On localizations of quasi-simple groups with given countable center

A group homomorphism $i: H \to G$ is a localization of $H$ if for every homomorphism $\varphi: H\rightarrow G$ there exists a unique endomorphism $\psi: G\rightarrow G$, such that $i \psi=\varphi$ (maps are acting on the right). G\"{o}bel and Trlifaj asked in \cite[Problem 30.4(4), p. 831]{GT12} which abelian groups are centers of localizations of simple groups. Approaching this question we show that every countable abelian group is indeed the center of some localization of a quasi-simple group, i.e. a central extension of a simple group. The proof uses Obraztsov and Ol'shanskii's construction of infinite simple groups with a special subgroup lattice and also extensions of results on localizations of finite simple groups by the second author and Scherer, Th\'{e}venaz and Viruel.Comment: 21 page

Generators and closed classes of groups

We show that in the category of groups, every singly-generated class which is closed under isomorphisms, direct limits and extensions is also singly-generated under isomorphisms and direct limits, and in particular is co-reflective. We also establish several new relations between singly-generated closed classes.Comment: 22 page

Kinematic, strength, and stiffness adaptations after a short-term sled towing training in athletes

One of the most frequently used methods for training the sprint‐specific strength is the sled towing. To date, no studies have been conducted to explore the effects of this method after a training period in well‐trained athletes. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of 4 weeks of resisted sprint training with sled towing. Twenty‐two trained athletes experienced in the use of weighted sled (WS) participated in the study. They conducted the same 3‐week training to level their initial condition. After that they were distributed in two groups, unresisted (UR) and WS training. They carried out the same 4‐week, 2 days/week sprint‐specific training, only differing in that the experimental group performed sprints with a (WS) which caused a reduction of 7.5% of their maximum velocity. Pre‐ and posttest were conducted which included the measurement of sprint kinematics, muscular strength (including isoinertial, isokinetic, and jump measurements), and sprinting stiffness (leg and vertical). Results show different adaptations in the groups although no interaction effect was found. The WS group improved the velocity in the transition phase, while the UR group improved the velocity in the maximum velocity phase. No improvements in the height of the jump tests were found.Actividad Física y Deport

A ROS/Gazebo-based framework for simulation and control of on-orbit robotic systems

The use of simulation tools such as ROS/Gazebo is currently common practice for testing and developing control algorithms for typical ground-based robotic systems but still is not commonly accepted within the space community. Numerous studies in this field use ad-hoc built, but not standardized, not open-source, and, sometimes, not verified tools that complicate, rather than promote, the development and realization of versatile robotic systems and algorithms for space robotics. This paper proposes an open-source solution for space robotics simulations called OnOrbitROS. This paper presents a description of the architecture, the different software modules, and the simulation possibilities of OnOrbitROS. It shows the key features of the developed tool, with a particular focus on the customization of the simulations and eventual possibilities of further expansion of the tool. In order to show these capabilities, a computed torque-based controller for the guidance of a free-floating manipulator is proposed and simulated using the ROS/Gazebo-based framework described in the paper

Path generation and control of humanoid robots during extravehicular activities

This paper proposes and investigates strategies that can be used to plan the motion and control of humanoid robots in some elementary tasks that characterize extravehicular activities. The humanoid robot taken into account is a torso with two arms and two grippers at their extremities. This study addresses the problem of robot motion on the complex system of handrails and handles that characterize the International Space Station. Such a complex task has been divided into two elementary sub-tasks: motion planning and tracking the planned trajectories. First, an optimization procedure is presented to plan and coordinate the robot's arms motions and graspers to achieve the desired location using handrails. Then, a low-level controller is used to guarantee that the robots' actuators can follow these previously generated trajectories. Simulation results assess the applicability of the proposed strategy in different typical operations that potentially can be performed in an extravehicular activity scenario

Pyrethroids levels in paddy field water under Mediterranean conditions: measurements and distribution modelling

[EN] The cultivation of rice (Oriza sativa L.) under Mediterranean conditions regularly requires the use of treated wastewater due to shortage of freshwater. As a consequence, the intensification of rice production to supply the uprising demand of grain could break the stability between agriculture and environment. In this work, we studied the occurrence and distribution of pyrethroids in surface water and groundwater collected during two periods (flooding and dry soil conditions) in paddy fields located in the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Pyrethroids were detected at concentrations ranging from 14 to 1450 ng L-1 in surface water and from 6 to 833 ng L-1 in groundwater. The results obtained were valuated statistically using principal component analysis, and differences between both sampling campaigns were found, with lower concentrations of the target compounds during the flooding sampling event. Moreover, a geographic information system program was used to represent a model distribution of the obtained results, showing wastewater treatment plants as the main sources of contamination and the decrease of pyrethroids during flooding condition when water flows over the paddy fields. The impact of these compounds on water quality was discussed.Authors wish to thank INIA for the predoctoral fellowship (R. Aznar) and Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness RTA2014-00012-C03-01 for financial support.Aznar, R.; Sánchez Brunete, C.; Albero, B.; Moreno-Ramón, H.; Tadeo, JL. (2017). Pyrethroids levels in paddy field water under Mediterranean conditions: measurements and distribution modelling. Paddy and Water Environment. 15(2):307-316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-016-0550-2S307316152Albalawneh A, Chang TK, Chou CS (2015) Impacts on soil quality from long-term irrigation with treated greywater. Paddy Water Environ. doi: 10.1007/s10333-015-0499-6Aznar R, Moreno-Ramón H, Albero B, Sánchez-Brunete C, Tadeo JL (2016a) Spatio-temporal distribution of pyrethroids in soil in mediterranean paddy fields. J Soils Sediments. doi: 10.1007/s11368-016-1417-2Aznar R, Albero B, Sánchez-Brunete C, Miguel E, Moreno-Ramón H, Tadeo JL (2016b) Simultaneous determination of multiclass emerging contaminants in aquatic plants by ultrasound-assisted matrix solid-phase dispersion and GC–MS. Environ Sci Pollut Res. doi: 10.1007/s11356-016-6327-8Campo J, Masia A, Blasco C, Pico Y (2013) Occurrence and removal efficiency of pesticides in sewage treatment plants of four Mediterranean River Basins. J Hazard Mater 263:146–157Corcellas C, Eljarrat E, Barceló D (2015) First report of pyrethroid bioaccumulation in wild river fish: a case study in Iberian river basins (Spain). Environ Int 75:110–116Directive 2006/118/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=URISERV:l28139&from=ES Accessed 14 Dec 2015Duran JJ, García de Domingo A, López-Geta JA, Robledo PA, Soria JM (2005) Los Humedales del Mediterráneo español: modelos geológicos e hidrogeológicos. Instituto Geológico y Minero Español, Madrid España. 160European Commission (2005) Review report for the active substance Esfenvalerate, 6846/VI/97-finalFarnham IM, Singh AK, Stetzenbach KJ, Johannesson KH (2002) Treatment of nondetects in multivariate analysis of groundwater geochemistry data. Chemometr Intell Lab 60:265–281Feo ML, Ginebreda A, Eljarrat E, Barcelo D (2010a) Presence of pyrethroid pesticides in water and sediments of Ebro River Delta. J Hazard Mater 393:156–162Feo ML, Eljarrat E, Barcelo D (2010b) A rapid and sensitive analytical method for the determination of 14 pyrethroids in water samples. J Chromatogr A 1217:2248–2253Gimenez-Forcada E (2014) Space/time development of seawater intrusion: a study case in Vinaroz coastal plain (Eastern Spain) using HFE-Diagram, and spatial distribution of hydrochemical facies. J Hydrol 517:617–627Hendley P, Holmes C, Kay S, Maund SJ, Travis KZ, Zhang MH (2001) Probabilistic risk assessment of cotton pyrethroids: iII. A spatial analysis of the Mississippi, USA, cotton landscape. Environ Toxicol Chem 20:669–678Hildebrandt A, Lacorte S, Barcelo D (2007) Assessment of priority pesticides, degradation products, and pesticide adjuvants in groundwaters and top soils from agricultural areas of the Ebro river basin. Anal Bioanal Chem 387:1459–1468Hildebrandt A, Guillamon M, Lacorte S, Tauler R, Barcelo D (2008) Impact of pesticides used in agriculture and vineyards to surface and groundwater quality (North Spain). Water Res 42:3315–3326Hladik ML, Kuivila KM (2009) Assessing the occurrence and distribution of pyrethroids in water and suspended sediments. J Agric Food Chem 57:9079–9085Kuivila KM, Hladik ML, Ingersoll CG, Kemble NE, Moran PW, Calhoun DL, Nowell LH, Gilliom RJ (2012) Occurrence and potential sources of pyrethroid insecticides in stream sediments from seven U.S. metropolitan areas. Environ Sci Technol 46:4297–4303McManus SL, Richards KG, Grant J, Mannix A, Coxon CE (2014) Pesticide occurrence in groundwater and the physical characteristics in association with these detections in Ireland. Environ Monit Assess 186:7819–7836Money E, Carter GP, Serre ML (2009) Using river distances in the space/time estimation of dissolved oxygen along two impaired river networks in New Jersey. Water Res 43:1948–1958Monica N, Choi K (2016) Temporal and spatial analysis of water quality in Saemangeum watershed using multivariate statistical techniques. Paddy Water Environ 14:3–17Moreno-Ramón H, Marqués-Mateu A, Ibáñez-Asensio S, Gisbert JM (2015) Wetland soils under rice management and seawater intrusion: characterization and classification. Spa J Soil Sci 5(2):111–129Moschet C, Vermeirssen ELM, Seiz R, Pfefferli H, Hollender J (2014) Picogram per liter detections of pyrethroids and organophosphates in surface waters using passive sampling. Water Res 66:411–422Pistocchi A, Vizcaino P, Hauck M (2009) A GIS model-based screening of potential contamination of soil and water by pyrethroids in Europe. J Environ Manag 90:3410–3421Rodríguez-Liébana JA, ElGouzi S, Mingorance MD, Castillo A, Peña A (2014) Irrigation of a Mediterranean soil under fields’ conditions with urban wastewater: effect on pesticides behavior. Agric Ecosyst Environ 185:176–185SANCO-12571 (2013) Guidance document on analytical quality control and validation procedures for pesticide residues analysis in food and feed. European Commission. http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/guidance_documents/docs/qualcontrol_en.pdf . Accessed 4 April 2016Smiley PC Jr, King KW, Fausey NR (2014) Annual and seasonal differences in pesticides mixtures within channelized agricultural headwater streams in central Ohio. Agric Ecosyst Environ 193:83–95Soil Survey Staff (2014) Keys to soil taxonomy, 12th edn. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/class/taxonomy/?cid=nrcs142p2_053580 . Accessed 4 April 2016Solomon KR, Giddings JM, Maund SJ (2001) Probabilistic risk assessment of cotton pyrethroids: i. Distributional analyses of laboratory aquatic toxicity data. Environ Toxicol Chem 20:652–659Sprecher SW (2008) Installing Monitoring wells in soils. Version 1.0. USDA—NRCS (United States Department of Agriculture)-(Natural Resources Conservation Service). Lincoln. USA. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_052914.pdf . Accessed 4 April 2016Swift MJ, Izac AMN, van Noordwijk M (2015) Biodiversity and ecosystem services in agriculture landscapes-are we asking the right questions? Agric Ecosyst Environ 104:113–134Weston DP, Holmes RW, You J, Lydy MJ (2005) Aquatic toxicity due to residential use of pyrethroid insecticides. Environ Sci Technol 39:9778–9784Weston DP, Holmes RW, Lydy MJ (2009) Residential runoff as a source of pyrethroid pesticides to urban creeks. Environ Pollut 157:287–294Weston DP, Ramil HL, Lydy MJ (2013) Pyrethroid insecticides in municipal wastewater. Environ Toxicol Chem 32:2460–246

Sintering to Transparency of Polycrystalline Ceramic Materials

Open Access: InTech Open.Peer Reviewe