Stress delocalization in crack tolerant electrospun nanofiber networks

The fracture toughness of a noncontinuum fibrous network produced by electrospinning polyamide 6 nanofibers is investigated. The mechanical properties of the nanofiber network is observed to be independent of various incorporated macroscopic crack lengths, resulting in an apparent increase in fracture toughness with increasing crack length as evaluated using conventional fracture mechanics. Strain mapping of the nanofiber network indicates stress delocalization mechanisms operating around these macroscopic cracks in the network. The deformation behavior of the nanofiber network will therefore depend on the volume of fibers being loaded in the network and not the number of fibers in the cross-sectional width defining continuum sample mechanics. These results indicate a propensity for both the synthetic electrospun nanofibrous network in this work and potentially other nanofibrous networks to resist failure from macroscopic cracks incorporated within the material.     

"Tandir": an old and well known cause of burn injury in the Middle East

This study was conducted to determine the effect of acarbose on serum concentrations of digoxin in healthy male volunteers. A randomized crossover design with three phases was used. In phase 1 participants received 0.5 mg of digoxin alone. In phase 2 they received 0.5 mg of digoxin 0.5 hours after a 200-mg dose of acarbose. In phase 3 they received 100 mg of acarbose 0.5 hours before each meal three times daily for 3 days. On the fourth day, they received 0.5 mg of digoxin 0.5 hours after a 100-mg dose of acarbose. Area under the concentration-time curve (AUC0-48) and mean maximum concentration (Cmax) were significantly lower and tmax significantly increased in phases 2 and 3 compared with phase 1. These results indicate that the absorption of digoxin is reduced by administration of acarbose, and that one of the major mechanisms of this interaction may be due to the pharmacodynamics of acarbose.     

Accessibility,usability, and security evaluation of universities’ prospective student web pages: a comparative study of Europe,North America,and Oceania

Universal Access in the Information Society - Universities' prospective student web pages aim to disseminate information about their academic and social opportunities to their stakeholders;...     

An original observer design for reduced sensor control of Packed U Cells based renewable energy system

This paper presents an original Switched Observer (SO) for reduced-sensor control of a grid-connected Packed U Cells (PUC) multilevel inverter. The proposed SO performance is evaluated using a single-phase 7-level PUC inverter connected to the grid through filtering inductor. Based on the actual grid current, the proposed SO estimates accurately the PUC capacitor voltage, which is fed to the Model Predictive Control (MPC) algorithm while making use of a hybrid model considering both discrete and continuous variables. For real-time application, necessary conditions are given to guarantee the practical stability of the proposed SO under system parameters and input voltage variations according to the selected switching pattern. Theoretical analysis and simulation investigations are conducted to prove that the proposed SO-MPC scheme is stable in closed-loop for all system configurations and has good performances even during various disturbances (load change, parameters mismatch, and input voltage variation).     

Performance enhancement of cascaded qZS-HB based renewable energy system using Model Predictive Control

This paper presents a multi-objective Model Predictive Control (MPC) for a grid connected 2-cell 5-level quasi Z-Source (qZS) Cascaded H-Bridge (CHB) inverter. The main contribution of the proposed control approach is the design of a multi-constraint cost function to achieve multi-objective MPC strategy dealing with the complex nature of the presented qZS-CHB topology. The designed cost function takes into account three control objectives, which are the minimization of the grid current, input current, and capacitors' voltages tracking errors. The best performance scenario is realized through the fine tuning of the constraints' weighting factors based on the grid current's error minimization and the reduction of the double-line frequency ripples on the input current. As a result, the proposed scheme achieves high-quality tracking of the encompassed state variables with the elimination of the double-line frequency power flow through the qZS inductors leading to the reduction of the hysteresis losses and the increase of the overall system efficiency. The performance of the proposed MPC strategy has been investigated and compared to the state of art PI controller. Theoretical analysis and implementation results are given to show that the proposed scheme is suitable for all system configurations and has good performances even during disturbances.     

DRYING BEHAVIOR OF MUSHROOM SLICES

Drying of mushroom slices is an unsteady-state process under the control of diffusion race of water through the mushroom hyphae. Therefore, temperature, thickness of the mushroom slices and the ratio of the air film to mushroom resistance toward the diffusion of water control the drying rate. In this work, the initial thickness of mushroom slices was kept constant at 2 mm and the effects of structural parameters, temperature and humidity were investigated. Through the measurements of weight, center and surface temperatures of the mushrooms, and variation of the surface area, actual drying behavior of mushrooms under different dryer conditions were determined. Color of the dried mushroom slices were used as criteria for the evaluation and determination of the optimum conditions.     

Nuclear data sheets for A = 140

The experimental nuclear structure data available through August 1978 have been reviewed. A summary of information obtained in various reaction and decay experiments is presented, together with adopted level schemes.     

Cellulose requirements for manufacture of polynosic fibre

Conclusions 1. Tests have been performed on sulphate and sulphite celluloses in the manufacture of polynosic staple fibre.2. It has been shown that the use of sulphite cellulose with a reduced -cellulose content yields polynosic fibre with somewhat poorer physicomechanical properties.3. The principal technical requirements to be met by sulphate cellulose for the manufacture of polynosic fibre have been developed.All-Union Scientific-Research Institute for Man-Made Fibre (VNIIV). Translated from Khimicheskie Volokna, No. 6, pp. 24–27, November–December, 1969.