Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reducció de vibracions residuals en moviments transitoris. Definició de lleis de moviment per mitjà de corbes B-spline

EnglishMany mechanical systems have a vibratory behavior, functionally noticeable, which can be raised when transient excitations happen. Usually, such generated vibrations remain in the system after this transient (residual vibrations), and may imply negative effects in the mechanisms intended function. The method proposed in this thesis has as main objective, the synthesis of excitation signals for mechanical systems in order to reduce residual vibrations. In addition, generated signals are able to achieve two conditions defined by the user related to function of the mechanism (called functional requirements). This method is based on the relationship between the frequency contents of the transient signal and the residual vibration generated, depending on the system damping. From this relation, and taking advantage of the Fourier transform properties, motion laws are generated through the pulses time convolution. Resultant laws are made up of algebraic polynomial pieces linked together, which makes them very suitable for implementation with numerical calculus through B-spline curves. catalaMolts sistemes mecanics existents tenen un comportament vibratori funcionalment perceptible, que es posa de manifest enfront dexcitacions transitories. Normalment, les vibracions generades segueixen presents despres del transitori (vibracions residuals), i poden provocar efectes negatius en la funcio de disseny del mecanisme. El metode que es proposa en aquesta tesi te com a objectiu principal la sintesi de lleis de moviment per reduir les vibracions residuals. Addicionalment, els senyals generats permeten complir dues condicions definides per lusuari (anomenats requeriments funcionals). El metode es fonamenta en la relacio existent entre el contingut frequencial dun senyal transitori, i la vibracio residual generada, segons sigui lesmorteiment del sistema. Basat en aquesta relacio, i aprofitant les propietats de la transformada de Fourier, es proposa la generacio de lleis de moviment per convolucio temporal de polsos. Aquestes resulten formades per trams concatenats de polinomis algebraics, cosa que facilita la seva implementacio en entorns numerics per mitja de corbes B-spline.
GaAs interfacial self-cleaning by atomic layer deposition

The reduction and removal of surface oxides from GaAs substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al2O3 and HfO2 are studied using in situ monochromatic x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Using the combination of in situ deposition and analysis techniques, the interfacial “self-cleaning” is shown to be oxidation state dependent as well as metal organic precursor dependent. Thermodynamics, charge balance, and oxygen coordination drive the removal of certain species of surface oxides while allowing others to remain. These factors suggest proper selection of surface treatments and ALD precursors can result in selective interfacial bonding arrangements.
A space–time multivariate Bayesian model to analyse road traffic accidents by severity

The paper investigates the dependences between levels of severity of road traffic accidents, accounting at the same time for spatial and temporal correlations. The study analyses road traffic accidents data at ward level in England over the period 2005–2013. We include in our model multivariate spatially structured and unstructured effects to capture the dependences between severities, within a Bayesian hierarchical formulation. We also include a temporal component to capture the time effects and we carry out an extensive model comparison. The results show important associations in both spatially structured and unstructured effects between severities, and a downward temporal trend is observed for low and high levels of severity. Maps of posterior accident rates indicate elevated risk within big cities for accidents of low severity and in suburban areas in the north and on the southern coast of England for accidents of high severity. The posterior probability of extreme rates is used to suggest the presence of hot spots in a public health perspective.
Sustained release matrix tablets of indomethacin using Hibiscus rosa-sinensis as release retardant

In the present investigation an attempt has been made to study the formulation and evaluation of matrix tablets of indomethacin using mucilage ofHibiscus rosa-sinensis as a release retardant. The mucilage was extracted from the leaves of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis using acetone. The matrix tablets were formulated using different concentrations (0.15, 0.3 and 0.45) of Hibiscus mucilage. The developed formulations of tablets were evaluated for pre-compression and post-compression parameters. The results of pre-compression parameters likebulk density, tapped density, Carr’s index and Hausner’s ratio were found to be within the limits indicating good flow properties of the granules.Swelling index reveals that with increasing mucilage concentration there is increased swelling showing 68% for F3 at the end of 5 hwhere as for F1 and F2 it was around 58.3 % and 66.66 % respectively. In-vitro drug release for F3 formulation was found to be 62.86 % at the end of 8 h. With increase in mucilage concentration the drug release from the matrix tablets got retarded. In-vitro drug release data obtained were fitted to various release models access the possible mechanism of drug release.All the formulations showed matrix (Higuchi Matrix) as a best fit model and the release mechanism was found to be Fickian Difussion. Thus, Matrix tablets of indomethacin formulated by using Hibiscus mucilage as a release retardant could be employed for retardant drug release.
Effects of White‐Tailed Deer on Populations of an Understory Forb in Fragmented Deciduous Forests

The effects of grazing by white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on populations of Trillium spp. were examined in remnant, old‐growth patches of the highly fragmented Big Woods forest ecosystem in southeastern Minnesota. We conducted three separate studies involving an exclosure experiment, transplant experiments, and comparisons of Trillium populations among study sites. The highest grazing intensity was observed where deer occurred at high overwinter concentrations (~25–35/km2); significantly lower grazing intensities occurred at low overwinter density (~5–10/km2). Deer focused their grazing on large, reproductive plants; at sites with high deer density, Trillium population structure was skewed toward small plants, and deer consistently caused over 50% reduction in reproduction during the growing season. Protection of individual plants from deer for two growing seasons resulted in dramatically increased flowering rates and significantly greater leaf area compared to control plants. No significant impact of current‐year herbivory on reproduction in the following year was detected. Nevertheless, flowering rates at one site with high overwinter deer densities for at least the past 5 years suggest that the cumulative effects of grazing over several years can reduce reproduction in subsequent years. Transplant experiments with Trillium grandiflorum also showed that deer had significant effects on growth and reproduction where deer occur at high density. Our results suggest that changes in landscape structure and local deer abundance have altered plant‐deer relationships such that grazing can lead to the local extirpation of sensitive forbs such as Trillium spp. As a result, active, long‐term management of deer at low densities appears necessary for the conservation and restoration of fragmented forest communities in eastern North America.
MARGINAL SHARE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES OF VARIABLE ELECTRICITY GENERATION A Contribution to the Concept Definition

Technology development is a keystone within the efforts toward enabling longer duration of the world fossil energy resources. The past development and the technologies applied, cause huge emissions of CO2 that must be significantly reduced. Increased usage of renewable energy sources for electricity generation (RES-e) contributes essentially to the reduction of CO2, but on the other hand, under current conditions of feed-in priority reduces also the market for the electricity from fossil fuelled power plants. The other possibility for reduction of CO2 emissions is to apply carbon capture and storage technologies as a part of overall fossil fuelled power plants technologies. A hypothesis presented in this paper is that there is a marginal share of RES variable electricity in overall annual electricity supply after which further increase of RES-e participation produces higher average electricity generated cost, than in the case of CO2 emission reduction by applying carbon capture and storage technologies. The presented work confirms this hypothesis. Value of the marginal share depends to the price of RES-e feed-in. With the price span from 13.5 to 7.5 €c/kWh, the marginal share is under 50%.
Active transport of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen by vertically migrating zooplankton in the Sargasso Sea

Diel vertically migrating zooplankton can contribute significantly to dissolved carbon and nutrient export by respiring and excreting surface-ingested particulate organic matter below the mixed layer. Active export of particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) due to defecation at depth has rarely been considered in export budgets. We measured the gut passage time (GPT) of common migrant species at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site, using the gut fluorescence method, to determine whether GPT is slow enough to allow active export of POC and PON to depth. Mean GPT for the copepods Pleuromamma xiphias and Euchirella messinensis was 191 and 114 min, respectively, and for the euphausiids Thysanopoda aequalis and Euphausia brevis (analyzed together) was 41 min, exceeding previously reported GPT for non- migrating zooplankton by a factor of 6. Between 18 and 81% of the initial gut pigment was retained in zooplankton guts upon descent below a mixed layer of 150 m. By comparing pigment ingestion rates (gut fluorescence technique) with total ingestion rates (CHN analysis of fecal material), we esti- mated that 71 to 85% of the migrant diet originated from non-plant material, which we included in our estimates of active POC/PON export. We applied the mean weight-specific active POC/PON export rate for the species examined to the total migratory zooplankton biomass using data from the BATS zooplankton time-series. Mean active POC (PON) flux at BATS was 0.94 mg C m -2 d -1 (0.18 mg N m -2 d -1 ) and the maximum was 5.27 mg C m -2 d -1 (1.02 mg N m -2 d -1 ), corresponding to a mean of 3% (4%) and a maximum of 18% (20%) of the mean gravitational POC (PON) flux measured by sediment traps at 150 m. Migrants also contributed significantly to passive flux via production of sinking fecal pellets during the night in surface waters. This passive flux exceeded active POC flux by ~10-fold. Freshly released feces by migrators at depth could be a valuable food source for mesopelagic organisms, in contrast to feces produced in surface waters which decompose while settling through the water column.
Tension gestuelle en co-présence d'un accent d'intensité

Selon McNeill (1992) (2005), gestes co-verbaux et parole emergent d'une meme source cognitive et forment un ensemble indivisible dans la communication linguistique. Cette proposition, deja relativement ancienne, a trouve un echo dans des travaux plus recents de sciences cognitives, dans les courants de cognition dite " situee " (Barsalou, 2008) et " incarnee " (Iverson & Thelen, 1999) pour qui l'activite cognitive se nourrit de l'environnement (le contexte) et de proprietes proprioceptives. La communication linguistique releve a la fois des modalites vocales et gestuelles, tant sur le plan segmental que sur le plan supra-segmental, et il est donc naturel de trouver des caracteristiques communes d'une activite linguistique dans les deux modalites. Dans cet article, nous etudions les liens entre un trait supra-segmental vocal (l'accent d'intensite) et un trait supra-segmental gestuel (la tension de la main) lorsque geste et accent d'intensite sont produits simultanement.
Snubbing Circuit Realization Based on Numerical Techniques

One of the most important and major problems that faces the controllable devices for industrial applications, and solid-state switches for pulsed power applications, is the high rate of current and voltage changes during the switching transients of the device. This problem can be overcome by suitable circuitry connected across the device which is well known as a Snubber Circuit. In this paper, a proposed numerical solution using the Fourth Order Runge-Kutta numerical method is applied to evaluate the values of the snubber circuit parameters to maintain the effect of current and voltage rate of changes, during device turn – ON, at levels that the device can withstand. Comparison with other design procedures showed good agreement with reasonable results for the circuit parameters to validate the proposed method.
Productivity Growth and Product Choice in Fisheries: the Case of the Alaskan Pollock Fishery Revisited

Many fisheries worldwide have exhibited marked decreases in profitability and fish stocks during the last few decades as a result of overfishing. However, more conservative, science- and incentive-based management approaches have been practiced in the US federally managed fisheries off Alaska since the mid 1990’s. The Bering Sea pollock fishery is one such fishery and remains one of the world’s largest in both value and volume of landings. In 1998, with the implementation of the American Fisheries Act (AFA) this fishery was converted from a limited access fishery to a rationalized fishery in which fishing quota were allocated to cooperatives who could transfer quotas, facilitate fleet consolidation, and maximize efficiency. The changes in efficiency and productivity growth arising from the change in management regime have been the subject of several studies, a few of which have focused on the large vessels that both catch and process fish onboard (catcher-processors). In this study we modify existing approaches to account for the unique decision making process characterizing catcher-processor’s production technologies. In particular, we focus on sequential decisions regarding what products to produce and the factors that influence productivity once those decisions are made using a multiproduct revenue function. The estimation procedure is based on a latent variable econometric model and departs from and advances previous studies since it deals with the mixed distribution nature of the data. Our productivity growth estimates are consistent with increasing productivity growth since rationalization of the fishery, even in light of large decreases in the pollock stock. These findings suggest that rationalizing fishery incentives can help foster improvements in economic productivity even during periods of diminished biological productivity.
Ethical Issues, Helps, and Challenges:Perceptions of U.S. Actuaries

This paper reports the findings of a survey of Fellows of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) to determine their perceptions of the key ethical issues and dilemmas facing the industry today and the factors they view as most helpful and challenging in resolving these dilemmas. The responses are compared to a previous survey of Fellows of the Society of Actuaries (FSA). The study finds that FSAs and FCASs tend to rank key ethical issues similarly and that both groups of actuaries tend to look first to their own personal values, second to certain factors in their business environment, and last to professional factors when resolving ethical dilemmas. Finally, the paper contains some implications for the actuarial professional associations as they attempt to assist their members in resolving ethical dilemmas.
3D FACE MODELING: COMPREHENSIVE DESCRIPTION

To provide a comprehensive survey, we not only categorize existing modeling techniques but also present detailed descriptions of representative methods within each category. In addition, relevant topics such as biometric modalities, system evaluation, and issues of illumination and pose variation are covered. 3D models hold more information of the face, like surface information, that can be used for face recognition or subject discrimination. This paper, gives the survey based techniques or methods for 3D face modeling, in this paper first step namely Model Based Face Reconstruction, secondly Methods of 3d Face models divided into three parts Holistic matching methods, Feature-based (structural) matching methods, Hybrid methods thirdly Other methods categorized into again three parts 2D based class, 3D Based class and 2D+3D based class are discussed. There are two underlying motivations for us to write this survey paper: the first is to provide an up-to-date review of the existing literature, and the second is to offer some insights into the studies of machine recognition of faces
High Voltage Converter Modulator Optimization

High voltage converter modulators (HVCM) are at the forefront of long pulse high voltage (100kV) technology for Klystron voltage sources. We present results of digitally implementing an extremum seeking (ES) algorithm with which we optimized the rise time of the output voltage of a HVCM at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) HVCM test stand by iteratively, simultaneously tuning the first 8 switching edges of each of the three phase drive waveforms (24 variables total). We achieved a 50us rise time, which is reduction in half compared to the 100us currently achieved at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The ES algorithm is successful despite the noisy measurements and cost calculations, confirming the theoretical predictions that the algorithm is not affected by noise unless it both matches exactly the frequency components of the controller’s specific perturbing frequencies and is of comparable size.
The Implementations of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in Beijing and Ontario Schools

Since the knowledge-based economy has become a fashion over the last few decades, the concept of the professional learning community (PLC) has started being accepted by educational institutions and governments as an effective framework to improve teachers’ collective work and collaboration. The purpose of this research was to compare and contrast the implementations of PLCs between Beijing schools and Ontario schools from principals’ personal narratives. In order to discover the lessons and widen the scope to understand the PLC, this research applied qualitative design to collect the data from two principal participants in each location by semistructured interviews. Four themes emerged: (a) structure and technology, (b) identity and climate, (c) task and support, and (d) change and challenge. This research found that the root of the characteristics of the PLCs in Beijing and Ontario was the different existing teaching and learning systems as well as the test systems. Teaching Research Groups (TRGs) is one of the systems that help Chinese to organize routine time and input resources to improve teachers’ professional development. However, Canadian schools lack a similar system that guarantees the time and resources. Moreover, standardized test plays different roles in China and Canada. In China, standardized tests, such as the college entrance examination, are regarded as the important purpose of education, whereas Ontario principals saw the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) as a tool rather than a primary purpose. These two main differences influenced principals’ beliefs, attitudes, strategies, and practices. The implications based on this discovery provide new perspectives for principals, teachers, policy makers, and scholars to widen and deepen the research and practice of the PLC.
Proton toxicity interferes with the screening of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes for aluminium resistance in nutrient solution

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) proved to be very sensitive of low pH (4.3), with large genotypic differences in proton sensitivity. Therefore, proton toxicity did not allow the screening of common bean genotypes for aluminium (Al) resistance using the established protocol for maize (0.5 mM CaCl2, 8 μM H3BO3, pH 4.3). Increasing the pH to 4.5, the Ca2+ concentration to 5 mM, and addition of 0.5 mM KCl fully prevented proton toxicity in 28 tested genotypes and allowed to identify differences in Al resistance using the inhibition of root elongation by 20 μM Al supply for 36 h as parameter of Al injury. As in maize, Al treatment induced callose formation in root apices of common bean. Aluminium-induced callose formation well reflected the effect of Ca supply on Al sensitivity as revealed by root-growth inhibition. Aluminum-induced callose formation in root apices of 28 bean genotypes differing in Al resistance after 36 h Al treatment was positively correlated to Al-induced inhibition of root elongation and Al contents in the root apices. However, the relationship was less close than previously reported for maize. Also, after 12 h Al treatment, callose formation and Al contents in root apices did not reflect differences in Al resistance between two contrasting genotypes, indicating a different mode of the expression of Al toxicity and regulation of Al resistance in common bean than in maize. Protonen-Toxizitat beeinflusst das Screening von Buschbohnen (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)-Genotypen auf Aluminium-Resistenz in Hydrokultur Buschbohnen (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) sind sehr empfindlich gegenuber niedrigen pH-Werten (4,3), wobei jedoch grose genotypische Unterschiede bestehen. Daher war ein Screening von Buschbohne unter den fur Mais etablierten Versuchsbedingungen (0,5 mM CaCl2, 8 μM H3BO3, pH 4,3) bislang nicht moglich. Eine Erhohung des pH-Wertes auf 4,5, der Ca2+ Konzentration auf 5 mM sowie die Zugabe von 0,5 mM KCl verhinderte Protonentoxizitat bei allen 28 untersuchten Genotypen und erlaubte die Identifikation von grosen Unterschieden in der Al-Resistenz, wenn die durch 20 μM Al induzierte Hemmung des Wurzellangenwachstums als Mas fur die Al-Schadigung herangezogen wurde. Wie bei Mais induzierte eine Al-Behandlung die Bildung von Kallose in den Wurzelspitzen auch bei Buschbohne. Diese Induktion der Kallose-Synthese spiegelte die Melioration der durch Al induzierten Hemmung des Wurzellangenwachstum durch erhohtes Ca-Angebot gut wider. Der Vergleich von 28 Buschbohnen-Genotypen hinsichtlich ihrer Al-Resistenz ergab positive Korrelationen zwischen der Al-induzierten Kallose-Bildung, der Hemmung des Wurzelwachstums und den Al-Gehalten in den Wurzelspitzen. Aber die Beziehungen waren deutlich weniger eng als fur Mais berichtet. Bei kurzfristigem Al-Angebot (12 h) spiegelten die Kallose- und Al-Gehalte von Wurzelspitzen die Unterschiede in zwei sehr unterschiedlich Al-resistenten Genotypen nicht wider. Wir schliesen daraus, dass Al-Toxizitat und Al-Resistenz bei Buschbohne anders als bei Mais reguliert sind.
The Potential of Docetaxel-Loaded Poly(D,L-Lactide) Nanofibers for Preventing Recurrence after Breast Cancer Surgery in Vivo

The effective removal of solid tumors has always been an important aspect of cancer treatment. Unfortunately, there are often high risks of tumor recurrence after clinical operations. Electrospinning is a classical and mature method of transforming polymeric materials in the field of biomedicine and tissue engineering [2]. In our previous research, we successfully developed novel docetaxel (DTX)-loaded poly (d,l-lactide) PDLLA nanofibers, which were designed to release docetaxel in a slow and stable manner over a long period of time. Results indicated that DTX/PDLLA nanofibers exhibited apoptotic activity in 4T1 breast cancer cells with substantially reduced systemic toxicity.