Letteratura scientifica selezionata sul tema "Generalized Compliance"

Recently, there has been renewed interest in estimating total arterial compliance. Because it cannot be measured directly, a lumped model is usually applied to derive compliance from aortic pressure and flow. The archetypical model, the classical two-element windkessel, assumes 1) system linearity and 2) infinite pulse wave velocity. To generalize this model, investigators have added more elements and have incorporated nonlinearities. A different approach is taken here. It is assumed that the arterial system 1) is linear and 2) has finite pulse wave velocity. In doing so, the windkessel is generalized by describing compliance as a complex function of frequency that relates input pressure to volume stored. By applying transmission theory, this relationship is shown to be a function of heart rate, peripheral resistance, and pulse wave reflection. Because this pressure-volume relationship is generally not equal to total arterial compliance, it is termed “apparent compliance.” This new concept forms the natural counterpart to the established concept of apparent pulse wave velocity.

In order to expand the range of motion performance of the 3-PSS-compliant parallel micro-motion platform, a variable inclination angle of the mechanism’s guide rails was introduced to construct a category of generalized 3-PSS compliant parallel micro-motion platforms with distinct configurations (exhibiting different motion performances) but identical motion patterns (three translational degrees of freedom). The compliance and kinetostatics of such micro-motion platform are modeled and analyzed. Firstly, the compliance model is established based on the coordinate transformation method. Then, simplifying the micro-motion platform into a spring system, the kinetostatic model in terms of input force–output displacement is established based on the compliance model using the compliance matrix method. For practical application considerations, the kinetostatic model in terms of input displacement–output displacement is further derived based on the input force–output displacement model. Then, the correctness of the established compliance model and kinetostatic model is successively verified through finite element simulation. Finally, using two specified motion trajectories (spatial spiral trajectory and planar circular trajectory) as examples, an analysis is conducted on the influence of guide rail inclination angle variations on the kinetostatic performance of the micro-motion platform. This analysis serves as guidance for the rational design of such micro-motion platforms.

Background: During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, we could observe different attitudes towards restrictive bans and orders. Aim: The research aimed to examine the potential psychological factors, such as generalized anxiety, fear of COVID-19 or social approval, related to the approach to mandatory face covering in public spaces. Methods: The web-assisted interviews survey was used among 202 participants, which included socio-demographical data, approach to face covering, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale, and The Questionnaire of Social Approval. Result: The data showed a statistically significant correlation between compliance to the rule of face and nose covering vs. anxiety and compliance to the rule of face and nose covering vs. generalized anxiety. The results indicate differences between vaccinated and non-vaccinated people in the anxiety of COVID-19, generalized anxiety, and compliance with the rule of face and nose covering. Conclusions: People vaccinated has a higher level of anxiety and more often compliance with the rule of face covering. It is worth noting that an overly pronounced fear of COVID-19 could be a risk factor for mental health. More research about coping with anxiety in the group of vaccinated people is recommended.

This paper presents a new class of flexure hinges, namely, conic-V-shaped flexure hinges (CFHs), which can be used as a generalized model for flexure hinges with profiles such as parabolic-V-shape, elliptical-V-shape, and hyperbolic-V-shape. Compliance and precision equations for the CFHs were derived as a set of nonlinear equations using Castigliano’s second theorem. The parameters of the nonlinear equations inputted to the compliance and precision matrices were based on the generalized equations used for conic curves in polar coordinates. Furthermore, the compliance equations were verified by means of finite element analysis and experiments. The errors in the finite element and experimental results were within 10% and 8% compared to the analytical results, respectively. Finally, the effects of dimensional parameters on the analytical model could be effectively analyzed by numerical simulations and comparisons.

Building design review is the procedure of checking a design against codes and standard provisions to satisfy the accuracy of the design and identify non-compliances before construction begins. The current approaches for conducting the design review process in an automatic or semi-automatic manner are either based on proprietary, domain-specific or hard-coded rule-based mechanisms. These methods may be effective in their specific applications, but they have the downsides of being costly to maintain, inflexible to modify, and lack a generalized framework of rules and regulations modeling that can adapt to various engineering design realms, and thus don’t support a neutral data standard. They are often referred to as 'Black Box' or ‘Gray Box’ approaches. This research offers a new comprehensive framework that reduces the limitations of the cited methods. Building regulations, for instance, are legal documents transcribed and approved by professionals to be interpreted and applied by people. They are hardly as precise as formal logic. Engineers, architects, and contractors can read those technical documents and transform them into scientific notations and software applications. They can extract any data they need, reason about it, and apply it at various phases of the project. How these extraction and use are carried out is a critical component of automating the design review process. The chief goal is to address this issue by developing a Generalized Adaptive Framework (GAF) for a neutral data standard (Industry Foundation Classes (IFC)) that enables automating the code compliance checking processes to achieve design efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The objectives of this study comprise i) to develop a theoretical background to an adaptive framework that supports a neutral data standard for transforming the written code regulations and rules into a computable model, and ii) to define the various modules required for computerizing of the code compliance verification process.

This study examined empathy and reciprocity as explanations for why people comply with requests for help. Participants (35 male and 62 female) imagined being asked for money by a person who had locked keys in a car and then reported how likely they would be to comply with such a request, whether they had previously locked their keys in their car (empathy), and, if so, whether they had been helped (reciprocity). In support of the explanation based on empathy, people who reported previously locking their keys in their cars indicated being more likely to comply.

The major Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA) input for mechanistic-empirical (M-E) flexible pavement design is the dynamic complex modulus obtained from either the uniaxial or triaxial compressive dynamic modulus test. Furthermore, as part of the performance-based mix design process, the triaxial dynamic modulus has been selected to predict rutting and fatigue cracking, and the Indirect Tension (IDT) creep compliance test to predict low-temperature thermal cracking. The creep compliance and dynamic modulus are measured responses (viscoelastic functions) of viscoelastic materials under transient and cyclic loading, respectively. Under the assumptions of linearity, linear viscoelastic functions are equivalent. Moreover, these properties should be the same whether they are obtained from a uniaxial compressive or IDT test. For this dissertation, we tested the applicability of linear viscoelastic (LVE) theory to HMA mixes and determined whether HMA need to be modeled as a bimodular material to analyze IDT creep compliance test results. The need to model HMA as a bimodular material is a result of a number of studies that suggest that HMA tensile and compressive properties are different. A testing program was developed to experimentally measure the uniaxial compression, and IDT creep compliance, and the uniaxial compression dynamic modulus for different HMA mixes. The uniaxial compressive creep compliance and dynamic modulus master curves are constructed and the shift factors obtained from each test are compared. Interconversion between the creep compliance and dynamic modulus experimental results confirm the applicability of LVE theory for the HMA mixes investigated. Based on the applicability of LVE theory, a methodology to determine HMA LVE properties from the combined creep compliance and dynamic modulus test results was developed. As a practical application that is relevant to the M-E flexible pavement design procedure, LVE theory was used and compared to proposed approximate methods to perform the conversion of testing frequency to loading time. Specifically, dynamic modulus results were converted to relaxation modulus, creep compliance, and resilient modulus. Finally, the HMA IDT creep compliance test results at low and intermediate temperature (<20oC) were successfully analyzed using a HMA bimodular material model based on the Ambartsumyan model. The difference between the compressive modulus and the modulus calculated from the IDT test using Hondrosâ stress distribution is calculated. In addition, a method to determine the compressive-to-tensile modulus ratio using uniaxial compressive and IDT test results is illustrated for one of the tested HMA mixes.
Ph. D.

This study deals with the use of the generalized finite difference method (GFDM) in perfectly matched layer (PML) analysis of the problems in wave mechanics, in particular, in elastodynamics. It is known that PML plays the role of an absorbing layer, for an unbounded domain, eliminating reflections of waves for all directions of incidence and frequencies. The study is initiated for purpose of detecting any possible advantages of using GFDM in PML analysis: GFDM is a meshless method suitable for any geometry of the domain, handling the boundary conditions properly and having an easy implementation for PML analysis. In the study, first, a bounded 2D fictitious plane strain problem is solved by GFDM to determine its appropriate parameters (weighting function, radius of influence, etc.). Then, a 1D semi-infinite rod on elastic foundation is considered to estimate PML parameters for GFDM. Finally, the proposed procedure, that is, the use of GFDM in PML analysis, is assessed by considering the compliance functions (in frequency domain) of surface and embedded rigid strip foundations. The surface foundation is assumed to be supported by three types of soil medium: rigid strip foundation on half space (HS), on soil layer overlying rigid bedrock, and on soil layer overlying HS. For the embedded rigid strip foundation, the supporting soil medium is taken as HS. In addition of frequency space analyses stated above, the direct time domain analysis is also performed for the reaction forces of rigid strip foundation over HS. The results of GFDM for both frequency and time spaces are compared with those of finite element method (FEM) with PML and boundary element method (BEM), when possible, also with those of other studies. The excellent matches observed in the results show the reliability of the proposed procedure in PML analysis (that is, of using GFDM in PML analysis).

Africa is home to more than 40% of the world’s population of internally displaced persons (IDPs).4 IDPs, according to the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement5, are persons or groups of persons who have been forced to leave their homes or places of habitual residence as a result of – or in order to avoid the effects of – armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights, natural disasters or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognised state border.
Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2010.
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Mr. S Tindifa at the Faculty of Law, Makerere University, Uganda. 2010.
http://www.chr.up.ac.za/
Centre for Human Rights
LLM

Initialement développés pour automatiser les industries manufacturières, les robots sont désormais utilisés pour réaliser des interventions chirurgicales. Avec la volonté de minimiser le traumatisme des patients, les robots continus, flexibles et hautement miniaturisables, sont devenus un sujet de recherche très actif. La plupart des algo- rithmes de commande de ces robots utilisent des modèles analytiques construits à partir de la théorie de Cosserat. Cette thèse reconsidère le concept de compliance des robots continus en proposant une nouvelle définition : la matrice de compliance généralisée. Cette dernière est calculée grâce à une méthode littérale dite de "pro- pagation de dérivées bas-niveau", spécialement conçue pour permettre un calcul rapide. Ce concept de compliance généralisée est ensuite utilisé pour estimer les efforts d’interaction entre le robot et son environnement, élément indispensable pour garantir la sûreté de l’intervention. Tout au long de cette thèse, les contributions dévelop- pées pour les robots continus sont systématiquement appliquées au cas particulier des robots à tubes concentriques, à travers des simulations et des essais expérimentaux
First developed to automate production in manufacturing industries, robots are now used to assist surgical procedures. Flexible and highly miniaturizable continuum robots, allowing for the reduction of patient trauma, have raised significant interest in this field. Their study has then become an active research field. Most control algorithms developed for these robots are based on literal models derived from the Cosserat theory. This thesis reconsiders the concept of compliance for continuum robots by introducing the concept of generalized compliance matrix. This matrix is computed using a “low-level derivative propagation method” specifically designed for efficient computation. This concept of generalized compliance is then applied to estimate the interaction forces between the robot and its environment, a crucial issue for guaranteeing safe interventions. In this thesis, the contributions described for continuum robots are systematically transferred to the concentric tubes robots through simulations and experimental studies

Background: Over the past decades corporate governance (CG) has emerged in importance for academics and practitioners in terms of its determinants and its impact on several firm level attributes. However, the importance of the issue has yet to be advocated in emerging markets where capital markets are still evolving, and the rights of shareholders are less protected. Pakistan is no exception to this scenario, where the capital market is yet to mature, CG practices are only recently widely adopted and regulatory CG guidelines on compliance are relatively new and developing. Purpose: Code of Corporate Governance of Pakistan (CCGP) for listed companies was first issued in 2002 by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and was further revised in 2012, which provide a sound context in which the impact of corporate governance compliance can be examined. The purpose of this thesis is to measure CG compliance in accordance with the guidelines devised by SECP and its relationship with capital structure (CS) and firm performance (FP) of non-financial companies listed at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) during 2008 – 2018. It also tests for the impact of revisions made in 2012 in the SECP guidelines. Method: The literature has examined CG from two perspectives: the first being a measure of individual characteristics of CG and the second a complete mechanism. This thesis uses the term formative for the former and summative for the latter. The formative measures of CG discussed in thesis are ‘board size’, ‘board independence’, ‘CEO duality’, ‘audit committee size’, ‘managerial ownership’ and ‘ownership concentration’. For the summative measures of corporate governance, this thesis uses CG guidelines issued by the SECP to construct two compliance indices using two different methodologies, namely, weighted and unweighted indices. For this purpose, the data was collected manually from published annual reports of all the non-financial companies listed at the PSX during the sample period (2008–2018). System generalised method of moments (SGMM) was used to analyse the relationship and to control for econometric issues, especially endogeneity bias. Findings: The results of the summative measure – that is, the CG compliance index (CGCI) – demonstrated improved firm performance of the non-financial listed companies of Pakistan. Among the formative measures, ‘board size’ was positively associated with accounting-based performance and negatively associated with market-based performance. These results are reverted for board independence. ‘Managerial ownership’ tended to reduce the overall performance of firms. ‘CEO duality’ and ‘ownership concertation’ showed a positive relation to firm performance in Pakistan. No conclusive results were found for the size of the audit committee. Meanwhile, the summative measure of CG tended to reduce the extent of external debt in Pakistan during the sample period. All formative measures of CG showed a positive association with capital structure variables, except ‘audit committee size’. Interestingly, the revision of the code in 2012 did not significantly improve firm performance; moreover, no impact of revision was observed on choice of capital in the non-financial sector of Pakistan. Capital structure strongly mediated the association of CG and firm performance. Contributions: Primary contribution of this thesis is the construction of two different compliance indices for Pakistan listed non-financial companies. The two indices are constructed using weighted and unweighted methodologies for more robust results and accuracy. Another contribution to the literature is the econometric analysis using SGMM to control for potential endogeneity. Furthermore, most of the prior studies have used short-term and long-term debt ratios for the analysis of capital structure and Tobin’s Q, ROA and ROE for the analysis of firm performance. This thesis uses the ‘degree of financial leverage (DFL)’ and ‘share return (SR)’ as additional proxies for capital structure and firm performance, for robustness. This thesis uses both formative and summative measures of CG both at market and sector levels to highlight the sectors that are more compliant to the CG guidelines. Furthermore, this thesis contributes to the limited literature on the impact of revisions made by SECP in CG guidelines after 2012. This thesis also contributes to the existing literature on the inter-relationship between CG compliance, capital structure and firm performance in Pakistan context. Implications: The findings of this thesis provide support for policymakers, practitioners and academicians by explaining the importance of CG in maximizing firm performance. In a developing economy like Pakistan, CG has an important role to play for the success of capital markets. Policymakers may need to formulate further to benefit all the stakeholders. Academicians and researcher may use the given framework and approach of this thesis to conduct a similar or multi-country study to examine the impact of CG compliance on capital structure and firm performance using data from the developing economies of the South Asian region.

How do states coerce citizens into compliance and minimize backlash at the same time? Outsourcing Repression portrays state engagement of nonstate actors—violent street gangsters and nonviolent grassroots brokers—to coerce and mobilize the masses for state pursuits in a manner that reduces resistance. This book draws on more than 200 interviews from ethnographic research conducted annually over a decade (2011‒2019) from the era of Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping, a unique and original event dataset, and a collection of government regulations to study everyday land grabs and housing demolition in China. Outsourcing Repression theorizes a counterintuitive form of state repression that reduces resistance and backlash. Everyday state power is quotidian power acquired through society by penetrating nonstate territories and mobilizing the masses within. This book uses China’s urbanization scheme as a window of observation and explains how the arguments can be generalized to other country contexts.

This chapter argues that the case of Rajpura provides insights into the causes and trajectory of India’s “land wars” and their implications for development. It suggests that the exclusionary trajectory of capitalism in contemporary India is the structural underpinning of farmer protests and explains why the political stability of India’s neoliberal regime of dispossession rests on its ability to substitute land prices for inclusive development. However, even an ostensibly “pro-farmer” overhaul of India’s Land Acquisition Act will be inadequate to generalize the compliance achieved in Rajpura, especially where agricultural profitability and dependence are higher, inequalities are more muted, and histories of peasant activism are more militant. “Land wars” are a symptom of dispossession without development and will not disappear without a major redirection of India’s political economy. To the extent that they can foster this redirection, anti-dispossession movements are agents of—rather than obstacles to—development.

AbstractMultiparty Session Types (MPST) are a typing discipline for communication-centric systems, guaranteeing communication safety, deadlock freedom and protocol compliance. Several works have emerged which model failures and introduce fault-tolerance techniques. However, such works often make assumptions on the underlying network, e.g., assuming TCP-based communication where messages are guaranteed to be delivered; or adopting centralised reliable nodes and ad-hoc notions of reliability; or only addressing a single kind of failure, such as node crashes. In this work, we develop MAG$$\pi $$ π —a Multiparty, Asynchronous and Generalised $$\pi $$ π -calculus, which is the first language and type system to accommodate in unison: (i) the widest range of non-Byzantine faults, including message loss, delays and reordering; crash and link failures; and network partitioning; (ii) a novel and most general notion of reliability, taking into account the viewpoint of each participant in the protocol; (iii) a spectrum of network assumptions from the lowest UDP-based network programming to the TCP-based application level. We prove subject reduction and session fidelity; process properties (deadlock freedom, termination, etc.); failure-handling safety and reliability adherence.

Abstract The concluding chapter of the book summarizes the main findings and points to the most pertinent scholarly and policy implications. It draws comparative and generalized observations about the reasons for pursuing arbitration over mediation and the relevant factors behind the compliance with (or defiance) of the arbitration award. In so doing, it revisits the central claim of this book regarding the need to reclaim the sui generis nature of arbitration as a hybrid method of dispute settlement which combines the best attributes of mediation and adjudication. The chapter also points to additional findings which were not originally considered in the design of the research, such as the effects of buyer’s remorse and blame-shifting on state behaviour. It concludes with suggestions for future research.

Software certification has become more and more popular, especially for software developers, as it can provide confidence to customers that the product is of acceptable quality. Software certification can be done at two levels: the development process and the software product itself. There are many different certification schemes, such as ISO 9001 and CMM for development process, and Y2K compliance for software product. This chapter first identifies two process models, one for process certification and another for product certification. We then propose a certification process for Commercial off-The-Shelf (COTS) product and its development process. Finally a generalized model of certification process (GCM) for both product certification and development process certification is developed. Example certification schemes are then mapped to this model to illustrate its validity. The evaluation shows that the popular certification schemes fit well into GCM. GCM may be used as a basis to develop a certification scheme for particular application domains or to validate a particular certification process.

Unawareness of the disease or anosognosia is a common symptom among many neuropsychiatric patients and may affect the quality of life and treatment compliance in patients suffering from AD and make them to behave unsafely. Although generalized cognitive impairment may be a prerequisite for anosognosia in dementia, not all patients with cognitive impairment, present anosognosia. Deficit in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) can be seen in different brain regions in dementia with a typical posterior temporoparietal defect in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Although functional brain imaging methods such as single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) have relatively limited spatial resolution, they offer the potential advantage of being able to assess functional connectivity patterns, associated with neural networks involved in awareness. We try to determine the brain regions that contributed to unawareness in patients with Alzheimer's disease, using SPECT. This study will focus on awareness deficits in cognitive and behavioral domains, rather than personality.

Environmental changes and especially the development of the digital economy have posed real existential questions to businesses, provoked strategic reflection, and made the emergence of controlling efficient. The objective of this chapter was to explore the role of controlling in the business environment and generalize a reflection on strategy and controlling in the life of companies. The results show that controlling has a significant role in enhancing the corporate governance pillars in companies, and the successes of corporate governance requires compliance with all elements of internal control.

Abstract This concluding chapter makes some tentative proposals for potential policy responses to the book’s findings. The first of these is that it might be possible to generalize Herman Kahn’s idea of “multistable deterrence” to a multipolar world by managing uncertainty in an efficacious way. The second is that new modes of arms control that aim to shape the kind of knowledge quality problems states can impose upon each other could be developed. The third is that further research might build upon the analysis in Chapter 4 to identify strategies for shaping other states’ preferences to be more compatible with one’s own rather than attempting to coerce them into compliance by means of violent threats.

This essay in reversing historian Ranajit Guha’s classic colonialist formulation ‘Dominance without Hegemony’ contrarily suggests that the postcolonial state in India has hegemony without dominance. Over six decades of statist presence, it argues, the Indian social has acquired intimate literacy over the language and idioms of rule of law and statist practices. This pervasive circulation and currency—or hegemonic presence—of the statist idioms however has implied neither its uninhibited dominance, nor an unreserved compliance to it. Rather, the chapter argues, the engagement with rule of law is transactional or instrumental, and takes the form of routine circumvention and erosion, inventive negotiations, leading ultimately to recurrent resurrections and fetishization of law. This transactional and non-transcending articulation of law ultimately indexes a symptomatology of repetition compulsion that pointedly gestures towards irresolvable aporia of sovereignty of the modern Indian state; this paper strives to capture this predicament of the Indian polity through the lacanian category of ‘generalised perversion’

Composite glass beams, stiffened by adhesively bonded high-strength element, show high load bearing capacity and robustness (post breakage behavior) in comparison with pure glass beams or fins. Wide range of polymer adhesives can be used in composite structure with real load bearing role to provide horizontal shear interaction between both materials and on the other hand to keep all other requirements on compliancy. Numerical and analytical approach was developed and calibrated by the results of full scale tests of composite steel-glass beams. Reached load carrying capacity of the beam was very high and influence of a lot of parameters was defined and included to analytical model. Generalized results of performed experiments, numerical and analytic studies can say, how to predict an ultimate load of such a hybrid structure, where the key element is the semi-rigid shear connection, provided by modern and progressive polymer adhesives used to be known mainly from industry until now, although their potential is very high.

The European directive on energy efficiency requires that all meters in multi-apartment buildings installed after 25 October 2020 shall be remotely readable devices when technically feasible and cost-effective in terms of being proportionate to the potential energy savings. The European Commission Recommendation of 9 March 2012 on preparations for the roll-out of smart metering systems (2012/148/EU) explicitly mentions that smart metering predominantly processes personal data. This chapter recommends how to design a metering system that fully conforms to legal regulations. The main contribution is the recommendation of eight steps for data controllers that make metering systems legally compliant. Additionally, the chapter lists recommendations for smart meter manufacturers that remove the burden of being a controller of the processing. The recommendations apply to the distribution of electricity, water, gas, heat, cooling, and other energies. The chapter shows that the recommendations can be generalized for smart home deployments.

Researchers in the field of optimal synthesis of compliant mechanisms have been working to develop tools that yield distributed compliant devices to perform specific tasks. However, it has been demonstrated in the literature that much of this work has resulted in mechanisms that localize compliance rather than distribute it as desired. In fact, Yin and Ananthasuresh (2003) [1] demonstrate that based on the current formulation of optimality criteria and analysis via the finite element (FE) technique, a lumped compliant device will always exist as the minimizing solution to the objective function. The addition of constraints on allowable strain simply moves the solution back from this objective. Therefore, modification to the standard optimality criteria needs to take place. Yin and Ananthasuresh [1] proposed and compared several approaches that include distributivity-based measures within the optimality criteria, and demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach. In this paper, the authors propose to build on this problem. In a similar manner, a general approach to the topology synthesis problem will be suggested to yield mechanisms in which the compliance is distributed throughout the device. This work will be based on the idea of including compliance distribution directly within the objective functions, while addressing some of the potential limiting factors in past approaches. The technique will be generalized to allow simple addition of criteria in the future, and to deliver optimal designs through to manufacture. This work will first revisit and propose several quantitative definitions for distributed compliant devices. Then, a multi-objective formulation based on a non-dominating sort and Pareto set method will be incorporated that will provide information on the nature of the problem and compatibility of employed objective functions.

This paper provides a generalized approach for the design of compliant mechanisms. The paper discusses the implicit uncoupling, between the kinematic and energy/torque equations, enabled by the pseudo-rigid-body model concept, and utilizes it for designing a variety of compliant mechanism types for a wide-range of user specifications. Pseudo-rigid-body four-bar mechanisms, with one to four torsional springs located at the revolute joints, are considered to demonstrate the design methodology. Mechanisms are designed for conventional tasks, such as function, path and motion generation, and path generation with prescribed timing, with energy/torque specified at the precision-positions. State-of-the-art rigid-body synthesis techniques are applied to the pseudo-rigid-body model to satisfy the kinematic requirements. Energy/torque equations are then used to account for the necessary compliance according to the user specifications. The approach utilizes a conventional, simple yet efficient optimization formulation to solve energy/torque equations that allow a designer to i) achieve realistic solutions, ii) specify appropriate energy/torque values, and iii) reduce the sensitivities associated with the ‘synthesis with compliance’ approach. A variety of examples are presented to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the approach. All of the examples are verified with the finite element software ANSYS®.

Abstract Compliant mechanisms gain at least some of their motion from flexible members. The combination of large-deflection beam analysis, kinematic motion analysis, and energy storage makes the analysis of compliant mechanisms difficult. The design of mechanisms often requires iteration between synthesis and analysis procedures. In general, the difficulty in analysis has limited the use of compliant mechanisms to applications where only simple functions and motions are required. The pseudo-rigid-body model concept promises to be the key to unifying the compliant and rigid-body mechanism theories. It simplifies compliant mechanism analysis by determining an equivalent rigid-body mechanism that accurately models the kinematic characteristics of a compliant mechanism. Once this model is obtained, many well known concepts from rigid-body mechanism theory become amenable for use to analyze and design compliant mechanisms. The pseudo-rigid-body-model concept is used to develop a generalized loop-closure method for the analysis and synthesis of compliant mechanisms. Synthesis is divided into two major categories: (i) rigid-body replacement synthesis, wherein only kinematic constraints are considered, and (ii) synthesis for compliance, wherein considerations of the energy storage and input/output force/torque characteristics of compliant mechanisms are utilized. The method allows compliant mechanisms to be designed for tasks that would have earlier been assumed to be unlikely, if not impossible, applications of compliant mechanisms. Examples of function, motion, and path generation of compliant mechanisms are presented for the first time.

A compliant mechanism transmits motion and force by deformation of its flexible members. It has no relative moving parts and thus involves no wear, lubrication, noise, and backlash. Compliant mechanisms aims to maximize flexibility while maintaining sufficient stiffness so that satisfactory output motion can be achieved. When designing compliant mechanisms, the resulting shapes sometimes lead to rigid-body type linkages where compliance and rotation is lumped at a few flexural pivots. These flexural pivots are prone to stress concentration and thus limit compliant mechanisms to applications that only require small-deflected motion. To overcome this problem, a systematic design method is presented to synthesize the shape of a compliant mechanism so that compliance is distributed more uniformly over the mechanism. With a selected topology and load conditions, this method characterizes the free geometric shape of a compliant segment by its rotation and thickness functions. These two are referred as intrinsic functions and they describe the shape continuously within the segment so there is no abrupt change in geometry. Optimization problems can be conveniently formulated with cusps and intersecting loops naturally circumvented. To facilitate the optimization process, a numerical algorithm based on the generalized shooting method will be presented to solve for the deflected shape. Illustrative examples will demonstrate that through the proposed design method, compliant mechanisms with distributed compliance will lessen stress concentration so they can be more robust and have larger deflected range. It is expected that the method can be applied to design compliant mechanisms that have a wide variety of applications from precision instruments to biomedical devices.

Abstract In this paper we introduce the Generalized Contact Control Framework (GCCF) implemented on a compliant robotic manipulator. We demonstrate that the combined joint compliance and GCCF-based compliance control enable the completion of complex contact tasks in uncertain environments, where complex refers to the need to meet different contact force requirements involving multiple steps and output axes. Operating in uncertain environments means limited knowledge of the location or material properties of contact objects. The demonstrated tasks include opening a pill bottle and rigidly connecting to a purely mechanical tool changer. The GCCF simplifies the definition and modification of contact control parameters and allows for on-the-fly definition and completion of new tasks. Unlike hybrid force/impedance controllers, we do not need to define large damping and stiffness matrices, and we decouple the joint level control gains from the compliance control. The result is a robotic manipulator that can dynamically switch between unconstrained motion and contact tasks and provides a lot of versatility to perform a wide variety of tasks.

Abstract The elastic characteristics of many robot systems can be modeled by a 6 × 6 stiffness or compliance matrix. Several new and important results are presented via screw theory: i) A generalized center-of-elasticity is proposed based on Ball’s (1900) principal screws and its properties are investigated, ii) If a compliant axis exists, it is shown to pass through the center. iii) The perpendicular vectors from the center to the wrench-compliant axes are coplanar and sum to zero. A similar result holds for the twist-compliant axes, iv) Linear and rotational properties are characterized by dual ellipsoids in three-dimensional space. These elements simplify the understanding of complex elastic properties.

This paper proposes a unified approach for controlling the Cartesian compliance of multiple points assigned along the linkage chains of the manipulator. The method applies two key frameworks. Task-priority based control is used to synergistically plan the tasks of the advanced manipulation according to their relative priority. Then, the impedance control scheme is employed for implementing the controller. Additionally, with the use of generalized inverse theory throughout the development, the method is capable of controlling the manipulator at the singularities seamlessly. This low-level control system may be integrated with the high-level manipulation planning algorithm, which generates the online dynamical tasks based on the desired behavior and the sensor information, to accomplish the demanding operation.

The prevalence of substandard medicines in Africa is high but not well documented. Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) are likely to face considerable challenges with substandard medications. Africa faces inadequate drug regulatory practices, and in general, compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) in most of the pharmaceutical industries is lacking. The majority of pharmaceutical manufacturers in developing countries are often overwhelmed by the GMP requirements and therefore are unable to operate in line with internationally acceptable standards. Non-conformances observed during regulatory inspections provide the status of the compliance to GMP requirements. The study aimed to identify the GMP non-conformances during regulatory inspections and gaps in the production of pharmaceuticals locally manufactured in Uganda by review of the available 50 GMP reports of 21 local pharmaceutical companies in Uganda from 2016. The binary logistic generalized estimating equations (GEE) model was applied to estimate the association between odds of a company failing to comply with the GMP requirements and non-conformances under each GMP inspection parameter. Analysis using dummy estimation to linear regression included determination of the relationship that existed between the selected variables (GMP inspection parameters) and the production capacity of the local pharmaceutical industry. Oral liquids, external liquid preparations, powders, creams, and ointments were the main categories of products manufactured locally. The results indicated that 86% of the non-conformances were major, 11% were minor, and 3% critical. The majority of the non-conformances were related to production (30.1%), documentation (24.5%), and quality control (17.6%). Regression results indicated that for every non-conformance under premises, equipment, and utilities, there was a 7-fold likelihood of the manufacturer failing to comply with the GMP standards (aOR=6.81, P=0.001). The results showed that major non-conformances were significantly higher in industries of small scale (B=6.77, P=0.02) and medium scale (B=8.40, P=0.04), as compared to those of large scale. This study highlights the failures in quality assurance systems and stagnated GMP improvements in these industries that need to be addressed by the manufacturers with support from the regulator. The addition of risk assessment to critical production and quality control operations and establishment of appropriate corrective and preventive actions as part of quality management systems are required to ensure that quality pharmaceuticals are manufactured locally.

The article talks about the philosophical foundations that characterize the mechanism of internal inducement to action. As an academic, constitutional, and socio-ideological concept, the boundaries of freedom are outlined, which are displayed in the field of modern media space. The term «freedom» is considered as several philosophical concepts that formed the basis of the modern interpretation of this concept. The totality of its meanings is generalized into one that is adapted for the modern system. Parallels are drawn between the interaction of the concept of user freedom with the plane of domestic mass media because despite, the fact that consciousness is knowledge, the incoming information directly affects the individual and collective consciousness. Using the example of the most popular digital platforms, the components of the impact on users and the legal aspect of their implementation are analyzed. When considering the issues of freedom of choice and freedom of action on the Internet, special attention is paid to methods of collecting and processing information, in particular, the limitations and possibilities of digital programs-algorithms of the popular search engine Google. The types of personal information collected by Google about the user are classified and the possible mechanisms of influence on personal choice and access to information on the Internet are characterized. The article analyzes the constitutional guarantees of freedom and the impact of digital technologies on them. Particular attention is paid to ethics, in particular journalistic, which nominally regulates the limits of the humane, permissible, a / moral (unacceptable/acceptable) in the implementation of professional information activities in the media. Thus, the issue of freedom of choice and freedom of action in the plane of domestic mass media is subject to an objective examination of its components, they are analyzed for a proper constitutionally suitable phenomenon, which must be investigated from the point of view of compliance with human rights and freedoms and professional standards within the media.

Now the whole life of a person has switched to online mode. These changes also affected the education system. This means the need to introduce new technologies into the educational process. Books, manuals, printed publications are being replaced by electronic educational resources. Providing up-to-date, verified information to students has always been and remains one of the most important functions of the teacher. Unfortunately, with the transition of training to the online mode, the teacher cannot use his literature when conducting classes. In this regard, there is a need to use electronic resources. On the one hand, the development of the global network implies the presence of a large number of a wide variety of sites, which cannot but be a positive aspect, because both the teacher and the student can independently choose a resource that will be most understandable. But on the other hand, the variety of Internet resources implies the presence of unverified, false information, which can negatively affect the quality of education. That is why it is necessary to analyze new information systems. The problem is the presence of a large number of information technologies and resources used in education. Purpose. The goal is to conduct a comparative analysis of educational electronic publications and resources most often used by teachers of the natural science cycle in terms of their fullness, accessibility and use in the educational process. Method or methodology of the work. The requirements for the organization of a comprehensive examination suggest an approach that includes an examination of technical and technological, psychological, pedagogical and design-ergonomic aspects of the creation and use of educational electronic publications and resources, in our work we were based precisely on generalized research methods: 1) Technical and technological expertise (technical component of the site, its position in the network). 2) Psychological and pedagogical expertise (component by the type of educational electronic publication or resource, level of education, type and form of the educational process, assessment of the content and scenario of the informatization tool). 3) Design-ergonomic expertise (assessment of the quality of interface components of educational electronic publications and resources, their compliance with uniform ergonomic, aesthetic and health-saving requirements; assessment of the quality of interface components of educational electronic editions and resources, their compliance with uniform ergonomic, aesthetic and health-saving requirements). Results. The main sites that are frequently used by teachers of the natural science cycle of disciplines are the Russian Textbook corporation, the Enlightenment group of companies, the Binom publishing house, the Digital Age School, the practical significance of the study is determined by the high level of readiness of the results obtained, during the study it was found that it is advisable to introduce an information-electronic educational site - the Russian textbook corporation - into the pedagogical practice of the implementation of natural science subjects. The advantages of this server were established and recommendations for its use in the educational process were developed. Practical implications: the results obtained are expedient to be applied in educational institutions of the Russian Federation.

Banco de la República is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023. This is a very significant anniversary and one that provides an opportunity to highlight the contribution the Bank has made to the country’s development. Its track record as guarantor of monetary stability has established it as the one independent state institution that generates the greatest confidence among Colombians due to its transparency, management capabilities, and effective compliance with the central banking and cultural responsibilities entrusted to it by the Constitution and the Law. On a date as important as this, the Board of Directors of Banco de la República (BDBR) pays tribute to the generations of governors and officers whose commitment and dedication have contributed to the growth of this institution.1 Banco de la República’s mandate was confirmed in the National Constitutional Assembly of 1991 where the citizens had the opportunity to elect the seventy people who would have the task of drafting a new constitution. The leaders of the three political movements with the most votes were elected as chairs to the Assembly, and this tripartite presidency reflected the plurality and the need for consensus among the different political groups to move the reform forward. Among the issues considered, the National Constitutional Assembly gave special importance to monetary stability. That is why they decided to include central banking and to provide Banco de la República with the necessary autonomy to use the instruments for which they are responsible without interference from other authorities. The constituent members understood that ensuring price stability is a state duty and that the entity responsible for this task must be enshrined in the Constitution and have the technical capability and institutional autonomy necessary to adopt the decisions they deem appropriate to achieve this fundamental objective in coordination with the general economic policy. In particular, Article 373 established that “the State, through Banco de la República, shall ensure the maintenance of the purchasing power of the currency,” a provision that coincided with the central banking system adopted by countries that have been successful in controlling inflation. In 1999, in Ruling 481, the Constitutional Court stated that “the duty to maintain the purchasing power of the currency applies to not only the monetary, credit, and exchange authority, i.e., the Board of Banco de la República, but also those who have responsibilities in the formulation and implementation of the general economic policy of the country” and that “the basic constitutional purpose of Banco de la República is the protection of a sound currency. However, this authority must take the other economic objectives of state intervention such as full employment into consideration in their decisions since these functions must be coordinated with the general economic policy.” The reforms to Banco de la República agreed upon in the Constitutional Assembly of 1991 and in Act 31/1992 can be summarized in the following aspects: i) the Bank was assigned a specific mandate: to maintain the purchasing power of the currency in coordination with the general economic policy; ii) the BDBR was designatedas the monetary, foreign exchange, and credit authority; iii) the Bank and its Board of Directors were granted a significant degree of independence from the government; iv) the Bank was prohibited from granting credit to the private sector except in the case of the financial sector; v) established that in order to grant credit to the government, the unanimous vote of its Board of Directors was required except in the case of open market transactions; vi) determined that the legislature may, in no case, order credit quotas in favor of the State or individuals; vii) Congress was appointed, on behalf of society, as the main addressee of the Bank’s reporting exercise; and viii) the responsibility for inspection, surveillance, and control over Banco de la República was delegated to the President of the Republic. The members of the National Constitutional Assembly clearly understood that the benefits of low and stable inflation extend to the whole of society and contribute mto the smooth functioning of the economic system. Among the most important of these is that low inflation promotes the efficient use of productive resources by allowing relative prices to better guide the allocation of resources since this promotes economic growth and increases the welfare of the population. Likewise, low inflation reduces uncertainty about the expected return on investment and future asset prices. This increases the confidence of economic agents, facilitates long-term financing, and stimulates investment. Since the low-income population is unable to protect itself from inflation by diversifying its assets, and a high proportion of its income is concentrated in the purchase of food and other basic goods that are generally the most affected by inflationary shocks, low inflation avoids arbitrary redistribution of income and wealth.2 Moreover, low inflation facilitates wage negotiations, creates a good labor climate, and reduces the volatility of employment levels. Finally, low inflation helps to make the tax system more transparent and equitable by avoiding the distortions that inflation introduces into the value of assets and income that make up the tax base. From the monetary authority’s point of view, one of the most relevant benefits of low inflation is the credibility that economic agents acquire in inflation targeting, which turns it into an effective nominal anchor on price levels. Upon receiving its mandate, and using its autonomy, Banco de la República began to announce specific annual inflation targets as of 1992. Although the proposed inflation targets were not met precisely during this first stage, a downward trend in inflation was achieved that took it from 32.4% in 1990 to 16.7% in 1998. At that time, the exchange rate was kept within a band. This limited the effectiveness of monetary policy, which simultaneously sought to meet an inflation target and an exchange rate target. The Asian crisis spread to emerging economies and significantly affected the Colombian economy. The exchange rate came under strong pressure to depreciate as access to foreign financing was cut off under conditions of a high foreign imbalance. This, together with the lack of exchange rate flexibility, prevented a countercyclical monetary policy and led to a 4.2% contraction in GDP that year. In this context of economic slowdown, annual inflation fell to 9.2% at the end of 1999, thus falling below the 15% target set for that year. This episode fully revealed how costly it could be, in terms of economic activity, to have inflation and exchange rate targets simultaneously. Towards the end of 1999, Banco de la República announced the adoption of a new monetary policy regime called the Inflation Targeting Plan. This regime, known internationally as ‘Inflation Targeting,’ has been gaining increasing acceptance in developed countries, having been adopted in 1991 by New Zealand, Canada, and England, among others, and has achieved significant advances in the management of inflation without incurring costs in terms of economic activity. In Latin America, Brazil and Chile also adopted it in 1999. In the case of Colombia, the last remaining requirement to be fulfilled in order to adopt said policy was exchange rate flexibility. This was realized around September 1999, when the BDBR decided to abandon the exchange-rate bands to allow the exchange rate to be freely determined in the market.Consistent with the constitutional mandate, the fundamental objective of this new policy approach was “the achievement of an inflation target that contributes to maintaining output growth around its potential.”3 This potential capacity was understood as the GDP growth that the economy can obtain if it fully utilizes its productive resources. To meet this objective, monetary policy must of necessity play a countercyclical role in the economy. This is because when economic activity is below its potential and there are idle resources, the monetary authority can reduce the interest rate in the absence of inflationary pressure to stimulate the economy and, when output exceeds its potential capacity, raise it. This policy principle, which is immersed in the models for guiding the monetary policy stance, makes the following two objectives fully compatible in the medium term: meeting the inflation target and achieving a level of economic activity that is consistent with its productive capacity. To achieve this purpose, the inflation targeting system uses the money market interest rate (at which the central bank supplies primary liquidity to commercial banks) as the primary policy instrument. This replaced the quantity of money as an intermediate monetary policy target that Banco de la República, like several other central banks, had used for a long time. In the case of Colombia, the objective of the new monetary policy approach implied, in practical terms, that the recovery of the economy after the 1999 contraction should be achieved while complying with the decreasing inflation targets established by the BDBR. The accomplishment of this purpose was remarkable. In the first half of the first decade of the 2000s, economic activity recovered significantly and reached a growth rate of 6.8% in 2006. Meanwhile, inflation gradually declined in line with inflation targets. That was how the inflation rate went from 9.2% in 1999 to 4.5% in 2006, thus meeting the inflation target established for that year while GDP reached its potential level. After this balance was achieved in 2006, inflation rebounded to 5.7% in 2007, above the 4.0% target for that year due to the fact that the 7.5% GDP growth exceeded the potential capacity of the economy.4 After proving the effectiveness of the inflation targeting system in its first years of operation, this policy regime continued to consolidate as the BDBR and the technical staff gained experience in its management and state-of-the-art economic models were incorporated to diagnose the present and future state of the economy and to assess the persistence of inflation deviations and expectations with respect to the inflation target. Beginning in 2010, the BDBR established the long-term 3.0% annual inflation target, which remains in effect today. Lower inflation has contributed to making the macroeconomic environment more stable, and this has favored sustained economic growth, financial stability, capital market development, and the functioning of payment systems. As a result, reductions in the inflationary risk premia and lower TES and credit interest rates were achieved. At the same time, the duration of public domestic debt increased significantly going from 2.27 years in December 2002 to 5.86 years in December 2022, and financial deepening, measured as the level of the portfolio as a percentage of GDP, went from around 20% in the mid-1990s to values above 45% in recent years in a healthy context for credit institutions.Having been granted autonomy by the Constitution to fulfill the mandate of preserving the purchasing power of the currency, the tangible achievements made by Banco de la República in managing inflation together with the significant benefits derived from the process of bringing inflation to its long-term target, make the BDBR’s current challenge to return inflation to the 3.0% target even more demanding and pressing. As is well known, starting in 2021, and especially in 2022, inflation in Colombia once again became a serious economic problem with high welfare costs. The inflationary phenomenon has not been exclusive to Colombia and many other developed and emerging countries have seen their inflation rates move away from the targets proposed by their central banks.5 The reasons for this phenomenon have been analyzed in recent Reports to Congress, and this new edition delves deeper into the subject with updated information. The solid institutional and technical base that supports the inflation targeting approach under which the monetary policy strategy operates gives the BDBR the necessary elements to face this difficult challenge with confidence. In this regard, the BDBR reiterated its commitment to the 3.0% inflation target in its November 25 communiqué and expects it to be reached by the end of 2024.6 Monetary policy will continue to focus on meeting this objective while ensuring the sustainability of economic activity, as mandated by the Constitution. Analyst surveys done in March showed a significant increase (from 32.3% in January to 48.5% in March) in the percentage of responses placing inflation expectations two years or more ahead in a range between 3.0% and 4.0%. This is a clear indication of the recovery of credibility in the medium-term inflation target and is consistent with the BDBR’s announcement made in November 2022. The moderation of the upward trend in inflation seen in January, and especially in February, will help to reinforce this revision of inflation expectations and will help to meet the proposed targets. After reaching 5.6% at the end of 2021, inflation maintained an upward trend throughout 2022 due to inflationary pressures from both external sources, associated with the aftermath of the pandemic and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, and domestic sources, resulting from: strengthening of local demand; price indexation processes stimulated by the increase in inflation expectations; the impact on food production caused by the mid-2021 strike; and the pass-through of depreciation to prices. The 10% increase in the minimum wage in 2021 and the 16% increase in 2022, both of which exceeded the actual inflation and the increase in productivity, accentuated the indexation processes by establishing a high nominal adjustment benchmark. Thus, total inflation went to 13.1% by the end of 2022. The annual change in food prices, which went from 17.2% to 27.8% between those two years, was the most influential factor in the surge in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Another segment that contributed significantly to price increases was regulated products, which saw the annual change go from 7.1% in December 2021 to 11.8% by the end of 2022. The measure of core inflation excluding food and regulated items, in turn, went from 2.5% to 9.5% between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022. The substantial increase in core inflation shows that inflationary pressure has spread to most of the items in the household basket, which is characteristic of inflationary processes with generalized price indexation as is the case in Colombia. Monetary policy began to react early to this inflationary pressure. Thus, starting with its September 2021 session, the BDBR began a progressive change in the monetary policy stance moving away from the historical low of a 1.75% policy rate that had intended to stimulate the recovery of the economy. This adjustment process continued without interruption throughout 2022 and into the beginning of 2023 when the monetary policy rate reached 12.75% last January, thus accumulating an increase of 11 percentage points (pp). The public and the markets have been surprised that inflation continued to rise despite significant interest rate increases. However, as the BDBR has explained in its various communiqués, monetary policy works with a lag. Just as in 2022 economic activity recovered to a level above the pre-pandemic level, driven, along with other factors, by the monetary stimulus granted during the pandemic period and subsequent months, so too the effects of the current restrictive monetary policy will gradually take effect. This will allow us to expect the inflation rate to converge to 3.0% by the end of 2024 as is the BDBR’s purpose.Inflation results for January and February of this year showed declining marginal increases (13 bp and 3 bp respectively) compared to the change seen in December (59 bp). This suggests that a turning point in the inflation trend is approaching. In other Latin American countries such as Chile, Brazil, Perú, and Mexico, inflation has peaked and has begun to decline slowly, albeit with some ups and downs. It is to be expected that a similar process will take place in Colombia in the coming months. The expected decline in inflation in 2023 will be due, along with other factors, to lower cost pressure from abroad as a result of the gradual normalization of supply chains, the overcoming of supply shocks caused by the weather, and road blockades in previous years. This will be reflected in lower adjustments in food prices, as has already been seen in the first two months of the year and, of course, the lagged effect of monetary policy. The process of inflation convergence to the target will be gradual and will extend beyond 2023. This process will be facilitated if devaluation pressure is reversed. To this end, it is essential to continue consolidating fiscal sustainability and avoid messages on different public policy fronts that generate uncertainty and distrust. 1 This Report to Congress includes Box 1, which summarizes the trajectory of Banco de la República over the past 100 years. In addition, under the Bank’s auspices, several books that delve into various aspects of the history of this institution have been published in recent years. See, for example: Historia del Banco de la República 1923-2015; Tres banqueros centrales; Junta Directiva del Banco de la República: grandes episodios en 30 años de historia; Banco de la República: 90 años de la banca central en Colombia. 2 This is why lower inflation has been reflected in a reduction of income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient that went from 58.7 in 1998 to 51.3 in the year prior to the pandemic. 3 See Gómez Javier, Uribe José Darío, Vargas Hernando (2002). “The Implementation of Inflation Targeting in Colombia”. Borradores de Economía, No. 202, March, available at: https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/5220 4 See López-Enciso Enrique A.; Vargas-Herrera Hernando and Rodríguez-Niño Norberto (2016). “The inflation targeting strategy in Colombia. An historical view.” Borradores de Economía, No. 952. https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/6263 5 According to the IMF, the percentage change in consumer prices between 2021 and 2022 went from 3.1% to 7.3% for advanced economies, and from 5.9% to 9.9% for emerging market and developing economies. 6 https://www.banrep.gov.co/es/noticias/junta-directiva-banco-republica-reitera-meta-inflacion-3