Search results for: weak force

Authors: Somnath Bhattacharyya

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The mobile adsorbed surface charge on hydrophobic surfaces can modify the velocity slip condition as well as create a Marangoni stress at the interface. The functionalized hydrophobic walls of micro/nanopores, e.g., graphene nanochannels, may possess physio-sorbed ions. The lateral mobility of the physisorbed absorbed ions creates a friction force as well as an electric force, leading to a modification in the velocity slip condition at the hydrophobic surface. In addition, the non-uniform distribution of these surface ions creates a surface tension gradient, leading to a Marangoni stress. The impact of the mobile surface charge on streaming potential and electrochemical energy conversion efficiency in a pressure-driven flow of ionized liquid through the nanopore is addressed. Also, enhanced electro-osmotic flow through the hydrophobic nanochannel is also analyzed. The mean-filed electrokinetic model is modified to take into account the short-range non-electrostatic steric interactions and the long-range Coulomb correlations. The steric interaction is modeled by considering the ions as charged hard spheres of finite radius suspended in the electrolyte medium. The electrochemical potential is modified by including the volume exclusion effect, which is modeled based on the BMCSL equation of state. The electrostatic correlation is accounted for in the ionic self-energy. The extremal of the self-energy leads to a fourth-order Poisson equation for the electric field. The ion transport is governed by the modified Nernst-Planck equation, which includes the ion steric interactions; born force arises due to the spatial variation of the dielectric permittivity and the dielectrophoretic force on the hydrated ions. This ion transport equation is coupled with the Navier-Stokes equation describing the flow of the ionized fluid and the 3fourth-order Poisson equation for the electric field. We numerically solve the coupled set of nonlinear governing equations along with the prescribed boundary conditions by adopting a control volume approach over a staggered grid arrangement. In the staggered grid arrangements, velocity components are stored on the midpoint of the cell faces to which they are normal, whereas the remaining scalar variables are stored at the center of each cell. The convection and electromigration terms are discretized at each interface of the control volumes using the total variation diminishing (TVD) approach to capture the strong convection resulting from the highly enhanced fluid flow due to the modified model. In order to link pressure to the continuity equation, we adopt a pressure correction-based iterative SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure-Linked Equations) algorithm, in which the discretized continuity equation is converted to a Poisson equation involving pressure correction terms. Our results show that the physisorbed ions on a hydrophobic surface create an enhanced slip velocity when streaming potential, which enhances the convection current. However, the electroosmotic flow attenuates due to the mobile surface ions.

Keywords: microfluidics, electroosmosis, streaming potential, electrostatic correlation, finite sized ions

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Authors: Xiuxia Sun, Yan Jin, Zilong Liu, Shiming Wei

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As a critical mineral component of shale, illite is essential in oil exploration and development due to its surface hydration characteristics and action mechanism. This paper, starting from the perspective of the molecular structure of organic matter, uses molecular dynamics simulation technology to deeply explore the interaction mechanism between organic molecules and the illite surface. In the study, we thoroughly considered the forces such as van der Waals force, electrostatic force, and steric hindrance and constructed an illite crystal model covering C8-C18 modifiers. Subsequently, we systematically analyzed surfactants' adsorption behavior and hydration characteristics with different alkyl chain numbers, lengths, and concentrations on the illite surface. The simulation results show that surfactant molecules with shorter alkyl chains present a lateral monolayer or inclined double-layer arrangement on the illite surface, and these two arrangements may coexist under different concentration conditions. In addition, with the increase in the number of alkyl chains, the interlayer spacing of illite increases significantly. In contrast, the change in alkyl chain length has a limited effect on surface properties. It is worth noting that the change in functional group structure has a particularly significant effect on the wettability of the illite surface, and its influence even exceeds the change in the alkyl chain structure. This discovery gives us a new perspective on understanding and regulating the wetting properties. The results obtained are consistent with the XRD analysis and wettability experimental data in this paper, further confirming the reliability of the research conclusions. This study deepened our understanding of illite's hydration characteristics and mechanism. We provided new ideas and directions for the molecular design and application development of oilfield chemicals.

Keywords: illite, surfactant, hydration, wettability, adsorption

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Authors: Henry Navarro, Martin Sirena, Nestor Haberkorn

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We report the electrical transport through voltage-current curves (I-V) in tunnels junction GdBa₂Cu₃O₇-d/ insulator/ GdBa₂Cu₃O₇-d, and Nb/insulator/ GdBa₂Cu₃O₇-d is analyzed using a conducting atomic force microscope (CAFM) at room temperature. The measurements were obtained on tunnel junctions with different areas (900 μm², 400 μm² and 100 μm²). Trilayers with GdBa₂Cu₃O₇-d (GBCO) as the bottom electrode, SrTiO₃ (STO) or BaTiO₃ (BTO) as the insulator barrier (thicknesses between 1.6 nm and 4 nm), and GBCO or Nb as the top electrode were grown by DC sputtering on (100) SrTiO₃ substrates. For STO and BTO barriers, asymmetric IV curves at positive and negative polarization can be obtained using electrodes with different work function. The main difference is that the BTO is a ferroelectric material, while in the STO the ferroelectricity can be produced by stress or deformation at the interfaces. In addition, hysteretic IV curves are obtained for BTO barriers, which can be ascribed to a combined effect of the FE reversal switching polarization and an oxygen vacancy migration. For GBCO/ BTO/ GBCO heterostructures, the IV curves correspond to that expected for asymmetric interfaces, which indicates that the disorder affects differently the properties at the bottom and top interfaces. Our results show the role of the interface disorder on the electrical transport of conducting/ insulator/ conduction heterostructures, which is relevant for different applications, going from resistive switching memories (at room temperature) to Josephson junctions (at low temperatures). The superconducting transition of the GBCO electrode was characterized by electrical transport using the 4-prong configuration with low density of topological defects and with Tc over liquid N₂ can be obtained for thicknesses of 16 nm, our results demonstrate that GBCO films with an average root-mean-square (RMS) smaller than 1 nm and areas (up 100 um²) free of 3-D topological defects can be obtained.

Keywords: thin film, sputtering, conductive atomic force microscopy, tunnel junctions

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Authors: S. Belgherras Bekkouche, T. Benouaz, S. M. A. Bekkouche

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Tokamak plasma is far from having a stable background. The study of turbulent transport is an important part of the current research and advanced scenarios were devised to minimize it. To do this, we used a three-wave interaction model which allows to investigate the occurrence drift-wave turbulence driven by pressure gradients in the edge plasma of a tokamak. In order to simulate the energy redistribution among different modes, the growth/decay rates for the three waves was added. After a numerical simulation, we can determine certain aspects of the temporal dynamics exhibited by the model. Indeed for a wide range of the wave decay rate, an intermittent transition from periodic behavior to chaos is observed. Then, a control strategy of chaos was introduced with the aim of reducing or eliminating the weak turbulence.

Keywords: wave interaction, plasma drift waves, wave turbulence, tokamak, edge plasma, chaos

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Authors: Dharshini S.

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India is currently experiencing a shift in wage discrimination from gender, caste and religion to different age groups in both formal and informal sectors. In this milieu, this study examines wage discrimination in the informal labour market between young people (15-29 years) and middle-aged people (30-59 years) among regular and casual employees in the Indian informal sector. The data was collected using periodic labour force (PLFS), and the original data was extracted from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), Government of India. The OLS regression model explores the determinants of wages for both regular and casual employees. Moreover, the Blinder Oaxaca decomposition method is used to explore the explained and unexplained components of this wage discrimination. The younger people (regular and casual employees) get lower wages as compared to middle-aged employees in the informal sector. The regression result follows the human capital theory, where education, job experience and higher occupation help to raise the wage rate of middle-aged people more than young-aged people in regular work. Furthermore, we found the rising trend of wage discrimination between the above groups over the years from 2017-18 to 2022-23. Unexplained factors (discrimination effects) contribute more to the wage differentiation between the young and middle age groups. It indicates that wage discrimination persists among regular and casual employees in the informal labour market, which is not a good sign for the economy. For the betterment of workers who face discrimination for age, the policies and programs should be implemented like other countries such as the U.S.A to stop age discrimination due to stereotypes in India.

Keywords: wage discrimination, young workers, middle workers, Informal sector, blinder oaxaca decomposition, PLFS.

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Authors: E. Abustam, M. Yusuf, M. I. Said

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One of functional properties of the meat is decrease of water holding capacity (WHC) during rigor mortis. At the time of pre-rigor, WHC is higher than post-rigor. The decline of WHC has implication to the other functional properties such as decreased cooking lost and yields resulting in lower elasticity and compactness of processed meat product. In many cases, the addition of phosphate in the meat will increase the functional properties of the meat such as WHC. Furthermore, liquid smoke has also been known in increasing the WHC of fresh meat. For food safety reasons, liquid smoke in the present study was used as a substitute to phosphate in production of chicken nuggets. This study aimed to know the effect of substitution of phosphate with liquid smoke on the quality of nuggets made from post-rigor chicken thigh and breast. The study was arranged using completely randomized design of factorial pattern 2x3 with three replications. Factor 1 was thigh and breast parts of the chicken, and factor 2 was different levels of liquid smoke in substitution to phosphate (0%, 50%, and 100%). The thigh and breast post-rigor broiler aged 40 days were used as the main raw materials in making nuggets. Auxiliary materials instead of meat were phosphate, liquid smoke at concentration of 10%, tapioca flour, salt, eggs and ice. Variables measured were flexibility, shear force value, cooking loss, elasticity level, and preferences. The results of this study showed that the substitution of phosphate with 100% liquid smoke resulting high quality nuggets. Likewise, the breast part of the meat showed higher quality nuggets than thigh part. This is indicated by high elasticity, low shear force value, low cooking loss, and a high level of preference of the nuggets. It can be concluded that liquid smoke can be used as a binder in making nuggets of chicken post-rigor.

Keywords: liquid smoke, nugget quality, phosphate, post-rigor

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Authors: Abdulmohsen Alruwaili

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A partial differential system featuring momentum and energy balance is often used to describe simulations of flow initiation and thermal shifting in boundary layers. The buoyancy force in terms of temperature is factored in the momentum balance equation. Buoyancy force causes the flow quantity to fluctuate along the streamwise direction 𝑋; therefore, the problem can be, to our best knowledge, analyzed through nonsimilar modeling. In this analysis, a nonsimilar model is evolved for radiative mixed convection of a magnetized power-law nanoliquid flow on top of a vertical plate installed in a stationary fluid. The upward linear stretching initiated the flow in the vertical direction. Assuming nanofluids are composite of copper (Cu) and alumina (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles, the viscous dissipation in this case is negligible. The nonsimilar system is dealt with analytically by local nonsimilarity (LNS) via numerical algorithm bvp4c. Surface temperature and flow field are shown visually in relation to factors like mixed convection, magnetic field strength, nanoparticle volume fraction, radiation parameters, and Prandtl number. The repercussions of magnetic and mixed convection parameters on the rate of energy transfer and friction coefficient are represented in tabular forms. The results obtained are compared to the published literature. It is found that the existence of nanoparticles significantly improves the temperature profile of considered nanoliquid. It is also observed that when the estimates of the magnetic parameter increase, the velocity profile decreases. Enhancement in nanoparticle concentration and mixed convection parameter improves the velocity profile.

Keywords: nanofluid, power law model, mixed convection, thermal radiation

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Authors: Yayun Hsu, Henry Horng-Shing Lu

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In this paper, a new method is proposed to extending the method of connected component labeling from processing binary images to multi-scale modeling of images. By using the adaptive threshold of multi-scale attributes, this approach minimizes the possibility of missing those important components with weak intensities. In addition, the computational cost of this approach remains similar to that of the typical approach of component labeling. Then, this methodology is applied to grain boundary detection and Drosophila Brain-bow neuron segmentation. These demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach in the analysis of challenging microscopy images for scientific discovery.

Keywords: microscopic image processing, scientific data mining, multi-scale modeling, data mining

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Authors: Karimova Sitora Yuldashevna

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The August 2021 resurgence of Taliban as a ruling force in Afghanistan once again challenged the global community into dealing with an unprecedentedly unlike-minded government. To express their disapproval of the new regime, Western governments and intergovernmental institutions have suspended their infrastructural projects and other forms of support. Moreover, the Afghan offshore reserves were frozen, and Afghanistan was disconnected from the international financial system, which impeded even independent aid agencies’ work. The already poor provision of aid was then further complicated with political conditionality. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficacy of conditional aid policy in the Afghan peacebuilding under Taliban rule and provide recommendations to international donors on further course of action. Arguing that conditionality of aid is a counterproductive factor in the peacebuilding process, this paper employs scholarly literature on peacebuilding alongside reports from International non-governmental organizations INGOs who operate directly in Afghanistan. The existing debate on peacebuilding in Afghanistan revolves around aid as a means of building democratic foundation for achieving peace on communal and national levels and why the previous attempts to do so were unsuccessful. This paper focuses on how to recalibrate the approach to aid provision and peacebuilding in the new reality. In the early 2000s, amid the weak Post-Cold War international will for a profound engagement in the conflict, humanitarian and development aid became the new means of achieving peace. Aid agencies provided resources directly to communities, minimizing the risk of local disputes. Through subsidizing education, governance reforms, and infrastructural projects, international aid accelerated school enrollment, introduced peace education, funded provincial council and parliamentary elections, and helped rebuild a conflict-torn country.When the Taliban seized power, the international community called on them to build an inclusive government based on respect for human rights, particularly girls’ and women’s schooling and work, as a condition to retain the aid flow. As the Taliban clearly failed to meet the demands, development aid was withdrawn. Some key United Nation agencies also refrained from collaborating with the de-facto authorities. However, contrary to the intended change in Talibs’ behavior, such a move has only led to further deprivation of those whom the donors strived to protect. This is because concern for civilians has always been the second priority for the warring parties. This paper consists of four parts. First, it describes the scope of the humanitarian crisis that began in Afghanistan in 2001. Second, it examines the previous peacebuilding attempts undertaken by the international community and the contribution that the international aid had in the peacebuilding process. Third, the paper describes the current regime and its relationships with the international donors. Finally, the paper concludes with recommendations for donors who would have to be more realistic and reconsider their priorities. While it is certainly not suggested that the Taliban regime is legitimized internationally, the crisis calls upon donors to be more flexible in collaborating with the de-facto authorities for the sake of the civilians.

Keywords: Afghanistan, international aid, donors, peacebuilding

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Authors: Shaho Ghafur Ahmed

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The right to self-determination of peoples is a fundamental human right recognized by the principles of international law. It could be embodied in the internal level in the form of federalism. Most federal constitutions prevented the secession of constituent entities, while some remained silent, as the case of Iraq, and rare instances of them recognize it. But, after the failure of federalism, these entities seek to separate whenever the opportunity arises. In several cases, they have resort to peaceful methods in some others they resort to force. The constitutional Supreme Court, which guaranty the unity and integrity of the State, often prevent these attempts. After not a commitment of federalism in Iraq, which has been founded since 2004, the Kurdistan region, as the only federated entity, has conducted a unilateral referendum on 25 September 2017 for its independence. The Iraqi government refused it. The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court, through interpreting the constitutional provisions, decided that this referendum and it’s purposes, which was the independence of the region, was unconstitutional. Subsequently, the Iraqi government used forces and blockaded the region so as to force it to turn off this process. So, in this paper, the right to self-determination of the peoples in federated entities and its obstacles will be discussed through the comparative legal basis and analyzing the decisions of the Federal Constitutional Courts. We will compare the role that the Supreme Court of Canada played regarding the referendum that operated in Quebec in 1995, in which it refused only the unilaterally attempts for the independence of this province. While, in the case of the Kurdistan region, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court has definitively refused this right. No measures were taken by this Court to protect the region from the Iraqi government reactions. This decision led to the questioning of the neutrality of this Court. So, from the point of view of the Kurdistan region, this Court became a political instrument to prevent it to be independent in the international community, in the absence of a clear constitutional provision, through an abstract and an incomplete interpretation of federal constitutional provisions.

Keywords: right of self-determination, federal supreme court, supremacy of federal constitution

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Authors: Surbhi Kaura, Sachin Kandhari, Shahiduz Zafar

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Chronic stroke, characterized by persistent motor deficits, often necessitates comprehensive rehabilitation interventions to improve functional outcomes and mitigate long-term dependency. Luna neurorobotic devices, integrated with EMG feedback systems, provide an innovative platform for facilitating neuroplasticity and functional improvement in stroke survivors. This retrospective study aims to investigate the impact of EMG-based Luna neurorobotic interventions on the strengthening of the affected side in chronic stroke patients. In rehabilitation, active patient participation significantly activates the sensorimotor network during motor control, unlike passive movement. Stroke is a debilitating condition that, when not effectively treated, can result in significant deficits and lifelong dependency. Common issues like neglecting the use of limbs can lead to weakness in chronic stroke cases. In rehabilitation, active patient participation significantly activates the sensorimotor network during motor control, unlike passive movement. This study aims to assess how electromyographic triggering (EMG-triggered) robotic treatments affect walking, ankle muscle force after an ischemic stroke, and the coactivation of agonist and antagonist muscles, which contributes to neuroplasticity with the assistance of biofeedback using robotics. Methods: The study utilized robotic techniques based on electromyography (EMG) for daily rehabilitation in long-term stroke patients, offering feedback and monitoring progress. Each patient received one session per day for two weeks, with the intervention group undergoing 45 minutes of robot-assisted training and exercise at the hospital, while the control group performed exercises at home. Eight participants with impaired motor function and gait after stroke were involved in the study. EMG-based biofeedback exercises were administered through the LUNA neuro-robotic machine, progressing from trigger and release mode to trigger and hold, and later transitioning to dynamic mode. Assessments were conducted at baseline and after two weeks, including the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, a 10-meter walk test (10m), Berg Balance Scale (BBG), and gait parameters like cadence, step length, upper limb strength measured by EMG threshold in microvolts, and force in Newton meters. Results: The study utilized a scale to assess motor strength and balance, illustrating the benefits of EMG-biofeedback following LUNA robotic therapy. In the analysis of the left hemiparetic group, an increase in strength post-rehabilitation was observed. The pre-TUG mean value was 72.4, which decreased to 42.4 ± 0.03880133 seconds post-rehabilitation, with a significant difference indicated by a p-value below 0.05, reflecting a reduced task completion time. Similarly, in the force-based task, the pre-knee dynamic force in Newton meters was 18.2NM, which increased to 31.26NM during knee extension post-rehabilitation. The post-student t-test showed a p-value of 0.026, signifying a significant difference. This indicated an increase in the strength of knee extensor muscles after LUNA robotic rehabilitation. Lastly, at baseline, the EMG value for ankle dorsiflexion was 5.11 (µV), which increased to 43.4 ± 0.06 µV post-rehabilitation, signifying an increase in the threshold and the patient's ability to generate more motor units during left ankle dorsiflexion. Conclusion: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of EMG and dynamic force-based rehabilitation devices on walking and strength of the affected side in chronic stroke patients without nominal data comparisons among stroke patients. Additionally, it provides insights into the inclusion of EMG-triggered neurorehabilitation robots in the daily rehabilitation of patients.

Keywords: neurorehabilitation, robotic therapy, stroke, strength, paralysis

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Authors: Noah Yusuf

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The present paper examined the current level of socio-political and economic development in Africa. Models and experiences from other regions of the world, especially, developing ones with similar historical experience with Africa, were explored. The paper concluded that recommendations emanating from past conferences, seminars and symposia on the continent’s socio-economic and political challenges have been poorly implemented because of lack of strong political will; the donor syndrome; weak resource base; capacity constraints in institutions; and lack of accountability, transparency and poor governance. It is, therefore, recommended that African countries need implement sound policies and reforms on a comprehensive basis, if they are to achieve the desired socio-economic and political transformation; and the African in Diasporas represent critical instruments in attaining the socio-economic and political objectives of the continent.

Keywords: Africa, political transformation, economic transformation, Africans in diasporas

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Authors: Fangyuan Shao, Wei Liu, Deli Gao

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Polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits have occupied a large market of unconventional oil and gas drilling. The application of PDC bits benefits from the efficient rock breaking of PDC cutters. In response to increasingly complex formations, many shaped cutters have been invited, but many of them have not been solved by the mechanism of rock breaking. In this paper, two kinds of PDC cutters: a new axe-shaped (NAS) cutter and cylindrical cutter (benchmark) were studied by laboratory experiments. NAS cutter is obtained by optimizing two sides of axe-shaped cutter with curved surfaces. All the cutters were put on a vertical turret lathe (VTL) in the laboratory for cutting tests. According to the cutting distance, the VTL tests can be divided into two modes: single-turn rotary cutting and continuous cutting. The cutting depth of cutting (DOC) was set at 1.0 mm and 2.0 mm in the former mode. The later mode includes a dry VTL test for thermal stability and a wet VTL test for wear resistance. Load cell and 3D optical profiler were used to obtain the value of cutting forces and wear area, respectively. Based on the findings of the single-turn rotary cutting VTL tests, the performance of A NAS cutter was better than the benchmark cutter on elastoplastic material cutting. The cutting forces (normal forces, tangential force, and radial force) and special mechanical energy (MSE) of a NAS cutter were lower than that of the benchmark cutter under the same condition. It meant that a NAS cutter was more efficient on elastoplastic material breaking. However, the wear resistance of a new axe-shaped cutter was higher than that of a benchmark cutter. The results of the dry VTL test showed that the thermal stability of a NAS cutter was higher than that of a benchmark cutter. The cutting efficiency can be improved by optimizing the geometric structure of the PDC cutter. The change of thermal stability may be caused by the decrease of the contact area between cutter and rock at given DOC. The conclusions of this paper can be used as an important reference for PDC cutters designers.

Keywords: axe-shaped cutter, PDC cutter, rotary cutting test, vertical turret lathe

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Authors: S. Tarighat, F. Shateri

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This study explored the relationship between L2 Willingness to Communicate (WTC) of bilinguals and monolinguals in a foreign language using a snowball sampling method to collect questionnaire data from 200 bilinguals and monolinguals studying a foreign language (FL). The results indicated a higher willingness to communicate in a foreign language (WTC-FL) performed by bilinguals compared to that of the monolinguals with a weak significance. Yet a stronger significance was found in the relationship between the age of onset of bilingualism and WTC-FL. The researcher proposed that L2 WTC is indirectly influenced by knowledge of other languages, which can boost L2 confidence and reduce L2 anxiety and consequently lead to higher L2 WTC when learning a different L2. The study also found the age of onset of bilingualism to be a predictor of L2 WTC when learning a FL. The results emphasize the importance of bilingualism and early bilingualism in particular.

Keywords: bilingualism, foreign language learning, l2 acquisition, willingness to communicate

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Authors: Elin Cahyaningsih, Dana Indra Sensuse, Wahyu Catur Wibowo, Sofiyanti Indriasari

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Bureaucracy reform program drives Indonesian government to change their management and supporting unit in order to enhance their organization performance. Information technology as one of supporting unit became one of strategic plan that organization tried to improve, because IT can automate and speed up process, reduce business process life cycle become more effective and efficient. Knowledge management system is a technology application for supporting knowledge management implementation in government which is requirement based on problem and potential functionality of each knowledge management process. Define knowledge management that suitable for each organization it is difficult, that why we should make the knowledge management system strategy as an alignment of knowledge management process in the organization. Knowledge management system is one of information system development in people perspective, because this system has high dependency in human interaction and participation. Strategic plan for developing knowledge management system can be determine using some of information system strategic methods. This research conducted to define type of strategic method of information system, stage of activity each method, the strategic method strength and weakness. The author use literature review methods for identify and classify strategic methods of information system for differentiate method type, categorize common activities, strength and weakness. Result of this research are determine and compare six strategic information system methods, there are Balanced Scorecard, Five Force Porter, SWOT analysis, Value Chain Analysis, Risk Analysis and Gap Analysis. Balanced Scorecard and Risk Analysis believe as common strategic method that usually used and have the highest excellence strength.

Keywords: knowledge management system, balanced scorecard, five force, risk analysis, gap analysis, value chain analysis, SWOT analysis

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Authors: Peter J. Riley

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Introductory courses in High Energy Physics (HEP) can be extended with the Tri-Preon (TP) model to both supplements and challenge the Standard Model (SM) theory. TP supplements by simplifying the tracking of Conserved Quantum Numbers at an interaction vertex, e.g., the lepton number can be seen as a di-preon current. TP challenges by proposing extended particle families to three generations of particle triplets for leptons, quarks, and weak bosons. There are extensive examples discussed at an introductory level in six arXiv publications, including supersymmetry, hyper color, and the Higgs. Interesting exercises include pion decay, kaon-antikaon mixing, neutrino oscillations, and K+ decay to muons. It is a revealing exercise for students to weigh the pros and cons of parallel theories at an early stage in their HEP journey.

Keywords: HEP, particle physics, standard model, Tri-Preon model

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Authors: K. Jankowski, M. Pawlikowski, A. Makuch, K. Skalski

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Depth-sensing indentation (DSI) or nanoindentation is becoming a more and more popular method of measuring mechanical properties of various materials and tissues at a micro-scale. This technique allows measurements without complicated sample preparation procedures which makes this method very useful. As a result of measurement force and displacement of the intender are obtained. It is also possible to determine three measures of hardness i.e. Martens hardness (HM), nanohardness (HIT), Vickers hardness (HV) and Young modulus EIT. In this work trabecular bone mechanical properties were investigated. The bone samples were harvested from human femoral heads during hip replacement surgery. Patients were of different age, sexes and stages of tissue degeneration caused by osteoarthritis. The specimens were divided into three groups. Each group contained samples harvested from patients of different range of age. All samples were investigated with the same measurement conditions. The maximum load was Pmax=500 mN and the loading rate was 500 mN/min. The tests were held without hold at the peak force. The tests were conducted with indenter Vickers tip and spherical tip of the diameter 0.2 mm. Each trabecular bone sample was tested 7 times in a close area of the same trabecula. The measured loading P as a function of indentation depth allowed to obtain hysteresis loop and HM, HIT, HV, EIT. Results for arbitrarily chosen sample are HM=289.95 ± 42.31 MPa, HIT=430.75 ± 45.37 MPa, HV=40.66 ± 4.28 Vickers, EIT=7.37 ± 1.84 GPa for Vickers tip and HM=115.19 ± 15.03 MPa, HIT=165.80 ± 19.30 MPa, HV=16.90 ± 1.97 Vickers, EIT=5.30 ± 1.31 GPa for spherical tip. Results of nanoindentation tests show that this method is very useful and is perfect for obtaining mechanical properties of trabecular bone. Estimated values of elastic modulus are similar. The differences between hardness are significant but it is a result of using two different types of tips. However, it has to be emphasised that the differences in the values of elastic modulus and hardness result from different testing protocols, anisotropy and asymmetry of the micro-samples and the hydration of bone.

Keywords: human bone, mechanical properties, nano hardness nanoindentation, trabecular bone

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Authors: Reza E. Sedgh, Rajesh P. Dhakal

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Shear walls have been used extensively as the main lateral force resisting systems in multi-storey buildings. The recent development in performance based design urges practicing engineers to conduct nonlinear static or dynamic analysis to evaluate seismic performance of multi-storey shear wall buildings by employing distinct analytical models suggested in the literature. For practical purpose, application of macroscopic models to simulate the global and local nonlinear behavior of structural walls outweighs the microscopic models. The skill level, computational time and limited access to RC specialized finite element packages prevents the general application of this method in performance based design or assessment of multi-storey shear wall buildings in design offices. Hence, this paper organized to verify capability of nonlinear shell element in commercially available package (Sap2000) in simulating results of some specimens under monotonic and cyclic loads with very oversimplified available cyclic material laws in the analytical tool. The selection of constitutive models, the determination of related parameters of the constituent material and appropriate nonlinear shear model are presented in detail. Adoption of proposed simple model demonstrated that the predicted results follow the overall trend of experimental force-displacement curve. Although, prediction of ultimate strength and the overall shape of hysteresis model agreed to some extent with experiment, the ultimate displacement(significant strength degradation point) prediction remains challenging in some cases.

Keywords: analytical model, nonlinear shell element, structural wall, shear behavior

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Authors: Probuddha Mukhopadhyay

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The infiltration of key elements to the civil structure is foraying its way to reclaim, what is its own. The reclamation of lives and spaces, once challenged, becomes a consistent process of ingress, disguised as parallels to the moving city, disperses into discourses often unheard of and conveniently forgotten. In this age of 'hyper'-urbanization, there are solutions suggested to a plethora of issues faced by citizens, in improving their standards of living. Problems are ancillary to proposals that emerge out of the underlying disorders of the townscape. These interventions result in the formulation of urban policies, to consolidate and optimize, to regularize and to streamline resources. Policy and practice are processes where the politics in policies define the way in which urban solutions are prescribed. Social constraints, that formulate the various cycles of order and disorders within the urban realm, are the stigmas for such interventions. There is often a direct relation of policy to place, no matter how people-centric it may seem to be projected. How we live our lives depends on where we live our lives - a relative statement for urban problems, varies from city to city. Communal compositions, welfare, crisis, socio-economic balance, need for management are the generic roots for urban policy formulation. However, in reality, the gentry administering its environmentalism is the criterion, that shapes and defines the values and expanse of such policies. In relation to the psycho-spatial characteristic of urban spheres with respect to the other side of this game, there have been instances, where the associational values have been reshaped by interests. The public domain reclaimed for exclusivity, thus creating fortified neighborhoods. Here, the citizen cumulative is often drifted by proposals that would over time deplete such landscapes of the city. It is the organized rebellion that in turn formulates further inward looking enclaves of latent aggression. In recent times, it has been observed that the unbalanced division of power and the implied processes of regulating the weak, stem the rebellion who respond in kits and parts. This is a phenomenon that mimics the guerilla warfare tactics, in order to have systems straightened out, either by manipulations or by force. This is the form of the city determined by the various forms insinuated by the state of city wide decisions. This study is an attempt at understanding the way in which development is interpreted by the state and the civil society and the role that community driven processes undertake to reinstate their claims to the city. This is a charter of consolidated patterns of negotiations that tend to counter policies. The research encompasses a study of various contested settlements in two cities of India- Mumbai and Kolkata, tackling dissent through spatial order. The study has been carried out to identify systems - formal and informal, catering to the most challenged interests of the people with respect to their habitat, a model to counter the top-down authoritative framework challenging the legitimacy of such settlements.

Keywords: urban design, insurgence, tactical urbanism, urban governance, civil society, state

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Authors: Emre Kara, Şura Karakuzu, Ahmet Fatih Geylan, Metehan Demir, Kadir Koç, Halil Aykul

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The material selection in the design of the sandwich structures is very crucial aspect because of the positive or negative influences of the base materials to the mechanical properties of the entire panel. In the literature, it was presented that the selection of the skin and core materials plays very important role on the behavior of the sandwich. Beside this, the use of the correct adhesive can make the whole structure to show better mechanical results and behavior. By this way, the sandwich structures realized in the study were obtained with the combination of aluminum foam core and three different glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) skins using two different commercial adhesives which are based on flexible polyurethane and toughened epoxy. The static and dynamic tests were already applied on the sandwiches with different types of adhesives. In the present work, the static three-point bending tests were performed on the sandwiches having an aluminum foam core with the thickness of 15 mm, the skins with three different types of fabrics ([0°/90°] cross ply E-Glass Biaxial stitched, [0°/90°] cross ply E-Glass Woven and [0°/90°] cross ply S-Glass Woven which have same thickness value of 1.75 mm) and two different commercial adhesives (flexible polyurethane and toughened epoxy based) at different values of support span distances (L= 55, 70, 80, 125 mm) by aiming the analyses of their flexural performance. The skins used in the study were produced via Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) technique and were easily bonded onto the aluminum foam core with flexible and toughened adhesives under a very low pressure using press machine with the alignment tabs having the total thickness of the whole panel. The main results of the flexural loading are: force-displacement curves obtained after the bending tests, peak force values, absorbed energy, collapse mechanisms, adhesion quality and the effect of the support span length and adhesive type. The experimental results presented that the sandwiches with epoxy based toughened adhesive and the skins made of S-Glass Woven fabrics indicated the best adhesion quality and mechanical properties. The sandwiches with toughened adhesive exhibited higher peak force and energy absorption values compared to the sandwiches with flexible adhesive. The core shear mode occurred in the sandwiches with flexible polyurethane based adhesive through the thickness of the core while the same mode took place in the sandwiches with toughened epoxy based adhesive along the length of the core. The use of these sandwich structures can lead to a weight reduction of the transport vehicles, providing an adequate structural strength under operating conditions.

Keywords: adhesive and adhesion, aluminum foam, bending, collapse mechanisms

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Authors: Xiaohua Jing

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Efficient extraction for separation of V and Cr in the leaching/aqueous solution is essential to the reuse of V and Cr in the V-Cr slag. Trioctylamine, a common tertiary amine extractant, with some good characters (e.g., weak base, insoluble in water and good stability) different from N1923, was investigated in this paper. The separation factor of Cr and V can be reached to 230.71 when initial pH of the aqueous solution is 0.5, so trioctylamine can be used for extracting Cr from the leaching/aqueous solution contained V and Cr. The highest extraction percentages of Cr and V were 98.73% and 90.22% when the initial pH values were 0.5 and 1.5, respectively. Via FT-IR spectra of loaded organic phase and trioctylamine, the hydrogen bond association mechanism of extracting V and Cr was investigated, which was the same with the way of extracting the two metals with primary amine N1923.

Keywords: selective extraction, trioctylamine, V and Cr, separation factor, hydrogen bond association

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Authors: Varun Joshi, M. S. Rawat

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The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) is inherently fragile and susceptible to landslide hazard due to its extremely weak geology, highly rugged topography and heavy monsoonal rainfall. One of the most common hazards in the IHR is landslide, and this event is particularly frequent in Himalayan states of India i.e. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. Landslides are mostly triggered by extreme rainfall events but the incidence increases during monsoon months (June to September). Natural slopes which are otherwise stable but they get destabilized due to anthropogenic activities like construction of various developmental activities and deforestation. These activities are required to fulfill the developmental needs and upliftment of societal status in the region. Landslides also trigger during major earthquakes and reported most observable and damaging phenomena. Studies indicate that the landslide phenomenon has increased many folds due to developmental activities in Himalayan region. Gradually increasing and devastating consequences of landslides turned into one of the most important hydro-geological hazards in Himalayan states especially in Uttarakhand and Sikkim states of India. The recent most catastrophic rainfall in June 2013 in Uttarakhand lead to colossal loss of life and property. The societal damage due to this incident is still to be recovered even after three years. Sikkim earthquake of September 2011 is witnessed for triggering of large number of coseismic landslides. The rescue and relief team faced huge problem in helping the trapped villagers in remote locations of the state due to road side blockade by landslides. The recent past incidences of landslides in Uttarakhand, as well as Sikkim states, created a new domain of research in terms of understanding the phenomena of landslide and management of disaster in such situation. Every year at many locations landslides trigger which force dwellers to either evacuate their dwelling or lose their life and property. The communication and transportation networks are also severely affected by landslides at several locations. Many times the drinking water supply disturbed and shortage of daily need household items reported during monsoon months. To minimize the severity of landslide in IHR requires in-depth research and developmental planning. For most of the areas in the present study, landslide hazard zonation is done on 1:50,000 scale. The land use planning maps on extensive basis are not available. Therefore, there is a need of large-scale landslide hazard zonation and land use planning maps. If the scientist conduct research on desired aspects and their outcome of research is utilized by the government in developmental planning then the incidents of landslide could be minimized, subsequent impact on society, life and property would be reduced. Along with the scientific research, there is another need of awareness generation in the region for stake holders and local dwellers to combat with the landslide hazard, if triggered in their location.

Keywords: coseismic, Indian Himalayan Region, landslide hazard zonation, Sikkim, societal, Uttarakhand

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Authors: Chien-Liang Chao, Yun-Sheng Lin

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Secondary metabolites are applied in the human life of the Chinese herbal medicine. Many drugs are originally extracted from natural products with combination of pharmaceutical and chemical studies. Crude extract of the leaves from Zamia furfureace L. has been shown to exhibit anticancer activities. The first chemical investigation of this plant was carried out by our group. In this study, four known compounds were isolated from Zamia furfureace L. with three lignins (Sesamin (1), Wodeshiol (2) and Paulownin (3)), and one dipeptide (Aurantiamide acetate (4)). The structures of these compounds were analyzed through the 1D-NMR(1H-NMR,13C-NMR)、2D-NMR(COSY、HMQC、HMBC、NOESY) spectroscopic analysis, and by comparison of variety of physical data (IR, mass spectrometry, ultraviolet, optical rotation). Among them, Aurantiamide acetate (4) exhibited weak cytotoxic activity against human gastric cancer cells.

Keywords: Zamia furfureace L., AGS, sesamin, Aurantiamide acetate, secondary metabolites

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Authors: Danladi Ali

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In this paper, we measured GSM signal strength in the Dnepropetrovsk city in order to predict path loss in study area using nonlinear autoregressive neural network prediction and we also, used neural network clustering to determine average GSM signal strength receive at the study area. The nonlinear auto-regressive neural network predicted that the GSM signal is attenuated with the mean square error (MSE) of 2.6748dB, this attenuation value is used to modify the COST 231 Hata and the Okumura-Hata models. The neural network clustering revealed that -75dB to -95dB is received more frequently. This means that the signal strength received at the study is mostly weak signal

Keywords: one-dimensional multilevel wavelets, path loss, GSM signal strength, propagation, urban environment and model

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Authors: Gelacio JuáRez-Luna, Daniel Enrique GonzáLez-RamíRez, Enrique Tenorio-Montero

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Frame elements coupled with springs elements are used for modelling the development of hinges in segmented tunnels, the spring elements modelled the rotational, transversal and axial failure. These spring elements are equipped with constitutive models to include independently the moment, shear force and axial force, respectively. These constitutive models are formulated based on damage mechanics and experimental test reported in the literature review. The mesh of the segmented tunnels was discretized in the software GID, and the nonlinear analyses were carried out in the finite element software ANSYS. These analyses provide the capacity curve of the primary and secondary lining of a segmented tunnel. Two numerical examples of segmented tunnels show the capability of the spring elements to release energy by the development of hinges. The first example is a segmental concrete lining discretized with frame elements loaded until hinges occurred in the lining. The second example is a tunnel with primary and secondary lining, discretized with a double ring frame model. The outer ring simulates the segmental concrete lining and the inner ring simulates the secondary cast-in-place concrete lining. Spring elements also modelled the joints between the segments in the circumferential direction and the ring joints, which connect parallel adjacent rings. The computed load vs displacement curves are congruent with numerical and experimental results reported in the literature review. It is shown that the modelling of a tunnel with primary and secondary lining with frame elements and springs provides reasonable results and save computational cost, comparing with 2D or 3D models equipped with smeared crack models.

Keywords: damage, hinges, lining, tunnel

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Authors: Nadia Naadu Nartey, Esther A.O.G. Tetteh

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Male negotiator representations and the appreciation of masculine traits in negotiation contexts dominate negotiation research in the field of conflict management and resolution. This study switched focus to pay attention to rarely examined gendered criteria and social contexts in negotiation research by investigating how intuition has been used in negotiations by female leaders toward conflict transformation in Ghanaian social contexts. Using the theoretical lenses of Klein’s Recognition-Primed Decisions (RPD) and Unconscious Information Processing (UIP) models, this study employs narrative inquiry in qualitative research. Semi-structured interviews of five (5) female leaders of Ghanaian social contexts in the United States (US) revealed that the use of intuition is necessary for effective negotiation outcomes due to its primal focus on relationship-building toward transforming conflicts. The knowledge added to the body of research by this study is summed up in the study’s conceptual framework. Female leaders, in negotiation situations where there are conflicting parties, prioritize the greater need for stronger relationships and win-win outcomes. The participant female leaders in negotiation contexts utilize their intuition as a bonding mechanism by effectively timing their actions, using an appropriate communication tone, emphasizing relationship building, and drawing from experience to make sound situational judgments (as in assessing a situation in the RPD model). Female leaders’ use of intuition in negotiations then translates to creating a force that bridges the gap between the conflicting parties. That force is noticed as conflict transformation that manifests as a reduction in anger and a promotion of trust and mutual understanding toward strengthening relationships. Future studies can expand the scope of the findings of this research by conducting a comparative analysis between male and female leaders on their use of intuition in negotiations in Ghanaian contexts.

Keywords: intuition, negotiation, conflict transformation, female leaders, ghanaian social contexts

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Authors: K. Drabczyk, Z. Starowicz, S. Maleczek, P. Zieba

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The army, police and fire brigade commonly use dedicated equipment based on special textile materials. The properties of these textiles should ensure human life and health protection. Equally important is the ability to use electronic equipment and this requires access to the source of electricity. Photovoltaic cells integrated with such textiles can be solution for this problem in the most of outdoor circumstances. One idea may be to laminate the cells to textile without changing their properties. The main goal of this work was analyzed lamination quality of special designed semi-flexible solar module with special textile materials as a backsheet. In the first step of investigation, the quality of lamination was determined using device equipped with dynamometer. In this work, the crystalline silicon solar cells 50 x 50 mm and thin chemical tempered glass - 62 x 62 mm and 0.8 mm thick - were used. The obtained results showed the correlation between breaking force and type of textile weave and fiber. The breaking force was in the ranges: 4.5-5.5 N, 15-20 N and 30-33 N depending on the type of wave and fiber type. To verify these observations the microscopic and FTIR analysis of fibers was performed. The studies showed the special textile can be used as a backsheet of semi-flexible solar modules. This work presents a new composition of solar module with special textile layer which, to our best knowledge, has not been published so far. Moreover, the work presents original investigations on adhesion of EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) polymer to textile with respect to fiber structure of laminated substrate. This work is realized for the GEKON project (No. GEKON2/O4/268473/23/2016) sponsored by The National Centre for Research and Development and The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

Keywords: flexible solar modules, lamination process, solar cells, textile for photovoltaics

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Authors: Eid Badshah, Amjad Naseer, Muhammad Ashraf

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In this paper full-scale brick masonry room along with the veranda of a typical school building was subjected to eight successive blast tests with increasing charge weights ranging from 0.5kg to 16.02kg at 3.66m fixed stand-off distance. Pressure-time histories were obtained by data acquisition system from pressure sensors, installed on different points of room as well as veranda columns. The resulting damage pattern of different locations was observed during each test. Weak zones of masonry room were identified. Scaled distances for different damage levels in masonry room were experimentally obtained. The results provided a basis for determining the response of masonry room building against blast loading in a specific threat scenario.

Keywords: peak pressure, composition-B, TNT, pressure sensor, scaled distance, masonry

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Authors: Nivedita Roy, Aparajita Chattopadhyay

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Gender discrimination is already one of the major factors why India is still in the list of the 3rd World Countries, but, when it comes to gender inclusion in the environmental arena, this umbrella concept is quite unheard of by our countrymen. The main objective was to assess gender equality for the environment through calculating Environment and Gender Index on a country level, India, in this case. 22 states out of 29 were considered for calculation. Also, out of the 72 countries chosen by IUCN to calculate EGI, the lower middle income group of countries was chosen to assess the position of India, also a lower middle income group country, among them. Linear Regression is executed through SPSS and simple graphs and tables are prepared through MS-EXCEL for analysis. India portrays good governance, reporting activities well to the UN but in terms of basic livelihood and gender equality, the performance is comparatively weak.

Keywords: environment, gender, livelihood, rights, participation, development, conservation

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Authors: Des Lambley

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The scope and scale of crime in the AIF is a subject largely overlooked by historians preferring to narrate the macro-scale topics. This examination exposes some 17,000 military criminals, 414 of them officers and illustrates how military law imposed itself. This subjective sociological perspective humanises the impacts of war upon soldiers. Examples of the crimes, their seriousness, punishments and military justice tell of cause and effect linkages between crime, stress and illness. The discourse is derived from original official military sources in the Australian Archives.

Keywords: Australia, AIF, Military Crime, WW1, Officers

Procedia PDF Downloads 135