Motor Vehicle Crash Fatalities, March 4, 2011, Part II

Motor Vehicle Crash Fatalities

Models d'interpretació de la cançó tradicional catalana per part dels mestres especialistes de música a l'escola primària

Aquest treball de recerca, realizat amb mestres especialistes de música de l'etapa primària, exposa diversos models d'interpretació de la cançó, prèvia exposició dels diversos elements que en configuren el caràcter.

BPSK to ASK signal conversion using injection-locked oscillators-Part I: theory

This paper presents a new method and circuit for the conversion of binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) signals into amplitude shift keying signals. The basic principles of the conversion method are the superharmonic injection and locking of oscillator circuits, and interference phenomena. The first one is used to synchronize the oscillators, while the second is used to generate an amplitude interference pattern that reproduces the original phase modulation. When combined with an envelope detector, the proposed converter circuit allows the coherent demodulation of BPSK signals without need of any explicit carrier recovery system. The time response of the converter circuit to phase changes of the input signal, as well as the conversion limits, are discussed in detail.

BPSK to ASK signal conversion using injection-locked oscillators-part II: experiment

This paper demonstrates the feasibility of a new circuit for the conversion of binary phase-shift keying signals into amplitude-shift keying signals. In its simplest form, the converter circuit is composed by a power divider, a couple of second harmonic injection-locked oscillators, and a power combiner. The operation of the converter circuit relies on the frequency synchronization of both oscillators and the generation of an interference pattern by combining their outputs, which reproduces the original phase modulation. Two prototypes of the converter have been implemented. The first one is a hybrid version working in the 400-530-MHz frequency range. The second one has been implemented using multichip-module technology, and is intended to work in the 1.8-2.2-GHz frequency range.

Deciding the sale of a life policy in the viatical market: Implications on individual welfare

[cat] En aquest article, es presenta un model econòmic que permet determinar la venda o no d'una pòlissa de vida (total o en part) per part d'un assegurat malalt terminal en el mercat dels viatical settlements. Aquest mercat va aparèixer a finals de la dècada dels 80 a conseqüència de l'epidèmia de la SIDA. Actualment, representa una part del mercat dels life settlements. Les pòlisses que es comercialitzen en el mercat dels viaticals són aquelles on l'assegurat és malalt terminal amb una esperança de vida de dos anys o menys. El model és discret i considera només dos períodes (anys), ja que aquesta és la vida residual màxima que contempla el mercat. L'agent posseix una riquesa inicial que ha de repartir entre consum i herència. S'introdueix en primer lloc la funció d'utilitat esperada del decisor i, utilitzant programació dinàmica, es dedueix l'estratègia que reporta una utilitat més gran (no vendre/vendre (en part) la pòlissa en el moment zero/vendre (en part) la pòlissa en el moment ú). L'òptim depèn del preu de la pòlissa venuda i de paràmetres personals de l'individu. Es troba una expressió analítica per l'estratègia òptima i es realitza un anàlisi de sensibilitat.

Indications à la coronarographie en urgence. Partie II: syndromes coronariens aigus sans élévation du segment ST [Indications for urgent coronary angiography. Part II: Acute coronary syndromes without ST-segment elevation]

The optimal treatment strategy for patients presenting with an acute coronary syndrome without ST elevation is controversial and different therapeutic approaches are recognized. Currently, given the literature available, it is not possible to recommend a universal systematic invasive approach. It is essential to individually risk stratify patients in order to identify those high risk patients that have been shown to benefit from an invasive strategy. Compared to conservative medical treatment, patients at low risk have not been shown to benefit from an invasive strategy. Urgent coronary angiography remains recommended for those patients with persistent or recurrent ischemic symptoms under optimal medical treatment.

On the use of spatially discrete data to compute energy and mass balance

In many practical applications the state of field soils is monitored by recording the evolution of temperature and soil moisture at discrete depths. We theoretically investigate the systematic errors that arise when mass and energy balances are computed directly from these measurements. We show that, even with no measurement or model errors, large residuals might result when finite difference approximations are used to compute fluxes and storage term. To calculate the limits set by the use of spatially discrete measurements on the accuracy of balance closure, we derive an analytical solution to estimate the residual on the basis of the two key parameters: the penetration depth and the distance between the measurements. When the thickness of the control layer for which the balance is computed is comparable to the penetration depth of the forcing (which depends on the thermal diffusivity and on the forcing period) large residuals arise. The residual is also very sensitive to the distance between the measurements, which requires accurately controlling the position of the sensors in field experiments. We also demonstrate that, for the same experimental setup, mass residuals are sensitively larger than the energy residuals due to the nonlinearity of the moisture transport equation. Our analysis suggests that a careful assessment of the systematic mass error introduced by the use of spatially discrete data is required before using fluxes and residuals computed directly from field measurements.

Report on the Iowa Judicial Branch – County Clerks of District Courts, a part of the State of Iowa, for the year ended June 30, 2010

Report on the Iowa Judicial Branch – County Clerks of District Courts, a part of the State of Iowa, for the year ended June 30, 2010

Discrete contribution to psi ' -> J/psi plus gamma gamma

HadronPhysics2 (Grant Agreement No. 227431) (EU)

Dynamical properties of discrete breathers in curved chains with first and second neighbor interaction

We present the study of discrete breather dynamics in curved polymerlike chains consisting of masses connected via nonlinear springs. The polymer chains are one dimensional but not rectilinear and their motion takes place on a plane. After constructing breathers following numerically accurate procedures, we launch them in the chains and investigate properties of their propagation dynamics. We find that breather motion is strongly affected by the presence of curved regions of polymers, while the breathers themselves show a very strong resilience and remarkable stability in the presence of geometrical changes. For chains with strong angular rigidity we find that breathers either pass through bent regions or get reflected while retaining their frequency. Their motion is practically lossless and seems to be determined through local energy conservation. For less rigid chains modeled via second neighbor interactions, we find similarly that chain geometry typically does not destroy the localized breather states but, contrary to the angularly rigid chains, it induces some small but constant energy loss. Furthermore, we find that a curved segment acts as an active gate reflecting or refracting the incident breather and transforming its velocity to a value that depends on the discrete breathers frequency. We analyze the physical reasoning behind these seemingly general breather properties.

Interaction of a discrete breather with a lattice junction

We study the scattering of a moving discrete breather (DB) on a junction in a Fermi-Pasta-Ulam chain consisting of two segments with different masses of the particles. We consider four distinct cases: (i) a light-heavy (abrupt) junction in which the DB impinges on the junction from the segment with lighter mass, (ii) a heavy-light junction, (iii) an up mass ramp in which the mass in the heavier segment increases continuously as one moves away from the junction point, and (iv) a down mass ramp. Depending on the mass difference and DB characteristics (frequency and velocity), the DB can either reflect from, or transmit through, or get trapped at the junction or on the ramp. For the heavy-light junction, the DB can even split at the junction into a reflected and a transmitted DB. The latter is found to subsequently split into two or more DBs. For the down mass ramp the DB gets accelerated in several stages, with accompanying radiation (phonons). These results are rationalized by calculating the Peierls-Nabarro barrier for the various cases. We also point out implications of our results in realistic situations such as electron-phonon coupled chains.

New perspectives in the use of ink evidence in forensic science: Part III: Operational applications and evaluation

The research reported in this series of article aimed at (1) automating the search of questioned ink specimens in ink reference collections and (2) at evaluating the strength of ink evidence in a transparent and balanced manner. These aims require that ink samples are analysed in an accurate and reproducible way and that they are compared in an objective and automated way. This latter requirement is due to the large number of comparisons that are necessary in both scenarios. A research programme was designed to (a) develop a standard methodology for analysing ink samples in a reproducible way, (b) comparing automatically and objectively ink samples and (c) evaluate the proposed methodology in forensic contexts. This report focuses on the last of the three stages of the research programme. The calibration and acquisition process and the mathematical comparison algorithms were described in previous papers [C. Neumann, P. Margot, New perspectives in the use of ink evidence in forensic science-Part I: Development of a quality assurance process for forensic ink analysis by HPTLC, Forensic Sci. Int. 185 (2009) 29-37; C. Neumann, P. Margot, New perspectives in the use of ink evidence in forensic science- Part II: Development and testing of mathematical algorithms for the automatic comparison of ink samples analysed by HPTLC, Forensic Sci. Int. 185 (2009) 38-50]. In this paper, the benefits and challenges of the proposed concepts are tested in two forensic contexts: (1) ink identification and (2) ink evidential value assessment. The results show that different algorithms are better suited for different tasks. This research shows that it is possible to build digital ink libraries using the most commonly used ink analytical technique, i.e. high-performance thin layer chromatography, despite its reputation of lacking reproducibility. More importantly, it is possible to assign evidential value to ink evidence in a transparent way using a probabilistic model. It is therefore possible to move away from the traditional subjective approach, which is entirely based on experts' opinion, and which is usually not very informative. While there is room for the improvement, this report demonstrates the significant gains obtained over the traditional subjective approach for the search of ink specimens in ink databases, and the interpretation of their evidential value.