Torsional behavior of steel fiber reinforced concrete beams

Torsion of structural members and the behavior of steel fiber reinforced concrete became the area of interest of many researchers in the past and it is still newsworthy. In this study, 12 reinforced concrete (R/C) beams with Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) were tested to observe the failure under torsional moments. The volumetric steel fiber content, fiber aspect ratio, and the longitudinal reinforcement were the variables of the investigation. Unit torsional angle of twist versus torsional moment (torque) response of each specimen was monitored during the experiments, and the effect of above variables on this response was critically investigated. It was observed that not only the torque capacity of R/C beam is modified by the addition of Steel Fiber Reinforcement (SFR) but also the energy absorption capacity is significantly affected by the SFR addition. Besides, an empirical equation relating the torque to twist for SFRC beams is proposed and tested against the test data.     

Investigation of bismuth doped bioglass/graphene oxide nanocomposites for bone tissue engineering

In this study, bismuth doped 45S5 nanobioactive bioglass (nBG) and graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites were developed and characterized in terms of microstructural, mechanical, bioactivity and biological properties. Bismuth (Bi) - doped nBG was synthesized by sol-gel method and sintered at 600 °C for 2 h. Nanosized GO was homogeneously mixed with Bi doped bioglass at various ratios to prepare nanocomposites. Addition of Bi increased the density of nBG samples while a considerable decrease in density was observed for nanocomposites with GO incorporation. Bi improved the diametral tensile strength of nBG and addition of 2.5% GO to the composite also increased the diametral tensile strength of the nanocomposites. However, addition of more than 2.5% GO had negative effect on the diametral tensile strength of the composites. Bi doping to bioglass and its composite with GO increased the biocompatibility of 45S5 nBG in which 96.5BG1Bi2.5GO (containing 96.5% BG 1% Bi 2.5% GO in weight ratio) showed highest cell viability. Overall, it can be concluded that composites of Bi doped 45S5 nBG with GO hold promise as biomaterial for biomedical applications.     

Formation of dynamic virtual enterprises and enterprise networks

This paper addresses the preparation and set up of virtual enterprises and enterprise networks. A virtual enterprise (VE) can be perceived as a customer solution delivery system created by a temporary and re-configurable information and communications technology (ICT) enabled aggregation of competencies. The main achievements of the research include: (1) Clarification and definition of the concept for virtual enterprises and enterprise networks including preparation of these. (2) Development of a framework and a reference architecture for virtual enterprises named as Structured Methodology and ICT Reference Architecture respectively. Structured methodology structures the body of knowledge related to preparation, setup, and operation of virtual enterprises and enterprise networks. ICT reference architecture consists of three levels with seven layers to portray in a diagrammatic fashion how different enterprises may exchange and use information between their respective organizations’ specific proprietary systems and a central server. (3) Development of a methodology for virtual enterprise named as virtual enterprise methodology (VEM). VEM consists of a set of guidelines, which systematically describes activities that enterprises should consider in relation to set up and preparation of own enterprise networks with the aim to set up virtual enterprises. (4) Testing and validation of the developed VEM with the realization of a virtual case study. Virtual case study demonstrates and validates the application of the developed VE methodology with the illustration of the key activities related to setting up breeding environment, setting up and operating VE and dissolution of VE.     

Tumor-Cut: segmentation of brain tumors on contrast enhanced MR images for radiosurgery applications

In this paper, we present a fast and robust practical tool for segmentation of solid tumors with minimal user interaction to assist clinicians and researchers in radiosurgery planning and assessment of the response to the therapy. Particularly, a cellular automata (CA) based seeded tumor segmentation method on contrast enhanced T1 weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images, which standardizes the volume of interest (VOI) and seed selection, is proposed. First, we establish the connection of the CA-based segmentation to the graph-theoretic methods to show that the iterative CA framework solves the shortest path problem. In that regard, we modify the state transition function of the CA to calculate the exact shortest path solution. Furthermore, a sensitivity parameter is introduced to adapt to the heterogeneous tumor segmentation problem, and an implicit level set surface is evolved on a tumor probability map constructed from CA states to impose spatial smoothness. Sufficient information to initialize the algorithm is gathered from the user simply by a line drawn on the maximum diameter of the tumor, in line with the clinical practice. Furthermore, an algorithm based on CA is presented to differentiate necrotic and enhancing tumor tissue content, which gains importance for a detailed assessment of radiation therapy response. Validation studies on both clinical and synthetic brain tumor datasets demonstrate 80%-90% overlap performance of the proposed algorithm with an emphasis on less sensitivity to seed initialization, robustness with respect to different and heterogeneous tumor types, and its efficiency in terms of computation time.     

电桥结构对电火工品感度影响研究

依据能量平衡方程,对影响电火工品(EED)电感度的电桥、热损失系数进行了试验分析,结果表明电桥材料和电桥结构变化影响电桥的散热系数和EED的电感度,为EED改进提供了理论依据.     

Analyzing the effects of special washing processes on characteristics of sewing threads

In recent years, wet (washing, bleaching, etc.) and dry (abrasive, laser shaping, rodeo, etc.) operations applied on fashion denim products have become an important factor to increase the added value. However, these wet and dry processes applied to the denim products may have adverse effects on the strength of the fabric and other supplementary materials of denim products. For example, thread breakages affect the repair ratios and quality of products, which causes time and profitability losses in companies. The main objective of this study is to analyse how the types of washing affect the strength of the sewing threads that are commonly used in the production of denim trousers. In this study, 100% cotton denim fabric with a weight of 11.5 ounces and two different sewing threads were used. The fabrics are sewn as trouser legs with chain and lock stitch. Five different washes were applied to the trouser legs. The obtained data were evaluated in the R statistical program. As a result of the analyses made it is proven that the washing techniques used have an effect on the sewing threads’ tensile strength and elongation at break. The tensile strengths of lock stitch and chain stitch decrease averagely 35% and elongation at break of lock stitch decreases %22 and chain stitch decreases 29.8%.     

ECG-Late Potential Extraction Using Averaged Singular—Values of Third-Order Cumulant (TOC) Based Bispectrum

The bispectrum can suppress Gaussian activity and extracts signals arising from non-linear process. We used bispectral analysis to detect diagnostically important low level signals, that are masked by background electrocardiogram (ECG) activity. The detecting performance is tested by Z-statistical test.     

Frequency and temperature dependence of the dielectric and AC electrical conductivity in (Ni/Au)/AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructures

The dielectric properties and AC electrical conductivity (σ_ac)of the (Ni/Au)/Al_0.22Ga_0.78N/AlN/GaN heterostructures, with and without the SiN_x passivation, have been investigated by capacitance-voltage and conductance-voltage measurements in the wide frequency (5kHz-5 MHz) and temperature (80-400 K) range. The experimental values of the dielectric constant (ε′), dielectric loss (ε′′), loss tangent (tanδ), σ_ac and the real and imaginary part of the electric modulus (M′ and M′′) were found to be a strong function of frequency and temperature. A decrease in the values of ε′ and ε′′ was observed, in which they both showed an increase in frequency and temperature. The values of M′ and M′′ increase with increasing frequency and temperature. The σ_ac increases with increasing frequency, while it decreases with increasing temperature. It can be concluded, therefore, that the interfacial polarization can occur more easily at low frequencies and temperatures with the number of interface states density located at the metal/semiconductor interface. It contributes to the ε′ and σ_ac.     

An electron microscope study of thin ferrite films prepared by the oxidation of high purity vacuum-evaporated metal thin films

The oxidation of thin films of nickel, cobalt, iron, NiFe₂ and CoFe₂ has been investigated between 200 and 1200° C. The oxidation products for the elemental metals differ from the oxidation products observed in previous work upon bulk material. The oxidation mechanism proposed for bulk material is in general still valid in the thin film situation. Above oxidation temperatures of approximately 850° C both NiFe₂ and CoFe₂ form the respective ferrites, although in the case of nickel ferrite, traces of the -Fe₂O₃ tetragonal superstructure can still be detected at oxidation temperatures of 1200° C. Films of nickel ferrite and cobalt ferrite upon single-crystal magnesium oxide substrates, produced by oxidation of vacuum-deposited NiFe₂ and CoFe₂ thin films, have been investigated by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. It has been found that (100) nickel ferrite prepared by this technique grows epitaxially upon (100) magnesium oxide.     

The effect of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) on trophoblast differentiation: a potential role in human implantation

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a multifunctional glycoprotein strongly associated with normal implantation in the mouse. We have recently determined that LIF is expressed in the human endometrium in a menstrual cycle dependent manner. Maximal expression is observed between days 19 and 25 of the menstrual cycle, coinciding with the time of human implantation. In this study we have utilized purified cultures of human cytotrophoblasts to examine the effects of LIF on several morphologic and biochemical markers of the trophoblastic differentiation. We purified human cytotrophoblasts from term placentae and cultured them with and without LIF (10 ng/mL). The secretion of human CG, oncofetal fibronectin, and progesterone were measured at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. Northern blot analysis was used to assess messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of beta hCG and oncofetal fibronectin. We found that LIF markedly decreased trophoblast production of hCG protein at 72 and 96 h, as well as expression of beta hCG mRNA. LIF also significantly increased the expression of oncofetal fibronectin mRNA and secretion of the protein. LIF did not affect steroidogenic activity of cultured trophoblasts, as determined by progesterone production. These biochemical changes are characteristic of cytotrophoblast differentiation toward an anchoring extravillous phenotype. Thus, LIF appears to be an important regulator of human embryonic implantation by directly modulating trophoblast differentiation.