bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Operating Conditions and Damage to the Concrete of Port Facilities on the Southern Coast of Sakhalin
Authors: Malyuk V V , Malyuk V D , Lobodyuk A V
Published: February 2022

The article examines the winter operating conditions of the concrete of various port facilities in the area of variable water level on the southern coast of Sakhalin Island. It analyzes the climatic conditions of the south of Sakhalin being under influence of the cold Sea of Okhotsk and the warm Sea of Japan. The peculiarity of the climatic conditions predetermines various factors of the frost exposure on the concrete structures in the area of variable water level. The article describes the specifics of the port construction on Sakhalin and the factors that determine the concrete durability. It presents the results of surveying the structures with different service life. It has been established that under modern conditions of the construction of port facilities, the concrete destruction may be possible after the first winter period of operation. The processes of the concrete freezing in different sections of the area of variable water level as well as the distinctive types of concrete damage are considered.
Analysis of the Operation of Kinematic Seismically Isolated Foundations Taking into Account the Vertical Component of the Seismic Impact
Authors: Nikonova N V , Ilyunin V A , Abu-Khasan M S , Sidorova P S
Published: February 2022

The analysis of the work of kinematic foundations under seismic impact is carried out. In this case, the seismic action is set by two harmonic functions, one of which describes the vertical component of the movement of points on the day surface during an earthquake. The equation of motion of the considered seismically isolated supports is reduced to the form of the well-known Mathieu-Hill equation, the solutions of which can be both bounded and infinitely increasing functions. Thus, the possibility of occurrence in the considered system of seismic isolation of the phenomenon of parametric resonance has been proved and the parameters of the system and the parameters of seismic impact, on which the occurrence of this phenomenon depends, have been identified. The values of the damping parameters in the system and the amplitude of the vertical component of the seismic action, at which the movement of the kinematic supports is unstable, have been established. The construction of the zones of instability of oscillations of supports on the plane of change of the coefficients of the Mathieu-Hill equation is carried out. Also, the value of damping in the seismic isolation system is obtained, which is necessary to ensure the stability of motion under the combined action of the vertical and horizontal components of the seismic action.
Residual Operation Life Estimation of Trunk Oil Pipeline Submerged Crossing
Authors: Gumerov A , Kolchin A , Karimov R
Published: February 2022

Commonly known, diagnostic results show that all pipelines contain a large number of defects that are unacceptable in terms of standards and building codes. An attempt to eliminate all defects can lead to the fact that the costs of further operation will become prohibitively large and not economically justified. In practice, the only way to ensure safety is to exclude only those defects that really pose a danger to the pipeline, taking into account the operating conditions. This is how the problem of assessing the residual resource of objects that have been in operation for a long time appears.

Authors do not always use the same meaning in the term “residual resource”. To avoid confusion in terms, the article provides some considerations defining this term and accepts an interpretation in which it is a value derived from the strength and safety of the pipeline. A number of factors are given, which in a key way affect the strength and safety, which should be involved in the assessment of the residual resource. As a result, this approach, in contrast to the previously available ones, allows taking into account all the main factors affecting the strength, durability and safety of the pipeline.
Spatial Analysis to Justify Urban Decisions in the Planning and Distribution of Green Spaces within the Urban Range of Cities (Case Study of the City of Samawah - Republic of Iraq)
Authors: Al-Mossawy B A , Stetsenko S E , Al-Shebillawy E J
Published: February 2022

Green spaces represent an important type of urban land use within the urban fabric of the city, and it is of clear importance, like all other patterns. It is an important goal to bring the urban population closer to nature and to provide a suitable external environment for them by creating balance and harmony with nature. Green spaces represent a healthy outlet for humans, increasing their physical and psychological capabilities and are a haven for them to relax and spend their free time. The green areas in the city of Samawah and other cities in Iraq suffer from a clear shortage, as they do not meet the needs of the population in them, in addition to the fact that these areas are fragmented within the city and are not interconnected and do not work as a unified system. Therefore, it is neglected, which leads to the deterioration of the city’s environment and increased air pollution. With population growth and urbanization in the city, there is a negative impact on the natural ecosystem. Therefore, the researchers analyzed the spatial distribution of green areas in the city of Samawah, where the analysis dealt with the percentages of green areas implemented over the years from 2010 - 2020 to determine the amount of dispersal of the assembly using a set of tools for spatial analysis in spatial information systems (GIS). The research field ends with a proposal to identify new green areas in the city. The new green areas will be linked with the existing green areas in the city of Samawa, which will lead to an increase in the open green areas, increase their accessibility and increase social cohesion. In addition, this interconnection will contribute to improving the city’s environment by reducing air pollution and lowering high temperatures during the long summer season. This approach can also achieve other economic benefits when planning an interconnected network of green areas in the city of Samawa.
Social Rehabilitation of People Convicted for Crime Committing by Means of Architecture and Landscape Design (Hybrid Space of Social Adaptation Centers)
Authors: Trofimova T E
Published: February 2022

The purpose of the research is providing a rationale for the design of special areas aimed at the psychophysical discharge (landscape gardens, special recreation areas in the premises of social adaptation centres) for the people who were imprisoned for crime commitment. To achieve the purpose set, the authors state and implement the following objectives: study of medical and psychological aspects of a person staying in the places of detention, consideration of green area arrangement issues - landscape remedial gardens in terms of botanic, analysis of the existing social adaptation centres, revelation of positive and negative points of their use, suggestion of solutions for the problems identified, analysis of various options of the landscape garden layouts, development of the concept for and suggestion of the arrangement of areas intended for psychophysical discharge in real situation. Basing upon the analysis of the experimental project the authors suggested the fundamental principles for the arrangement of the areas of psychophysical discharge and efficient rehabilitation at the Social adaptation centres intended for the people convicted and released from the places of detention. The authors defined the use of special plants to make the microclimate healthier and create the favorable video environment - using harmonious non-aggressive forms in the interiors, using green planting to reduce human stress, using green planting components for buildings and the functional zoning of plant trees and shrubs. At the uniform architecture&layout and technology space solution multiple scenarios may occur in terms of such space use by means of the application of psychological discharge areas with various green planting. It is necessary to stipulate for the free access to the rehabilitation centre space and landscape garden territory for disabled people.
Numerical Modeling of the Ice-Conical Structure Interaction Process Using Element Erosion Technique
Authors: Gogoladze D Z , Bekker A T
Published: February 2022

Nowadays, the Finite Element Analysis method is widely used, including in the field of fracture mechanics, because to the grown of computing power. Numerical modeling of fracture mechanics is a developing method in the Ice-Structure Interaction field. One of the approaches to modeling ice failure is the Finite Element Method with Element Erosion Technique, which is widely used among researchers. However, the question of using a material model that most accurately describes the behavior of ice taking into account its physical and mechanical characteristics remains open. Also, researchers often overlook the question of the strain rate effect on the values of ice load. This article presents the results of numerical modeling of the interaction of level ice with a conical support of offshore structure. The dependences of the ice load value on the ice velocity are also presented and compared with the results obtained according to regulatory documents.
Modern Trends in Design of Extracurricular Institutions for Children
Authors: Shamaeva T , Mayasova E
Published: February 2022

Extracurricular institutions (EI) with various functional purposes for children and adolescents from 7 to 15 years are very popular with the population. Today, the construction and commissioning of this type of public buildings is undergoing a period of active development and progress. The child forms her worldview, social behavior and reveals her personal abilities, thanks to her family, school and leisure activities in her free time. Extracurricular institutions should have a clear typology by their function, the types of functions and the target directions determined by the State. Facades and architectural appearance of the constructed EI over the last 3–5 years are diverse and designed under individual projects with various facade systems and finishing materials. Unfortunately, not all buildings correspond to the function of the facility in their exterior and visual image. The architectural and urban exterior of the building should correspond to the function of the facility, fit into the environment and be attractive to children and teenagers. It is recommended to design buildings as a separate structure on a separate territory, while more than 50% of the territory can be used to arrange children’s play areas with various places for recreation and sports. The recommended number of floors is 2-3.

The modern design practice identified priority trends: institutions fulfilling cultural, educational, creative, as well as sports, physical and health-improving functions. Other areas of activity should also be developed with a focus on the choice of profession, science and technology, practical and craft skills, as well as on stronger family and patriotic values. Extracurricular institutions should be as accessible to the public and as diverse by purpose as possible.
Development of Large Span Curving System of Sailing Dome Structure
Authors: Abu-Khasan M , Abu-Khasan P
Published: February 2022

The article is devoted to the space-planning and structural solution of dome structures for the regions of the Far North. The article analyzes the predecessors of these design solutions, emphasizes important aspects of bioarchitecture, the possibility of widespread use of this style; disclosed existing problems. A solution for the construction of quick-assembly structures is proposed, which allows widespread use of the developed solutions for the active development of the Far North regions. The possibility of manufacturing planning and structural elements is proposed. However, in life, most of the settlements in the northern part of Russia are built up with wooden barrack-type houses, or typical dull five-story panel houses, clearly not meeting climatic conditions, which are quickly destroyed under the influence of climatic conditions. The task of our work was to develop a large-span design solution with a high bearing capacity, reducing wind and snow loads, having collapsible properties, allowing, if necessary, moving the structure, which is important for the regions of the Far North. The optimal solution for Northern construction is a dome, one of the oldest structures formed by a spherical surface of revolution.
Determination of Eigenvalues in Problems of Loss of Stability of Compressed Rods (Part II)
Authors: Kulterbayev Kh P
Published: February 2022

The tasks of determining eigenvalues in the design of compressed rods in mechanical engineering and building structures and in their study in technical disciplines are among the most difficult. The existing methods for their solution are of a private nature and are unsuitable for the modern, more complex structures of the digital economy. In this paper, it is proposed to use computer technologies to significantly simplify the solution of complex problems of the stability of the rod and at the same time to achieve greater clarity and versatility with the proposed methods. Using specific examples, the application of the proposed analytical-graphic and numerical-graphic methods is shown. Mathematical models and decision algorithms are verified using computational experiments. Based on the results obtained, a number of practical conclusions were drawn. Part II is a continuation of Part I of the single article.
Evaluation of Energy Efficiency of Buildings Operated by the Example of Housing Stock of Yakutsk
Authors: Arkhangelskaya E A
Published: February 2022

This article discusses the problem of improving the energy efficiency of buildings. An express assessment of the energy efficiency of apartment buildings was carried out on the basis of the specific characteristics of the actual consumption of heat energy for heating and ventilation of the building. In the course of the study, the main problems of introducing energy-saving technologies were highlighted. The proposed approach can be used for monitoring energy consumption and energy audit of buildings.
Synergistic effect of essential oil distillates on the corrosion protection of GX4CrNiMo16-5-1 stainless in acid-chloride electrolyte
Authors: Loto R T
Published: February 2022

The inhibition capability of admixed rosemary oil with cinnamon cassia oil (RC), and grapefruit oil with lemongrass oil (GL) on GX4CrNiMo16-5-1 martensitic stainless steel (GX4ST) corrosion was studied in 6 M H2SO4/3.5% NaCl electrolyte by potentiodynamic polarization and optical microscopy characterization. Results show both admixed distillates performed effectively on GX4ST. The corrosion rate of GX4ST without the distillates at 2.82 mm/y significantly decreased to average value of 0.04 mm/y and 0.05 mm/y analogous to average inhibition efficiency of 98.64% and 98.23% for RC and GL compound. The oil distillates exhibit consistent anodic corrosion inhibition behavior at all concentrations studied. Corrosion thermodynamic calculations showed the distillates chemisorbed on the martensitic steel with Gibbs free energy values greater than -46.01 Kjmol−1 with respect to Langmuir isotherm equation which indicates negligible of lateral interaction effect among inhibitor molecules and surface coverage protection mechanism. Optical image representations of GX4ST after corrosion without the distillates showed severe surface degradation of general and localized corrosion. This contrast the images of the inhibited steel surface which were closely similar to the steel image before corrosion.
Effects of directional solidification on hardness and microstructure in Al–3wt.%Cu–1wt.%Li alloy
Authors: dos Santos G A , Alves T L , Teram R , Cruz R A , Nascimento M S , dos Santos V T , da Silva M R , Couto A A , Machado I F
Published: February 2022

Solidification is probably one of most important phase transformations in materials manufacturing. Additionally, a wide range of solidification microstructural features is obtained depending on processing parameters. Mechanical properties of the cast are influenced by the microstructure obtained after solidification. The aim of this work is to investigate how solidification conditions affect solidification and the resulting microstructure of the Al– 3wt.%Cu–1wt.%Li (ternary system) alloy. The alloy was solidified unidirectionally upward through a water-cooled steel plate. Results include secondary dendritic arm spacing (SDAS), hardness and microstructure analysis using optical microscopy. Results showed that SDAS values tended to increase as the distance from the heat-exchange surface increased (P). Conversely, hardness decreases as P increased.
Modelling, Simulation and Analysis of NPDA for Sub-retinal implant using Nano Materials
Authors: VijaiMeyyappan M. , Joseph Daniel R.
Published: February 2022

There are two primary illnesses that afflict the elderly worldwide those are Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and Age-related Macula Degeneration (AMD). Presently there has been a large research focus to develop treatment methods that would cure AMD induced vision disability and RP diseases. Silicon Micro Photo Diode Array, ARGUS II, and ALPHA IMS are a few of the latest therapeutic approaches suggested for curing these diseases (MPDA). These systems have led to many undesirable side effects in patients. The objective of this research work is to create an affordable device that improves the vision recovery. Photovoltaic cells composed of nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene are known as Nano Photo Diode Arrays (NPDA). Under incident light, they may generate stimulating electrical pulses to restore vision, photoreceptor cells are stimulated in the retina. The authors of this study sought to optimise the several geometries of Graphene/SWCNT-C60/Al bilayer hetero junction photodiodes that would constitute the NPDA for subretinal implantation.
Simulation and Modelling of Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Self-powered Electronic Devices
Authors: Mainra Jashan Kumar , Kaur Akshpreet , Sapra Gaurav , Gaur Parul
Published: February 2022

Triboelectric Nanogenerators has revolutionised the area of energy harvesting and self-powered sensing. In recent years, variety of small scale applications of triboelectric nanogenerators have been explored extensively particularly in self powered electronics, wearable and implantable devices, self-powered biosensors, human motion monitoring, location evaluation, air quality control etc. This paper discusses simulation and modelling of contact separation mode based triboelectric nanogenerator. In this work, triboelectric nanogenerators are simulated in COMSOL to compare the voltage profile of three different triboelectric materials – Kapton, Teflon and RTV Silicone with respect to Aluminium. Also, the effect of thickness of triboelectric layer on voltage profile is studied to optimize the thickness of the films. The output voltage recorded is 75 V, 60 V and 59 V for RTV Silicone, Teflon and Kapton respectively. It was observed that with increase in thickness of triboelectric layer, output voltage first increases linearly and then starts decreasing. The future research is directed towards fabricating a robust device for realising self – powered electronic devices.
Electrochemical Micromachining of Linear Micropattern on Stainless Steel Surface
Authors: Kunar S. , Pragna V. , Singh A.K. , Reddy M. S.
Published: February 2022

Maskless electrochemical micromachining process with SU-8 2150 masked tool has been introduced containing microstructures with higherprofile accuracy that are generated on SS-304. In this research work, to make maskless EMM method with more cost-effective, substantial adaptations are provided to this technique and an advanced version of EMM process is applied for microtexturing. In this modified technique, a special microtextured cell unit including (micromachining cell, electrical connection, and electrolyte flow scheme) is assembled by the mechanical force and perpendicular cross flow system has been developed inside the cell. Experimentation is conducted to explore the machining influence of the advanced maskless EMM process for fabricating linear micropattern. The machining outcomes of voltage, frequency, and duty ratio on MRR, dimensional accuracy, textured depth, and surface roughness are investigated during microtexturing. The investigational research reveals that this advanced maskless EMM technique can generate highly identical micropatterns having MRR of 2.2 mg/min, width overcut of 19.76μm, textured depth of 14.4μm and surface roughness of 0.0307μm.
Analysis of Effects of Change of Gear Parameter Module on Transmission Error in Spur Gear using Interference Volume Method
Authors: Karma V , Maheshwari G , Somani S K
Published: February 2022

Gear drives are the most used elements in power transmission systems. Any defect in the gear of these drives leads to noise and vibrations, which affect power/torque transmission. Transmission Error (TE) is one of the critical causes that arises due to the tooth geometry error, cracks in gear, profile error etc. Our work demonstrates, the consequences occurring due to the changes in gear parameter module on TE for spur gear pair of 1:1 gear ratio with pitch error, using the interference volume method. The spur gear without pitch error and with pitch error having the involute profile of standard tooth dimension system and stub tooth dimension system are modelled and assembled in CAD software SOLIDWORKS. The interference volume values obtained from the gear pairs are recorded for one mesh cycle. Various graphs plotted between the angle of rotation and interference volume values for one mesh cycle. It is found from the analysis that as the module and pitch error increase TE also increases. The effect of variation of module and pitch error is more in the standard tooth dimension system than the stub tooth dimension system.
Optimization of Reinforced Concrete Cantilever Retaining Wall using Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Srivastava Shubham , Pandey Saurabh , Kumar Rajesh
Published: February 2022

The design of structures depends on designer’s experience and generally, the designer proceeds with trial and error until he arrives at a design which satisfies prescribed limit states. This is especially true for reinforced concrete structures in which the structural configuration is decided first and then reinforcement requirements are determined, resulting in higher cost. Retaining walls involve a large number of variables and therefore have been far from optimization. However, since retaining walls comprise of 20-30 percent of the cost of highways in hilly regions, their optimization is critical to economy of the project. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) does not require the objective function to be linear or differentiable and hence is ideally suited for optimization of retaining walls. This study uses PSO as a tool for the optimizing a Cantilever RC Retaining Wall. The objective function consists of two parts - cost function and penalty term. A program and GUI was developed to implement PSO. A reduction in cost was achieved from 8% -17% depending on the height of retaining wall, while the optimization in weight varied from 9%-34%.
Role of nanofluids as an anti-freezing agent
Authors: Soni S , Singh J , Gill B K
Published: February 2022

In the era of the advancement, finding better and efficient solution for the problems is the real deal. Nanofluids discovery and related research work are giving efficient results in coping up the problems. Usage of nanofluids in different spheres and now finding application as an anti-freeze agent really helping normal people and industrialist. The contribution of nanofluids towards the high heat transfer rate is because of the improved properties. This paper reviews the features which make nanofluids as an anti-freeze agent and also deals with the published research papers to see how efficient the nanofluids are and what made them that efficient and the chances of the improvement to get better outcome.
Design of low cost IoT enabled embedded control system for covid free smart home
Authors: Singh Khushi , Jindal Sumit Kumar
Published: February 2022

In the era of automation, the Internet of Things (IoT) has come up as a solution and innovation for many applications to improve the basic facilities required in the day-to-day routine. IoT, itself is the interconnectivity of different physical devices with the help of wireless networks e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi without human intervention. The low-cost embedded control unit for Covid free Smart Home is based on the idea of home automation by keeping the current situation of the Covid pandemic in mind. Irradiation of Ultraviolet C (UVC) spectrum is used to sanitize household goods, where convectional sanitization process is not suitable. Simple home automation means controlling or monitoring different electronic/electrical home appliances, devices, and other such things with smartphones or by doing sensor-based operations. All the required devices are connected with one embedded control unit which is managed through a mobile app. This functionality can be accessed either by manually operating a mobile app or with voice assistants e.g., Alexa or Google Assistant, etc. The basic point of communication among devices is based on real-time sensor inputs, which trigger the devices for action and react as per requirements. Ambient light sensors are used to control the on/off the functionality of lights based on the intensity of light present naturally. In this scenario, lights will be switched off in day mode and switched on in night mode. Advancement in wireless technologies enables the researchers to apply various modes of communications among the sensors, gateway, and applications. Bluetooth, Wireless sensor network (WSN), Wi-Fi, Global system for mobile communication (GSM) are a few of them, which are being used either in sensing nodes or in communication gateway to make home automation free of the wired network.
MoS2/CeO2 Based Composite for Ammonia Sensing
Authors: Dogra Nitesh , Dadwal Kajal , Kumar Arun , Sharma Sandeep
Published: February 2022

Here, we report synthesis of MoS2/CeO2 composite using a two-step hydrothermal techniques. A two-terminal sensor device made from the composite was further used for ammonia detection at room-temperature. The device has shown selective behavior toward ammonia gas molecules as compared to acetone, ethanol and N-methyle pyroliddone (NMP). Further, the sensor display delayed recovery and a relative-response of eleven percent for ammonia (30 ppm). The decrease in resistance after interaction with ammonia gas molecules indicate n-type conduction of the composite. Conduction type was further confirmed using Mott-Schottky measurements which gives a positive slope with composite as working electrode. These initial studies indicated that transition-metal dichalcogenides based composite with metal oxide semiconductor could be optimized for selective detection of various volatile organic compounds.
Semiconductor wafer defect classification using convolution neural network: a binary case
Authors: Chauhan Krishan Kumar , Joshi Garima , Kaur Manjeet , Vig Renu
Published: February 2022

With the multitude of steps used in semiconductor industry, automation is being practiced extensively in its manufacturing processes to guarantee quality of manufactured chips and improvement in production. At front end of line, wafer are probed and defective chips are segregated. From this data wafer bin map are generated, these show defects on the surface of wafers. If analysis of wafer bin map is done manually, this may result in incorrect categorization of defects due to human error and lack of judgement. Thus, the rationale behind this research study is to determine the scope of vision-based methods for automatic classification of wafer defects. In view of this, a classifier which detects Type A and Type B defects in wafers is proposed. It involves a Convolution Neural Network (CNN) based binary classifier. 250 Images of each class of wafer bin map dataset, is used to conduct the study on five layer CNN architecture. The proposed setup gives the test accuracy of 97.7%.
Evolution of magnetic and structural properties of MgO thin film with vacuum annealing
Authors: Vardhan Harsh , Sharma Gagan , Sharma Kavita , Choudhary R.J. , Phase D. M. , Gupta Mukul , Raghavendra Reddy V. , Gupta Ajay
Published: February 2022

In this work, investigation of MgO thin film, deposited via e-beam evaporation is carried out with increasing annealing temperature. Structural properties, as elucidated using X-ray based techniques viz. grazing incidence XRD and X-ray reflectivity were associated with magnetic properties of film as observed using superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer. As-deposited film is polycrystalline in nature and exhibits ferromagnetism, which is attributed to presence of Mg vacancies. Vacuum annealing results densification of film with concurrent increase in electron density and reduction in film thickness and saturation magnetization. However, at sufficiently high temperature, electron density and saturation magnetization decreases comparative to as-deposited film. The results are significant for the optimization of desired functional properties of MgO particularly in MgO based magnetic tunnel junctions, providing high tunnel magnetoresistance ratio.
Polydopamine-coated polycaprolactone/carbon nanotube fibrous scaffolds loaded with brain-derived neurotrophic factor for peripheral nerve regeneration
Authors: Pi Wei , Zhang Yanling , Li Longfei , Li Ci , Zhang Meng , Zhang Wei , Cai Qing , Zhang Peixun
Published: February 2022

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted increasing attention in the field of peripheral nerve tissue engineering due to their unique structural and physical characteristics. In this study, a novel type of aligned conductive scaffolds composed of polycaprolactone (PCL) and CNTs were fabricated via electrospinning. Utilizing mussel-inspired polydopamine (PDA) surface modification, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was loaded onto PCL/CNT fibrous scaffolds to obtain PCL/CNT-PDA-BDNF fibrous scaffolds capable of the sustained release of BDNF over 28 d. Schwann cells were cultured on these scaffolds, and the effect of the scaffolds on peripheral nerve regeneration in vitro was assessed by studying cell proliferation, morphology and the expressions of myelination-related genes S100, P0 and myelin basic protein. Furthermore, the effect of these scaffolds on peripheral nerve regeneration in vivo was investigated using a 10 mm rat sciatic nerve defect model. Both the in vitro and in vivo results indicate that PCL/CNT-PDA-BDNF fibrous scaffolds effectively promote sciatic nerve regeneration and functional recovery. Therefore, PCL/CNT-PDA-BDNF fibrous scaffolds have great potential for peripheral nerve restoration.
Influence of process parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welds of AA2014 and AA6063 aluminium alloys using response surface methodology
Authors: Ramamurthy M , Balasubramanian P , Senthilkumar N , Anbuchezhiyan G
Published: February 2022

Welding dissimilar alloys of aluminium are quite cumbersome due to their lower melting temperatures and difficulty in welding. To resolve this, solid-state procedure friction stir welding (FSW) is utilized largely in industries. In this present research, dissimilar aluminium alloys AA2014 and AA6063 is joined using the FSW procedure to achieve higher yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and microhardness. Experiments were planned as per response surface methodology (RSM) based central composite design (CCD), for four input parameters (tool pin profile, rotational speed, axial force and traverse speed). Micrographs of the weld show grain refinement and proper fusion of materials which increases the mechanical strength and bonding. Outcomes from the experiment show that the considered input parameters significantly influence all the outputs. The optimum condition was evolved from multiobjective optimization procedure using desirability approach (DA) which are 1010 rpm rotating tool speed, 25 mm min−1 as tool traverse speed, 7 kN of axial force with triangular pin profile. The second-order regression model predicts the output responses with lower residuals and the confirmation experiment outputs produces a maximum deviation of 7.94% with investigational outcomes with optimum condition. Micrographs shows that the heat affected zone (HAZ) region is free from voids, oxides, and cracks. The nugget zone has the flow of materials from both the base metals and the flow track is clearly visible.
BamToCov: an efficient toolkit for sequence coverage calculations
Authors: Birolo Giovanni , Telatin Andrea
Published: February 2022

Motivation

Many genomics applications require the computation of nucleotide coverage of a reference genome or the ability to determine how many reads map to a reference region.

Results

BamToCov is a toolkit for rapid and flexible coverage computation that relies on the most memory efficient algorithm and is designed for integration in pipelines, given its ability to read alignment files from streams. The tools in the suite can process sorted BAM or CRAM files, allowing the user to extract coverage information via different filtering approaches and to save the output in different formats (BED, Wig or counts). The BamToCov algorithm can also handle strand-specific and/or physical coverage analyses.

Availability and implementation

This program, accessory utilities and their documentation are freely available at https://github.com/telatin/BamToCov.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
An approximate randomization test for the high-dimensional two-sample Behrens–Fisher problem under arbitrary covariances
Authors: Wang Rui , Xu Wangli
Published: February 2022

This paper is concerned with the problem of comparing the population means of two groups of independent observations. An approximate randomization test procedure based on the test statistic of Chen & Qin (2010) is proposed. The asymptotic behaviour of the test statistic, as well as the randomized statistic, is studied under weak conditions. In our theoretical framework, observations are not assumed to be identically distributed even within groups. No condition on the eigenstructure of the covariance matrices is imposed. Furthermore, the sample sizes of the two groups are allowed to be unbalanced. Under general conditions, all possible asymptotic distributions of the test statistic are obtained. We derive the asymptotic level and local power of the approximate randomization test procedure. Our theoretical results show that the proposed test procedure can adapt to all possible asymptotic distributions of the test statistic, always has the correct test level asymptotically and has good power behaviour. Our numerical experiments show that the proposed test procedure has favourable performance compared with several alternative test procedures.
Diverse injury responses of human oligodendrocyte to mediators implicated in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Pernin Florian , Luo Julia Xiao Xuan , Cui Qiao-Ling , Blain Manon , Fernandes Milton G F , Yaqubi Moein , Srour Myriam , Hall Jeff , Dudley Roy , Jamann Hélène , Larochelle Catherine , Zandee Stephanie E J , Prat Alexandre , Stratton Jo Anne , Kennedy Timothy E , Antel Jack P
Published: February 2022

Early multiple sclerosis lesions feature relative preservation of oligodendrocyte cell bodies with dying back retraction of their myelinating processes. Cell loss occurs with disease progression. Putative injury mediators include metabolic stress (low glucose/nutrient), pro-inflammatory mediators (interferon γ and tumour necrosis factor α), and excitotoxins (glutamate). Our objective was to compare the impact of these disease relevant mediators on the injury responses of human mature oligodendrocytes.

In the current study, we determined the effects of these mediators on process extension and survival of human brain derived mature oligodendrocytes in vitro and used bulk RNA sequencing to identify distinct effector mechanisms that underlie the responses. All mediators induced significant process retraction of the oligodendrocytes in dissociated cell culture. Only metabolic stress (low glucose/nutrient) conditions resulted in delayed (4–6 days) non-apoptotic cell death. Metabolic effects were associated with induction of the integrated stress response, which can be protective or contribute to cell injury dependent on its level and duration of activation. Addition of Sephin1, an agonist of the integrated stress response induced process retraction under control conditions and further enhanced retraction under metabolic stress conditions. The antagonist ISRIB restored process outgrowth under stress conditions, and if added to already stressed cells, reduced delayed cell death and prolonged the period in which recovery could occur. Inflammatory cytokine functional effects were associated with activation of multiple signalling pathways (including Jak/Stat-1) that regulate process outgrowth, without integrated stress response induction. Glutamate application produced limited transcriptional changes suggesting a contribution of effects directly on cell processes.

Our comparative studies indicate the need to consider both the specific injury mediators and the distinct cellular mechanisms of responses to them by human oligodendrocytes to identify effective neuroprotective therapies for multiple sclerosis.
Optimization of High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method Using Central Composite Design for the Simultaneous Estimation of Ciprofloxacin and Loteprednol
Authors: Dewani Anil P , Vekariya Hitesh J
Published: February 2022

A simple, rapid, precise and accurate stability indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for simultaneous quantification of Ciprofloxacin (CIP) and Loteprednol (LOT) along with their forced degradation products using central composite design (CCD) approach. CCD was prepared with three independent variables in a gradient HPLC method. In gradient program (GP) the ratio of phosphate buffer in the mobile phase was 70%, 75%, 80%, 85% and 90%, the pH of phosphate buffer was 2.6, 2.8, 3.0, 3.2 and 3.4, flow rate was 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 mL/min. Resolution, tailing factor (CIP) and tailing factor (LOT) were selected as response factor. The effective separation of LOT and CIP was achieved on Phenomenex EVO-C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm × 5 μm particle size) opting gradient mode of elution. The mobile phase composed of 10 mM Phosphate buffer pH 3.2 with ortho-phosphoric acid and the organic phase composed of mixture of acetonitrile and methanol in 50:50% v/v with flow rate of 1 mL/min and diode array detection at 258 nm. The optimized variables found were flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, ratio of phosphate buffer in GP 80% at pH 3.0. The method was validated as per ICH guidelines and applied for analysis of stability samples.
Geometric and material attenuation of surface acoustic modes in granular media
Authors: Zaccherini R , Palermo A , Marzani A , Colombi A , Dertimanis V K , Chatzi E N
Published: February 2022

Granular materials can be used in laboratory-scale physical models to simulate and study seismic wave propagation in various unconsolidated, porous heterogeneous media. This is due to the diverse available grain configurations, in terms of their shape, size and mechanical parameters, which enable the physical and geological modelling of various complex substrates. In this work, an unconsolidated granular medium, made of silica microbeads, featuring a gravity-induced power-law stiffness profile is experimentally tested in a laboratory setting. The objective is to investigate the attenuation mechanisms of vertically polarized seismic waves traveling at the surface of unconsolidated substrates that are characterized by power-law rigidity profiles. Both geometric spreading and material damping due to skeletal dissipation are considered. The understanding of these two attenuation mechanisms is crucial in seismology for properly determining the seismic site response. An electromagnetic shaker is employed to excite the granular medium between 300 and 550 Hz, generating linear modes that are localized near the surface. A densely sampled section is recorded at the surface using a laser vibrometer. The explicit solution of the geometric attenuation law of Rayleigh-like waves in layered media is employed to calculate the geometric spreading function of the vertically polarized surface modes within the granular material. In accordance with recent studies, the dynamics of these small-amplitude multimodal linear waves can be analysed by considering the granular medium as perfectly continuous and elastic. By performing a nonlinear regression analysis on particle displacements, extracted from experimental velocity data, we determine the frequency-dependent attenuation coefficients, which account for the material damping. The findings of this work show that laboratory-scale physical models can be used to study the geometric spreading of vertically polarized seismic waves induced by the soil inhomogeneity and characterize the material damping of the medium.
Fast calculation of spatial sensitivity kernels for scattered waves in arbitrary heterogeneous media using graph theory
Authors: Bogiatzis P , Rychert C A , Harmon N , Xie Y
Published: February 2022

P-to-S and S-to-P receiver functions are widely used to constrain the seismic discontinuity structures of the Earth. Typically, receiver functions are projected to the depth and location of conversion assuming a 1-D layered Earth structure. Receiver function finite frequency sensitivity kernels have the potential to increase resolution. Here we present a method for rapidly calculating the P- and S-wave receiver function sensitivity kernels, based upon the shortest path method and Dijkstra's algorithm to calculate the traveltime fields, and accounting for geometrical spreading in heterogeneous media. The validity of the approach is evaluated by comparing with amplitudes derived from a finite difference elastic full waveform simulation in a complex subduction zone geometry. We show P-to-S and S-to-P kernels calculated using our method for three examples cases: a half space, a layer with topography, and a sinusoidal discontinuity. We also demonstrate the kernel recovery of discontinuities with these topographies by inverting synthetic data from SPECFEM2D. We find that P-to-S kernels recover the structure of strong topography better than S-to-P kernels, although S-to-P kernels may be useful in some situations. P-to-S kernels also show better recovery of the amplitude of the discontinuities in comparison to S-to-P, although both typically achieve values within a few percent of the input model. The computational cost of our approach for improved kernel calculation in heterogeneous media is up to a few tens of seconds per station for typical regional scale models on the scale of several 100s of kilometres.
UK pharmacists’ experiences and perceptions of conflict between personal ethical commitments and professional obligations, as set out in professional guidance
Authors: Fovargue Sara , Neal Mary
Published: February 2022

Background

In 2017, the General Pharmaceutical Council (UK) issued new Standards for Pharmacy Professionals and supporting guidance, Guidance on Religion, Personal Values and Beliefs, to help pharmacists when their religion, personal values or beliefs might impact on their provision of services.

Objective

To understand how pharmacists in the UK experience and perceive conflicts between their personal ethical commitments (matters of conscience) and professional obligations in guidance from their regulator.

Methods

Twenty-four registered pharmacists were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.

Key findings

Participants were generally aware of the Council’s consultations and responded if they had something to say, or it was their role to respond. Age and stage, confidence, and workload impacted on whether participants responded to Council consultations, and, therefore, on the range of views heard. The professional obligation to provide person-centred care (PCC) was central to participants’ practice, and personal ethical commitments were important to some. Conflicts between such commitments and professional obligations were rare, and it was generally believed that the former should be accommodated, as far as possible, but not imposed on others. Personal ethical commitments could affect PCC, and some suggested that the Council’s Guidance was not clear on pharmacists’ responsibilities in this regard.

Conclusions

Clarification on the role of personal ethical commitments in professional practice, particularly in relation to providing PCC, would be useful. Clearer guidance on how pharmacists should manage perceived conflicts between their personal ethical commitments and their professional obligations would also be welcomed.
Chikungunya Virus Vaccine Candidate Incorporating Synergistic Mutations Is Attenuated and Protects Against Virulent Virus Challenge
Authors: Lentscher Anthony J , McAllister Nicole , Griswold Kira A , Martin James L , Welsh Olivia L , Sutherland Danica M , Silva Laurie A , Dermody Terence S
Published: February 2022

Background

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arbovirus that periodically emerges to cause large epidemics of arthritic disease. Although the robust immunity elicited by live-attenuated virus (LAV) vaccine candidates makes them attractive, CHIKV vaccine development has been hampered by a high threshold for acceptable adverse events.

Methods

We evaluated the vaccine potential of a recently described LAV, skeletal muscle-restricted virus (SKE), that exhibits diminished replication in skeletal muscle due to insertion of target sequences for skeletal muscle-specific miR-206. We also evaluated whether these target sequences could augment safety of an LAV encoding a known attenuating mutation, E2 G82R. Attenuation of viruses containing these mutations was compared with a double mutant, SKE G82R.

Results

SKE was attenuated in both immunodeficient and immunocompetent mice and induced a robust neutralizing antibody response, indicating its vaccine potential. However, only SKE G82R elicited diminished swelling in immunocompetent mice at early time points postinoculation, indicating that these mutations synergistically enhance safety of the vaccine candidate.

Conclusions

These data suggest that restriction of LAV replication in skeletal muscle enhances tolerability of reactogenic vaccine candidates and may improve the rational design of CHIKV vaccines.