Kongsberg Gruppen (Norway)

Exposure to opioid analgesics due to surgery increases the risk of new persistent opioid use. A mechanistic hypothesis for opioids' abuse liability rests on the belief that, in addition to pain relief, acute opioid treatment improves well-being (e.g. via euphoria) and relieves anxiety. However, opioids do not consistently improve mood in laboratory studies of healthy non-opioid users. This observational study determined how two commonly used opioid analgesics affected patients' subjective well-being in standard clinical practice. Day surgery patients rated how good and how anxious they felt before and after an open-label infusion of remifentanil (n = 159) or oxycodone (n = 110) in the operating theatre before general anaesthesia. One minute after drug injection, patients reported feeling intoxicated (> 6/10 points). Anxiety was reduced after opioids, but this anxiolytic effect was modest (remifentanil Cohen's d = 0.21; oxycodone d = 0.31). There was moderate to strong evidence against a concurrent improvement in well-being (Bayes factors > 6). After remifentanil, ratings of 'feeling good' were significantly reduced from pre-drug ratings (d = 0.28). After oxycodone, one in three participants felt better than pre-drug. Exploratory ordered logistic regressions revealed a link between previous opioid exposure and opioid effects on well-being, as only 14 of the 80 opioid-naïve patients reported feeling better after opioid injection. The odds of improved well-being ratings after opioids were higher in patients with previous opioid exposure and highest in patients with > 2 weeks previous opioid use (adjusted OR = 4.4). These data suggest that opioid-induced improvement of well-being is infrequent in opioid-naïve patients. We speculate that peri-operative exposure could increase risk of persistent use by rendering subsequent positive opioid effects on well-being more likely.

There is an expected growth in underwater acoustic data traffic. To meet the demand of high data throughput, a migration towards the very high frequency band (>100 kHz) will be necessary. The increment in frequency comes with two problems; high propagation losses and rapid channel fluctuations. One solution addressing both of these obstacles is the use of large hydrophone arrays in combination with multi-channel equalizers. We will in this paper examine and compare tracking properties and convergence rate of the RLS and LMS adaptive algorithm for use in large multichannel equalizers. Using data from a very high frequency (250 kHz) channel we will show that in our channel, for large hydrophone arrays, RLS does not offers a significant advantage over LMS when it comes to tracking channel variations nor convergence rate.

A decentralized detection method is proposed for revealing a radioactive nuclear source with unknown intensity and at unknown location, using a number of cheap radiation counters, to ensure public safety in smart cities. In the source present case, sensors nodes record an (unknown) emitted Poisson-distributed radiation count with a rate decreasing with the sensor-source distance (which is unknown), buried in a known Poisson background and Gaussian measurement noise. To model energy-constrained operations usually encountered in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, local one-bit quantizations are made at each sensor over a period of time. The sensor bits are collected via error-prone binary symmetric channels by the Fusion Center (FC), which has the task of achieving a better global inference. The considered model leads to a one-sided test with parameters of nuisance (i.e., the source position) observable solely in the case of \(\mathcal {H}_{1}\) hypothesis. Aiming at reducing the higher complexity requirements induced by the generalized likelihood ratio test, Davies’ framework is exploited to design a generalized form of the locally optimum detection test and an optimization of sensor thresholds (resorting to a heuristic principle) is proposed. Simulation results verify the proposed approach.

This paper presents selected product development activities in Kongsberg Maritime related to underwater sensor network nodes. Nodes include tethered fixed seabed nodes, easy deployable wireless nodes, catch monitoring for commercial fishery and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV). Sensors interfaced to the different nodes are touched upon, including scientific echo sounders. Further, the communication capabilities of the nodes are discussed with emphasis on wireless acoustic communication including PHY, MAC and network layer capabilities of the cNODE.

Modern AUV designs must handle submerged autonomous operation for long periods of time. The state of the art solution embedded in the HUGIN AUVs is a Doppler velocity log (DVL) aided inertial navigation system (INS) that can integrate various forms of position measurement updates. In autonomous operations, position updates are only available in limited periods of time or space, thus the core velocity aided inertial navigation system must exhibit high accuracy. However, position uncertainty of a DVL aided inertial navigation system will eventually drift off, compromising either mission operation or requirements for accurate positioning of payload data. To meet the requirements for a range of military and civilian AUV applications, the HUGIN vehicles come with at flexible and powerful set of navigation techniques. Methods for position updates include GPS surface fix, DGPS-USBL, underwater transponder positioning (UTP) and bathymetric terrain navigation. Based on synthetic aperture sonar technology, a potentially revolutionary accurate velocity measurement is under development. HUGIN also comes with a navigation post-processing system (NavLab), which can be applied to increase navigational integrity and maximize position accuracy.

The first engine of a new family of high performance, industrial radial turbines is presented. The new single-shaft, 1500-kW site rated KG3 is built upon extensive experience from the field proven KG2 of the same nominal power. The KG3 is being developed both as a simple cycle and recuperated engine providing specific fuel consumptions in the range of 0.29–0.19 kg/kW-hr (0.47–0.32 lbs/hp-hr). This engine makes use of a high specific speed, high pressure ratio centrifugal compressor combined with a very high tip speed uncooled radial turbine to obtain optimized aerodynamic matching. Several novel design features are described.

This paper describes an experimental program undertaken to understand better the hydrodynamic loading of multitube production risers. Test results are described, and a generalization is given for engineering applications. Sample design calculations are performed. Introduction In recent years, much attention has been paid to analyzing the response of drilling risers. Most effort has been focused on the development of structural and analytical techniques to predict the stresses in riser systems. The analytical tools are, to a certain extent, calibrated by full-scale measurement. API published a comparison] of nine different, independent calculations of riser response that were in close agreement.Normally, drilling risers have a simple cross section for which the hydrodynamic forces are fairly well known. Extensive studies during many years have established insight into the flow patterns around a single smooth cylinder in constant flow and the corresponding forces. For multitube production risers the hydrodynamic load pattern is far more complex.Research is continuously improving the knowledge of flow-induced forces, particularly the influence of these parameters: high Reynolds number at prototype condition, effect of roughness, proximity effect of closely spaced cylinders, current/wave interaction, and effects of irregular seas.The state of the art regarding hydrodynamic loading on single cylinders in constant and oscillatory flow as a function of varying roughness has been published by Miller and Sarpkaya. Correspondingly, multiple cylinders have been considered by Zdravkovich, Bushnell, and Sarpkaya.To understand better the hydrodynamic loading of multitube production risers, Kongsberg Vapenfabrikk initiated an experimental program early in 1977. This program consisted initially of five riser configurations and one single cylinder to be tested in constant and oscillatory flow. A comparison with published data was made to check the experimental procedure and results against the state of the art. The experimental program later was extended by 18 additional geometries, sponsored by 10 oil companies as a joint industry program.The tests in constant flow were carried out at the Danish Hydraulic Inst. (DHI), while the oscillatory flow tests were performed at the Hydraulic Research Station (HRS). Det norske Veritas was consultant for the project and supervised the experimental work and the data interpretation procedures.This paper describes the experimental program, the test results, and a possible generalization for arriving at a simple engineering application of results.The discussion of sensitivity of important parameters in determining design loads is based on an actual design case. Design calculations performed by Kongsberg Vapenfabrikk for a production riser in deep water are presented. JPT P. 881＾