Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Modified stage'

The present research attempted to modify Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT) in order to better differentiate stage 6 moral reasoners from stage 5 reasoners. A review of the literature showed that the DIT seems to be both reliable and valid, yet it is unable to clearly differentiate between the stages of principled moral reasoning. After three pilot tests, newly developed stage 6 items were added to the DIT. The revised DIT was then administered to people believed to be stage 6 reasoners. Of the 30 respondents, three made the stage 6 cutoff. No stage 6 items were shown to clearly differentiate between stages 5 and 6.

This research investigates second harmonic generation in Rayleigh surface waves propagating in 9%Cr ferritic martensitic steel. Previous experimental results show that the nonlinearity parameter is sensitive to certain changes in a material's properties such as thermal embrittlement and hardness changes. Therefore, the nonlinearity parameter can be used as an indicator of thermal damage due to changes in dislocation density and precipitations. The specimens are isothermally aged for different holding times to create progressive changes in the microstructure and obtain different levels of thermal aging damage. As aging progresses the dislocation density decreases and precipitations are formed; these microstructural evolutions lead to changes in the nonlinearity parameter β. Nonlinear ultrasonic experiments are conducted for each specimen using a wedge transducer for generation and an air-coupled transducer for detection of Rayleigh surface waves. The amplitudes of the first and second order harmonics are measured at different propagation distances, and these amplitudes are used to obtain the relative nonlinearity parameter for each specimen at different aging stages. Conclusions about microstructural changes are drawn based on the nonlinear Rayleigh surface wave measurement and complementary measurements including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Rockwell HRC hardness. The results indicate that the nonlinearity parameter is very sensitive to the dislocation density and precipitate formation, and thus can be used to track the microstructural change in this material during the process of thermal aging.

Master of Science
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Behrooz Mirafzal
In this thesis, a modified version of the phasor pulse width modulation (PPWM) switching method for use in a single-stage three-phase boost inverter is presented. Because of the required narrow pulses in the PPWM method and limitations in controller resolution, e.g. dSPACE, the desired switching pattern for a boost inverter requires a costly processor. A low resolution processor can cause pulse dropping which results in some asymmetric conditions in output waveforms of the boost inverter and therefore, an increase in the THD of the output waveform. In order to solve this problem, a new switching pattern is developed which guarantees symmetric conditions in the switching pattern by discretizing the switching pattern in every switching cycle. This switching pattern has been applied to a boost inverter model developed by SimPowerSystems toolbox of MATLAB/Simulink. The model has been simulated in a wide range of input DC voltage and load. Moreover, a laboratory-scaled three-phase boost inverter has been designed, built, and tested using an identical switching pattern in the same input voltage and load range. Both simulation and experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the new switching pattern.

This study extends the idea and the technique of realizing 2ⁿᵈ-order state variable filters to the realization of single block nᵗʰ-order state variable filters and introduces a modified realization with different design procedures. The effects of gain-bandwidth on the performance of state variable filter realizations with respect to properties, such as, magnitude and phase characteristics and the actual pole locations are investigated and discussed. Various methods of compensation for these effects are also addressed.

Shear cracks are formed when high oblique tensile stresses, e.g. in thin webs, exceed the tensile strength. A known example of this phenomenon is the extensive shear cracks that were found on the box-girder bridges Gröndal and Alvik, which were mainly caused by insufficient amount of shear reinforcement. In order to avoid this incident (inadequate amount of shear reinforcement), the reinforcement stress is often being assumed as a ultimate limit load in order to fulfill requirements regarding crack control in the service-ability limit state (SLS). This method has led to a overestimation of the reinforcement amount in bridge-design. The aim of this master thesis is therefor to study the shear crack phenomenon and investigate if the amount of shear reinforcement in bridges can be reduced. The first part of this thesis studies the shear cracking behavior in concrete in a plane stress state, while the second part focus how design standards as well as manuals treats shear cracks. Shear cracking in the reinforced concrete panels has been studied with non-linear finite element analysis and compared to experimental testings performed by the University of Toronto. Three different loading conditions for the panels has been analyzed: pureshear, compression or tension combined with shear. The panels are to represent parts of a web in a box-girder bridge that are subjected to in-plane stresses. The non-linear finite element analysis was performed in the FE-program Atena where mainly the crack propagation and crack pattern were studied. The material model in Atena is a smeared crack model with either fixed or rotated crack direction. The panel analysis, in SLS, gave various results. For loading conditions pure shear and tension/shear, the response of the FE-analysis gave a similar result regarding crack pattern but differed in size of crack width. For compression/shear, only micro-cracks developed and did not reflect the result from the real panel tests. This may be the consequence of a too stiff FE-model and the fact that, in the real tests, some cracks occurred due to out-of-plane bending. With methods described in Eurocode 2 and the Swedish handbook for EC2, a shear crack calculation model was created in order to determine the reinforcement stress and crack width. As a reference for the shear crack calculations, a wing structure (1 m strip) has been used which is part of a railway bridge located in Abisko. These calculations were done in order to investigate if the amount of shear reinforcement could be reduced and at the same time fulfill crack control demands in SLS. The bridge department at Tyréns AB concluded, according to a truss model, that the wing section should be reinforced with a amount of 14.1 cm2/m2 while our model showed that the crack width demand could be fulfilled with a equivalent amount of 9.82 cm2/m2, i.e. a reduction around 30%.

Equality constraints are dealt with by including them directly in the inner optimization problem of the MBF method. Exact Hessian and gradient information is used throughout all implementations. The MBF, as implemented, consists of a two-stage approach: an outer cycle where the Lagrange multipliers for simple bound constraints of the variables are updated and an inner cycle, where the resulting equality-only constrained nonlinear optimization problem is solved. At present, inequalities in the problem are converted to equalities with the addition of bounded slack variables, the subsequently solved as such. In addition, sparsity is exploited in the overall problem Jacobians. The advantages of the MBF method are demonstrated with test cases coming from the standard literature of process systems engineering. It is also observed that the solutions are attained in few iterations and function evaluations. This work also presents a rigorous approach for the solution of inequality path constrained optimal control problems (OCPs). The scheme uses the MBF method to derive a globally smooth transformation for the inequality path constraint which generates the Euler-Lagrange multiplier trajectories iteratively. It also introduces into discretization methods a novel scheme which is e-convergent with respect to satisfying the path constraints globally. This results in a derived sequence of OCPs that will converge to a prescribed accuracy within a finite number of iterations. Another important development is the initialization of the Lagrange multipliers using only a sparsely discretized path constraint over a time horizon. The method is shown to be effective and promising for future applications in both discretization/collocation and control vector parameterization implementations.

Solid state 29Si and 27Al magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy has been used to investigate how mechanochemical modification affects the hydration kinetics, as well as the structural and chemical properties, in cement blends. The modification comprises intensive treatment of rapid hardening Portland cement with condensed silica fume additive in a vibrating grinding mill. 29Si MAS NMR was utilised to follow the hydration reactions of calcium silicates at five different ages and with two different water/binder ratios. The hydration rate was higher in the cement pastes formed by the treated blends, especially at an early age, and more pronounced at high water/binder ratios. Variations in relative intensities of 29Si resonances suggest different structures of calcium silicate hydrate nets in the pastes. This can be correlated with enhanced compressive strength in cement pastes produced by modified blends. 27Al MAS NMR was used to characterise the coordination state of aluminium in anhydrous and hydrous aluminate and ferrite phases. The hydrated cement blends showed 27Al resonances characteristic of four-, five-, and six-coordinated aluminium. 1H-27Al CPMAS experiments revealed that only the octahedral phases are located in a proton-rich environment. The signal in the Al(IV) range is due to incorporation of aluminium in the hydrated silicate phases, and is most likely an intermediate formed prior to the octahedral hydration products. A higher Al(IV)/Al(VI) ratio in cement pastes formed by mechanochemically treated blends may contribute to increased early strength development.
Godkänd; 2001; 20070313 (ysko)

Дисертація на здобуття наукового ступеня кандидата технічних наук за спеціальністю 05.05.17 – гідравлічні машини та гідропневмоагрегати. – Національний технічний університет "Харківський політехнічний інститут", Харків, 2018 р. Дисертацію присвячено вирішенню важливої науково-технічної задачі підвищення ефективності роботи заглибного електровідцентрового насоса при його роботі на реальній рідині, що представляє собою суміш в'язкої неньютонівської рідини, води та газу, за рахунок вдосконалення математичних моделей. Виконано аналіз концепцій розвитку насособудування в Україні. Описано методи математичного моделювання тривимірних течій в'язкої реальної рідини та їх переваги над фізичними експериментами. Обрано пакет програм для проведення чисельного експерименту в каналах заглибних насосів OpenFOAM. Для моделювання течії рідини в проточній частині насоса використовувалась система рівнянь нерозривності та Навье-Стокса. Для її замикання було обрано k-ε модель турбулентності. Досліджено вплив реологічних властивостей неньютонівських рідин на характеристики відцентрового насоса. Наведено математичну модель турбулентної тривимірної течії неньютонівської рідини. Для розрахунків обрано модель неньютонівської рідини Гершеля-Балклі, що найбільш точно описує поведінку рідин даного типу. Вдосконалено залежності для перерахунку характеристик насосу при його роботі на реальній рідині. Визначено та обрано підхід та математичну модель для моделювання тривимірної течії в'язкої газорідинної суміші та показані особливості при розрахунках такого типу рідин в пакеті OpenFOAM. Розглянуто шляхи підвищення ефективності заглибних насосів шляхом зміни проточної частини. Визначено раціональний кут нахилу вихідної кромки. Запропоновано модифіковану ступінь насоса, котра захищена патентом України, для перекачування рідини з підвищеним вмістом газу. Розглянуто та вдосконалено математичну модель сумісної роботи реальної свердловини та заглибного відцентрового насоса у вигляді пакета прикладних програм. Це дало змогу визначати основні фізичні характеристики рідини в залежності від термодинамічних умов.
Thesis for granting the Degree of Candidate of Technical sciences in speciality 05.05.16 – Hydraulic machines and hydropneumatic units. – National Technical University "Kharkiv Politechnic Institute", 2018. The dissertation is devoted to the solution of an important scientific and technical problem of increasing the efficiency of a submersible electric centrifugal pump when it operates on a real liquid, which is a mixture of viscous non-Newtonian fluid, water and gas by improving mathematical models. An analysis of the concepts of development of pumping plant in Ukraine is carried out. The methods of mathematical modeling of three-dimensional flows of a viscous real liquid and their advantages over physical experiments are described. Selected software package for numerical experiment in OpenFOAM submersible pump channels. A system of indeterminate and Navier-Stokes equations was used to simulate the flow of fluid in the flow section of the pump. For its closure a k-ε turbulence model was chosen. The influence of rheological properties of non-Newtonian fluids on the characteristics of a centrifugal pump is investigated. The mathematical model of the turbulent three-dimensional flow of the non-Newtonian fluid is given. For calculations, a model of the Herschel-Bulkley non-Newtonian fluid is chosen, which most accurately describes the behavior of liquids of this type. The dependencies for the recalculation of the characteristics of the pump during its operation on the real liquid have been improved. The approach and mathematical model for modeling the three-dimensional flow of a viscous gas-liquid mixture are determined and chosen, and features are shown in the calculations of this type of fluid in the OpenFOAM package. The ways of increasing the efficiency of submersible pumps by changing the flow part are considered. The rational angle of inclination of the initial edge is determined. The modified degree of the pump, protected by the Ukrainian patent, is offered for pumping a liquid with an increased gas content. The mathematical model of a compatible operation of a real well and a submersible centrifugal pump in the form of a package of applied programs is considered and improved. This made it possible to determine the basic physical characteristics of the liquid, depending on the thermodynamic conditions.

Дисертація на здобуття наукового ступеня кандидата технічних наук за спеціальністю 05.05.17 – гідравлічні машини та гідропневмоагрегати. – Національний технічний університет "Харківський політехнічний інститут", Харків, 2018 р. Дисертацію присвячено вирішенню важливої науково-технічної задачі підвищення ефективності роботи заглибного електровідцентрового насоса при його роботі на реальній рідині, що представляє собою суміш в'язкої неньютонівської рідини, води та газу, за рахунок вдосконалення математичних моделей. Виконано аналіз концепцій розвитку насособудування в Україні. Описано методи математичного моделювання тривимірних течій в'язкої реальної рідини та їх переваги над фізичними експериментами. Обрано пакет програм для проведення чисельного експерименту в каналах заглибних насосів OpenFOAM. Для моделювання течії рідини в проточній частині насоса використовувалась система рівнянь нерозривності та Навье-Стокса. Для її замикання було обрано k-ε модель турбулентності. Досліджено вплив реологічних властивостей неньютонівських рідин на характеристики відцентрового насоса. Наведено математичну модель турбулентної тривимірної течії неньютонівської рідини. Для розрахунків обрано модель неньютонівської рідини Гершеля-Балклі, що найбільш точно описує поведінку рідин даного типу. Вдосконалено залежності для перерахунку характеристик насосу при його роботі на реальній рідині. Визначено та обрано підхід та математичну модель для моделювання тривимірної течії в'язкої газорідинної суміші та показані особливості при розрахунках такого типу рідин в пакеті OpenFOAM. Розглянуто шляхи підвищення ефективності заглибних насосів шляхом зміни проточної частини. Визначено раціональний кут нахилу вихідної кромки. Запропоновано модифіковану ступінь насоса, котра захищена патентом України, для перекачування рідини з підвищеним вмістом газу. Розглянуто та вдосконалено математичну модель сумісної роботи реальної свердловини та заглибного відцентрового насоса у вигляді пакета прикладних програм. Це дало змогу визначати основні фізичні характеристики рідини в залежності від термодинамічних умов.
Thesis for granting the Degree of Candidate of Technical sciences in speciality 05.05.16 – Hydraulic machines and hydropneumatic units. – National Technical University "Kharkiv Politechnic Institute", 2018. The dissertation is devoted to the solution of an important scientific and technical problem of increasing the efficiency of a submersible electric centrifugal pump when it operates on a real liquid, which is a mixture of viscous non-Newtonian fluid, water and gas by improving mathematical models. An analysis of the concepts of development of pumping plant in Ukraine is carried out. The methods of mathematical modeling of three-dimensional flows of a viscous real liquid and their advantages over physical experiments are described. Selected software package for numerical experiment in OpenFOAM submersible pump channels. A system of indeterminate and Navier-Stokes equations was used to simulate the flow of fluid in the flow section of the pump. For its closure a k-ε turbulence model was chosen. The influence of rheological properties of non-Newtonian fluids on the characteristics of a centrifugal pump is investigated. The mathematical model of the turbulent three-dimensional flow of the non-Newtonian fluid is given. For calculations, a model of the Herschel-Bulkley non-Newtonian fluid is chosen, which most accurately describes the behavior of liquids of this type. The dependencies for the recalculation of the characteristics of the pump during its operation on the real liquid have been improved. The approach and mathematical model for modeling the three-dimensional flow of a viscous gas-liquid mixture are determined and chosen, and features are shown in the calculations of this type of fluid in the OpenFOAM package. The ways of increasing the efficiency of submersible pumps by changing the flow part are considered. The rational angle of inclination of the initial edge is determined. The modified degree of the pump, protected by the Ukrainian patent, is offered for pumping a liquid with an increased gas content. The mathematical model of a compatible operation of a real well and a submersible centrifugal pump in the form of a package of applied programs is considered and improved. This made it possible to determine the basic physical characteristics of the liquid, depending on the thermodynamic conditions.

Interfacial investigations of a protein monolayer electrochemical system, cytochrome c (cyt c) adsorbed to a carboxylic acid (COOH) terminated self-assembled monolayer (SAM) were undertaken. Previous research suggested that anomalous peak broadening observed in the voltammetry of cyt c may be the manifestation of surface effects at the SAM/solution interface (heterogeneous adsorption sites). To examine this matter further, research was directed at 1) deciphering the role of the gold substrate's topography in both SAM formation and cyt c voltammetry; 2) understanding the protein binding interactions at the SAM/solution interface that influence cyt c adsorption and electrochemical response, and 3) investigating the microscopic properties of all the surfaces involved. Electrochemical and scanning probe microscopy techniques were used to explore the influence of gold topography in cyt c / COOH SAM / Au systems. COOH SAMs (11-mercaptoundecanoic acid and 14-mercaptotetradecanoic acid) were prepared and characterized on a variety of gold surfaces including evaporated, bulk, single crystal, and expitaxially grown on mica gold substrates. Each type of gold surface exhibited specific topographical features and characteristic roughness. SAMs were found to have a decreasing number of defects as the topography of the gold became smoother, as evidenced by an increased ability to block solution probe molecules. As the SAMs become less defective on the smoother gold, the extent of adsorption and the magnitude of the electrochemical response of adsorbed cyt c decreased significantly. These results show cyt c adsorption and electrochemistry to be intimately related to the density of defects in the SAM, which, in turn, are heavily influenced by the gold topography. Additionally, as the gold roughness decreased, the double layer capacitance of the films was observed to increase. A physical model was proposed in which the structure and properties of COOH SAMs are dictated by significant endgroup interactions in addition to chain-chain interactions. The model illustrates how gold topography plays an intricate role in determining the structure and application of COOH terminated SAMs. Research was also performed on the SAM/solution interface by thermally healing SAMs on gold and utilizing SAMs on Ag-UPD modified gold. Thermal healing, by reducing the number of defects in the SAMs, was also found to affect both SAM structural properties and cyt c adsorption. SAMs that had been thermally healed exhibited a lower density of defects while, at the same time, supported lower electroactive cyt c coverage. Ag UPD layers were tested as a means of creating more stable, less defective COOH SAMs for cyt c immobilization and possibly allowing for more ideal voltammetry of the proteins. Preliminary research has shown that SAMs with Ag-UPD layers have fewer defects and greater inherent stability. Finally, scanning probe microscopy techniques were employed to investigate the structure of the gold substrate, the SAM/solution interface, and adsorbed cyt c. In addition to cyt c / SAM / Au research, results from the following investigations are presented: electrochemistry of adsorbed cyt c at indium tin oxide electrodes and the electron transfer (ET) properties of iron-sulfur metallodendrimers. The metallodendrimers exhibited attenuated ET properties with increasing generations of dendritic ligands in a solventless, polymeric media. The electrochemistry of Cu(II) in physiological pathways that may be related to neurological and ocular diseases was also explored. Research on these systems revealed that the reduction of Cu(II) by certain peptides and catabolites may play a vital role in the development of these diseases.

Дисертація присвячена підвищенню довговічності РО УЕВН конструктивними та технологічними методами. Розроблено стендове і методичне забезпечення експериментальних досліджень з підвищення довговічності РО УЕВН. Створено тривимірну модель його РК і проведено імітаційне моделювання впливу прикладеного навантаження на лопаті РК та величини його зносу на розподіл статичних напружень по тілу РК і характеристики УЕВН. Проведено дослідження на зносостійкість вибраних пар тертя СН, виявлено вплив методу термічної обробки на зміну розмірів виливків РК і НА з сірого, модифікованого церієм чавуну та встановлено емпіричні залежності для визначення їхніх від’ємних допусків. Розроблено комбіновану конструкцію СН УЕВН з поліамідною робочою частиною, виготовлено і випробувано ЗВ вала і ОШ підвищеної зносостійкості. Проведено промислові дослідження УЕВН з РО підвищеної довговічності, які підтвердили 2,0-2,5 кратне підвищення їхньої стійкості.
Диссертация посвящена повышению долговечности рабочих органов (РО) установок электроцентробежных насосов (УЭЦН) конструктивными и технологическими методами. Диссертация состоит из введения, пяти глав и приложений. Обоснована актуальность работы, сформулированы цели и задачи исследований, поданы научная новизна и практическая ценность полученных результатов, отражены основные результаты работы. Проанализировано современное состояние и перспективы повышения долговечности РО УЭЦН. Рассмотрены особенности конструкции ступени насоса (СН). Отмечено, что СН различного выполнения различаются материалами РО, пар трения и некоторыми конструктивными элементами, а одним из наиболее сложных технологических заданий является изготовление массовых деталей СН, которые изготовляются, в основном, из серого чугуна из-за чего они имеют низкую износостойкость. Отмечено, что решая вопросы повышения износостойкости РК параллельно необходимо решать вопросы повышения износостойкости других элементов СН. При этом желательно существенно не изменять технологию и стоимость изготовления СН. Установлены закономерности наработки УЭВН до отказа по типоразмерам и месторождениям НГДУ “Черниговнефтегаз”, а также определен их средний ресурс. Проанализированы методы упрочнения деталей применительно к РО УЭЦН. При этом отмечено, что применение серого чугуна, модифицированного редкоземельными металлами, и полиамида, разрешит проблему повышения долговечности СН. Разработано стендовое и методическое обеспечения экспериментальных исследований по повышению долговечности РО УЭЦН. Разработана конструкция стендовой установки для проведения испытаний на износостойкость и приведены ее технические характеристики. Объектом исследований выбран серый чугун, модифицированный редкоземельными металлами (церием, иттрием), который имеет хорошие литьевые качества, твердость 480-500 НRВ после термообработки и высокую износостойкость. Отобраны пары зрения по результатам исследования на гидроабразивное изнашивание на протяжении часа по разработанной экспресс-методике. Разработана методика оценки износостойкости чугуна, модифицированного церием, по скорости роста усталостной трещины, позволяющая сократить объем достаточно трудоемких и сложных традиционных исследований на износостойкость. Исследовано, с использованием разработанной трехмерной модели РК, влияние приложенных к его лопастям нагрузок на изменение напряженно-деформируемого состояния (НДС) по телу РК, а также величины износа РК на изменение рабочих характеристик УЭЦН. Приведены результаты исследований на износостойкость пар трения «направляющий аппарат-защитная втулка вала» и «направляющий аппарат- опорная шайба». Установлена эмпирическая зависимость прироста размеров РК и НА от их номинальных значений при различных методах термообработки, позволяющая рассчитать необходимую величину отрицательного допуска на механическую обработку отливок до их термообработки. Разработана конструкция СН с полиамидной рабочей частью, в которой корпус НА выполнен из металла, а проточная часть - из полиамида. Предложен способ получения РО УЭЦН повышенной износостойкости и отработана технология литья, чугуна, модифицированного редкоземельными металлами (церием, иттрием) с первичной основой. Разработаны технология серийного изготовления ЗВ вала, ОШ из композита П70Н2Д2 и новые технологические маршруты их изготовления. Разработана методика проведения промысловых исследований, которая предусматривает оценку вибросостояния УЭЦН по уровню ее вибрации. Разработаны конструкция измерительной муфты и устройство для контроля уровня вибрации УЭЦН. Результаты промысловых исследований подтвердили 2,0-2,5 кратное повышение долговечности СН УЭЦН, оснащенных экспериментальными РО.
The dissertation is devoted to the electrical rotary pump labour body longevity increase by the constructional and technoligical means. The bench-top and methodical support for the experimental testing for the electrical rotary pump labour body longevity increase. The rotor wheel three-dimensional model is designed and the imitating modelling is made to investigate the influence of the imposed load on the wheel blade both with the one’s wear on the statical stresses distribution in the wheel body both with the work characteristics of the electrical rotary pump equipment. The pump stage selected tribological situation wearing capacity investigations was made, the influence of the thermal treatment method on the grey cerium modified cast iron-made pump stage element’s formings dimensions change is discovered, the empirical dependence for the one’s negative tolerance definition was received. The combined construction of the electrical rotary pump stage with the polyamide-made test portion was designed, the protective shaft bushing and the increased wearing capacity support washer was produced. The industrial investigations of the electrical rotary pump equipment with the increased longevity working stages was carried out, it was shown the 2-2,5 multiple increasing of the pump stages durability.

State dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) plays an important role in nonlinear controller design. For autonomous nonlinear systems that can be expressed in linear form with state-dependent coefficients (SDC), SDRE-based controllers guarantee local asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system, under pointwise stabilizability and detectability conditions. Moreover, the optimal control for a quadratic cost function, when it exists, corresponds to an SDRE-based control design for a specific SDC parameterization of the associated nonlinear system. Unfortunately, the implementation of the SDRE-based controllers is computationally expensive. Various techniques have been developed for solving the SDRE, which are either computationally expensive or lack acceptable precision. In this dissertation, a modified state-dependent differential Riccati equation (MSDDRE) is proposed for approximating the solution of the SDRE, which is easy to implement with moderate computation power and its solution can be made arbitrarily close to that of the SDRE. Therefore, it can be used for real-time implementation of near-optimal controllers for nonlinear systems in state-dependent linear form. The proposed technique is then extended to SDRE-based filter design and its application to SDRE-based output feedback control technique. The proposed technique is also extended to state-dependent H-inf; robust control design for a constant noise attenuation bound, when the solution exists. To reduce the design conservativeness, the technique is further extended to state-dependent H-inf; robust control design with adaptive noise attenuation bound, using gain-scheduling technique and linear matrix inequality (LMI) optimization, to approximate H-inf; optimal control with state-dependent noise-attenuation bound. Local asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system is proven for all proposed techniques. Simulation results further confirm the validity of the development and demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed techniques.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior
Os processos de eutrofizaÃÃo em reservatÃrios constituem-se como um dos mais importantes problemas de qualidade de Ãgua a ser estudado por engenheiros, cientistas e gestores de recursos hÃdricos. Como se sabe, em regiÃes de escassez, o armazenamento de Ãgua à de fundamental importÃncia para o desenvolvimento sustentÃvel, tanto do ponto de vista econÃmico, como do ponto de vista social. Assim, adquirir conhecimento que explique os principais fatores nos processos de eutrofizaÃÃo à um desafio. Este trabalho tem como objetivo fundamental, o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia capaz de estudar o risco de eutrofizaÃÃo de um reservatÃrio, com base na Teoria Fuzzy e nos mecanismos usados para a determinaÃÃo dos Ãndices do Estado TrÃfico Modificado (IETM). Para tal, foram usados dados do ReservatÃrio Acarape do Meio, no estado do CearÃ, notadamente, nos anos de 2001 atà 2006, sendo que no ano de 2003 nÃo houve visita ao campo por parte da Companhia de GestÃo de Recursos HÃdricos â COGERH. Para o cÃlculo do risco foram usadas funÃÃes de pertinÃncia do Ãndice de Estado TrÃfico Modificado, transformadas segundo as regras dos NÃmeros Difusos. Os resultados mostram que para os anos observados, somente em 2006 a qualidade das Ãguas daquele reservatÃrio ficou em estado crÃtico.
The processes of eutrophication in reservoirs become as an important problem in water quality to be studied by engineers, scientists and water managers. As it is known, in areas of scarcity, water storage is of fundamental importance to sustainable development, both from an economic standpoint, as the social point of view. Thus, acquiring knowledge that explains the main factors in eutrophication processes is a challenge. This work has as fundamental goal, the development of a methodology capable of studying the risk of eutrophication in a reservoir, based on Fuzzy Theory and the mechanisms used for the determination of the Modified Trophic State Index. In such way, it was used data from the Acarape do Meio Reservoir, in the State of CearÃ, especially in the years 2001 to 2006, but in 2003 there were not field visits by the Company of Water Resources Management - COGERH. To calculate the risk it was used membership functions of the Modified Trophic State Index, transformed according to the rules of Fuzzy Numbers. The results show that for the years of observation, only in 2006 the reservoir water quality was in critical condition.

Trade Facilitation Indicators have become important mechanisms of monitoring the ease of trade. Another issue of rising concern is the pervasive debate on genetically engineered organisms and the development of Genetically Engineered Restrictive Index to evaluate its implications on trade. With regards to these, the objective of the United States Trade Representative is to eliminate implicit trade barriers. Hence, this study examines the impact of TFIs on U.S. agricultural export and its efficiency. From the results, a 1% increase in destination?s Genetically Engineered Restrictive Index leads to a US$ 9,426.82 and US$ 74,268.04 decline in corn and soybean exports while wheat experiences a US$ 26,204.05 increase. The ?I-State? paradox was also revealed from the efficiency rankings. This research recommends that GE labelling policies should be synchronized to match the requirements of the destination countries. Furthermore, information on GE foods must be transparent and disseminated to change destinations? negative perception.

Genetically modified (GM) foods technology is a novel idea for improving food and crop production, but the supposed health risk of GM foods, such as possible negative long-term health effects to humans, animals and the environment, have provoked the European Union to create assessment protocols to monitor and regulate the safety of GM foods and crops. This research investigates the perception and attitudes of unlabeled GM foods of the WKU faculty and staff. A survey was administered via WKU Qualtrics, and chi-square tests were performed to see how the benefits and disadvantages of GM foods may affect the purchasing decisions of the educated consumer, and to see if the WKU faculty and staff wants GM foods to be labeled or not. The research confirms that the benefits and disadvantages of GM foods do affect the purchasing decisions of the educated consumer. The survey revealed that about 60% of the WKU faculty and staff buys GM foods, and 40% do not buy GM foods, and approximately 92% of the WKU faculty and staff wants GM foods to have proper labeling and information. The research provides information about how the educated consumer of Kentucky may feel about unlabeled GM foods. The research also recommends some trade-off benefits of GM foods, including that approximately 35% of the WKU faculty and staff reported that they would buy GM foods if it helps to lower cholesterol and fight diabetes, and 20% say they would buy GM foods if it is cheaper than other foods. Some of the disadvantages of GM foods are that the pesticide chemicals used in the production methods of GM foods are toxic to humans, animals, and the environment. Approximately 54% of the participants say they would not buy GM foods because they are concerned about how it may affect their long-term health, and about 35% reported that they don’t buy GM foods because of improper labeling and information.

[EN] Persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) 'Rojo Brillante' is an astringent variety characterised by good growing conditions, excellent colour, size, sensory characteristics and good nutritional properties. In the last decade, its production has grown substantially in Spain given the application of high levels of CO2 to remove astringency while firmness is preserved. This technology has also increased its potential as a fresh-cut commodity. However, physical damage during processing result in degradation of the colour and firmness of the product and a higher susceptibility to microbial spoilage that significantly reduces the fruit's shelf life. The objective of the present thesis was to develop optimum procedures for processing and marketing 'Rojo Brillante' persimmon into a fresh-cut product with the maximum shelf life and best physicochemical, nutritional, sensory and microbiological quality. Firstly, the objective was to evaluate the effect of the maturity stage (MS) at harvest, storage time at 15 ºC before processing, and the application of different antioxidant treatments on enzymatic browning, sensory and nutritional quality of fresh-cut 'Rojo Brillante' persimmon during storage at 5 ºC. Concentrations of 10 g L-1 ascorbic acid (AA) or 10 g L-1 citric acid (CA) controlled tissue browning and maintained the visual quality of fresh-cut persimmon above the limit of marketability for 6-8 storage days at 5 ºC, depending on the MS. However, these acidic solutions reduced fruit firmness as compared to control samples. Further studies showed that the combination of these antioxidants with 10 g L-1 CaCl2 maintained firmness of the persimmon slices within the same range as the control samples. In another work, the application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) allowed to process fruits after 45 days of storage at 1 ºC with commercial firmness and the antioxidant solution (10 g L-1 CA + 10 g L-1 CaCl2) extended the limit of marketability up to 9 days of storage at 5 ºC. Different controlled atmosphere conditions in combination with AA or CA dips were also evaluated as a first step to select optimum O2 and CO2 concentrations for modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) of fresh-cut 'Rojo Brillante' persimmons. Overall, the combination of antioxidant dips and a controlled atmosphere composed of 5 kPa O2 (balance N2) was proved to be the most effective combination to control enzymatic browning. This atmosphere maintained the visual quality of persimmon slices within the limit of marketability during 7- 9 days at 5 ºC. On the contrary, high CO2 concentrations (10 or 20 kPa) induced darkening in some tissue areas, associated with a flesh disorder known as 'internal flesh browning'. Later studies confirmed the beneficial effect of an active MAP in 5 kPa O2 compared to passive MAP to improve the visual quality of fresh-cut 'Rojo Brillante' persimmon, showing a synergic effect with the antioxidant dip (10 g L-1 CA + 10 g L-1 CaCl2). Antioxidant edible coatings were prepared from whey protein isolate (WPI), soy protein isolate (SPI), hydroxylpropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and apple pectin as the polymeric matrix. All edible coatings were amended with the antioxidant combination selected (10 g L-1 CA + 10 g L-1 CaCl2). All the edible coatings tested proved effective to control enzymatic browning of persimmon slices. However, the samples treated with the HPMC- and pectin- based coatings were scored with a better visual quality that the rest of the treatments. In general, free radical scavenging activity and total carotenoid content increased in late-season persimmons; whereas, processing (cutting and storage at 5 ºC), antioxidant dips, controlled atmosphere storage or edible coatings had no clear effect on nutritional quality (vitamin C, free radical scavenging activity, total phenolic content, and carotenoids) of fresh-cut persimmons.
[ES] El caqui persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) 'Rojo Brillante' es un cultivar astringente que presenta unas propiedades organolépticas y nutricionales excelentes. En la última década, su cultivo en el área mediterránea de España se ha incrementado de manera exponencial con el desarrollo de la tecnología que permite eliminar la astringencia, manteniendo la firmeza del mismo. Esta nueva forma de presentación, aporta numerosas ventajas, entre la que se incluye la posibilidad de ser comercializado como fruta fresca cortada. Sin embargo, el éxito comercial del producto está limitado por el pardeamiento enzimático, la pérdida de firmeza y al crecimiento microbiano. En este contexto, el objetivo de la Tesis ha sido el desarrollo de caqui 'Rojo Brillante' fresco cortado mediante un enfoque que integra el estudio de las características del producto en el momento del procesado y de distintas tecnologías que mantengan la calidad físico-química, sensorial, nutricional y microbiológica del producto durante un periodo que permita su comercialización. En primer lugar, se evaluó el efecto del estado de madurez (MS) en el momento de recolección, el tiempo de almacenamiento a 15 ºC antes del procesado y la aplicación de diferentes antioxidantes en el pardeamiento enzimático y la calidad sensorial y nutricional del caqui 'Rojo Brillante' cortado y almacenado a 5 ºC. La aplicación de 10 g L-1 de ácido ascórbico (AA) ó 10 g L-1 ácido cítrico (CA) controló el pardeamiento enzimático y mantuvo la calidad visual del caqui por encima del límite de comercialización entre 6 y 8 días de almacenamiento a 5 ºC, dependiendo del MS. Sin embrago, la aplicación de estos antioxidantes redujo de manera significativa la firmeza del fruto respecto al control. La combinación de estos antioxidantes con 10 g L-1 de CaCl2 permitió mantener la firmeza en el mismo rango que las muestras control. En un trabajo posterior, la aplicación de 1-metilciclopropeno (1-MCP) permitió procesar caqui almacenado 45 días a 1 ºC con una buena firmeza comercial y el tratamiento antioxidante (10 g L-1 CA + 10 g L-1 CaCl2) consiguió alcanzar un límite de comercialización del producto de 9 días a 5 ºC. La evaluación de distintas atmósferas controladas en combinación con tratamientos antioxidantes (AA o CA), como paso previo al envasado en atmósfera modificada (MAP) del caqui, mostró como más efectiva en el control del pardeamiento enzimático la atmósfera compuesta por 5 kPa O2 (balance N2). Esta atmósfera mantuvo la calidad visual del caqui cortado dentro del límite de comercialización durante 7-9 días a 5 ºC. Por el contrario, la aplicación de altas concentraciones de CO2 (10 ó 20 kPa) dio lugar a un pardeamiento en ciertas zonas de la pulpa que se conoce como 'internal flesh browning'. Estudios posteriores confirmaron el efecto beneficioso del envasado de caqui cortado y tratado con solución antioxidante (CA-CaCl2) en una MAP activa de 5 kPa O2 en la calidad visual del fruto frente a la aplicación de una MAP pasiva. El desarrollo de recubrimientos comestibles con capacidad antioxidante se realizó mediante la incorporación de antioxidantes (10 g L-1 CA + 10 g L-1 CaCl2) a formulaciones a base de proteína de suero lácteo (WPI), proteína de soja (SPI), hidroxipropilmetilcelulosa (HPMC) y pectina. Todos los recubrimientos fueron efectivos controlando el pardeamiento enzimático del caqui cortado, siendo las muestras recubiertas con HPMC y pectina las mejor evaluadas visualmente. En general, el procesado, la aplicación de antioxidantes, el envasado en atmósferas controladas y los distintos recubrimientos comestibles estudiados, si bien no mostraron un efecto claro en los parámetros de calidad nutricional evaluados, no tuvieron un efecto negativo en los mismos. Por otra parte, los frutos cosechados a final de campaña tuvieron mayor actividad antioxidante y contenido en carotenoides.
[CAT] El caqui persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) 'Rojo Brillante' és un cultiu astringent que presenta unes propietats organolèptiques i nutricionals excel¿lents. En la última dècada, el seu cultiu en l'àrea mediterrània d'Espanya s'ha incrementat de manera exponencial amb el desenvolupament de la tecnologia que permet eliminar l'astringència, mantenint la fermesa del mateix. Esta nova forma de presentació, aporta un gran nombre d'avantatges, entre els quals s'inclou la possibilitat de comercialitzar-lo com fruita fresca processada. No obstant, l'èxit comercial del producte està limitat per pardetjament enzimàtic, la pèrdua de fermesa i el creixement microbià. L'objectiu de la Tesis ha estat en el desenvolupament de caqui 'Rojo Brillante' tallat en fresc mitjançant un enfocament que integra l'estudi de les característiques del producte en el moment del processat i de diferents tecnologies en el manteniment de la qualitat físico-química, sensorial, nutricional i microbiològica del producte durant un període que permeta la seua comercialització. En primer lloc, es va avaluar l'efecte de l'estat de maduresa (MS) en el moment de recol¿lecció, el temps d'emmagatzemament a 15ºC abans del processat i l'aplicació de diferents tractaments antioxidants en el pardetjament enzimàtic i la qualitat sensorial i nutricional del caqui 'Rojo Brillante' tallat i emmagatzemat a 5 ºC. L'aplicació de 10 g L-1 d'àcid ascòrbic (AA) o 10 g L-1 d'àcid cítric (CA) va controlar el pardetjament enzimàtic i va mantenir la qualitat visual del caqui per damunt del límit de comercialització entre 6-8 dies d'emmagatzemament a 5 ºC, depenent del MS. No obstant, l'aplicació d'antioxidants va reduir de manera significativa la fermesa del fruit comparat amb el control. La combinació d'aquestos antioxidants amb 10 g L-1 de CaCl2 va permetre mantenir la fermesa en el mateix rang que les mostres control. En un treball posterior, l'aplicació de 1-metilciclopropeno (1-MCP) va permetre processar caqui emmagatzemat 45 dies a 1 ºC amb una bona fermesa comercial i a més, el tractament antioxidant (10 g L-1 CA + 10 g L-1 CaCl2) va aconseguir un límit de comercialització del producte tallat de 9 dies a 5 ºC. L'avaluació de diferents atmosferes controlades en combinació amb tractaments antioxidants (AA o CA), com a pas previ a l'envasament en atmosfera modificada (MAP) del caqui 'Rojo Brillante, va mostrar com a més efectiva en el control del pardetjament enzimàtic l'atmosfera composta per 5 kPa O2 (balanç N2). Aquesta atmosfera va mantenir la qualitat visual del caqui tallat dins del límit de comercialització durant 7-9 dies a 5 ºC. Per contra, l'aplicació d'altes concentracions de CO2 (10 ó 20 kPa) va donar lloc a un pardetjament en certes zones de la polpa, el qual és conegut com 'internal flesh browning'. Estudis posteriors van confirmar l'efecte beneficiós de l'envasament de caqui tallat i tractat amb solució antioxidant (CA-CaCl2) en una MAP activa de 5 kPa O2 millorant la qualitat visual de la fruita front a l'aplicació de una MAP passiva. El desenvolupament de recobriments comestibles amb capacitat antioxidant es va realitzar mitjançant la incorporació d'antioxidants (CA-CaCl2) en formulacions a base de proteïna de sèrum làctic (WPI), proteïna de soia (SPI), hidroxipropilmetilcel-lulosa (HPMC) i pectina. Tots els recobriments van ser efectius controlant el pardetjament enzimàtic del caqui tallat. No obstant, les mostres recobertes amb HPMC i pectina van ser millor avaluades visualment que la resta de tractaments. En general, el processat, l'aplicació d'antioxidants, l'envasament en atmosferes controlades i els distints recobriments comestibles estudiats, si bé no van mostrar un efecte clar en els paràmetres de la qualitat nutricional avaluats, no van tindre un efecte negatiu en els mateixos. Per altra banda, els fruits recol¿lectats a final de temporada van tenir major activitat antioxidant i contingut en
Sanchís Soler, E. (2016). Effect of processing on the physicochemical, sensory, nutritional and microbiological quality of fresh-cut 'Rojo Brillante' persimmon [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/62588
TESIS

In the survival and reliability data analysis, parametric and nonparametric methods are used to estimate the hazard/risk rate and survival functions. A parametric approach is based on the assumption that the underlying survival distribution belongs to some specific family of closed form distributions (normal, Weibull, exponential, etc.). On the other hand, a nonparametric approach is centered around the best-fitting member of a class of survival distribution functions. Moreover, the Kaplan-Meier and Nelson-Aalen type nonparametric approach do not assume either distribution class or closed-form distributions. Historically, well-known time-to-event processes are death of living specie in populations and failure of component in engineering systems. Recently, the human mobility, electronic communications, technological changes, advancements in engineering, medical, and social sciences have further diversified the role and scope of time-to-event processes in cultural, epidemiological, financial, military, and social sciences. To incorporate extensions, generalizations and minimize scope of existing methods, we initiate an innovative alternative modeling approach for time-to-event dynamic processes. The innovative approach is composed of the following basic components: (1) development of continuous-time state of dynamic process, (2) introduction of discrete-time dynamic intervention process, (3) formulation of continuous and discrete-time interconnected dynamic system, (4) utilizing Euler-type discretized schemes, developing theoretical dynamic algorithms, and (5) introduction of conceptual and computational state and parameter estimation procedures. The presented approach is motivated by state and parameter estimation of time-to-event processes in biological, chemical, engineering, epidemiological, medical, military, multiple-markets and social dynamic processes under the influence of discrete-time intervention processes. We initiate (1) a time-to-event process to be a probabilistic dynamic process with unitary state. Action, normal, operational, radical, survival, susceptible, etc. and its complementary states, reaction, abnormal, nonoperational, non-radical, failure, infective and so on (quantitative and qualitative variables), are considered to be illustrations of a unitary state of time-to-event dynamic processes. A unitary state is measured by a probability distribution function. Employing Newtonian dynamic modeling approach and observing the definition of hazard rate as a specific rate, survival or failure probabilistic state dynamic model is developed. This dynamic model is further extended to incorporate internal or external discrete-time dynamic intervention processes acting on unitary state time-to-event processes (2). This further demanded a formulation and development of an interconnected continuous-discrete-time hybrid, and totally discrete-time dynamic models for time-to-event processes (3). Employing the developed hybrid model, Euler-type discretized schemes, a very general fundamental conceptual analytic algorithm is outlined (4). Using the developed theoretical computational procedure in (4), a general conceptual computational data organizational and simulation schemes are presented (5) for state and parameter estimation problems in unitary state time-to-event dynamic processes. The well-known theoretical existing results in the literature are exhibited as special cases in a systematic and unified manner (6). In fact, the Kaplan-Meier and Nelson-Aalen type nonparametric estimation approaches are systematically analyzed by the developed totally discrete-time hybrid dynamic modeling process. The developed approach is applied to two data sets. Moreover, this approach does not require a knowledge of either a closed-form solution distribution or a class of distributions functions. A hazard rate need not be constant. The procedure is dynamic. In the existing literature, the failure and survival distribution functions are treated to be evolving/progressing mutually exclusively with respect to corresponding to two mutually exclusive time varying events. We refer to these two functions (failure and survival) as cumulative distributions of two mutually disjoint state output processes with respect to two mutually exclusive time-varying complementary unitary states of a time-to-event processes in any discipline of interest (7). This kind of time-to-event process can be thought of as a Bernoulli-type of deterministic/stochastic process. Corresponding to these two complementary output processes of the Bernoulli-type of stochastic process, we associate two unitary dynamic states corresponding to a binary choice options/actions (8), namely, ({action, reaction}, {normal, abnormal}, {survival, failure}, {susceptible, infective}, {operational, nonoperational}, {radical, non-radical}, and so on.) Under this consideration, we extend unitary state time-to-event dynamic model to binary state time-to-event dynamic model. Using basic tools in mathematical sciences, we initiate a Newtonian-type dynamic approach for binary state time-to-event processes in the sciences, technologies, and engineering (9). Introducing an innovative concept of “survival state dynamic principle”, an innovative interconnected nonlinear non-stationary large-scale hybrid dynamic model for number of units/species and its unitary survival state corresponding to binary state time-to-event process is formulated (10). The developed model in (10) includes dynamic model (3) as a special case. The developed approach is directly applicable to binary state time-to-event dynamic processes in biological, chemical, engineering, financial, medical, physical, military, and social sciences in a coherent manner. A by-product of this is a transformed interconnected nonlinear hybrid dynamic model with a theoretical discrete-time conceptual computational dynamic process (11). Employing the transformed discrete-time conceptual computational dynamic process, we introduce notions of data coordination, state data decomposition and aggregation, theoretical conceptual iterative processes, conceptual and computational parameter estimation and simulation schemes, conceptual and computational state simulation schemes in a systematic way (12). The usefulness of the developed interconnected algorithm is validated by using three real world data sets (13). We note that the presented algorithm does not need a closed-form representation of distribution/likelihood function. In fact, it is free from any required assumptions of the “Classical Maximum Likelihood Function Approach” in the “Survival and Reliability Analysis.” The rapid electronic communication and human mobility processes have facilitated to transform information, knowledge, and ideas almost instantly around the globe. This indeed generates heterogeneity, and it causes to form nonlinear and non-stationary dynamic processes. Moreover, the heterogeneity, non-linearity, non-stationarity, further generates two types of uncertainties, namely, deterministic, and stochastic. In view of this, it is obvious that nothing is deterministic. In short, the 21st century problems are highly nonlinear, non-stationary and under the influence of internal and external random perturbations. Using tools in stochastic analysis, interconnected deterministic models in (3) and (10) are extended to interconnected stochastic hybrid dynamic model for binary state time-to-event processes (14). The developed model is described by a large-scale nonlinear and non-stationary stochastic differential equations. Moreover, a stochastic version of a survival function is also introduced (15). Analytical, computational, statistical, and simulation algorithms/procedures are also extended and analyzed in a systematic and unified way (16). The presented interconnected stochastic model is motivated to initiate conceptual computational parameter and state estimation schemes for time-to-event statistical data (17). Again, stochastic version of computational algorithms are validated in the context of three real world data sets. The obtained parameter and state estimates show that the algorithm is independent of the choice of nonlinear transformation (18). Utilizing the developed alternative innovative procedure and the recently modified deterministic version of Local Lagged Adapted Generalized Method of Moments (LLGMM) is also extended to stochastic version in a natural way (19). This approach provides a degree of measure of confidence, prediction, and planning assessments (20). In addition, it initiates a conceptual computational parameter and state estimation and simulation schemes that is suitable for the usage of mean square sub-optimal procedure (21). The usefulness and the significance of the approach is illustrated by applying to three data sets (22). The approach provides insight for investigating various type of invariant sets, namely, sustainable/unsustainable, survival/failure, reliable/unreliable (23), and qualitative properties such as sustainability versus unsustainability, reliability versus unreliability, etc. (24) Once again, the presented algorithm is independent of any form of survival distribution functions or data sets. Moreover, it does not require a closed form survival function distribution. We also note that the introduction of intervention processes provides a measure of influence and confidence for the usage of new tools/procedures/approaches in continuous-time binary state time-to-event dynamic process (25). Moreover, the presented dynamic modeling is more feasible for its usage of investigating a more complex time-to-event dynamic process (26). The developed procedure is dynamic and indeed non-parametric (27). The dynamic approach adapts with current changes and updates statistic process (28). The dynamic nature is natural rather than the existing static and single-shot techniques (29).

[Formulae and special characters can not be reproduced here. Please see the pdf version of the Abstract for an accurate reproduction.] The thesis provides a comprehensive study on the behaviour of sand with a small amount of fines [i.e.1/3 plastic fines and 2/3 non-plastic fines]. The work is carried out experimentally under axi-symmetric conditions using the triaxial apparatus. Conventional drained triaxial tests are conducted on isotropic consolidated specimens and all the tests indicate that sand with fines does not manifest any unusual behaviour under drained conditions. However in undrained shearing the so-called ???reverse behaviour??? is noted. The study demonstrates that the reverse behaviour conforms to the critical state framework because significant changes in the position and geometry of the critical state [CS] and isotropic consolidation [IL] lines are caused by the presence of fines. These changes cannot be adequately modelled by the intergranular void ratio as proposed by Thevanayagam and Mohan (2000). This study also demonstrates that the original state parameter [special character] as proposed by Been and Jefferies (1985) is not an adequate parameter to predict the undrained behaviour trend. A new parameter termed ???modified state parameter??? [special character] is proposed to account for the combined effects of density and confining pressure. The suitability of the modified state parameter to characterise the response of parent sand and sand with fines is assessed for a range of void ratios and confining pressures. The effect of drained stress history is an important factor affecting the subsequent undrained response. Drained pre-shearing to failure is found to improve considerably the subsequent undrained response to the extent that liquefaction may not occur. Different drained pre-shearing histories have different effects on the undrained response. However in these tests [special character] has limitations in quantifying the subsequent undrained stress-strain response. Hence, a new framework of ???yielding parameter??? [special character] extends the capability of [special character] and additional data is presented to demonstrate the suitability of this concept. The implementation of [special character] depends on whether the previous stress state reached during the stress history is below or at failure. The effects of drained pre-shearing on the position and movement of failure surface are investigated. It is found that drained pre-shearing to failure at larger confining pressures has the effect of shifting upwards part of the drained failure surface. The shift at larger stress ratios [special character] may be described in terms of dilatancy and modified state parameter at failure. The so-called strain path tests are conducted to study the influence of strain increment ratio on the deformation behaviour of sand with fines. It is found that the value of [special character] has significant effects on the stress-strain behaviour. Along negative [special character] paths the soil strain softens in the form of decreasing the shear resistance before reaching the failure state. In contrast, along positive [special character] paths the soil strain hardens to an asymptotic stress ratio. The asymptotic stress ratio decreases with increasing [special character] along a linear relationship. The framework of [special character] cannot quantify the stress-strain response along positive and negative strain paths. Consequently an ???instability parameter??? [special character] is proposed to extend the capabilities of [special character] and the reliability of this parameter is further assessed. The behaviour along a range of positive and negative [special character] paths is investigated on pre-sheared specimens. In negative [special character] the effective stress paths reach a surface located higher than the monotonic failure surface on which they trace downward towards the origin of stress space. The results indicate this surface may be the same as the drained failure envelope which has been shifted as a result of drained pre-shearing. In positive [special character] paths a large improvement is noted in both the strength and stiffness of the soil. Note The parameters [special character] and [special character] are all generalisations of [special character] so that the behaviour under complex conditions can be characterised.

Застосування біотехнологічних методів у сільському господарстві, аграрній промисловості і продовольстві створюють нові можливості для виробництва більш якісних продуктів харчування, кормів, сировини та енергетичних культур. Сучасні біотехнології відкривають перед людством значні перспективи та несуть з собою як переваги, так і можливі невідомі ризики та загрози.

The purpose of this study was to identify the impact the 1990 amendments to Carl D. Perkins Career and Applied Technology Act within-state allocation of federal funds had on the operational infrastructure of career and technical education (CTE) in Virginia as specifically related to the overall quality of secondary CTE programs. In the 1990 Perkins Act, Section 102 mandated that 75% of the within-state allotment go directly to local secondary and postsecondary institutions that offered CTE programs. The remaining 25% of funding was divided among the following state-administered programs and agencies: (a) state administration (5%), (b) state leadership (8.5%), (c) corrections (1%), and (d) equity programs (10%) (AVA, 1992; U.S. Congress, 1984). This change to the within-state allocation formula was significantly different from previous Perkins Acts as well as the trends in educational policy at that time (NCRVE, 1991). In the 1998 reauthorization of Perkins, the localities allotment increased to 85% of within-state funding. A three round modified Policy Delphi technique was used to identify and rate the consequences of the within-state allocation amendments from a panel of CTE local administrators, state administrators, and university researchers and/or teacher educators. These participants worked within their CTE positions in Virginia before and after the enactment of 1990 Perkins Act. A total of 54 participants began Round 1 and 30 completed Round 3 for a 56% participation rate. A total of 223 unique consequences were identified and rated for relevancy to the within-state funding formula change and effect on the operation of CTE in Virginia. One hundred sixty-one consequences were deemed relevant within and/or between all position levels (local, state, and university). All position levels deemed 42 consequences as relevant to the within-state funding formula change. Of those 42 consequences, 35 received the same effect (positive or negative) among all position levels. The findings of this study suggest that the changes to the within-state funding formula and its accompanying amendments did have a negative effect on the operation of secondary CTE in Virginia. More specifically, the changes to the Perkins Act this study examined seemed to adversely effect CTE teacher education, state-level CTE research initiatives, and state-level CTEâ s ability to provide localities with hands-on technical assistance, professional and leadership development, and coordination. The findings also suggest the legislative changes negatively altered the manner in which program evaluation occurred within the state by decreasing the state-level assistance for developing methods of program evaluation. In other words, the findings of this study seem to suggest there is a lack of leadership, development, and direction within Virginiaâ s CTE program. The researcher recommends that members of Congress charged with reauthorizing the Perkins legislation should review the current within-state funding formula to determine if it is the most effective funding formula for helping local and state-level CTE carry out the purpose of the legislation.
Ph. D.

This thesis demonstrates how a Taylor rule could capture the monetary policy decision pro- cess with imperfect information. The changes in the weights present in the rule reflect policy regime shifts. This framework is suitable in studying a small open transitional economy such as Hungary in recent years. This thesis employs the State-Space model which may capture the time-varying weights in the Taylor rule and an Autoregressive Hidden Markov Model which may identify unobservable or hidden underlying regimes using structural breaks. This thesis employs a sample period from 2000Q1-2020Q2, which finds that an active monetary policy regime transitions to a passive regime which becomes dominant in the second half of the sample, namely from 2014Q1 onward. Additionally, evidence of ineffective monetary policy is found. As general evidence, this thesis finds support for the Taylor rule constructed through the partial use of intermediate policy targets such as the real effective exchange rate. Which becomes ineffective towards the end of the sample, as the nominal interest rate degrades from two percent towards the zero lower bound.

The field of landscape architecture has been increasing opportunities to assist small- town communities in connecting their important natural and historic cultural resources to nationally and regionally identified "green" heritage corridors, such as rail-to-trails, river corridors and other projects. In Indiana, steps have been slow in developing and restoring natural and cultural resources unique to these small-town communities in relation to larger recreational corridor initiatives. Facts showed that the Mid-North region of Indiana were drastically short of publicly accessible regional parks and recreational open space. Incorporating community landscape preferences and values and private property rights in the overall approval of a project - particularly those planned from a regional scope - has often been excluded from the design processes to meet these needs. New sensibilities and sensitivities in landscape architecture must evolve to include identifying local visual and behavioral attachments to the landscapes in the design process, especially those projects concerning recreation and open space, since these proposals tend to be one of the flashpoints of public funding concerns in land development.Adjacent to the small town of Williamsport, Indiana, is the tallest waterfall in the state. Williamsport is also located on the Wabash River, which has recently been promoted as a strategic national and regional heritage corridor potential by various state agencies and the National Park Service. This study chose to explore a planning and design process to incorporate local aesthetic and cultural values for the Wabash Heritage Corridor system. a now nationally recognized network of nodes and linkages along one of America's most famous historic waterways. The Williamsport Falls site represents one of the few remaining Hoosier natural resources overlooked for protection due to its proximity to urban environments.Assisting the community in identifying visual and landscape values, and including these assessments as a design process modifier, along with strong local contact and project interaction by the designer / researcher. further the landscape architect in developing a more thorough site program and design.This study demonstrates community input in the programming and design guideline development for the recreational and natural systems resources of a site, and to a lesser degree, assessing relative cultural and historic factors. Local citizens were given a visual preference and landscape characteristics values questionnaire, from which site preference and visual conservation zones were determined. The resultant data was used as a design modifier for the park's visual regime - physically and legally defined protection areas for viewsheds and natural character areas within and adjacent to the site, as well as for the overall recreation and preservation goals of the project. By generating mappable visual attributes of the site that were identified as important by the community members, the site design process was modified to insure that the community's collective visual and landscape preference values and concerns were honored in the site Master Plan.Hopefully, the scholarly contribution of this work was not just be the inclusion of visual assessment and landscape preference methodology in analyzing a unique landform (though this is critical), but also a deeper level of documentation showing the importance of recognizing and preserving significant local and regional natural resource character areas of small-town communities along the Wabash Heritage Corridor.
Department of Landscape Architecture

Preparation de couches amorphes, de compositions differentes, par depot chimique en phase vapeur a 185c, assistee par un plasma a 50 khz. Caracterisation par spectrometrie en ir, visible et proche uv, photodeflexion thermique, rpe, mesures de capacite et de conductance en fonction de la tension, et mesures de conductivite en courant continu en champ faible. Informations sur la physicochimie, la structure electronique et des defauts structuraux responsables des effets de piegeage

L'évolution du spectre infrarouge du benzène adsorbe sur des faujasites est suivie en fonction de la composition chimique des adsorbants (zéolites désaluminées, zéolite y ou x, zéolites modifiées par des ions Na, Rb, etc) et de la quantité de benzène adsorbé. On note que 4 formes de benzène ont été mises en évidence, dont l'une est faiblement fixée sur les solides.

Chez les patients présentant un trouble de la conscience l'évaluation de leurs fonctions cognitives résiduelles est un enjeu clinique majeur, limité par la faible sensibilité des tests. La musique en tant que stimulation émotionnelle en lien avec la mémoire autobiographique pourrait représenter une stimulation cognitive de choix chez cette population. De nombreuses études ont rapporté les effets bénéfiques d'une exposition à la musique sur le fonctionnement cognitif, à la fois normal et pathologique, mais aucune n'a permis de déterminer objectivement de tels effets chez les patients en état de conscience altérée. Ce travail de thèse s'articule en trois études principales : 1) la présentation d'extraits musicaux préférés chez des patients en éveil de coma est liée à une importante connectivité cérébrale au sein de structures corticales participant à la perception de la musique et à la récupération d'informations autobiographiques ; 2) la réponse cognitive au propre prénom P300 obtenue chez des patients en éveil de coma est évoquée plus souvent lorsque ce dernier est précédé d'un extrait musical préféré ; 3) un contexte musical personnel familier entraîne l'activation de multiples structures cérébrales notamment celles impliquées dans l'analyse de stimulations autobiographiques. L'ensemble de ces travaux témoigne du recrutement de nombreux réseaux cérébraux lors de l'écoute musicale que ce soit chez les sujets sains et les patients en éveil de coma et suggère l'existence d'un possible amorçage autobiographique par la musique. Ainsi, l'emploi de la musique permettrait de favoriser l'expression des capacités cognitives et conscientes des patients en coma et en éveil de coma
Evaluating the residual cognitive functions in patients with disorders of consciousness is a major clinical challenge, restricted by the poor sensitivity of clinical tests. Music as a highly familiar and emotional stimulus in close relationship with autobiographical memory may be constitute a relevant tool for cognitive stimulation. Numerous studies have demonstrated that music listening conveys beneficial effects on cognitive processes as well as both normal and pathologic cerebral functioning. Surprisingly, no quantitative study has evaluated the potential effects of music on cognition and consciousness in comatose and post-comatose patients. The present thesis revolves around three studies: 1) an increased functional connectivity during exposure of favourite music is shown in cortical structures linked to music perception and memory search processes for post-comatose patients; 2) the cerebral response to the first name, the P300 component, is more often observed in post-comatose patients when its presentation was preceded by a preferred musical excerpt; 3) listening to personally relevant music is associated to activations in many cerebral structures, particularly in regions linked to autobiographical memory retrieval and self-processing. The whole of this work reveals that listening music involves numerous cerebral networks whether it be in healthy subjects or post-comtaose patients. These results also suggest the presence of an autobiographical priming by music. Finally, the use of music in clinical context can be boost the cognition in comatose and post-comatose patients

Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-04T12:36:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009
Este trabalho propõe analisar o fenômeno da terceirização desenvolvido ao longo das duas últimas décadas em Bio-Manguinhos. Trata-se de um estudo de caso realizado na unidade de produção de vacinas e reagentes para diagnóstico da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Inicialmente foi realizado um estudo de cenário, analisando a política de gestão do trabalho desenvolvida pelo Estado brasileiro para as instituições públicas. A seguir, a análise passou a verificar a inserção da Fiocruz nessas políticas, desde a sua criação e no decorrer de vigência de diferentes formas de contratação, alternando da extrema rigidez para a total flexibilidade sempre com foco na gestão do trabalho, e, como essas políticas se refletiram no desempenho de Bio-Manguinhos. Baseado no contexto da conformação do Estado e na análise do desempenho da unidade, o trabalho critica a falta de planejamento e de prospecção dessas políticas, que favoreça a inovação de processos, produtos e procedimentos e o desempenho pleno de uma unidade de produção de insumos para a saúde, tão necessários ao atendimento das necessidades da população brasileira. Critica também, a ausência de um modelo de Estado consolidado que sirva de arcabouço à formulação dessas políticas. Devido às fortes críticas dos órgãos de controle acerca da extrapolação dos limites da terceirização praticada nas últimas duas décadas e à falta de definição clara desses marcos legais, o trabalho apresenta uma metodologia baseada nas atribuições dos cargos do plano de carreiras da Fiocruz e culmina com a apresentação de uma matriz de atribuições passíveis de serem realizadas por contratação indireta. Conclui pela necessidade de convivência de dois quadros de trabalhadores: um permanente formado por servidores, estáveis e de carreira e outro flexível, executado por contratação indireta, de caráter eventual, temporário ou de apoio às atividades relacionadas à missão de Bio-Manguinhos. O trabalho ainda sugere a aplicação da mesma metodologia às demais unidades da Fiocruz e que a instituição afirme, frente aos órgãos de controle, quais atividades que ela precisa manter no quadro de servidores permanente e quais ela quer delegar a terceiros sem contudo, ferir a legislação vigente. Por fim, constata-se que a metodologia apresentada ameniza, mas não resolve o problema, dessa forma, recomenda-se à Fiocruz buscar mecanismos que altere o modelo de gestão pelo qual está submetida a fim de viabilizar as duas formas de incorporação de mão-de-obra.

碩士
大同工學院
電機工程研究所
86
Nowadays, in the popular internet and personal communication network, the applications of digital speech signal will be promising and applied widely, so there is no doubt that the speech coder with low bit rates and high synthetic speech quality is important in this field. Code Exited Linear Prediction (CELP) technique has the potential for producing high quality synthetic speech at bit rate as low as 4.8 kb/s. One of the key feature of the CELP is to use vector quantization to produce excitation codebook We proposed two different of codebook type, which called two-stage cascaded codebook and modified two-stage codebook. The motive is that the two-stage cascaded codebook and the modified two-stage codebook are the substantial decrease in their computational cost relative to a full search codebook, with a relatively small decrease in performance. And the two-stage cascaded codebook and the modified two-stage codebook are able to reduce storage as well as computational costs. The two-stage cascaded cod

碩士
國立彰化師範大學
數學系所
102
Median filter is a popular technique for signal restoration especially when outliers and heavy-tail behaviors occur within the observed data. Moreover, the smoothing spline method is also an alternative technique for recovering the underlying curve. Interestingly, we found that neither median filter nor smoothing splines dominates each other. Therefore, in this thesis we propose a two-stage procedure for signal denoising,in which the smoothing spline method is reused to capture residual information between median filter and smoothing splines. Then, a modified median filter is proposed to construct the underlying signals based on an approximate unbiased estimator of L2-risk. Simulated data sets are used to illustrate the superiority of the proposed method and some comparisons are also made with other competitors. Finally, a real data example is applied for illustration.

碩士
國立成功大學
統計學系碩博士班
101
To ensure the drugs are therapeutic and will not cause serious side effects on human, the drugs are required to go through four phases of clinical trials before they are approved for sale and marketing. Phase I clinical trial is the study where a drug is initially given to human. The main objective of phase I clinical trial is to identify the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). The purpose of phase I oncology clinical trial is not only to estimate MTD but also to treat the subject at a therapeutic dose since the participants in a phase I oncology trial are patients at advanced disease stages rather than healthy volunteers. Continual reassessment method (CRM) is the first model-based designs for phase I oncology clinical trial. The advantage of CRM is that it assigns few patients are treated at low and potentially non-therapeutic doses. But, the investigators consider it assigns too many patients to receive the doses which have high toxicity. Therefore, in this thesis, we propose an asymmetric loss function with fixed and flexible penalties to reduce the chance that patients receive overdosing assignment. We conducted simulations to compare the proposed methods with CRM. The results showed that relative to the CRM, the proposed methods efficiently decrease the proportion of patients who received overdoses and exhibited fewer toxicities, asymmetric loss function with fixed penalty especially. Additionally, both the standard deviation of number of patients who received an overdose and the proportion of overestimated MTD under CRM are lower than that under the proposed methods. Hence, the proposed methods improve the shortcomings of CRM.

碩士
國立彰化師範大學
統計資訊研究所
102
In Tradition Chinese Medicine (TCM), there are four diagnostics - inspection, listening (smelling), inquiring and palpation. Among some commonly used methods of the “inspection” diagnosis, tongue inspection plays an irreplaceable role. In the theory of TCM diagnosis, the tongue can be viewed as the projection of the internal organs through transmission meridians. It also reflects the health conditions of organs. Tongue diagnosis mainly focuses on the shape, the color, the number of red spots, and the coating of the tongues. Conventionally, the Western diagnostics mostly comprise of doctors’ inquiring, blood testing, urine testing, ultrasound scans, and/or radioactive rays as instruments for diagnoses of diseases. Due to the unwillingness of accepting these invasive medical treatments, there might be occasions of collecting data sets with missing observations. According to the literature, approaches such as regression method, mean imputation, EM algorithm and pseudo maximum likelihood, among others, are viable on dealing with a data set with missing values. In this study four methods are used to the implementation: the two-stage pseudo maximum likelihood estimation based on the regression imputations of GOT on the information from tongue inspection, the two-stage pseudo maximum likelihood estimation based on the regression imputations of GPT on the information from tongue inspection, the conventional EM algorithm, and regression imputations using both GOT and GPT as responses and the information of tongue inspections as explanatory variables. Our goal is to predict the probabilities of the stages of the patients’ breast cancer. One hundred and sixty two sets of tongue images were taken and analyzed. Based on the analysis, we find that the two-stage pseudo maximum likelihood estimation based on the regression imputations of GOT on the information from tongue inspection outperforms the other approaches.

碩士
國立雲林科技大學
機械工程系碩士班
101
This research applied a 500c.c. modified GDI engine. A common rail injection system with 100 bar injection pressure system is assembled. The equivalence ratio is fixed atΦ=1 condition, the engine speed is varied (3000、4000、5000rpm), and the throttle position is controlled at 35%、45%、and 55%. The first and second stage injection ratio is varied (F1:F2=4：6、5：5、6：4). The engine performance is studied. The previous research had bad injection nozzle and spark plug placement. In this research, the engine has side injection and right-top spark plug ignition. The air-guided spray pattern is adapted in this study. The spray injection timing is adjusted to the intake stroke stage. Under two stages injection, the first injection allows a homogeneous charge existed in the cylinder, the second injection creates a stratified charge inside the cylinder. The engine combustion is more completely, the torque is increased, and the emission is reduced. Especially under the conditions. 1st=70°CA、2nd=170°CA, the result is best among the test condition. The two stage injection results are compared to the single-stage injection results (which simulates the 10°CA BTDC port injection mode). The two stage injection volumetric coefficient is slightly increase by 1%~4%; the CO emission is reduced by 35%~75% under the 4000 rpm condition. However, the NOx is reduced by 10~30% under two stage injection. The torque is increased by 4%~30%. The BSFC is reduced by 17%~35.

碩士
國立東華大學
國際企業學系
103
This thesis aims to evaluate and analyze the pharmaceutical process by a model of each stage’s value using financial analysis methods. A real option approach of a binomial option pricing model is used as well as an expected net present value method. This thesis will determine the differences in approaches by financial methods. Our model for analysis provides a reference for investors or managers to understand the value of each stage of the pharmaceutical process and decide how to allocate the capital or resources to determine optimal strategy. This thesis evaluates a project’s value on the pharmaceutical process by using two approaches to compare the differences for investment strategies. The project value of the binomial options pricing model (BOPM) for investors and managers can be compared by the expected net present value (ENPV) method in order to find the different considerations for strategy adoption. The proposed model can help to elucidate each stage’s value to make an optimal decision at the appropriate time. The ENPV method is more intuitive and underestimated to evaluate a project’s value while the BOPM method is a more flexible choice in the process of evaluation. This study finds that can wait and see situation to invest of drug development at clinical phase II.

碩士
國立雲林科技大學
機械工程系
102
This study applied a 500C.C. modified GDI engine with common rail injection pressure at 100 bars. The 1st: and @ns injection ratio (F1:F2=6：4、7：3、8：2) is varied at different engine speed (3000、4000、5000rpm) and load (TPS20%、30%、40%). Then the combustion equivalence rati is slightly decreased to from Φ=1 to Φ=0.9 to exam the engine performance and emissions. The first stage result indicates when the pilot injection is increased, the homogeneous charge inside the combustion chamber cause better combustion so that the engine toque and emission are improved. However, if F1:F2=8：2, the combustion is not stable under high engine speed and load condition. Thus, a F1:F2=7：3 case has best results. The 2nd stage result indicates when from Φ=1 is reduced to Φ=0.9, the volumetric efficiency is increased so that the engine torque is improved. The Co and HC are also reduced. NOX is also reduced. The BSFC is also improved under load engine speed and load conditions. This research reveals the engine output and emissions are improved when the overall equivalence ratio is reduced. However, this Air-Guided engine geometry has flat piston surface which may cause non GDI engine operation.

碩士
朝陽科技大學
資訊與通訊系
106
Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology has advantages such as high spectral efficiency and inter-symbol interference, and it has been used as a standard in many communication transmission standards. This paper proposes a modified selective mapping (SLM) technique to improve the high computational complexity required for the SLM technique in the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system. Moreover, the modified SLM technique also can improve the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) performance of OFDM systems. The modified SLM technique uses the generator matrix of the binary Reed-Muller codes to generate the phase factors and the non-linear companding technique to compress signals. The simulation results show that the proposed method can simplify the computational complexity and improve the PAPR performance compared with the traditional OFDM technology.

碩士
國立交通大學
電機與控制工程系所
95
This thesis proposes a modified single-stage full-bridge AC/DC converter complying with IEC61000-3-2 class A standard. The converter was composed of two subcircuits: an input current shaper and a full-bridge DC/DC converter. This proposed circuit has two major merits: the maximum voltage across the bulk capacitor can be suppressed by applying a dead time function to the power input switch. In addition, the high power factor of AC source was effectively kept by employing an input current shaper. The detailed design consideration and analysis are also included. The Pspice simulation software was used to carry out the computer simulation and to aid the circuit design. Finally, a 220V input and 660W/100V output prototype circuit had been implemented. The simulation and experimental results validated the feasibility of the proposed circuit, which had good performance and complies with IEC61000-3-2 class A standard.

Yes
Our previous case-control study observed isolated lymphocytes from 208 individuals and determined the differences in the sensitivity to genomic damage of lymphocytes derived from cancer patients, pre/suspect cancer patients and healthy volunteers using the Comet assay (Anderson et al, 2014). We adapted the LGS technique using a slightly different method and examined 700 more blood samples from 598 patients with cancer or suspected cancer and 102 healthy individuals. To help increase the sensitivity of the test and detect cancer at the level of each individual, we joined with the IMSTAR team who analysed our cells with their fully automated Pathfinder™ cell reader-analyser system. With this reading and analysis system 4,000 to 10,000 cells were able to be read per slide. The new test which is called TumorScan is a highly sensitive test to detect any cancer at an early stage through the response of the white blood cells to UV treatment. These patient blood samples have also been collected at the stage before confirming diagnosis and treatment. There were four of these individuals with cancer who had received anti-cancer treatment. The results from these patients showed a reverse pattern compared to non-treated cancer patients and followed the pattern seen in healthy individuals. The results are consistent with the early results as reported in the above 2014 paper. Given the results from these samples were in a particularly challenging subgroup, whose cancer status was difficult to distinguish, the data suggest that the technique using the TumorScan system could exceed the area under the ROC curve >93% obtained in the earlier study on a group basis, whereas this present study was to detect cancer at an early stage in each individual.
Department of Research and Knowledge Transfer at the University of Bradford, Bradford, UK