A peridynamic theory for linear elastic shells

A state-based peridynamic formulation for linear elastic shells is presented. The emphasis is on introducing, possibly for the first time, a general surface based peridynamic model to represent the deformation characteristics of structures that have one geometric dimension much smaller than the other two. A new notion of curved bonds is exploited to cater for force transfer between the peridynamic particles describing the shell. Starting with the three dimensional force and deformation states, appropriate surface based force, moment and several deformation states are arrived at. Upon application on the curved bonds, such states yield the necessary force and deformation vectors governing the motion of the shell. By incorporating a shear correction factor, the formulation also accommodates analysis of shells that have higher thickness. In order to attain this, a consistent second order approximation to the complementary energy density is considered and incorporated in peridynamics via constitutive correspondence. Unlike the uncoupled constitution for thin shells, a consequence of a first order approximation, constitutive relations for thick shells are fully coupled in that surface wryness influences the in-plane stress resultants and surface strain the moments. Our proposal on the peridynamic shell theory is numerically assessed against simulations on static deformation of spherical and cylindrical shells, that of flat plates and quasi-static fracture propagation in a cylindrical shell. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Zinc oxide nanowire networks for macroelectronic devices

Highly transparent zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire networks have been used as the active material in thin film transistors (TFTs) and complementary inverter devices. A systematic study on a range of networks of variable density and TFT channel length was performed. ZnO nanowire networks provide a less lithographically intense alternative to individual nanowire devices, are always semiconducting, and yield significantly higher mobilites than those achieved from currently used amorphous Si and organic TFTs. These results suggest that ZnO nanowire networks could be ideal for inexpensive large area electronics. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

Dilemas del paraíso : viaje, utopía ymundanidad en la literatura árabe

Resumen: La utopía y el relato de viaje conforman dos narrativas complementarias que describen mundos desconocidos, pero largamente anhelados. No obstante, en el contexto medieval, no podemos interpretar el concepto de utopía en el sentido político propio de la Modernidad, moriano, del término, sino como un proceso de construcción de expectativas que, a partir de un mismo modelo formal que se mantendrá a lo largo del tiempo en todas las manifestaciones de un país o sociedad ideal, tiende a ubicar en una lejanía inaccesible pero narrable la satisfacción de las necesidades de un presente difícil. Este es el caso de la Abundantia, la más antigua forma de utopía, vinculada al reino de Saturno y a sus múltiples versiones medievales: la Cucaña, el país de Jauja, el Dorado. Presente bajo diferentes formas en prácticamente todas las literaturas europeas occidentales, también la literatura árabe medieval hará un uso particular de la utopía y del relato de viaje, en donde incorporará su propia y específica visión religiosa y cultural. Nos proponemos entonces describir el modelo formal propio de la literatura utópica y la modalidad que adquirió el relato utópico de la Abundantia en el Islam, en particular en la leyenda de la Ciudad de Cobre, del geógrafo andalusí Abu Hamid al-Garnati, y su posterior desarrollo en Las mil y una noches.

Escala de Creencias Post-Críticas : análisis psicométrico para su aplicación al estudio de la religiosidad en Argentina

Resumen: Se analizan las propiedades psicométricas de la escala de creencias post-críticas (PCBS) en una muestra de 410 ciudadanos de 18 a 55 años de Córdoba/Argentina, seleccionados a partir de un muestreo no aleatorio. La escala fue traducida para el contexto local. A partir del uso complementario de Escalamiento Multidimensional y Análisis Factorial de componentes principales, se replican las dos dimensiones constitutivas de la PCBS (inclusión-exclusión en la trascendencia e interpretación literal-simbólica de los contenidos religiosos) y las cuatro sub-escalas propuestas: Crítica Externa, Segunda Ingenuidad, Ortodoxia, y Relativismo. El estudio reporta los índices de fiabilidad y la validez externa para cada una de éstas, y se discuten cuestiones operativas y conceptuales de su adecuación en Argentina.

Computation of stress intensity factors by the sub-region mixed finite element method of lines

Based on the sub-region generalized variational principle, a sub-region mixed version of the newly-developed semi-analytical 'finite element method of lines' (FEMOL) is proposed in this paper for accurate and efficient computation of stress intensity factors (SIFs) of two-dimensional notches/cracks. The circular regions surrounding notch/crack tips are taken as the complementary energy region in which a number of leading terms of singular solutions for stresses are used, with the sought SIFs being among the unknown coefficients. The rest of the arbitrary domain is taken as the potential energy region in which FEMOL is applied to obtain approximate displacements. A mixed system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and algebraic equations is derived via the sub-region generalized variational principle. A singularity removal technique that eliminates the stress parameters from the mixed equation system eventually yields a standard FEMOL ODE system, the solution of which is no longer singular and is simply and efficiently obtained using a standard general-purpose ODE solver. A number of numerical examples, including bi-material notches/cracks in anti-plane and plane elasticity, are given to show the generally excellent performance of the proposed method.

Teorías de elección racional : el caso del Frente Amplio y las plantas de celulosa

El presente artículo hace foco sobre la campaña electoral del Frente Amplio de 2004, y busca determinar en qué medida las estrategias electorales adoptadas impactaron sobre la forma en que esa fuerza política se definió, a lo largo de ella, acerca de la posible instalación de dos plantas de celulosa en las cercanías de Fray Bentos. En ese sentido, se afirma que se habrían implementado dos estrategias complementarias. Por un lado, una moderación de posiciones con el fin de ampliar la tradicional base electoral de izquierda. Por otro lado, una estrategia de indefinición frente a determinadas cuestiones con el fin de no activar diversas contradicciones internas. Este rumbo de acción fue el escogido frente a la cuestión de las plantas de celulosa. La ausencia de una postura oficial permitió que los distintos elementos constituyentes de la coalición se expidieran libremente sobre la cuestión. Si bien eran mayoritarios los sectores favorables a los emprendimientos, sus detractores sostendrían un papel mucho más activo, dando posteriormente lugar a interpretaciones erróneas acerca de la posición asumida por el Frente Amplio a lo largo del período estudiado.

The open parliament in the age of the internet : can the people now collaborate with legislatures in lawmaking?

This work seeks to address those questions and evaluate other international experiences and experiments designed to achieve the same ends. The book is based on a study of two particular cases where parliamentary bodies designed and implemented participatory digital processes, namely, the e-Democracy Program developed by the Brazilian House of Representatives, and the Virtual Senator Program developed by the Chilean Senate. The text unfolds in the form of a systematic analysis of institutional aspects embracing political and organizational elements as well as the social aspects associated to the application of digital democracy in parliaments. The investigation shows that at the stage they found themselves in 2010 those projects had only brought in very incipient results in regard to the aspects of enhancing representativity in decision making processes, aggregating collective intelligence to the legislative process or transparency to parliamentary performances, even though all of those are precious components of any democracy that deems itself to be participatory and deliberative. Nevertheless, such experiences have had the merit of contributing towards the gradual construction of more effective participatory mechanisms, complementary to the political representation system in place.

A Lei Complementar n. 95/1998 e a técnica de alteração das leis

Procura identificar as causas das falhas nos procedimentos de alteração das leis e apontar possíveis caminhos para a solução do problema. Para tanto, analisam-se a técnica de alteração das leis estabelecida na Lei Complementar n. 95/1998 e casos de incoerências e controvérsias textuais na legislação federal decorrentes de alterações feitas com descuido da boa técnica legislativa, mesmo após o advento da referida lei complementar.

Strategic Interaction and Conventions

The scope of the paper is the literature that employs coordination games to study social norms and conventions from the viewpoint of game theory and cognitive psychology. We claim that those two alternative approaches are complementary, as they provide different insights to explain how people converge to a unique system of self-fulfilling expectations in presence of multiple, equally viable, conventions. While game theory explains the emergence of conventions relying on efficiency and risk considerations, the psychological view is more concerned with frame and labeling effects. The interaction between these alternative (and, sometimes, competing) effects leads to the result that coordination failures may well occur and, even when coordination takes place, there is no guarantee that the convention eventually established will be the most efficient.

Lo visual como construcción. Desarrollo de un modelo pictórico de representación de la imagen

903 páginas, bibliografía en páginas 854-895, glosario en páginas 896-903

Second-best tax policy in a growing economy with externalities

This paper investigates the exploitation of environmental resources in a growing economy within a second-best scal policy framework. Agents derive utility from two types of consumption goods one which relies on an environmental input and one which does not as well as from leisure and from environmental amenity values. Property rights for the environmental resource are potentially incomplete. We connect second best policy to essential components of utility by considering the elasticity of substitution among each of the four utility arguments. The results illustrate potentially important relationships between environmental amentity values and leisure. When amenity values are complementary with leisure, for instance when environmental amenities are used for recreation, taxes on extractive goods generally increase over time. On the other hand, optimal taxes on extractive goods generally decrease over time when leisure and environmental amenity values are substitutes. Unders some parameterizations, complex dynamics leading to nonmonotonic time paths for the state variables can emerge.

Frente Parlamentar Mista das Micro e Pequenas Empresas : lógica de funcionamento e resultados

Analisa o modo com que os parlamentares se organizam frente à estrutura institucional no Congresso Nacional. Tem como referências para discussão, contribuições de Barry Ames (2003) e Figueiredo e Limongi (2001) que apresentam dois modelos de funcionamento do Parlamento, o distributivista e o partidário. Analisa a atuação da Frente Parlamentar Mista das Micro e Pequenas Empresas. Enfatiza a segunda fase de funcionamento da Frente, os anos de 2008 e 2009, quando trabalhou pela regulamentação da Lei Geral das Micro e Pequenas Empresas (Lei Complementar nº 123/06) nos Estados e Municípios e seus aperfeiçoamentos por meio da aprovação de Leis Complementares nºs 127/07, 128/08 e 133/09.

Modelos de empresa multinacional democrática o cooperativa

[ES] En este trabajo analizamos las posibles vías de desarrollar otro modelo de empresa multinacional desde tres puntos de vista. En primer lugar, analizaremos el papel que pueden desempeñar los códigos de conducta como instrumentos complementarios para diseñar una política social internacional. En segundo lugar, realizamos una breve reflexión sobre la cooperativa multinacional, o la cooperativa global, como alternativa cooperativa al modelo de empresa multinacional imperante. Por último, en tercer lugar, desde un punto de vista más amplio, nos referimos a las posibilidades de desarrollar un modelo de empresa multinacional más democrática. En este sentido, estudiamos algunos condicionantes que afectan al funcionamiento y a los procesos de decisión de las empresas multinacionales, en concreto nos referimos a los mecanismos de coordinación entre las diferentes unidades de la estructura multinacional y a las características de las filiales, en cuanto a su fortaleza o calidad.

In vitro activities of natural products against oral Candida isolates from denture wearers

Background: Candida-associated denture stomatitis is a frequent infectious disease. Treatment of this oral condition is difficult because failures and recurrences are common. The aim of this study was to test the in vitro antifungal activity of pure constituents of essentials oils. -- Methods: Eight terpenic derivatives (carvacrol, farnesol, geraniol, linalool, menthol, menthone, terpinen-4-ol, and aterpineol), a phenylpropanoid (eugenol), a phenethyl alcohol (tyrosol) and fluconazole were evaluated against 38 Candida isolated from denture-wearers and 10 collection Candida strains by the CLSI M27-A3 broth microdilution method. -- Results: Almost all the tested compounds showed antifungal activity with MIC ranges of 0.03-0.25% for eugenol and linalool, 0.03-0.12% for geraniol, 0.06-0.5% for menthol, a-terpineol and terpinen-4-ol, 0.03-0.5% for carvacrol, and 0.06-4% for menthone. These compounds, with the exception of farnesol, menthone and tyrosol, showed important in vitro activities against the fluconazole-resistant and susceptible-dose dependent Candida isolates. -- Conclusions: Carvacrol, eugenol, geraniol, linalool and terpinen-4-ol were very active in vitro against oral Candida isolates. Their fungistatic and fungicidal activities might convert them into promising alternatives for the topic treatment of oral candidiasis and denture stomatitis.

Posibilidades de la compraventa B2C por teléfono móvil en comparación con Internet

[ES] Las nuevas tecnologías han supuesto una gran oportunidad para mejorar la gestión empresarial. Recientemente el teléfono móvil está ofreciendo grandes posibilidades a nivel comercial: ha incorporado televisión, cámara, radio, chat y ahora se están introduciendo las empresas en el campo de la publicidad a través del móvil y en otros países también en la venta por el móvil. Pese a la proliferación de trabajos sobre distribución comercial y sobre comercio electrónico, los trabajos que exploran las posibilidades y retos del teléfono móvil y que lo comparan con Internet para la compraventa son escasos.