Topological changes in 2D simplicial meshes for the simulation of fractures

A method for the introduction of strong discontinuities into a mesh will be developed. This method, applicable to a number of eXtended Finite Element Methods (XFEM) with intra-element strong discontinuities will be demonstrated with one specific method: the Generalized Cohesive Element (GCE) method. The algorithm utilizes a subgraph mesh representation which may insert the GCE either adaptively during the course of the analysis or a priori. Using this subgraphing algorithm, the insertion time is O(n) to the number of insertions. Numerical examples are presented demonstrating the advantages of the subgraph insertion method

Complexity in Translation. An English-Norwegian Study of Two Text Types

The present study discusses two primary research questions. Firstly, we have tried to investigate to what extent it is possible to compute the actual translation relation found in a selection of English-Norwegian parallel texts. By this we understand the generation of translations with no human intervention, and we assume an approach to machine translation (MT) based on linguistic knowledge. In order to answer this question, a measurement of translational complexity is applied to the parallel texts. Secondly, we have tried to find out if there is a difference in the degree of translational complexity between the two text types, law and fiction, included in the empirical material. The study is a strictly product-oriented approach to complexity in translation: it disregards aspects related to translation methods, and to the cognitive processes behind translation. What we have analysed are intersubjectively available relations between source texts and existing translations. The degree of translational complexity in a given translation task is determined by the types and amounts of information needed to solve it, as well as by the accessibility of these information sources, and the effort required when they are processed. For the purpose of measuring the complexity of the relation between a source text unit and its target correspondent, we apply a set of four correspondence types, organised in a hierarchy reflecting divisions between different linguistic levels, along with a gradual increase in the degree of translational complexity. In type 1, the least complex type, the corresponding strings are pragmatically, semantically, and syntactically equivalent, down to the level of the sequence of word forms. In type 2, source and target string are pragmatically and semantically equivalent, and equivalent with respect to syntactic functions, but there is at least one mismatch in the sequence of constituents or in the use of grammatical form words. Within type 3, source and target string are pragmatically and semantically equivalent, but there is at least one structural difference violating syntactic functional equivalence between the strings. In type 4, there is at least one linguistically non-predictable, semantic discrepancy between source and target string. The correspondence type hierarchy, ranging from 1 to 4, is characterised by an increase with respect to linguistic divergence between source and target string, an increase in the need for information and in the amount of effort required to translate, and a decrease in the extent to which there exist implications between relations of source-target equivalence at different linguistic levels. We assume that there is a translational relation between the inventories of simple and complex linguistic signs in two languages which is predictable, and hence computable, from information about source and target language systems, and about how the systems correspond. Thus, computable translations are predictable from the linguistic information coded in the source text, together with given, general information about the two languages and their interrelations. Further, we regard non-computable translations to be correspondences where it is not possible to predict the target expression from the information encoded in the source expression, together with given, general information about SL and TL and their interrelations. Non-computable translations require access to additional information sources, such as various kinds of general or task-specific extra-linguistic information, or task-specific linguistic information from the context surrounding the source expression. In our approach, correspondences of types 1–3 constitute the domain of linguistically predictable, or computable, translations, whereas type 4 correspondences belong to the non-predictable, or non-computable, domain, where semantic equivalence is not fulfilled. The empirical method involves extracting translationally corresponding strings from parallel texts, and assigning one of the types defined by the correspondence hierarchy to each recorded string pair. The analysis is applied to running text, omitting no parts of it. Thus, the distribution of the four types of translational correspondence within a set of data provides a measurement of the degree of translational complexity in the parallel texts that the data are extracted from. The complexity measurements of this study are meant to show to what extent we assume that an ideal, rule-based MT system could simulate the given translations, and for this reason the finite clause is chosen as the primary unit of analysis. The work of extracting and classifying translational correspondences is done manually as it requires a bilingually competent human analyst. In the present study, the recorded data cover about 68 000 words. They are compiled from six different text pairs: two of them are law texts, and the remaining four are fiction texts. Comparable amounts of text are included for each text type, and both directions of translation are covered. Since the scope of the investigation is limited, we cannot, on the basis of our analysis, generalise about the degree of translational complexity in the chosen text types and in the language pair English-Norwegian. Calculated in terms of string lengths, the complexity measurement across the entire collection of data shows that as little as 44,8% of all recorded string pairs are classified as computable translational correspondences, i.e. as type 1, 2, or 3, and non-computable string pairs of type 4 constitute a majority (55,2%) of the compiled data. On average, the proportion of computable correspondences is 50,2% in the law data, and 39,6% in fiction. In relation to the question whether it would be fruitful to apply automatic translation to the selected texts, we have considered the workload potentially involved in correcting machine output, and in this respect the difference in restrictedness between the two text types is relevant. Within the non-computable correspondences, the frequency of cases exhibiting only one minimal semantic deviation between source and target string is considerably higher among the data extracted from the law texts than among those recorded from fiction. For this reason we tentatively regard the investigated pairs of law texts as representing a text type where tools for automatic translation may be helpful, if the effort required by post-editing is smaller than that of manual translation. This is possibly the case in one of the law text pairs, where 60,9% of the data involve computable translation tasks. In the other pair of law texts the corresponding figure is merely 38,8%, and the potential helpfulness of automatisation would be even more strongly determined by the edit cost. That text might be a task for computer-aided translation, rather than for MT. As regards the investigated fiction texts, it is our view that post-editing of automatically generated translations would be laborious and not cost effective, even in the case of one text pair showing a relatively low degree of translational complexity. Hence, we concur with the common view that the translation of fiction is not a task for MT

An Inducible Fluorescent Reporter System to Measure Lux Operon Promoter Activity

Bioluminescence is the enzymatic production of light by a living organism. Many species of marine bacteria produce light with varying degrees of brightness. The lux operon is responsible for bioluminescence and is well studied, however it is currently unknown why different species of bacteria display different brightness levels. A dual-plasmid system designed to mimic the quorum-sensing induction of the lux operon was created and successfully implemented in E. coli. This was accomplished through the use of an arabinose-inducible plasmid containing a luxR gene from Vibrio harveyi, and then using the resulting LuxR protein to activate the lux promoter in a second plasmid. The second plasmid was created using a new vector containing a fluorescent reporter. An upstream region from a Vibrio species containing a promoter for the lux operon could then be inserted into the plasmid vector and induced using the previously made LuxR plasmid. The fluorescence and luminescence levels of different strains were compared in the hopes to better understand the impact of promoter activity on light production

The coleopteran fauna of Piptoporus betulinus and Fomes fomentarius (Aphyllophorales: Polyporaceae) in western Norway

Sporophores of Piptoporus betulinus (Bull. ex Fr.) Karst. and Fomes fomentarius (L. ex Fr.) Kickx were collected during March to December 1991 from five different West Norwegian forests. Their beetle faunas are described in detail. Various factors contribute in the decomposing process of the sporophore, and the faunas change considerably during this process. The host specificity of the obligatory polypore inhabitants is probably determined by other factors besides the polypore itself, because the faunas change between forests of different productivity classes and with different tree compositions. Furthermore, the almost vicariant distribution of Cis alter and C. jacquemarti could best be explained by interspecific competition. A simple phenology for Cis bidentatus, C. alter, C. lineatocribatus, C. jacquemarti, Leptusa pulchella, L. fumida and L. ruficollis is given

Achieving digital transformation in the public sector through targeted insourcing

Digital transformation in the public sector involves leveraging digital technology to perform a profound change in both the services offered by public sector organizations and the activities and structures that provide them. Practitioners and researchers alike have called for this kind of transformation to meet citizens’ changing needs and expectancies. However, there is a lack of knowledge on how to operationalize and achieve digital transformations in the sector, given its institutional and organizational complexity. In this paper, therefore, we present a case study of the establishment of a cross-domain digital transformation unit in a Scandinavian municipality. We conceptualize the approach to digital transformation carried out in this unit as targeted insourcing. We contribute to Information Systems literature on public sector digital transformation through our conceptualization and discuss its implications

The arthropod community of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) canopies in Norway

We summarise the findings of arthropods collected by fogging the canopy of 24 pine trees in two sites in Eastern and Western Norway. From the samples, taken in 1998 and in 1999, almost 30,000 specimens were determined to 512 species,with Diptera being most species rich (210 species), followed by Coleoptera (76 species) and Araneae (49 species). Of the 96 new species records, nine were new to science (5 Diptera and 4 Oribatida), two were new to the European, three to the Scandinavian and 82 to the Norwegian faunas. The paper demonstrates the need for detailed faunistical inventories of European forests

A Biomechanically Based Acute Thoracic Aortic Dissection Potential Index

Acute thoracic aortic dissection, a separation of the layers of the aortic wall, is a serious med- ical condition with high mortality. Current clinical practice is a diameter based decision for elective surgery for patients with an orthogonal aortic diameter in excess of 5.5 cm. However, the utility of this metric is limited by the high number of patients experiencing dissection at diameters below this threshold. There thus exists a need for an improved metric for assessing dissection risk. As the dissection event ultimately involves biomechanical failure of the aortic wall, this thesis proposes a biomechanically based dissection potential index derived from both full aorta stress maps and microstructural failure behavior of the tissue. A structural model of the aortic wall, including the repeating lamellar structure of the aortic media was developed. This model was used to determine the aortic tissue biomechanical behavior in both the pre-failure and failure regimes. These model predictions were validated against experimentally determined uniaxial pre-failure elastic response as well as ultimate stress of the vessel wall for three different patient cohorts. The model was next utilized to quantify physiologic strength of the vessel wall subjected to the entire range of physiologically plau- sible biaxial loading conditions. Interestingly, we discovered that the vessel wall physiologic strength is not statistically different than its uniaxial longitudinal strength. We also found that the biomechanical integrity of the aorta is limited by the longitudinal strength of the aortic wall tissue in regions of high stress biaxiality, defined by the ratio of longitudinal and circumferential stress. We constructed a dissection risk metric, termed dissection potential index (DPI), from the ratio of the longitudinal stress to the longitudinal strength of the vessel wall. Using patient-specific aorta geometry and aortic stiffness, both determined from clinical CT images of the aorta, the stress map of the aortic wall was evaluated. The dissection potential index (DPI) for these patients was determined by interrogating these maps against cohort-specific longitudinal strength of the tissue. We found that DPI for dissected patients was significantly higher than for an age and BMI matched control cohort. We also observed an increase of the DPI for dissected patients over time. In addition, the model correctly predicted dissection initiation location marked by the surgeons, suggesting that the model captured essential aortic wall failure mechanisms. Surprisingly, the DPI for dissected patients did not correlate with their maximum aortic diameter, demonstrating the limitations of the current diameter based criterion as a predictive risk metric. Further studies with larger cohort of patients will lead to the establishment of DPI as an evidence based clinical metric for early management of dissection potential

«Tenke globalt, handle lokalt»: En studie av hvordan ledere forstår og oversetter bærekraft til lokal praksis

Master i samfunnsvitenskap med fordypning i HRM - 202

Ei biologisk ulykke : maskulinitetskonstruksjoner og kjønnsideologi i Grethe Nestors roman Kryp

Masteroppgave i Nordisk språk og litteratur 2007 - Høgskolen i Agder, KristiansandStudieobjektet mitt har vært feministen Grethe Nestors debutroman Kryp. Jeg satte meg fore å undersøke romanens kjønnsideologi og mannsfigurasjoner, med en velbegrunna mistanke om at sistnevnte baserer seg på myter og stereotypier om det mannlige. Avhandlingens argument er at Nestor er ute i et ideologisk ærend, og at det viser seg i romanens estetiske uttrykk så vel som i konkret tematikk og motivvalg. Det subversive og potensielt kvinneemansipatoriske ligger vel så mye i (postfeministiske) lån fra maskulint koda uttrykksformer - pornografi og en litterær tradisjon forbundet med mannlig kjønnsfundamentalisme - samt en delvis ironisk relasjon til chick lit-sjangeren, som i eksplisitte refleksjoner omkring kjønnsideologiske forhold. I min lesing av romanen tolkes de stereotypiske mannsfigurasjonene som politisk motiverte fiksjoner som samsvarer med nokså ekstreme stemmer i den feministiske diskursen, i særskilthet med Valerie Solanas' karakteristikker av menn som "ei biologisk ulykke", som "vandrende dildoer" osv. Spesielt graverende finner jeg den konstante insisteringa på maskulinitetens sammenheng med aggresjon og seksualisert vold. Gjennom å vise at romanens mannsfigurasjoner er grunnleggende sjablongprega og basert på determinisme (testikler = aggresjon, vold, misogyni, undertrykking osv.), har avhandlinga også basert seg på en polemikk mot et paradoks som avsløres gjennom en lesing av forfatterens feministsakprosa: I Nestors Feministhåndboka etterlyses nemlig mer sammensatte og virkelighetsnære medierte representasjoner av kvinnekjønnet, samtidig som forfatteren målbærer et syn på kjønn som kulturelle og sosiale konstruksjoner, og kjønnsforskjeller som marginale. Dette står ikke bare i kontrast til de flate mannskarakteristikkene i romanen, men også til tekstens påstand om kjønnas grunnleggende ulikhet og inkongruens, en kjønnsideologi som postulerer at relasjonen mellom mann og kvinne har form av bitter krig på liv og død