High performance liquid level monitoring system based on polymer fiber Bragg gratings embedded in silicone rubber diaphragm

Liquid-level sensing technologies have attracted great prominence, because such measurements are essential to industrial applications, such as fuel storage, flood warning and in the biochemical industry. Traditional liquid level sensors are based on electromechanical techniques; however they suffer from intrinsic safety concerns in explosive environments. In recent years, given that optical fiber sensors have lots of well-established advantages such as high accuracy, costeffectiveness, compact size, and ease of multiplexing, several optical fiber liquid level sensors have been investigated which are based on different operating principles such as side-polishing the cladding and a portion of core, using a spiral side-emitting optical fiber or using silica fiber gratings. The present work proposes a novel and highly sensitive liquid level sensor making use of polymer optical fiber Bragg gratings (POFBGs). The key elements of the system are a set of POFBGs embedded in silicone rubber diaphragms. This is a new development building on the idea of determining liquid level by measuring the pressure at the bottom of a liquid container, however it has a number of critical advantages. The system features several FBG-based pressure sensors as described above placed at different depths. Any sensor above the surface of the liquid will read the same ambient pressure. Sensors below the surface of the liquid will read pressures that increase linearly with depth. The position of the liquid surface can therefore be approximately identified as lying between the first sensor to read an above-ambient pressure and the next higher sensor. This level of precision would not in general be sufficient for most liquid level monitoring applications; however a much more precise determination of liquid level can be made by linear regression to the pressure readings from the sub-surface sensors. There are numerous advantages to this multi-sensor approach. First, the use of linear regression using multiple sensors is inherently more accurate than using a single pressure reading to estimate depth. Second, common mode temperature induced wavelength shifts in the individual sensors are automatically compensated. Thirdly, temperature induced changes in the sensor pressure sensitivity are also compensated. Fourthly, the approach provides the possibility to detect and compensate for malfunctioning sensors. Finally, the system is immune to changes in the density of the monitored fluid and even to changes in the effective force of gravity, as might be obtained in an aerospace application. The performance of an individual sensor was characterized and displays a sensitivity (54 pm/cm), enhanced by more than a factor of 2 when compared to a sensor head configuration based on a silica FBG published in the literature, resulting from the much lower elastic modulus of POF. Furthermore, the temperature/humidity behavior and measurement resolution were also studied in detail. The proposed configuration also displays a highly linear response, high resolution and good repeatability. The results suggest the new configuration can be a useful tool in many different applications, such as aircraft fuel monitoring, and biochemical and environmental sensing, where accuracy and stability are fundamental. �� (2015) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Cellular impermeability and uptake of biocides and antibiotics in Gram-positive bacteria and mycobacteria

Gram-positive bacteria possess a permeable cell wall that usually does not restrict the penetration of antimicrobials. However, resistance due to restricted penetration can occur, as illustrated by vancomycin-intermediate resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains (VISA) which produce a markedly thickened cell wall. Alterations in these strains include increased amounts of nonamidated glutamine residues in the peptidoglycan and it is suggested that the resistance mechanism involves 'affinity trapping' of vancomycin in the thickened cell wall. VISA strains have reduced doubling times, lower sensitivity to lysostaphin and reduced autolytic activity, which may reflect changes in the D-alanyl ester content of the wall and membrane teichoic acids. Mycobacterial cell walls have a high lipid content, which is assumed to act as a major barrier to the penetration of antimicrobial agents. Relatively hydrophobic antibiotics such as rifampicin and fluoroquinolones may be able to cross the cell wall by diffusion through the hydrophobic bilayer composed of long chain length mycolic acids and glycolipids. Hydrophilic antibiotics and nutrients cannot diffuse across this layer and are thought to use porin channels which have been reported in many species of mycobacteria. The occurrence of porins in a lipid bilayer supports the view that the mycobacterial wall has an outer membrane analogous to that of gram-negative bacteria. However, mycobacterial porins are much less abundant than in the gram-negative outer membrane and allow only low rates of uptake for small hydrophilic nutrients and antibiotics.

The Other Face of Cuban Medical Diplomacy: Domestic Impact

Since 1963 Cuba has provided medical assistance to third world countries while gaining international, political and economic support from its participating liaisons. But what exactly have been Cuba���s domestic consequences of such medical diplomacy? While the Cuban government sends many of its medical professionals and supplies abroad, the country suffers from extreme scarcity and a deterioration of its healthcare system. The purpose of my research is to enquire more on the consequences of such medical diplomacy on the Cuban healthcare system and how it has affected domestic medical infrastructure, health professionals working on the island as well as the quality of service. In carrying out this examination, I will rely on the use of information from books written by Cuban medical professionals on their personal experiences within the medical system, and patients treated on the island. I will also make active use of academic journals and articles on the Cuban healthcare system. Most of what has been written on Cuban medical diplomacy and internationalist missions are favorable critiques praising the Cuban government. Nevertheless, personal testimonies found in Dr. Dessy Mendoza Rivero���s Dengue: La Epidemia Secreta de Fidel Castro and in Dr. Jose Luis Comas and Dr. Luis Ovidio Gonzales��� Cuba: Medicina y Revolucion reveal a different side to this seemingly pleasant and good natured international exchange. As a Cuban who lived on the island, I personally suffered the consequences of such medical diplomacy and believe others will find benefit in arming themselves with knowledge on the issue.

Eyetracking: analisi della user interface di una pagina web

Negli ultimi vent'anni con lo sviluppo di Internet, il modo di comunicare tra le persone ����� totalmente cambiato. Grazie a Internet si sono ridotte le distanze e soprattutto tramite i siti web le aziende hanno una propria vetrina sul mondo sempre accessibile. Tutto ci����� ha portato a nuovi comportamenti da parte dei consumatori che divengono sempre pi���u esigenti nella vastit�� di informazioni presenti sul Web. Perci�� �� necessario che le web companies riescano a produrre website efficienti e usabili per favorire l'interazione con l'utente. Inoltre il web ha avuto una rapida espansione per quanto concerne le metodologie di sviluppo e analisi del comportamento del consumatore. Si cercano sempre nuovi spunti per poter acquisire quello che ����� il percorso di un utente affinch�� porti a termine una determinata azione nel proprio dominio. Per questo motivo, oltre agli strumenti gi����� consolidati come il riempimento di questionari o il tracking per mezzo di piattaforme come Google Analytics, si ����� pensato di andare oltre e cercare di analizzare ancora pi���u a fondo il "consumAttore". Grazie ad un eye-tracker ����� possibile riconoscere quelli che sono i modelli cognitivi che riguardano il percorso di ricerca, valutazione e acquisto di un prodotto o una call to action, e come i contenuti di una web application influenzano l'attenzione e la user experience. Pertanto l'obiettivo che si pone questo studio ����� quello di poter misurare l'engagement della navigazione utente di una web application e, nel caso fosse necessario, ottimizzare i contenuti al suo interno. Per il rilevamento delle informazioni necessarie durante l'esperimento, mi sono servito di uno strumento a supporto delle decisioni, ovvero un eye-tracker e della successiva somministrazione di questionari.

REST SERVER IN JOLIE - Practical Case

The aim of this thesis is to merge two of the emerging paradigms about web programming: RESTful Web Development and Service-Oriented Programming. REST is the main architectural paradigm about web applications, they are characterised by procedural structure which avoid the use of handshaking mechanisms. Even though REST has a standard structure to access the resources of the web applications, the backend side is usually not very modular if not complicated. Service-Oriented Programming, instead, has as one of the fundamental principles, the modularisation of the components. Service-Oriented Applications are characterised by separate modules that allow to simplify the devel- opment of the web applications. There are very few example of integration between these two technologies: it seems therefore reasonable to merge them. In this thesis the methodologies studied to reach this results are explored through an application that helps to handle documents and notes among several users, called MergeFly. The MergeFly practical case, once that all the specifics had been set, will be utilised in order to develop and handle HTTP requests through SOAP. In this document will be first defined the 1) characteristics of the application, 2) SOAP technology, partially introduced the 3) Jolie Language, 4) REST and finally a 5) Jolie-REST implementation will be offered through the MergeFly case. It is indeed implemented a token mechanism for authentication: it has been first discarded sessions and cookies algorithm of authentication in so far not into the pure RESTness theory, even if often used). In the final part the functionality and effectiveness of the results will be evaluated, judging the Jolie-REST duo.

Consolidation of Loess, 1971

Effective stress paths for a loessial soil subject to collapse during confined compression have been determined from the results of a testing program consisting of (1) confined compression tests on natural samples of loess with initial water contents ranging from air-dry to saturation, (2) negative pore-water pressure measurements to -300 psi during these tests, and (3) Ko-tests in which the lateral stress ratio was measured for one-dimensional strain. Before collapse, Ko was found to average 0.23, an extremely low value for a loose soil, whereas after collapse, Ko increased to 0.54, which is consistent with values for other soils. Because of the low Ko-values before collapse, the effective stress path for loading in confined compression initially approaches the failure envelope. At collapse the stress path intersects the failure envelope and thereafter it changes direction as a consequence of the higher Ko-value after collapse. From the stress path interpretation of the results, it is demonstrated that the collapse mechanism of loess in confined compression and during wetting is a shear phenomenon and subject of analysis in terms of effective stresses.

Transmedia storytelling e a constru����o de um universo participativo: estudo de caso do projeto ���collider���

Disserta����o apresentada �� Escola Superior de Comunica����o Social como parte dos requisitos para obten����o de grau de mestre em Audiovisual e Multim��dia.

Technology strategies in the process of student retention and efficiency of academic management

This article discusses the application of Information and Communication Technologies and strategies for best practices in order to capture and maintain faculty students' attention. It is based on a case study of ten years, using a complete information system. This system, in addition to be considered an ERP, to support the activities of academic management, also has a strong component of SRM that provides support to academic and administrative activities. It describes the extent to which the presented system facilitates the interaction and communication between members of the academic community, using the Internet, with services available on the Web complementing them with email, SMS and CTI. Through a perception, backed by empirical analysis and results of investigations, it demonstrates how this type of practice may raise the level of satisfaction of the community. In particular, it is possible to combat failure at school, avoid that students leave their course before its completion and also that they recommend them to potential students. In addition, such a strategy also allows strong economies in the management of the institution, increasing its value. As future work, we present the new phase of the project towards implementation of Business Intelligence to optimize the management process, making it proactive. The technological vision that guides new developments to a construction based on Web services and procedural languages is also presented.

Sobre a possibilidade da explica����o pessoal diante de explica����es cient��ficas e intencionais

Disserta����o (mestrado)���Universidade de Bras��lia,Instituto de Ci��ncias Humanas, Departamento de Filosofia, Programa de P��s-Gradua����o em Filosofia, 2015.

Degrada����o de Ocratoxina a: estudo de processo e toxicidade

A ocratoxina A (OTA), micotoxina encontrada em diferentes n��veis e em diversas matrizes, apresenta efeitos carcinog��nicos, nefrot��xicos e teratog��nicos. O desenvolvimento de m��todos capazes de diminuir esta contamina����o a n��veis permitidos pela legisla����o �� incentivado e os processos biol��gicos utilizados envolvem o uso de enzimas e/ou microrganismos para degrada����o da OTA e s��o preferenciais pela especificidade, bem como pelas condi����es brandas para a detoxifica����o. O objetivo do trabalho foi estudar a a����o de carboxipeptidase A nos n��veis e na toxicidade de OTA, visando aplicar a t��cnica para detoxificar farinhas de trigo. Primeiramente foi estimado o risco de exposi����o �� ocratoxina A pelo consumo de farinhas de trigo. Para isso foram estabelecidas condi����es de determina����o de OTA em farinhas de trigo, empregando t��cnicas de estat��stica multivariada para definir os principais interferentes na extra����o de OTA pelo m��todo de QuEChERS e detec����o em CLAE-FL. O m��todo validado permitiu a avalia����o da ocorr��ncia natural em 20 amostras de farinha de trigo, estando estas contaminadas na faixa de 0,22 a 0,85 ��g.kg-1 , apresentando um valor de ingest��o di��ria de 0,08 ngOTA.dia-1 .kgmassacorp��rea -1 e uma disponibilidade de 94,4%. Em seguida foi realizada a padroniza����o da extra����o de carboxipeptidase A em biomassa de Rhizopus oryzae que consistiu em agita����o ultrass��nica durante 30 minutos numa potencia fixa de 150 W e 40 kHz e a triagem de agentes biol��gicos para degrada����o de OTA. Para o estudo da degrada����o in vitro de OTA, m��todo de extra����o e detec����o de OTA e OT�� em CLAEFL foi validado e o processo de degrada����o foi realizado com Rhizopus oryzae e Trichoderma reesei, obtendo-se uma redu����o m��xima de 63,5% e 57,7%, respectivamente. A degrada����o apresentou uma correla����o alta (R>0,9) e significativa (p<0,05) com a produ����o de Ot��, indicando que ocorreu a produ����o de enzimas capazes de hidrolisar a micotoxina, por exemplo, a carboxipeptidase A. O estudo da toxicidade de OTA e seu metab��lito OT�� foi realizado em neutr��filos humanos, onde foi observado a aus��ncia de efeito t��xico de OT��. Tamb��m foi determinado o mecanismo de toxicidade de OTA pelo aumento de Ca2+ intracelular pela libera����o a partir das reservas internas. Esta libera����o, subsequentemente, provoca uma cascata de eventos, nomeadamente: a produ����o de esp��cies reativas, deple����o de ATP, perda de ����m, levando �� morte por necrose. Para reduzir o risco de exposi����o �� micotoxina pela ingest��o de mat��ria prima contaminada, carboxipeptidase A extra��da de diferentes fontes foi aplicada na hidr��lise de OTA em farinha de trigo para posterior determina����o do conte��do residual de OTA e OT��, empregando m��todo validado. O estudo mostrou uma redu����o de OTA entre 16,8 e 78,5% e produ����o de OT�� entre 2 a 8,2 ng.g-1 . As carboxipeptidases mais promissoras para degrada����o foram as provenientes de Rhizopus e Trichoderma e a carboxipeptidase comercial. Ficou demonstrado que se pode recomendar a aplica����o de enzimas proteol��ticas, tipo carboxipeptidase, para reduzir o risco de exposi����o �� micotoxina quando utilizada mat��ria prima contaminada, por exemplo, farinha de trigo para diferentes processos. A transforma����o de OTA para OT�� e seus efeitos na redu����o da toxicidade da micotoxina corroboram com esta afirma����o.

O desejo no feminino

Disserta����o de Mestrado apresentada no ISPA ��� Instituto Universit��rio para obten����o de grau de Mestre na especialidade de Psicologia Cl��nica

E-handel- Konkurrent eller komplement f��r mikrof��retag? : En studie om lokala mikrof��retag

I dagens samh��lle har det skett en strukturomvandling p�� marknaden g��llande detaljhandeln.Strukturomvandlingen har inneburit utveckling av bland annat omnikanaler och e-handelvilket har f��r��ndrat f��retagens aff��rsmodellsval f��r att kunna ��verleva p�� marknaden. Ehandelnhar i m��nga ��r setts som en konkurrent f��r mikrof��retag, men det b��rjar ��ven blim��jligt f��r mikrof��retag att inf��ra ett integrerat system som inneb��r att den fysiska butikensamverkar med e-handeln. Resultatet av de ��kade m��jligheterna f��r mikrof��retag ��r att de kanv��lja mellan tre olika aff��rsmodellsval g��llande sin marknadsplats och tillg��nglighet avf��retaget och sedan utifr��n omnikanaler kan f��retagen v��lja hur de vill n�� ut tillkonsumenterna.I denna studie vill vi f�� en ��kad f��rst��else f��r hur lokala mikrof��retag arbetar med att beh��llasin marknadsplats i den ��kade konkurrensen som blir i och med e-handelns tillv��xt. F��r attkunna unders��ka mikrof��retagen har vi till��mpat en kvalitativ metod med djupg��endehalvstrukturerade intervjuer. F��r att f�� reda p�� hur lokala handlare uppfattar marknaden,konkurrensen och handelsutvecklingen, intervjuades fem stycken strategiskt valdadetaljhandelsf��retag.Av unders��kningen framgick det att en gemensam syn kring marknaden f��religger vilketinnebar att oavsett f��retagens val s�� har f��retagen sitt fokus p�� konsumenten. Det framgick��ven att en av de viktigaste framg��ngsfaktorerna ��r att tillgodose konsumenten med h��gservicegrad och p�� s�� s��tt skapa en relation. Relationer bidrar till ��terkommande och lojalakonsumenter vilket i sin tur bidrar till l��nsamhet f��r f��retaget. Samtliga informanter var enigaom att relationer uppr��ttas i den fysiska butiken och har s��ledes valt att fokusera p�� denenskilda butiken i internets st��ndiga utveckling. F��r att attrahera konsumenter till butiken harde valt att tillhandah��lla ett unikt sortiment. Sammanfattningsvis har internet och handelnsutveckling och den konkurrens det medf��r p�� lokala handlarna blivit tvungna ta st��llning tilldet och anpassa en aff��rsmodell utefter sin egen verksamhet.

Investigating the influences on attendance and intention to rejoin with inaugural members of a new football team

This study investigated the effects of factors like member satisfaction and social rituals on desirable outcomes such as attendance, intention to rejoin and merchandise sales. This study focuses on the inaugural members of a new team in Australia���s A-League to gain insight into how loyalty develops amongst fans of new sporting organisations. The results show the importance to sports marketers of satisfying members and building ritual behaviour, as both are correlated with all of the positive outcomes investigated here.

Mapping the regulatory environment : implications for construction firms

As regulators, governments are often criticised for over���regulating industries. This research project seeks to examine the regulation affecting the construction industry in a federal system of government. It uses a case study of the Australian system of government to focus on the question of the implications of regulation in the construction industry. Having established the extent of the regulatory environment, the research project considers the costs associated with this environment. Consequently, ways in which the regulatory burden on industry can be reduced are evaluated. The Construction Industry Business Environment project is working with industry and government agencies to improve regulatory harmonisation in Australia, and thereby reduce the regulatory burden on industry. It is found that while taxation and compliance costs are not likely to be reduced in the short term, costs arising from having to adapt to variation between regulatory regimes in a federal system of government, seem the most promising way of reducing regulatory costs. Identifying and reducing adaptive costs across jurisdictional are argued to present a novel approach to regulatory reform.

On the (partially) inalienable rights of participants in virtual communities

As virtual communities become more central to the everyday activities of connected individuals, we face increasingly pressing questions about the proper allocation of power, rights and responsibilities. This paper argues that our current legal discourse is ill-equipped to provide answers that will safeguard the legitimate interests of participants and simultaneously refrain from limiting the future innovative development of these spaces. From social networking sites like Facebook to virtual worlds like World of Warcraft and Second Life, participants who are banned from these communities stand to lose their virtual property, their connections to their friends and family, and their personal expression. Because our legal system views the proprietor���s interests as absolute private property rights, however, participants who are arbitrarily, capriciously or maliciously ejected have little recourse under law. This paper argues that, rather than assuming that a private property and freedom of contract model will provide the most desirable outcomes, a more critical approach is warranted. By rejecting the false dichotomy between ���public��� and ���private��� spaces, and recognising some of the absolutist and necessitarian trends in the current property debate, we may be able to craft legal rules that respect the social bonds between participants while simultaneously protecting the interests of developers.