Active Damping and Energy Recovery in a Hydraulic Boom Controlled by an Electric Drive

The aim of the study is to obtain a mathematical description for an alternative variant of controlling a hydraulic circuit with an electrical drive. The electrical and hydraulic systems are described by basic mathematical equations. The flexibilities of the load and boom is modeled with assumed mode method. The model is achieved and proven with simulations. The controller is constructed and proven to decrease oscillations and improve the dynamic response of the system.

Applying Active Front End To Multilevel Inverter

The aim of this work was to make an active front end from IGBTs for a multilevel inverter. The work was done for Mosart II, a long term still ongoing Vacon Oyj project. The purpose of the AFE is to balance the DC-voltage and to put the returning power back to the grid instead of the breaking chopper and the capacitor. With a diode rectifier the bridge only allows power to pass in one direction and the switching times are not controllable. That means the rectifier always takes the highest phase and the phases are always conducting the same 120◦. With an AFE it is possible to actively change the rectifiers switching pattern. A diode bridge also generates much greater losses than an IGBT bridge. With these arguments it is rational to start researching the possibility of an AFE in a multilevel inverter.

Switching from tenofovir disoproxil fumarate to tenofovir alafenamide in antiretroviral regimens for virologically suppressed adults with HIV-1 infection: a randomised, active-controlled, multicentre, open-label, phase 3, non-inferiority study.

BACKGROUND: Antiretroviral regimens containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate have been associated with renal toxicity and reduced bone mineral density. Tenofovir alafenamide is a novel tenofovir prodrug that reduces tenofovir plasma concentrations by 90%, thereby decreasing off-target side-effects. We aimed to assess whether efficacy, safety, and tolerability were non-inferior in patients switched to a regimen containing tenofovir alafenamide versus in those remaining on one containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. METHODS: In this randomised, actively controlled, multicentre, open-label, non-inferiority trial, we recruited HIV-1-infected adults from Gilead clinical studies at 168 sites in 19 countries. Patients were virologically suppressed (HIV-1 RNA <50 copies per mL) with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 50 mL per min or greater, and were taking one of four tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-containing regimens for at least 96 weeks before enrolment. With use of a third-party computer-generated sequence, patients were randomly assigned (2:1) to receive a once-a-day single-tablet containing elvitegravir 150 mg, cobicistat 150 mg, emtricitabine 200 mg, and tenofovir alafenamide 10 mg (tenofovir alafenamide group) or to carry on taking one of four previous tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-containing regimens (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate group) for 96 weeks. Randomisation was stratified by previous treatment regimen in blocks of six. Patients and treating physicians were not masked to the assigned study regimen; outcome assessors were masked until database lock. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who received at least one dose of study drug who had undetectable viral load (HIV-1 RNA <50 copies per mL) at week 48. The non-inferiority margin was 12%. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01815736. FINDINGS: Between April 12, 2013 and April 3, 2014, we enrolled 1443 patients. 959 patients were randomly assigned to the tenofovir alafenamide group and 477 to the tenofovir disoproxil fumarate group. Viral suppression at week 48 was noted in 932 (97%) patients assigned to the tenofovir alafenamide group and in 444 (93%) assigned to the tenofovir disoproxil fumarate group (adjusted difference 4·1%, 95% CI 1·6-6·7), with virological failure noted in ten and six patients, respectively. The number of adverse events was similar between the two groups, but study drug-related adverse events were more common in the tenofovir alafenamide group (204 patients [21%] vs 76 [16%]). Hip and spine bone mineral density and glomerular filtration were each significantly improved in patients in the tenofovir alafenamide group compared with those in the tenofovir disoproxil fumarate group. INTERPRETATION: Switching to a tenofovir alafenamide-containing regimen from one containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate was non-inferior for maintenance of viral suppression and led to improved bone mineral density and renal function. Longer term follow-up is needed to better understand the clinical impact of these changes. FUNDING: Gilead Sciences.

An active zone characterized by slow normal faults, the northwestern margin of the València trough (NE Iberia): a review

The northwestern margin of the Valencia trough is an area of low strain characterized by slow normal faults and low to moderate seismicity. Since the mid 1990s this area has been the subject of a number of studies on active tectonic which have proposed different approaches to the location of active faults and to the calculation of the parameters that describe their seismic cycle. Fifty-six active faults have been found and a classification has been made in accordance with their characteristics: a) faults with clear evidence of large paleo-, historic or instrumental earthquakes (2/56); b) faults with evidence of accumulated activity during the Plio-Quaternary and with associated instrumental seismicity (7/56); c) faults with evidence of accumulated activity during the Plio-Quaternary and without associated instrumental seismicity (17/56); d) faults with associated instrumental seismicity and without evidence of accumulated activity during the Plio-Quaternary (30/56), and e) faults without evidence of activity or inactive faults. The parameters that describe the seismic cycle of these faults have been evaluated by different methods that use the geological data obtained for each fault except when paleoseismological studies were available. This classification can be applied to other areas with low slip faults because of the simplicity of the approaches adopted. This study reviews the different approaches proposed and describes the active faults located, highlighting the need a) to better understand active faults in slow strain zones through paleoseismological studies, and b) to include them in seismic hazard studies.

Generalization transitions in Hidden-Layer neural networks for third-order feature discrimination

Stochastic learning processes for a specific feature detector are studied. This technique is applied to nonsmooth multilayer neural networks requested to perform a discrimination task of order 3 based on the ssT-block¿ssC-block problem. Our system proves to be capable of achieving perfect generalization, after presenting finite numbers of examples, by undergoing a phase transition. The corresponding annealed theory, which involves the Ising model under external field, shows good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations.

A crise europeia: excepcionalidade econômica, gestão autoritária e emergência de formas ativas de resistência civil = The European crisis: economic exceptionality, authoritarian rulings and the emergence of active forms of civil resistance

Thirty years after neo-liberalism hegemony, the states shows its incapacity for driving democratically exceptional situations like global economical crisis. In this context, it seems a particularly interesting issue to exam the popular alternatives that are growing to reject the institutional paralysis. This work take these problems since European perspective, especially this one of Spain, and its scope is justify the new forms of civil disobedience that are growing. They are analyzed not like"paradoxes" of democracy, but like necessary instruments of participative democracy into a really exceptional scenario

jxSensor: a sensor network integration layer for JXTA

Nowadays, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) arealready a very important data source to obtain data about the environment. Thus, they are key to the creation of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Given the popularity of P2P middlewares as ameans to efficiently process information and distribute services, being able to integrate them to WSN¿s is an interesting proposal. JXTA is a widely used P2P middleware that allows peers to easily exchange information, heavily relying on its main architectural highlight, the capability to organize peers with common interests into peer groups. However, right now, approaches to integrate WSNs to a JXTA network seldom take advantage of peer groups. For this reason, in this paper we present jxSensor, an integrationlayer for sensor motes which facilitates the deployment of CPS¿s under this architecture. This integration has been done taking into account JXTA¿s idiosyncrasies and proposing novel ideas,such as the Virtual Peer, a group of sensors that acts as a single entity within the peer group context.

The First International Workshop on Warning Criteria for Active Slides: technical issues, problems and solutions for managing early warning systems

Early warning systems (EWSs) rely on the capacity to forecast a dangerous event with a certain amount of advance by defining warning criteria on which the safety of the population will depend. Monitoring of landslides is facilitated by new technologies, decreasing prices and easier data processing. At the same time, predicting the onset of a rapid failure or the sudden transition from slow to rapid failure and subsequent collapse, and its consequences is challenging for scientists that must deal with uncertainties and have limited tools to do so. Furthermore, EWS and warning criteria are becoming more and more a subject of concern between technical experts, researchers, stakeholders and decision makers responsible for the activation, enforcement and approval of civil protection actions. EWSs imply also a sharing of responsibilities which is often averted by technical staff, managers of technical offices and governing institutions. We organized the First International Workshop on Warning Criteria for Active Slides (IWWCAS) to promote sharing and networking among members from specialized institutions and relevant experts of EWS. In this paper, we summarize the event to stimulate discussion and collaboration between organizations dealing with the complex task of managing hazard and risk related to active slides.

Computed tomography angiography in patients with active gastrointestinal bleeding

Abstract Gastrointestinal bleeding represents a common medical emergency, with considerable morbidity and mortality rates, and a prompt diagnosis is essential for a better prognosis. In such a context, endoscopy is the main diagnostic tool; however, in cases where the gastrointestinal hemorrhage is massive, the exact bleeding site might go undetected. In addition, a trained professional is not always present to perform the procedure. In an emergency setting, optical colonoscopy presents limitations connected with the absence of bowel preparation, so most of the small bowel cannot be assessed. Scintigraphy cannot accurately demonstrate the anatomic location of the bleeding and is not available at emergency settings. The use of capsule endoscopy is inappropriate in the acute setting, particularly in the emergency department at night, and is a highly expensive method. Digital angiography, despite its high sensitivity, is invasive, presents catheterization-related risks, in addition to its low availability at emergency settings. On the other hand, computed tomography angiography is fast, widely available and minimally invasive, emerging as a promising method in the diagnostic algorithm of these patients, being capable of determining the location and cause of bleeding with high accuracy. Based on a critical literature review and on their own experience, the authors propose a computed tomography angiography protocol to assess the patient with gastrointestinal bleeding.

Personalized approaches to active immunotherapy in cancer

Immunotherapy is emerging as a promising anti-cancer curative modality. However, in contrast to recent advances obtained employing checkpoint blockade agents and T cell therapies, clinical efficacy of therapeutic cancer vaccines is still limited. Most vaccination attempts in the clinic represent "off-the shelf" approaches since they target common "self" tumor antigens, shared among different patients. In contrast, personalized approaches of vaccination are tailor-made for each patient and in spite being laborious, hold great potential. Recent technical advancement enabled the first steps in the clinic of personalized vaccines that target patient-specific mutated neo-antigens. Such vaccines could induce enhanced tumor-specific immune response since neo-antigens are mutation-derived antigens that can be recognized by high affinity T cells, not limited by central tolerance. Alternatively, the use of personalized vaccines based on whole autologous tumor cells, overcome the need for the identification of specific tumor antigens. Whole autologous tumor cells could be administered alone, pulsed on dendritic cells as lysate, DNA, RNA or delivered to dendritic cells in-vivo through encapsulation in nanoparticle vehicles. Such vaccines may provide a source for the full repertoire of the patient-specific tumor antigens, including its private neo-antigens. Furthermore, combining next-generation personalized vaccination with other immunotherapy modalities might be the key for achieving significant therapeutic outcome.

From Regional Landslide Detection to Site-Specific Slope Deformation Monitoring and Modelling Based on Active Remote Sensors

Landslide processes can have direct and indirect consequences affecting human lives and activities. In order to improve landslide risk management procedures, this PhD thesis aims to investigate capabilities of active LiDAR and RaDAR sensors for landslides detection and characterization at regional scales, spatial risk assessment over large areas and slope instabilities monitoring and modelling at site-specific scales. At regional scales, we first demonstrated recent boat-based mobile LiDAR capabilities to model topography of the Normand coastal cliffs. By comparing annual acquisitions, we validated as well our approach to detect surface changes and thus map rock collapses, landslides and toe erosions affecting the shoreline at a county scale. Then, we applied a spaceborne InSAR approach to detect large slope instabilities in Argentina. Based on both phase and amplitude RaDAR signals, we extracted decisive information to detect, characterize and monitor two unknown extremely slow landslides, and to quantify water level variations of an involved close dam reservoir. Finally, advanced investigations on fragmental rockfall risk assessment were conducted along roads of the Val de Bagnes, by improving approaches of the Slope Angle Distribution and the FlowR software. Therefore, both rock-mass-failure susceptibilities and relative frequencies of block propagations were assessed and rockfall hazard and risk maps could be established at the valley scale. At slope-specific scales, in the Swiss Alps, we first integrated ground-based InSAR and terrestrial LiDAR acquisitions to map, monitor and model the Perraire rock slope deformation. By interpreting both methods individually and originally integrated as well, we therefore delimited the rockslide borders, computed volumes and highlighted non-uniform translational displacements along a wedge failure surface. Finally, we studied specific requirements and practical issues experimented on early warning systems of some of the most studied landslides worldwide. As a result, we highlighted valuable key recommendations to design new reliable systems; in addition, we also underlined conceptual issues that must be solved to improve current procedures. To sum up, the diversity of experimented situations brought an extensive experience that revealed the potential and limitations of both methods and highlighted as well the necessity of their complementary and integrated uses.

Determination of compression behaviour of coating layer

The strength properties of paper coating layer are very important in converting and printing operations. Too great or low strength of the coating can affect several problems in printing. One of the problems caused by the strength of coating is the cracking at the fold. After printing the paper is folded to final form and the pages are stapled together. In folding the paper coating can crack causing aesthetic damage over printed image or in the worst case the centre sheet can fall off in stapling. When folding the paper other side undergoes tensile stresses and the other side compressive stresses. If the difference between these stresses is too high, the coating can crack on the folding. To better predict and prevent cracking at the fold it is good to know the strength properties of coating layer. It has measured earlier the tensile strength of coating layer but not the compressive strength. In this study it was tried to find some way to measure the compressive strength of the coating layer and investigate how different coatings behave in compression. It was used the short span crush test, which is used to measure the in-plane compressive strength of paperboards, to measure the compressive strength of the coating layer. In this method the free span of the specimen is very small which prevent buckling. It was measured the compressive strength of free coating films as well as coated paper. It was also measured the tensile strength and the Bendtsen air permeance of the coating film. The results showed that the shape of pigment has a great effect to the strength of coating. Platy pigment gave much better strength than round or needle-like pigment. On the other hand calcined kaolin, which is also platy but the particles are aggregated, decreased the strength substantially. The difference in the strength can be explained with packing of the particles which is affecting to the porosity and thus to the strength. The platy kaolin packs up much better than others and creates less porous structure. The results also showed that the binder properties have a great effect to the compressive strength of coating layer. The amount of latex and the glass transition temperature, Tg, affect to the strength. As the amount of latex is increasing, the strength of coating is increasing also. Larger amount of latex is binding the pigment particles better together and decreasing the porosity. Compressive strength was increasing when the Tg was increasing because the hard latex gives a stiffer and less elastic film than soft latex.