Equivalent Situation Research Articles

Universal behavior in a model of city traffic with unequal green/red times

The effect of green/red asymmetry is studied for the single-car traffic model proposed in [B.A. Toledo, V. Muñoz, J. Rogan, C. Tenreiro, J.A. Valdivia, Modeling traffic through a sequence of traffic lights, Phys. Rev. E 70 (1) (2004) 016107], on two different signal synchronization strategies, namely, all signals in phase, and a green wave. The asymmetry is characterized by the parameter g=tgr/T, where tgr is the green time and T the signal period. Although the car dynamics turns simpler or more complex, as compared with the equivalent situation for the symmetric case g=0.5, critical behavior around resonance is shown to be preserved. However, unlike the case g=0.5, critical exponents at both sides of the resonance are not equal and depend on g. Analytical expressions for them are found, and shown to be both consistent with simulation results and independent of the distribution of distances between signals for the green wave case. Also, it is found that the green wave strategy is more robust to changes in g, with respect to the synchronized lights strategy, in the sense that larger departures from g=0.5 are needed to have noticeable effects on the car dynamics.

Les activités de production françaises des industries agroalimentaires sont-elles délocalisables ? proposition d’une typologie

The topic of relocations is regularly discussed in the news on the occasion of the closure of industrial sites, which are always dramatic for employment. We wanted to deal with this theme for the food industries because we often hear it said that this type of industry cannot relocate. However, this sector is characterized by a great diversity of activities and companies which are probably not in equivalent situations vis-à-vis this problem. We therefore wanted to shed a more complete light by proposing a typology of agrifood activities compared to industrial relocations. We show that certain agrifood activities are potentially affected by relocations and others much less.

Iterative Signal Processing for Mitigation of Analog‐to‐Digital Converter Clipping Distortion in Multiband OFDMA Receivers

In modern wideband communication receivers, the large input‐signal dynamics is a fundamental problem. Unintentional signal clipping occurs, if the receiver front‐end with the analog‐to‐digital interface cannot respond to rapidly varying conditions. This paper discusses digital postprocessing compensation of such unintentional clipping in multiband OFDMA receivers. The proposed method iteratively mitigates the clipping distortion by exploiting the symbol decisions. The performance of the proposed method is illustrated with various computer simulations and also verified by concrete laboratory measurements with commercially available analog‐to‐digital hardware. It is shown that the clipping compensation algorithm implemented in a turbo decoding OFDM receiver is able to remove almost all the clipping distortion even under significant clipping in fading channel circumstances. That is to say, it is possible to nearly recover the receiver performance to the level, which would be achieved in the equivalent nonclipped situation.

Tradução e adaptação cultural do Peds QL TM ESRD para a língua portuguesa

To translate into and adapt to Brazilian Portuguese the Peds QL TM - End Stage Renal Disease version 3.0 questionnaire. The methodology proposed by the creator of the original questionnaire was adopted. It consisted of 4 phases: translation from English into Brazilian Portuguese, back-translation into English, application to a population sample and proof-reading and completion. The translations and review were made by professional experts in Portuguese and English. The questionnaires were composed of versions for children and adolescents' reports and parents' reports, and were divided according to age ranges: 2-4 years (parents' report only), 5-7 years, 8-12 years and 13-18 years. 35 interviews were conducted with 15 children and adolescents and 20 carergivers. The process of translation and cultural adaptation, which consisted of semantic equivalence (equivalence between words), idiomatic equivalence (no equivalent expressions found or items that needed to be replaced) and experimental equivalence (words and situations appropriate to the Brazilian cultural context), resulted in a version that was understandable and easy to apply.

Experienced CMV Driver Opinions of Advanced Driving Simulator Scenarios

There is an increasing interest in providing refresher training for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. Truck driving simulators offer the potential to provide this type of training to CMV drivers in an efficient and effective manner. However, the success of truck simulator-based training depends on drivers' acceptance of the simulator and scenarios. The present study investigated 48 experienced CMV drivers' (across three trailer types and two levels of experience) opinion on the realism of 12 emergency maneuvers and 10 extreme conditions in a truck driving simulator. Drivers provided feedback as to the realism of each event in the simulation. Results indicated that, in general, drivers rated the scenarios as realistic as compared to the real-world equivalent situations. There was no pattern of differences between driver experience levels or operation types. These findings have implications for both future simulation-based training programs and future driving scenarios, and suggest that simulation-based refresher training may be accepted by drivers. Language: en

Assessment of notched structural components using Failure Assessment Diagrams and the Theory of Critical Distances

This paper illustrates the need to develop specific methodologies for the assessment of notched structural components. These are usually analysed under the assumption that notches behave as cracks, providing results that may be overconservative. The proposal consists, on the one hand, in the application of the Theory of Critical Distances for the estimation of the apparent fracture toughness, and for the conversion of the notched situation into an equivalent cracked situation in which the material develops a higher fracture resistance (the apparent fracture toughness). On the other hand, once the apparent fracture toughness has been defined, the assessment is performed using the Failure Assessment Diagram methodology, and assuming that the notch effect on the plastic collapse load is negligible. The methodology has been applied to notched fracture specimens made of PMMA and Al7075-T651, providing satisfactory results and a noticeable reduction in the overconservatism derived from analyses in which the notch effect is not considered.

Discounts and Consumer Search Behavior: The Role of Framing

We implement a simple two-shop search model in the laboratory with the aim of testing if consumers behave differently in equivalent situations, where prices are displayed either as net prices or as gross prices with discounts. We compare search behavior in base treatments (where both shops post net prices without discounts) to discount treatments (where either the first shop or the second shop posts gross prices with separate discount others). We find that subjects search less in both treatments with discount frames irrespective where the discount is offered. We argue that this bias results from subjects basing their decisions on salient characteristics of the situation rather than on objective price distributions.

Modeling Energy Dissipation in Slag-Covered Steel Baths in Steelmaking Ladles

Physical and mathematical modeling of energy dissipation phenomena in a gas-stirred ladle with, and without, an overlying second-phase liquid have been carried out at relatively low gas flow rate and specific energy input rate. Data from the literature are applied to infer the extent of energy dissipation caused by various mechanisms. An analysis reveals that bubble slippage and friction at the vessel walls dominate energy dissipation in such systems, each contributing roughly one third of the input energy. The remainder is dissipated because of turbulence in the bulk of the liquid, the formation of a spout, and interactions between the upper phase and the bulk liquid when an overlying liquid is present. Remarkably, the overlying liquid despite its small volume (~3 pct to 13 pct of the bulk), is found to dissipate about 10 pct of input energy. To understand the way the total input energy is dissipated via the overlying liquid, flow and mixing studies were carried out with different types of upper phase liquids. Tracer dispersion studies conducted with Petroleum ether as the overlying liquid show reasonably intense flow within the upper phase with no noticeable entrainment around the spout. In contrast, a thick layer of highly viscous upper phase liquid such as mustard oil shows extensive deformation of the upper phase around the spout, but no discernable motion within. However, remarkably, the thickness of the upper phase rather than its physical properties was found to influence bath hydrodynamics and mixing most significantly. A mechanism based on the rerouting of the surfacing plume and the attendant reversal of flow in the vicinity of the spout is advocated to explain energy dissipation caused by the overlying liquid. This finding is rationalized with our experimental results on composition adjustment with sealed argon bubbling (CAS) alloy addition procedures reported more than two decades ago, wherein flow reversal caused by the baffle in the immediate vicinity of the surfacing plume was shown to cause significant energy dissipation, leading to much sluggish flow and slower mixing in the bulk of the liquid, in comparison with an equivalent unbaffled situation.

Application of monotone integrated large eddy simulation to Rayleigh–Taylor mixing

Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability occurs when a dense fluid rests on top of a light fluid in a gravitational field. It also occurs in an equivalent situation (in the absence of gravity) when an interface between fluids of different density is accelerated by a pressure gradient, e.g. in inertial confinement fusion implosions. Engineering models (Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes models) are needed to represent the effect of mixing in complex applications. However, large eddy simulation (LES) currently makes an essential contribution to understanding the mixing process and calibration or validation of the engineering models. In this paper, three cases are used to illustrate the current role of LES: (i) mixing at a plane boundary, (ii) break-up of a layer of dense fluid due to RT instability, and (iii) mixing in a simple spherical implosion. A monotone integrated LES approach is preferred because of the need to treat discontinuities in the flow, i.e. the initial density discontinuities or shock waves. Of particular interest is the influence of initial conditions and how this needs to be allowed for in engineering modelling. It is argued that loss of memory of the initial conditions is unlikely to occur in practical applications.

Clusterization of semantic meanings in the problem of sense equivalence situation recognition

A complex approach to the formalization of sense relations between lexeme and its lexical correlates as precedents of the sense equivalence situations is presented. A technique is outlined for the presentation and usage of information on the lexical meaning of a natural language word to solve the problem of pattern recognition based on standard lexical functions.

Mutagens manufactured in fungal culture may affect DNA/RNA of producing fungi

Self-produced mutagens in culture by fungi may affect DNA analysis of the same fungi. This has not been considered previously. Many fungi produce numerous mutagenic secondary metabolites (SM) in culture. There is a paradox of growing fungi in media to produce representative DNA which also support mutagenic SM. This is a crucial issue in developing diagnostic and phylogenetic methods, especially for closely-related fungi. For example, idh gene analysis of the patulin metabolic pathway in fungi can be interpreted as producing some false negative and positive results in terms of possession, or nonpossession, of the gene from mutated strains. The most obvious mycotoxins and fungi to consider in this regard are aflatoxins and Aspergillus, as aflatoxins are the most mutagenic natural compounds. Many other fungi and SM are relevant. Conditions to grow fungi have not been selected to inhibit SM production although relevant data exist. In fact, fungi repair damaged nucleic acid (NA) and are capable of removing toxins by employing transporter proteins. These and NA repair mechanisms could be inhibited by secondary metabolites. Mutagenic effects may involve inhibition of DNA stabilizing enzymes. There may be an equivalent situation for bacteria. Researchers need to devise methods to reduce SM for valid protocols. More work on how mutagens affect the NA of producing fungus in vitro is required. The current review assesses the potential seriousness of the situation with selected papers.

Polymineralic orientation analysis of magmatic rocks using Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction: Implications for igneous fabric origin and evolution

Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction (EBSD), which provides an easy way of acquiring large numbers of individual crystallographic orientation data from different phases, has been applied to the study of magmatic fabrics. Using this technique, the crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) of plagioclase, biotite, orthopyroxene, hornblende and quartz in natural tonalites and quartzdiorites (from the Santa Olalla Igneous Complex, SW Iberia) deformed during the magmatic stage have been determined. Plagioclase is the coarser phase defining the main fabric in each sample, whereas biotite can display either the same fabric as plagioclase or a completely different one. The differences between these two phases occur because: (1) smaller phases interact with the larger ones to produce more random orientations, (2) under simple shear, finer phases can completely rotate giving a girdle included in the XZ plane, (3) finer phases can more easily preserve relict fabrics, while the coarser phases are completely reoriented by the last stress tensor. The last phases to crystallize show weak to completely random CPOs (hornblende) or completely random distributions (quartz). The study was completed with a shape preferred orientation analysis using the Intercept Method in order to detect weak magmatic lineations, and numerical modelling simulations of theoretically equivalent simple shear situations for each sample.

Impact of Risk and Uncertainty in the Provision of Local and Global Environmental Goods: An Experimental Analysis

Uncertainties and risks in the decision making process are abundant in the area of environmental economics, irrespective of whether the problems being discussed are local or global. This paper uses laboratory evidence from public goods games to examine how in payoff equivalent situations, decision makers contribute towards local or global environmental goods, in the presence of risk and uncertainties in the provision of these goods. We use a within subject design that allows for comparisons across seven different treatments in which subjects are exposed to internal strategic) and external (environmental) risk and uncertainty. Our results show that the location of the risk and uncertainty matters, with subjects moving away from the external uncertainty in favor of internal uncertainty, when that uncertainty is associated with the local environmental good. When the uncertainty relates to the global environmental good, subjects face both external and internal uncertainty on the same good leading to a significant drop in contributions. We find that in the presence of risk and uncertainty subjects use feedback from other members of their group when deciding about future contributions. The reward for research and development and innovation is captured in the experimental design by the increased probability of obtaining the desired outcome in the endogenous probability treatment. Subjects seem to understand this incentive and contribute more towards global goods in this treatment.

Hard-sphere fluid adsorbed in an annular wedge: The depletion force of hard-body colloidal physics

Many important issues of colloidal physics can be expressed in the context of inhomogeneous fluid phenomena. When two large colloids approach one another in solvent, they interact at least partly by the response of the solvent to finding itself adsorbed in the annular wedge formed between the two colloids. At shortest range, this fluid mediated interaction is known as the depletion force/interaction because solvent is squeezed out of the wedge when the colloids approach closer than the diameter of a solvent molecule. An equivalent situation arises when a single colloid approaches a substrate/wall. Accurate treatment of this interaction is essential for any theory developed to model the phase diagrams of homogeneous and inhomogeneous colloidal systems. The aim of our paper is a test of whether or not we possess sufficient knowledge of statistical mechanics that can be trusted when applied to systems of large size asymmetry and the depletion force in particular. When the colloid particles are much larger than a solvent diameter, the depletion force is dominated by the effective two-body interaction experienced by a pair of solvated colloids. This low concentration limit of the depletion force has therefore received considerable attention. One route, which can be rigorously based on statistical mechanical sum rules, leads to an analytic result for the depletion force when evaluated by a key theoretical tool of colloidal science known as the Derjaguin approximation. A rival approach has been based on the assumption that modern density functional theories (DFT) can be trusted for systems of large size asymmetry. Unfortunately, these two theoretical predictions differ qualitatively for hard sphere models, as soon as the solvent density is higher than about 23 that at freezing. Recent theoretical attempts to understand this dramatic disagreement have led to the proposal that the Derjaguin and DFT routes represent opposite limiting behavior, for very large size asymmetry and molecular sized mixtures, respectively. This proposal implies that nanocolloidal systems lie in between the two limits, so that the depletion force no longer scales linearly with the colloid radius. That is, by decreasing the size ratio from mesoscopic to molecular sized solutes, one moves smoothly between the Derjaguin and the DFT predictions for the depletion force scaled by the colloid radius. We describe the results of a simulation study designed specifically as a test of compatibility with this complex scenario. Grand canonical simulation procedures applied to hard-sphere fluid adsorbed in a series of annular wedges, representing the depletion regime of hard-body colloidal physics, confirm that neither the Derjaguin approximation, nor advanced formulations of DFT, apply at moderate to high solvent density when the geometry is appropriate to nanosized colloids. Our simulations also allow us to report structural characteristics of hard-body solvent adsorbed in hard annular wedges. Both these aspects are key ingredients in the proposal that unifies the disparate predictions, via the introduction of new physics. Our data are consistent with this proposed physics, although as yet limited to a single colloidal size asymmetry.

Modelling of transmission through a chiral slab using fractional curl operator

Transmission of electromagnetic plane wave through a slab of reciprocal chiral medium has been modelled using fractional curl operator. It is noted that when order of the fractional curl operator becomes zero, the equivalent situation may correspond to absence of the chiral slab. Variation of the order of fractional curl operator may explore situations which may be regarded as intermediate step of a situation dealing with no chiral slab and a situation dealing with a chiral slab. It is noted that real order of the fractional curl operator may model the optical rotation while complex order of the fractional curl operator may model optical rotation as well as circular dichroism.

Comparative Mathematical Language in the Elementary School: A Longitudinal Study

This paper examines the change in young children’s understanding of ‘equal’, ‘more’, ‘less’, and ‘between’, words commonly used in equivalent and non-equivalent situations, over a 3-year period. Seventy-six children participated in the longitudinal study. Each year they were asked to share their understanding of these four words. Past research has indicated that many children have limited understanding of ‘equal’ as quantitative sameness. The results of this research suggested that many children also have limited understanding of ‘more’ and ‘less’ and that these understandings did not significantly change over the 3-year period.

Synergistic Moderator Effects of Situation and Person Factors of Awareness and Adjustment on the Consistency of Implicit and Explicit Attitudes

A moderated consistency model is presented, which attempts to explain the consistency between explicit and implicit indicators as a function of awareness and adjustment. In a study on attitudes of Germans toward Turks, we tested the hypothesis that functionally equivalent person and situation moderators pertaining to awareness and adjustment show a synergistic interplay. Concerning moderators of adjustment, no effects on explicit-implicit consistency were obtained for situational variables nor for the interaction of personal and situational variables. However, concerning moderators of awareness, a reliable first-order effect was found for Private Self-Consciousness. Moreover, Private Self-Consciousness and experimentally manipulated motivation to introspect showed the assumed synergistic interaction moderator effect. The empirical findings are discussed with regard to the role of awareness of implicit attitudes and the potentially underlying mechanisms of implicit-explicit consistency.

Novel Shear Reinforcement for Fiber-Reinforced Polymer-Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete

This article presents the findings of research conducted into the shear behavior of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)-reinforced and FRP-prestressed concrete beams containing continuous FRP helical transverse reinforcement. The authors contend that for FRP materials to proliferate as internal reinforcement and prestressing tendons for concrete structures, they should be used rationally, lest the indisputable advantages that these materials possess be lost due to poor design. The article reports on 12 tests that were conducted on ordinary reinforced beams and 15 that were conducted on FRP-prestressed concrete beams. The results showed that full-depth unbonded rectangular helixes were more effective than unbonded circular helixes for equal quantities of material. When used to resist shear, fully unbonded circular and rectangular helixes had to be spaced at a closer pitch in comparison with fully bonded or intermittently bonded rectangular helixes, to provide a similar increase in failure capacity. In addition, prestress aids FRP-reinforced concrete beams to a greater extent in increasing shear capacity than it does in the case of the equivalent steel-reinforced situation. The authors conclude by presenting comparisons between experimental results and existing design guideline predictions, demonstrating the conservative nature of the ACI-440.1R-03 shear clause.

Compensatory load redistribution of horses with induced weight-bearing forelimb lameness trotting on a treadmill

The study was performed to obtain a detailed insight into the load and time shifting mechanisms of horses with unilateral weight-bearing forelimb lameness. Reversible lameness was induced in 11 clinically sound horses by applying a solar pressure model. Three degrees of lameness (subtle, mild and moderate) were induced and compared with sound control measurements. Vertical ground reaction force-time histories of all four limbs were recorded simultaneously on an instrumented treadmill. Four compensatory mechanisms could be identified that served to reduce structural stress, i.e. peak vertical force on the affected limb: (1) with increasing lameness, horses reduced the total vertical impulse per stride; (2) the diagonal impulse decreased selectively in the lame diagonal; (3) the impulse was shifted within the lame diagonal to the hindlimb and in the sound diagonal to the forelimb; (4) the rate of loading and the peak forces were reduced by prolonging the stance duration. Except in the diagonal hindlimb, where peak vertical forces increased slightly in the moderate lameness condition, no equivalent compensatory overload situation was observed in the other limbs. Specific force and time information of all four limbs allow the unequivocal identification of the affected limb.

Stability of circular orbits of particles moving around black holes surrounded by axially symmetric structures

The Rayleigh criterion is used to study the stability of circular orbits of particles moving around static black holes surrounded by different axially symmetric structures with reflection symmetry, like disks, rings and halos. We consider three models of disks one of infinite extension and two finite, and one model of rings. The halos are represented by external quadrupole moments (either oblate or prolate). Internal quadrupole perturbation (oblate and prolate) are also considered. For this class of disks the counter-rotation hypothesis implies that the stability of the disks is equivalent to the stability of test particles. The stability of Newtonian systems is also considered and compared with the equivalent relativistic situation. We find that the general relativistic dynamics favors the formation of rings.