Salt weathering of natural stone: a review of comparative laboratory studies

Natural stone is an important component of historical heritage (buildings and art objects such as sculptures or rock engravings), and it is still widely used in contemporary works. Soluble salts are the main erosive agent in the built environment, and we review here comparative studies that subject the same rock type to testing with different salt solutions. The results mostly support the accepted notion of the major impact of sodium sulphate, although there are some exceptions. The effects of sodium chloride and calcium sulphate deserve specific discussion given field information on the relevance of these specific salts in the built environment. We relate the information collected to the issues of risk assessment (considering both geochemical conditions and salt effects) and conservation interventions (highlighting the interest of tests that do not produce damage to susceptible materials) and present some methodological suggestions to avoid a case study culture.The Lab2PT-Landscapes, Heritage and Territory laboratory—UIDB/04509/2020 is supported by the Portuguese FCT—“Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia”. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the support of the CERENA (funded by a strategic project of the FCTUIDB/04028/2020) and the LAMPIST of the DECivil, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal. The University Institute of Geology of the University of A Coruña (Spain) receives support from the Xunta de Galicia from the program “Consolidación y estructuración de unidades de investigación competitivas: Grupos de potencial de crecimiento” (ED431B 2018/47) and Redes de investigación (R2017/008)

Simulation of a robotic bird

In this paper it is studied the dynamics of the robotic bird. The system performances are analyzed in terms of time response and robustness. It is study the relation between the angle of attack and the velocity of the bird, the tail influence, the gliding flight and the flapping flight. In this model, a bird flies by the wind beat motion or using its tail down. The results are positive for the construction of flying robots. The development of computational simulation based on the dynamic of the robotic bird that should allow testing strategies and algorithms of control.N/

A Hybrid Adaptive Routing Algorithm for Event-Driven Wireless Sensor Networks

Routing is a basic function in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). For these networks, routing algorithms depend on the characteristics of the applications and, consequently, there is no self-contained algorithm suitable for every case. In some scenarios, the network behavior (traffic load) may vary a lot, such as an event-driven application, favoring different algorithms at different instants. This work presents a hybrid and adaptive algorithm for routing in WSNs, called Multi-MAF, that adapts its behavior autonomously in response to the variation of network conditions. In particular, the proposed algorithm applies both reactive and proactive strategies for routing infrastructure creation, and uses an event-detection estimation model to change between the strategies and save energy. To show the advantages of the proposed approach, it is evaluated through simulations. Comparisons with independent reactive and proactive algorithms show improvements on energy consumption

Predicting environmental gradients with fern species composition in Brazilian Amazonia

Conclusions: Fern species composition can be used as an indicator of soil cation concentration, which can be expected to be relevant also for other components of rain forests. Presence-absence data are adequate for this purpose, which makes the collecting of additional data potentially very rapid. Comparison with earlier studies suggests that edaphic preferences of fern species have good transferability across geographical regions within lowland Amazonia. Therefore, species and environmental data sets already available in the Amazon region represent a good starting point for generating better environmental and floristic maps for conservation planning.</p

The Dynamic Modeling of a Bird Robot

This paper presents the development of computational simulation and a robotic prototype based on the dynamic modeling of a robotic bird. The study analyze the bird flight with different strategies and algorithms of control. The results are positive for the construction of flying robots and a new generation of airplanes developed to the similarity of flying animals. A bird robot prototype was implemented based on materials used to construct model planes. It consists on a body, wings and tail with servo actuators independently controlled though a microcontroller; a radio transmission system and batteries were also used in order to avoid wired connections between the computer and the robot

Cooperative Transportation of an Object based on Fractional Order Controllers

Advanced control techniques have been used in simulations to overcome nonlinear phenomena in order to describe the performance of robots with two rotational (RR) degrees-of-freedom (dof). Given the current state-of-the-art, fractional order algorithms lead to better performance when compared to integer order controllers. Also, the development of simulation platforms allows evaluating the best control methodology. In this context, the use of RR robots attached to mobile platforms, denoted in this paper as RR mobile robots, demonstrates a remarkable ability in manipulating and transporting objects. The present work aims to study two cooperative RR mobile robots by analyzing the manipulator’s trajectory and the forces applied to the common load. Are considered two robotic platforms based on an 8-bit microcontroller with inverse kinematics based on the Denavit-Hartenberg formulation and fractional order PID controllers inspired in the Grünwald-Letnikov definition.N/

Defensive behaviors of Leptodactylus rhodomystax (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from northern Brazil

The study of defensive behaviors in anurans can lead to new hypotheses for a better understanding of prey-predator interactions. Herein, based on field observations, we described for the first time defensive behaviors of Leptodactylus rhodomystax. The studied individual displayed stretching limbs posture and evidenced hidden aposematism. Hidden aposematism was occasionally described to occur with stretching limbs posture. Our observations suggest that synergistic defense mechanisms in anurans may be more common than currently known.Asociación Herpetológica Argentin

Policy-based Adaptive Routing in Autonomous WSNs

Abstract. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are employed in different domains and applications. The resource constraint on such networks, many times composed of hundreds to thousands of devices, and the requirement of autonomous operation become their management a challenging task. This work applies policies, a well-known approach in network management, in the core task of routing in autonomous WSNs. Policies are used to establish rules to take dynamic actions on the network according to its state. Our scheme offers a high-level and flexible way to realize management tasks related to routing in WSNs, which can be defined in a progressive way as knowledge from the environment is acquired or application requirements change. Case studies employing a policy-based adaptive hybrid solution allows the autonomous selection of the best routing strategy in view of network conditions and application requirements. Simulation results show the benefits and resource savings offered by the use of policies for adaptive routing in WSNs

Electric vehicle drive system with adaptive PID control

The aim of this work is to implement an adaptive PID SISO feedback control to obtain a fine adjustment of an electric vehicle (EV) driving system. Our research work is done under different operating conditions, namely, variable battery voltage and variable load. A comparison between conventional and adaptive PID algorithms is established when they are applied to the above mentioned conditions. Experimental results indicate that the adaptive PID controller leads to a faster response and a better stability. Furthermore, the adaptive PID controller follows a given reference velocity faster and more smoothly than the conventional PID controller.N/

Risk Factors for Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections during the First 3 Years of Life in the Tropics; Findings from a Birth Cohort.

Background: Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) infect more than 2 billion humans worldwide, causing significant morbidity in children. There are few data on the epidemiology and risk factors for infection in pre-school children. To investigate risk factors for infection in early childhood, we analysed data prospectively collected in the ECUAVIDA birth cohort in Ecuador. Methods and Findings: Children were recruited at birth and followed up to 3 years of age with periodic collection of stool samples that were examined microscopically for STH parasites. Data on social, demographic, and environmental risk factors were collected from the mother at time of enrolment. Associations between exposures and detection of STH infections were analysed by multivariable logistic regression. Data were analysed from 1,697 children for whom a stool sample was obtained at 3 years. 42.3% had at least one STH infection in the first 3 years of life and the most common infections were caused by A. lumbricoides (33.2% of children) and T. trichiura (21.2%). Hookworm infection was detected in 0.9% of children. Risk of STH infection was associated with factors indicative of poverty in our study population such as Afro-Ecuadorian ethnicity and low maternal educational level. Maternal STH infections during pregnancy were strong risk factors for any childhood STH infection, infections with either A. lumbricoides or T. trichiura, and early age of first STH infection. Children of mothers with moderate to high infections intensities with A. lumbricoides were most at risk. Conclusions: Our data show high rates of infection with STH parasites during the first 3 years of life in an Ecuadorian birth cohort, an observation that was strongly associated with maternal STH infections during pregnancy. The targeted treatment of women of childbearing age, in particular before pregnancy, with anthelmintic drugs could offer a novel approach to the prevention of STH infections in pre-school children