Sensing, monitoring and control for laser based welding of aluminium sheets

Weight reduction is important in the automotive industry. To achieve this, Tailor Welded Blanks (TWB’s) are used. Good examples are body panels consisting of sheets which are welded together and formed into the desired shape. TWB’s are thicker at highly loaded places and thinner in other areas. In contrast to steel, aluminium TWB’s have been introduced only recently. The forming of the sheets poses high requirements on the welds. Laser welding has the potential to produce these strong, yet deformable\ud welds

Bares 2.0 wave buoy and sustainable buoy network

The aim of this article is to show the operation of the Bares 2.0 wave buoy and the Bares network developed by HCTech. In the marine sector it is highly important to know the state of the sea for applications such as the construction of ports, the study of the impact of waves in coastal areas, the development and calibration of forecasting wave models, the knowledge of the state of the maritime navigation channels, etc. Some of the great difficulties that exist in order to obtain the information of ocean waves is the high cost of the buoys, installation and maintenance. The Bares network aims to cover areas of high oceanographic interest, the target is a sustainable network of buoys that facilitate the access to wave data. The features of this network are the optimized cost, high reliability and reduced maintenance.Peer Reviewe

Developing priorities to achieve health equity through diabetes translation research: A concept mapping study

Introduction: The goal of diabetes translation research is to advance research into practice and ensure equitable benefit from scientific evidence. This study uses concept mapping to inform and refine future directions of diabetes translation research with the goal of achieving health equity in diabetes prevention and control. Research design and methods: This study used concept mapping and input from a national network of diabetes researchers and public health practitioners. Concept mapping is a mixed-method, participant-based process. First, participants generated statements by responding to a focus prompt ( Results: Ten clusters were identified containing between 6 and 12 statements from 95 total generated statements. The ranges of average importance and feasibility ratings for clusters were fairly high and narrow (3.62-4.09; 3.10-3.93, respectively). Clusters with the most statements in the go-zone quadrant (above average importance/feasibility) were Conclusions: This study created a framework of 10 priority areas to guide current and future efforts in diabetes translation research to achieve health equity. Themes rated as highly important and feasible provide the basis to evaluate current research support. Future efforts should explore how to best support innovative-targets, those rated highly important but less feasible

The effects of the generalized use of iodized salt on occupational patterns in Switzerland

This paper examines the impact of salt iodization in Switzerland in the 1920s and 1930s on occupational patterns of cohorts born after the intervention. The generalized use of iodized salt successfully combatted iodine deficiency disorders, which were previously endemic in some areas of Switzerland. The most important effect of universal prophylaxis by means of iodized salt was the eradication of mental retardation inflicted in utero by lack of iodine. This paper looks for evidence of increased cognitive ability of those treated with iodine in utero by examining the occupational choice and characteristics of occupations chosen by cohorts born after the intervention. By exploiting variation in pre-existing conditions and in the timing of the intervention, I find that cohorts born in previously highly-deficient areas after the introduction of iodized salt self-selected into higher-paying occupations. I also find that the characteristics of occupations in those areas changed, and that cohorts born after the intervention engaged to a higher degree in occupations with higher cognitive demands, whereas they opted out of physical-labor-intensive occupations

Characteristics of internet sexual offenders: a review

The review presented in this paper provides some descriptive findings regarding Internet Sex Offenders (ISOs) in comparison to contact sex offenders. In general, Internet Sex Offenders are found to be Caucasian, male, relatively young, highly educated, intelligent, and well-employed. ISOs also appear to be highly sexualised, in both their current lifestyle as well as childhood experiences as victims. ISOs can also be classified into several subgroups, such as child pornography offenders, who again are a heterogeneous group themselves. Professionals dealing with ISOs should be aware that they seem to share similar deficits with contact sex offenders but might differ in some important areas. This information should be kept in mind when reading their files, establishing treatment needs, and interpreting psychometric test results. To date no personality and risk measure is validated on this 'new' or emerging offender category, hence any results should be interpreted with caution

Sustainable Planning of Land Use Changes in farming areas under ecological protection

Land use has been changing in the last decades because of agricultural intensification and land abandonment which implies deterioration in the optimum habitat structure and quality. Habitat degradation and loss, resulting from changes in land use remain significant drivers of biodiversity loss. These trends are widely recognised and have forced national and international agencies to identify protected sites for natural areas with high biodiversity value. Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are natural zones particularly relevant for nature conservation. Regional planning is bound to play an increasing role in nature conservation policies because much biodiversity is located in farming areas outside natural parks. Agriculture in the Mediterranean Basin has always been highly dependent on rainfed crops, cereal, vine and olive. Vine growing plays an important role not only from the economic point of view, but also environmentally as a permanent plant cover in terms of preventing erosion, managing land and water resources in a sustainable way, defending against desertification an settling population in rural areas. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to implement a decision tool system to analyse the feasibility of new proposals to upgrade traditional vineyards in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. The study focuses on the sustainability of current farming practices in Special Protection Areas for Steppe Land Birds. This paper presents a model to quantify the resulting habitat fragmentation basing on infrastructure facilities, leading to mapping areas where to apply restriction measures to prevent physical destruction of the habita