Web mining based on Growing Hierarchical Self-Organizing Maps: Analysis of a real citizen web portal

This work is focused on the usage analysis of a citizen web portal, Infoville XXI (http://www.infoville.es) by means of Self-Organizing Maps (SOM). In this paper, a variant of the classical SOM has been used, the so-called Growing Hierarchical SOM (GHSOM). The GHSOM is able to find an optimal architecture of the SOM in a few iterations. There are also other variants which allow to find an optimal architecture, but they tend to need a long time for training, especially in the case of complex data sets. Another relevant contribution of the paper is the new visualization of the patterns in the hierarchical structure. Results show that GHSOM is a powerful and versatile tool to extract relevant and straightforward knowledge from the vast amount of information involved in a real citizen web portal.     

Electron effective mass in InuGa1−uPvAs1−v for 0 ≤ v ≤ 1

The electron effective mass in In_uGa_1−uP_vAs_1−v has been measured on seven samples lattice-matched to InP and evenly spaced in values of v between 0 and 1, using the temperature dependence of the amplitude of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations at high magnetic fields. Values of the carrier concentrations, Hall mobilities and Dingle temperatures measured on these samples are also reported. Work sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation, Grant No. ENG 76-09586, and in part by International Telephone and Telegraph Electro-Optical Products Division. Work done in part at the M.I.T. Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory. Funded in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR-76-80895.     

A study on posidonia residue in seawater intakes

The reliability of a sea-water desalination plant relies largely on an efficient intake system. This is not easily ensured in large areas of the Mediterranean, where the residue of a particular seagrass, Posidonia 0ceanica, is often found in large quantities. To separate or avoid this residue, which can cause operational problems, considerable technical and economical efforts are required.

This paper presents the results of a design and operation-oriented experimental study on Posidonia. This study deals with aspects such as concentration in sea-water, distribution of sizes in residue samples, sedimentation properties, bulk densities and resistance of sea-grass cakes to sea-water flow, and is supported by direct practice in desalination in Libya. Experience confirms that the analysis of the behaviour and physical properties of Posidonia residue, together with accurate site survey, enable one to design a tailored solution, thus avoiding an unreliable standardized system or an uneconomical sophisticated or over-dimensioned solution, not necessarily reliable when unassisted by field data.     

Optimum reliabilities and optimum design

The designer's task is to optimize. Designing for an intuitively fixed reliability is almost as arbitrary as designing for an intuitively fixed safety factor. Efforts to improve the calculation of reliabilities of proposed designs are commendable but sterile unless we take the additional step of optimizing the design reliabilities associated with the various potential limit states. Through examples it is shown how these reliabilities depend on the consequences of entrance into limit states and on the marginal initial cost of the reliability and how earthquake design spectra must differ radically from those for fixed return periods. It is further claimed that the optimum reliabilities depend on how a structure enters a limit state. A more realistic aim is not the establishing of design reliabilities but of optimum designs. This is illustrated in connection with progressive collapse.Mistakes (“human” or “gross” errors) are not considered in the present analysis.     

Textured Tl(1223)/Ag Tapes Prepared by Electrophoretic Deposition

The conventional powder-in-tube technique does not allow to produce textured Tl(1223) tapes. An electrophoretic deposition technique was used to produce uniform layers of controlled thickness on Ag substrates by a simple and reproducible procedure. A high degree of texture, comparable with the one generally observed for Bi-based tapes was obtained thanks to the appropriate grain morphology, by simply alternating deposition and uniaxial pressing. After annealing, critical current densities of 11'000 A/cm² were reached.     

Nutritional and technological characteristics of new broad bean flaked products

The effects of the technological processes (soaking in water or alkaline solutions, drying, puree preparation) and the supplementation with maize flour on the nutritional value and on the organoleptic characteristics of broad bean (Vicia faba, L. major) flakes have been studied. Protein content was not affected by technological process. The addition of maize flour decreased the protein content of the final product depending on the amount of the maize flour added. Amino acid composition showed a decrease of tryptophan due to technological processing. Supplementation with maize flour improved the amino acid pattern and, except for tryptophan, the amount of essential amino acids in the flakes supplemented with 25% or more maize flour well compared with the provisional pattern by F.A.O. In vitro digestibility trials did not evidence significant changes due to technological processes or to integration of broad beans with maize flour. Broad bean toxic factors (vicine and convicine glycosides) were only slightly affected by the alkaline treatment of the flakes. Glycosides content decreased with the increasing supplementation with maize flour but the relationship was not linear. The organoleptic tests were positive for texture and taste, whereas the appearance of the products should be improved.     

Smoke suppression by ammonium polyphosphate in poly(acrylonitrile) combustion

The influence of ammonium polyphosphate (APP) on the smoke emission of poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) has been examined, and its mechanism of action as a smoke suppressant agent has been investigated. Smoke density and corresponding residual char data, as a function of temperature, were obtained in order to characterize the smoke propensity of PAN. The amount of generated smoke, both in smoldering and flaming conditions, was considerably lowered by the presence of APP, and higher char yields were obtained. Beside the smoke suppression, flame inhibition effect of APP on PAN was evidenced. Thermogravimetry (TG), oxygen index (OI), and nitrous oxide index (NOI) experiments were also performed. On the basis of our data, APP appears to act as a char-forming agent in PAN combustion. Both smoke suppression and flame inhibition effects can be considered a consequence of this action.     

Methods to Produce Tl(1223) Tapes with Improved Properties

Different methods to prepare superconducting mono- and multifilamentary T1(I223) tapes were developed. High-purity ceramics could be produced by ex-situ or in-situ reaction under a high isostatic gas pressure. Tapes prepared by the PIT method and an in-situ reaction carried out close to the melting point of the oxide were relatively dense and textured. Interesting results were obtained for samples where part of the oxygen atoms in Tl(1223) had been substituted by fluorine. Critical current densities up to 20'000 A/cm² (77 K, 0 T) were reached for tapes produced by the PIT method. Well textured samples were obtained by electrophoretic deposition, the deposited Tl(1223) grains being produced by a synthesis involving substantial melting.     

Evaluation of barium,rubidium and strontium contents in commercial fertilizers

From various manufacturers and distributors 48 fertilizer samples were collected and analyzed for contents of barium, rubidium and strontium by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The investigated elements are almost always detectable in appreciable amounts in straight and compound fertilizers originated from natural rocks and salt deposits; whereas synthetic nitrogen fertilizers contain in every case low amounts of rubidium, no barium and appreciable quantities of strontium only in some cases. Potassium sulphate fertilizers appear to be the major source of rubidium and superphosphate and calciumcyanamide the source of barium, whilst the three of them supplied sensible amounts of strontium to fertilized soil to affect its average total content to a various degree.