Fast Taylor polynomial evaluation for the computation of the matrix cosine

[EN] In this work we introduce a new method to compute the matrix cosine. It is based on recent new matrix polynomial evaluation methods for the Taylor approximation and a mixed forward and backward error analysis. The matrix polynomial evaluation methods allow to evaluate the Taylor polynomial approximation of the matrix cosine function more efficiently than using Paterson-Stockmeyer method. A sequential Matlab implementation of the new algorithm is provided, giving better efficiency and accuracy than state-of-the-art algorithms. Moreover, we provide an implementation in Matlab that can use NVIDIA CPUs easily and efficiently. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work has been partially supported by Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grants TIN2014-59294-P, and TIN2017-89314-P.Sastre, J.; Ibáñez González, JJ.; Alonso-Jordá, P.; Peinado Pinilla, J.; Defez Candel, E. (2019). Fast Taylor polynomial evaluation for the computation of the matrix cosine. Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics. 354:641-650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cam.2018.12.041S64165035

Lean Normalization and Organizational Stress Test: a New Approach for Quality Management System

International audienceIn this paper, the concept of " Lean Normalization " is proposed. This concept is a new way of tackling the implementation of the ISO Standard in a company. The " Lean Normalization " is composed of 6 steps inspired by the " Lean Management ". We explain every single step in this paper. We also open new horizons for this method with a new approach of the audit called the organizational stress test.Dans cet article, le concept de « Lean Normalization » est présenté. Ce concept propose une nouvelle façon d'aborder la mise en oeuvre des normes ISO dans une entreprise, avec 6 étapes inspirées du "Lean Management". Nous développerons chaque étape dans cet article. Nous ouvrons également de nouveaux horizons en proposant une approche différente de l'audit basée sur le stress test organisationnel

A New Recursive Instrumental Variables Approach for Robot Identification

International audienceThe work presented in this paper focus on robot identification and presents a method based on the use of instrumental variables (IV). When dealing with en-bloc and offline identification of robots, the instrumental matrix constructed with the inverse dynamic model (IDM) and simulated data obtained from the simulation of the direct dynamic model (DDM). In this paper, a new recursive IV approach relevant for robot identification is presented. The instrumental matrix is constructed with the IDM and the references and their derivatives which are previously filtered by the transfer function of the position closed loop. This new way of building the instrumental matrix avoids the simulation of the DDM and offers some perspectives for online identification and real-time implementation. This recursive IV method termed IDIM-RIV (Inverse Dynamic Identification Model Recursive Instrumental Variables) is experimentally validated on the two degrees-of-freedom SCARA robot. Finally, some hints for real-time implementation are provided

Discrimination as a Field of Law

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease. Treatment strategies emphasize early multi-professional interventions to reduce disease activity and to prevent disability, but there is a lack of knowledge on how optimal treatment can be provided to each individual patient. Aim: To elucidate how clinical manifestations of early RA are associated to disease and disability outcomes, to strive for greater potential to establish prognosis in early RA, and to facilitate implementation of decision support through analyses of the decision-making environment in chronic care. Methods: Multivariate statistics and mathematical modelling, as well as field observations and focus group interviews. Results: Decision support: A prognostic tree that predicted patients with a poor prognosis (moderate or high levels of DAS-28) at one year after diagnosis had a performance of 25% sensitivity, 90% specificity and a positive predictive value of 76%. Implementation of a decision support application at a rheumatology unit should include taking into account incentive structures, workflow and awareness, as well as informal communication structures. Prognosis: A considerable part of the variance in disease activity at one year after diagnosis could be explained by disease progression during the first three months after diagnosis. Using different types of knowledge – different expertise – prior to standardized data mining methods was found to be a promising when mining (clinical) data for new patterns that elicit new knowledge. Disease and disability: Women report more fatigue than men in early RA, although the difference is not consistently significant. Fatigue in early RA is closely and rather consistently related to disease activity, pain and activity limitation, as well as to mental health and sleep disturbance. Conclusion: A decision tree was designed to identify patients at risk of poor prognosis at one year after the diagnosis of RA. When constructing prediction rules for good or poor prognosis, including more measures of disease and disability progressions showed promise. Using different types of knowledge – different lenses of expertise – prior to standardized data mining methods was also a promising method when mining (clinical) data for new patterns that elicit new knowledge.Introduktion: Reumatoid artrit (RA) är en kronisk inflammatorisk sjukdom. Dagens behandlingsstrategi bygger på tidiga multiprofessionella insatser för att reducera sjukdomsaktivitet och minska risken för framtida funktionshinder. Idag finns stora datamängder tillgängliga gällande medicinering och utfall vid RA. Dessa data erbjuder möjligheter att generera ny kunskap som kan användas för att forma beslutsstöd. Syfte: Att undersöka hur olika kliniska manifestationer vid tidig RA samvarierar med funktionshinder och sjukdomsaktivitet, att pröva metoder att ställa prognos vid tidig RA, och att analysera en kontext för beslutsfattande inom vård av kroniskt sjuka. Metod: Multivariat statistik och matematisk modellering, samt observationsstudier och fokusgruppsintervjuer. Resultat: Beslutsstöd: Ett beslutsträd utformades för att bestämma vilka patienter som har dålig prognos (måttlig eller hög DAS-28) ett år efter diagnos. Beslutsträdet hade 25 % sensitivitet, 90 % specificitet och ett positivt prediktivt värde på 76 %. Vid införande av beslutsstöd på en reumatologisk klinik befanns det nödvändigt att hänsyn tas till incitamentsstrukturer, arbetsflöde och samarbetsformer. Informella kommunikationsstrukturer kan också ha stort inflytande på klinisk praxis. Prognos: En betydande del av variansen i sjukdomsaktivitet ett år efter diagnos kan förklaras av sjukdomsprogression första tre månaderna efter diagnos. Att formalisera olika experters erfarenheter före standardiserade ”data mining” metoder är en lovande ansats när man letar efter mönster i (kliniska) databaser. Funktionshinder och sjukdomsaktivitet: Kvinnor rapporterar mer trötthet än män vid tidig RA, men skillnaden är inte konsistent över tid. Trötthet vid tidig RA är nära relaterat till sjukdomsaktivitet, smärta och aktivitets begränsningar, men också till mental hälsa och sömnstörningar. Slutsats: Ett beslutsträd har utformats för att predicera patienter med dålig prognos inom tidig RA. Studier av fler mått på sjukdoms- och funktionshindersprogression behövs vid konstruktion av prediktionsregler för god eller dålig prognos framledes. Att använda sig av kunskap från olika experter – olika experters glasögon – vid sökandet efter mönster i stora datamängder för att generera ny kunskap är en lovande metodik. Implementering av beslutsstöd bör göras under övervägande av incitamentsstrukturer, arbetsflöde och samarbetsformer

The Hardy Cross method and its implementation in Spain

En mayo de 1930, Hardy Cross (1885-1959) publicó un artículo titulado “Análisis de Marcos Continuos Mediante la Distribución de Momentos de Fin Fijo” en la Sociedad Americana de Ingenieros Civiles (ASCE). Este artículo propuso un nuevo enfoque de la teoría estructural, y su relevancia podría compararse con la del Teorema De Los Tres Momentos (también conocido como el Teorema de Clapeyron). El método Cross, como se ha llamado a menudo esta metodología de cálculo, tuvo notable importancia desde el momento en que salió hasta los años 70, cuando los nuevos métodos de cálculo se hicieron populares.Este método, así como muchas de aplicaciones adicionales, ha generado un gran número de artículos. En el presente artículo, intentaremos evaluar su impacto en lugares alejados de sus orígenes; en particular, cómo se entendió y formuló enEspaña. Como se demostrará, la importancia de este método era extremadamente relevante para la construcción de nuevos edificios y la implementación de nuevas industrias, que comenzaron a aparecer en un momento decisivo para el desarrollodel país. Aunque el método de Cross era la metodología más utilizada en ese momento, también se disponía de otros dos procedimientos a saber, los métodos Kani y Takabeya, métodos que también aparecerían en la bibliografía técnica de la época. A pesar de la infrecuente aplicación de estos otros métodos, nos hemos referido brevemente a ambos en el presente documento. Este artículo tiene como objetivo mostrar la relevancia del método Cross, así como su pronta implementación en España, utilizando la bibliografía docente de la época.In May 1930, Hardy Cross (1885-1959) published an article called ‘Analysis of continuous frames by distributing fixed-end moments’ in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This article proposed a new approach to Structural Theory, and its relevance could be compared to that of the Three Moments Theorem (also known as the Clapeyron Theorem). The Cross method, as this calculation methodology has been often called, had remarkable significance from the moment it came out until the 70s, when new calculation methods became popular.In the present article, we will be trying to evaluate its impact in locations far from its origins; in particular, how it was understood and formulated in Spain. As will be demonstrated, the importance of this method was extremely relevant for theconstruction of new buildings and the implementation of new industries, which started to appear in a decisive moment for the development of the country. Even though the Hardy Cross method was the most widely used methodology at the time, two other procedures were also available; namely, the Kani and the Takabeya methods, methods that would also appear in the technical bibliography of the time. Despite the infrequent implementation of these other methods, we have briefly referred to both of them in the present paper. This article aims to show the relevance of the Cross method as well as its early implementation in Spain, by using academic bibliography of that time

Implantation of Case Method in Journalism Studies in Spain. An Analysis Based on Teaching Guides

El Método del Caso es una herramienta pedagógica con escasa tradición en la enseñanza del Periodismo en España. Sin embargo, tras la implantación de las nuevas titulaciones de grado adaptadas al EEES, esta metodología de aprendizaje activo está suscitando un interés creciente en las Facultades de Comunicación / Información, donde se empieza a utilizar de una manera que no siempre responde al concepto, condiciones y objetivos de la propia metodología. Este artículo describe –a partir del análisis de las guías docentes de las asignaturas integradas en los planes de estudioel grado de implantación del Método del Caso en las titulaciones de Periodismo impartidas en universidades españolas.Case Method is mostly used in educational fields such as Management, Law, Medicine, Public Government or Education but it has less tradition in teaching Journalism. With the implementation of the new university degrees adapted to the European Space for Higher Education, Case Method and other active learning methodologies arouse an increasing interest within the Journalism academic community in Spain, where these techniques are being incorporated in a manner which not always respects the concept, conditions and objectives of traditional Case Method. This article describes the level of implementation of Case Method in Spain’s faculties of Journalism, based on the analysis of the teaching guides of subjects included in the teaching programs of these faculties

Foreword

Detta examensarbetet har utförts vid Scania AB i Södertälje. Syftet var att genom en fallstudie undersöka möjligheter till ökad produktivitet och minskade slöserier genom införandet av en ny verkstadslayout. Examensarbetet baseras dels på en litteraturstudie där ett antal leanprinciper, olika sorters produktionssystem och layoutarbete behandlas samt en empirisk studie på Scania AB. Fallstudien var uppdelad i tre faser: Kartläggning av nuläget Layoututformning Analys av den föreslagna layouten Till kartläggning av nuläget utfördes en datainsamling. Datainsamlingen bestod av både tillhandahållen sekundärdata från fallföretaget samt primärdata från egna mätningar, observationer och intervjuer för öka arbetets trovärdighet. Utifrån datainsamlingen gjordes en analys av nuläget där problemområden identifierades och dokumenterades. Analysen visade främst att Scania AB hade problem med långa ledtider och svårigheter att hålla FIFO på grund av höga PIA-nivåer. En stor anledning till de höga PIA-nivåerna gällde en organisatorisk uppdelning av produktionen i två delar med en stor mellanbuffert mellan de båda delarna. De identifierade problemområdena, cykeltider samt prognos för framtida behov användes sedan som inputparametrar vid layoutarbetet som följde Muthers (1961) metod Systematisk Layoutplanering (SLP) . Slutresultatet blev ett layoutförslag som ökade produktiviteten med ca 37% och minskade mängden slöserier på flera plan. Bland annat uppskattades ledtiden kunna sänkas från cirka 5.4 dagar till cirka 1.5 dagar och mellanbufferten helt byggas bort.This thesis has been carried out at as a single case study at Scania AB in Södertälje, Sweden. The purpose of the study was to examine possibilities to increase the productivity and eliminate waste through the implementation of a new workshop layout at Scania’s crankhaft production. The thesis was based on a literature study where different lean principles, production systems and layout shaping were covered as well as an empirical study at Scania AB. The case study was divided into four phases: Mapping of present state Layout shaping Analysis of the proposed layout A data collection was carried out before mapping the current state. The data collection consisted of both given secondary data from the case company and the primary data from own measurements, observations and interviews in order to gain credibility to the study. With the collected data an analysis of the current state was done where problem areas were identified and documented. The analysis mainly showed that Scania AB had problems with long lead times and difficulties to maintain FIFO due to high WIP-levels. A significant reason to the high WIP-levels was the result of a big inventory between the two organisational departments in the workshop. The identified problem areas, cycle times and future sale forecasts were then used as input parameters to develop a new layout using Muther’s (1968) method Systematic Layout Planning (SLP). The final result rendered in a new layout proposal which increased the productivity with 37% and eliminated waste in different areas. The lead time was estimated to decrease from the initial 5,4 days to 1,5 days with a significant decrease in the inventory mentioned above

A new efficient and accurate spline algorithm for the matrix exponential computation

[EN] In this work an accurate and efficient method based on matrix splines for computing matrix exponential is given. An algorithm and a MATLAB implementation have been developed and compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms for computing the matrix exponential. We also developed a parallel implementation for large scale problems. This implementation allowed us to get a much better performance when working with this kind of problems.This work has been supported by Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant TIN2014-59294-P.Defez Candel, E.; Ibáñez González, JJ.; Sastre, J.; Peinado Pinilla, J.; Alonso-Jordá, P. (2018). A new efficient and accurate spline algorithm for the matrix exponential computation. Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics. 337(1):354-365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cam.2017.11.029S354365337

Curvilinear mesh generation for CAD models involving trimmed, periodic and degenerated surfaces

[EN] The development and implementation of new capabilities to a linear elastic method for curve high-order 3D mesh generation, is described. The new features include the treatment of degenerated surfaces and an updated definition for periodic surfaces. These surfaces are widely used in engineering designs and are essential characteristics for the adoption of a mesh generator. The surfaces are described by NURBS, whose properties are used to determine whether surfaces are degenerated, periodic or not. Several examples illustrate the results of the implementation, measuring the quality of the mesh with a distortion method. Finally, in order to prove the utility of the generated meshes, one is used to solve a thermal problem.[ES] Partiendo de un trabajo previo llamado 'The generation of arbitrary order curved meshes for 3d element analysis' se busca mejorar el procedimiento de creación de mallas tridimensionales por teoría de elasticidad lineal. Este proceso consiste en la correcta adaptación de una malla lineal inicial al contorno real del solido a analizar que estará definido mediante NURBS. Para ello se añaden nodos en la malla original en los que se impone una condición de contorno para que se desplacen hasta la superficie y se resuelve el problema elástico de deformación. Una vez hecho esto se obtiene la malla de alto orden que podrá ser usada para la resolución de otros problemas por elementos finitos entre los que destacan transmisión y reflexión de ondas acústicas y electromagnéticas y problemas de fluidos.De Miguel Barcena, R. (2020). Curvilinear mesh generation for CAD models involving trimmed, periodic and degenerated surfaces. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/148714TFG

EFL teaching through english-practice work stations (EPWS) to enhance participation and interaction in english for third grade learners

Tesis (Pedagogía en Inglés)Teachers all over the world are constantly searching for new activities, new strategies and methodologies that can help them make their lessons more satisfying for their learners and making it possible to enhance their learning process as well as their results. This has become a titanic effort for those teachers who do not count on the amount of time necessary for their lesson planning and to design their activities. But there are numerous Internet websites or teachers on social networks that are willing to give and share ideas. While doing the previous research for this thesis the authors came across with Debbie Diller’s book “Literacy Work Stations: Making Centers Work” (2003), where she explains how Literacy Work Stations (henceforth, LWS) work. After reading vast information about this method, there are several aspects presented that are very similar to the one seen at pre-elementary school by two of the authors were this methodology consisted of working in stations during short periods and rotating between them, so learners can work on different subjects. The researchers think that this kind of methodology is the one that generated faster and deeper development of the four skills of the English language for the two of them. And so the main purpose of this research is to foresee its usefulness and to propose an innovative strategy to enhance participation and interaction, not only in Spanish but mainly in English, inside an English as a Foreign Language (henceforth, EFL) lesson. The topic of this research is related to the implementation of a different strategy in elementary grades called English-Practice Work Stations to enhance participation and interaction during EFL lessons