Continuous Surface Rendering, Passing from CAD to Physical Representation

This paper describes a desktop‐mechatronic interface that has been conceived to support designers in the evaluation of aesthetic virtual shapes. This device allows a continuous and smooth free hand contact interaction on a real and developable plastic tape actuated by a servo‐controlled mechanism. The objective in designing this device is to reproduce a virtual surface with a consistent physical rendering well adapted to designers' needs. The desktop‐mechatronic interface consists in a servo‐actuated plastic strip that has been devised and implemented using seven interpolation points. In fact, by using the MEC (Minimal Energy Curve) Spline approach, a developable real surface is rendered taking into account the CAD geometry of the virtual shapes. In this paper, we describe the working principles of the interface by using both absolute and relative approaches to control the position on each single control point on the MEC spline. Then, we describe the methodology that has been implemented, passing from the CAD geometry, linked to VisualNastran in order to maintain the parametric properties of the virtual shape. Then, we present the co‐ simulation between VisualNastran and MATLAB/Simulink used for achieving this goal and controlling the system and finally, we present the results of the subsequent testing session specifically carried out to evaluate the accuracy and the effectiveness of the mechatronic device

Comportamiento estructural analítico de muros de mampostería sometidos a altas temperaturas.

Propósito y Método del Estudio: La ingeniería estructural de fuego (IEF) busca mantener construcciones civiles con un comportamiento estable durante un evento de fuego por un tiempo determinado. Los muros de mampostería han tenido poco desarrollo en el conocimiento de su desempeño ante la acción de las altas temperaturas especialmente en condiciones de carga, donde los objetivos del muro en un evento de fuego son: (1) limitar el daño por el fuego o flama; (2).el aislamiento de los espacio que delimita; y (3) duración del tiempo en que se mantiene la estabilidad estructural. Con el fin de lograr los objetivos del muro es necesario hacer pruebas de resistencia del fuego a las diferentes condiciones, configuraciones y materiales del sistema constructivo con el fin de entender el comportamiento y tener herramientas de diseño eficiente y no solo prescriptivas. En este trabajo se trata el teme del uso de herramientas analíticas por el método del elemento finito aplicando modelos de Transferencia de Calor acoplados con un modelo estructural llamado Plasticidad del Concreto Dañado, los datos de entrada para la modelación computacional fue obtenida de investigaciones experimentales previas con las cuales también fue posible comparar resultados para obtener una aproximación de comportamiento. Contribuciones y Conclusiones: En el comparativo de resultados analíticos con los experimentales se pudieron observar correlaciones de comportamiento, deformaciones, esfuerzos, fenómenos y patrones que ocurren en muros de mampostería sometidos a altas temperaturas durante etapas de calentamiento y aplicación de la carga. El seguimiento de un modelo acoplado térmico-estructural tuvo un adecuado flujo de compartición de datos y fue posible modelar las condiciones experimentales de frontera, cargas térmicas y estructurales, y propiedades elástica-plásticas de los materiales de la mampostería con dependencia en la temperatura

Estrategia De Marketing Para La Eficacia De La Receta Del Producto Calcibon D 800 De Los Médicos Del Hospital Regional Del Cusco El Año 2018

El presente trabajo de investigación básica, es de diseño descriptivo correlacional, lo cual permite diagnosticar el problema planteado por lo que de esta manera se puede proponer lineamientos para identificar y analizar el problema en estudio y las propuestas de acciones de marketing para incrementar las recetas del producto Calcibon D 800 en los médicos que atienden en la consulta externa del Hospital Regional. Es asi que se definió dos tipos de variable, la variable independiente que viene hacer la estrategia de Marketing con cuatro dimensiones (marketing Mix) y la variable dependiente que es la eficacia de la receta médica de Calcibon D 800 con tres dimensiones (Forma de trabajo del médico, cantidad y calidad de recetas) con las cuales se realizó la operacionalizacion de variables, así mismo se usó la técnica de la encuesta siendo el instrumento un cuestionario con 22 preguntas. El método de análisis estadístico descriptivo de datos fue el Spss. Entre los resultados se observó que existe relación entre las variables Estrategia de Marketing y la eficacia de la receta de Calcibon D 800, así mismo se puede afirmar que hay una relación estrecha entre las estrategias de marketing y la forma de trabajo de los médicos, como también la influencia de las estrategias de marketing sobre la cantidad de recetas de Calcibon D 800, finalmente se determina que existe relación entre la eficacia de la receta de Calcibon D y la cantidad de recetas. Entre las recomendaciones que se deja de esta investigación podemos mencionar que entre las estrategia planteadas se encuentran las actividades con los médicos como pueden ser campañas médicas, charlas informativas, auspicios para asistir a eventos nacionales e internacionales, conferencias, desayunos, almuerzos y cenas con médicos potenciales para la marca, entre otros que darán el resultado esperado. Así mismo se pudo ver que la calidad del producto es un punto de mucha importancia para el médico ya que últimamente los medicamentos genéricos no cuentan con la calidad y efectividad requerida, lo que significa que la gran mayoría de médicos no comprometen su prestigio con productos de baja calidad

User-Centered Back-Support Exoskeleton: Design and Prototyping

Exhausting manual labor is still predominant in the industrial context. It typically consists in manipulating heavy parts or working in non-ergonomic conditions. The resulting work-related musculoskeletal disorders are a major problem to tackle. The most-affected body section is the the lumbar spine. Recently, exoskeletons have been identified as a possible non-invasive solution to reduce the impact of low-back pain. State-of-the-art prototypes have been optimized to: follow unconstrained human kinematics, (partially) relieve the load on assisted joints, and allow anthropometric adaptation. Yet, this technology still has limited adoption. Manufacturing optimization may address the following limitations: bulky/heavy resulting designs, complex assembly and maintenance, high manufacturing costs, long procedures for adaptation and wearing, and psychological effects (e.g., cognitive load and usability). In this contribution, the aforementioned issues are tackled improving a previous low-back exoskeleton prototype. In particular, kinematic analysis, Finite-Element-Method, and topological optimization have been combined to obtain a lightweight prototype, testing different materials (Nylon, carbon-fiber reinforced PC/ABS, etc.). We applied both Design for Assembly and Design for Manufacturability. The resulting exoskeleton prototype is described in the paper, ready for end-user field tests

Sensor-Based Task Ergonomics Feedback for a Passive Low-Back Exoskeleton

Low-back exoskeletons are a wide-spreading technology tackling low-back pain, the leading work-related musculoskeletal disorder in many work sectors. Currently, spring-based (i.e., passive) exoskeletons are the mostly adopted in the industry, being cheaper and generally less complex and more intuitive to use. We introduce a system of interconnected wireless sensing units to provide online ergonomics feedback to the wearer. We integrate the system into our passive low-back exoskeleton and evaluate its usability with healthy volunteers and potential end users. In this way, we provide the exoskeleton with a tool aimed both at monitoring the interaction of the system with the user, providing them with an ergonomics feedback during task execution. The sensor system can also be integrated with a custom-developed Unity3D application which can be used to interface with Augmented- or Virtual-Reality applications with higher potential for improved user feedback, ergonomics training, and offline ergonomics evaluation of the workplace. We believe that providing ergonomics feedback to exoskeleton users in the industrial sector could help further reduce the drastic impact of low-back pain and prevent its onset

Development and Testing of a Small-Size Olfactometer for the Perception of Food and Beverages in Humans

Studies of olfactory perception and about the way humans interact with, and perceive food and beverages require appropriate olfactory devices. Moreover, small size, and portable interfaces are needed within the context of Human Computer Interaction (HCI), to enrich and complete the design of different mediated experiences. In this paper, the authors tested a new portable olfactory device for the orthonasal administration of smells. The main aim was to verify if the experience generated by the odors delivered through such device can affect people's taste perception. Once established that people could perceive odors using the olfactory device, a group of participants was asked to taste two different types of food (Experiment 1) and three types of beverages (Experiment 2) and to evaluate them on a number of perceptual-dimensions (such as pleasantness, freshness, sweetness, saltiness, and bitterness). The participants could taste the food and the beverage without the presence of additional olfactory stimuli, or under conditions where olfactory stimuli (the smell of chocolate or citrus) were also presented using the device. The results showed that the participants' evaluation of food and beverages was significantly modulated by the concurrently presented odors. The experimental results suggest that: (1) the device is effective in controlling the delivery of odors to human participants without the complexity of management that often affect larger odors delivery systems; (2) odors administered by means of such device can have an effects on food and beverage perception, without the need to change their chemical properties

Pensar lo Político. Ontología y Mundo Contemporáneo

Los vertiginosos cambios del mundo actual reclaman una reflexión desde los más diversos derroteros disciplinarios y, en esta tarea, la filosofía no es la excepción. Sin embargo, la complejidad de los dilemas contemporáneos demanda un examen desde la propia ontología, pues así como el Ser se dice de muchas maneras, la política es también un affaire que se dice de variados modos, en tanto termina reflejando y enriqueciendo tal pluralidad ontológica. Los textos aquí reunidos comparten una preocupación común: interrogarse por el Ser de la política y la manera que ésta, y sus expresiones contemporáneas, nos arrojan a habitar un mundo lleno de contradicciones y retos. La forma como vivimos el tiempo, como enfrentamos la globalización, la manera como territorializamos el espacio, como creamos alternativas frente a las lógicas dominantes, como nos insertamos o intentamos frenar la aceleración de lo cotidiano, como reconstruimos nuestras prácticas e ideas sobre la libertad, incluso, el modo de edificar nuestro estar en común, son cuestiones en las que lo político y el mundo contemporáneo terminan repensando muchos de los temas y conceptos ontológicos clásicos. Vivimos tiempos críticos no sólo porque parecen violentar nuestras visiones y formas de vida tradicionales, sino sobre todo porque nos invitan a pensar de maneras inéditas, así como a plantearnos otras formas de acción, nuevos conceptos y herramientas de pensamiento

The Luminous Type Ic SN 1992ar at z=0.145

We present spectroscopic and photometric observations of SN1992ar, the more distant SN in the Calan/Tololo Survey. We compare its spectrum with those of nearby Type Ia and Ic SNe and conclude that the latter type is a better match to SN 1992ar. Using K-corrections based on the spectra of well observed Type Ic and Ia SNe we compute different possible rest frame light curves of SN 1992ar and compare them with those of representative SNe of each type observed in the nearby universe. From the photometry and the spectra, we are able to conclude that SN 1992ar cannot be matched by any known example of a Type Ia SN. Even though the data set collected is fairly complete (one spectrum and 10 photometric points), it is not possible to decide whether SN 1992ar was a fast Type Ic SN, like SN 1994I, or a slow one, like SN 1983V. The absolute V magnitudes at maximum implied by each of these possibilities are -19.2 and -20.2, respectively. The latter would make SN 1992ar one of the brightest SNe on record. SN 1992ar, hence, illustrates the problem of contamination faced by the high z Type Ia SNe samples whose luminosity distances are used to determine the cosmological parameters of the Universe. We present observational criteria to distinguish the two SN types when the SiII 6355 line is redshifted out of the sensitivity range of typical CCD detectors, and discuss the effect that these luminous Type Ic SNe would have on the measured cosmological parameters, if not removed from the High-z Type Ia SN samples.Comment: 40 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

BVRI Light Curves for 29 Type Ia Supernovae

BVRI light curves are presented for 27 Type Ia supernovae discovered during the course of the Calan/Tololo Survey and for two other SNe Ia observed during the same period. Estimates of the maximum light magnitudes in the B, V, and I bands and the initial decline rate parameter m15(B) are also given.Comment: 17 pages, figures and tables are not included (contact first author if needed), to appear in the Astronomical Journa

The type IC SN 1990B in NGC 4568

We present a study of the Type Ic supernova (SN) 1990B that includes most of the observations obtained from around the world. The combined data set comprises 84 BV(RI)c photometric points spanning approximately 360 days after maximum light and 14 spectra from 5 up to ~150 days after maximum light. In contrast to other Type Ic SNe, SN 1990B did not display a weak but distinct He I λ5876 line indicating that its He content was smaller or that the He layers were rather effectively shielded from the radioactive matter in the ejecta. The behavior of the Na I D line, however, suggests that He I λ5876 was blended with it. SN 1990B appeared on a sharply varying background that complicates the usual techniques of digital photometry. In order to do unbiased photometry, we modeled and subtracted the background of each image with the SN using images of NGC 4568 taken ~2500 days after the explosion, when SN 1990B had faded beyond detection. We compare the performance of standard point-spread function fitting photometry of the SN in the images with and without the background of the parent galaxy and find the results to differ systematically at late times. The photometry done on the images with the background light of NGC 4568 subtracted shows the light curves of SN 1990B to be of the slow Type Ic variety, with a slope steeper than that of the Type Ib SN 1983N or the Type II transition (Type IIb) SN 1993J but slower than that of the Type Ic SN 1994I. We estimate the reddening by foreground matter in the Galaxy and NGC 4568 and compute BV(RI)c light curves spanning ~110 days after maximum light