Dynamic Analysis of a Two Member Manipulator

Attenuating start-up and stopping vibrations when maneuvering large payloads attached to flexible manipulator systems is a great concern for many space missions. To address this concern, it was proposed that the use of smart materials, and their applications in smart structures, may provide an effective method of control for aerospace structures. In this paper, a modified finite element model has been developed to simulate the performance of piezoelectric ceramic actuators, and was applied to a flexible two-arm manipulator system. Connected to a control voltage, the piezoelectric actuators produce control moments based on the optimal control theory. The computer simulation modeled the end-effector vibration suppression of the NASA manipulator testbed for berthing operations of the Space Shuttle to the Space Station. The results of the simulation show that the bonded piezoelectric actuators can effectively suppress follow-up vibrations of the end-effector, stimulated by some external disturbance

Towards durable multistakeholder-generated solutions: The pilot application of a problem-oriented policy learning protocol to legality verification and community rights in Peru

This paper reports and reflects on the pilot application of an 11-step policy learning protocol that was developed by Cashore and Lupberger (2015) based on several years of Cashore’s multi-author collaborations. The protocol was applied for the first time in Peru in 2015 and 2016 by the IUFRO Working Party on Forest Policy Learning Architectures (hereinafter referred to as the project team). The protocol integrates insights from policy learning scholarship (Hall 1993, Sabatier 1999) with Bernstein and Cashore’s (2000, 2012) four pathways of influence framework. The pilot implementation in Peru focused on how global timber legality verification interventions might be harnessed to promote local land rights. Legality verification focuses attention on the checking and auditing of forest management units in order to verify that timber is harvested and traded in compliance with the law. We specifically asked: How can community legal ownership of, and access to, forestland and forest resources be enhanced? The protocol was designed as a dynamic tool, the implementation of which fosters iterative rather than linear processes. It directly integrated two objectives: 1) identifying the causal processes through which global governance initiatives might be harnessed to produce durable results ‘on the ground’; 2) generating insights and strategies in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. This paper reviews and critically evaluates our work in designing and piloting the protocol. We assess what seemed to work well and suggest modifications, including an original diagnostic framework for nurturing durable change. We also assess the implications of the pilot application of the protocol for policy implementation that works to enhance the influence of existing international policy instruments, rather than contributing to fragmentation and incoherence by creating new ones

Brief for Council of Islamic Schools in North America, Partnership for Inner-City Education, and Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners

DAVID AND AMY CARSON, as Parents and next Friends of O.C., and TROY AND ANGELA NELSON, as Parents and next Friends of A.N. and R.N., Petitioners v. A. PENDER MAKIN, in Her Official Capacity as Commissioner of the Maine Department of Education, Respondent. On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit BRIEF FOR COUNCIL OF ISLAMIC SCHOOLS IN NORTH AMERICA, PARTNERSHIP FOR INNER-CITY EDUCATION, AND UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS No. 20-1088 March 11, 2021 Amici curiae operate, represent, and support elementary and secondary schools in three faith traditions: Catholic (Partnership for Inner-City Education), Islamic (Council of Islamic Schools in North America), and Jewish (Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America). Students attending many of the schools that are operated or supported by amici participate in publicly-funded private-school-choice programs. Central to these schools’ religious and educational missions is the integration of faith throughout all aspects of their educational programs, making the status/use distinction employed by the court below both unworkable and discriminatory

A piecewise continuous Timoshenko beam model for the dynamic analysis of tapered beam-like structures

Distributed parameter modeling offers a viable alternative to the finite element approach for modeling large flexible space structures. The introduction of the transfer matrix method into the continuum modeling process provides a very useful tool to facilitate the distributed parameter model applied to some more complex configurations. A uniform Timoshenko beam model for the estimation of the dynamic properties of beam-like structures has given comparable results. But many aeronautical and aerospace structures are comprised of non-uniform sections or sectional properties, such as aircraft wings and satellite antennas. This paper proposes a piecewise continuous Timoshenko beam model which is used for the dynamic analysis of tapered beam-like structures. A tapered beam is divided into several segments of uniform beam elements. Instead of arbitrarily assumed shape functions used in finite element analysis, the closed-form solution of the Timoshenko beam equation is used. Application of the transfer matrix method relates all the elements as a whole. By corresponding boundary conditions and compatible conditions a characteristic equation for the global tapered beam has been developed, from which natural frequencies can be derived. A computer simulation is shown in this paper, and compared with the results obtained from the finite element analysis. While piecewise continuous Timoshenko beam model decreases the number of elements significantly; comparable results to the finite element method are obtained

Motivação autodeterminada, composição corporal e satisfação com a vida dos idosos, para a prática de atividade física supervisionada: relação e diferenças entre frequência de prática, sexo, composição corporal e contexto institucional

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Atividade Física.É indispensável, para todos, a prática de atividade física e, segundo Fischer (2005), de todos os grupos etários, os idosos são os que mais beneficiam com a prática de exercício. O risco de muitas doenças e problemas de saúde habituais na velhice, diminui com a prática de atividade física regular. Neste sentido, este estudo tem como principal objetivo identificar as motivações, necessidades psicológicas básicas, composição corporal e satisfação com a vida dos idosos para a prática de Atividade Física supervisionada, analisar as relações e comparações entre níveis de prática, sexo e contexto institucional. Estudo transversal com amostra constituída por 62 idosos voluntários, de ambos os sexos (15 do sexo masculino e 47 do sexo feminino), institucionalizados e não institucionalizados, pertencentes ao Concelho de Castelo Branco, com uma média de idades de 79.613±9.34 anos. Após a seleção da amostra os indivíduos foram divididos em dois grupos distintos, o primeiro grupo “Grupo1-2”: constituído por idosos que praticam AF supervisionada, 1 ou 2 vezes por semana; e o segundo grupo “Grupo3+”: constituído por idosos que praticam AF supervisionada, 3 vezes ou mais por semana. Avaliou-se a motivação (versão portuguesa do Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (Monteiro, Moutão, Baptista & Cid, 2014)), as Necessidades Psicológicas Básicas (versão Portuguesa da Basic Psychological Needs Exercise Scale (Pires, Cid, Borrego, Alves & Silva, 2010)), a Satisfação com a Vida (versão portuguesa da Escala de Satisfação com a Vida (Neto, 1993)) e os Afetos Positivos e Negativos (versão portuguesa da Escala de Afetos Positivos e Negativos (Simões, 1993)). Foram ainda avaliados os valores de composição corporal (IMC, Perímetro Cintura (PC), Perímetro Anca (PA), Massa Muscular (MM), Mineral Ósseo (MO) e % Massa Gorda (MG)), recorrendo aos respetivos protocolos de avaliação. Os dados obtidos foram tratados no S.P.S.S. 21.0 recorrendo numa primeira fase à estatística descritiva. Posteriormente procedeu-se ao cálculo do alfa de Cronbach’s para avaliar a consistência interna dos questionários. De seguida procedeu-se à verificação do suposto de normalidade dos dados na amostra através do Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Como os dados evidenciaram uma distribuição normal aplicou-se a prova t para amostras independentes e a Anova unifatorial, exceção feita nas variáveis IMC e relação social que evidenciaram uma distribuição não normal, às quais se procedeu à utilização do teste U de Mann-Whitney e Kruskal Wallis. Adotou-se um nível de significância com uma margem de erro de 5% para um grau de probabilidade de pelo menos 95%. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que, aparentemente, a motivação que mantém a prática constante de AF supervisionada por parte dos idosos centra-se na motivação autónoma. Também se pode constatar que, { exceç~o da “Amotivaç~o”, onde as mulheres apresentam maiores níveis de amotivação para a pratica de AF Supervisionada que os homens, ou seja, podendo estar mais expostas a uma ausência de orientação motivacional, não existem diferenças ao nível das restantes variáveis da motivação bem como das necessidades psicológicas básicas e satisfação com a vida entre o sexo masculino e o feminino. Os resultados foram abonatórios de que, nos idosos praticantes de AF supervisionada, a satisfação das necessidades psicológicas básicas leva a comportamentos motivados autonomamente, promovendo estes, níveis elevados de satisfação com a vida. Ao compararmos os sujeitos dos dois grupos de prática não encontrámos diferenças aceitáveis ao nível da composição corporal. Encontrámos correlações aceitáveis (positivas), entre a idade cronológica e a composição corporal (IMC, PC, PA). Podemos concluir que a motivação autónoma e a perceção de satisfação das necessidades psicológicas base são exteriorizadas como fatores de grande importância, pelo facto de aparentarem ser um catalisador para que esta populaç~o se possa manter ativa e, de certo modo, se possa “comprometer” com este estilo de vida.The practice of physical activity is indispensable for all, and according to Fischer (2005), of all age groups, the elderly benefit most from exercise. The risk of many diseases and common health problems in old age decreases with the practice of regular physical activity. In this sense, this study has as main objective to identify the motivations, basic psychological needs, body composition and satisfaction with the life of the elderly for the practice of supervised Physical Activity, to analyze the relations and comparisons between levels of practice, sex and institutional context. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 62 elderly volunteers of both sexes (15 males and 47 females), institutionalized and non-institutionalized, belonging to the Municipality of Castelo Branco, with a mean age of 79,613 ± 9,34 years. After the sample selection the subjects were divided into two distinct groups, the first group "Group 1-2": consisting of elderly people who practice supervised AF, 1 or 2 times a week; And the second group "Group 3+": consisting of seniors who practice supervised AF, 3 times or more per week. The Basic Psychological Needs Exercise (Portuguese version of the Basic Psychological Needs Exercise Scale (Pires, Cid, Borrego, Alves & Silva) was used to evaluate the motivation (Portuguese version of the Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (Monteiro, Moutão, Baptista & Cid, 2014)), Satisfaction with Life (Portuguese version of the Life Satisfaction Scale (Neto, 1993)) and Positive and Negative Affects (Portuguese version of the Positive and Negative Factors Scale (Simões, 1993)). The values of body composition (BMI, Waist Perimeter (WP), Perimeter Hip (PH), Muscle Mass (MM), Bone Mineral (MM) and % Fat Mass (FM) were also evaluated, using the respective evaluation protocols. The data obtained were treated in S.P.S.S. 21.0 using descriptive statistics as a first step. Subsequently, the Cronbach's alpha was calculated to evaluate the internal consistency of the questionnaires. Next, we verified the normality of the data in the sample through the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. As the data showed a normal distribution, the t-test for independent samples and the Anova unifatorial were applied, except for the BMI and social variables, which showed a non-normal distribution, using the Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis. A level of significance was adopted with a margin of error of 5% for a probability of at least 95%. The results show that, apparently, the motivation that maintains the constant practice of PA supervised by the elderly focuses on the autonomous motivation. It can also be observed that, except for the "Amotivation", where women have higher levels of amotivation for the practice of Supervised FH than men, that is, they may be more exposed to an absence of motivational orientation, there are no differences at the level Of the remaining motivational variables as well as the basic psychological needs and life satisfaction between the male and the female. The results showed that, in the supervised elderly, the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs leads to autonomously motivated behaviors, promoting high levels of satisfaction with life. When comparing the subjects of the two practice groups, we did not find acceptable differences in body composition. We found acceptable (positive) correlations between chronological age and body composition (BMI, WP, PH). We can conclude that autonomous motivation and the satisfaction perception of basic psychological needs are externalized as factors of great importance, because they appear to be a catalyst for this population to remain active and, in a way, to "compromise" with This lifestyle

Global governance approaches to addressing illegal logging: Uptake and lessons learned

One of the most challenging tasks facing development agencies, trade ministries, environmental groups, social activists and forest-focused business interests seeking to ameliorate illegal logging and related timber trade is to identify and nurture promising global governance interventions capable of helping improve compliance to governmental policies and laws at national, subnational and local levels. This question is especially acute for developing countries constrained by capacity challenges and “weak states” (Risse, 2011). This chapter seeks to shed light on this task by asking four related questions: How do we understand the emergence of illegal logging as a matter of global interest? What are the types of global interventions designed to improve domestic legal compliance? How have individual states responded to these global efforts? What are the prospects for future impacts and evolution? We proceed in the following steps. Following this introduction, step two reviews how the problem of “illegal logging” emerged on the international agenda. Step three reviews leading policy interventions that resulted from this policy framing. Step four reviews developments in selected countries/regions around the world according to their place on the global forest products supply chain: consumers (United States, Europe and Australia); middle of supply chain manufacturers (China and South Korea) and producers (Russia; Indonesia; Brazil and Peru; Ghana, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo). We conclude by reflecting on key trends that emerge from this review relevant for understanding the conditions through which legality might make a difference in addressing critical challenges

Research Reports From Status Report: Identification of Appropriate Standards for Corrective Action for a Release from Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks

This document is a collection of research reports: Cost of Closure and Remediation for Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks Assessment of Number and Distribution of USTs Analysis of Potable Water Sources in Kentucky Analysis of Well Data and Soil Parameters as Related to the STATSGO Kentucky General Soil Map Petroleum Products: Chemical Composition, Tocxicological and Environmental Data Health Risk Analysis for Selected Petroleum Compounds Summary of Analytical Methods Soil Volume Calculations for UST Installations Generic Organic Containment Pathway Analysis for Components of Petroleum in Soil and Groundwate

Spatial Localization and Quantitation of Androgens in Mouse Testis by Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Androgens are essential for male development and reproductive function. They are transported to their site of action as blood-borne endocrine hormones but can also be produced within tissues to act in intracrine and paracrine fashions. Because of this, circulating concentrations may not accurately reflect the androgenic influence within specific tissue microenvironments. Mass spectrometry imaging permits regional analysis of small molecular species directly from tissue surfaces. However, due to poor ionization and localized ion suppression, steroid hormones are difficult to detect. Here, derivatization with Girard T reagent was used to charge-tag testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone allowing direct detection of these steroids in mouse testes, in both basal and maximally stimulated states, and in rat prostate. Limits of detection were ∼0.1 pg for testosterone. Exemplary detection of endogenous steroids was achieved by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization and either Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance detection (at 150 μm spatial resolution) or quadrupole-time-of-flight detection (at 50 μm spatial resolution). Structural confirmation was achieved by collision induced fragmentation following liquid extraction surface analysis and electrospray ionization. This application broadens the scope for derivatization strategies on tissue surfaces to elucidate local endocrine signaling in health and disease

Absence of long-range ordered reconstruction on the GaAs(311)A surface

We have investigated the decapped GaAs(311)A surface using both scanning tunneling microscopy and synchrotron-radiation photoemission. While our data are in broad agreement with the structural model of GaAs(311)A proposed in a recent study [Wassermeier et al., Phys. Rev. B 51, 14 721 (1995)], we find considerable differences in the surface order. In particular, the As dimer rows are unbroken over much shorter length scales and are highly kinked. We observe a correspondingly lower degree of anisotropy in the surface roughness than that previously reported. An (8×1) reconstruction was not observed. An analysis of As 3d and Ga 3d core-level photoemission spectra suggests that surface As atoms are in only one bonding configuration while surface Ga adopts two different bonding states. We discuss possible origins for the core-level spectra surface components