Search results for: matrix dominated

Authors: Xinchen Zhu

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The rapid fame of the renowned female film star Tang Wei has made her a typical subject (or object) entangled with sensitive issues involving the official ideology, sexuality, and patriarchal values of contemporary China. In 2008, Tang Wei’s official ban has triggered the wave of debates concerning state power and censorship, actor’s rights, sexual ethics, and feminism in the public sphere. Her ban implies that Chinese film censorship acts as a key factor in reconstructing Chinese film stardom. Following the ban, as sensational media texts are re-interpreting the official discourses, the texts also functioned as a crucial vehicle in reconstructing Tang's female image. Therefore, the case study of Tang's film stardom allows us to further explore how female stardom has been entangled with the issues involving official ideology, female sexual ethics, and patriarchal values in contemporary China. This paper argues that Chinese female film stars shoulder the responsibility of film acting which would conform to the official male-dominated values. However, with the development of the Internet, the state no longer remains an absolute control over the new venues. The netizens’ discussion about her ban reshaped Tang’s image as a victim and scapegoat under the unfair oppression of the official authority. Additionally, this paper argues that similar to State’s discourse, netizens’ discourse did not reject patriarchal values, and in turn emphasized Tang Wei’s female chastity.

Keywords: film censorship, Chinese female film stardom, party-state’s power, national discourses, Tang Wei

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Authors: Haiyang Su, Kun Qian

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We developed a novel plasmonic matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS) approach to detect small nutrients and toxin in complex biological emulsion samples. We used silver nanoshells (SiO₂@Ag) with optimized structures as matrices and achieved direct analysis of ~6 nL of human breast milk without any enrichment or separation. We performed identification and quantitation of small nutrients and toxins with limit-of-detection down to 0.4 pmol (for melamine) and reaction time shortened to minutes, superior to the conventional biochemical methods currently in use. Our approach contributed to the near-future application of MALDI MS in a broad field and personalized design of plasmonic materials for real case bio-analysis.

Keywords: plasmonic materials, laser desorption/ionization, mass spectrometry, small nutrients, toxins

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Authors: Paballo M. Moshupya, Tamiru A. Abiye, Ian Korir

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Mining and processing of naturally occurring radioactive materials could result in elevated levels of natural radionuclides in the environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the radioactivity levels on a large scale in the West Rand District in South Africa, which is dominated by abandoned gold mine tailings and the consequential radiological exposures to members of the public. The activity concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and 40K in mine tailings, soil and rocks were assessed using the BGO Super-Spec (RS-230) gamma spectrometer. The measured activity concentrations for ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and 40K in the studied mine tailings were found to range from 209.95 to 2578.68 Bq/kg, 19.49 to 108.00 Bq/kg and 31.30 to 626.00 Bq/kg, respectively. In surface soils, the overall average activity concentrations were found to be 59.15 Bq/kg, 34.91 and 245.64 Bq/kg for 238U, ²³²Th and 40K, respectively. For the rock samples analyzed, the mean activity concentrations were 32.97 Bq/kg, 32.26 Bq/kg and 351.52 Bg/kg for ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and 40K, respectively. High radioactivity levels were found in mine tailings, with ²³⁸U contributing significantly to the overall activity concentration. The external gamma radiation received from surface soil in the area is generally low, with an average of 0.07 mSv/y. The highest annual effective doses were estimated from the tailings dams and the levels varied between 0.14 mSv/y and 1.09 mSv/y, with an average of 0.51 mSv/y. In certain locations, the recommended dose constraint of 0.25 mSv/y from a single source to the average member of the public within the exposed population was exceeded, indicating the need for further monitoring and regulatory control measures specific to these areas to ensure the protection of resident members of the public.

Keywords: activity concentration, gold mine tailings, in-situ gamma spectrometry, radiological exposures

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Authors: Azadeh Farzaneh, Mohammad Reza Abdi, A. Quaranta, Matteo Dalla Palma, Seyedshahram Mortazavi

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We report on the synthesis of cesium-iodide nanoparticles using sol-gel technique. The structural properties of CsI nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Also, optical properties were followed by optical absorption and UV–vis fluorescence. Intense photoluminescence is also observed, with some spectral tuning possible with ripening time getting a range of emission photon wavelength approximately from 366 to 350 nm. The size effect on CsI luminescence leads to an increase in scintillation light yield, a redshift of the emission bands of the on_center and off_center self_trapped excitons (STEs) and an increase in the contribution of the off_center STEs to the net intrinsic emission yield. The energy transfer from the matrix to CsI nanoparticles is a key characteristic for scintillation detectors. So the scintillation spectra to alpha particles of sample were monitored.

Keywords: nanoparticles, luminescence, sol gel, scintillator

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Authors: Roy Y. C. Huang, J. S. Kuang, Hamdolah Behnam

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Beam-column connections play an important role in the reinforced concrete moment resisting frame (RCMRF), which is one of the most commonly used structural systems around the world. The premature failure of such connections would severely limit the seismic performance and increase the vulnerability of RCMRF. In the past decades, researchers primarily focused on investigating the structural behaviour and failure mechanisms of conventional beam-column joints, the beam width of which is either smaller than or equal to the column width, while studies in wide beam-column joints were scarce. This paper presents the preliminary experimental results of two full-scale exterior wide beam-column connections, which are mainly designed and detailed according to ACI 318-14 and ACI 352R-02, under reversed cyclic loading. The ratios of the design shear force to the nominal shear strength of these specimens are 1.0 and 1.7, respectively, so as to probe into differences of the joint shear strength between experimental results and predictions by design codes of practice. Flexural failure dominated in the specimen with ratio of 1.0 in which full-width plastic hinges were observed, while both beam hinges and post-peak joint shear failure occurred for the other specimen. No sign of premature joint shear failure was found which is inconsistent with ACI codes’ prediction. Finally, a modification of current codes of practice is provided to accurately predict the joint shear strength in wide beam-column joint.

Keywords: joint shear strength, reversed cyclic loading, seismic vulnerability, wide beam-column joints

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Authors: Haidy Weliam Megaly Gouda

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Dermatology is often a neglected specialty in low-resource settings despite the high morbidity associated with skin disease. This becomes even more significant when associated with HIV infection, as dermatological conditions are more common and aggressive in HIV-positive patients. African countries have the highest HIV infection rates, and skin conditions are frequently misdiagnosed and mismanaged because of a lack of dermatological training and educational material. The frequent lack of diagnostic tests in the African setting renders basic clinical skills all the more vital. This project aimed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of skin disease in the HIV population in a district hospital in Malawi. A basic dermatological clinical tool was developed and produced in collaboration with local staff and based on available literature and data collected from clinics. The aim was to improve diagnostic accuracy and provide guidance for the treatment of skin disease in HIV-positive patients. A literature search within Embassy, Medline and Google Scholar was performed and supplemented through data obtained from attending 5 Antiretroviral clinics. From the literature, conditions were selected for inclusion in the resource if they were described as specific, more prevalent, or extensive in the HIV population or have more adverse outcomes if they develop in HIV patients. Resource-appropriate treatment options were decided using Malawian Ministry of Health guidelines and textbooks specific to African dermatology. After the collection of data and discussion with local clinical and pharmacy staff, a list of 15 skin conditions was included, and a booklet was created using the simple layout of a picture, a diagnostic description of the disease and treatment options. Clinical photographs were collected from local clinics (with full consent of the patient) or from the book ‘Common Skin Diseases in Africa’ (permission granted if fully acknowledged and used in a not-for-profit capacity). This tool was evaluated by the local staff alongside an educational teaching session on skin disease. This project aimed to reduce uncertainty in diagnosis and provide guidance for appropriate treatment in HIV patients by gathering information into one practical and manageable resource. To further this project, we hope to review the effectiveness of the tool in practice.

Keywords: prevalence and pattern of skin diseases, impact on quality of life, rural Nepal, interventions, quality switched ruby laser, skin color river blindness, clinical signs, circularity index, grey level run length matrix, grey level co-occurrence matrix, local binary pattern, object detection, ring detection, shape identification

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Authors: Sony Baral, Harald Vacik

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This study analyzes the sustainability of community forest management in two community forests in Terai and Hills of Nepal, representing four forest types: 1) Shorearobusta, 2) Terai hardwood, 3) Schima-Castanopsis, and 4) other Hills. The sustainability goals for this region include maintaining and enhancing the forest stocks. Considering this, we analysed changes in species composition, stand density, growing stock volume, and growth-to-removal ratio at 3-5 year intervals from 2005-2016 within 109 permanent forest plots (57 in the Terai and 52 in the Hills). To complement inventory data, forest users, forest committee members, and forest officials were consulted. The results indicate that the relative representation of economically valuable tree species has increased. Based on trends in stand density, both forests are being sustainably managed. Pole-sized trees dominated the diameter distribution, however, with a limited number of mature trees and declined regeneration. The forests were over-harvested until 2013 but under-harvested in the recent period in the Hills. In contrast, both forest types were under-harvested throughout the inventory period in the Terai. We found that the ecological dimension of sustainable forest management is strongly achieved while the economic dimension is lacking behind the current potential. Thus, we conclude that maintaining a large number of trees in the forest does not necessarily ensure both ecological and economical sustainability. Instead, priority should be given on a rational estimation of the annual harvest rates to enhance forest resource conditions together with regular benefits to the local communities.

Keywords: community forests, diversity, growing stock, forest management, sustainability, nepal

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Authors: Ratih Fitria Putri, Josaphat Tetuko Sri Sumantyo, Hiroaki Kuze

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Jakarta Metropolitan City is located on the northwest coast of West Java province with geographical location between 106º33’ 00”-107º00’00”E longitude and 5º48’30”-6º24’00”S latitude. Jakarta urban area has been suffered from land subsidence in several land use type as trading, industry and settlement area. Land subsidence hazard is one of the consequences of urban development in Jakarta. This hazard is caused by intensive human activities in groundwater extraction and land use mismanagement. Geologically, the Jakarta urban area is mostly dominated by alluvium fan sediment. The objectives of this research are to make an analysis of Jakarta urban land use type on land subsidence zone areas. The process of producing safer land use and settlements of the land subsidence areas are very important. Spatial distributions of land subsidence detection are necessary tool for land use management planning. For this purpose, Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) method is used. The DInSAR is complementary to ground-based methods such as leveling and global positioning system (GPS) measurements, yielding information in a wide coverage area even when the area is inaccessible. The data were fine tuned by using X-Band image satellite data from 2010 to 2013 and land use mapping data. Our analysis of land use type that land subsidence movement occurred on the northern part Jakarta Metropolitan City varying from 7.5 to 17.5 cm/year as industry and settlement land use type areas.

Keywords: land use analysis, land subsidence mapping, urban area, X-band satellite image

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Authors: Edward Chamisa, Colin C. Smith, Hamutyinei H. Pamburai, Abdul C. Abdulla

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South Africa (SA) adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for listed firms effective 1 January 2005. However, it was not until 2011 that substantial financial reporting enforcement changes were introduced, which were meant to ensure compliance with IFRS. This innovative setting allows us to examine the value relevance of accounting amounts during the (1) pre-IFRS adoption period (2002-2004); (2) post-IFRS adoption, but pre-enforcement changes period (2006-2010); and (3) post-enforcement changes period (2011-2012). The results show that accounting amounts were most value relevant in the post-enforcement changes period (R2, 75.5%) compared to both the pre-IFRS adoption period (adjusted R2 is 24.3%) and the period after IFRS adoption but before enforcement changes (adjusted R2 is 37.5%). Also, during the 2008 financial crisis, the equity book value per share was significantly value relevant (at 1%) but not earnings per share, whereas before the crisis, the opposite was true. We make two important contributions to the literature. First, we identify SA as an innovative setting that allows researchers to examine separately the effects of IFRS adoption and enforcement changes on capital markets and accounting quality. This is a departure from prior studies that are dominated by the European Union setting, where IFRS adoption occurred contemporaneously with enforcement and other regulatory changes. Second, we provide preliminary findings which suggest that while the adoption of IFRS seems to have improved the financial reporting quality of accounting amounts of SA listed firms, its impact appears to be limited unless combined with effective enforcement.

Keywords: international financial reporting standards (ifrs), ifrs adoption, financial reporting enforcement, value relevance, price model, equity book value, earnings per share

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Authors: Jing Zhang, Yongqin Chang, Yongwei Wang, Xiaolin Li, Shaoning Jiang, Farong Wan, Yi Long

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Microstructural and hardening changes of Fe-0.2wt.%V alloy and pure Fe irradiated with 100 keV hydrogen ions at room temperature were investigated. It was found that dislocation density varies dramatically after irradiation, ranging from dislocation free to dense areas with tangled and complex dislocation configuration. As the irradiated Fe-0.2wt.%V samples were annealed at 773 K, the irradiation-induced dislocation loops disappear, while many small precipitates with enriched C distribute in the matrix. Some large precipitates with enriched V were also observed. The hardness of Fe-0.2wt.%V alloy and pure Fe increases after irradiation, which ascribes to the formation of dislocation loops in the irradiated specimens. Compared with pure Fe, the size of the irradiation-introduced dislocation loops in Fe-0.2wt.%V alloy decreases and the density increases, the change of the hardness also decreases.

Keywords: irradiation, Fe-0.2wt.%V alloy, microstructures, hardness

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Authors: Efrain Rodriguez, Cristhian Riano, Alberto Alvares

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In recent years, robots manipulators with parallel architectures are used in additive manufacturing processes – 3D printing. These robots have advantages such as speed and lightness that make them suitable to help with the efficiency and productivity of these processes. Consequently, the interest for the development of parallel robots for additive manufacturing applications has increased. This article deals with the conceptual design and dimensional synthesis of the linear delta robot for additive manufacturing. Firstly, a methodology based on structured processes for the development of products through the phases of informational design, conceptual design and detailed design is adopted: a) In the informational design phase the Mudge diagram and the QFD matrix are used to aid a set of technical requirements, to define the form, functions and features of the robot. b) In the conceptual design phase, the functional modeling of the system through of an IDEF0 diagram is performed, and the solution principles for the requirements are formulated using a morphological matrix. This phase includes the description of the mechanical, electro-electronic and computational subsystems that constitute the general architecture of the robot. c) In the detailed design phase, a digital model of the robot is drawn on CAD software. A list of commercial and manufactured parts is detailed. Tolerances and adjustments are defined for some parts of the robot structure. The necessary manufacturing processes and tools are also listed, including: milling, turning and 3D printing. Secondly, a dimensional synthesis method applied on design of the linear delta robot is presented. One of the most important key factors in the design of a parallel robot is the useful workspace, which strongly depends on the joint space, the dimensions of the mechanism bodies and the possible interferences between these bodies. The objective function is based on the verification of the kinematic model for a prescribed cylindrical workspace, considering geometric constraints that possibly lead to singularities of the mechanism. The aim is to determine the minimum dimensional parameters of the mechanism bodies for the proposed workspace. A method based on genetic algorithms was used to solve this problem. The method uses a cloud of points with the cylindrical shape of the workspace and checks the kinematic model for each of the points within the cloud. The evolution of the population (point cloud) provides the optimal parameters for the design of the delta robot. The development process of the linear delta robot with optimal dimensions for additive manufacture is presented. The dimensional synthesis enabled to design the mechanism of the delta robot in function of the prescribed workspace. Finally, the implementation of the robotic platform developed based on a linear delta robot in an additive manufacturing application using the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technique is presented.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, delta parallel robot, dimensional synthesis, genetic algorithms

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Authors: Thanh Nga Thai

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A major issue in air transportation is in flight safety. Recent developments in control engineering have an attractive potential for resolving new issues related to guidance, navigation, and control of flying vehicles. Many future atmospheric missions will require increased on board autonomy including fault diagnosis and the subsequent control and guidance recovery actions. To improve designing system diagnostic, an efficient FDI- fault detection and identification- methodology is necessary to achieve. Contribute to characteristic of different faults in sensor and actuator in the view of mathematics brings a lot of profit in some condition changes in the system. This research finds some profit to reduce a trade-off to achieve between fault detection and performance of the closed loop system and cost and calculated in simulation.

Keywords: fault detection and identification, sensor faults, actuator faults, flight control system

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Authors: Shimaa M. Elsaeed, Reem K. Farag, Ibrahim M. Nassar

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Hydrogel conductive polymer nanocomposite fabricated via in-situ polymerization of polyaniline (PANI) inside thermosensitive hydrogels based on hydroxy ethyl meth acrylate (HEMA) copolymer with 2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid (AMPS). SEM micrographs show the nanometric size of the conductive material (polyaniline, PANI) dispersed in the hydrogel matrix. The swelling parameters of hydrogel are measured. The incorporation of PANI improves the mechanical properties and swelling up to 30,000% without breaking. X-ray diffraction shows that typical polyaniline crystallization is formed in composite, which is advantageous to increase the electrical conductivity of the composite hydrogel. Open-circuit voltage (I-V) curve fill factor of the highest photo-conversion efficiency and enhanced to use in solar cell.

Keywords: hydrogel, solar cell, conductive polymer, nanocomposite

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Authors: Yanheng Zhang, Lu Feng, Yilan Kang, Donghui Fu, Qian Zhang, Qiu Li, Wei Qiu

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Diamond-reinforced Ni matrix composite has been widely applied in engineering for coating large-area structural parts owing to its high hardness, good wear resistance and corrosion resistance compared with those features of pure nickel. The mechanical properties of Ni-diamond composite coating can be promoted by the high incorporation and uniform distribution of diamond particles in the nickel matrix, while the distribution features of particles are affected by electrodeposition process parameters, especially the additives in the plating bath. Glycine has been utilized as an organic additive during the preparation of pure nickel coating, which can effectively increase the coating hardness. Nevertheless, to author’s best knowledge, no research about the effects of glycine on the Ni-diamond co-deposition has been reported. In this work, the diamond reinforced Ni nanocomposite coatings were fabricated by a co-electrodeposition technique from a modified Watt’s type bath in the presence of glycine. After preparation, the SEM morphology of the composite coatings was observed combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, and the diamond incorporation was analyzed. The surface morphology and roughness were obtained by a three-dimensional profile instrument. 3D-Debye rings formed by XRD were analyzed to characterize the nickel grain size and orientation in the coatings. The average coating thickness was measured by a digital micrometer to deduce the deposition rate. The microhardness was tested by automatic microhardness tester. The friction coefficient and wear volume were measured by reciprocating wear tester to characterize the coating wear resistance and cutting performance. The experimental results confirmed that the presence of glycine effectively improved the surface morphology and roughness of the composite coatings. By optimizing the glycine concentration, the incorporation of diamond particles was increased, while the nickel grain size decreased with increasing glycine. The hardness of the composite coatings was increased as the glycine concentration increased. The friction and wear properties were evaluated as the glycine concentration was optimized, showing a decrease in the wear volume. The wear resistance of the composite coatings increased as the glycine content was increased to an optimum value, beyond which the wear resistance decreased. Glycine complexation contributed to the nickel grain refinement and improved the diamond dispersion in the coatings, both of which made a positive contribution to the amount and uniformity of embedded diamond particles, thus enhancing the microhardness, reducing the friction coefficient, and hence increasing the wear resistance of the composite coatings. Therefore, additive glycine can be used during the co-deposition process to improve the mechanical properties of protective coatings.

Keywords: co-electrodeposition, glycine, mechanical properties, Ni-diamond nanocomposite coatings

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Authors: Endalkachew Abebe Kebede, Bojin Bojinov, Andon Vasilev Andonov, Orhan Dengiz

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Remote sensing has a potential application in assessing and monitoring the plants' biophysical properties using the spectral responses of plants and soils within the electromagnetic spectrum. However, only a few reports compare the performance of different remote sensing sensors against in-situ field spectral measurement. The current study assessed the potential applications of open data source satellite images (Sentinel 2 and Landsat 9) in estimating the biophysical properties of the wheat crop on a study farm found in the village of OvchaMogila. A Landsat 9 (30 m resolution) and Sentinel-2 (10 m resolution) satellite images with less than 10% cloud cover have been extracted from the open data sources for the period of December 2021 to April 2022. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has been used to capture the spectral response of plant leaves. In addition, SpectraVue 710s Leaf Spectrometer was used to measure the spectral response of the crop in April at five different locations within the same field. The ten most common vegetation indices have been selected and calculated based on the reflectance wavelength range of remote sensing tools used. The soil samples have been collected in eight different locations within the farm plot. The different physicochemical properties of the soil (pH, texture, N, P₂O₅, and K₂O) have been analyzed in the laboratory. The finer resolution images from the UAV and the Leaf Spectrometer have been used to validate the satellite images. The performance of different sensors has been compared based on the measured leaf spectral response and the extracted vegetation indices using the five sampling points. A scatter plot with the coefficient of determination (R2) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and the correlation (r) matrix prepared using the corr and heatmap python libraries have been used for comparing the performance of Sentinel 2 and Landsat 9 VIs compared to the drone and SpectraVue 710s spectrophotometer. The soil analysis revealed the study farm plot is slightly alkaline (8.4 to 8.52). The soil texture of the study farm is dominantly Clay and Clay Loam.The vegetation indices (VIs) increased linearly with the growth of the plant. Both the scatter plot and the correlation matrix showed that Sentinel 2 vegetation indices have a relatively better correlation with the vegetation indices of the Buteo dronecompared to the Landsat 9. The Landsat 9 vegetation indices somewhat align better with the leaf spectrometer. Generally, the Sentinel 2 showed a better performance than the Landsat 9. Further study with enough field spectral sampling and repeated UAV imaging is required to improve the quality of the current study.

Keywords: landsat 9, leaf spectrometer, sentinel 2, UAV

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Authors: Abdelrahman Taha, Niloofar Malekghaini, Hamed Ebrahimian, Ramin Motamed

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This paper compares the substructure and direct methods for soil-structure interaction (SSI) analysis in the time domain. In the substructure SSI method, the soil domain is replaced by a set of springs and dashpots, also referred to as the impedance function, derived through the study of the behavior of a massless rigid foundation. The impedance function is inherently frequency dependent, i.e., it varies as a function of the frequency content of the structural response. To use the frequency-dependent impedance function for time-domain SSI analysis, the impedance function is approximated at the fundamental frequency of the structure-soil system. To explore the potential limitations of the substructure modeling process, a two-dimensional reinforced concrete frame structure is modeled using substructure and direct methods in this study. The results show discrepancies between the simulated responses of the substructure and the direct approaches. To isolate the effects of higher modal responses, the same study is repeated using a harmonic input motion, in which a similar discrepancy is still observed between the substructure and direct approaches. It is concluded that the main source of discrepancy between the substructure and direct SSI approaches is likely attributed to the way the impedance functions are calculated, i.e., assuming a massless rigid foundation without considering the presence of the superstructure. Hence, a refined impedance function, considering the presence of the superstructure, shall be developed. This refined impedance function is expected to significantly improve the simulation accuracy of the substructure approach for structural systems whose behavior is dominated by the fundamental mode response.

Keywords: direct approach, impedance function, soil-structure interaction, substructure approach

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Authors: Lazaro E. Nnko, Japhet J. Kashaigili, Gerald C. Monela, Pantaleo K. T. Munishi

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Agroforestry systems and practices are perceived to improve livelihood and sustainable management of natural resources. However, their adoption in various regions differs with the biophysical conditions and societal characteristics. This study was conducted in Kilombero District to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of different agroforestry systems and practices in agro-ecosystems and farming systems. A household survey, key informant interviews, and focus group discussion was used for data collection in three villages. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression in SPSS were applied for analysis. Results show that Igima and Ngajengwa villages had home garden practices dominated, as revealed by 63.3% and 66.7%, respectively, while Mbingu village had mixed intercropping practice with 56.67%. Agrosilvopasture systems were dominant in Igima and Ngajengwa villages with 56.7% and 66.7%, respectively, while in Mbingu village, the dominant system was agrosilviculture with 66.7%. The results from multinomial logistic regression show that different explanatory variable was statistical significance as predictors of the adoption of agroforestry systems and practices. Residence type and sex were the most dominant factor influencing the adoption of agroforestry systems. Duration of stay in the village, availability of extension education, residence, and sex were the dominant factor influencing the adoption of agroforestry practices. The most important and statistically significant factors among these were residence type and sex. The study concludes that agroforestry will be more successful if the local priorities, which include social-economic need characteristics of the society, will be considered in designing systems and practices. The socio-economic need of the community should be addressed in the process of expanding the adoption of agroforestry systems and practices.

Keywords: agroforestry adoption, agroforestry systems, agroforestry practices, agroforestry, Kilombero

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Authors: Manana Lobzhanidze

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Reforming the pension system is urgent in Georgia due to socio-economic problems. Replacing the current pension system with a new one requires, on the one hand, an assessment of the challenges in this field and, on the other hand, a study of the best practices of foreign experience. Objectives: The aim of the research is to identify challenges in the pension reform process in Georgia, to study international experience, and to develop recommendations for the implementation of an effective pension system. Methodologies: A desk study was conducted, and methods of analysis, comparison, grouping, matrix charts, and scenario analysis were used. Findings: The advantages of accumulative pension compared to the current pension system are identified. The main challenge is the non-targeting of the pension contributions and the ineffective investment policy; the public's attitude towards the cumulative pension system is determined.

Keywords: pension reform, challenges, international practice, opportunity for development

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Authors: Iman Taraghi, Sandra Paszkiewicz, Daria Pawlikowska, Anna Szymczyk, Izabela Irska, Rafal Stanik, Amelia Linares, Tiberio A. Ezquerra, Elżbieta Piesowicz

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Currently, the massive use of thermoplastic materials in industrial applications causes huge amounts of polymer waste. The poly (ethylene glycol-co-1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol terephthalate) (PET-G) has been widely used in food packaging and polymer foils. In this research, the PET-G foils have been recycled and reused as a matrix to combine with different types of nanofillers such as carbon nanotubes, graphene nanoplatelets, and nanosized carbon black. The mechanical and electrical properties, as well as thermal stability and thermal conductivity of the PET-G, improved along with the addition of the aforementioned nanofillers and hybrid system of them.

Keywords: polymer hybrid nanocomposites, carbon nanofillers, recycling, physical performance

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Authors: Vishwambhar Prasad Sati

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India’s economy is agriculture dominated. About 70% of the total population depends on practicing agriculture. Out of an estimated 140.3 million ha net cultivated area, 79.44 million ha (57%) is rain-fed, contributing 44% of the total food grain production. Meanwhile, India ranks second and shares 11.3% of the arable land of the world. It means that India has a high potential to harness agricultural resources for present and future food security. However, about 21.9% of people are living below the poverty line, and similarly, a large number of people are deprived or insecure about food. This situation is most critical in rural areas, where about 70% population lives. The study examines the present status, future trends, and challenges of food and agriculture in India. Time series data of the last three decades was gathered from secondary sources on area, production, and yield of crops; irrigated area; production of major crops; area, production, and yield of crops in the major food-producing states of India; food storage and poverty. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation methods, and a regression model. State-level data on area, production, and yield of crops and irrigation facilities were indexed into levels, and the potentials of food production in the major food-producing states were observed. It was noted that the progressive growth rate of food production is higher than the population, which means that food is enough to feed the population; however, it is not accessible to all optimally because of wastage, leakage, lack of food storage, and proper distribution of food. If food is stored and distributed properly, there would not be any food shortage in India, the study revealed.

Keywords: agriculture, food production, population growth, poverty, future trends

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Authors: Sean T. S. Wei, Joy D. Van Nostrand, Annapoorna Maitrayee Ganeshram, Stephen B. Pointing

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McMurdo Dry Valleys are a largely ice-free polar desert protected by international treaty as an Antarctic special managed area. The terrestrial landscape is dominated by oligotrophic mineral soil with extensive rocky outcrops. Several environmental stresses: low temperature, lack of liquid water, UV exposure and oligotrophic substrates, restrict the major biotic component to microorganisms. The bacterial diversity and the putative physiological capacity of microbial communities of quartz rocks (hypoliths) and soil of a maritime-influenced Dry Valleys were interrogated by two metagenomic approaches: 454 pyro-sequencing and Geochp DNA microarray. The most abundant phylum in hypoliths was Cyanobacteria (46%), whereas in solils Actinobacteria (31%) were most abundant. The Proteobacteria and Bacteriodetes were the only other phyla to comprise >10% of both communities. Carbon fixation was indicated by photoautotrophic and chemoautotrophic pathways for both hypolith and soil communities. The fungi accounted for polymer carbon transformations, particularly for aromatic compounds. The complete nitrogen cycling was observed in both communities. The fungi in particular displayed pathways related to ammonification. Environmental stress response pathways were common among bacteria, whereas the nutrient stress response pathways were more widely present in bacteria, archaea and fungi. The diversity of bacterialphage was also surveyed by Geochip. Data suggested that different substrates supported different viral families: Leviviridae, Myoviridae, Podoviridae and Siphoviridiae were ubiquitous. However, Corticoviridae and Microviridae only occurred in wetter soils.

Keywords: Antarctica, hypolith, soil, dry valleys, geochip, functional diversity, stress response

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Authors: Mayuri Gandhi, Nayan Agrawal, Harshita Bhatia

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In the present work, cerium fluoride (CeF3) was selected as the host material because of its high density, fast response and high radiation resistance, efficient absorption and energy transfer by host (to activator). For the synthesis of CeF3 nanoparticles doped with Sm3+ ion, co-precipitation route was employed. Thus for optimum results, concentration dependent studies of the fluorescence of Sm3+ was carried out. The photoluminescence gave emissions in both visible as well as the NIR region and therefore it can have its application in solar cells, where it can absorb a large spectrum of energy. CeF3:Sm3+ nanoparticles were carefully incorporated in a suitable polymer matrix in order to demonstrate a variety of applications to improve the performance of the polymer materials and use it to develop high grade optoelectronic devices such as LEDs, security labelling, lasers, displays, biological imaging, etc.

Keywords: bioimaging, cerium fluoride, NIR emission, samarium

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Authors: Farah Islam, Md. Monirul Islam, Mosammat Salma Akter, Goutam Kumar Kundu

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The continuous variability of climate and the risk associated with it have a significant impact on the fisheries leading to a global concern for about half a billion fishery-based livelihoods. Though in the context of Bangladesh mounting evidence on the impacts of climate change on fishery-based livelihoods or their socioeconomic conditions are present, the country’s inland fisheries sector remains in a negligible corner as compared to the coastal areas which are spotted on the highlight due to its higher vulnerability to climatic hazards. The available research on inland fisheries, particularly river fisheries, has focussed mainly on fish production, pollution, fishing gear, fish biodiversity and livelihoods of the fishers. This study assesses the impacts of climate variability and changes on the Jamuna (a transboundary river called Brahmaputra in India) River fishing communities and their coping and adaptation strategies. This study has used primary data collected from Kalitola Ghat and Debdanga fishing communities of the Jamuna River during May, August and December 2015 using semi-structured interviews, oral history interviews, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and impact matrix as well as secondary data. This study has found that both communities are exposed to storms, floods and land erosions which impact on fishery-based livelihood assets, strategies, and outcomes. The impact matrix shows that human and physical capitals are more affected by climate hazards which in turn affect financial capital. Both communities have been responding to these exposures through multiple coping and adaptation strategies. The coping strategies include making dam with soil, putting jute sac on the yard, taking shelter on boat or embankment, making raised platform or ‘Kheua’ and involving with temporary jobs. While, adaptation strategies include permanent migration, change of livelihood activities and strategies, changing fishing practices and making robust houses. The study shows that migration is the most common adaptation strategy for the fishers which resulted in mostly positive outcomes for the migrants. However, this migration has impacted negatively on the livelihoods of existing fishers in the communities. In sum, the Jamuna river fishing communities have been impacted by several climatic hazards and they have traditionally coped with or adapted to the impacts which are not sufficient to maintain sustainable livelihoods and fisheries. In coming decades, this situation may become worse as predicted by latest scientific research and an enhanced level of response would be needed.

Keywords: climatic hazards, impacts and adaptation, fisherfolk, the Jamuna River

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Authors: Nipun Ansal

Abstract:

People guard their beliefs and opinions with their lives. Beliefs that they’ve formed over a period of time, and can go to any lengths to defy, desist from, resist and negate any outward stimulus that has the potential to shake them. Cognitive dissonance is term used to describe it in theory. And every human being, in order to defend himself from cognitive dissonance applies 4 rings of defense viz. Selective Exposure, Selective Perception, Selective Attention, and Selective Retention. This paper is a discursive analysis on how the onslaught of social media, complete with its intrusive weaponry, has amorphized the external ring of defense: the selective exposure. The stimulus-response model of communication is one of the most inherent model that encompasses communication behaviours of children and elderly, individual and masses, humans and animals alike. The paper deliberates on how information bombardment through the uncontrollable channels of the social media, Facebook and Twitter in particular, have dismantled our outer sphere of exposure, leading users online to a state of constant dissonance, and thus feeding impulsive action-taking. It applies case study method citing an example to corroborate how knowledge generation has given in to the information overload and the effect it has on decision making. With stimulus increasing in number of encounters, opinion formation precedes knowledge because of the increased demand of participation and decrease in time for the information to permeate from the outer sphere of exposure to the sphere of retention, which of course, is through perception and attention. This paper discusses the challenge posed by this fleeting, stimulus rich, peer-dominated media on the traditional models of communication and meaning-generation.

Keywords: communication, discretion, exposure, social media, stimulus

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Authors: Jianjun Wu, Fanhui Guo, Yixin Zhang

Abstract:

In this study, gasification-coke were produced by blending the middlings (MC), and coking coal (CC) and a large proportion of long flame coal (Shenfu coal, SC), the effects of blending ratio were investigated. Mineral evolution and crystalline order obtained by XRD methods were reproduced within reasonable accuracy. Structure characteristics of partially gasification-coke such as surface area and porosity were determined using the N₂ adsorption and mercury porosimetry. Experimental data of gasification-coke was dominated by the TGA results provided trend, reactivity differences between gasification-cokes are discussed in terms of structure characteristic, crystallinity, and alkali index (AI). The first-order reaction equation was suitable for the gasification reaction kinetics of CO₂ atmosphere which was represented by the volumetric reaction model with linear correlation coefficient above 0.985. The differences in the microporous structure of gasification-coke and catalysis caused by the minerals in parent coals were supposed to be the main factors which affect its reactivity. The addition of MC made the samples enriched with a large amount of ash causing a higher surface area and a lower crystalline order to gasification-coke which was beneficial to gasification reaction. The higher SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ contents, causing a decreasing AI value and increasing activation energy, which reduced the gasification reaction activity. It was found that the increasing amount of MC got a better performance on the coke gasification reactivity by blending > 30% SC with this coking process.

Keywords: low-rank coal, middlings, structure characteristic, mineral evolution, alkali index, gasification-coke, gasification kinetics

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Authors: K. R. Phaneesh, Anirudh Bhat, G. Mukherjee, K. T. Kashyap

Abstract:

Extensive Monte Carlo Potts model simulations were performed on 2D square lattice to investigate the effects of simulated higher temperatures effects on grain growth kinetics. A range of simulation temperatures (KTs) were applied on a matrix of size 10002 with Q-state 64, dispersed with a wide range of second phase particles, ranging from 0.001 to 0.1, and then run to 100,000 Monte Carlo steps. The average grain size, the largest grain size and the grain growth exponent were evaluated for all particle fractions and simulated temperatures. After evaluating several growth parameters, the critical temperature for a square lattice, with eight nearest neighbors, was found to be KTs = 0.4.

Keywords: average grain size, critical temperature, grain growth exponent, Monte Carlo steps

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Authors: Ammar Maziz, Mostapha Tarfaoui, Said Rechak

Abstract:

The high mechanical performance of composite pipes can be adversely affected by their low resistance to impact loads. Loads in dynamic origin are dangerous and cause consequences on the operation of pipes because the damage is often not detected and can affect the structural integrity of composite pipes. In this work, an advanced 3-D finite element (FE) model, based on the use of intralaminar damage models was developed and used to predict damage under low-velocity impact. The performance of the numerical model is validated with the confrontation with the results of experimental tests. The results show that at low impact energy, the damage happens mainly by matrix cracking and delamination. The model capabilities to simulate the low-velocity impact events on the full-scale composite structures were proved.

Keywords: composite materials, low velocity impact, FEA, dynamic behavior, progressive damage modeling

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Authors: O. Hassoon, M. Tarfoui, A. El Malk

Abstract:

Fiber Bragg optic sensor embedded in composite material to detect and monitor the damage which is occur in composite structure. In this paper we deal with the mode-Ι delamination to determine the resistance of material to crack propagation, and use the coupling mode theory and T-matrix method to simulating the FBGs spectrum for both uniform and non-uniform strain distribution. The double cantilever beam test which is modeling in FEM to determine the Longitudinal strain, there are two models which are used, the first is the global half model, and the second the sub-model to represent the FBGs with refine mesh. This method can simulate the damage in the composite structure and converting the strain to wavelength shifting of the FBG spectrum.

Keywords: fiber bragg grating, delamination detection, DCB, FBG spectrum, structure health monitoring

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Authors: Mohammed Fayez Al Rez

Abstract:

Nowadays, there is an unmet clinical need for new small-diameter vascular grafts to overcome the drawbacks of traditional methods used for treatment of widespread cardiovascular diseases. Vascular tissue engineering (VTE) is a promising approach that can be utilized to develop viable vascular grafts by in vitro seeding of functional cells onto a scaffold allowing them to attach, proliferate and differentiate. To achieve this purpose, the scaffold should provide cells with the initial necessary extracellular matrix environment and structure until being able to reconstruct the required vascular tissue. Therefore, producing scaffolds with suitable features is crucial for guiding cells properly to develop the desired tissue-engineered vascular grafts for clinical applications. The main objective of this work is fabrication and characterization of tubular small-diameter ( < 6 mm) bilayered scaffolds for VTE. The scaffolds were prepared via mixing electrospinning approach of biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) polymer – due to its favorable physicochemical properties – to mimic the natural environment-extracellular matrix. Firstly, tubular nanofibrous construct with inner diameter of 3, 4 or 5 mm was electrospun as inner layer, and secondly, microfibrous construct was electrospun as outer layer directly on the first produced inner layer. To improve the biological properties of PCL, a group of the electrospun scaffolds was immersed in type-1 collagen solution. The morphology and structure of the resulting fibrous scaffolds were investigated by scanning electron microscope. The electrospun nanofibrous inner layer contained fibers measuring 219±35 nm in diameter, while the electrospun microfibrous outer layer contained fibers measuring 1011 ± 150 nm. Furthermore, mechanical, thermal and physical tests were conducted with both electrospun bilayered scaffold types where revealed improved properties. Biological investigations using endothelial, smooth muscle and fibroblast cell line showed good biocompatibility of both tested electrospun scaffolds. Better attachment and proliferation were obviously found when cells were cultured on the scaffolds immersed with collagen due to increasing the hydrophilicity of the PCL. The easy, inexpensive and versatile electrospinning approach used in this work was able to successfully produce double layered tubular elastic structures containing both nanofibers and microfibers to imitate the native vascular structure. The PCL – as a suitable and approved biomaterial for many biomedical and tissue engineering applications – can ensure favorable mechanical properties of scaffolds used for VTE. The VTE approach using electrospun bilayered scaffolds offers optimal solutions and holds significant promises for treatment of many cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: electrospinning, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), tissue-engineered vascular graft, tubular bilayered scaffolds, vascular cells

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Authors: Micheale Yifter Weldemichael, Hailay Mehari Gebremedhn, Teklehaimanot Hailesslasie

Abstract:

The advancement of target-specific genome editing tools, including clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein9 (Cas9), mega-nucleases, base editing (BE), prime editing (PE), transcription activator-like endonucleases (TALENs), and zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), have paved the way for a modern era of gene editing. CRISPR/Cas9, as a versatile, simple, cost-effective and robust system for genome editing, has dominated the genome manipulation field over the last few years. The application of CRISPR/Cas9 in sorghum improvement is particularly vital in the context of ecological, environmental and agricultural challenges, as well as global climate change. In this context, gene editing using CRISPR/Cas9 can improve nutritional value, yield, resistance to pests and disease and tolerance to different abiotic stress. Moreover, CRISPR/Cas9 can potentially perform complex editing to reshape already available elite varieties and new genetic variations. However, existing research is targeted at improving even further the effectiveness of the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing techniques to fruitfully edit endogenous sorghum genes. These findings suggest that genome editing is a feasible and successful venture in sorghum. Newer improvements and developments of CRISPR/Cas9 techniques have further qualified researchers to modify extra genes in sorghum with improved efficiency. The fruitful application and development of CRISPR techniques for genome editing in sorghum will not only help in gene discovery, creating new, improved traits in sorghum regulating gene expression sorghum functional genomics, but also in making site-specific integration events.

Keywords: CRISPR/Cas9, genome editing, quality, sorghum, stress, yield

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