This study examines the effects of size on the strength of materials, especially on high strength pearlitic steel wires. These wires play a central role in many long span suspension bridges and their design, construction, and maintenance are important for global public safety. In particular, two relationships have been considered to represent strength variation with respect to length parameters: (i) the strength versus inverse square-root and (ii) inverse length equations. In this study, existing data for the strength of high strength pearlitic steel wires is evaluated for the coefficient of determination (R² values). It is concluded that the data fits into two equations equally well. Thus, the choice between two groups of theories that predict respective relationships must rely on the merit of theoretical developments and assumptions made. Full article

The aim of this study is to investigate the corrosion behavior of steel reinforcement embedded in mortar specimens in which both the aggregate and cement are partially replaced by ladle furnace slag (LFS) and different percentages of chloride ions by weight of cement are introduced into the mix at the time of kneading. The corrosion behavior was studied by using electrochemical techniques in order to evaluate the corrosion rate and the symptoms produced in steels of specimens with and without slag LFS. From the analysis of the results, it is concluded that the use of LFS in a partial replacement of aggregate and cement in mortar specimens does not compromise the behavior of the mortar with regard to corrosion of the steel reinforcement; consequently, partial replacement by LFS is fully feasible from this standpoint. Full article

This paper presents design details adopting open embedded systems (OES) as real-time controllers in industrial distributed control systems. OES minimize development cost and enhance portability while addressing widely known shortcomings of their proprietary counterparts. These shortcomings include the black box method of distribution which hinders integration to more complex systems. However, OES are highly dependent on the compatibility of each software components and essential benchmarking is required to ensure that the system can satisfy hard real-time constraints. To address these issues and the notion that OES will find broader distributed control applications, we provide detailed procedures in realizing OES based on an open source real-time operating system on various low-cost open embedded platforms. Their performance was evaluated and compared in terms of periodicity and schedulability, task synchronization, and interrupt response time, which are crucial metrics to determine stability and reliability of real-time controllers. Practical implementations, including the modernization of a multi-axis industrial robot controller, are described clearly to serve as a comprehensive reference on the integration of OES in industrial distributed control systems. Full article

This proposal suggests a novel nonlinear position-stabilizing controller for magnetic levitation (MAGLEV) applications. The proposed scheme is devised by combining the active damping injection technique and disturbance observers (DOBs), considering the inherent nonlinear dynamics, as well as parameter and load variations. The convergence and performance recovery properties are obtained by analyzing the closed-loop dynamics, which is the main contribution. The numerical verification confirms a considerable closed-loop robustness improvement, compared with the cascade-type feedback-linearization controller. Full article

The ultra-short pulsed laser annealing process enhances the performance of MoS₂ thin film transistors (TFTs) without thermal damage on plastic substrates. However, there has been insufficient investigation into how much improvement can be brought about by the laser process. In this paper, we observed how the parameters of TFTs, i.e., mobility, subthreshold swing, I_on/I_off ratio, and V_th, changed as the TFTs’ contacts were (1) not annealed, (2) annealed on one side, or (3) annealed on both sides. The results showed that the linear effective mobility (μ_{eff_lin}) increased from 13.14 [cm²/Vs] (not annealed) to 18.84 (one side annealed) to 24.91 (both sides annealed). Also, I_on/I_off ratio increased from $2.27\times {10}^5$ (not annealed) to $3.14\times {10}^5$ (one side annealed) to $4.81\times {10}^5$(both sides annealed), with V_th shifting to negative direction. Analyzing the main reason for the improvement through the Y function method (YFM), we found that both the contact resistance (R_c) and the channel interface resistance (R_ch) improves after the pulsed laser annealings under different conditions. Moreover, the R_c enhances more dramatically than the R_ch does. In conclusion, our picosecond laser annealing improves the performance of TFTs (especially, the R_c) in direct proportion to the number of annealings applied. The results will contribute to the investigation about correlations between the laser annealing process and the performance of devices. Full article

The subsurface target classification of ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a popular topic in the field of geophysics. Among the existing classification methods, geometrical features and polarimetric attributes of targets are primarily used. As polarimetric attributes contain more information of targets, polarimetric decomposition methods, such as H-Alpha decomposition, have been developed for target classification of GPR in recent years. However, the classification template used in H-Alpha classification is preset depending on the experience of synthetic aperture radar (SAR); therefore, it may not be suitable for GPR. Moreover, many existing classification methods require excessive human operation, particularly when outliers exist in the sample (the data set containing the features of targets); therefore, they are not efficient or intelligent. We herein propose a new machine learning method based on sample centers, i.e., particle center supported plane (PCSP). The sample center is defined as the point with the smallest sum of distances from all points in the same sample, which is considered as a better representation of the sample without significant effect of the outliers. In this proposed method, particle swarm optimization (PSO) is performed to obtain the sample centers; the new criterion for subsurface target classification is achieved. We applied this algorithm to full polarimetric GPR data measured in the laboratory and outdoors. The results indicate that, comparing with support vector machine (SVM) and classical H-Alpha classification, this new method is more efficient and the accuracy is relatively high. Full article

A Thermo-Electric Energy Storage (TEES) system is proposed to provide peak-load support (1–2 daily hours of operation) for distributed users using small/medium-size photovoltaic systems (4 to 50 kWe). The purpose is to complement the PV with a reliable storage system that cancompensate the produc tivity/load mismatch, aiming at off-grid operation. The proposed TEES applies sensible heat storage, using insulated warm-water reservoirs at 120/160 °C, and cold storage at −10/−20 °C (water and ethylene glycol). The power cycle is a trans-critical CO₂ unit including recuperation; in the storage mode, a supercritical heat pump restores heat to the hot reservoir, while a cooling cycle cools the cold reservoir; both the heat pump and cooling cycle operate on photovoltaic (PV) energy, and benefit from solar heat integration at low–medium temperatures (80–120 °C). This allows the achievement of a marginal round-trip efficiency (electric-to-electric) in the range of 50% (not considering solar heat integration).The TEES system is analysed with different resource conditions and parameters settings (hot storage temperature, pressure levels for all cycles, ambient temperature, etc.), making reference to standard days of each month of the year; exergy and exergo-economic analyses are performed to identify the critical items in the complete system and the cost of stored electricity. Full article

Coumarins and essential oils are the major components of the Apiaceae family and the Zosima genus. The present study reports anticholinesterase and antioxidant activities of extracts and essential oils from aerial parts, roots, flowers, fruits and coumarins—bergapten (1); imperatorin (2), pimpinellin (3) and umbelliferone (4)—isolated of the roots from Zosima absinthifolia. The investigation by light and scanning electron microscopy of the structures of secretory canals found different chemical compositions in the various types of secretory canals which present in the aerial parts, fruits and flowers. The canals, present in the aerial parts, are characterized by terpene hydrocarbons, while the secretory canals of roots, flowers and fruits include esters. Novel data of a comparative study on essential oils constituents of aerial parts, roots, flowers and fruits of Z. absinthfolia has been presented. The roots and fruits extract showed a high content of total phenolics and antioxidant activity. The GC-FID and GC-MS analysis revealed that the main components of the aerial parts, roots, flowers and fruits extracts were octanol (8.8%), octyl octanoate (7.6%), octyl acetate (7.3%); trans-pinocarvyl acetate (26.7%), β-pinene (8.9%); octyl acetate (19.9%), trans-p-menth-2-en-1-ol (4.6%); octyl acetate (81.6%), and (Z)-4-octenyl acetate (5.1%). The dichloromethane fraction of fruit and flower essential oil was characterized by the highest phenolics level and antioxidant activity. The dichloromethane fraction of fruit had the best inhibition against butyrylcholinesterase enzyme (82.27 ± 1.97%) which was higher then acetylcholinesterase inhibition (61.09 ± 4.46%) of umbelliferone. This study shows that the flowers and fruit of Z. absinthifolia can be a new potential resource of natural antioxidant and anticholinesterase compounds. Full article

One of the best ways to protect an organization’s assets is to implement security requirements defined by different standards or best practices. However, such an approach is complicated and requires specific skills and knowledge. In case an organization applies multiple security standards, several problems can arise related to overlapping or conflicting security requirements, increased expenses on security requirement implementation, and convenience of security requirement monitoring. To solve these issues, we propose using graph theory techniques. Graphs allow the presentation of security requirements of a standard as graph vertexes and edges between vertexes, and would show the relations between different requirements. A vertex cover algorithm is proposed for minimum security requirement identification, while graph isomorphism is proposed for comparing existing organization controls against a set of minimum requirements identified in the previous step. Full article

The approach of the present work is based on the use of poly (methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) polymer, which is compatible with PVDF and TiO₂ nanoparticles in casting solutions, for the preparation of nano-composites membranes using a safer and more compatible solvent. TiO₂ embedded poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/PMMA photocatalytic membranes were prepared by phase inversion method. A non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) coupled with vapor induced phase separation (VIPS) was used to fabricate flat-sheet membranes using a dope solution consisting of PMMA, PVDF, TiO₂, and triethyl phosphate (TEP) as an alternative non-toxic solvent. Membrane morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Backscatter electron detector (BSD) mapping was used to monitor the inter-dispersion of TiO₂ in the membrane surface and matrix. The effects of polymer concentration, evaporation time, additives and catalyst amount on the membrane morphology and properties were investigated. Tests on photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) were also carried out using the membranes entrapped with different concentrations of TiO₂. The results of this study showed that nearly 99% MB removal can be easily achieved by photocatalysis using TiO₂ immobilized on the membrane matrix. Moreover, it was observed that the quantity of TiO₂ plays a significant role in the dye removal. Full article

We consider steady, laminar, compressible lubrication flows in a high-speed two-dimensional journal bearing governed by the appropriate Reynolds equation. The thermodynamic states correspond to pressurized gases and are in the single-phase regime. Simple explicit formulas for the load capacity, power loss, and attitude angle are derived by applying the virial (or small density) expansions of pressure and shear viscosity to results developed in previous studies. The present virial approximation was compared to the exact numerical solutions to the Reynolds equation. It was shown that the results based on our virial expansions are quite accurate at thermodynamic states corresponding to dense and supercritical gases. The first virial correction is seen to significantly improve predictions based on the ideal gas theory. Full article

Over the past 25 years, magnetic actinide complexes have been the object of considerable attention, not only at the experimental level, but also at the theoretical one. Such systems are of great interest, owing to the well-known larger spin–orbit coupling for actinide ions, and could exhibit slow relaxation of the magnetization, arising from a large anisotropy barrier, and magnetic hysteresis of purely molecular origin below a given blocking temperature. Furthermore, more diffuse 5f orbitals than lanthanide 4f ones (more covalency) could lead to stronger magnetic super-exchange. On the other hand, the extraordinary experimental challenges of actinide complexes chemistry, because of their rarity and toxicity, afford computational chemistry a particularly valuable role. However, for such a purpose, the use of a multiconfigurational post-Hartree-Fock approach is required, but such an approach is computationally demanding for polymetallic systems—notably for actinide ones—and usually simplified models are considered instead of the actual systems. Thus, Density Functional Theory (DFT) appears as an alternative tool to compute magnetic exchange coupling and to explore the electronic structure and magnetic properties of actinide-containing molecules, especially when the considered systems are very large. In this paper, relevant achievements regarding DFT investigations of the magnetic properties of actinide complexes are surveyed, with particular emphasis on some representative examples that illustrate the subject, including actinides in Single Molecular Magnets (SMMs) and systems featuring metal-metal super-exchange coupling interactions. Examples are drawn from studies that are either entirely computational or are combined experimental/computational investigations in which the latter play a significant role. Full article