178 research outputs found

    Systemic Circular Economy Solutions for Fiber Reinforced Composites

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    This open access book provides an overview of the work undertaken within the FiberEUse project, which developed solutions enhancing the profitability of composite recycling and reuse in value-added products, with a cross-sectorial approach. Glass and carbon fiber reinforced polymers, or composites, are increasingly used as structural materials in many manufacturing sectors like transport, constructions and energy due to their better lightweight and corrosion resistance compared to metals. However, composite recycling is still a challenge since no significant added value in the recycling and reprocessing of composites is demonstrated. FiberEUse developed innovative solutions and business models towards sustainable Circular Economy solutions for post-use composite-made products. Three strategies are presented, namely mechanical recycling of short fibers, thermal recycling of long fibers and modular car parts design for sustainable disassembly and remanufacturing. The validation of the FiberEUse approach within eight industrial demonstrators shows the potentials towards new Circular Economy value-chains for composite materials

    Estudo e Análise da Programação Visual Como Método Alternativo para Lógica em Jogos Digitais

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    Esta dissertação surge da necessidade de procurar um modo de substituir as várias formas de programação tradicionais para um método alternativo, direcionado especialmente a pessoas que recentemente ingressaram na área de desenvolvimento de jogos e/ou para artistas que, apenas desejam criar programas e jogos usando objetos de 2D e 3D para dar vida e controlo às suas criações. Neste sentido, esta tese começa por apresentar uma textualização sobre o tema, seguindo por uma parte prática, onde é feita a comparação entre duas linguagens de programação visual. Nesta segunda parte, vão ser apresentados os vários passos que tomei para desenvolver um simples jogo digital completamente funcional em dois programas diferentes, mas mantendo a mesma lógica de código (ou o mais próximo possível) e as mesmas características técnicas. O principal objetivo desta tese é apresentar um estudo detalhado sobre a programação visual, como uma introdução a qualquer um que tenha interesse nesta área para desenvolver um jogo simples, sem a necessidade de aprender e/ou usar programação tradicional. Com base nas informações aqui partilhadas, o leitor poderá expandir os seus conhecimentos e ser capaz de construir vários tipos de sistemas que lhe podem ser úteis durante a sua jornada profissional.This thesis arises from the need to search for a way to replace the several forms of traditional programing for an alternative method, aimed especially at people who have recently entered the field of game development and/or artists who just wish to create programs and games, using 2D and 3D objects, to bring life and control to their creations. In this sense, this thesis begins by presenting a textualization on the subject, followed by a practical part, where a comparison is made between two visual programming languages. In this second part, I will present the many steps I took to develop a simple fully functional videogame in two different programs, but keeping the same code logic (or as close as possible) and the same technical characteristics. The main goal of this document is to present a detailed study on visual programing, as an introduction to anyone who is interested in this area to develop a simple game without the need to learn and/or use tradicional programming. Based on the information shared here, the reader will be able to expand their knowledge and build various types of systems that can be useful during their professional journey

    Understanding Quantum Technologies 2022

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    Understanding Quantum Technologies 2022 is a creative-commons ebook that provides a unique 360 degrees overview of quantum technologies from science and technology to geopolitical and societal issues. It covers quantum physics history, quantum physics 101, gate-based quantum computing, quantum computing engineering (including quantum error corrections and quantum computing energetics), quantum computing hardware (all qubit types, including quantum annealing and quantum simulation paradigms, history, science, research, implementation and vendors), quantum enabling technologies (cryogenics, control electronics, photonics, components fabs, raw materials), quantum computing algorithms, software development tools and use cases, unconventional computing (potential alternatives to quantum and classical computing), quantum telecommunications and cryptography, quantum sensing, quantum technologies around the world, quantum technologies societal impact and even quantum fake sciences. The main audience are computer science engineers, developers and IT specialists as well as quantum scientists and students who want to acquire a global view of how quantum technologies work, and particularly quantum computing. This version is an extensive update to the 2021 edition published in October 2021.Comment: 1132 pages, 920 figures, Letter forma

    Jiapi: A Type Checker Generator for Statically Typed Languages

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    Type systems are a key characteristic in the context of the study of programming languages. They frequently offer a simple, intuitive way of expressing and testing the fundamental structure of programs. This is especially true when types are used to provide formal, machine-checked documentation for an implementation. For example, the absence of type errors in code prior to execution is what type systems for static programming languages are designed to assure, and in the literature, type systems that satisfy this requirement are referred to as sound type systems. Types also define module interfaces, making them essential for achieving and maintaining consistency in large software systems. On these accounts, type systems can enable early detection of program errors and vastly improve the process of understanding unfamiliar code. However, even for verification professionals, creating mechanized type soundness proofs using the tools and procedures readily available today is a difficult undertaking. Given this result, it is only logical to wonder if we can capture and check more of the program structure, so the next two questions concern type checking. Once a type system has been specified, how can we implement a type checker for the language? Another common question concerns the operational semantics, that is, once the type system is specified, how can we take advantage of this specification to obtain a type checker for the language? In each of these cases, type systems are often too complex to allow for a practical and reasonable approach to specifying many common language features in a natural fashion; therefore, the crux here is: What is the bare minimum set of constructs required to write a type checker specification for any domain-specific language (DSL)? We believe that sets (including tests for memberships, subsets, size, and other properties) as well as first-order logic and an expression grammar can be used to do this. In addition, we will need the ability to apply some form of filter on sets, as well as possibly a reduction and map. The primary goal of this thesis is to raise the degree of automation for type checking, so we present Jiapi, an automatic type checker generation tool. The tool generates a type checker based on a description of a language’s type system expressed in set notation and first-order logic, allowing types to be interpreted as propositions and values to be interpreted as proofs of these propositions, which we can then reduce to a small number of easily-reviewable predicates. Consequently, we can have a completely spelled-out model of a language’s type system that is free of inconsistencies or ambiguities, and we can mathematically demonstrate features of the language and programs written in it. We use two languages as case studies: a somewhat large and more general, and a more domain-specific. The first one is a true subset of Java (an object-oriented language) called Espresso, and the second one is a pedagogical language like C/C++ called C-Minor. Also, there is a declarative type system description extension for the first language, and parts of the specification for the second one. Finally, our approach is evaluated to demonstrate that the generated type checker can check automatically the full functional correctness of an Espresso and C-Minor program

    Ideologies of computer scientists and technologists (Correctness beyond reason)

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    Ideologies of computer scientists and technologist

    The prevalence and survival of children with congenital septal defects in the UK using CPRD

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    Background Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a major contributor to infant mortality worldwide, accounting for a third of total congenital defects and a fifth of total global early neonatal mortality. Congenital septal defects (SD) are the most common CHD. This study assesses the prevalence and survival of children diagnosed with congenital septal defects in the UK. Methods All children who survived to at least the first 30 days after birth and registered with a GP within their first year of birth diagnosed with any CHD at any time in England between January 1998 and June 2017 were extracted from Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Similar records for children diagnosed with other congenital anomalies were also obtained as well as children without any congenital anomaly constituting as the control group. These records were matched with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) death registration data, and the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) data to allow assessment of death records and deprivation records, respectively. Prevalence risk ratios were calculated according to specific sociodemographic factors such as gender, year of birth, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographical location for SD and its variants. Mortality risk ratios were calculated by gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status for SD and its variants. Also, in the absence of Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data, I assessed the recording of CHD-related procedures/interventions in children’s GP records as a measure of disease severity within the CPRD-based birth cohort used in this thesis. Results The prevalence of any CHD was 86.1 per 10,000 live GP-registered births (95% CI, 83.7 – 88.4). SD accounted for 53.4% of the total CHD within this population and the overall prevalence of SD was 48.64 per 10,000 live GP-registered births (95% CI 46.90-50.44). Of all SD diagnosis identified, 59.1% had a VSD diagnosis (35.50 per 10,000 live GP-registered births, 95% CI 34.02-37.04), 28.8% ASD (17.31 per 10,000 live GP-registered births, 95% CI 16.29-18.40), 6.5% for ToF (3.91 per 10,000 live GP-registered births, 95% CI 3.44-4.45), 0.3% for AoSD (0.17 per 10,000 live GP-registered births, 95% CI 0.09-0.31), 3.2% for AVSD (1.93 per 10.000 live GP-registered births, 95% CI 1.61-2.32), and 2.1% for unspecified SD (1.28 per 10.000 live GP-registered births, 95% CI 1.02-1.60). For any SD, gender was significantly associated with occurrence, with the prevalence in females being 15% more than males (PR (Male-Female) 1.15, 95% CI 1.07-1.24), however, there was considerable variation across specific SD variants. Whilst there was no evidence of an association with the year of birth, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status on the prevalence of overall SD, specific sub-analysis of the SD variants showed some associations. The prevalence of SD and its variants varied by geographical regions in England with the highest prevalence of any SD observed in the East Midlands. The total number of deaths due to CHD from 30 days after birth to 19 years between January 1998 and June 2017 was 166 and the mortality rate was 5.6 (95% CI, 4.8-6.5) per 1,000 person-years. By SD variants, children with Aortopulmonary septal defect (54.9; 95% CI 13.7-219.6), Atrioventricular septal defect (7.2; 95% CI, 3.0-17.3), and Tetralogy of Fallot (8.1; 95% 4.6-14.3) had the highest mortality rates compared to other defects, although small numbers of children resulted in large confidence limits for some of these estimations. The hazard of death for children with any septal defect was over 16-fold higher than for children without a CA (HR 16.2; 95% CI, 12.8-20.6); aHR 16.4, 95% CI, 13.0-20.9, p<0.001). Of this, children with Aortopulmonary septal defect had the highest hazard of death with a 160-fold increase compared to children without a CA (HR, 164.6, 95% CI, (41.1-659.5); aHR 159.3, 95% CI, 39.7-641.4, p<0.001) and was lowest for children with VSD (HR, 15.5, 95% CI, (11.7-20.5); aHR 14.9, 95% CI, 12.0-21.0, p<0.001). For overall septal defects, whilst there was no difference in the hazard of death or mortality rate by ethnicity, there was a significant association with socioeconomic status largely driven by ASD. Mortality rates by age groups between 0 and 9 years were also considered; whilst there was substantial variation within the various defects and age groups, there was a 12-fold increased risk of post neonatal death for all SD compared to children with no CA across age groups. Of the total SD cases in this dataset, 5% were recorded to have had an intervention within the first year of life. Of the SD sub variants, 4% of each of the total VSD and ASD had an intervention recorded in population. The proportion of interventions was higher for the other SD sub variants with ToF, AVSD and AoSD at 29%, 36% and 40% respectively. Of the 381 CHD patients who had a recording of at least one CHD-related intervention, only eight (8) patients died. The subsequent analysis of the severity of SD variants in relation to mortality was therefore precluded as for all variants the number of deaths recorded was less than 5. Conclusion Using a study population derived through data linkage between CPRD, ONS, and IMD in England, this study reinforces broadly that AoSD, ToF, AVSD whilst being the least prevalent SD, constitute the highest mortality variants of SD whilst VSD and ASD (the more prevalent forms) are not as lethal. Regardless, all SD variants considered had higher mortality than children without SD. Considerable effort is required to further improve the survival rates of children with these defects and ultimately improve the prognosis for children diagnosed with these defects. This study further raises the need for the consideration and development of region-specific and ethnicity-specific strategies to improving diagnosis and disease outcomes for children with a septal defect in England. As the dataset was not linked to HES, the ability to adequately assess the severity of septal defects in the study population was impaired. Using the limited codes for recording of CHD-related procedures within the GP-based dataset as a measure of severity unmasked the likely under-reporting of hospital events or procedures as children who should have received interventions based on their diagnosis did not always have this recorded in their GP record. Further studies incorporating the available information from HES are required to effectively determine the severity of septal defects and its variants especially with regards to how it affects mortality and mortalit

    Systemic circular economy solutions for fiber reinforced composites

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    This open access book provides an overview of the work undertaken within the FiberEUse project, which developed solutions enhancing the profitability of composite recycling and reuse in value-added products, with a cross-sectorial approach. Glass and carbon fiber reinforced polymers, or composites, are increasingly used as structural materials in many manufacturing sectors like transport, constructions and energy due to their better lightweight and corrosion resistance compared to metals. However, composite recycling is still a challenge since no significant added value in the recycling and reprocessing of composites is demonstrated. FiberEUse developed innovative solutions and business models towards sustainable Circular Economy solutions for post-use composite-made products. Three strategies are presented, namely mechanical recycling of short fibers, thermal recycling of long fibers and modular car parts design for sustainable disassembly and remanufacturing. The validation of the FiberEUse approach within eight industrial demonstrators shows the potentials towards new Circular Economy value-chains for composite materials

    Identification and intervention of youth with problematic sexual behavior: a preventative approach to adult sexual offenses

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    The largest bodies of research regarding sexual offenses focus on punitive measures and intervention for adult offenders during and post-incarceration. Research concerning the sexual behavior in youth has been increasing over the past 30 years, with studies showing stark differences in recidivism rates between intervention during childhood and adults post-incarceration. As a result of this growing body of research, programs targeting childhood problematic sexual behavior have continued grow, spreading awareness of childhood sexual development and providing effective treatment for youth exhibiting sexual behavior problems. No single entity is responsible for governing or responding to childhood sexual behavior. The purpose of this project is to provide a standardized public health approach to the surveillance, monitoring, and intervention of childhood sexual behavior. The overall goal is to provide youth-facing professionals with the knowledge and skill to identify and appropriately respond to children with sexual behavior problems. The K.A.P.S. Manual for Problematic Sexual Behavior: A Guide to Building Better Futures Through Early Identification and Response to Problematic Sexual Behavior in Children includes modules on childhood development, including sexual development, identifying problematic sexual behavior, levels of responding, and continuing education opportunities

    Computer Science Principles with C++

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    This textbook is intended to be used for a first course in computer science, such as the College Board’s Advanced Placement course known as AP Computer Science Principles (CSP). This book includes all the topics on the CSP exam, plus some additional topics. It takes a breadth-first approach, with an emphasis on the principles which form the foundation for hardware and software. No prior experience with programming should be required to use this book. This version of the book uses the C++ programming language.https://rdw.rowan.edu/oer/1025/thumbnail.jp
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