bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
On the Existence of Solutions in Modular Fixturing
Authors: Yan Zhuang  , Goldberg Ken 
Published: March 2007

A fixture is a device that locates and holds parts during ma chining or assembly. A modular fixture employs reusable components on a regular lattice. Given a part, machinists combine intuition with trial and error to design an appropriate fixture. When a machinist is unable to find a design, it may be that (1) a feasible design was overlooked or (2) no feasible design exists. Complete algorithms for modular fixturing, such as those in Brost and Goldberg (1994), ensure that no fixture design is overlooked. But the question remains: are there Parts for which no modular fixture exists? For the class of modular fixtures using three locators and a clamp, we show that there exists a class of polygonal parts that cannot be fixtured. We believe that this is the first negative re sult in the area of fixturing. We also show two positive results, namely, that a modular fixture always exists when we broaden the class of fixtures to include a T-slot and narrow the class of parts. We show that one class of fixtures strictly dominates the other. These results raise a number of open problems concern ing the existence of solutions for other classes of fixtures and parts and suggest a hierarchy of fixturing models. 1. Nguyen used the term "force-torque closure" to describe what is more commonly called form closure (Trinkle 1992). 2. Nguyen used the term independent regions of contact.
On the Synthesis of a Nominal Trajectory for Control Law of a One-Link Flexible Arm
Authors: Aoustin Y. , Formal'sky A. 
Published: March 2007

In this article we propose a method for the design of a nominal trajectory for a flexible one-link manipulator. This trajectory is near time-optimal. The torque control law consists of two parts: the commanded feedforward torque and the linear an gular position and velocity feedback. Feedforward signal is proportional to nominal angular acceleration of the hub. On the first time interval, the feedforward torque approaches con tinuously to a value that is a little smaller than the maximal possible torque, then it remains constant, and then it goes to zero. On the second interval, the feedforward torque ap proaches continuously to a value that is a little greater than the minimal possible torque, then it remains constant, and then it goes to zero. On the third time interval, feedforward signal is zero. We compute the corresponding nominal (desired) angu lar acceleration, velociy, and position of the hub as functions of time. The last two functions are fed to the linear feedback system. The angular acceleration is such that, on the first time interval, the hub moves with "large" acceleration in one di rection, and the link bends on the opposite side. On the second time interval, the hub moves with deceleration, and the link bends in the direction of the motion. On the third time interval we stabilize the arm near its desired position. In the experiments, the designed control algorithm was successfully implemented. We analyze these experiments from a theoretical point of view
Motion Planning for Carlike Robots Using a Probabilistic Learning Approach
Authors: Švestka Petr , Overmars Mark H. 
Published: March 2007

In this article, a recently developed learning approach for robot motion planning is extended and applied to two types of carlike robots: normal ones, and robots that can only move for ward. In this learning approach the motion planning process is split into two phases: the learning phase and the query phase. In the learning phase, a probabilistic roadmap is incremen tally constructed in configuration space. This roadmap is an undirected graph where nodes correspond to randomly chosen configurations in free space and edges correspond to simple collision-free paths between the nodes. These simple motions are computed using a fast local method. In the query phase, this roadmap can be used to find paths between different pairs of configurations. The approach can be applied to normal carlike robots (with nonholonomic constraints) by using suitable local methods that compute paths feasible for the robots. Application to carlike robots that can move only forward demands a more fundamen tal adaptation of the learning method; that is, the roadmaps must be stored in directed graphs instead of undirected ones. We have implemented the planners, and we present experi mental results that demonstrate their efficiency for both robot types, even in cluttered workspaces. Also, we prove probabilis tic completeness of the planners. 1. A robot is fully controllable iff the existence of a path in the open free C space implies the existence of a feasible path. 2. By "metric," we simply mean a function of type C x C → R+ without any restrictions. 3. Formally, this requires a minor adaptation of the general outline of the learning algorithm, as presented in Section 3.1. Line 7. will be: if -connected(c, n) Λ L( c, n) ⊂ free C space then E = E U {( c, n)}. 4. This does not necessarily hold if P1 consists of just one or two circular arcs of maximal curvature. In this case, however, P1 can be found directly with the local planner. 5. We say a path Q lies within distance ∈ of a path R, iff ∀ q ∈ Q : ∃r ∈ R : |q - r| ≤ ∈ (in C space).
Invariant Hybrid Force/Position Control of a Velocity Controlled Robot with Compliant End Effector Using Modal Decoupling
Authors: De Schutter Joris , Torfs Dirk , Bruyninckx Herman , Dutré Stefan 
Published: March 2007

A new method based on modal decoupling is proposed for the hybrid force/position control of a robot during constrained mo tion. The robot is equipped with an internal velocity controller, i.e., the control commands issued by the hybrid force/position controller are desired (joint) velocities. This velocity controller is supposed to be very stiff or of high bandwidth, as is the case for most commercial industrial robots. As a result, the robot dynamics are negligible compared to the contact dynam ics, which have low frequency because passive compliance is concentrated in the robot end effector. The new method incor porates results from the control of flexible robots, to damp out undesired vibrations of the end effector through active control. The contact dynamics during constrained motion are de scribed by a MIMO system: the inputs are the joint velocities; the outputs are the forces and torques measured by the wrist sensor. Using modal decoupling, this MIMO system is decom posed into its vibrational modes, i.e., a set of decoupled SISO systems. These modes are either unconstrained real vibrational modes, or constrained, and hence degenerated modes. Both are easy to control to satisfy the overall requirements of desired contact forces and vibration free motion of the manipulated object. Attention is paid to the invariance of the approach; i.e., the resulting robot behavior is independent of the choice of reference frame and the choice of units. The article contains experimental results of free space and partially constrained motion. Both confirm the theoretical re sults. 2. Usually, forces and torques are measured using strain gauges or dis placement transducers. 3. In practice, the effect of w g can easily be compensated for, by using a gravity model of the MO. 4. Proportional damping is an invariant concept; i.e., α and β are indepen dent of the representation of C, M and K, but few real systems exhibit this characteristic. Nevertheless, the assumption of proportional damp ing is frequently used for the ease of mathematical treatment. Indeed, Caughey (1960) showed that proportional damping is a sufficient—but not a necessary—condition for the existence of real modes. 5. Mathematically, this is easily verified using the positive definiteness of M and K, and the positive semidefiniteness of projection operator JJ †M. 6. In practice, such discontinuities are avoided by proper trajectory genera tion, but here they are deliberately introduced.
'Scenes From a Marriage'—According To Jeremiah
Authors: Zipor Moshe A. 
Published: March 2007

The episode of the peculiar marriage of Hosea is not the only description of a peculiar marriage or family life related to a prophet and his mission. Such is the episode of Num. 12, in which the subject is the Ethiopian wife whom Moses married, and in which, strangely enough, God mentions the standing of Moses as a prophet. At Isa. 8.2 the prophet 'approaches' the prophetess, and a son is born to them as a prophetic symbol. This probably explains the action of prophets whom Jeremiah accuses of adultery, which is related to their prophesying (Jer. 29.23; cf. 23.10-14). Also the term is related to adultery (cf. 2.3 etc.). In a similar way we can grasp 23.23-24 within the context of such accusations; cf. in Num. 5.13. Jeremiah himself held the opposite ideology concerning relationship with women (16.1ff.). As in Hosea the first prophecies of Jeremiah contain a retrospective of a ruined marriage (chs. 2-3). Many of the sequences of metaphors are related explicitly or implicitly to the cycle of 'Scenes from a Marriage'. This essay proposes a connection between the seemingly sporadic metaphors, e.g. the vine, as a metaphor of a woman (2.21), and the metaphor of the washing of the (v. 22)—actually a term used for stains of menstrual blood—which is also symbolized in the ancient world by wine. Similarly, other expressions, such as 'I am not defiled', 'to be clean', and others, appear in a context of accusation of adultery (Num. 5). In this chapter we have the phenomenon of a metaphor within a metaphor: the prophet is speaking of the unfaith ful with metaphors (an untamed animal, a restive camel), and appears to forget that the hated-beloved woman, with whom he is settling accounts, does not really exist and is only a metaphor. Does such intensive occupation with this topic spring from some personal (traumatic) experience?
Why Would the Deuteronomists Tell About the Sacrifice of Jephthah's Daughter?
Authors: Römer Thomas C. 
Published: March 2007

It is commonly assumed that the story of Jephthah's vow refers to an 'old tradition' that was integrated into the Deuteronomistic History. But such a view is contrary to Dtr ideology which is absolutely hostile to any human sacrifice (2 Kgs 16.3; 17.17, 31; 21.6 etc.). A literary-critical approach to Judges 11 shows that vv. 30-31 [32] and 34-40 may be considered as post-Dtr. The author of Judg. 11.30-40 seems to know the story of the Aqedah, but he is not willing to make a happy ending. There is a tragic dimension in the story and quite an Hellenistic atmosphere (the best parallels to Judg. 11.30-40 may be found in Hel lenistic texts). So this text should be considered an insertion from the end of the Per sian or beginning of the Hellenistic periods. The author tends to show that Jewish classics can be as tragic as Greek ones.
Flame Retardant Textile Back-Coatings. Part 1: Antimony-Halogen System Interactions and the Effect of Replacement by Phosphorus-Containing Agents
Authors: Wang M.Y. , Horrocks A.R. , Horrocks S. , Hall M.E. , Pearson J.S. , Clegg S. 
Published: March 2007

A series of back-coated cotton fabrics comprising varying molar ratios of chlorine, bromine and antimony has been studied using a simulated match ignition test, LOI and thermal analysis (TGA and DTA). Results show that the presence of chlorine alone and in combination with bro mine increases LOI and carbonaceous char values at optimum halogen :anti mony molar ratios of 2.5-3.6:1 and bromine:chlorine molar ratios within the range 0.31-0.42. Only back-coated samples containing bromine pass the simu lated match test although at Br:Sb molar ratios above 4:1, LOI and char residual values decrease. It is evident that condensed and vapour phase flame retardant mechanisms are operating with efficiencies determined by halogen : Sb and Br/Cl molar ratios. Partial and whole replacement of halogen and antimony by phosphorus-containing and other flame retardants in the back-coating formulation that do not function in the vapour phase may be used to pass the simulated match test.
Safe Tolerability Limits for Carbon Monoxide? A Review of the Clinical and Fire Engineering Implications of a Single, Acute, Sub-Lethal Exposure
Authors: Christian S.D. , Shields T.J. 
Published: March 2007

Carbon monoxide (CO) is the dominant gas in fire smoke toxic ity. In many cases, according to Babrauskas [1], carbon monoxide, carbon diox ide and the depletion of oxygen are the only toxic agents of consequence. The problems of CO have been studied [2] at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the views of Babrauskas would be based on such work. While acknowledging this view, this paper concentrates on the suggested dominant role of carbon monoxide. The views expressed recognise that this is not a novel problem. Rather, the paper attempts to bring together two, quite sep arate, discussions of the medical and fire science literature.
Status Report: Studies on Small Scale Testing Compared to Cal 133 Mockup Test
Authors: Stone Herman , Pcolinsky M. 
Published: March 2007

This study was triggered by the need for a simple laboratory scale ignition test to serve as a Quality Control Tool in conjunction with larger scale tests. Using the basic California Bulletin 117 (Cal 117) smoldering test configura tion, a number of variables have been screened in a composite ignition scenario to determine the feasibility of correlating with California Bulletin 133 (Cal 133) results. Variables studied included ignition source intensity (7), fabrics (6), and foams (6 types) ranging from standard furniture to high (flammability) per formance types. Results to date indicate feasibility of this approach.
Venture Capitalists' Insight, or the Ability to Describe the Formal Rules of Business Evaluation?
Authors: Riquelme Hernan 
Published: March 2007

This research tests the proposition that venture capitalists' insight and the high consensus found among venture capitalists (VCs) are based on a causal theory shared within the subculture. The methodology follows two non-overlapping approaches: conjoint analysis and a survey. In the first case, less experienced VCs (trainees) were asked to predict—with their subjective weightings of criteria—the senior VCs' holistic judgements to fund new business proposals. In the second approach, senior VCs and less experienced VCs were asked to rate their degree of agreement with seventy-three heuristics or rules of thumb collected within the British venture capital subculture. A control group was also used to test if agreement was beyond chance. Both correlation of predictions of VC trainees about the holistic judgements of senior VCs, and comparison of the level of agreement/disagreement with the heuris tics indicate that the VCs share consensual cognitive structures. This study discusses the implication of a consensual causal theory for the under standing of insight or introspection, attribution of blame to entrepreneurs in failed businesses, and the learning and perpetuation of the rules of thumb or heuristics within the subculture.
Seasons of the Heart: A Journey with the Quality Mind Process
Authors: Mukherjee Piya 
Published: March 2007

Among the billions of persons journeying towards self-discovery, one is living in Mumbai, India. A woman, revelling in the roles of daughter and sister, wife and mother, teacher and writer. The three decades of her lifetime have seen lessons on faith and patience served to her in various interesting forms. And she has, almost magically, found guidance through friends and strangers alike at the 'right' times. She makes plenty of mistakes. Yet she sticks with childlike tenacity to her belief that the path ofgenuineness brings life to a splendid culmination. January 2001 saw the opening of a new window in her heart-space—the introduction of the quality mind process (QMP), which she and others participated in during the week-long workshop on values and ethics at IIM Calcutta, India. She is yet to completely appreciate the magnificence of this new channel. Yet the shifis in feeling, thinking, speaking and behaving that she found happening due to the QMP have made her forever grateful. This is the essay she wrote, with descriptions of happenings woven with reflections from her journal, to narrate as best as she could the journey of the year with QMP.
Cooperative Evaluation of XML Queries in Mediators
Authors: Yang Liang-Huai , Tang Shi-Wei , Yang Dong-Qing 
Published: March 2007

As XML becomes the de facto standard for data representation and exchange over Internet, there are ever increasing applica tions using XML as a middleware model. Network-computing paradigm is also changing; it shifts to mobile agent paradigm. Building a mediated query system by combining both XML and mobile agent technologies is very promising. In this paper, we address the problem of cooperative evaluation of XML queries by exploiting mobile agent technologies. Our contribu tions are as follows: By introducing a new operator—the variable binding operator, we represent XML queries' pattern body as a special operator tree, and an evaluation method of the variable binding operator is presented to match the XML queries' pattern body with the XML data graph by exploiting automaton theory. In the case of XML data involving XML-Link, by introducing a proxy operator, a novel al gorithm is given to evaluate the XML queries cooperatively, that is, by representing the subquery operator tree with XML, it can be sent to the remote site or brought along with a mobile agent to execute at the remote site. Under the new computing paradigm, how to reduce data shipment and cope with unpredictable network delay is a critical issue, we explore the opportunities that our strategies can bring to optimize the wide-area query processing as well.
Early Applications in the Message-Passing Interface (Mpi)
Authors: Skjellum Anthony , Lusk Ewing , Gropp William 
Published: March 2007

We describe a number of early efforts to make use of the Message-Passing Interface (MPI) standard in appli cations, based on an informal survey conducted in May-June, 1994. Rather than a definitive statement of all MPI developmental work, this paper addresses the initial successes, progress, and impressions that appli cation developers have had with MPI, according to the responses received. We summarize the important as pects of each survey response, and draw conclusions about the spread of MPI into applications. An understanding of message passing and access to the MPI standard are prerequisites for appreciating this paper. Some background material is provided to ease this requirement.
Review : Post-renal transplant compliance
Authors: Bell Fiona 
Published: March 2007

■ A selective review was undertaken to identify factors which may affect a child's compliance with immunosuppressive therapies, post-renal transplant. ■ Studies were categorised as either examining compliance from an experiential or selective attribution approach. ■ There are multiple reasons for non- compliance. ■ Children and families require much more support than previously recognised.
Review : Information giving can be painless
Authors: Jonas Denise , Worsley-Cox Kay 
Published: March 2007

■ Pain is an inevitable consequence following day surgery, but with effective regular pain relief minimal discomfort can be achieved. ■ An information leaflet produced by a pain nurse specialist in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team ensures that comprehensible and non-contradictory information is given to parents. ■ With the increased trend towards paediatric day surgery parents are significant contributors to their child's care in the postoperative period. ■ Written information on pain relief after discharge can help parents make decisions about their child's pain management.
Pain at home: children's experience of tonsillectomy
Authors: Swallow Janet , Briggs Michelle , semple Pete 
Published: March 2007

■ Earlier discharge following tonsillectomy increases the need for good pain management advice and effective analgesia. ■ An audit determined the nature of children's pain experiences at home following tonsillectomy and identified pain management strategies used. ■ Combined analgesia and formal pain assessment significantly reduced the number of children in moderate or severe pain on discharge. ■ Pain could worsen following discharge, persist for three to ten days and be at times moderate to severe. ■ 50% of parents contacted their GP and 75% of children required paracetamol and ibuprofen concurrently. ■ Audit data was utilised to develop comprehensive written pain management advice and a discharge protocol for combined analgesia.
Review : Anthropology and children's nursing
Authors: Littlewood Jenny 
Published: March 2007

■ Children's nurses have become more involved in the provision of culturally sensitive care ■ There has been a search for a more meaning centred (or hermeneutic) method in exploring children's worlds ■ The possible relevance of anthropology as an approach to both the culture of children's nursing and the cultures in which children's nurses find themselves is explored.
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Abuse
Authors: Bennett Karen , Nurse Staff 
Published: March 2007

■ The difficulties in diagnosing Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Abuse (MSbPA) are examined. ■ The perpetrators of MSbPA are usually the victim's primary care giver. ■ The warning signs of MSbPA include unexplained, prolonged and extraordinary illness with the signs and symptoms only being evident when the suspected perpetrator is present. ■ Confrontation, exclusion and covert video surveillance are all possible routes to gaining further evidence. ■ The problems associated with covert video surveillance are explored.
Agreement on Agriculture: Issues of Market Access for South Asian Countries
Authors: Pandey Posh Raj 
Published: March 2007

The Uruguay Round achieved a historic turning point in the reform of agricultural trade system through adoption of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). The AoA lays firm foundation for strengthening multilateral discipline on agriculture trade by bringing the agriculture sector under GATT disciplines. It prohibits the use of non-tariff barriers and obliges members to reduce tariff barriers in the agriculture sector, and also establishes rules to restrain the use of domestic policy measures in the form of domestic support and export subsidies that have trade-distorting effects. Against these backgrounds, the paper delves into critical assessment of opportunities emanating from the AoA for the export of agriculture products by South Asian countries. The paper shows that member countries, in particular developed ones altogether, have not respected the agreement fully and faithfully, and tend to exploit the grey areas of the text to deny market access. As a result, new threats have been emerged. Since the agricultural export structure of South Asian countries are highly concentrated in a few products and markets, market access conditions even for few products would play a decisive role in terms of their export development potentials. The paper suggests that the ongoing negotiation on agriculture is an opportune venue for South Asia to correct the unbalanced provisions and modalities of implementation, and tilt the international agriculture market in their favour. For this, South Asian countries need to devise a common minimum position and put forward such position collectively along with forging issue-based alliances with other countries/groups. Given the limited usage of domestic supports and export subsidies coupled with fiscal constraints to introduce new ones, the level ofdispar ities in bound and applied tariffs of South Asian countries, the depth of market access barriers in other WTO members and the extent of price fluctuation ofagri cultural products in international market, the paper argue that South Asian coun tries should focus aggressively on expanding market access opportunities for their exportable products in the negotiations rather than protecting domestic market except for rural development and food security concern.