Analytic hierarchy prioritisation of new product development activities for electronics manufacturing

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A hierarchy of adaptive (X)over-bar control charts

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Territorial behaviour and dominance hierarchy of Anthracothorax nigricollis Vieillot 1817 (Aves: Trochilidae) on food resources

Dominant species are those which delimit and defend territories from other individuals of the same or different species. Subordinate species are those which, furtive and sneakily, use sources of nectar from other individuals. This study aimed to describe the aggressive interactions between species of hummingbirds, define which species are dominant and which are subordinate, investigate if the sharing of resources occurs during the visits, and compare the behaviour of the dominant species in different strata (tree, arbustive and herbaceous). The species observed interacting with Anthracothorax nigricollis Vieillot 1817 were Phaethornis pretrei Lesson and Delattrer 1839, Thalurania furcata Gmelin 1788, and Polytmus guainumbi Pallas 1764. Nine behavioural acts grouped into four categories were identified and described. The dominant species is A. nigricollis (with 0.9 of the attacks), followed by T. furcata (with 0.07) and P. pretrei (with 0.03). The resource sharing was seen only in the shrub layer, in C. surinamensis, in which there was intraspecific and interspecific sharing. A. nigricollis showed higher interspecific toleration, T. furcata (0.27) and P. pretrei (0.55) than intraspecific A. nigricollis (0.18). The frequency of occurrence of behaviours expressed by A. nigricollis in the three vegetation strata differed significantly.

Boussinesq solitary-wave as a multiple-time solution of the Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy

We study the Boussinesq equation from the point of view of a multiple-time reductive perturbation method. As a consequence of the elimination of the secular producing terms through the use of the Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy, we show that the solitary-wave of the Boussinesq equation is a solitary-wave satisfying simultaneously all equations of the Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy, each one in an appropriate slow time variable. © 1995 American Institute of Physics.

The Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy and long water-waves

By using the multiple scale method with the simultaneous introduction of multiple times, we study the propagation of long surface-waves in a shallow inviscid fluid. As a consequence of the requirements of scale invariance and absence of secular terms in each order of the perturbative expansion, we show that the Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy equations do play a role in the description of such waves. Finally, we show that this procedure of eliminating secularities is closely related to the renormalization technique introduced by Kodama and Taniuti. © 1995 American Institute of Physics.

The Role of the Korteweg-de Vries Hierarchy in the N-Soliton Dynamics of the Shallow Water Wave Equation

We apply a multiple-time version of the reductive perturbation method to study long waves as governed by the shallow water wave model equation. As a consequence of the requirement of a secularity-free perturbation theory, we show that the well known N-soliton dynamics of the shallow water wave equation, in the particular case of α = 2β, can be reduced to the N-soliton solution that satisfies simultaneously all equations of the Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy.

Dominance hierarchy in different stages of development in colonies of the primitively eusocial wasp Mischocyttarus cerberus styx (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)

In primitively eusocial insect societies, reproductive division of labor is established by dominance-submission interactions which determine a linear dominance hierarchy. As previously observed for other species, in Mischocyttarus cerberus styx (Hymenoptera, Vespidae), the dominant female is the main egg layer. Most of her attacks were to the females directly beneath in the rank establishing a hierarchy. During the pre-emergence stage, the hierarchy was already defined and in the post-emergence stage, pre-male substage, the frequency of dominance interactions were strong but the hierarchy was still maintained by the first-ranked female. In the decline stage there were many neutral individuals which could be the reproductives of a new colony.

Dominance hierarchy in different stages of development in colonies of the primitively eusocial wasp Mischocyttarus cassununga (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)

Seven colonies of Mischocyttarus cassununga were studied under field conditions at Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, MG, in southeastern Brazil: in pre-emergence, post-emergence and decline stages, during 145.8 hours. Dominance interactions among the females were quantified to verify the dynamics of succession in the social hierarchy of the colonies. Early pre-emergence colonies present more intense aggressive interactions than late pre-emergence ones, because the females are engaged in securing the role of main egg layer in the nest. In post-emergence (pre-male) colonies the dominance hierarchy is more defined and the frequency of dominance and subordination behaviors were lower than in pre-emergence stages: most of the agonistic behaviors are restricted to the first ranked females (potentially queens) and the subordinate individuals play the role of workers in the nests. In the post-emergence, post-male, and decline stages the hierarchy is still maintained by the aggressive behaviors of the 1st-ranked female but because the presence of males and future nest foundresses these interactions are not well defined in a linear way.

Influence of the supply of reactive power in the calculation of the transfer capability

This paper presents some initial concepts for including reactive power in linear methods for computing Available Transfer Capability (ATC). It is proposed an approximation for the reactive power flows computation that uses the exact circle equations for the transmission line complex flow, and then it is determined the ATC using active power distribution factors. The transfer capability can be increased using the sensitivities of flow that show the best group of buses which can have their reactive power injection modified in order to remove the overload in the transmission lines. The results of the ATC computation and of the use of the sensitivities of flow are presented using the Cigré 32-bus system. © 2004 IEEE.

Nutritional and social hierarchy establishment of the primitively eusocial wasp Mischocyttarus cassununga (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Mischocyttarini) and related aspects

The results on the nutritional influence in the social hierarchy establishment among females from six colonies of Mischocyttarus cassununga show that: - there was no caste determination in the pre-imaginal period concerning ingested food quantities, however, in relation to qualification (proteins and carbohydrate) the Mann-Whitney test applied showed variation among colonies: in two colonics (colony 3, p=0.0209; colony 4, p=0.0090) the larvae which ingested a higher quantity of solid food became adults of hierarchically higher position, however in two other colonies, colony 1 (p=0.6744) and colony 2 (p=0.3367) this difference was not statistically significant; in two experimentally manipulated colonies the caste determination was observed in the imaginal phase (it was verified that the larger the food quantity consumed, the higher the assumed hierarchical position by the individuals); - adult individuals of hierarchically higher position in two colonies ingested a greater amount of solid than liquid food (Mann-Whitney; p ≤ 0.05), however in the other three colonies there was no difference. It can be seen that for all colonies (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) the high tendency to solid food ingestion occurs. In colony 1, this data was not collected because the observation purpose was different); - inside the colony hierarchy, the older individuals were the ones that occupied higher hierarchical positions; - more than one inseminated female per colony was found in the two experimentally manipulated colonies ; - ovarian development is greater in inseminated females; - the average height of the 3rd tergite was greater for inseminated females, indicating an adaptation to accommodate larger ovary development (t-Student test; p ≤ 0.05).

On a negative flow of the AKNS hierarchy and its relation to a two-component Camassa-Holm equation?

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The effects of the social hierarchy destabilization on the foraging activity of eusocial wasp Mischocyttarus cerberus styx Richards, 1940 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae)

The genus Mischocyttarus comprises 245 species of neotropical basal eusocial wasps. They form small colonies (rarely more than few tens of individuals); castes are morphologically undifferentiated and determined behaviorally by agonistic interactions. The aim of this study was to verify the effects of the experimental disruption of social hierarchy on foraging activity of Mischocyttarus cerberus styx. We observed six colonies in postemergence phase and recorded data on the foraging activity under two experimental conditions: (1) removal of lower-ranked females and (2) removal of higher ranked females, except the queen. Our results showed that the removal of higher-ranked females had higher effect on the number of foraging trips of M. cerberus styx than the removal of lower-ranked females (the number of foraging trips/hour decreased by 66.4 and 32.7, resp.). Such results are likely due to the social organization of this species and the presence of a distinct class of females, which in this study were regarded as intermediates. Our data also showed that, irrespective of the hierarchical status of the females, the removal of two or three individuals affected significantly the number of foraging trips in this species. Copyright 2011 Vanderlei Conceio Costa Filho et al.

A visual tool for building synchronous generator capability curves

Synchronous generators are essential components of electric power systems. They are present both in hydro and thermal power plants, performing the function of converting mechanical into electrical energy. This paper presents a visual approach to manipulate parameters that affect operation limits of synchronous generators, using a specifically designed software. The operating characteristics of synchronous generators, for all possible modes of operation, are revised in order to link the concepts to the graphic objects. The approach matches the distance learning tool requirements and also enriches the learning process by developing student trust and understanding of the concepts involved in building synchronous machine capability curves. © 2012 IEEE.

A method for improving the code rate and error correction capability of a cyclic code

Currently, there has been an increasing demand for operational and trustworthy digital data transmission and storage systems. This demand has been augmented by the appearance of large-scale, high-speed data networks for the exchange, processing and storage of digital information in the different spheres. In this paper, we explore a way to achieve this goal. For given positive integers n,r, we establish that corresponding to a binary cyclic code C0[n,n-r], there is a binary cyclic code C[(n+1)3k-1,(n+1)3k-1-3kr], where k is a nonnegative integer, which plays a role in enhancing code rate and error correction capability. In the given scheme, the new code C is in fact responsible to carry data transmitted by C0. Consequently, a codeword of the code C0 can be encoded by the generator matrix of C and therefore this arrangement for transferring data offers a safe and swift mode. © 2013 SBMAC - Sociedade Brasileira de Matemática Aplicada e Computacional.