Hybrid gain-flattened and reduced power excursion scheme for distributed Raman amplification

We propose and evaluate through extensive numerical modelling a novel distributed hybrid amplification scheme combining first and second-order Raman pumping which gives reduced signal power excursion over a wide spatial-spectral range of 60 km × 80 nm in C + L-bands

Assessing the Role of Knowledge and Project Management in the Competitiveness of Manufacturing Firms in Baja California

This article analyses the Knowledge Management (KM) and Project Management (PM) practices of manufacturing firms based in Baja California to determine their level of importance in generating competitive advantage in the manufacturing sector in Baja California. Key questions researched in this paper are: 1) How is KM managed through information technologies and organisational systems, ensuring empirical and industrial success? and 2) How do PM strategies increase competitiveness in the Baja California manufacturing sector? The research analyses currently-implemented management systems used for improved KM and PM, based on knowledge and new advantage orientation. One of the limitations found in this research is that several firms do not adopt standardised policies relating to knowledge procurement and development. Although competitiveness is perceived as vital for organisations, the combination of KM and PM are not yet fully developed and integrated into organisational processes to increase competitiveness. It is found that KM and PM have influence and correlations with competitiveness

Surface electromyographic control of a novel phonemic interface for speech synthesis

Many individuals with minimal movement capabilities use AAC to communicate. These individuals require both an interface with which to construct a message (e.g., a grid of letters) and an input modality with which to select targets. This study evaluated the interaction of two such systems: (a) an input modality using surface electromyography (sEMG) of spared facial musculature, and (b) an onscreen interface from which users select phonemic targets. These systems were evaluated in two experiments: (a) participants without motor impairments used the systems during a series of eight training sessions, and (b) one individual who uses AAC used the systems for two sessions. Both the phonemic interface and the electromyographic cursor show promise for future AAC applications.F31 DC014872 - NIDCD NIH HHS; R01 DC002852 - NIDCD NIH HHS; R01 DC007683 - NIDCD NIH HHS; T90 DA032484 - NIDA NIH HHShttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Surface+electromyographic+control+of+a+novel+phonemic+interface+for+speech+synthesishttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Surface+electromyographic+control+of+a+novel+phonemic+interface+for+speech+synthesisPublished versio

Noise and transmission performance improvement of broadband distributed Raman amplifier using bidirectional Raman pumping with dual order co-pumps

We demonstrate a low noise bidirectional broadband distributed Raman pumping scheme combining dual order co-propagated pumps without increasing the signal RIN level. The noise performance improvement is compared experimentally and numerically with conventional counter-pumping only and bidirectional pumping with only a 2nd order co-pump for a 70nm bandwidth and 61.5km distributed Raman amplifier. The proposed broadband pumping scheme shows 1.2dB maximum noise figure improvement and extends the long-haul transmission reach up to 6150km with a Q-factor improvement of ~0.7dB compared with counter-pumping only scheme

Experimental demonstration of mode structure in ultralong Raman fiber lasers

We present the first experimental demonstration of a resolvable mode structure with spacing c/2nL in the RF spectra of ultralong Raman fiber lasers. The longest ever demonstrated laser cavity (L=84km), RF peaks of ∼100 Hz width and spacing ∼1 kHz have been observed at low intracavity powers. The width of the peaks increases linearly with growing intracavity power and is almost independent of fiber length. © 2007 Optical Society of America

MRAC + H∞ fault tolerant control for linear parameter varying systems

Presentado al SysTol 2010 celebrado en Niza del 6 al 8 de octubre.Two different schemes for Fault Tolerant Control (FTC) based on Adaptive Control, Robust Control and Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) systems are proposed. These schemes include a Model Reference Adaptive Controller for an LPV system (MRAC-LPV) and a Model Reference Adaptive Controller with a H¿ Gain Scheduling Controller for an LPV system (MRAC-H¿ GS-LPV). In order to compare the performance of these schemes, a Coupled-Tank system was used as testbed in which two different types of faults (abrupt and gradual) with different magnitudes and different operating points were simulated. Results showed that the use of a Robust Controller in combination with an Adaptive Controller for an LPV system improves the FTC schemes because this controller was Fault Tolerant against sensor fault and had an accommodation threshold for actuator fault magnitudes from 0 to 6Peer Reviewe

ID1 (inhibitor of DNA binding 1, dominant negative helix-loop-helix protein)

Review on ID1 (inhibitor of DNA binding 1, dominant negative helix-loop-helix protein), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

High efficiency supercontinuum generation using ultra-long Raman fiber cavities

Supercontinuum generation in a multi-fiber ultra-long Raman fiber laser cavity is experimentally investigated for the first time. We demonstrate significantly enhanced spectral flatness and supercontinuum generation efficiency using only conventional single mode silica fiber. With a pump power of only 1.63W a ~15dB bandwidth >260 nm wide (from 1440 to >1700nm) supercontinuum source is reported with a flatness of <1dB over 180nm using an optimised hybrid TW/HNLF cavity. We address the dependence of the supercontinuum spectrum on the input pump power and ultra-long Raman cavity

Injuries in Physical Education of High School. A Problem?

El control de la incidencia de lesiones en la clase de Educación Física debe ser un factor prioritario para la salud pública. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar la incidencia de lesiones en las clases de Educación Física (EF) y cómo se relacionan con la falta de participación de los estudiantes. Estudio de cohortes prospectivo. Conglomerado de muestreo bi-etapa para un total de 637 estudiantes. Las ausencias y las lesiones se registraron durante el curso escolar. De 1.463 sesiones, solo el 4,58% registró ausencias causadas por lesión (0,33% de la participación total esperada). La tasa de lesiones producidas en las clases de Educación Física fue de 1,90 por cada 1.000 horas de participación. La frecuencia de ausencia en las clases de Educación Física debido a una lesión es muy baja en comparación con la participación general esperada; por lo tanto, no es un factor que influya significativamente en la tasa de participación de los estudiantesThe incidence of injuries in physical education class should be a priority factor for public health. The aim of this study is to analyze the incidence of injuries in Physical Education (PE) lessons and how they relate to lack of full student participation. Prospective cohort study. Conglomerate bi-stage sampling for a total of 637 students. Absence and injuries were recorded for the school year. Of 1463 lessons, only 4.58% were documented with identification of the causal incident (0.33% of the total participation expected). The rate of injuries produced in PE lessons was of 1.90 for every 1000 hours of participation. The frequency of absence of in PE lessons due to injury is very low compared to the overall expected participation; therefore it is not a factor that influences the rate of student participation significantl

Nonlinear inverse synthesis for optical links with distributed Raman amplification

Nonlinear Fourier transform (NFT) and eigenvalue communication with the use of nonlinear signal spectrum (both discrete and continuous) have been recently discussed as a promising transmission method to combat fiber nonlinearity impairments. However, because the NFT-based transmission method employs the integrability property of the lossless nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE), the original approach can only be applied directly to optical links with ideal distributed Raman amplification. In this paper, we investigate in details the impact of a non-ideal Raman gain profile on the performance of the nonlinear inverse synthesis (NIS) scheme, in which the transmitted information is encoded directly onto the continuous part of the nonlinear signal spectrum. We propose the lossless path-averaged (LPA) model for fiber links with non-ideal Raman gain profile by taking into account the average effect of the Raman gain. We show that the NIS scheme employing the LPA model can offer a performance gain of 3 dB regardless of the Raman gain profiles