bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Competition Between Different Social Ranked Rams has Similar Effects on Testosterone and Sexual Behaviour Throughout the Year
Authors: Ungerfeld R , Lacuesta L 
Published: October 2015

ContentsDominant rams have preferential access to females, as they frequently interrupt sexual behaviour from subordinated. Testosterone concentrations are directly linked to sexual and aggressive behaviour and have important variations along the year. Therefore, it may be expected that the effects of dominance relationships on reproductive behaviour differ according to testosterone concentrations, and thus to the period of the year. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of dominance relationships on testosterone and sexual behaviour in different moments of the year in rams. Twelve rams were maintained in a single group. Social rank was determined in January (maximum reproductive development), May (regression of the reproductive status) and August (lowest reproductive activity), and the four rams with higher (HR) and the four with lower (LR) success index were used. Testosterone serum concentration was weekly measured four times during each experimental period. Sexual behaviour was evaluated in each period with an oestrous ewe, and with the oestrous ewe and another ram from the other social rank (each HR with each LR ram). Testosterone concentration was greater in HR than LR rams in January (p = 0.03), and all the behaviours were displayed more frequently in non‐competitive than in competitive tests (p < 0.05). Rams modified their sexual strategy in competitive environments decreasing the display of sexual behaviour independently of their social status. This effect was observed consistently throughout the year: high‐ranked rams have greater testosterone concentrations than LR rams only during the pre‐rut, when they naturally compete to join the groups of ewes.
Variability in bedform morphology and kinematics with transport stage
Authors: Venditti Jeremy G. , Lin C.‐Y. Martin , Kazemi Moslem 
Published: October 2015

AbstractBedform geometry is widely recognized to be a function of transport stage. Bedform aspect ratio (height/length) increases with transport stage, reaches a maximum, then decreases as bedforms washout to a plane bed. Bedform migration rates are also linked to bedform geometry, in so far as smaller bedforms in coarser sediment tend to migrate faster than larger bedforms in finer sediment. However, how bedform morphology (height, length and shape) and kinematics (translation and deformation) change with transport stage and suspension have not been examined. A series of experiments is presented where initial flow depth and grain size were held constant and the transport stage was varied to produce bedload dominated, mixed‐load dominated and suspended‐load dominated conditions. The results show that the commonly observed pattern in bedform aspect ratio occurs because bedform height increases then decreases with transport stage, against a continuously increasing bedform length. Bedform size variability increased with transport stage, leading to less uniform bedform fields at higher transport stage. Total translation‐related and deformation‐related sediment fluxes all increased with transport stage. However, the relative contribution to the total flux changed. At the bedload dominated stage, translation‐related and deformation‐related flux contributed equally to the total flux. As the transport stage increased, the fraction of the total load contributed by translation increased and the fraction contributed by deformation declined because the bedforms got bigger and moved faster. At the suspended‐load dominated transport stage, the deformation flux increased and the translation flux decreased as a fraction of the total load, approaching one and zero, respectively, as bedforms washed out to a plane bed.
Social Security through Guaranteed Employment
Authors: Fraser Neil 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThis article reviews the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA), perhaps India's foremost social security scheme, which is in the form of a right for rural households throughout India to work for up to 100 days a year in public works and to be paid the minimum wage for unskilled labourers. It is argued that self‐targeting leads to a more pro‐poor scheme than a cash transfer programme. However, in many states, especially poor states, work for NREGA is shown to be not a right. This is a major aspect of the corruption which gives the scheme a bad name. Also generally disappointing is the value of the assets created by the public works. But it is argued that NREGA is worth salvaging, especially if the example of the best states could be followed more widely. Attention is particularly drawn to the contribution of NREGA to the empowerment of women and scheduled castes and tribes in much of rural India.
Blue‐collar Emigration from India and Governance
Authors: Heller Arokkiaraj 
Published: October 2015

AbstractIndian expatriates numbering about 6.5 million, i.e. one‐third of the Gulf population, have been engaged in skilled, semi‐skilled and unskilled work since the time of the oil boom in the Persian Gulf regions. Putting monetary benefits to one side, emigrants' problems, such as false promises of recruiting agents, high visa charges, hurdles at workplaces and a defective system to address the grievances of Indian workers in the 18 Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries, are still unaddressed. With this background, the aim of this article is to concentrate on emigration from India to the 18 ECR countries listed by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), Government of India (GoI). The GoI has identified these 18 countries because they are not labour‐ (emigrant‐) friendly, and are vulnerable to exploitation with regard to their labour standards. The article begins with conceptualizing ‘emigration’ in the Indian context. By focusing only on the ECR countries, the real picture concerning the situation of Indian emigrants is unfolded. These 18 ECR countries are almost the same in their treatment of blue‐collar emigrants. So, only this category of countries is selected for this work. The following key areas are discussed in this article: the role of the MOIA and the respective state governments in supporting and protecting these emigrants and their families; shortcomings in Indian embassies' administrative structure in protecting blue‐collar Indian workers; and the existing legislative provisions and welfare schemes for Indian emigrants working in the 18 ECR countries. In addition, the existing programmes at both central and state government level for returning and deporting workers are covered in this article.
Caste and Distributive Justice: Can Social Policy Address Durable Inequalities?
Authors: Pellissery Sony , Pampackal Amrutha Jose , Bopaiah Partha 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThis article examines the impact of social policy interventions on caste inequalities. The article accepts the proposition by Charles Tilly that durable inequalities are entrenched solutions while addressing organizational problems of society. The political economy approach to caste enables us to understand how the discriminatory practices around caste are durable. The article examines two types of social policies set up to deal with caste discrimination. The first type of policies are particularistic policies which directly address the concerns of the members of the depressed castes. The second type of policies are aimed at the general population, but from which a large number of depressed caste members benefit. The article concludes that both types of policies have only an ameliorative function rather than an emancipation role. It is argued here that ‘social policy’ in the context of durable inequality requires redefinition to include political interventions. The administrative view of social policy focuses heavily on the state, and in the context of durable inequality, the legitimacy of the state itself is in question. On the other hand, mobilization around politics addresses the organizational anomaly of the society, which is at the root of durable inequality.
SURFACE SETTLEMENT INDUCED BY TUNNELING IN GREENFIELD CONDITION THROUGH PHYSICAL MODELLING
Authors: Marto Aminaton , Abdullah Mohamad Hafeezi , Makhtar Ahmad Mahir , Sohaei Houman , Tan Choy Soon 
Published: October 2015

Geotechnical conditions such as tunnel dimensions, tunneling method and soil type are few factors influencing the ground movement or disturbance. This paper presents the effect of tunnel cover to diameter ratio and relative density of sand on surface settlement induced by tunneling using physical modelling. The aluminum casing with outer diameter of 50 mm was used to model the tunnel shield. The size of the casing was 2 mm diameter larger than the tunnel lining. The tunnel excavation was done by pulling out the tunnel shield at constant speed with a mechanical pulley. The tested variables are cover to diameter ratio (1, 2 and 3) and relative density of sand (30%, 50% and 75%). The results demonstrated that the surface settlement decreased as the relative density increased. Also, as the relative density of sand increased, the overload factor at collapse increased. The surface settlement was at the highest when the cover to diameter ratio was 2. It can be concluded that in greenfield condition, the relative density and cover to diameter ratio affect the surface settlement.
SOFT SOIL IMPROVEMENT USING CHEMICAL-RUBBER CHIPS MIXTURE
Authors: Marto Aminaton , Aziz Norazirah , Jahidin Mohammed Ridzuan , Mohd Yunus Nor Zurairahetty , Kasim Fauziah , Tan Choy Soon 
Published: October 2015

Soft soils are widely found in many areas around the world as well as in Malaysia. Marine clay is one of the problematic soft soils. The marine clay should be pretreated before the construction to enhance the usability and serviceability of highway constructed on this type of soil. This paper presents the research results on the usability of chemical (SH-85)-rubber chips mixtures as the stabilizing agent in improving the characteristics of marine clay from two engineering perspectives; the strength and the compressibility. Three types of laboratory tests were conducted; index soil test, unconfined compression test and oedometer test. The results show that the treated samples had higher unconfined compressive strength compared to untreated sample. The strength of marine clay increased when the amount of the SH-85 increased. The void ratio reduced in value when the chemical-rubber chips mixture was added to the marine clay. It is due to the chemical that acts as a binder that interlocks the rubber chips and the marine clay particles, reducing the compressibility. It has been concluded that the mixture of chemical-rubber chips with 8 % SH-85 plus 1 % of rubber chips is more effectively improved the characteristics of marine clay.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYMER COMPOSITES BASED ON BIOPARTICLES (JATROPHA CURCAS L.)
Authors: VALÁŠEK Petr 
Published: October 2015

Composites are materials which synergically combine properties of each phase – matrix and filler. Polymer materials can be used as matrix while inorganic and organic particles can be used as fillers. Composite systems based on renewable resources can be designed as an interesting material for engineering. This paper describes on the tribological and other mechanical properties of biocomposites based on polymer resins and microparticles - seed cakes, which were obtained from seeds of the plant Jatropha Curcas L. during pressing. The particle size obtained was 573 µm.The results confirmed that the epoxy and polyurethane resins were capable of forming which corresponds to the interaction with the organic particles prepared from the seeds of Jatropha Curcas L. The presence of particles however, changed the mechanical properties of the resins. In the case of epoxy resins and polyurethane (Sika Force 7723), the hardness according to Shore D identically decreased with a maximum of 1.9. Abrasion resistance decreased due to the presence of particles of 0.0393 cm3 for Glue Epox Rapid, 0.0449 cm3 for Epoxy 1200/324 and 0.0567 cm3 for Sika Force 7723.
EMPIRICAL AND RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES EVALUATION OF MODIFIED ASPHALT BINDER CONTAINING NANOPOLYACRYLATE POLYMER MODIFIER
Authors: Shaffie E. , Ahmad J. , Arshad A. K. , Kamarun D. 
Published: October 2015

In this paper, the effects of nanopolyacrylate (NP) in binder modification on the empirical and rheological characteristics of the conventional binder were explored. The empirical and rheological binder properties were characterized using penetration, softening point, viscosity and dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) respectively. These testings have become useful methods in characterizing of the binder performance on the pavement. The results indicated that NP polymer modification improved the physical properties of the conventional binder such as; penetration, softening point and temperature susceptibility. The results of viscosity test show that the NP polymer modified binder is more viscous than unmodified binder where viscosity increases with the increment of polymer content. The DSR results indicate that the NP polymer improves rheological properties of conventional binder, i.e. increasing the complex shear modulus (G∗) values and rutting parameters (G∗/sin δ), as well as decreasing the phase angle (δ) values. Therefore, it can be concluded that NP polymers considerably improves elastic properties and rutting resistance of binder and thus could be used for enhancing the asphalt pavement performance.
EFFECT OF NANOFILLERS DISPERSION ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CLAY/EPOXY AND SILICA/EPOXY NANOCOMPOSITES
Authors: Sapiai Napisah , Jumahat Aidah , Manap Norhashidah , Usoff Mohd Aidil Idham 
Published: October 2015

A homogeneous dispersion of nanofillers in epoxy polymer still remains as one of the biggest challenges in advanced nanocomposites research. In this paper, the effects of nanoclay content (1wt%, 3wt%, 5wt%) and nanosilica content (5wt%, 13wt%, 25wt%) on tensile and compressive properties of epoxy polymer were studied. The nanoclay and nanosilica were dispersed in epoxy using the three-roll milling and mechanical stirrer machine, respectively. The compressive and tensile properties were evaluated using Instron universal tester machine according to BS standards. The Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was used to evaluate the degree of dispersion of nanofillers in epoxy. The results showed that the intercalated structure of clay/epoxy nanocomposites gave detrimental effect on the tensile and compressive strength of the polymer. Whereas, the results of nanosilica/epoxy nanocomposite system showed that a well-dispersed nanosilica contributes to the improvement of tensile and compressive strength and Young’s modulus of the polymer.
A METALLURGICAL OVERVIEW OF TI – BASED ALLOY IN BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS
Authors: Azham Shah Nur Hidayatul Nadhirah Elmi , Yahaya Mazyan , Sulaiman Maheran , Ismail Muhammad Hussain 
Published: October 2015

Titanium (Ti)-based alloys are prominently used in biomedical application. This review paper emphasizes on some of the important aspects of the Ti-alloys in terms of metallurgical aspects, manufacturing routes and biocompatibility. Two kinds of structure are reviewed namely dense and porous, both differs in terms of purpose and satisfies different needs. This advancement of materials and equipment helps to improve the quality of life for patients and alleviate their health problems. Metallic materials, mainly Ti-based alloys have been used commercially as bone implant owing to its promising mechanical properties, biocompatibility and bioactivity. The outmost important issue in manufacturing of this alloy is the impurity contents, specifically oxygen and carbon which contribute to decreasing in material performance of the alloy attributed from the formation of unwanted oxide compounds such as TiO2 and TiC. Another issue is the mismatch value of the Young’s modulus between the metallic implant and bone that result in stress shielding effect. The structure of Ti-based alloy is mainly comprised of α-phase, β-phase or a combination of both that result in variation of Young’s modulus ranging from 45 -110 GPa. Compared to α-phase Ti alloy, the β-phase rich alloys may exhibit lower value of Young modulus through the right processing technique. Therefore, the development of β-phase Ti-alloys has been researched progressively in line with the need of low Young’s modulus that suit for implant applications.
EFFECT OF DIAMETER AT BREAST HEIGHT OF LEUCAENA LEUCOCEPHALA ON BIO CHAR PRODUCTION IN TUBE FURNACE PYROLYSIS
Authors: Sayed Idrus Syed Muhammad Azlan , Abd Rahman Norazah , Matali Sharmeela , Abdul Manaf Shareena Fairuz , Bin Elham Puad 
Published: October 2015

Renewable energy produced from biomass is a green way to reduce the greenhouse effect. Fast-growing wood species, as the energy source, create independent and fast harvesting cycle for energy fuel stock. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of tree diameter at breast height (DBH) of a local wood species i.e. leucaena leucocephala, on char yield during pyrolysis. The calorific value (CV) of bio char was also determined in order to analyse the bio char product produced by pyrolysis process. The tree samples were classified into three DBH i.e. 4, 8 and 12 cm and only tree stem was selected for pelletization. The wood pellets were pyrolyzed at 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 °C with 40 °C/min of heating rate and holding time of 30 min in inert condition. The largest difference percentage of bio char yield production is only 1 % while the largest difference of CV is 0.7 MJ/kg which happened at temperature 300 °C. In this study, it was found that any DBH does not give any significant effect to the production of bio char as well as its CV.
Steel Lazy Wave Risers From Turret Moored FPSO for Deepwater Harsh Environment
Authors: Orimolade Adekunle Peter , Karunakaran Daniel , Meling Trond Stokka 
Published: October 2015

Steel catenary risers (SCRs) have found greater applications in deep and ultra-deepwater developments. However, the deployment of SCRs in conjunction with a high motion deepwater floater such as the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) system faces significant challenges due to their high motion characteristics, especially in harsh environmental conditions. The challenges posed by FPSO’s high motion characteristics include severe dynamic response on the SCRs and poor fatigue performance at the top section and the touchdown point (TDP) area. A number of alternative configurations of the SCR can be employed to decouple the FPSO’s motion from the SCR, thereby improving performance, and this include the steel lazy wave riser (SLWR) configuration. The lazy wave is achieved by introducing buoyancy modules along some lengths of the riser.
In this work, a suitable SLWR configuration for deployment in conjunction with a turret moored FPSO was developed for a typical deepwater offshore West of Shetland environmental conditions. The optimum configuration is a low lazy wave configuration; this was achieved after several analyses using ORCAFLEX software program. In determining the optimum configuration, consideration is given to the SLWR sag and hog bend heights, the net buoyancy force, the buoyant section length, and the hang-off angle, among others.
The extreme response, considering a combination of 100-year wave with 10-year current was satisfactory; the maximum stress was below the allowable stress level, and the maximum DNV utilization was less than unity, indicating a safe design. The wave-induced fatigue damage was calculated using a total of 216 load cases, resulting from 12-wave directions, and the wave-induced fatigue performance was satisfactory, with the minimum fatigue life observed at the riser’s TPD. Fatigue damage resulting from vortex induced vibration (VIV) was calculated considering currents in the in-plane and the out-of-plane directions to the riser, with a total of 22 load cases. The VIV fatigue performance was not satisfactory, and therefore fairings and strakes will be introduced to some lengths of the SLWR to suppress VIV. Detailed sensitivity studies also showed how the configuration can be further optimized.
Overall, the results of this study showed that, the SLWR is a suitable riser concept for deployment from a turret moored FPSO, in deepwater, harsh environmental conditions such as offshore West of Shetland. The riser can be installed using Reeled-Lay installation method. The installation can be performed using pre-lay, abandonment, and recovery, as this offers advantages over the direct transfer approach.
ECA for Girth Welds of Offshore Pipelines: A Modified BS7910 Analytical Approach vs 3D FE Analyses
Authors: Bruschi Roberto , Leonzio Valerio , Ferrulli Angelo , Scarsciafratte Daniele , Torselletti Enrico 
Published: October 2015

In the last decade new standards or revisions of existing guidelines have been launched on the subject. Among those, BS 7910 (now in edition 2013) [1] and DNV-OS-F101 (now in edition 2013) [2] are considered as reference in many world offshore districts of the Oil & Gas Industry.
What is peculiar in offshore pipelines with respect to pressure vessel or nuclear plants, for which an engineering criticality assessment (ECA) was first established, it is the fact that in many circumstances offshore pipelines exceed the elastic limit (global pipe bending is a primary stress that causes mainly membrane stress through the pipe wall). This implies the extension of a stress based ECA into a strain based ECA, further including the bi-axial state of stress, caused by the presence of internal pressure and hoop stresses.
An important step of ECA is the definition of loads and load effects at pipe girth weld, from global applied loads on the pipeline to the local effects at the crack.
Finite elements (FE) are currently used to develop the relevant bending moment stress vs. strain relationship for the given pipe diameter, wall thickness and materials, both parent pipe and weld. Related longitudinal stress distribution on the pipe cross section without flaws in the weld is calculated for different pipe life stages (installation, pressure test and operation). The calculated global (or far from the flaw) longitudinal stress distribution is an input for the ECA analysis.
For this aspect the new DNV OS-F101 (2013) has reviewed the appendix A requiring the use of 3D FE analyses to account for the effect of the internal pressure on the Crack Driving Force (CDF).
In this paper it is discussed an analytical approach both to assess the pipeline strength in presence of flaws in the girth welds of offshore pipelines and to define defect acceptance criteria for specific new projects. The approach follows the framework of BS7910 and of DNV OS-F101 and includes load conditions under both installation and operation. In particular specific 3D FE analyses are presented to enforce the applicability of the proposed analytical approach.