Finding Jorge By: Jorge L. S. II While avoiding conflicts with his abusive father, young Jorge also had to contemplate his emerging feelings for other boys. After dropping outo f high school, Jorge’s word consisted of partying, drugs, and engaging in petty theft. A frightening credit card faud investigation scared him out of crime for good – but without his family’s approval, he was still a lost soul. Realizing that his own father would never provide the love and support he needed, Jorge develops a relationship with an older man whose guidance proves to be invaluable. Both heartbreaking and inspirational, Finding Jorge is a coming-of-age story about recognition, forgiveness, and self-discovery. This is a glimpse into the childhood and early adulthood of a young gay man, whose acute resiliency led him to a purposeful life. It is a story of heartbreak, acceptance, and how one man seized opportunity to beat the odds and put himself on a path for success and happiness.
Finding Jorge By: Jorge L. S. II While avoiding conflicts with his abusive father, young Jorge also had to contemplate his emerging feelings for other boys. After dropping outo f high school, Jorge’s word consisted of partying, drugs, and engaging in petty theft. A frightening credit card faud investigation scared him out of crime for good – but without his family’s approval, he was still a lost soul. Realizing that his own father would never provide the love and support he needed, Jorge develops a relationship with an older man whose guidance proves to be invaluable. Both heartbreaking and inspirational, Finding Jorge is a coming-of-age story about recognition, forgiveness, and self-discovery. This is a glimpse into the childhood and early adulthood of a young gay man, whose acute resiliency led him to a purposeful life. It is a story of heartbreak, acceptance, and how one man seized opportunity to beat the odds and put himself on a path for success and happiness.
This book introduces a passivity-based approach which simplifies the controller design task for AC-motors. It presents the application of this novel approach to several classes of AC motors, magnetic levitation systems, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and rigid robot manipulators actuated by AC motors. The novel passivity-based approach exploits the fact that the natural energy exchange existing between the mechanical and the electrical subsystems allows the natural cancellation of several high order terms during the stability analysis. This allows the authors to present some of the simplest controllers proposed in scientific literature, but provided with formal stability proofs. These simple control laws will be of use to practitioners as they are robust with respect to numerical errors and noise amplification, and are provided with tuning guidelines. Energy-based Control of Electromechanical Systems is intended for both theorists and practitioners. Therefore, the stability proofs are not based on abstract mathematical ideas but Lyapunov stability theory. Several interpretations of the proofs are given along the body of the book using simple energy ideas and the complete proofs are included in appendices. The complete modeling of each motor studied is also presented, allowing for a thorough understanding. Advances in Industrial Control reports and encourages the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.
This monograph presents recent developments in quantum field theory at finite temperature. By using Lie groups, ideas from thermal theory are considered with concepts of symmetry, allowing for applications not only to quantum field theory but also to transport theory, quantum optics and statistical mechanics. This includes an analysis of geometrical and topological aspects of spatially confined systems with applications to the Casimir effect, superconductivity and phase transitions. Finally, some developments in open systems are also considered. The book provides a unified picture of the fundamental aspects in thermal quantum field theory and their applications, and is important to the field as a result, since it combines several diverse ideas that lead to a better understanding of different areas of physics.
§vImage processing and machine vision are fields of renewed interest in the commercial market. People in industry, managers, and technical engineers are looking for new technologies to move into the market. Many of the most promising developments are taking place in the field of image processing and its applications. The book offers a broad coverage of advances in a range of topics in image processing and machine vision.
Secondary Science Teaching for English Learners: Developing Supportive and Responsive Learning Context for Sense-making and Language Development provides a resource for multiple audiences, including pre- and in-service secondary science teachers, science teacher educators, instructional coaches, curriculum specialists, and administrators, to learn about a research-based approach to teaching science that responds to the growing population of English learners in the United States. The book offers clear definitions of pedagogical practices supported by classroom examples and a cohesive framework for teaching science in linguistically diverse classrooms. The Secondary Science Teaching with English Language and Literacy Acquisition (or SSTELLA) Framework addresses how learning science is enhanced through meaningful and relevant learning experiences that integrate discipline-specific literacy. In particular, four core science teaching practices are described: (1) contextualized science activity, (2) scientific sense-making through scientific and engineering practices, (3) scientific discourse, and (4) English language and disciplinary literacy development. These four core practices are supported by sound theory and research based on unscripted guidelines and flexible modifications of science lessons. Moreover, the four interrelated practices promote students’ use of core science ideas while reading, writing, talking, and doing science, thus reflecting principles from Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, and English language proficiency standards. Secondary Science Teaching provides readers with a historical and theoretical basis for integrating language, literacy, and science in multilingual science classrooms, and well as explicit models and guided support teachers in enacting effective teaching practices in the classroom, including comparative vignettes to distinguish between different types of classroom practice.
An Up-to-Date Compendium on the Physics and Mathematics of Polarization Phenomena Now thoroughly revised, Polarized Light and the Mueller Matrix Approach cohesively integrates basic concepts of polarization phenomena from the dual viewpoints of the states of polarization of electromagnetic waves and the transformations of these states by the action of material media. Through selected examples, it also illustrates actual and potential applications in materials science, biology, and optics technology. The book begins with the basic concepts related to two- and three-dimensional polarization states. It next describes the nondepolarizing linear transformations of the states of polarization through the Jones and Mueller-Jones approaches. The authors then discuss the forms and properties of the Jones and Mueller matrices associated with different types of nondepolarizing media, address the foundations of the Mueller matrix, and delve more deeply into the analysis of the physical parameters associated with Mueller matrices. The authors proceed with introducing the arbitrary decomposition and other useful parallel decompositions, and compare the powerful serial decompositions of depolarizing Mueller matrices. They also analyze the general formalism and specific algebraic quantities and notions related to the concept of differential Mueller matrix. Useful approaches that provide a geometric point of view on the polarization effects exhibited by different types of media are also comprehensively described. The book concludes with a new chapter devoted to the main procedures for filtering measured Mueller matrices. Suitable for advanced graduates and more seasoned professionals, this book covers the main aspects of polarized radiation and polarization effects of material media. It expertly combines physical and mathematical concepts with important approaches for representing media through equivalent systems composed of simple components.
This paper examines whether a mix of tighter fiscal policy, looser monetary policy, and greater reserve build-up would increase growth and depreciate the rand in real terms. The experience of South Africa over the last twenty years is looked at using a number of econometric techniques that control for the external environment.
This book describes how to use test equating methods in practice. The non-commercial software R is used throughout the book to illustrate how to perform different equating methods when scores data are collected under different data collection designs, such as equivalent groups design, single group design, counterbalanced design and non equivalent groups with anchor test design. The R packages equate, kequate and SNSequate, among others, are used to practically illustrate the different methods, while simulated and real data sets illustrate how the methods are conducted with the program R. The book covers traditional equating methods including, mean and linear equating, frequency estimation equating and chain equating, as well as modern equating methods such as kernel equating, local equating and combinations of these. It also offers chapters on observed and true score item response theory equating and discusses recent developments within the equating field. More specifically it covers the issue of including covariates within the equating process, the use of different kernels and ways of selecting bandwidths in kernel equating, and the Bayesian nonparametric estimation of equating functions. It also illustrates how to evaluate equating in practice using simulation and different equating specific measures such as the standard error of equating, percent relative error, different that matters and others.
Implicit objects have gained increasing importance in geometric modeling, visualisation, animation, and computer graphics, because their geometric properties provide a good alternative to traditional parametric objects. This book presents the mathematics, computational methods and data structures, as well as the algorithms needed to render implicit curves and surfaces, and shows how implicit objects can easily describe smooth, intricate, and articulatable shapes, and hence why they are being increasingly used in graphical applications. Divided into two parts, the first introduces the mathematics of implicit curves and surfaces, as well as the data structures suited to store their sampled or discrete approximations, and the second deals with different computational methods for sampling implicit curves and surfaces, with particular reference to how these are applied to functions in 2D and 3D spaces.
Modern RF receivers and transmitters require quadrature oscillators with accurate quadrature and low phase-noise. Existing literature is dedicated mainly to single oscillators, and is strongly biased towards LC oscillators. This book is devoted to quadrature oscillatorsand presents adetailed comparative study ofLC and RCosc- lators, both at architectural and at circuit levels. It is shown that in cross-coupled RC oscillators both the quadrature error and phase-noise are reduced, whereas in LC - cillators the coupling decreases the quadrature error, but increases the phase-noise. Thus, quadrature RC oscillators can be a practical alternative to LC oscillators, - pecially when area and cost are to be minimized. The main topics of the book are: cross-coupled LC quasi-sinusoidal oscillators, cross-coupled RC relaxation oscillators, a quadrature RC oscillator-mixer, and t- integrator oscillators. The effect of mismatches on the phase-error and the pha- noise are thoroughly investigated. The book includes many experimental results, obtained from different integrated circuit prototypes, in the GHz range. A structured design approach is followed: a technology independent study, with ideal blocks, is performed initially, and then the circuit level design is addressed. This book can be used in advanced courses on RF circuit design. In addition to post-graduate students and lecturers, this book will be of interest to design engineers and researchers in this area.
This book presents a comparative perspective of current metaheuristic developments, which have proved to be effective in their application to several complex problems. The study of biological and social entities such as animals, humans, or insects that manifest a cooperative behavior has produced several computational models in metaheuristic methods. Although these schemes emulate very different processes or systems, the rules used to model individual behavior are very similar. Under such conditions, it is not clear to identify which are the advantages or disadvantages of each metaheuristic technique. The book is compiled from a teaching perspective. For this reason, the book is primarily intended for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Science, Electrical Engineering, or Computational Mathematics. It is appropriate for courses such as Artificial Intelligence, Electrical Engineering, Evolutionary Computation. The book is also useful for researchers from the evolutionary and engineering communities. Likewise, engineer practitioners, who are not familiar with metaheuristic computation concepts, will appreciate that the techniques discussed are beyond simple theoretical tools since they have been adapted to solve significant problems that commonly arise in engineering areas.
The two-volume set LNCS 3522 and 3523 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second Iberian Conference on Pattern Recognition and Image Analysis, IbPRIA 2005, held in Estoril, Portugal in June 2005. The 170 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 292 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on computer vision, shape and matching, image and video processing, image and video coding, face recognition, human activity analysis, surveillance, robotics, hardware architectures, statistical pattern recognition, syntactical pattern recognition, image analysis, document analysis, bioinformatics, medical imaging, biometrics, speech recognition, natural language analysis, and applications.
Learn how to prepare for—and pass—the Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) certification exam. This practical guide serves as both a study guide and point of entry for practitioners looking to explore and adopt cloud native technologies. Adrián González Sánchez and Jorge Valenzuela Jiménez teach you not only the core technology fundamentals, but also the community and industry that KCNA serves. With the meteoric rise in cloud adoption, cloud native technologies such as Kubernetes have become the de facto industry standard. Other Kubernetes certifications—including KCSA, CKAD, CKA, and CKS—are all geared toward higher-level technical proficiency. The KCNA is the entry door to your cloud native journey, and the certification exam covers the cloud native environment generally as well as fundamental Kubernetes skills and knowledge. This guide helps you learn: How to best and most efficiently prepare for the KCNA exam The latest cloud native developments and their importance The fundamentals of Kubernetes, cloud native development, and related CNCF projects The core elements of Kubernetes applications The crucial elements of modern cloud native development How to differentiate and choose cloud native technologies The market value of passing the KCNA exam Insights and testimonials from key cloud native industry experts
In this paper, we consider general [italic]S1-actions, which may differ on the domain and on the range, with isotropy subspaces with one dimension more on the domain. In the special case of self-maps the [italic]S1-degree is given by the usual degree of the invariant part, while for one parameter [italic]S1-maps one has an integer for each isotropy subgroup different from [italic]S1. In particular we recover all the [italic]S1-degrees introduced in special cases by other authors and we are also able to interpret period doubling results on the basis of our [italic]S1-degree. The applications concern essentially periodic solutions of ordinary differential equations.
Advanced Research in Virtual and Rapid Prototyping Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. on Advanced Research in Virtual and Rapid Prototyping, 28 Sep-1 Oct 2005, Leiria, Portugal
Advanced Research in Virtual and Rapid Prototyping Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. on Advanced Research in Virtual and Rapid Prototyping, 28 Sep-1 Oct 2005, Leiria, Portugal
Virtual Modelling and Rapid Manufacturing presents essential research in the area of Virtual and Rapid Prototyping. It contains reviewed papers that were presented at the 2nd International Conference on Advanced Research in Virtual and Rapid Prototyping, held at the School of Technology and Management of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal, from September 28 to October 1, 2005. The volume covers a wide range of topical subjects, such as medical imaging, reverse engineering, virtual reality and prototyping, biomanufacturing and tissue engineering, advanced rapid prototyping technologies and micro-fabrication, biomimetics and materials, and concurrent engineering
Dr. Herrera has created an issue that will serve as a complete update on the topic of Portal Hpertension. Content is provided from medical therapies to surgery on the patient with portal hypertension. The following important issues are addressed: Invasive and Noninvasive Methods of Measuring Portal Pressure; Primary Prophylaxis of Varceal Bleeding; Gastric and Ectopic Varices; Hepatic Hydrothorax; and Hepatopulmonary Syndrome. Readers will come away with state-of-the-art information on the topic of portal hypertension.
A large share of cross-country differences in productivity is explained by differences in agricultural productivity. Using a combination of sub-national agricultural statistics and geospatial datasets on crop-specific potential yields, we study the main drivers of this variation from a macroeconomic perspective. We find that differences in geographically-induced crop-specific comparative advantages can explain a substantial share of the variation in yields across the world. Data reveal substantial gaps between potential and observed yields in most countries. When decomposing these within country gaps, we find that crop selection gaps are on average larger than those induced by input usage alone. The results highlight the importance of understanding the interaction of geography and crop selection drivers in assessing aggregate agricultural productivity differences.
This book examines statistical techniques that are critically important to Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Control (CMC) activities. Statistical methods are presented with a focus on applications unique to the CMC in the pharmaceutical industry. The target audience consists of statisticians and other scientists who are responsible for performing statistical analyses within a CMC environment. Basic statistical concepts are addressed in Chapter 2 followed by applications to specific topics related to development and manufacturing. The mathematical level assumes an elementary understanding of statistical methods. The ability to use Excel or statistical packages such as Minitab, JMP, SAS, or R will provide more value to the reader. The motivation for this book came from an American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) short course on statistical methods applied to CMC applications presented by four of the authors. One of the course participants asked us for a good reference book, and the only book recommended was written over 20 years ago by Chow and Liu (1995). We agreed that a more recent book would serve a need in our industry. Since we began this project, an edited book has been published on the same topic by Zhang (2016). The chapters in Zhang discuss statistical methods for CMC as well as drug discovery and nonclinical development. We believe our book complements Zhang by providing more detailed statistical analyses and examples.
A holistic view on climate risk and practical ways to model and measure it Advanced Analytical Methods for Climate Risk and ESG Risk Management provides risk management professionals and other interested parties with an introduction to climate risk, a detailed history of climate change, and analytical risk management methods. Readers will gain insight on the potential impact of climate change and learn to apply a concrete three-pronged framework for risk modelling and assessment. The management of climate risk—regardless of the size of the business or of the potential loss—is also considered in detail, with discussions of risk allocation, portfolio optimization, regulatory constraints, and sustainable goal setting. The development of advanced risk management analytical methods for ESG and climate risk is limited. This book fills a gap by offering a comprehensive review of modelling theory and methods for addressing the accelerating changes to the planet's climate. Gain thorough background knowledge of climate science, the history of climate change, and the current political and public policy landscape Understand how global climate shifts introduce localized impacts to business Identify, measure, and manage financial and operational risks Utilize a concrete methodology for stress testing portfolios and accounting for risk Risk management professionals in financial institutions, along with academics and advanced students of economics and finance, will be grateful for this comprehensive approach to climate and ESG risk. Regulators will also benefit from the thorough considerations outlined in Advanced Analytical Methods for Climate Risk and ESG Risk Management.
The most comprehensive physical therapy text available on the topic, Orthotics & Prosthetics in Rehabilitation, 3rd Edition is your one-stop resource for clinically relevant rehabilitation information. Evidence-based coverage offers essential guidelines on orthotic/prosthetic prescription, pre- and post-intervention gait assessment and outcome measurement, and working with special populations. Comprehensive coverage addresses rehabilitation in a variety of environments, including acute care, long-term care and home health care, and outpatient settings. Authoritative information from the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice, 2nd Edition is incorporated throughout. World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification of Function model provides consistent language and an international standard to describe and measure health and disability from a biopsychosocial perspective. Case studies present real-life scenarios that demonstrate how key concepts apply to clinical decision making and evidence-based practice. A visually appealing 2-color design and a wealth of tables and boxes highlight vital information for quick reference and ease of use. Updated photos and illustrations reflect current clinical practice. Updated chapter on Assessment of Gait focuses on clinically useful outcome measures. Updated chapter on Motor Control and Motor Learning incorporates new insights into neuroplasticity and functional recovery. NEW! Integrated chapter on Lower Extremity Orthoses assists in clinical decision making about the best options for your patients. NEW! Chapter on Athletics after Amputation explores advanced training and athletics, including running and athletic competition to enhance the quality of life for persons with amputation. NEW! Chapter on the High Risk Foot and Would Healing helps you recognize, treat, and manage wounds for the proper fit and management of the patient. NEW! Chapter on Advanced Prosthetic Rehabilitation provides more thorough rehabilitation methods beyond the early care of persons learning to use their prostheses.
The beloved people's Pope reveals his views on the contentious political issues of our time—from immigration to climate change. Pope Francis met with French reporter and sociologist Dominique Wolton for an unprecedented series of twelve fascinating and timely conversations—open dialogues revolving around the political, cultural, and religious issues dominating communication and conflict around the world—now published in A Future of Faith: The Path of Change in Politics and Society. Inspiring and insightful, Pope Francis’s views on immigration, poverty, diversity, globalization, and more are borne from his Christian faith and basic humanity. Meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century requires compassion for those in need, a willingness to work towards common goals without domineering other cultures, and the ability to negotiate with trust, respect, and dignity. And for the first time, Pope Francis shares insights into his own personality, and the formation of his faith, including his experience with psychotherapy, and some of the most important women in his upbringing. Controversial, bold, personal, and illuminating— A Future of Faith will serve to be essential reading for not only Catholics, but those who want to see how the “people’s pope” confronts the social injustices of the world with the foresight to create positive change.
This book is the first systematic treatment of this area so far scattered in a vast number of articles. As in classical topology, concrete problems require restricting the (generalized point-free) spaces by various conditions playing the roles of classical separation axioms. These are typically formulated in the language of points; but in the point-free context one has either suitable translations, parallels, or satisfactory replacements. The interrelations of separation type conditions, their merits, advantages and disadvantages, and consequences are discussed. Highlights of the book include a treatment of the merits and consequences of subfitness, various approaches to the Hausdorff's axiom, and normality type axioms. Global treatment of the separation conditions put them in a new perspective, and, a.o., gave some of them unexpected importance. The text contains a lot of quite recent results; the reader will see the directions the area is taking, and may find inspiration for her/his further work. The book will be of use for researchers already active in the area, but also for those interested in this growing field (sometimes even penetrating into some parts of theoretical computer science), for graduate and PhD students, and others. For the reader's convenience, the text is supplemented with an Appendix containing necessary background on posets, frames and locales.
The most comprehensive physical therapy text available on the topic, Orthotics & Prosthetics in Rehabilitation, 3rd Edition is your one-stop resource for clinically relevant rehabilitation information. Evidence-based coverage offers essential guidelines on orthotic/prosthetic prescription, pre- and post-intervention gait assessment and outcome measurement, and working with special populations. Comprehensive coverage addresses rehabilitation in a variety of environments, including acute care, long-term care and home health care, and outpatient settings. Authoritative information from the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice, 2nd Edition is incorporated throughout. World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification of Function model provides consistent language and an international standard to describe and measure health and disability from a biopsychosocial perspective. Case studies present real-life scenarios that demonstrate how key concepts apply to clinical decision making and evidence-based practice. A visually appealing 2-color design and a wealth of tables and boxes highlight vital information for quick reference and ease of use. Updated photos and illustrations reflect current clinical practice. Updated chapter on Assessment of Gait focuses on clinically useful outcome measures. Updated chapter on Motor Control and Motor Learning incorporates new insights into neuroplasticity and functional recovery. NEW! Integrated chapter on Lower Extremity Orthoses assists in clinical decision making about the best options for your patients. NEW! Chapter on Athletics after Amputation explores advanced training and athletics, including running and athletic competition to enhance the quality of life for persons with amputation. NEW! Chapter on the High Risk Foot and Would Healing helps you recognize, treat, and manage wounds for the proper fit and management of the patient. NEW! Chapter on Advanced Prosthetic Rehabilitation provides more thorough rehabilitation methods beyond the early care of persons learning to use their prostheses.
Construction Equipment Management for Engineers, Estimators, and Construction Managers, Second Edition has been extensively rewritten to not only bring it up to date with the state of current practice, but also to serve as a textbook for university courses in construction engineering and management. The authors advanced the previous edition’s practical, hands-on approach and added material on the future of construction equipment fleet management, which they believe will require a new technology-based skillset to maximize the cost-effectiveness of construction equipment operations. As such, the book covers the latest construction equipment technologies. Features: Examines emergent technologies in the field, including automated machine guidance systems, intelligent compaction operations, and equipment-related civil integrated management tools. Provides information on how to reduce an equipment fleet’s environmental impact, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions through enhanced equipment management and optimization practices. Discusses estimating equipment ownership, operating costs, economic life and optimal replacement timing. Demonstrates how to maximize profit by determining the optimum equipment mix and estimating productivity. Illustrates the use of production-based linear scheduling and stochastic simulations to maximize project cost and schedule certainty. This new edition will serve as an essential textbook for students as well as a valuable reference for a wide range of professionals within the construction, architecture, and engineering industries.
Bifurcation theory is the study of small solutions of nonlinear equations, depending on a number of parameters, when for certain values of these parameters more than one solution may appear. Because of the difficulties encountered in obtaining explicit solutions to such problems, one tries to approximate the initial equation by a simpler one and from the properties of the solutions to the latter gain some insight for those of the former. If the nonlinear equation is a smooth function of its variables, a standard approximation is to linearize the equation. The topological method is attractive because it gives quick qualitative results. The object of this paper is to try to give a new look at one of the most basic ideas in this topological approach, that is deformation of maps or homotopy theory, and by doing so include the well known Leray-Schauder degree theory in the setting of generalized degree theories.
The physical properties of knotted and linked configurations in space have long been of interest to mathematicians. More recently, these properties have become significant to biologists, physicists, and engineers among others. Their depth of importance and breadth of application are now widely appreciated and valuable progress continues to be made each year. This volume presents several contributions from researchers using computers to study problems that would otherwise be intractable. While computations have long been used to analyze problems, formulate conjectures, and search for special structures in knot theory, increased computational power has made them a staple in many facets of the field. The volume also includes contributions concentrating on models researchers use to understand knotting, linking, and entanglement in physical and biological systems. Topics include properties of knot invariants, knot tabulation, studies of hyperbolic structures, knot energies, the exploration of spaces of knots, knotted umbilical cords, studies of knots in DNA and proteins, and the structure of tight knots. Together, the chapters explore four major themes: physical knot theory, knot theory in the life sciences, computational knot theory, and geometric knot theory.
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