Categories & order systems: Claude Parent and The Serving Library intersections of architecture, art and editorial design

This paper discusses the work of Claude Parent and The Serving Library, considering the critiques generated by their intersecting of architecture, art and editorial design. Through focus on the ways in which hosting environment, architecture and forms of expanded publishing can serve to dissolve disciplinary boundaries and activities of production, spectatorship and reception, it draws on the lineage of 1960s/70s Conceptual Art in considering these practices as a means through which to escape medium specificity and spatial confinement. Relationships between actual and virtual space are then read against this broadening of aesthetic ideas and the theory of critical modernity.

Population biology and regeneration of forbs and shrubs after fire in Brazilian Campos grasslands

Fire is an important factor in several ecosystems, affecting plant population biology. Campos grasslands are under constant influence of disturbance, mostly grazing and fire. However, few studies evaluated the effect of fire on plant population biology of grassland species. Therefore, we aim to analyze the effect of fire on the population biology of four species, from different functional groups and regeneration strategies: Chaptalia runcinata (forb, resprouter, absence of belowground organ), Vernonia flexuosa (forb, resprouter, presence of rhizophore), Eupatorium ligulaefolium (shrub, resprouter, presence of xylopodium) and Heterothalamus psiadioides (shrub, obligate seeder). Seven plots were established in different sites in southern Brazil: frequently burned (FB) and excluded from fire since 6 years (E). All plots were subjected to controlled burns during summer. Before experiments, populations were sampled. Further observations were carried out after 90 and after 360 days of fire experiments. In addition, we counted the number of seedlings and resprouters recruited after fire. Heat shock experiments were conducted with two species (H. psiadioides and V. flexuosa), as well as the study of the bud bank of the following species: E. ligulaefolium and V. flexuosa. The obligate seeder species had all individuals killed by fire and established only after 1 year. Resprouters, however, showed new stems immediately after fire. E. ligulaefolium and V. flexuosa showed only vegetative regeneration from belowground organs and more individuals in excluded sites 1 year after the fire. The bud bank of E. ligulaefolium tended to be larger in excluded sites, whilst V. flexuosa showed an opposite result. High temperatures did not enhance nor kill seeds from both studied species. Vegetative regeneration was the most important strategy for all studied species, except for H. psiadioides, the obligate seeder species. Fire thus, plays an important role on population structure and demography, being also important for plant recruitment.

The SUMA Project: Integrating Observational Data Assessment into Space and Service Design

This presentation was offered as part of the CUNY Library Assessment Conference, Reinventing Libraries: Reinventing Assessment, held at the City University of New York in June 2014.

Study of the audio coding algorithm of the MPEG-4 AAC standard and comparison among implementations of modules of the algorithm

Audio coding is used to compress digital audio signals, thereby reducing the amount of bits needed to transmit or to store an audio signal. This is useful when network bandwidth or storage capacity is very limited. Audio compression algorithms are based on an encoding and decoding process. In the encoding step, the uncompressed audio signal is transformed into a coded representation, thereby compressing the audio signal. Thereafter, the coded audio signal eventually needs to be restored (e.g. for playing back) through decoding of the coded audio signal. The decoder receives the bitstream and reconverts it into an uncompressed signal. ISO-MPEG is a standard for high-quality, low bit-rate video and audio coding. The audio part of the standard is composed by algorithms for high-quality low-bit-rate audio coding, i.e. algorithms that reduce the original bit-rate, while guaranteeing high quality of the audio signal. The audio coding algorithms consists of MPEG-1 (with three different layers), MPEG-2, MPEG-2 AAC, and MPEG-4. This work presents a study of the MPEG-4 AAC audio coding algorithm. Besides, it presents the implementation of the AAC algorithm on different platforms, and comparisons among implementations. The implementations are in C language, in Assembly of Intel Pentium, in C-language using DSP processor, and in HDL. Since each implementation has its own application niche, each one is valid as a final solution. Moreover, another purpose of this work is the comparison among these implementations, considering estimated costs, execution time, and advantages and disadvantages of each one.

The risk-properties of human capital and the design of government policies

Whether human capital increases or decreases wage uncertainty is an open question from an empirical standpoint. Yet, most policy prescriptions regarding human capital formation are based on models that impose riskiness on this type of investment. In a two period and finite type optimal income taxation problem we derive prescriptions that are robust to the risk characteristics of human capital: savings should be discouraged, human capital investments encouraged and both types of investment driven to an efficient level from an aggregate perspective. These prescriptions are also robust to the assumptions regarding what choices are observed, despite policy instruments being not.

Brazil and Turkey, a comparative analysis of both countries' economic development and institutional design from the Great Depression to the early 21st century

Apos uma década de rápido crescimento econômico na primeira década do século 21, Brasil e Turquia foram considerados duas das economias emergentes mais dinâmicas e promissoras. No entanto, vários sinais de dificuldades econômicas e tensões políticas reapareceram recentemente e simultaneamente nos dois países. Acreditamos que esses sinais e a sua simultaneidade podem ser entendidos melhor com um olhar retrospectivo sobre a história econômica dos dois países, que revela ser surpreendentemente paralela. Numa primeira parte, empreendemos uma comparação abrangente da história econômica brasileira e turca para mostrar as numerosas similaridades entre os desafios de política econômica que os dois países enfrentaram, assim como entre as respostas que eles lhes deram desde a virada da Grande Depressão até a primeira década do século 21. Essas escolhas de política econômica comuns dão forma a uma trajetória de desenvolvimento notavelmente análoga, caracterizada primeiro pela adoção do modelo de industrialização por substituição das importações (ISI) no contexto da recessão mundial dos anos 1930; depois pela intensificação e crise final desse modelo nos anos 1980; e finalmente por duas décadas de estabilização e transição para um modelo econômico mais liberal. Numa segunda parte, o desenvolvimento das instituições econômicas e políticas, assim como da economia política subjacente nos dois países, são analisados comparativamente a fim de prover alguns elementos de explicação do paralelo observado na primeira parte. Sustentamos que o marco institucional estabelecido nos dois países durante esse período também têm varias características fundamentais em comum e contribui a explicar as escolhas de política econômica e as performances econômicas comparáveis, detalhadas na primeira parte. Este estudo aborda elementos do contexto histórico úteis para compreender a situação econômica e política atual nos dois países. Potencialmente também constitui uma tentativa de considerar as economias emergentes numa perspectiva histórica e comparativa mais ampla para entender melhor as suas fraquezas institucionais e adotar um olhar mais equilibrado sobre seu potencial econômico.

Hovercraft telemanipulation virtual models and interface design

A control system was designed to allow humans to manually drive an, usually automatic, two wheeled hovercraft. The size, the mass and the way of driving this vehicle proves to be an issue for the everyday, untrained person to achieve. During this thesis several control layouts were designed with the objective of creating an intuitive and easy way of driving such a vehicle. At the end two where usertested using a simulation (also developed during this thesis) of the said hovercraft set against obstacles similar to those expected to be encountered on its real environment. The two layouts are just slightly apart in performance but numerous issues were found that can be used to redesign a better control layout. This means that no definitive winner was found but a foundation for a better design was indeed found.

Optical and mechanical design of an ophthalmic instrument: Slit lamp

This work has as objective to develop an interesting research line in the Optical Instrumentation area, that is to associate the Optical Design to the Ophthalmology area. The purpose of it is handling the optical design techniques to design a widely used ophthalmologic instrument called slit lamp. The optical and mechanical design of the slit lamp prototype was carefully projected in order to improve the best quality image, the comfort of the patient and the user, the simplicity of handling, the facility of production the availability of optical and mechanical components in the national market and the low cost of production. The main goal of this work was to realize a project using totally national technology, cheapening the cost and forming the optimum image required for the slit lamp optical system.

Integrating strategic and sustainable design approach for innovation process: a cement case study

Global society and technology have changed the relationships of the market. Quality and cost are not the main aspects of any industrial product. On the other hand, design, innovation and sustainability became significant requirements to company’s competitiveness. In this context, the design approach has shown evolutions, integrating social and environmental aspects beside traditional aspects such as technical and economic. Still, design has been becoming a strategic opportunity for companies, improving their competitiveness and increasing their market share. Thus, this research has analyzed the integration of both the Sustainable Design and Strategic Design Coaching (SDC) method in the making decision activities of companies. A cement company (BQMIL) was assigned as case study, in which the previous results have pointed out the significant hole of those concepts to generate Eco-innovation and Eco-Brand to increase its market share, corroborating the expectative of the design team

Influence of the Connector and Implant Design on the Implant-Tooth-Connected Prostheses

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to evaluate stress transfer patterns between implant-tooth-connected prostheses comparing rigid and semirigid connectors and internal and external hexagon implants.Materials and Methods:Two models were made of photoelastic resin PL-2, with an internal hexagon implant of 4.00 x 13 mm and another with an external hexagon implant of 4.00 x 13 mm. Three denture designs were fabricated for each implant model, incorporating one type of connection in each one to connect implants and teeth: 1) welded rigid connection; 2) semirigid connection; and 3) rigid connection with occlusal screw. The models were placed in the polariscope, and 100-N axial forces were applied on fixed points on the occlusal surface of the dentures.Results:There was a trend toward less intensity in the stresses on the semirigid connection and solid rigid connection in the model with the external hexagon; among the three types of connections in the model with the internal hexagon implant, the semirigid connection was the most unfavorable one; in the tooth-implant association, it is preferable to use the external hexagon implant.Conclusions:The internal hexagon implant establishes a greater depth of hexagon retention and an increase in the level of denture stability in comparison with the implant with the external hexagon. However, this greater stability of the internal hexagon generated greater stresses in the abutment structures. Therefore, when this association is necessary, it is preferable to use the external hexagon implant.

Fatigue strength: effect of welding type and joint design executed in Ti-6Al-4V structures

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

Differential nutritional, endocrine, and cardiovascular effects in obesity-prone and obesity-resistant rats fed standard and hypercaloric diets

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

Global analysis of the post-SNO solar neutrino data for standard and nonstandard oscillation mechanisms

What can we learn from solar neutrino observations? Is there any solution to the solar neutrino anomaly which is favored by the present experimental panorama? After SNO results, is it possible to affirm that neutrinos have mass? In order to answer such questions we analyze the current available data from the solar neutrino experiments, including the recent SNO result, in view of many acceptable solutions to the solar neutrino problem based on different conversion mechanisms, for the first time using the same statistical procedure. This allows us to do a direct comparison of the goodness of the fit among different solutions, from which we can discuss and conclude on the current status of each proposed dynamical mechanism. These solutions are based on different assumptions: (a) neutrino mass and mixing, (b) a nonvanishing neutrino magnetic moment, (c) the existence of nonstandard flavor-changing and nonuniversal neutrino interactions, and (d) a tiny violation of the equivalence principle. We investigate the quality of the fit provided by each one of these solutions not only to the total rate measured by all the solar neutrino experiments but also to the recoil electron energy spectrum measured at different zenith angles by the Super-Kamiokande Collaboration. We conclude that several nonstandard neutrino flavor conversion mechanisms provide a very good fit to the experimental data which is comparable with (or even slightly better than) the most famous solution to the solar neutrino anomaly based on the neutrino oscillation induced by mass.

Application of standard and modified Judd-Ofelt theories to thulium doped fluoroindate glass

Fluoroindate glasses of the following compositions: (40-x)InF3-20ZnF(2)-16BaF(2)-20SrF(2)-2GdF(3)-2NaF-xTmF(3) with x = 1,3 mol% were prepared in a dry box under an argon atmosphere. The absorption spectra at room temperature in the spectral range 350-2200 nm were obtained. The spectra obtained for each sample had similar absorption and only the amplitude of the different bands changed as the concentration of Tm3+. The experimental oscillator strengths were determined from the areas under the absorption bands. Using the standard and modified Judd-Ofelt theory, intensity parameters Ohm(lambda) (lambda = 2,4,6) and (lambda = 2,3,4,5,6), respectively for f-f transitions of Tm3+ ions as well as transition probabilities, branching ratios and radiative lifetimes for each band were determined. The results are compared with those of other glasses described in the literature. (C) 1999 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.