Wavelet analysis of beam-soil structure response for fast moving train

This paper presents a wavelet based approach for the vibratory analysis of beam-soil structure related to a point load moving along a beam resting on the surface. The model is represented by the Euler-Bernoulli equation for the beam, elastodynamic equation of motion for the soil and appropriate boundary conditions. Two cases are analysed: the model with a half space under the beam and the model where the supporting medium has a finite thickness. Analytical solutions for the displacements are obtained and discussed in relation to the used boundary conditions and the type of considered loads: harmonic and constant. The analysis in time-frequency and velocity-frequency domains is carried out for realistic systems of parameters describing physical properties of the model. The approximate displacement values are determined by applying a wavelet method for a derivation of the inverse Fourier transform. A special form of the coiflet filter used in numerical calculations allows to carry out analysis without loss of accuracy related to singularities appearing in wavelet approximation formulas, when dealing with standard filters and complex dynamic systems. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd

Dissipativity preserving model reduction by retention of trajectories of minimal dissipation

We present a method for model reduction based on ideas from the behavioral theory of dissipative systems, in which the reduced order model is required to reproduce a subset of the set of trajectories of minimal dissipation of the original system. The passivity-preserving model reduction method of Antoulas (Syst Control Lett 54:361-374, 2005) and Sorensen (Syst Control Lett 54:347-360, 2005) is shown to be a particular case of this more general class of model reduction procedures

Seismic Earth Pressure Development in Sheet Pile Retaining Walls: A Numerical Study

The design of retaining walls requires the complete knowledge of the earth pressure distribution behind the wall. Due to the complex soil-structure effect, the estimation of earth pressure is not an easy task; even in the static case. The problem becomes even more complex for the dynamic (i.e., seismic) analysis and design of retaining walls. Several earth pressure models have been developed over the years to integrate the dynamic earth pressure with the static earth pressure and to improve the design of retaining wall in seismic regions. Among all the models, MononobeOkabe (M-O) method is commonly used to estimate the magnitude of seismic earth pressures in retaining walls and is adopted in design practices around the world (e.g., EuroCode and Australian Standards). However, the M-O method has several drawbacks and does not provide reliable estimate of the earth pressure in many instances. This study investigates the accuracy of the M-O method to predict the dynamic earth pressure in sheet pile wall. A 2D plane strain finite element model of the wall-soil system was developed in DIANA. The backfill soil was modelled with Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion while the wall was assumed behave elastically. The numerically predicted dynamic earth pressure was compared with the M-O model prediction. Further, the point of application of total dynamic force was determined and compared with the static case. Finally, the applicability of M-O methods to compute the seismic earth pressure was discussed

Social-aware Opportunistic Routing Protocol based on User's Interactions and Interests

Nowadays, routing proposals must deal with a panoply of heterogeneous devices, intermittent connectivity, and the users' constant need for communication, even in rather challenging networking scenarios. Thus, we propose a Social-aware Content-based Opportunistic Routing Protocol, SCORP, that considers the users' social interaction and their interests to improve data delivery in urban, dense scenarios. Through simulations, using synthetic mobility and human traces scenarios, we compare the performance of our solution against other two social-aware solutions, dLife and Bubble Rap, and the social-oblivious Spray and Wait, in order to show that the combination of social awareness and content knowledge can be beneficial when disseminating data in challenging networks

Integration of Technology in Math and Science Education – A Model for Teaching Elementary and Middle School Pre-Service Teachers

This paper describes the development and implementation of a course, Integration of Technology in Math and Science Education, to introduce elementary and middle school pre-service teachers to real technology skills that they can use in their future classrooms. Activities allowed the students to learn technology skills while using the Internet to enrich their content skills and share information with their fellow students. The course was designed to allow students to master a variety of technology skills, and see how these skills can be used appropriately in their future classrooms, while also increasing their comfort level to use the technology and reduce their resistance and anxiety to use it later in their real-time classrooms. During the class hands-on activities, the students became fluent at using the Internet for enrichment and communication, and at developing strategies for using their new skills to present SOL-relevant lesson plans. Students enter this course with very little in the way of educational technology skills, but leave with a teaching toolbox filled with new skills

Safe zone for bone harvesting from the interforaminal region of the mandible

Aims: The mandibular incisive nerve can be subjected to iatrogenic injury during bone graft harvesting. Using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), this study aims to determine a safe zone for bone graft harvesting that avoids injuring this nerve. Methods: Sixty CBCT examinations of patients were included in this study. The examinations were taken using the i-CAT CBCT imaging system, applying a standardized exposure protocol. Image reconstruction from the raw data was performed using the SimPlant dental implant software. The distances of mandibular incisive canal (MIC) to the inferior border and the labial and lingual cortices of the mandible were measured at 3, 5, 7 and 9 mm mesial to the mental foramen. Results: The MIC was visible in all (100) CBCT images. The median distance and interquartile range from the lower border of the mandible was 9.86 (2.51) mm, curving downwards toward the inferior mandibular border at the symphysis menti. It was located closer to the buccal border of the mandible (3.15 1.28 mm) than lingual cortex (4.78 2.0 mm). The MIC curves toward the lingual side at the symphysis menti. There was gender difference in a number of these measurements. Current recommendation for chin bone graft harvesting can be applied to Asian subjects. Conclusions: While acknowledging that there is human variability, this study provides an accurate anatomic location of the MIC, which in turn helps to determine a safe zone for chin bone graft harvesting. This information can become a useful guide in centers where CBCT is not available. {\^A}{\copyright} 2012 John Wiley \& Sons A/S

Fundamental Structural Constraint of Random Scale-Free Networks

We study the structural constraint of random scale-free networks that determines possible combinations of the degree exponent $\gamma$ and the upper cutoff $k_c$ in the thermodynamic limit. We employ the framework of graphicality transitions proposed by [Del Genio and co-workers, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 107}, 178701 (2011)], while making it more rigorous and applicable to general values of kc. Using the graphicality criterion, we show that the upper cutoff must be lower than $k_c N^{1/\gamma}$ for $\gamma < 2$, whereas any upper cutoff is allowed for $\gamma > 2$. This result is also numerically verified by both the random and deterministic sampling of degree sequences.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures (7 eps files), 2 tables; published versio

Cosmology in a brane-universe

This contribution presents the cosmological models with extra dimensions that have been recently elaborated, which assume that ordinary matter is confined on a surface, called brane, embedded in a higher dimensional spacetime.Comment: 12 pages; Invited review talk at the JENAM 2002 workshop on "The cosmology of extra dimensions and varying fundamental constants", Porto, Portugal, September 200

New tools for investigating positive maps in matrix algebras

We provide a novel tool which may be used to construct new examples of positive maps in matrix algebras (or, equivalently, entanglement witnesses). It turns out that this can be used to prove positivity of several well known maps (such as reduction map, generalized reduction, Robertson map, and many others). Furthermore, we use it to construct a new family of linear maps and prove that they are positive, indecomposable and (nd)optimal.Comment: 10 page