Flexible Profile Research Articles

Adaptive Mechanisms for Reconfigurable Machines Based on Deformable Cam

This paper presents an innovative solution to make configurable an automatic machine based on a mechanical cam through the adoption of a cam with a flexible profile, controlled in a certain number of precision points by means of motors driving a recirculating ball screw. The dynamic effect of the followers on the flexible profile requires an iterative process to determine the kinematic performance of the system and the constructive aspects have been considered in detail, designing an original mechanism with positive guidance for the realization of the followers. The results obtained demonstrate the feasibility of the solution and the performances comply with the design requirements.

Optimisation of speed control for switched reluctance motor using matrix converter

This paper proposes a new idea for converter-based speed control optimisation for switched reluctance motor. The main objective of the speed control technique is reduced torque ripples and improved control performance achieved using matrix converter-based PID controller. Speed control performance optimisation is attained using particle swarm optimisation algorithm. The potential benefits of matrix converter are flexible current profile and lowest switching frequency, hence, minimal loss. Simulation and analysis has been evaluated using MATLAB/Simulink with the reference speed 1,500 rpm within the time frame of 0.045 seconds.

Overview of W7-X ECRH Results

In its second operation phase (OP1.2a) W7-X was equipped with full 3d island divertor and an upgraded ECRH-system of 10 gyrotrons with a total port through power of 7 MW. The combination of pellet fueling and high density ECRH enabled to explore density above 1 1020 m-3. In particular with the O2-polarisation combined with a multi-pass reflector tile system a density of up to 1.4 1020 m-3 was achieved. At slightly lower densities high core beta values and record values of the fusion tripple product of 0.66 1020 m-3 keVs for stellarators were reached. In addition routine plasma start-up and ECRH wall conditioning were performed. The island divertor enables to demonstrate the intrinsic steady state capabilities of W7-X, where stationary discharges of up to 30s were demonstrated being only limited by the heat capacity of the uncooled divertor. With the flexible ECRH launch system current density profile variations were used for MHD stability investigations. Here by fine-tuning of the ECCD profile different MHD activity could be triggered.

Research on flexible roll profile electromagnetic control technology in precision rolling mill

To obtain a better strip shape control method, this paper proposes roll profile electromagnetic control technology (RPECT) based on induction heating technology and the principle of metal thermal expansion. Using the thermally driven and internal constraint mechanism of the electromagnetic stick, the technology innovatively converts the energy of induction heating into a thermodynamic hybrid power source, which achieves segmented micro-scale flexible roll profile adjustment and enhances the capacity for strip shape control. To research the technology, an electromagnetic control roll (ECR) with five control regions is built based on a ϕ560 × 2180 mm roll, and an electromagnetic-thermal-mechanical coupling model is established. Based on the model, the typical roll profile curves obtained by the ECR are researched, the strategy of increasing the growth rate of the roll crown is analysed, and the applications of RPECT in strip shape control and cold rolling are discussed. Finally, a roll profile electromagnetic control experiment platform is established to verify the model accuracy and feasibility of RPECT. The results show that RPECT can realize flexible roll profile adjustment and that the model has sufficiently high computational accuracy to research the roll profile of multi-segment RPECT.

Mutations Utilize Dynamic Allostery to Confer Resistance in TEM-1 β-lactamase.

β-lactamases are enzymes produced by bacteria to hydrolyze β-lactam antibiotics as a common mechanism of resistance. Evolution in such enzymes has been rendering a wide variety of antibiotics impotent, therefore posing a major threat. Clinical and in vitro studies of evolution in TEM-1 β-lactamase have revealed a large number of single point mutations that are responsible for driving resistance to antibiotics and/or inhibitors. The distal locations of these mutations from the active sites suggest that these allosterically modulate the antibiotic resistance. We investigated the effects of resistance driver mutations on the conformational dynamics of the enzyme to provide insights about the mechanism of their long-distance interactions. Through all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we obtained the dynamic flexibility profiles of the variants and compared those with that of the wild type TEM-1. While the mutational sites in the variants did not have any direct van der Waals interactions with the active site position S70 and E166, we observed a change in the flexibility of these sites, which play a very critical role in hydrolysis. Such long distance dynamic interactions were further confirmed by dynamic coupling index (DCI) analysis as the sites involved in resistance driving mutations exhibited high dynamic coupling with the active sites. A more exhaustive dynamic analysis, using a selection pressure for ampicillin and cefotaxime resistance on all possible types of substitutions in the amino acid sequence of TEM-1, further demonstrated the observed mechanism. Mutational positions that play a crucial role for the emergence of resistance to new antibiotics exhibited high dynamic coupling with the active site irrespective of their locations. These dynamically coupled positions were neither particularly rigid nor particularly flexible, making them more evolvable positions. Nature utilizes these sites to modulate the dynamics of the catalytic sites instead of mutating the highly rigid positions around the catalytic site.

Personality systems, spirituality, and existential well-being: A person-centered perspective.

Recent research on the salutogenic benefits of spirituality and religiosity has yielded inconsistent findings. It is suggested that such discrepancies reflect individual differences in personality, but this cannot be investigated with variable-driven approaches. The present study measured the influence of personality on the relationship between spirituality and existential well-being (EWB) from the perspective of Personality Systems Interaction theory-an approach focused on functional relationships between cognitive and affective systems, using Latent Profile Analysis. Three major results emerged: First, we identified discrete Analytical, Intuitive, and Flexible personality profiles resembling closely the prototypes reported elsewhere. Second, while preferences for intuitive cognitive processing resulted in high scores on all dimensions of spirituality and EWB, the reverse was true for individuals prone to analytical information processing, replicating previous research. Third, EWB operates independently from other spirituality dimensions, and relates differentially to distinct personality profiles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

You\u2009\u2260\u2009me: individual differences in the structure of social cognition

This study investigated the structure of social cognition, and how it is influenced by personality; specifically, how various socio-cognitive capabilities, and the pattern of inter-relationships and co-dependencies among them differ between divergent personality styles. To measure social cognition, a large non-clinical sample (n = 290) undertook an extensive battery of self-report and performance-based measures of visual perspective taking, imitative tendencies, affective empathy, interoceptive accuracy, emotion regulation, and state affectivity. These same individuals then completed the Personality Styles and Disorders Inventory. Latent Profile Analysis revealed two dissociable personality profiles that exhibited contrasting cognitive and affective dispositions, and multivariate analyses indicated further that these profiles differed on measures of social cognition; individuals characterised by a flexible and adaptive personality profile expressed higher action orientation (emotion regulation) compared to those showing more inflexible tendencies, along with better visual perspective taking, superior interoceptive accuracy, less imitative tendencies, and lower personal distress and negativity. These characteristics point towards more efficient self-other distinction, and to higher cognitive control more generally. Moreover, low-level cognitive mechanisms served to mediate other higher level socio-emotional capabilities. Together, these findings elucidate the cognitive and affective underpinnings of individual differences in social behaviour, providing a data-driven model that should guide future research in this area.

Using spanwise flexibility of caudal fin to improve swimming performance for small fishlike robots

This paper examines the beneficial effects of the spanwise flexibility of the caudal fin for the improvement of the swimming performance for small fishlike robots. A virtual swimmer is adopted for controlled numerical experiments by varying the spanwise flexible trajectories and the spanwise flexible size of the caudal fin while keeping the body kinematics fixed. 3-D Navier-Stokes equations are used to compute the viscous flow over the robot. Elliptical, parabolic and hyperbola trajectories are chosen to describe the spanwise flexible profile of the caudal fin. According to the sign (positive or negative) of the phase difference of the swinging motion, the spanwise flexibility can be divided into the fin surface of “bow” and the fin surface of “scoop”. It is observed that for both the fin surface of “bow” and the fin surface of “scoop”, the spanwise elliptical trajectory has the optimal swimming velocity, thrust, lateral force, and efficiency. With comparisons, using the flexible caudal fin with the fin surface of “bow”, the lateral force and the power consumption can be reduced effectively and the swimming stability can be increased while reducing little the swimming velocity and thrust. Meanwhile, using the flexible caudal fin with the fin surface of “scoop” can greatly improve the swimming velocity, thrust, and efficiency while increasing part of the lateral force and the power consumption. Three-dimensional flow structures clearly indicate the evolution process around the swimming robot. It is suggested that the fish, the dolphin, and other aquatic animals may benefit their hydrodynamic performance by the spanwise flexibility of the caudal fin.

Precise and Predictable CRISPR Chromosomal Rearrangements Reveal Principles of Cas9-Mediated Nucleotide Insertion

Chromosomal rearrangements including large DNA-fragment inversions, deletions, and duplications by Cas9 with paired sgRNAs are important to investigate genome structural variations and developmental gene regulation, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Here, we report that disrupting CtIP or FANCD2, which have roles in alternative non-homologous end joining, enhances precise DNA-fragment deletion. By analyzing the inserted nucleotides at the junctions of DNA-fragment editing of deletions, inversions, and duplications and characterizing the cleaved products, we find that Cas9 endonucleolytically cleaves the noncomplementary strand with a flexible scissile profile upstream of the -3 position of the PAM site invivo and invitro, generating double-strand break ends with 5' overhangs of 1-3 nucleotides. Moreover, we find that engineered Cas9 nucleases have distinct cleavage profiles. Finally, Cas9-mediated nucleotide insertions are nonrandom and are equal to the combined sequences upstream of both PAM sites with predicted frequencies. Thus, precise and predictable DNA-fragment editing could be achieved by perturbing DNA repair genes and using appropriate PAM configurations.

Optimum development options and strategies for water injection development of carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East

Abstract Through the research on several carbonate reservoirs developed in the Middle East, the basic characteristics of different types of carbonate reservoirs are determined, and a set of high-efficiency water injection development options and strategies are presented. Hidden baffles and barriers exist in carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East, so the reservoirs could be divided into different separated development units based on the baffles and barriers characteristics. Flexible and diverse profile control techniques such as high angle wells and simple and applicative zonal water injection have been introduced to improve the control and development degree of reservoirs. Three principal water injection development methods suitable for different carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East are proposed, including the combination of crestal gas injection and peripheral water injection, bottom interval injection and top interval production (buoyancy underpinning), and “weak point and strong plane” area well pattern. Based on the characteristics of very low shale content, fast and far pressure transmission in the Middle East carbonate reservoirs, a large well-spacing flood pattern is recommended, and reasonable development strategies have been made such as moderate water injection rate and maintaining reasonable production pressure drawdown and voidage replacement ratio, so as to maximize the recovery of reservoirs in the none or low water cut period.

Análisis del perfil de flexibilidad en jóvenes taekwondistas

El objetivo principal del presente estudio fue determinar el perfil de flexibilidad de la extremidad inferior en atletas jóvenes de taewwondo, así como identificar los deportistas con cortedad muscular. Para ello, un total de 17 taekwondistas jóvenes participaron en el presente estudio; siete deportistas pertenecían a la selección española y diez a la selección Murciana. El rango de movimiento de los principales movimientos de la extremidad inferior fue valorado mediante el protocolo “ROM SPORT” y se realizó un análisis descriptivo de cada una de las variables cuantitativas. Se aplicó la prueba t-test de Student o Wilcoxon dependiendo de la normalidad de los datos. Los valores de ROM de cada movimiento se clasificaron como “normal” o “cortedad” de acuerdo con valores de referencia previamente justificados. Los resultados definen como perfil de flexibilidad en 23º para psoas-iliaco, 28º para piramidal, 37º para gemelos, 42º para sóleo, 46º para aductores, 46º para rotadores externos, 56º para rotadores internos, 77º para aductores monoarticulares, 80º para isquiosurales, 140º para cuádriceps y 145º para glúteo mayor. La medición individual del ROM identificó cortedad muscular en 11 deportistas en piramidal (64,7%), 13 deportistas en sóleo (76,4%), 8 deportistas en rotadores externos (47%), 14 deportistas en aductores monoarticulares (82,3%), 13 deportistas en isquiosural (76,4%), 4 deportistas en cuádriceps (23,5%) y 12 en glúteo mayor (70,5%). Este perfil de flexibilidad puede ayudar a los profesionales del deporte a marcar objetivos cuantificables en el entrenamiento de la flexibilidad en este deporte. La inclusión de estiramientos, o el aumento de la dosis deben de aplicarse sobre las cortedades identificadas en piramidal, sóleo, rotadores externos de cadera, aductores monoarticulares, isquiosural, cuádriceps y glúteo mayor.

Efecto de la categoría de edad sobre el perfil de flexibilidad en jóvenes taekwondistas

El objetivo principal del presente estudio fue conocer el efecto de la categoría de edad sobre el perfil de flexibilidad en jóvenes taekwondistas usando pruebas angulares. Fueron reclutados un total de 17 taekwondistas jóvenes, que se clasificaron según su categoría federativa de edad en cadetes y junior. El rango de movimiento de los principales movimientos de la extremidad inferior fue valorado mediante el protocolo “ROM SPORT”. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de cada una de las variables cuantitativas, que incluía la media y su correspondiente desviación típica. Una prueba t-test fue empleada para determinar la existencia de diferencias entre la extremidad dominante y no dominante. Además, la misma prueba estadística analizó la interacción entre los 11 movimientos seleccionados y las categorías de edad. Por último, se calculó el tamaño del efecto de los resultados. Los resultados mostraron diferencias significativas entre ambas categorías en EC (psoas-ilíaco), RIC (rotadores externos), REC (rotadores internos) y rotación total de la cadera (suma del RIC y REC). Estos resultados no coinciden con otros estudios que han valorado la flexibilidad en este mismo deporte. Los taekwondistas cadetes presentan valores de flexibilidad superiores a la categoría junior en los músculos rotadores internos y externo de cadera y en el psoas-iliaco.

Theoretical and experimental research on the law of flexible roll profile electromagnetic control

To obtain a better strip shape, this paper proposes a new micro-scale roll profile control technology. According to the principle of the technology, it can be called roll profile electromagnetic control technology (RPECT). To achieve multi-point and real-time measurement the profile of electromagnetic control roll, the new roll profile test technology is proposed. Relying on the RPECT and new roll profile test technology, a φ270 mm×300 mm roll profile electromagnetic control experimental platform (RPECEP) is designed and built. An electromagnetic-thermal- mechanical coupled axisymmetric simulation model with the same size is established. Through experiments and simulations, RPECT is confirmed to achieve micro-scale flexible roll profile adjustment. An all-around comparison of experimental results and calculated results confirms that the new roll profile test technology is feasible and the calculatde results agree well with the experimental results. Based on the model, the variation of the roll profile is analysed for different electromagnetic parameters; the structures and positions of the electromagnetic stick, reasonable electromagnetic parameters and optimal time period for the roll profile control are determined, and methods for changing the number of roll profile curves are given.

An online speed profile generation approach for efficient airport ground movement

The precise guidance and control of taxiing aircraft based on four-dimensional trajectories (4DTs) has been recognised as a promising means to ensure safe and efficient airport ground movement in the context of ever growing air traffic demand. In this paper, a systematic approach for online speed profile generation is proposed. The aim is to generate fuel-efficient speed profiles respecting the timing constraints imposed by routing and scheduling, which ensures conflict-free movement of aircraft in the planning stage. The problem is first formulated as a nonlinear optimisation model, which uses a more flexible edge-based speed profile definition. A decomposed solution approach (following the framework of matheuristic) is then proposed to generate feasible speed profiles in real time. The decomposed solution approach reduces the nonlinear optimisation model into three tractable constituent problems. The control point arrival time allocation problem is solved using linear programming. The control point speed allocation problem is solved using particle swarm optimisation. And the complete speed profile between control points is determined using enumeration. Finally, improved speed profiles are generated through further optimisation upon the feasible speed profiles. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed approach are validated using datasets of real-world airports.

The $${\rm sech}\left( {\hat{\xi }} \right) $$ sech ξ ^ -Type Profiles: A Swiss-Army Knife for Exact Analytical Modeling of Thermal Diffusion and Wave Propagation in Graded Media

This work deals with exact analytical modelling of transfer phenomena in heterogeneous materials exhibiting one-dimensional continuous variations of their properties. Regarding heat transfer, it has recently been shown that by applying a Liouville transformation and multiple Darboux transformations, infinite sequences of solvable profiles of thermal effusivity can be constructed together with the associated temperature (exact) solutions, all in closed-form expressions (vs. the diffusion-time variable and with a growing number of parameters). In addition, a particular class of profiles, so-called sech(xi)-type profiles, exhibit high agility and in the same time parsimony. In this paper we go further into the description of these solvable profiles and their properties. Most importantly, their quadrupole formulation is provided which allows building smooth synthetic profiles of effusivity of arbitrary complexity and thereafter getting very easily the corresponding temperature dynamic response. Examples are given with increasing variability of effusivity and increasing number of elementary profiles. These highly flexible profiles are equally relevant for providing an exact analytical solution to wave propagation problems in 1D graded media (i.e. Maxwell's equations, acoustic equation, telegraph equation...). From now on, let it be for diffusion-like or wave-like problems, when the leading properties present (possibly piecewise-) continuously heterogeneous profiles, the classical staircase model can be advantageously replaced by a "high-level" quadrupole model consisting of one or more sech(xi)-type profiles, which makes the latter a true Swiss-Army knife for analytical modelling.

Development of a Simple Mechanical Screening Method for Predicting the Feedability of a Pharmaceutical FDM 3D Printing Filament

PurposeThe filament-based feeding mechanism employed by the majority of fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printers dictates that the materials must have very specific mechanical characteristics. Without a suitable mechanical profile, the filament can cause blockages in the printer. The purpose of this study was to develop a method to screen the mechanical properties of pharmaceutically-relevant, hot-melt extruded filaments to predetermine their suitability for FDM.MethodsA texture analyzer was used to simulate the forces a filament is subjected to inside the printer. The texture analyzer produced a force-distance curve referred to as the flexibility profile. Principal Component Analysis and Correlation Analysis statistical methods were then used to compare the flexibility profiles of commercial filaments to in-house made filaments.ResultsPrincipal component analysis showed clearly separated clustering of filaments that suffer from mechanical defects versus filaments which are suitable for printing. Correlation scores likewise showed significantly greater values with feedable filaments than their mechanically deficient counterparts.ConclusionThe screening method developed in this study showed, with statistical significance and reproducibility, the ability to predetermine the feedability of extruded filaments into an FDM printer.

PTAT

As the memory access footprints of applications in areas like data analytics increase, the latency overhead of translation lookaside buffer (TLB) misses increases. Thus, the efficiency of TLB becomes increasingly critical for overall system performance. Analyzing TLB miss traces is useful for hardware architecture design and software application optimization. Utilizing cycle-accurate simulators or instrumentation tools is very time-consuming and/or inaccurate for tracing and profiling TLB misses. In this article, we propose an efficient and precise tool to collect and profile last-level TLB misses. This tool utilizes a novel software method called Page Table Access Tracing (PTAT), storing last-level page table entries of certain workload processes into a reserved uncached memory region. Therefore, each last-level TLB miss incurred by user process corresponds to one uncached page table access to main memory, which can be captured and recorded by a hardware memory bus monitor. The detected information is then dumped into offline storage. In this manner, full TLB miss traces are collected and can be analyzed flexibly. Compared to previous software-based methods, this method achieves higher performance. Experiments show that, compared with a state-of-the-art kernel instrumentation method (BadgerTrap), which lacks complete dumping trace function, the speedup is still up to 3.88-fold for memory-intensive benchmarks. Due to the improved efficiency and completeness of tracing, case studies validate that more flexible profiling can be conducted, which is of great significance for TLB performance optimization. The accuracy of PTAT is verified by both dedicated sequence and performance counters.

Elongation Rule of the Longitudinal Fiber of the Continuous Roll Forming Part

Continuous roll forming is a novel technique for low-cost, high-efficient manufacturing of three-dimensional surface part. Comparing with conventional continuous forming (using at least three rolls), continuous roll forming employs an upper and a lower flexible rolls to shape the sheet metal. The desired forming shape can be obtained by controlling the profile of the flexible roll and the gap between upper and lower flexible rolls. Modeling and simulation of the continuous roll forming process based on finite element analyses is established to investigate the elongation rule of the longitudinal fiber of the continuous roll forming part. The length of the longitudinal fiber at different positions across the thickness direction is discussed, and the mechanism of the longitudinal deformation is clarified. The following conclusions are obtained. When the flexible roll profile and the roll gap distribution meet certain conditions and make length of the longitudinal fiber linearly distributed, the longitudinal deformation of the sheet metal can be generated.

Atypical information-use in children with autism spectrum disorder during judgments of child and adult face identity

ABSTRACTUnusual patterns of fixation behavior in individuals with autism spectrum disorder during face tasks hint at atypical processing strategies that could contribute to diminished face expertise in this group. Here, we use the Bubbles reverse correlation technique to directly examine face-processing strategies during identity judgments in children with and without autism, and typical adults. Results support a qualitative atypicality in autistic face processing. We identify clear differences not only in the specific features relied upon for face judgments, but also more generally in the extent to which they demonstrate a flexible and adaptive profile of information use.

A Virtual Power Plant Architecture for the Demand-Side Management of Smart Prosumers

In this paper, we present a conceptual study on a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) architecture for the optimal management of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) owned by prosumers participating in Demand-Side Management (DSM) programs. Compared to classical VPP architectures, which aim to aggregate several DERs dispersed throughout the electrical grid, in the proposed VPP architecture the supervised physical domain is limited to single users, i.e., to single Points of Delivery (PODs) of the distribution network. The VPP architecture is based on a service-oriented approach, where multiple agents cooperate to implement the optimal management of the prosumer’s assets, by also considering different forms of Demand Response (DR) requests. The considered DR schemes range from Price-Based DRs to Event-Based DRs, covering both the normal operating functions and the emergency control requests applied in modern distribution networks. With respect to centralized approaches, in this study the control perspective is moved from the system level to the single prosumer’s level, who is allowed to independently provide flexible power profiles through the aggregation of multiple DERs. A generalized optimization model, formulated as a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) problem, is also introduced. Such a model is able to compute the optimal scheduling of a prosumer’s assets by considering both DR requests and end-users’ requirements in terms of comfort levels while minimizing the costs.