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The maintenance of road pavements is an essential task to prevent major deterioration and to reduce accident rates. In this task, the detection and classification of different types of cra...

espanolMy paper analyses the role that transcribed and slightly fictionalized testimonies by immigrants to Spain who settled in the neighbourhood of Lavapies in Madrid play in Lucia Etxebarria’s ensemble novel Cosmofobia (2007). I contrast my analyses of these manipulated testimonies with those gathered by Carmen Romero Bachiller, a sociologist who specializes in immigration, in her work, Articulaciones identitarias (2006). Although the inclusion of real-life testimonies in novels can be a risky narrative strategy, collecting first-hand testimonies from immigrants is a good approach to avoiding the fetishization of the other in the encounter between immigrants and autochthonous citizens in the way that Sara Ahmed theorizes ethical encounters. In my paper, from the framework of Ahmed’s philosophy of ‘strange encounters’, and with the help of Saskia Sassen’s global cities and Mireille Rosello’s stereotypes, I propose that in the case of Cosmofobia, the problem lies in the national perspective of the author. The novel is more about the generation of the democratic Transition and its distanced perspective than about new relations in Spain in a globalized social sphere. EnglishMi articulo analiza el rol de los testimonios de emigrantes asentados en el barrio de Lavapies, en Madrid, tanto transcritos como ficcionalizados, en la novela coral de Lucia Etxebarria: Cosmofobia (2007). Contrasto esos analisis con los testimonios obtenidos por la sociologa de la emigracion Carmen Romero Bachiller en su trabajo Articulaciones identitarias (2006). Aunque la inclusion de testimonios reales de emigrantes en una novela puede ser una estrategia narrativa arriesgada, el uso de testimonios emigrantes de primera mano resulta un buen acercamiento para evitar la fetichizacion del otro en el encuentro entre emigrante y autoctono en la forma en que Sara Ahmed teoriza los encuentros eticos. En mi articulo, utilizando el marco de los ‘strange encounters’ de Ahmed, y con la ayuda de las ciudades globales de Saskia Sassen y los estereotipos de Mireille Rosello, propongo que en el caso de Cosmofobia el problema radica en la perspectiva nacional de la autora. La novela trata mas de la perspectiva de la generacion que crecio durante la Transicion, que sobre las relaciones sociales de una Espana inmersa en la globalizacion.

Classification and regression techniques are two of the main tasks considered by the Machine Learning area. They mainly depend on the target variable to predict. In this context, ordinal classification represents an intermediate task, which is focused on the prediction of nominal variables where the categories follow a specific intrinsic order given by the problem. Nevertheless, the integration of different algorithms able to solve ordinal classification problems is often unavailable in most of existing Machine Learning software, which hinders the use of new approaches. Therefore, this paper focuses on the incorporation of an ordinal classification algorithm (NSLVOrd) in one of the most complete ordinal regression frameworks, “Ordinal Regression and Classification Algorithms framework (ORCA)” by using both fuzzy rules and the JFML library. The use of NSLVOrd in the ORCA tool as well as a case study with a real database are shown where the obtained results are promising.

Este artículo pretende realizar una comparativa textual entre la novela Tiempo de silencio (1961), de Luis Martín-Santos (1924-1964), y su obra científica más significativa, encuadrada en el psicoanálisis existencial: Libertad, temporalidad y transferencia en el análisis existencial. El objetivo del artículo es demostrar que la intención del autor al escribir la novela es curar a la sociedad española mediante la lectura de la misma, a partir del contenido psicoanalítico en el argumento y la estructura. Esta comparación muestra el productivo diálogo creado entre el discurso científico y las obras literarias.

Motor therapies can be considered as one of the social challenges that have a great impact in children with autism. Traditionally, exercises and activities as therapies have been used to mitigate and to rehabilitate problems related to gross motor skills. Nevertheless, from the perspective of children, these therapies are often repetitive, boring and they need an extra motivation aspect due to the target: children with autism. From the point of interaction with the target population, the use of technology is a key issue in these therapies. In this scenario, a new software named JKinect which is based on RGB-D sensors and computer based games. JKinect helps children with gross motor problems and presents great flexibility in the therapy design and game sharing among specialists. Additionally, a new module for linking JKinect with both fuzzy systems based on the IEEE std 1855-2016 and the JFML library to support experts’ decision making in therapies on the basis of fuzzy rules is also included.

Computational studies can supplement existing ultrahigh strain rate experimental techniques in the absence of invasive full-field measurement and visualization. In this study, a computational model is employed to elucidate various phenomena accompanying the generation, propagation, and interaction of multimode shock waves in a viscoelastic material. Specifically, a 4 mm diameter polyurea plug with a thickness of 0.5 mm was modeled as a linear viscoelastic solid, where the relaxation behavior of the shear modulus was described using a Prony series while the bulk modulus was assumed to be linear elastic based on the Poisson's ratio of polyurea. The results are presented in three case studies, where a different type of shock wave was emphasized in each case while focusing on the regions at the leading and trailing edges of the shock wavefront. Generally, the wavefront interacted with the accompanying and reflected waves, resulting in compromising the purity of the sought-after loading condition, especially during the return trip of the wave upon approaching the free surface. In Case Study I, the propagation of laser-induced pressure wave remained pure during the forward trip towards the free surface but was compromised by the accompanying shear wave and side spherical patterned pressure waves. Case Study II simulated the generation of surface waves by incorporating a ring-shaped loading site, where the release of a surface displacement was found to be focused and amplified at the central point. In the final case study, Case Study III, the applied shear wave at ultrahigh strain rate generated secondary pressure and horizontal shear waves at the edges of the loading site, which complicated the loading scenario but provided new insight into the interaction of laser-generated shock waves within the solid. The results can be used to improve the analysis of experimental data to quantify the accompanying deformation and failure mechanisms of polymers subjected to hypervelocity impacts.

Ordinal classification can be used for predicting an ordinal variable, i.e. a variable whose value exists on an arbitrary scale where the relative ordering between different values is significant. Ordinal classification problems are getting an important position in learning problems with examples such as studies on food quality or credit risks related to the financial obligations of a company. KEEL (Knowledge Extraction based on Evolutionary Learning) is an open source (GPLv3) Java software tool that can be used for a large number of different knowledge data discovery tasks. It contains a wide variety of computational intelligence algorithm implementations providing a good tool and scenario to assess and develop computational problems. Focusing on problems of nominal classification or regression, there is not a wide variety of software that addresses this type of problems. This work aims to facilitate the use of the fuzzy rule learning algorithm for ordinal classification (NSLVOrd) enabling its integration into the well-known software tool KEEL. The implementation and some instructions to execute NSLVOrd in KEEL are also detailed showing the ease of use for any KEEL user.

Fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites continue to attract scientific and industrial interest since they offer superior strength-, stiffness-, and toughness-to-weight ratios. The research herein characterizes two sets of E-Glass/Epoxy composite skins: stressed and unstressed. The stressed samples were previously installed in an underground power distribution vault and were exposed to fire while the unstressed composite skins were newly fabricated and never-deployed samples. The mechanical, morphological, and elemental composition of the samples were methodically studied using a dynamic mechanical analyzer, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and an x-ray diffractometer, respectively. Sandwich composite panels consisting of E-glass/Epoxy skin and balsa wood core were originally received, and the balsa wood was removed before any further investigations. Skin-only specimens with dimensions of ~12.5 mm wide, ~70 mm long, and ~6 mm thick were tested in a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer in a dual-cantilever beam configuration at 5 Hz and 10 Hz from room temperature to 210 °C. Micrographic analysis using the SEM indicated a slight change in morphology due to the fire event but confirmed the effectiveness of the fire-retardant agents in quickly suppressing the fire. Accompanying Fourier transform infrared and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy studies corroborated the mechanical and morphological results. Finally, X-ray diffraction showed that the fire event consumed the surface level fire-retardant and the structural attributes of the E-Glass/Epoxy remained mainly intact. The results suggest the panels can continue field deployment, even after short fire incident.

In this chapter, I will discuss some ideas and opinions of what this evolving environment means in terms of power transformer lifecycle management. This text is not meant to be an authoritative or scientifically rigorous treatment of this subject matter but rather merely a thought-provoking exercise for actors and stakeholders involved in planning, designing, building operating and maintaining the transformers and electrical networks of the future.

Oil-filled power transformers were first conceived and manufactured in the mid-tolate-1800s. They were (and to this day are) an essential component of the electrical power transmission and distribution infrastructure. Power transformers perform a power conversion function. A transformer takes electrical power of certain voltage and current characteristics through its primary terminals and delivers this power on its secondary terminals with changed voltage and current levels. By increasing voltage, and thus reducing the current level, power transformers minimise losses and enable the economical transmission of electrical power over long distances.

Introducción: con el surgimiento de la trasplantología, el término donante voluntario de órganos y tejidos fue más enfático. En la Declaración de Helsinki se establecieron los principios éticos para las investigaciones médicas en seres humanos. Objetivo: demostrar que la solicitud de órganos para trasplante es una necesidad y es éticamente aceptado. Método: estudio descriptivo retrospectivo corte transversal de los pacientes atendidos en unidad de cuidados intensivos del Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico Lucía Íñiguez Landín. Holguín, Cuba en el 2014 y 2015. Resultados: de 149 pacientes con Glasgow menor de 8 solo 30 (20,1%) terminaron con diagnóstico de muerte cerebral; de estos, 16 (53,3%) tenían contraindicación para ser donante y solo aportaron 9 (30%) donantes reales. Conclusiones: la tasa de negativa familiar fue de 16,7%. Aún los esfuerzos son insuficientes, pues el número de órganos obtenidos no permite trasplantar a todos los pacientes que lo requieren. Palabras clave: trasplante renal, donante, muerte encefálica.

The objective of the study was to design and evaluate a pilot programme aimed at promoting the active ageing of older adults at the Mexican Institute of Social Security. The study was conducted in three stages: (a) design; (b) implementation; and (c) before–after evaluation through analysis of changes in functional status, occupational functioning and health-related quality of life. To overcome the limitations of the study design, we evaluated the effect of 80 per cent adherence to the programme on the outcome variables using the generalised linear regression models (GLM). Two hundred and thirty-nine older adults agreed to participate, of whom 65 per cent completed the programme. Most were women; the average age was 77 years. Adherence to the programme was higher than 75 per cent for the group who completed active ageing services and less than 60 per cent for the drop-out group. Overall, 46 per cent of older adults reached an adherence level of 80 per cent or higher. Adherence was significantly associated with improved quality of life total score (coefficient 2.7,pp

Assuming that cards are dealt with replacement from a single deck and that each of Player and Banker sees the total of his own two-card hand but not its composition, baccara is a 2 x 2 88 matrix game, which was solved by Kemeny and Snell in 1957. Assuming that cards are dealt without replacement from a d-deck shoe and that Banker sees the composition of his own two-card hand while Player sees only his own total, baccara is a 2 x 2 484 matrix game, which was solved by Downton and Lockwood in 1975 for d = 1, 2, . . . , 8. Assuming that cards are dealt without replacement from a d-deck shoe and that each of Player and Banker sees the composition of his own two-card hand, baccara is a 2 5 x 2 484 matrix game, which is solved herein for every positive integer d.

A practical method for the synthesis of naturally occurring ring C aromatic diterpenes from (+)-manool via key intermediate β-enone is described. The natural (+)-13-hydroxypodocarpa-8,11,13-triene, the antitumour (+)-7-deoxynimbidiol, and (+)-nimbidiol were prepared in good overall yields.

A strategy to design and implement a robust controller for a class of underactuated mechanical systems, with two degrees of freedom, which solves the problems of regulation and trajectory tracking, is proposed. This control strategy considers the partial measurement of the state vector and the presence of parametric uncertainties in the plant; these conditions are common in the implementation of a control system. The strategy is based on the use of robust finite time convergence observers to estimate the unmeasured state variables, unknown disturbances, and other signals needed for the control system implementation. The performance of the control strategy is illustrated numerically and experimentally.

13,14-Dihydroxy-8,11,13-podocarpatrien-7-one (1) and a series of ring C aromatic diterpene derivatives were synthesised from (+)-manool (4) and evaluated for their cytotoxic, leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activities. Our results indicated that compound 1 and other podocarpane-type intermediates are cytotoxic. Cleavage of C6–C7 bond of compound 7 improved cytotoxic activity, indicating that, in particular, the 6,7-seco-podocarpane-type compound 20 might serve as a lead compound for further development.

This article continues to explore the concepts described in the previous article where a link between insulation life and overall transformer life was established. Through the examination of the molecular structure of cellulose, the main constituent of most of the insulation system, it explains the various factors that might affect the integrity of this component, how they contribute to the normal ageing processes and how these processes are sometimes accelerated. After we have established a link between the life of a transformer and the life of its insulation system, in this article we take a closer look at what makes up the insulating materials, what are the factors that affect its life and why. In my previous article, I drew up what I hope was a clear connection between what we call life in the context of a power transformer and the condition of its insulation system. We established that the life expectancy of a particular unit is intimately linked to the condition of the cellulosic material that makes up the bulk of its insulation system. The inquisitive reader would reasonably ask: “If the life of a transformer depends on the life of the insulation material, what then defnes the condition of these materials?” In this article, the second of our series of three, I will try to answer that question and provide you with a holistic picture of all the factors that have an effect on the life of insulation and why.

The concept of life for an electrical asset, such as a power transformer, is sometimes not properly understood. In this article, the frst from the series of three articles, we review what we mean when we refer to the “life” of a transformer and what constrains determine the design and operational parameters of these assets.

This article closes the Transformer Life series by looking at various ways that a transformer owner can extend the life of their investment. From the initial stages of specifying and purchasing a transformer to the management of the transformer throughout its useful life, we explore which options have the best cost to beneft ratio and why.