The seismic source parameters of tremors provoked by destress blastings in coal seam

Underground mining of coal seams in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin is currently being carried out under difficult geological and mining conditions. Rockburst hazard can be minimized via the use of active rockburst prevention, where destress blastings take an important role, especially during mining under disadvantageous geological and mining conditions. Presented paper shows how seismic source parameters may be useful to study destress blastings effects. Destress blastings were performed in coal seam no. 510 during longwall mining of coal seam no. 510 in one of the coal mines in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. The presented preliminary investigations have given possibility for rapid estimation of destress blasting effectiveness with the use of seismic source parameters, but further analysis under other geological and mining conditions and other blasting parameters is needed.     

Effects of damming a large lowland river on chironomids and fish assessed with the (multiplicative partitioning of) true/Hill biodiversity measure

The impact of a large lowland temperate zone reservoir on chironomid and fish biodiversity was investigated in the same upstream (U) and downstream (D) sites on the same sampling occasions in spring and autumn of several post‐impoundment years. The true/Hill N1 diversity measure was used to construct diversity models of the impact, and partitioning of N1 to reveal the importance of ecological gradients. N1 is unique in being decomposable among multiple levels and easily comparable across ecosystems and animal groups. Chironomids were more diverse than fish in all community sets owing to their probably lower mobility, lower interspecific competition, opportunistic character and much shorter life spans than those of fish. Fish exerted consumption pressure on chironomids upstream by foraging mostly on benthic insects, but not downstream where they fed on microcrustaceans of reservoir origin or on epiphytic fauna (mainly Chironomidae). The reservoir impact on chironomids decreased their diversity in U and increased in D, while much the opposite was true in fish. In D in macroinvertebrates, the impact consisted in advancing over time intensification of seasonal development of submersed macrophytes, while in D in fish in a few species escaping from the reservoir after their populational explosions each year. Partitioning of diversity revealed that the spatial (upstream–downstream) gradient was the strongest factor of diversity change in chironomids as compared with season, and age of the impoundment. No gradient was dominant in fish. Comparisons of observed data with a null model testified to very strong intraspecific aggregation in both chironomids and fish. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novel adhesive system based on 1,3-dimethylol-4,5-dihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) and hyperbranched polyglycerols

Two hyperbranched polyglycerols bearing 1,1,1-tris(hydroxymethyl)propane or Bisphenol A core and terminal hydroxyl functionality were examined as components of novel wood adhesive systems. Two 1,3-dimethylol-4,5-dihydroxyethyleneurea resins (DMDHEU) were used as crosslinkers. Shear strength tests revealed that the adhesives containing up to 75 wt% of renewable glycerol-derived polyglycerols retained performance comparable to that of neat DMDHEU. The results give way to extending the area of application of hyperbranched polyglycerols in the field of wood adhesives.     

Adaptive finite element computation of dielectric and mechanical intensity factors in piezoelectrics with impermeable cracks

The paper deals with the application of an adaptive, hierarchic‐iterative finite element technique to solve two‐dimensional electromechanical boundary value problems with impermeable cracks in piezoelectric plates. In order to compute the dielectric and mechanical intensity factors, the interaction integral technique is used. The iterative finite element solver takes advantage of a sequence of solutions on hierarchic discretizations. Based on an a posteriori error estimation, the finite element mesh is locally refined or coarsened in each step. Two crack configurations are investigated in an infinite piezoelectric plate: A finite straight crack and a finite kinked crack. Fast convergence of the numerical intensity factors to the corresponding analytical solution is exemplarily proved during successive adaptive steps for the first configuration. Similar tendency can be observed for the second configuration. Furthermore, the computed intensity factors for the kinks are found to coincide well with the corresponding analytical values. In order to simulate the kinks spreading from a straight crack, the finite element mesh is modified automatically with a specially developed algorithm. This forms the basis for a fully adaptive simulation of crack propagation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ergodicity of filtering process by vanishing discount approach

A new approach to study ergodicity of filtering processes is presented. It is based on the vanishing discount approach to discounted functional of filtering process. We show that limit superior of the Cesaro averages of the functionals is the same for all initial conditions from which the uniqueness of invariant measures of filtering processes follows. The approach is based on certain assumption for which we provide a sufficient condition using concavity arguments. In addition we show the existence of solutions to the Poisson equation corresponding to filtering process with concave functional. The assumptions are then extended to the controlled case and using similar concave arguments we obtain the existence of solutions to the Bellman equation corresponding to partially observed average cost per unit time problem.     

Aspects of social and emotional competence in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Social and emotional competence were evaluated using self-report and behavioral measures in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and controls. Adults with ADHD viewed themselves as less socially competent but more sensitive toward violations of social norms than controls. Films depicting emotional interactions were used to assess linguistic properties of free recall and perceived emotional intensity. Although adults with ADHD used more words to describe the scenes, they used fewer emotion-related words, despite rating the emotions depicted as more intense than did controls. In contrast, no group differences for words depicting social or cognitive processes were observed. Overall, adults with ADHD appear more aware of their problems in social versus emotional skills. Findings may have implications for improving the psychosocial functioning of these adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Critical assessment: opportunities in developing semi-solid processing: aluminium,magnesium, and high-temperature alloys

Semi-solid metal processing (SSM) is a modern metal forming technology offering net-shape metal components of complex geometry in a one-step operation. The process relies on the thixotropic behaviour of metals with non-dendritic microstructures in a wide semi-solid temperature range. The beneficial effects are currently exploited in aluminium and magnesium alloys. This alternative manufacturing route to casting and forging has generated high expectations regarding high melting alloys, although no conclusive results have been achieved so far. Current studies focus on a deep understanding of the fundamental basics of alloys in the semi-solid range, e.g. rheology, microstructural evolution, and the consequences of forming, e.g. relations between process parameters, microstructure, and properties. This critical assessment aims at defining the important needs for further development of SSM, and assessing current knowledge.     

Melt-spinning and semi-solid processing of bainitic steel

A steel with a chemical composition meant to form nanostructured bainite following appropriate heat treatment, was, cooled rapidly from the liquid phase (1550°C) using melt spinning and modified injection-suction methods, as well as from a semi-solid temperature (1430°C) through thixoforming. The hardness of the as-cast melt spun ribbons was ～960?HV due to a fine martensite–austenite mixture surrounded by three-dimensional skeleton-like primary carbides of length scale 0.2–0.3?µm. The suction-injection cast method led to a similar structure but less hard (780?HV) due to a lower cooling rate. The thixoformed material showed unmelted globular, fine grains and a fine eutectic mixture formed directly from the liquid phase. The variety of processed steel samples were tempered and their microstructures, examined.     

Moment stability for linear systems with a random parametric excitation

Moment stability for linear systems with a nonwhite parametric noise is considered. A method of reduction of the study of this stability to the study of stability for large-scale matrices is proposed. Mean square stability diagrams for random harmonic oscillator are presented.