Motion Planning for Redundant Manipulators Using a Floating Point Genetic Algorithm

This paper deals with the trajectory planning problem for redundant manipulators. A genetic algorithm (GA) using a floating point representation is proposed to search for the optimal end-effector trajectory for a redundant manipulator. An evaluation function is defined based on multiple criteria, including the total displacement of the end-effector, the total angular displacement of all the joints, as well as the uniformity of Cartesian and joint space velocities. These criteria result in minimized, smooth end-effector motions. Simulations are carried out for path planning in free space and in a workspace with obstacles. Results demonstrate the effectiveness and capability of the proposed method in generating optimized collision-free trajectories.     

Kinetics of chlorination of tantalum pentoxide in mixture with sucrose carbon by chlorine gas

The mechanism and kinetics of β-Ta₂O₅ chlorination, mixed with sucrose carbon, have been studied by a thermogravimetric technique. The investigated temperature range was 500 °C to 850 °C. The reactants and reaction residues were analyzed by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method for surface area (BET). The effect of various experimental parameters was studied, such as carbon percentage, temperature, chlorine partial pressure, and flow, use of the multiple sample method, and carbon previous oxidation. The carbon percentage and previous treatment have an effect on the system reactivity. The temperature has a marked effect on the reaction rate. In the 500 °C to 600 °C temperature interval, the apparent activation energy is 144 kJ/mol of oxide, while at higher temperatures, the activation energy decreases. With high chorine partial pressures, the order of reaction is near zero. The kinetic contractile plate model, X=kt, considering carbon oxidation as the controlling stage, is the one with the best fit to the experimental data. A probable mechanism for the carbochlorination of β-Ta₂O₅ is proposed: (1) activation of chlorine on the carbon surface, (2) chlorination of Ta₂O₅, (3) oxidation of carbon, and (4) recrystallization of β-Ta₂O₅.     

Web-based systems design: a study of contemporary practices and an explanatory framework based on “method-in-action”

This paper reports the findings of a detailed study of Web-based systems design (WBSD) practices in Ireland based on data collected over a 3-year period (2002–2005), the objectives of which were to (1) contribute towards a richer understanding of the current “real-world” context of WBSD by characterising the profile of a typical project (team size, timeframe, nature of requirements, etc.) and identifying the key challenges, constraints, and imperatives (i.e. “mediating factors”) faced by Web-based system designers, and (2) understand how those contextual parameters and mediating factors influence the activity of WBSD as regards the selection and enactment of whatever design practices are therefore engaged (i.e. the use of methods, procedures, etc.). Data was gathered through a survey which yielded 165 usable responses, and later through a series of semi-structured qualitative interviews. Using grounded theory, an explanatory conceptual framework is derived, based on an extension of the “method-in-action” model, the application of which to WBSD has not been previously investigated in depth. It is proposed that this framework of WBSD issues is valuable in a number of ways to educators, researchers, practitioners, and method engineers.     

川东地区长兴组缝洞型储层的识别

本文针对四川东部地区上二叠统长兴组(P_2~2)缝洞型储层的低孔、低渗及非均质性等特点,分析了影响这类储层识别的主要因素,提出了利用现有的地球物理测井手段定性识别储层的指标和定量综合识别储层的方法,这可望提高测试成功率。     

Establishment and characterization of three cell lines from Aedes triseriatus (Diptera: Culicidae)

The objectives of this study were to develop sex-, age-, and body size-specific nomograms and partition values for upper and lower limits of M-mode echocardiographic aortic root measurements derived from a large population-based cohort. The study sample consisted of 1433 male and 1816 female participants in the Framingham Heart Study and Framingham Offspring Study who were normotensive and free of clinically apparent heart disease at the baseline examination. Aortic root measurements were obtained by M-mode echocardiography by a leading-edge to leading-edge technique. The relations of age and measures of body size with aortic root dimensions were evaluated with sex-specific correlations and multiple stepwise linear regression analyses. Age was the most important determinant of aortic root size in both men and women in the multivariable regression models. Models with age and body surface area yielded R2 values of 0.214 in men and 0.222 in women. Models with age and height yielded lower R2 values of 0.136 in men and 0.181 in women. Thus aortic root dimensions vary widely with the age, sex, and body size of individuals. Sex-specific reference nomograms of aortic root dimensions in relation to age and body size (body surface area or height) are presented to facilitate the detection of abnormalities of aortic root size.