Search results for "Engineering"

A Study on the Assessment of Introductory Computational Thinking via Scratch Programming in Primary Schools

2018

Computational thinking (CT), a transversal intellectual foundation integral to computer science, is making its way into compulsory comprehensive education worldwide. Students are expected to attain skills and knowledge in such interdisciplinary CT principles as Algorithmic thinking, Data representation, and Debugging. Problem-solving by designing and manipulating interactive media with Scratch, a graphical programming tool, is popular especially at the primary school level. However, there has been confusion regarding how introductory CT can be operationalized for educational practice. Teachers and students need research-based knowledge for setting appropriate learning goals in addition to i…

A Time-Non-Homogeneous Double-Ended Queue with Failures and Repairs and Its Continuous Approximation

2018

We consider a time-non-homogeneous double-ended queue subject to catastrophes and repairs. The catastrophes occur according to a non-homogeneous Poisson process and lead the system into a state of failure. Instantaneously, the system is put under repair, such that repair time is governed by a time-varying intensity function. We analyze the transient and the asymptotic behavior of the queueing system. Moreover, we derive a heavy-traffic approximation that allows approximating the state of the systems by a time-non-homogeneous Wiener process subject to jumps to a spurious state (due to catastrophes) and random returns to the zero state (due to repairs). Special attention is devoted to the cas…

Progress in HAXPES performance combining full-field k-imaging with time-of-flight recording

2019

Journal of synchrotron radiation 26(6), 1996-2012 (2019). doi:10.1107/S1600577519012773

Estimation of the Time-Variant Velocity of a Single Walking Person in Two-Dimensional Non-Stationary Indoor Environments Using Radio-Frequency Techni…

2020

Accurate estimation of the time-variant (TV) velocity of moving persons/objects in indoor spaces is of crucial importance for numerous wireless indoor applications. This article introduces a novel iterative procedure to estimate the TV velocity, i.e., TV speed and TV angle-of-motion (AOM), of a single moving person in 2D indoor environments by using radio-frequency (RF) techniques. The indoor area is equipped with a distributed 2 × 2 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system. The proposed method is divided into two parts. In the first part, we estimate the path gains and the instantaneous Doppler frequencies by fitting the exact spectrograms of the complex channel gains of a 2D no…

Fractional viscoelastic transversally isotropic Timoshenko beam

2014

In this paper the viscoelastic behavior of pultruded beams has been examined. Pultruded beams are constituted by a polymer infilled with reinforcement in longitudinal direction, while in the orthogonal direction no fiber are present for technological reasons. As a consequence the material has two different behaviors in longitudinal and in orthogonal directions. It follows that pultruded beams are transversally isotropic, and the shear deformation may not be neglected. Based upon the previous observations and assuming for Creep and/or Relaxation test the power law, the constitutive equations are ruled by fractional operators. From constitutive laws, and assuming the Timoshenko beam theory to…

Characterization of a novel three-dimensional outgrowth model of human bronchial mucosa

2011

Recently it has been hypothesized that a reactivation of the epithelial-mesenchymal trophic unit (EMTU) of the respiratory mucosa, caused by extensive epithelial damage, may be responsible for the pathogenesis of asthma. However, most research on this subject so far has been limited by the unavailability of in vitro models correctly mimicking the three-dimensional architecture of the properly differentiated human bronchial mucosa. For this reason, we have developed a novel 3D outgrowth model, obtained from bronchial biopsies and composed of both human bronchial epithelial cells (goblet and columnar cells) and fibroblasts with their basement membrane. Here we present the preliminary data obt…

Pore size graded scaffold for selective cellular permeation

2014

New Insights into Segmental Packing, Chain Dynamics and Thermomechanical Performance of Aliphatic Polyurea Composites: Comparison between Silica Oxid…

2021

Polyurea (PU) is intrinsically reinforced by its microphase-separated morphology, giving its excellent mechanical properties. In this study, it is shown how a high-index PU formulation applies easy diffusion of hard segments into the soft phase of the PU matrix and tune its chain mobility. Moreover, the interaction of micro (>100 nm), nano (<100 nm) fillers with the microdomains and their thermomechanical properties are unraveled. Herein, nanosilica oxide (NS) and micro titanium (III) oxide (Ti2O3) are incorporated at low loadings into a solvent-free two-component aliphatic PU via insitu polymerization. While NS achieves an interfacial interaction with urea groups and forms a tight ha…

Unlocking mixed oxides with unprecedented stoichiometries from heterometallic metalorganic frameworks for the catalytic hydrogenation of CO 2

2021

[EN] Their complex surface chemistry and high oxygen lattice mobilities place mixed-metal oxides among the most important families of materials. Modulation of stoichiometry in mixed-metal oxides has been shown to be a very powerful tool for tuning optical and catalytic properties. However, accessing different stoichiometries is not always synthetically possible. Here, we show that the thermal decomposition of the recently reported metal-organic framework MUV-101(Fe, Ti) results in the formation of carbon-supported titanomaghemite nanoparticles with an unprecedented Fe/Ti ratio close to 2, not achievable by soft-chemistry routes. The resulting titanomaghemite phase displays outstanding catal…

Calcium mediated polyelectrolyte adsorption on like-charged surfaces.

2011

International audience; Monte Carlo simulations within the primitive model of calcium-mediated adsorption of linear and comb polyelectrolytes onto like-charged surfaces are described, focusing on the effect of calcium and polyion concentrations as well as on the ion pairing between polymers and calcium ions. We use a combination of Monte Carlo simulations and experimental data from titration and calcium binding to quantify the ion pairing. The polymer adsorption is shown to occur as a result of surface overcharging by Ca2+ and ion pairing between charged monomers and Ca2+. In agreement with experimental observations, the simulations predict that the polymer adsorption isotherm goes through …