Resource selection and route generation in discrete manufacturing environment

When put to various sources, the question of which sequence of operations and machines is best for producing a particular component will often receive a wide range of answers. When the factors of optimum cutting conditions, minimum time, minimum cost, and uniform equipment utilisation are added to the equation, the range of answers becomes even more extensive. Many of these answers will be 'correct', however only one can be the best or optimum solution. When a process planner chooses a route and the accompanying machining conditions for a job, he will often rely on his experience to make the choice. Clearly, a manual generation of routes does not take all the important considerations into account. The planner may not be aware of all the factors and routes available to him. A large workshop might have hundreds of possible routes, even if he did know it all', he will never be able to go through all the routes and calculate accurately which is the most suitable for each process - to do this, something faster is required. This thesis describes the design and implementation of an Intelligent Route Generator. The aim is to provide the planner with accurate calculations of all possible production routes m a factory. This will lead up to the selection of an optimum solution according to minimum cost and time. The ultimate goal will be the generation of fast decisions based on expert information. Background knowledge of machining processes and machine tools was initially required, followed by an identification of the role of the knowledge base and the database within the system. An expert system builder. Crystal, and a database software package, DBase III Plus, were chosen for the project. Recommendations for possible expansion of and improvements to the expert system have been suggested for future development

Direct detection of dark matter in SU(5)xU(1) supergravity

We compute the scattering rates for the lightest neutralino $\chi^0_1$ in the forthcoming germanium $(^{73}{\rm Ge}+^{76}{\rm Ge})$ detector and a proposed lead detector $(^{207}{\rm Pb})$, within the framework of $SU(5)\times U(1)$ supergravity. We find that in only a small portion (\lsim10\%) of the parameter spaces of this class of models, are the rates in the germanium detector above the expected initial experimental sensitivity of 0.1 events/kg/day. However, a much larger portion (\lsim40\%) of the parameter spaces could be probed with an improved background rejection capability (0.01 events/kg/day) and/or a more sensitive detector $(^{207}{\rm Pb})$.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 4 figures included (uuencoded

Self-reported summarizing and paraphrasing difficulties in L2 writing contexts: Some pedagogical interventions

The utility of paraphrasing and summarizing is key to effective academic writing. Both require that students have a good grasp of the source material not only in terms of understanding, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating the information found in the sources, but also in terms of selecting information, organizing, drafting, and revising their papers. Although several studies have identified L2 students’ difficulties when utilizing paraphrasing and summarizing, this paper examines the cognitive and metacognitive aspects of these complex activities from the students’ eyes. With essays from 120 freshman undergraduate students from a private university in Manila, this study qualitatively determined their reported difficulties when paraphrasing and summarizing, and the areas of improvements in these skills. Participant students identified four major areas of concern: 1) lack of proficiency in English, 2) poor reading comprehension skills, 3) lack of vocabulary and 4) lack of or poor documentation skills.  Findings of this study provide grounds for presentation of pedagogical interventions/classroom instructions to address these students’ reported difficulties

High-precision analysis of binary stars with planets. I. Searching for condensation temperature trends in the HD 106515 system

We explore the probable chemical signature of planet formation in the remarkable binary system HD 106515. The A star hosts a massive long-period planet with 9 MJup detected by radial velocity. We also refine stellar and planetary parameters by using non-solar-scaled opacities when modeling the stars. Methods. We carried out a simultaneous determination of stellar parameters and abundances, by applying for the first time non-solar-scaled opacities in this binary system, in order to reach the highest possible precision. Results. The stars A and B in the binary system HD 106515 do not seem to be depleted in refractory elements, which is different when comparing the Sun with solar-twins. Then, the terrestrial planet formation would have been less efficient in the stars of this binary system. Together with HD 80606/7, this is the second binary system which does not seem to present a (terrestrial) signature of planet formation, and hosting both systems an eccentric giant planet. This is in agreement with numerical simulations, where the early dynamical evolution of eccentric giant planets clear out most of the possible terrestrial planets in the inner zone. We refined the stellar mass, radius and age for both stars and found a notable difference of 78% in R compared to previous works. We also refined the planet mass to mp sini = 9.08 +/- 0.20 MJup, which differs by 6% compared with literature. In addition, we showed that the non-solar-scaled solution is not compatible with the classical solar-scaled method, and some abundance differences are comparable to NLTE or GCE effects specially when using the Sun as reference. Then, we encourage the use of non-solar-scaled opacities in high-precision studies such as the detection of Tc trends.[abridged]Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, A&A accepted. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1507.0812

Aplicación web para la divulgación de información, entre técnicos y docentes de los preescolares de MINED, Matagalpa periodo 2013

El MINED Matagalpa cuenta con procesos de divulgación de información los cuales requerían ser automatizados de manera que facilitara optimizar cada uno de estos procesos a través de las tecnologías de información. En el presente trabajo investigativo, se evaluó el proceso de divulgación de información entre técnicos y docentes de los preescolares del MINED, desde una perspectiva de aplicación web, donde se realizó una descripción del proceso de divulgación y comunicación actual, se identificaron dificultades en dicho proceso y se propone el uso de una aplicación web que facilite el acceso a la información desde cualquier espacio y tiempo, convirtiéndose en un medio importante debido a su eficiencia y eficacia para la divulgación de información. Producto de la investigación se logró encontrar que: Dentro del MINED Matagalpa se lleva a cabo el proceso de divulgación de información el cual se realiza de manera tradicional, sin un medio tecnológico que le permita realizarlo con fluidez y acceso inmediato, también se encontraron dificultades económicas pues el presupuesto que tiene asignado no cumple con las expectativas para un buen funcionamiento de este proceso a si mismo se encontraron dificultades como lentitud en el proceso y falta de organización resultado de información desfasada. La propuesta de esta investigación para dar solución a estas dificultades es una aplicación web que permita divulgar y compartir información clara y precisa, en tiempo y forma, lo cual será de mucho beneficio en la institución para la toma de decisiones y su personal tendrá un medio tecnológico para tener una comunicación constant