Efficiency and effectiveness of Spanish football teams: a three-stage-DEA approach

In this paper, we apply a three-stage-DEA model to the Spanish Professional Football League, which means separating the teams’ economic behaviour into three components: operating efficiency—of the offence and defence—athletic or operating effectiveness, and social effectiveness. The results showed that the technical inefficiency of the defence is greater than that of the offence, both being caused by aspects linked to the poor management of players’ abilities and by the football team’s size. Teams showed a favourable evolution of their offensive and defensive efficiency during the 2004/2005 season and to a lesser extent in the season before. The point system assigned by the professional football league regulations evaluates the teams’ athletic effectiveness, but we detected that the teams with the most experience perform athletically in a more effective manner. Their social effectiveness is strongly related to the level of play in itself and to factors linked to their PFL ranking: participation in international competitions for important football teams; or the struggle of minor football teams to stay in the first division.     

Nonlinear optical properties of regioregular main‐chain polyesters

We have prepared new polyesters containing quadratic, nonlinear optical (NLO) active chromophores covalently incorporated into the main chain. In these polymers, the sequence of the chromophore units along the main chain is rigorously head to tail. All the polyesters are processable, both in the melt and in solution. For one polyester, a full second‐order NLO characterization has been performed. An out‐of‐resonance d₃₃ coefficient of 21 pm/V at 1368 nm has been measured. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2719–2725, 2007     

Performance evaluation of fiber Bragg grating sensors by digital holographic technique, strain gauge measurement

In view of the growing interest for non-destructive tests of materials, geodynamical monitoring and in general remote sensing, there is a great effort to bring practical optical sensors from research labs to industrial and environmental applications. In this paper, we employ digital holographic technique as an efficient tool for evaluating the strain measurement capability of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG). A cantilever beam has been employed as a test structure under loading test. The strain measurements results obtained by fiber-based sensors have been compared to those obtained by using full-field digital holographic technique and point-wise strain gauge sensors glued on the same cantilever beam. A simple theoretical model is also presented to interpret and compare the experimental results coming from different techniques.     

Quantification of trace elements in human serum fractions by liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

On‐line coupling of LC and ICP‐MS has been used for fractionation and detection of species of Cu, Fe, I, Se and Zn in human serum. It has been shown that anion exchange chromatography provided better separation capability (both intra‐ and inter‐element) than size‐exclusion chromatography. The mobile phases for ion exchange chromatography consisted of Tris–HNO₃ buffer and ammonium salt (nitrate, acetate or formate). Formate was found to be the best mobile phase counter ion, enabling good chromatographic separation, and is acceptable for mass spectrometry too. The quantitative evaluation of element concentrations adhering to individual fractions was performed by the peak area normalization method. The repeatability of results ranged from 3 to 15% (depending on the element concentration level) and represented the main part of the result uncertainty. The accuracy of Cu and Zn fraction determinations was confirmed by comparison with the isotope dilution technique. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microlocal analysis of seismic inverse scattering in anisotropic elastic media

Seismic data is modeled in the high‐frequency approximation, using the techniques of microlocal analysis. We consider general, anisotropic elastic media. Our methods are designed to allow for the formation of caustics. The data is modeled in two ways. First, we give a microlocal treatment of the Kirchhoff approximation, where the medium is assumed to be piecewise smooth, and reflection and transmission occur at interfaces. Second, we give a refined view on the Born approximation based upon a linearization of the scattering process in the medium parameters around a smooth background medium. The joint formulation of Born and Kirchhoff scattering allows us to take into account general scatterers as well as the nonlinear dependence of reflection coefficients on the medium parameters. The latter allows the treatment of scattering up to grazing angles. The outcome of the analysis is a characterization of the singular part of seismic data. We obtain a set of pseudodifferential operators that annihilate the data. In the process we construct a Fourier integral operator and a reflectivity function such that the data can be represented by this operator acting on the reflectivity function. In our construction this Fourier integral operator becomes invertible. We give the conditions for invertibility for general acquisition geometry. The result is also of interest for inverse scattering in acoustic media. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Structure of norbornene-fused 3,1-oxazine double cycloadducts

Pentacyclic isoxazolines were obtained by the cycloaddition of benzonitrile oxide to norbornene-azetidinone-fused 3,1-oxazines. The constitutions of two of the isomers obtained, and the configurations and conformations of all products, were determined by means of ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and DNOE experiments.     

A delta white noise functional

The additive renormalization% MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXafv3ySLgzGmvETj2BSbqefm0B1jxALjhiov2D% aebbfv3ySLgzGueE0jxyaibaiGc9yrFr0xXdbba91rFfpec8Eeeu0x% Xdbba9frFj0-OqFfea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs% 0dXdbPYxe9vr0-vr0-vqpWqaaeaabiGaciaacaqabeaadaqaaqGaaO% qaaiaabs7adaWgaaWcbaGaaeySdiaab6cacaqG0bqefeKCPfgBaGqb% diaa-bcaaeqaaOGaeyypa0Jaa8hiaiaacIcacaaIYaGaeqiWdaNaai% ykamaaCaaaleqabaGaeyOeI0IaaGymaiaac+cacaaIYaaaaGqadOGa% a4hiaiGacwgacaGG4bGaaiiCaiaacIcacqGHsislcaqGXoWaaWbaaS% qabeaacaqGYaaaaOGaai4laiaaikdacaGGPaGaa4hiaiaacQdaciGG% LbGaaiiEaiaacchacqGHXcqSdaWadiqaaiabgkHiTiaadkeacaGGNa% GaaiikaiaadshacaGGPaWaaWbaaSqabeaacaaIYaaaaOGaai4laiaa% ikdacaGFGaGaey4kaSIaa4hiaiaabg7acaWGcbGaai4jaiaacIcaca% WG0bGaaiykaaGaay5waiaaw2faaiaacQdaaaa!6C5C!\[{\rm{\delta }}_{{\rm{\alpha }}{\rm{.t}} } = (2\pi )^{ - 1/2} \exp ( - {\rm{\alpha }}^{\rm{2}} /2) :\exp \pm \left[ { - B'(t)^2 /2 + {\rm{\alpha }}B'(t)} \right]:\]is shown to be a generalized Brownian functional. Some of its properties are derived. is shown to be a generalized Brownian functional. Some of its properties are derived.On leave from Universidade do Minho, Area de Matematica, Largo Carlos Amarante, P-4700 Braga, Portugal.     

A Verified Optimization Technique to Locate Chaotic Regions of Hénon Systems

We present a new verified optimization method to find regions for Hénon systems where the conditions of chaotic behaviour hold. The present paper provides a methodology to verify chaos for certain mappings and regions. We discuss first how to check the set theoretical conditions of a respective theorem in a reliable way by computer programs. Then we introduce optimization problems that provide a model to locate chaotic regions. We prove the correctness of the underlying checking algorithms and the optimization model. We have verified an earlier published chaotic region, and we also give new chaotic places located by the new technique.     

Magnetic properties of mechanically alloyed Co–Ti powder

An amorphous phase containing traces of non-transformed Co and Ti powders was obtained by mechanical alloying nominal compositions of Co₆₇Ti₃₃ and Co₅₀Ti₅₀ in a high-energy ball-mill. These alloys were prepared from elemental powders of Co and Ti. The heat treatment of Co₆₇Ti₃₃ at 573, 873 and 1173 K crystallized nanoparticles of Co₂Ti and Co₃Ti compounds, while the same treatments conducted on Co₅₀Ti₅₀ resulted in the formation of Co₂Ti and CoTi nanoparticles. The saturation magnetizations reached a maximum value in the amorphous state and they decreased when the temperatures of the heat treatment rose. Demagnetizing interparticle interaction effects were estimated through hysteresis loops and initial magnetization curves using the Fourier technique.     

Propagation of mesons in asymmetric nuclear matter in a density-dependent coupling model

We study the propagation of the light mesons σ,ω,ρ, and a₀(980) in dense hadronic matter in an extended derivative scalar coupling model. Within the scheme proposed it is possible to unambiguously define effective density-dependent couplings at the Lagrangian level. We first apply the model to study asymmetric nuclear matter with fixed isospin asymmetry, and then we pay particular attention to hypermatter in β-equilibrium. The equation of state and the potential contribution to the symmetry coefficient arising from the mean-field approximation are investigated. Received: 16 October 2001 / Accepted: 10 January 2002