Abstract
Holonic and agent-based paradigms are very suitable in the development of distributed manufacturing control systems, taking advantage of their modularity, decentralization, and ability to support dynamic and complex system design features. However, the integration of manufacturing resources within the holonic manufacturing control applications remains a problem, because no efficient standard allows an easy, transparent and essentially independent integration. This paper proposes an integration process that allows the integration of automation resources independently from the holonic control application, using some concepts derived from the Manufacturing Message Specification (MMS) application protocol and implemented over a distributed object platform.

Abstract

Abstract
We report on simulation studies of thin plasma foils explosions upon interacting with high-intensity, ultra-short laser pulses. By using a fully relativistic Particle-in-cell code we describe the time-resolved position, momentum and energy of electrons and ions, for laser pulses with durations of tens of fs and intensities ranging from 10(20) W/cm(2) to 10(23) W/cm(2). Results show the generation of a Mev electron beam as well as supra-Mev ions. Ponderomotive Boost and Colombic Explosions are mechanisms used to explain the results.

Abstract
In multivariate data with n individuals described by p variables it is usual to assume that the variables are fixed and the individuals are randomly selected; in the present study we assume that the individuals are fixed and the previously normalised variables are randomly selected from a population of variables. When we want to associate to the sample of variables a distribution, like the Bingham distribution, it is important to use beforehand a test of uniformity. In this article, we compare the power of Bingham and Gine tests of uniformity for some dimensions of the sphere, vs. a Bingham population or a mixture of Bingham populations.

Abstract

Abstract
Peripheral nerve researchers frequently use the rat sciatic nerve crush model in order to test different therapeutic approaches. The purpose of this study was to determine the sequence of changes after an axonotmetic injury by means of a biomechanical model of the foot and ankle, and compare them with walking track analysis, over a fixed period of time. A kinematic analysis program was used to acquire ankle motion data for further analysis. Although repeated measures analysis of variance showed significant cumulative changes induced by the crush lesion for both ankle kinematic parameters and sciatic functional index, post-hoc multiple comparisons by the Student-Neuman-Keuls test revealed significant differences between week 0 and week 8 only for ankle kinematics. These results are of importance in showing the superiority of ankle kinematics in detecting small biomechanical deficits related to hyperexcitability of the plantarflexor muscles, in contrast with walking track analysis, which showed full motor functional recovery 8 weeks after the crush lesion.