Virtuaalimallin hyödyntäminen harvesteripään tuotekehityksessä

Virtuaalimallinnuksella tarkoitetaan koneen simulointia, jossa huomioidaan koneen mekaniikka, toimilaitteet ja ohjausjärjestelmä. Työn tavoitteena oli luoda virtuaalimalli harvesteripäästä. Kyseinen virtuaalimalli sisälsi harvesteripään tärkeimmät mekaaniset osat, pituusmittalaitteen hydrauliikkapiirin ja tämän ohjauksen. Luodussa virtuaalimallissa huomioitiin myös harvesteripään ja puun väliset kontaktit. Lisäksi työssä tutkittiin mahdollista virtuaalimallinnuksen implementoimista osaksi yrityksen tuotekehitysprosessia. Työssä suoritettiin verifiointimittaukset pituusmittalaitteen hydrauliikkapiirille sekä virtuaalimallin hydrauliikkakomponentit parametrisoitiin. Mittauksista saatuja tuloksia verrattiin virtuaalimallista saatuihin tuloksiin. Työssä esitellään myös ehdotus kuinka virtuaalimallinnusta kannattaisi hyödyntää osana yrityksen tuotekehitysprosessia. Virtuaalimallin eri osa-alueilla saavutetut tulokset osoittavat, että virtuaalimallinuksen hyödyntäminen tuotekehitysprosessin aikana mahdollistaa harvesteripään toimintojen tarkastelun ennen prototyypin rakentamista ja testaamista. Lisäksi hydrauliikkapiirin parametrisoimisella pystytään tutkimaan parametrien vaikutusta kokonaisuuteen.

Construção de signos matemáticos: uma proposta metodológica para séries iniciais do ensino fundamental

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Morphometry of Cyphocharax gouldingi in the Praquiquara river watershed, Apeu east, Eastern Amazon

Curimatídeos do gênero Cyphocharax Fowler, 1906 distribuem-se amplamente nas bacias hidrográficas da América do Sul, contudo essa ampla distribuição inequivale a quantidade de trabalhos relacionados ao gênero. Visto isso, objetivou-se contribuir ao conhecimento de Cyphocarax gouldingi (Vari, 1992) através da caracterização morfométrica de indivíduos coletados na microbacia do rio Praquiquara, localizado no médio Apeú, Amazônia Oriental. Para a determinação morfométrica da espécie, utilizou-se o software Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended, mensurando os respectivos caracteres merísticos: comprimentos total, padrão, zoológico, cabeça e focinho, a medida da altura e o diâmetro do olho de 178 exemplares capturados entre os meses setembro (2014) e maio (2015). Verificou-se uma correlação forte positiva e alometria negativa, entre o comprimento total e as demais medidas externas, e observou a importância do rio Praquiquara durante o ciclo de vida da espécie. Conclui-se que as medidas morfométricas de C. gouldingi (1) satisfazem a estimação de comprimento total e (2) possibilitam o estudo sobre a dinâmica de crescimento da espécie estudada.

Reducing Discomfort While Measuring Crown-Heel Length in Neonates

To assess the degree of discomfort caused by length measurement in neonates, performed with one or both lower limbs extended, on the first and second day after birth, with either one or both lower limbs extended. METHODS: Healthy full-term neonates were systematically sampled during the months of February and March 2004. Crown-heel length was measured, using a 1-mm precision neonatometer, at approximately 8 h and 32 h after birth, with one and both lower limbs extended. The Neonatal Facial Coding System was used to assess discomfort during measurements. Data were analysed by parametric and non-parametric tests as appropriate. RESULTS: Whatever the measurement technique, discomfort scores are significantly higher during the length measurement than at baseline. Whenever length measurements are performed, discomfort scores are significantly higher when extending both lower limbs rather than one lower limb (p < 0.006). The measured length is greater with one lower limb extended; however, the difference decreases over time, being 0.19 cm (95% CI 0.1-0.3; p < 0.001) at approximately 32 h of age. No significant differences in length were found between measurements at approximately 8 or 32 h, regardless of the technique used. The best correlation between length measurements with one or both lower limbs extended was observed at approximately 32 h after birth (r = 0.98). CONCLUSION: Measuring crown-heel length is a distressful procedure for the neonate. Measurements with one lower limb extended result in less discomfort than when both lower limbs are extended, without decreasing the accuracy.

Synchrony is more than overlap: measuring phenological synchronization considering time length and intensity

The degree of flowering and fruiting synchronization is believed to have ecological and evolutionary relevance at several scales. Here we discuss some measures that have been used to estimate synchrony and propose an index that incorporates both the entire length of an individual phenophase and variation in the number of flowers or fruits over that time period. This new index describes more accurately the phenological synchrony among individuals and populations.

Measuring the effective focal length and shape factor of a thick lens using a microscope

The optical power of a thick spherical lens and its Coddington shape factor are essential magnitudes that characterize its image quality. Here, we propose an experimental procedure and apparatus that allow accurate determination of those magnitudes for any spherical lens from geometrical measurements. The performance of the technique and the used instruments are simple since it only requires a microscope and an optical mouse. The propose overcomes the drawbacks of other devices that need of the refractive index or may damage the lens surfaces, like spherometers, and provides similar results to those from commercial lensmeters.

Evaluation of length-of-stain gas indicator tubes for measuring carbon monoxide in air. Technical note.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Measuring the capacitance per unit length of biconical structures of arbitrary cross section /

"Contract No. AF33(616)-3220 Project No. 6(7-4600) Task 40572 Wright Air Development Center"

Calibration of line standards of length and measuring tapes at the National Bureau of Standards.

Mode of access: Internet.

Measuring macromolecular diffusion using heteronuclear multiple-quantum pulsed-field-gradient NMR

We have previously shown that H-1 pulsed-field-gradient (PFG) NMR spectroscopy provides a facile method for monitoring protein self-association and can be used, albeit with some caveats, to measure the apparent molecular mass of the diffusant [Dingley et al. (1995) J. Biomol. NMR, 6, 321-328]. In this paper we show that, for N-15-labelled proteins, selection of H-1-N-15 multiple-quantum (MQ) coherences in PFG diffusion experiments provides several advantages over monitoring H-1 single-quantum (SQ) magnetization. First, the use of a gradient-selected MQ filter provides a convenient means of suppressing resonances from both the solvent and unlabelled solutes. Second, H-1-N-15 zero-quantum coherence dephases more rapidly than H-1 SQ coherence under the influence of a PFG. This allows the diffusion coefficients of larger proteins to be measured more readily. Alternatively, the gradient length and/or the diffusion delay may be decreased, thereby reducing signal losses from relaxation. In order to extend the size of macromolecules to which these experiments can be applied, we have developed a new MQ PFG diffusion experiment in which the magnetization is stored as longitudinal two-spin order for most of the diffusion period, thus minimizing sensitivity losses due to transverse relaxation and J-coupling evolution.

An ex vivo comparison of root canal length determination by three electronic apex locators at positions short of the apical foramen

Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the precision of working length determination of 3 electronic apex locators (EALs): Root ZX, RomiApex D-30, and Ipex at 0.0 mm, at the apical foramen (AF), and at 1.0 mm short of the AF. Methodology. Thirty-eight mandibular premolars had their real lengths previously determined. Electronic measurements were determined at 1.0 mm, followed by measurements at 0.0 mm, performed in triplicate. Results. Precision of devices at 1.0 mm and 0.0 mm were: 94.7% and 97.4%, respectively (Root ZX); 78.9% and 97.4% (RomiApex D-30); and 76.3% and 97.4% (Ipex). Although no statistical differences were observed between the EALs at 0.0, at 1.0 mm Root ZX performed significantly better than the others. Conclusion. The EALs had acceptable precision when measuring the working length at the AF. However, when used at levels short of the AF, only Root ZX did not suffer a significant negative effect on precision. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2010;110:e57-e61)

Detecting and measuring deprivation in primary care: development, reliability and validity of a self-reported questionnaire: the DiPCare-Q.

OBJECTIVES: Advances in biopsychosocial science have underlined the importance of taking social history and life course perspective into consideration in primary care. For both clinical and research purposes, this study aims to develop and validate a standardised instrument measuring both material and social deprivation at an individual level. METHODS: We identified relevant potential questions regarding deprivation using a systematic review, structured interviews, focus group interviews and a think-aloud approach. Item response theory analysis was then used to reduce the length of the 38-item questionnaire and derive the deprivation in primary care questionnaire (DiPCare-Q) index using data obtained from a random sample of 200 patients during their planned visits to an ambulatory general internal medicine clinic. Patients completed the questionnaire a second time over the phone 3 days later to enable us to assess reliability. Content validity of the DiPCare-Q was then assessed by 17 general practitioners. Psychometric properties and validity of the final instrument were investigated in a second set of patients. The DiPCare-Q was administered to a random sample of 1898 patients attending one of 47 different private primary care practices in western Switzerland along with questions on subjective social status, education, source of income, welfare status and subjective poverty. RESULTS: Deprivation was defined in three distinct dimensions: material (eight items), social (five items) and health deprivation (three items). Item consistency was high in both the derivation (Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (KR20) =0.827) and the validation set (KR20 =0.778). The DiPCare-Q index was reliable (interclass correlation coefficients=0.847) and was correlated to subjective social status (r(s)=-0.539). CONCLUSION: The DiPCare-Q is a rapid, reliable and validated instrument that may prove useful for measuring both material and social deprivation in primary care.

Application of a roughness-length representation to parameterize energy loss in 3-D numerical simulations of large rivers

Recent technological advances in remote sensing have enabled investigation of the morphodynamics and hydrodynamics of large rivers. However, measuring topography and flow in these very large rivers is time consuming and thus often constrains the spatial resolution and reach-length scales that can be monitored. Similar constraints exist for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies of large rivers, requiring maximization of mesh-or grid-cell dimensions and implying a reduction in the representation of bedform-roughness elements that are of the order of a model grid cell or less, even if they are represented in available topographic data. These ``subgrid'' elements must be parameterized, and this paper applies and considers the impact of roughness-length treatments that include the effect of bed roughness due to ``unmeasured'' topography. CFD predictions were found to be sensitive to the roughness-length specification. Model optimization was based on acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements and estimates of the water surface slope for a variety of roughness lengths. This proved difficult as the metrics used to assess optimal model performance diverged due to the effects of large bedforms that are not well parameterized in roughness-length treatments. However, the general spatial flow patterns are effectively predicted by the model. Changes in roughness length were shown to have a major impact upon flow routing at the channel scale. The results also indicate an absence of secondary flow circulation cells in the reached studied, and suggest simpler two-dimensional models may have great utility in the investigation of flow within large rivers. Citation: Sandbach, S. D. et al. (2012), Application of a roughness-length representation to parameterize energy loss in 3-D numerical simulations of large rivers, Water Resour. Res., 48, W12501, doi: 10.1029/2011WR011284.

Ectopic human telomerase catalytic subunit expression maintains telomere length but is not sufficient for CD8+ T lymphocyte immortalization.

Like most somatic human cells, T lymphocytes have a limited replicative life span. This phenomenon, called senescence, presents a serious barrier to clinical applications that require large numbers of Ag-specific T cells such as adoptive transfer therapy. Ectopic expression of hTERT, the human catalytic subunit of the enzyme telomerase, permits fibroblasts and endothelial cells to avoid senescence and to become immortal. In an attempt to immortalize normal human CD8(+) T lymphocytes, we infected bulk cultures or clones of these cells with a retrovirus transducing an hTERT cDNA clone. More than 90% of transduced cells expressed the transgene, and the cell populations contained high levels of telomerase activity. Measuring the content of total telomere repeats in individual cells (by flowFISH) we found that ectopic hTERT expression reversed the gradual loss of telomeric DNA observed in control populations during long term culture. Telomere length in transduced cells reached the levels observed in freshly isolated normal CD8(+) lymphocytes. Nevertheless, all hTERT-transduced populations stopped to divide at the same time as nontransduced or vector-transduced control cells. When kept in IL-2 the arrested cells remained alive. Our results indicate that hTERT may be required but is not sufficient to immortalize human T lymphocytes.

Measuring potentially avoidable hospital readmissions.

The objectives of this study were to develop a computerized method to screen for potentially avoidable hospital readmissions using routinely collected data and a prediction model to adjust rates for case mix. We studied hospital information system data of a random sample of 3,474 inpatients discharged alive in 1997 from a university hospital and medical records of those (1,115) readmitted within 1 year. The gold standard was set on the basis of the hospital data and medical records: all readmissions were classified as foreseen readmissions, unforeseen readmissions for a new affection, or unforeseen readmissions for a previously known affection. The latter category was submitted to a systematic medical record review to identify the main cause of readmission. Potentially avoidable readmissions were defined as a subgroup of unforeseen readmissions for a previously known affection occurring within an appropriate interval, set to maximize the chance of detecting avoidable readmissions. The computerized screening algorithm was strictly based on routine statistics: diagnosis and procedures coding and admission mode. The prediction was based on a Poisson regression model. There were 454 (13.1%) unforeseen readmissions for a previously known affection within 1 year. Fifty-nine readmissions (1.7%) were judged avoidable, most of them occurring within 1 month, which was the interval used to define potentially avoidable readmissions (n = 174, 5.0%). The intra-sample sensitivity and specificity of the screening algorithm both reached approximately 96%. Higher risk for potentially avoidable readmission was associated with previous hospitalizations, high comorbidity index, and long length of stay; lower risk was associated with surgery and delivery. The model offers satisfactory predictive performance and a good medical plausibility. The proposed measure could be used as an indicator of inpatient care outcome. However, the instrument should be validated using other sets of data from various hospitals.