This paper presents an assessment of the vulnerability of the power grid to blackout using graph topological indexes. Based on a FERC 715 report and the outage reports, the cascading faults of summer WSCC 1996 are reconstructed, and the graphical property of the grid is compared between two cases: when the blackout triggering lines are removed simulating the actual sequence of cascading outages...

Object-relational databases add to the relational model the possibility of working with new and complex data and applications. One widely accepted mechanism for assuring the quality of an object-relational database is the use of metrics and it is important to formalize the metrics for having a better understanding of their definitions. Metrics formalization assures the reliable repetition of th...

Six farms using different types of dried manure solid (DMS) strategies, including a farm that had side-by-side pens using sand and DMS, participated in a study to assess the impact on herd health of using DMS as bedding on dairy farms in the Northeast. Samples of unused and used bedding were taken over the course of a year and analyzed for bacterial content and physical properties. Mastitis and...