobic fermentation, and the removal of ECs in WAS and role of experiment parameters are systematically elucidated and discussed, respectively. Finally, the knowledge gaps and opportunities in CaO2-based sludge treatment technologies that need to be focused in the future are prospected. The review presented can supply a theoretical basis and technical reference for the application of CaO2 for improving the treatment of WAS.
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•A review of popular antinuclear narratives in the USA are compared to actual radiological risks•Costs per risk are evaluated from nuclear accidents, waste management and transportation are ...considered when radiophobia has many believing radiation exposures comparable to natural background are deadly and dangerous.•Capital and schedule issues with nuclear construction are related back to radiophobia
In order to promote a sound basis for considering the role of nuclear in climate change, this review spans the technical topics of social and political debate surrounding nuclear energy with a focus on the objective science of these issues including nuclear waste, accidents and overall risk. Novel aspects include the emergence of nuclear energy as being potentially renewable and the antithesis of Fukushima being an argument for the unacceptable risks associated with the use of nuclear energy. The purpose of this review is to present the facts about nuclear energy divorced from political, social or comparable bias. The results argue nuclear as effectively the most attractive option from almost every possible perspective in which common social discourse would have these painted as unfavourable if not horrific.
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•Perishable Food Supply Chains (FSCs) are among the essential services in a pandemic.•Evaluated the risk mitigation strategies for PFSC in the COVID-19.•Underpinned by contingency theory, the fuzzy ...best worst method is used.•The “collaborative management,” “proactive business continuity planning,” are the top risk mitigating strategies.•Discussed all mitigation strategies concerning the socio-economic contingencies.
Food Supply Chains (FSCs) are among the essential services in a pandemic. Perishable food supply chains (PFSC) perform under higher risks as they struggle against greater wastage and product life cycle issues along with the logistics, operational, financial, and health risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. While facing these contingencies, it is essential to formulate strategies in real-time. In this paper, we identify and analyze risk mitigation strategies for PFSC during the current pandemic. We have initially discussed the uncertainties and risks related to pandemic situations and subsequently identified risk mitigation strategies to manage PFSC in such situations. We prioritized the identified strategies using the fuzzy-best worst methodology (F-BWM). The BWM is a highly effective decision-making method with higher consistency. The fuzzy extension to the best worst method (BWM) helps in incorporating vagueness and fuzziness in the decision. As a result, F-BWM is an excellent approach to analyze risk mitigation strategies as the business contingencies in PFSC during this pandemic are unique, with the industry having only a few clear ideas about how best to mitigate them. Among the risk mitigation strategies, “collaborative management,” “proactive business continuity planning,” and “financial sustainability” are the top risk mitigating strategies. Other identified strategies are also extremely useful for varied environmental contingencies. Thus, this research has been underpinned by the contingency theory and discusses all mitigation strategies concerning the socioeconomic contingencies originating from COVID-19. This research is a novel effort in identifying and analyzing the risk mitigation strategies for enhancing the socioeconomic-ecological performance of PFSCs in meeting the sustainable development goal of healthy and safe food for everyone.
Identifying optimal areas for future conservation is crucial to halting biodiversity loss. Unfortunately, China's current conservation initiatives neglect the significance of Key Biodiversity Areas ...(KBAs) in biodiversity conservation decision-making, and focusing only on fulfilling the quantitative targets without assessing the potential benefits and challenges for each target area may jeopardize the effectiveness of national programs. Therefore, this study identified KBAs through the distribution range and threat status of 3061 species and defined priority areas for protecting 30 % and 50 % of China's land (30 % and 50 % targets), assessing their potential ecological benefits in terms of ecosystem services and carbon stocks, and identifying risks from climate change and human pressures. The results showed that the KBAs were spatially heterogeneous among different taxonomic groups, with areas for birds and mammals widely distributed but for reptiles, amphibians, and plants mainly distributed in the south. Priority conservation areas identified for achieving the 30 % and 50 % targets were predominantly located in southern China. Protecting these areas can significantly increase the representativeness of benefits for biodiversity conservation, climate regulation, nutrient regulation, landscape aesthetics and carbon storage, thereby achieving a win–win for biodiversity conservation and ecological benefits. However, population density, climate risks, and land-use conversion risks will also increase significantly in priority conservation areas. Western Sichuan Province and northern Yunnan Province have the highest conservation priority due to their relatively high conservation value and low threat risk. The KBAs we identified will hopefully help inform the selection of sites for expansion of China's conservation area-based network.
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•Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) were spatially heterogeneous among taxonomic groups.•Priority areas to protect 30 % and 50 % of land were concentrated in southern China.•Priority areas have high benefits in terms of ecosystem services and carbon stocks.•Priority areas face significant climate change risks and land-use conversion risks.
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