A generic persistence model for CLP systems (and two useful implementations)

This paper describes a model of persistence in (C)LP languages and two different and practically very useful ways to implement this model in current systems. The fundamental idea is that persistence is a characteristic of certain dynamic predicates (Le., those which encapsulate state). The main effect of declaring a predicate persistent is that the dynamic changes made to such predicates persist from one execution to the next one. After proposing a syntax for declaring persistent predicates, a simple, file-based implementation of the concept is presented and some examples shown. An additional implementation is presented which stores persistent predicates in an external datábase. The abstraction of the concept of persistence from its implementation allows developing applications which can store their persistent predicates alternatively in files or databases with only a few simple changes to a declaration stating the location and modality used for persistent storage. The paper presents the model, the implementation approach in both the cases of using files and relational databases, a number of optimizations of the process (using information obtained from static global analysis and goal clustering), and performance results from an implementation of these ideas

Дотик до вічності. Про розроблення нового історико/архітектурного плану м. Керчі

У 2009 р. автору статті було доручено очолити історико-містобудівні дослідження одного з найцікавіших стародавніх міст нашої країни Керчі. Метою досліджень було складання нового історико/архітектурного опорного плану з визначенням історичного ареалу і зони охорони найбільш цінних територій в межах сучасного міста

L'ofici de fuster a la Barcelona del set-cents : noves aportacions documentals, noves mirades

L'aproximació a l'ofici de fuster i la seva evolució com a art mecànica ha estat sempre realitzada en funció de l'artefacte resultant i bàsicament cenyint-se en la construcció de mobiliari. L'atenció per l'evolució estilística del mobiliari ha relegat a un segon terme l'interès per l'entramat d'accions i circumstàncies que configuraven l'activitat laboral en el món de les fusteries, tot menyspreant, fins i tot, l'apropament a unes altres produccions i activitats afins a dit ofici. En el present article, hi proposem una panoràmica que abordi la complexitat de la fusteria al llarg del segle XVIII a Barcelona, mostrant-ne i defensant-ne facetes fins ara poc conegudes. Es tracta de marcar un mapa que ens apropi a la diversitat de tallers existents, tot desgranant-ne els aspectes particulars més rellevants: la formació dels mestres fusters, la producció o fins i tot els plets amb altres gremis. I és en aquesta realitat on pretenem emmarcar i donar a conèixer per primera vegada el disseny de mobles emprats en l'agençament dels interiors benestants barcelonins. Ho farem a partir de l'anàlisi de les traces inèdites incloses, com a prova per intentar establir les competències professionals de cada un, en el llarg i destacat plet civil entre fusters i escultors que va tenir lloc a les darreries del segle XVIII.Discussions of the carpenter's trade and its evolution as a mechanical art have always revolved around the resulting artefact, centring, basically, on the construction of furniture. This emphasis on the stylistic evolution of furniture has relegated as a secondary consideration all interest in the weave of actions and circumstances that characterised working activity in the world of carpentry, to the point, even of eschewing all study of other activities and products with affinities to the trade. This article proposes a more general overview of the complexities of the carpentry trade in Barcelona in the 18th century, providing details about little-known aspects. The aim is to draw a map on which appear all the different workshops that existed in those times, whilst focusing on certain particularly important questions: how master carpenters were trained, what was produced and even disputes with other guilds. And it is within this framework, for the first time, that we seek to discuss the design of furniture used to decorate the homes of wealthy Barcelona families. Our analysis will be based on drawings of this furniture, seen here for the first time, in order to establish the professional fields of all those involved in the long, resounding civil dispute that took place between carpenters and sculptors towards the end of the 18th century

A Risk-Based Model Predictive Control Approach to Adaptive Interventions in Behavioral Health

This brief examines how control engineering and risk management techniques can be applied in the field of behavioral health through their use in the design and implementation of adaptive behavioral interventions. Adaptive interventions are gaining increasing acceptance as a means to improve prevention and treatment of chronic, relapsing disorders, such as abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, mental illness, and obesity. A risk-based model predictive control (MPC) algorithm is developed for a hypothetical intervention inspired by Fast Track, a real-life program whose long-term goal is the prevention of conduct disorders in at-risk children. The MPC-based algorithm decides on the appropriate frequency of counselor home visits, mentoring sessions, and the availability of after-school recreation activities by relying on a model that includes identifiable risks, their costs, and the cost/benefit assessment of mitigating actions. MPC is particularly suited for the problem because of its constraint-handling capabilities, and its ability to scale to interventions involving multiple tailoring variables. By systematically accounting for risks and adapting treatment components over time, an MPC approach as described in this brief can increase intervention effectiveness and adherence while reducing waste, resulting in advantages over conventional fixed treatment. A series of simulations are conducted under varying conditions to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm

An overview of the ciao multiparadigm language and program development environment and its design philosophy

We describe some of the novel aspects and motivations behind the design and implementation of the Ciao multiparadigm programming system. An important aspect of Ciao is that it provides the programmer with a large number of useful features from different programming paradigms and styles, and that the use of each of these features can be turned on and off at will for each program module. Thus, a given module may be using e.g. higher order functions and constraints, while another module may be using objects, predicates, and concurrency. Furthermore, the language is designed to be extensible in a simple and modular way. Another important aspect of Ciao is its programming environment, which provides a powerful preprocessor (with an associated assertion language) capable of statically finding non-trivial bugs, verifying that programs comply with specifications, and performing many types of program optimizations. Such optimizations produce code that is highly competitive with other dynamic languages or, when the highest levéis of optimization are used, even that of static languages, all while retaining the interactive development environment of a dynamic language. The environment also includes a powerful auto-documenter. The paper provides an informal overview of the language and program development environment. It aims at illustrating the design philosophy rather than at being exhaustive, which would be impossible in the format of a paper, pointing instead to the existing literature on the system

Preparation and Characterization of Inorganic PCM Microcapsules by Fluidized Bed Method

The literature shows that inorganic phase change materials (PCM) have been very seldom microencapsulated, so this study aims to contribute to filling this research gap. Bischofite, a by-product from the non-metallic industry identified as having good potential to be used as inorganic PCM, was microencapsulated by means of a fluidized bed method with acrylic as polymer and chloroform as solvent, after compatibility studies of both several solvents and several polymers. The formation of bischofite and pure MgCl2·6H2O microcapsules was investigated and analyzed. Results showed an efficiency in microencapsulation of 95% could be achieved when using 2 min of fluidization time and 2 kg/h of atomization flow. The final microcapsules had excellent melting temperatures and enthalpy compared to the original PCM, 104.6 ºC and 95 J/g for bischofite, and 95.3 and 118.3 for MgCl2· 6H2OThis project has received funding from the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) under Grant agreement N PIRSES-GA-2013-610692 (INNOSTORAGE) and from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 657466 (INPATH-TES)

Changes in volatile compounds of pork loin (fresh and marinated) with different irradiation and packaging during storage

The analysis of volatile compounds by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry after extraction by purge and trap has been used to investigate the volatile compounds of fresh and marinated pork loin after E-beam treatmet as a function of packaging type (air, vacuum and modified atmosphere), radiation dose (1 and 2 kGy) and storage temperature (4 and 8 °C). Major differences were found between fresh and marinated samples but, in general, only minor differences were found in the volatile compounds of both types of loin due to storage temperature, packaging method and doses of irradiation. It is concluded that the application of E-beam is a very useful way to extend the shelflife of fresh and marinated pork loin with no changes in the odor of the products.<br><br>Se ha utilizado la cromatografía de gases/espectrometría de masas, la extracción mediante purga y trampa para estudiar los compuestos volátiles de lomo de cerdo fresco y adobado, tratados con electrones acelerados (1 y 2 kGy) y almacenado en refrigeración (4 y 8 °C) bajo diferentes atmósferas (aire, vacío y atmósfera modificada). Se observaron diferencias importantes entre las muestras de lomo fresco y adobado pero, en general, solo pequeñas diferencias fueron observadas en algunos compuestos volátiles de ambos tipos de lomo debidas al efecto de la temperatura, tiempo de almacenamiento, tipo de atmósfera o dosis de radiación. Se ha concluido que la aplicación de electrones acelerados es una tecnología muy eficaz para ampliar la vida útil del lomo de cerdo fresco y adobado sin que se detecten cambios en el olor de los productos

Review on phase change materials (PCMs) for cold thermal energy storage applications

Thermal energy storage (TES) is a technology with a high potential for different thermal applications. It is well known that TES could be the most appropriate way and method to correct the gap between the demand and supply of energy and therefore it has become a very attractive technology. In this paper, a review of TES for cold storage applications using solid–liquid phase change materials has been carried out. The scope of the work was focussed on different aspects: phase change materials (PCMs), encapsulation, heat transfer enhancement, and the effect of storage on food quality. Materials used by researchers as potential PCM at low temperatures (less than 20 C) are summarized and some of their thermophysical properties are reported. Over 88 materials that can be used as PCM, and about 40 commercially available PCM have been listed. Problems in long term stability of the materials, such as corrosion, phase segregation, stability under extended cycling or subcooling are discussed. Heat transfer is considered both from theoretical and experimental point of view and the different methods of PCM encapsulation are reviewed. Many applications of PCM at low temperature can be found, such as, ice storage, conservation and transport of temperature sensitive materials and in air conditioning, cold stores, and refrigerated trucks.The work partially funded by the Spanish Government (ENE2008-06687-C02-01/CON and ENE2011-22722) and the European Union (COST Action COST TU0802 and project EFFIBUILDINGS – FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IIF-/-253914). The authors would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research group (2009 SGR 534). Eduard Oró would like to thank the University of Lleida for his research fellowship

La Mentoría como elemento de mejora en el proceso de enseñanza - aprendizaje

Este artículo describe una experiencia de mentoría llevada a cabo dentro de la Universidad de Granada con el objetivo de mejorar la calidad de la enseñanza que en ella se ofrece. Se han realizado diferentes actividades (grabaciones en vídeo y seminarios de formación) que han dado lugar a acciones de mejora concretas de la docencia, la tutoría y la evaluación de los alumnos. A tenor de los resultados de diferentes encuestas, la experiencia ha sido muy positiva no sólo para el profesor mentor y el profesor novel, sino también para sus alumnos.SUMMARY: This paper describes a mentoring experience carried out in the University of Granada with the aim of improving the quality of the education that this offers. Different activities have been performed (video recording and training seminars) which have given rise to concrete measures for the improvement of the teaching, the tutoring, and the evaluation of the students. According to the results of different surveys, the experience has been very positive not only for the mentor and the beginning teacher, but also for their students.Peer Reviewe