Hydrodynamic Model Fitting for Wave Energy Applications Using Moment-Matching: A Case Study

Several methods have been developed to identify a parametric model thatrepresents the radiation force convolution term in Cummins’ equation.The reason behind such an approximation is twofold: obtaining a modelwith less computational (effort) requirements, and easing model-basedcontrol design procedures. In this paper, a case study on the paramet-ric approximation of such a convolution term using frequency-domaindata is considered, based on recent advances in model order reductionby moment-matching. Both the force-to-motion and radiation impulseresponse dynamics are considered. The advantages of a moment-basedstrategy are discussed, while providing a comparison with well-knownexisting methods

Peningkatan Kinerja Guru melalui Musyawarah Guru Mata Pelajaran ( MGMP ) Bahasa Indonesia di SMPN 1 Labuhan Haji Tahun 2016/2017

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk meningkatkan kinerja guru Bahasa Indonesia dalam (1) merencanakan pembelajaran, (2) menerapkan strategi pembelajaran, (3) mengelola kelas, dan mengevaluasi pembelajaran melalui pelaksanaan MGMP ( Musyawarah Guru Mata Pelajaran ) di SMPN 1 Labuhan Haji Kabupaten Lombok Timur. Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah pendekatan kuantitatif dengan jenis penelitian tindakan dengan dua siklus. Obyek penelitian ini adalah 15 guru Bahasa Indonesia 15 guru Bahasa Indonesia yang menjadi anggota MGMP Bahasa Indonesia Rayon Tengah yang kegiatannya dipusatkan di SMPN 1 Labuhan Haji Kabupaten Lombok Timur. Instrumen pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah tes pengetahuan kinerja guru, pedoman observasi, wawancara, penilaian portofolio. Pengujian hipotesis dilakukan dengan melihat peningkatan kinerja guru persiklus. Rata-rata skor tes kinerja meningkat dari 53,2 hingga mencapai 68,9 pada siklus II. Karena skor kinerja telah mencapai 68,9 ( dibulatkan menjadi 70 ), maka Hipotesis alternatif (Ha) yang menyatakan pelaksanaan MGMP di SMPN 1 Labuhan Haji dapat meningkatkan kinerja guru dalam merencanakan pembelajaran, menerapkan strategi pembelajaran, pengelolaan kelas, dan mengevaluasi pembelajaran diterima. Hasil penelitian ini adalah bahwa pelaksanaan MGMP di SMP N 1 Labuhan Haji dapat meningkatkan kinerja guru Bahasa Indonesia dalam merencanakan pembelajaran, menerapkan strategi pembelajaran, mengelola kelas dan mengevaluasi pembelajaran. Dengan demikian pelaksanaan MGMP yang dilaksanakan berdasarkan prinsip-prinsip manajemen sumberdaya manusia dapat meningkatkan kinerja guru Bahasa Indonesia dalam pembelajaran. Oleh karena itu, disarankan pada guru, kepala sekolah, dan pengawas pendidikan agar memberdayakan MGMP MGMP yang ada terutama di sekolah karena dapat meningkatkan profesionalisme guru

Impact of PHDs Trained in Europe and North America on the Productivity of Scientific Research: Evidence from Latin America

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to analyze the differences in research productivity between doctoral degree holders from European and North American universities, and doctoral degree holders from Peru.   Theoretical framework: Internationalization of higher education has become a phenomenon of great relevance in recent years (Romani et al., 2021), allowing an increasing number of doctoral researchers to study in foreign countries. However, little evidence has been generated in Latin America.   Design/Methodology/Approach: The study uses an explanatory approach based on data mining that analyze data from 863 researchers from 24 public and private universities in Perú, according to the two categories of productivity (high and low) defined by the National Scientific Research Agency.   Findings: The results show that of all the factors analyzed, the country of doctoral study is the most important variable in predicting the scientific productivity of researchers. This situation is confirmed when analyzing the number of publications made by researchers according to their category, where a clear tendency in favor of researchers who studied abroad can be seen.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The results suggest that international academics are more likely to publish in top-tier journals. Also, the results may be applicable to other countries, but more studies are going to be necessary.   Originality/Value: The results of this investigation are relevant, because studies about the academic internationalization effects on scientific productivity are scarce and no previous studies about this topic have been conducted in Latin America

Strengthening multi-stakeholder cooperation in the international investment regime: The Brazilian model

The rule of law and dispute avoidance and settlement may not be enough to turn FDI into a means to the realization of the SDGs. Multi-stakeholder dialogue and cooperation should also be a central aspect of any institutional design. In this regard, the Brazilian model, at least in theory, scores better than most existing treaties and reform proposals

Bisimulations for non-deterministic labelled Markov processes

We extend the theory of labelled Markov processes to include internal non-determinism, which is a fundamental concept for the further development of a process theory with abstraction on non-deterministic continuous probabilistic systems. We define non-deterministic labelled Markov processes (NLMP) and provide three definitions of bisimulations: a bisimulation following a traditional characterisation; a state-based bisimulation tailored to our 'measurable' non-determinism; and an event-based bisimulation. We show the relations between them, including the fact that the largest state bisimulation is also an event bisimulation. We also introduce a variation of the Hennessy-Milner logic that characterises event bisimulation and is sound with respect to the other bisimulations for an arbitrary NLMP. This logic, however, is infinitary as it contains a denumerable. We then introduce a finitary sublogic that characterises all bisimulations for an image finite NLMP whose underlying measure space is also analytic. Hence, in this setting, all the notions of bisimulation we consider turn out to be equal. Finally, we show that all these bisimulation notions are different in the general case. The counterexamples that separate them turn out to be non-probabilistic NLMPs.Fil: D'argenio, Pedro Ruben. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física. Sección Ciencias de la Computación; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez Terraf, Pedro Octavio. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física. Sección Ciencias de la Computación; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Wolovick, Nicolás. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física. Sección Ciencias de la Computación; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentin

Smallanthus sonchifolius roots ameliorate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by reducing redox imbalance and hepatocyte damage in rats fed with a high fructose diet

Objective: To evaluate the potential of Smallanthus sonchifolius (S. sonchifolius) roots in ameliorating hepatic damage of rats fed with a high fructose diet. Methods: The effect of S. sonchifolius roots on energy intake, body weight, fat and liver mass was determined in male rats fed with a high-fructose diet. Plasma glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, lipoproteins and aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase were analyzed. Histological changes of the livers were evaluated by electronic microscopy and apoptosis was examined using the TUNEL method. The levels of malondialdehyde, reduced-glutathione and antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase) activities were also determined. Results: S. sonchifolius roots significantly decreased energy intake, body weight, fat and liver mass (P < 0.05). S. sonchifolius roots ameliorated liver steatosis and mitochondrial morphology, avoiding cellular apoptosis and normalizing transaminase activity in the liver of rats fed with high fructose. Enzymatic assays revealed that S. sonchifolius roots had a modulatory effect on the oxidative stress induced by fructose-feeding by reducing lipid peroxidation (P < 0.05) and antioxidant enzyme activities (P < 0.05) in liver. Conclusions: S. sonchifolius roots can ameliorate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by improving oxidative stress and liver injury.Fil: Aleman, Mariano Nicolás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez, Sara Serafina del V.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Honore, Stella Maris. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; Argentin

Naturalness and healthiness in “ultra-processed foods”: A multidisciplinary perspective and case study

©2022. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This document is the Accepted version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Trends in Food Science & TechnologyBackground: Processed foods, and particularly “ultra-processed foods” (UPFs), as categorized by NOVA (Monteiro et al., 2016), have been highly criticized over the last few years. At the same time, consumers consistently perceive processed foods as less healthy and less natural than unprocessed foods.Scope and approachThis commentary aimed to examine the relationship between the degree of food processing, healthiness, and naturalness. A case study was included wherein the naturalness (measured through the Food Naturalness Index, Sanchez-Siles et al., 2019) and healthiness (measured through the Nutri-Score, Julia & Hercberg, 2017) of 734 snack bars (classified as UPFs by NOVA) were analyzed.Key findings and conclusionsThe degree of processing, food healthiness, and naturalness are different aspects of food. Our results show that not all snacks analyzed are necessarily unhealthy and unnatural. In particular, they were, in general, somewhat healthy and slightly natural. Importantly, there were significant differences between them in terms of Nutri-score and FNI values, which suggests that it is not appropriate to rate an overall product category (i.e., snack bars) as nutritionally poor and unnatural. Our findings can help stimulate an interdisciplinary dialogue routed in scientific evidence to clarify the role of so-called UPFs in the food syste

Photosynthesis and growth reduction with warming are driven by nonstomatal limitations in a Mediterranean semi-arid shrub

Whereas warming enhances plant nutrient status and photosynthesis in most terrestrial ecosystems, dryland vegetation is vulnerable to the likely increases in evapotranspiration and reductions in soil moisture caused by elevated temperatures. Any warming‐induced declines in plant primary production and cover in drylands would increase erosion, land degradation, and desertification. We conducted a four‐year manipulative experiment in a semi‐arid Mediterranean ecosystem to evaluate the impacts of a ~2°C warming on the photosynthesis, transpiration, leaf nutrient status, chlorophyll content, isotopic composition, biomass growth, and postsummer survival of the native shrub Helianthemum squamatum. We predicted that warmed plants would show reduced photosynthetic activity and growth, primarily due to the greater stomatal limitation imposed by faster and more severe soil drying under warming. On average, warming reduced net photosynthetic rates by 36% across the study period. Despite this strong response, warming did not affect stomatal conductance and transpiration. The reduction of peak photosynthetic rates with warming was more pronounced in a drought year than in years with near‐average rainfall (75% and 25–40% reductions relative to controls, respectively), with no indications of photosynthetic acclimation to warming through time. Warmed plants had lower leaf N and P contents, δ (13)C, and sparser and smaller leaves than control plants. Warming reduced shoot dry mass production by 31%. However, warmed plants were able to cope with large reductions in net photosynthesis, leaf area, and shoot biomass production without changes in postsummer survival rates. Our findings highlight the key role of nonstomatal factors (biochemical and/or nutritional) in reducing net carbon assimilation rates and growth under warming, which has important implications for projections of plant carbon balance under the warmer and drier climatic scenario predicted for drylands worldwide. Projected climate warming over the coming decades could reduce net primary production by about one‐third in semi‐arid gypsum shrublands dominated by H. squamatum