3D-2D analysis of a thin film with periodic microstructure

The purpose of this article is to study the behavior of a heterogeneous thin film whose microstructure oscillates on a scale that is comparable to that of the thickness of the domain. The argument is based on a 3D-2D dimensional reduction through a $\Gamma$-convergence analysis, techniques of two-scale convergence and a decoupling procedure between the oscillating variable and the in-plane variable.Comment: 19 page

Multiscale nonconvex relaxation and application to thin films

$\Gamma$-convergence techniques are used to give a characterization of the behavior of a family of heterogeneous multiple scale integral functionals. Periodicity, standard growth conditions and nonconvexity are assumed whereas a stronger uniform continuity with respect to the macroscopic variable, normally required in the existing literature, is avoided. An application to dimension reduction problems in reiterated homogenization of thin films is presented.Comment: 40 pages, 5 figure

Future of Liberal World Order Can Liberal World Order Prevail in the World without American Hegemony?

Recently, there are many considerations of what will be the future of liberal world order after the end of unilateral hegemonyof the United States resulted in the decreasing of its role and increasing of the role and importance of non-liberal powers; whether thecurrent world order based on Western values will sustain or finally become a part of history in the so-called post-American era. Thepresent article is intended to demonstrate how liberal world order will keep functioning on the world arena regardless of tougheningnon-liberal forces by pleading its ability to accommodate the interests of the rising forces. The present article also discusses the USrole in preserving and steady developing of liberal world order in the future

Obama Foreign Policy Doctrine: Preparing America to Succeed in Multipolar World

The article aims to explain the foreign policy doctrine of the Barack Obama administration, describe the core principles and assumptions it is based on and in this context, analyze the concrete steps it undertook in international relations. It is well-known that Barack Obama's foreign policy is based on an important recognition. Namely, the world has become much more multipolar today than it was even ten years ago. This means that America can no longer be the only state that dictates its order to the world. Therefore, America should no longer be the only state responsible for providing the global "public goods" as well. However, world still needs the US's leadership. Today, America is the only state that possesses the necessary power and influence to lead in dealing with the issues, such as the maintenance of the open and stable economic system, climate change and global warming, nuclear proliferation, the fight against international crime etc., and succeed in involving all relevant global players in the process as they are common for all. The US leadership, as well as the peaceful evolution of the international order depends on how America succeeds to engage the world's leading states into the cooperation for resolution of these issues. The most important challenge for the United States in the 21st century, however, will be the reforming of the current world order that is a kind of a hierarchical liberal institutionalism, based on the American hegemony, experiencing a legitimacy crisis in today's world. In this way America will, for the third time in its existence, continue to lead in the formation of an international order that will be an open, rule-based, evolutional form of the liberal institutionalism, where the newly emerging powers will manage to pursue their vital interests and this fact, together with American leadership will be the guarantor for the stability of the new international order

Strike or not to Strike Options on the Table to Stop Iran from Going Nuclear

Latterly, various experts and political analysts have been hotly debating in the world press whether the West should strike Iran in order tostop its nuclear program. The first part of the article deals with argumentation whether to strike Iran in order to stop its nuclear programand simultaneously presents variant viewpoints on what specific threat nuclear-armed Iran poses. The second half of the article discussesa possible course of action the United States might take to curb Iran and consequential events. The article aims to arrive at a less destructivesolution to the problem.The article directs to the conclusion that Iran’s aggressive foreign policy bears defensive nature driven by the self-survival instinct of anisolated country. The nuclear program also serves this very purpose to provide more security guarantees for the regime, minimize therisk of external strike and increase its bargaining power during the negotiations. Currently, the regional spoiler role is the only one to beplayed by Iran, enabling this developing and unformed economy country to resemble a great power player. Thus, if the United States doeswish to neutralize nuclear-armed Iran and consequential threats, it should stop to isolate the latter from regional politics and let it becomeone of the building blocks of regional political security architecture, as this could assure Iran in the possibility of maintaining its securitywithout going nuclear

Mechanical evaluation of aluminum oxide roughened screws in equine third metacarpal bone

ABSTRACT Objectives – To compare the osseointegration of roughened and electropolished 5.5 mm cortical screws used to secure a 4.5 mm broad dynamic compression plate (DCP) in equine third metacarpal (MC3) bones. Study Design – In vivo study Animals – 5 Adult thoroughbred horses (2-7 years old). Methods – For each horse one MC3 was randomly assigned to secure a 4.5 mm broad DCP with 4aluminum oxide (Al2O3) roughened screws on the dorsal mid diaphysis. Four regular electropolished screws used to secure a similar plate on the contralateral limb served as control. They were removed at 12 weeks and the extraction torque was recorded. A paired t-test was used for comparison and statistical significance was set at p \u3c 0.05. Results – At 12 weeks, the mean extraction torque for roughened screws was significantly greater (p \u3c 0.0002) when compared to regular AO screws. The roughened screws had a mean extraction torque of 3.24± 0.56 N-m, which was twice the mean extraction torque of the AO screws (1.65 ± 0.34 N-m). Discussion/Conclusions – Bone tissue infiltrates the pores of the roughened screws increasing the contact surface and the mechanical anchorage. In our study the screw surface roughness is 2.14± 0.48 µm. This roughness has the lowest pore size that will interact with the surrounding bone without altering the screw dimensions. We found that Al2O3 roughened screws have a significantly greater removal torque when compared to the electropolished AO cortical screws when removed at 12 weeks post implantation. Clinical relevance - Information obtained from this study may help in improving the contact surface of implants and subsequent fixation and stability of bone-implant construct in equine fracture repair

Foreign Policy Strategies for Declining Hegemony: Searching for the Balance between Costs and Involvement

The article explores and analyzes the foreign policy strategies of a declining hegemon. For this purpose, it develops an analytical framework for the classification of the strategies based on the two variables, costs and involvement. While amount of costs required to be spent in order to attain the goals of a certain strategy affects a hegemon’s power, and involvement represents the hegemon’s ability to achieve desired outcomes though participation in international relations, the variables empirically express the two attributes of a hegemon as defined in the theories of international relations - power and willingness to be a hegemon. Therefore, beyond classification of strategies, the analy- tical framework illustrates how implementation of each strategy affects the attributes of a hegemon. Based on the framework, the article defines the most optimal foreign policy of a declining hegemon by discovering the one that minimally affects the attributes of a hegemon by enabling it to preserve high involvement in relatively lower costs

Detailed Spectroscopic and Structural Analysis of TiO2/WO3 Composite Semiconductors

WO3-TiO2 composite materials were obtained using commercial titania (Evonik Aeroxide P25) and hydrothermally crystallized WO3. Different ratios of TiO2/WO3 were investigated, starting at 1 wt.% of WO3 to 50 wt.%. The morphology of WO3 was of the star-like type, and its structure is basically composed of monoclinic crystalline phase. All spectroscopic characteristics of the composites and their derived data (band-gap energy value, light absorption threshold, and IR specific bands) directly varied with the increase of the WO3 content. However, the oxalic acid photodegradation achieved under UV light reached the highest yield for 24 wt.% WO3 content, a result that was attributed to the charge separation efficiency and the surface hydrophilicity. The latter mentioned reason points out the crucial importance of the surface quality of the investigated structure in photocatalytic tests