Analytical and experimental investigations of low level acceleration measurement techniques

Construction techniques for accelerometer with low level threshold sensitivit

Parallelizing Deadlock Resolution in Symbolic Synthesis of Distributed Programs

Previous work has shown that there are two major complexity barriers in the synthesis of fault-tolerant distributed programs: (1) generation of fault-span, the set of states reachable in the presence of faults, and (2) resolving deadlock states, from where the program has no outgoing transitions. Of these, the former closely resembles with model checking and, hence, techniques for efficient verification are directly applicable to it. Hence, we focus on expediting the latter with the use of multi-core technology. We present two approaches for parallelization by considering different design choices. The first approach is based on the computation of equivalence classes of program transitions (called group computation) that are needed due to the issue of distribution (i.e., inability of processes to atomically read and write all program variables). We show that in most cases the speedup of this approach is close to the ideal speedup and in some cases it is superlinear. The second approach uses traditional technique of partitioning deadlock states among multiple threads. However, our experiments show that the speedup for this approach is small. Consequently, our analysis demonstrates that a simple approach of parallelizing the group computation is likely to be the effective method for using multi-core computing in the context of deadlock resolution

Influence of Social Media on the Academic Performance of the Undergraduate Students of Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria

The paper examines the influence of social media on the academic performance of the undergraduate students ofKogi State University. The rationale behind the study is to find out whether the exposure of the students to socialmedia has effect on their academic performance. The paper is anchored on two theories; namely: socialinformation processing theory and media equation theory. The survey research method was adopted, employingthe questionnaire as an instrument of data collection. The findings show that undergraduate students of KogiState University, Anyigba, Nigeria, have access to social media and that their exposure to social media is to avery great extent. Findings also show that exposure to social media has effect on the students and that the effectis negative. Findings also show that facebook is the most used social media by undergraduate students of KogiState University. Based on the findings, the paper concludes that exposure to social media by the undergraduatestudents of Kogi State University has negative effect on their academic performance. To this end, the paperrecommends that the students should pay minimal attention to social media and focus more on their academicactivities.Key Words: Social Media, Academic Performance and Undergraduate Students of Kogi State Universit

Business Advantages of Corporate Social Responsibility Practice: A Critical Review

Corporate social responsibility is the managerial obligation to take actions that protect and improve both the welfare of society as a whole and the interests of the organisation. Thus, the paper is an examination of the business advantages of corporate social responsibility practice. The paper is anchored on two theories; stakeholder’s theory, which states that organisations have constituent groups that need to be taken care of and the iron law of corporate social responsibility, which states that organisations that fail to use their power responsibly will lose it in the long run. Previous studies were reviewed and it was discovered that several benefits abound to organisations that practise corporate social responsibility; several advantages were identified; these among others include: enhanced brand and reputation, reduction in operation costs, attracting new customers, balances power with responsibility, discourages government regulation, improves a company’s public image, promotes long run profit, improved relations with the investment community and better access to capital, enhanced employee relations, productivity and innovation and stronger relations within communities through stakeholder engagement. The paper therefore concludes that organisations that carry out corporate social responsibility activities have a lot to benefit. Thus, it recommends that organisations should endeavour to pay due attention to corporate social responsibility and this practice should be a continuous one. Keywords: Business, advantages, benefits and corporate social responsibilit

Guinness Stout Billboard Advertisement and Gender Representation: Views of Media Practitioners in Anambra State, Nigeria

The study investigates Guinness Stout billboard advertisement (come and drink at the table of men) and gender representation. The study, among other objectives, seeks to: ascertain the extent of gender neutrality of Guinness Stout billboard advertisement and to assess gender discriminatory elements in the advertisement. The constructivism and standpoint theories were used as theoretical framework for the study.  Quantitative research method was adopted while the questionnaire was used as an instrument of data collection. The findings show that media practitioners in Anambra state are very much exposed to the Guinness Stout billboard advertisement. Findings further show that their exposure is predicated on the many billboards of the advertisement hoisted in several areas in the major towns and cities in Anambra State, in particular and Nigeria, in general. Findings also show that Guinness Stout advertisement is not gender neutral as the advertisement discriminates against the female gender. The findings further show that the gender discriminatory elements inherent in the Guinness Stout advertisement could be found in the choice of words of the advertisement, the images used in the advertisement and the presentation of the product. Based on the findings, the paper therefore concludes that the Guinness Stout advertisement is not neutral, but gender bias; the advertisement discriminates and marginalises the female gender. The paper therefore, among others, recommends that Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) should always ensure that advertisement approved for public consumption in Nigeria uses gender sensitive images and words, particularly in billboard advertisements. Keywords: Guinness Stout, Billboard, Advertisement, Media, Practitioners and Anambra State

Scanning tunneling microscopy studies of graphene and hydrogenated graphene on Cu

Because of the innate sensitivity of 2D material surfaces, it is increasingly important to understand and characterize surface functionalization and interactions with environmental elements, such as substrate, metallic contacts, and adatoms. We developed a method for reproducible, epitaxial growth of pristine graphene islands on Cu(111) in UHV and use scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM) to study the interaction of these graphene islands with the Cu substrate. Tunneling spectroscopy measurements of the electronic surface states over the graphene islands indicate a lower local work function, decreased coupling to bulk Cu states, and a decreased electron effective mass. Additionally, we developed a novel field electron dissociation technique to form hydrogen-terminated graphene at low temperatures and in UHV. This method produced what may be the first STM images of crystalline hydrogenated graphene. The pristine graphene island is then recovered by scanning at a high tip-sample bias. The hydrogenation and its reversibility suggest writing lateral 2D devices using the STM tip. Toward this end, we are developing the capability to repeat the hydrogenation on working graphene device

Magnetic Ordering in a Vanadium-Organic Coordination Polymer Using a Pyrrolo[2,3-\u3cem\u3ed\u3c/em\u3e:5,4-\u3cem\u3ed\u27\u3c/em\u3e]bis(thiazole)-Based Ligand

Here we present the synthesis and characterization of a hybrid vanadium-organic coordination polymer with robust magnetic order, a Curie temperature TC of ∼110 K, a coercive field of ∼5 Oe at 5 K, and a maximum mass magnetization of about half that of the benchmark ferrimagnetic vanadium(tetracyanoethylene)~2 (V·(TCNE)~2). This material was prepared using a new tetracyano-substituted quinoidal organic small molecule 7 based on a tricyclic heterocycle 4-hexyl-4H-pyrrolo[2,3-d:5,4-d′]bis(thiazole) (C6-PBTz). Single crystal X-ray diffraction of the 2,6-diiodo derivative of the parent C6-PBTz, showed a disordered hexyl chain and a nearly linear arrangement of the substituents in positions 2 and 6 of the tricyclic core. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that C6-PBTz-based ligand 7 is a strong acceptor with an electron affinity larger than that of TCNE and several other ligands previously used in molecular magnets. This effect is due in part to the electron-deficient thiazole rings and extended delocalization of the frontier molecular orbitals. The ligand detailed in this study, a representative example of fused heterocycle aromatic cores with extended π conjugation, introduces new opportunities for structure–magnetic-property correlation studies where the chemistry of the tricyclic heterocycles can modulate the electronic properties and the substituent at the central N-position can vary the spatial characteristics of the magnetic polymer

Laser Applications

Contains research objectives and reports on three research projects.Joint Services Electronics Programs (U. S. Army, U. S. Navy, and U. S. Air Force) under Contract DAAB07-71-C-0300U. S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Contract F44620-71-C-0051)Naval Air Systems Comman

Azadirachta indica Leaf Extract Ameliorates Hyperglycemia and Hepatic Glycogenosis in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Wistar Rats

We studied the effects of ethanolic leaf extract of Azadirachta indica (AIE) on hepatic microscopic anatomy and oxidative stress markers in diabetic rats. Seventy-five Wistar rats (8 weeks old) were randomly assigned to five treatment groups: control; diabetic; diabetic+AIE; AIE only; and diabetic+glibenclamide. Hyperglycemia was induced in fasted rats with streptozotocin. AIE was administered orally at 500 mg/kg bw/d and glibenclamide at 600 μg/kg bw/d for 50 days (50 d). Animals were sacrificed on treatment days 7, 21 and 50. The liver was stained with PAS. Hepatic markers of oxidative stress were also estimated. At 50 d, histological study of the liver of diabetic rats showed swollen PAS+ hepatocytes, whose content was confirmed to be glycogen. On the contrary, hepatocytes of AIE-treated diabetic rats lacked glycogen. The major finding in these rats was exacerbated oxidative stress. Our findings in this model showed the beneficial effect of AIE in the amelioration of diabetic hepatic glycogenosis.Keywords: Diabetes, Azadirachta indica, hepatic glycogenosis, oxidative stress, live