Data-based control design methods most often consist of iterative adjustment of the controller's parameters towards the parameter values which minimize an H2 performance criterion. Typically, batches of input-output data collected from the system are used to feed directly a gradient descent optimization - no process model is used. The convergence to the global minimum of the performance criterion depends on the initial controller parameters, as well as on the size and direction of the steps taken at each iteration. This paper discusses these issues and provides a method for choosing the search direction and the step size at each optimization step so that convergence to the global minimum is obtained with high convergence rate.

The construal of ‘exists’ as a first-order or real predicate is defended against prevailing orthodoxy.

Design and manufacturing of customized implants prior to surgery are described in this study. Implant shape and functional requirements are established by digital data based on CT scans and mirroring operations. The design process of customized mandible prosthesis is illustrated as well as its manufacturing process (direct metal laser sintering) and dimensional control. Laser sintering process and its constraints for the production of customized implants in titanium alloy (Ti–6Al–4V) with complex geometry and internal structures are reported. Important parameters and restrictions in the production of complex parts, including support structures, maximum overhanging angle and internal structure are also described.

Russell's theory of memory as acquaintance with the past seems to square uneasily with his definition of acquaintance as the converse of the relation of presentation of an object to a subject. We show how the two views can be made to cohere under a suitable construal of 'presentation', which has the additional appeal of bringing Russell's theory of memory closer to contemporary views on direct reference and object-dependent thinking than is usually acknowledged. The drawback is that memory as acquaintance with the past falls short of fulfilling Russell's requirement that knowledge by acquaintance be discriminating knowledge - a shortcoming shared by contemporary externalist accounts of knowledge from memory.

Que a lei moral em Kant esteja assentada numa base a priori é conhecido e é objeto de intensa discussão. Que a Metafísica dos Costumes seja a articulação metafísica de um sistema de deveres na sua filosofia prática também é bem conhecido e muitas vezes contestado. Mas que os “princípios de aplicação” da Metafísica dos Costumes pertençam a ela mesma, e sejam consequentemente a priori, isso não é tão frequentemente reconhecido. Procuro mostrar neste trabalho o que isso significa e como isso ainda permite a Kant falar da aplicação dessa metafísica, geradora de deveres para seres como nós. A solução me parece estar na compreensão das volições e máximas dos seres humanos em termos que as tornam intrinsecamente passíveis de avaliações por parte da razão pura prática. Essa compreensão faculta a Kant a exposição de deveres (inclusive os de virtude), cuja natureza geral é a de serem exigências racionais morais estritas, para seres sensíveis imperfeitos como nós que vivemos num mundo como o nosso.