Limitations of trust management schemes in VANET and countermeasures

Vehicular networks ensure that the information received from any vehicle is promptly and correctly propagated to nearby vehicles, to prevent accidents. A crucial point is how to trust the information transmitted, when the neighboring vehicles are rapidly changing and moving in and out of range. Current trust management schemes for vehicular networks establish trust by voting on the decision received by several nodes, which might not be required for practical scenarios. It might just be enough to check the validity of incoming information. Due to the ephemeral nature of vehicular networks, reputation schemes for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) cannot be applied to vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET). We point out several limitations of trust management schemes for VANET. In particular, we identify the problem of information cascading and oversampling, which commonly arise in social networks. Oversampling is a situation in which a node observing two or more nodes, takes into consideration both their opinions equally without knowing that they might have influenced each other in decision making. We show that simple voting for decision making, leads to oversampling and gives incorrect results. We propose an algorithm to overcome this problem in VANET. This is the first paper which discusses the concept of cascading effect and oversampling effects to ad hoc networks. © 2011 IEEE.

Mitigation of the bullwhip effect considering trust and collaboration in supply chain management: a literature review

The aim of this paper is to provide results of trust and collaboration that lead to the mitigation of the bullwhip effect in supply chain management through a systematic literature review. The criterion for its inclusion in the sample of papers was that at least two reviews of the respective subfields were published in peer-reviewed journals between 1990 and 2014. A total of 24 articles were selected. The analysis found that few studies focused on addressing behavioral aspects to reduce the bullwhip effect. Most of them focused on operational and quantitative aspects. These results indicate the need for studies on behavioral aspects in mitigating the bullwhip effect, where trust and collaboration among those involved in the supply chain need to be developed and organized.

Burrows with Chimneys of the Fiddler Crab Uca thayeri: Construction, Occurrence, and Function

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

Fuel cell cogeneration system: a case of technoeconomic analysis

Fuel Cell is the emerging technology of cogeneration, and has been applied successfully in Japan, U.S.A. and some OECD countries. This system produces electric power by an electrolytic process, in which chemical substances (the most utilized substances are solid oxide, phosphoric acid and molten carbonate) absorb the components H-2 and O-2 of the combustion fuel. This technology allows the recovery of residual heat, available from 200 degrees C up to 1000 degrees C (depending on the electrochemical substance utilized), which can be used for the production of steam, hot or cold water, or hot or cold air, depending on the recuperation equipment used. This article presents some configurations of fuel cell cogeneration cycles and a study of the technical and economic feasibility for the installation of the cogeneration systems utilizing fuel cell, connected to an absorption refrigeration system for st building of the tertiary sector, subject to conditions in Brazil. (C) 1999 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Revegetation and Soil Management Effects on Chemical Properties of a Saprolite Resulting from Deep Soil Removal

During the building of a hydroelectrical power plant at Ilha Solteira in the Parana River (Brazil), materials of a highly weathered soil Oxisol were extracted from a depth between 5 and 8 m for engineering works. This resulted in an abandoned depression area. The topsoil was not salvaged and the open pit was not backfilled, and as result vegetation hardly or not at all recovered. on the residual saprolite materials, an experimental field was established to assess different soil rehabilitation treatments. Field experiments were initiated in 1992. After soil tillage, two different crops and three different liming strategies were compared, giving six combinations. In addition, two uncropped control treatments, tilled and no-tilled, were established so that a total of eight treatments were assessed. The experimental design consisted of four randomized experimental blocks, which included a total of 32 plots with a plot area of 100 m(2). This experiment was used to study the effectiveness of the soil-reclamation treatments after a 9-year period. Soil samples were taken at three different depths (0-10, 10-20, and 20-40 cm), and they were analyzed routinely for pH, organic-matter content, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Revegetation of the abandoned saprolite material increased soil organic-matter content and cation exchange capacity (CEC), and to some extent small differences between treatments were evidenced. Exchangeable calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) recovered faster than organic-matter content. A significant linear relationship was found between organic-matter content and CEC, suggesting continued addition of organic material will further approach the value of these parameters to those levels corresponding to natural soils under "Cerrado" vegetation.

On the unzipping of multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Parmodel: a web server for automated comparative modeling of proteins

Parmodel is a web server for automated comparative modeling and evaluation of protein structures. The aim of this tool is to help inexperienced users to perform modeling, assessment, visualization, and optimization of protein models as well as crystallographers to evaluate structures solved experimentally. It is subdivided in four modules: Parmodel Modeling, Parmodel Assessment, Parmodel Visualization, and Parmodel Optimization. The main module is the Parmodel Modeling that allows the building of several models ford a same protein in a reduced time, through the distribution of modeling processes on a Beowulf cluster. Parmodel automates and integrates the main softwares used in comparative modeling as MODELLER, Whatcheck, Procheck, Raster3D, Molscript, and Gromacs. This web server is freely accessible at http://www.biocristalografia.df.ibilce.unesp.br/tools/parmodel. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multifractal characterization of saprolite particle-size distributions after topsoil removal

Multifractal analysis is now increasingly used to characterize soil properties as it may provide more information than a single fractal model. During the building of a large reservoir on the Parana River (Brazil), a highly weathered soil profile was excavated to a depth between 5 and 8 m. Excavation resulted in an abandoned area with saprolite materials and, in this area, an experimental field was established to assess the effectiveness of different soil rehabilitation treatments. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks. The aim of this work was to characterize particle-size distributions of the saprolite material and use the information obtained to assess between-block variability. Particle-size distributions of the experimental plots were characterized by multifractal techniques. Ninety-six soil samples were analyzed routinely for particle-size distribution by laser diffractometry in a range of scales, varying from 0.390 to 2000 mu m. Six different textural classes (USDA) were identified with a clay content ranging from 16.9% to 58.4%. Multifractal models described reasonably well the scaling properties of particle-size distributions of the saprolite material. This material exhibits a high entropy dimension, D-1. Parameters derived from the left side (q > 0) of the f(alpha) spectra, D-1, the correlation dimension (D-2) and the range (alpha(0)-alpha(q+)), as well as the total width of the spectra (alpha(max) - alpha(min)) all showed dependence on the clay content. Sand, silt and clay contents were significantly different among treatments as a consequence of soil intrinsic variability. The D, and the Holder exponent of order zero, alpha(0), were not significantly different between treatments; in contrast, D-2 and several fractal attributes describing the width of the f(alpha) spectra were significantly different between treatments. The only parameter showing significant differences between sampling depths was (alpha(0) - alpha(q+)). Scale independent fractal attributes may be useful for characterizing intrinsic particle-size distribution variability. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of calcium by atomic absorption spectrophotometry applied to the preparation of alginate:chitosan complexes

Polysaccharicles, as alginate and chitosan, have been used to obtain modified release dosage forms. Alginate, due to its property of building gels during the complex formation with calcium ions, allows the building of capsules containing a core constituted by calcium alginate. This work had for objective to determine the appropriate calcium concentration for the preparation of alginate-chitosan capsules, by means of calcium quantification using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The methodology of calcium quantification was validated through analysis of the limit of detection, precision, accuracy and recovery of the method. The capsules, containing or not the drug, were prepared by the complex coacervation/ionotropic gelification method. Calcium was quantified after samples mineralization and dilution in lantanium solution. The results showed that the amount of calcium incorporated into the capsules depends on the amount of calcium added to the medium, and this ratio increases until the concentration of 1.5% of initial calcium chloride and above this concentration there is a decrease in the proportion of calcium bonded. It was observed that the proportion of calcium that links to the polymer is inversely proportional to the amount of calcium added. The calcium amount incorporated depends on the concentration of the polymeric dispersions used as well as on the ratio between the two polymers.

Dielectric and ferroelectric properties of PZT and PT thin films for saw sensors applications

It is very important for the building of the SAW devices to study dielectric and ferroelectrics properties because every SAW device is based in piezoelectric effect that it is made up to transform an electric sign in the mechanical or acoustic sign and a mechanical or acoustic sign in an electric sign. Thus, the purpose of the present work is to prepare PbZr 0,53Ti0.47O3 (PZT) and PbTiO3 (PT) thin films on the Si (100) substrates across spin-coating using a chemical method based in polymeric precursors. After conventional treatment in the furnace, the films were characterized by impedance spectroscopy and hysteresis loops to know its dielectric and ferroelectric properties.

Development and application of an electronic tongue for detection and monitoring of nitrate, nitrite and ammonium levels in waters

This work presents the first study and development of an electronic tongue analysis system for the monitoring of nitrogen stable species: nitrate, nitrite and ammonium in water. The electronic tongue was composed of an array of 15 potentiometric poly(vinyl chloride) membrane sensors sensitive to cations and anions plus an artificial neural network (ANN) response model. The building of the ANN model was performed in a medium containing sodium, potassium, and chloride as interfering ions, thus simulating real environmental samples. The correlation coefficient in the cross-validation of nitrate, nitrite and ammonium was satisfactory in the three cases with values higher than 0.92. Finally, the utility of the proposed system is shown in the monitoring of the photoelectrocatalytic treatment of nitrate. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Analysis of Structural Integrity Using an ARTMAP-Fuzzy Artificial Neural Network

This paper presents the application of artificial neural networks in the analysis of the structural integrity of a building. The main objective is to apply an artificial neural network based on adaptive resonance theory, called ARTMAP-Fuzzy neural network and apply it to the identification and characterization of structural failure. This methodology can help professionals in the inspection of structures, to identify and characterize flaws in order to conduct preventative maintenance to ensure the integrity of the structure and decision-making. In order to validate the methodology was modeled a building of two walk, and from this model were simulated various situations (base-line condition and improper conditions), resulting in a database of signs, which were used as input data for ARTMAP-Fuzzy network. The results show efficiency, robustness and accuracy.

Robust controller design of a wheelchair mobile via LMI approach to SPR systems with feedback output

This article discusses the design of robust controller applied to Wheelchair Furniture via Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI), to obtain Strictly Positive Real (SPR) systems. The contributions of this work were the choice of a mathematical model for wheelchair: mobile with uncertainty about the position of the center of gravity (CG), the decoupling of the kinematic and dynamical systems, linearization of the models, the headquarters building of parametric uncertainties, the proposal of the control loop and control law with a specified decay rate.

Pessoas com deficiência no mercado de trabalho: considerações sobre políticas públicas nos Estados Unidos, União Europeia e Brasil

Atualmente, discussões a respeito da construção de uma sociedade inclusiva, ou seja, responsiva às diferenças, têm ocorrido em diversos países. de acordo com os princípios da inclusão social, a participação das pessoas com deficiência na sociedade depende de profundas transformações, cabendo à sociedade prover os suportes necessários para que esses indivíduos tenham acesso a todos os recursos disponíveis no meio social e, além disso, ao convívio de maneira não-segregada. Uma questão importante, nesse sentido, é a elaboração de políticas públicas no âmbito do trabalho voltadas para pessoas com deficiência. Embora o acesso ao trabalho seja considerado um dos principais direitos civis dos indivíduos, as pessoas com deficiência ainda encontram diversas barreiras para ingressar no mercado profissional. Partindo dessas afirmações, este artigo teve como objetivo discutir alguns dos principais aspectos das políticas de emprego adotadas nos Estados Unidos, na União Europeia e no Brasil para favorecer a inserção desses indivíduos no mercado de trabalho. Para tanto, três documentos legais, sendo um Nacional, um procedente dos Estados Unidos e outro, da União Europeia, foram analisados quanto aos itens: a) ano de publicação do documento; b) objetivos; c) definição de deficiência; e d) estratégias de inserção da pessoa com deficiência no mercado de trabalho. A partir das considerações realizadas, pode-se dizer que existem avanços e divergências nas políticas de emprego e que estas estão relacionadas às particularidades de cada um dos contextos; no entanto, existe uma preocupação comum em garantir à pessoa com deficiência o ingresso na atividade profissional.

Adubação química e orgânica na recuperação da fertilidade de subsolo degradado e na micorrização do Stryphnodendron polyphyllum

Com a construção da usina hidrelétrica de Ilha Solteira no final da década de 1960, algumas áreas foram desmatadas, servindo como área de empréstimo. Os solos dessas áreas foram retirados e estas adquiriram características físicas, químicas e biológicas distantes das ideais. Este trabalho objetivou avaliar os efeitos da aplicação da adubação química e orgânica na fertilidade do subsolo degradado e micorrização de Stryphnodendron polyphyllum (barbatimão). A área localiza-se na fazenda de Ensino, Pesquisa e Extensão (FEPE) da UNESP/Ilha Solteira, em Selvíria - MS. Com delineamento de blocos ao acaso, em parcelas de 250 m² (10 x 25 m), foram avaliados 10 tratamentos: testemunha; calagem; adubação N + P; calagem + N + P; N + P + aguapé; N + P + bagaço de cana; N + P + aguapé + bagaço de cana; calagem + N + P + aguapé; calagem + N + P + bagaço de cana; e calagem + N + P + bagaço de cana + aguapé. Avaliaram-se as características químicas do solo e o crescimento do barbatimão em cinco períodos (junho, agosto, novembro e dezembro de 2005 e março de 2006), e a micorrização, em março de 2006. Observou-se que o subsolo continuou apresentando caráter ácido e pobreza em nutrientes após um ano de avaliação. O crescimento da planta aumentou ao longo do período, com os maiores valores para os tratamentos que receberam calagem, adubação e resíduos orgânicos, especialmente o aguapé. A colonização micorrízica foi influenciada positivamente pela presença de resíduos orgânicos, e o número de esporos, pelos tratamentos com presença de aguapé.