Religion, Law, War

This course will expose participants to fundamental understanding of religion, law and war focusing on the nexus of the three. It will do so in a highly participatory manner. The course will focus on the three terms separately and in relation to each other. As both CORE and Diplomacy course, students from different background will be encouraged to learn from one another and be aware of their own learning. The course will encourage a critical subjective response from participants. It will invite an analysis of three original documents: the Vatican II document ‘Nostra Aetate’; the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights; and the UNESCO document on peace as well as actual cases of interest

Rheological, physicochemical, and microstructural properties of asphalt binder modified by fumed silica nanoparticles

Warm mix asphalt (WMA) is gaining increased attention in the asphalt paving industry as an eco-friendly and sustainable technology. WMA technologies are favorable in producing asphalt mixtures at temperatures 20–60 °C lower in comparison to conventional hot mix asphalt. This saves non-renewable fossil fuels, reduces energy consumption, and minimizes vapors and greenhouse gas emissions in the production, placement and conservation processes of asphalt mixtures. At the same time, this temperature reduction must not reduce the performance of asphalt pavements in-field. Low aging resistance, high moisture susceptibility, and low durability are generally seen as substantial drawbacks of WMA, which can lead to inferior pavement performance, and increased maintenance costs. This is partly due to the fact that low production temperature may increase the amount of water molecules trapped in the asphalt mixture. As a potential remedy, here we use fumed silica nanoparticles (FSN) have shown excellent potential in enhancing moisture and aging susceptibility of asphalt binders. In this study, asphalt binder modification by means of FSN was investigated, considering the effects of short-term and long-term aging on the rheological, thermal, and microstructural binder properties. This research paves the way for optimizing WMA by nanoparticles to present enhanced green asphalt technology

Synthesis and determination of fluorescence properties of new soluble diketopyrrolopyrrole type photosensitizers

Four organic small molecules bearing phenyl diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) unit as the main acceptor group and indole as the main thermal group with soluble units, coded as DPP3(a-b) and DPP4(a-b), were synthesized and their optical/electrochemical properties were investigated. Intense visible absorption bands around 480 nm were assigned to the DPP main core, as well as bands around 600 nm were attributed to the formation of charge-transfer complex between the electron-rich indole units and electron-withdrawing DPP core in chloroform solution. All of the compounds were found to be fluorescent in solution and on thin films with emission wavelengths between 500 and 700 nm. The fluorescence decay kinetic measurements of these dyes were also studied. The synthesized compounds have electrochemical energy band gaps from 2.15 to 2.28 eV. Then, the potential usage of the final products in bulk heterojunction solar cells (BHJ-OSCs) were evaluated. © 2019 Elsevier B.V

Expanded Glass Usability in Hot-Mix Asphalt as Fine Aggregate

In this study, the usability of expanded glass (EG) in hot-mix asphalt (HMA) as the fine material is investigated. Firstly, standard tests on the EG have been done to determine the basic properties. Next, optimum binder content and aggregate gradation are determined in accordance with Superpave volumetric mix design. The EG is substituted into the HMA as a fine aggregate (in accordance with the original size) in four different rates (25, 50, 75 and 100%). Optimum binder content for each EG ratio is determined. The Superpave gyratory compactor is used for the compaction of the specimens. Prepared specimens have been tested for the indirect tensile strength and tensile strength ratio. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020

Effects of Alchemilla mollis and Alchemilla persica on the wound healing process

Alchemilla mollis, is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of wounds and excessive menstruation. Aqueous methanol extracts of A. mollis and A. persica were evaluated for wound healing acivity by using linear incision and circular excision wound models along with hydroxyproline estimation and histopathological analysis. Anti-inflammatory effect was determined according to Whittle method. The extracts prepared from the aerial parts of A. mollis and A. persica exerted significant wound healing activity with the tensile strength values of 39.3% and 33.3%, respectively, and with the contraction values of 51.4% and 43.5%, respectively. Hydroxyproline estimation and histopathological analysis also confirmed the results. The extracts of A. mollis and A. persica showed significant anti-inflammatory activity with the values of 30.6% and 26.6% respectively. These results showed that A. mollis and A. persica possess significant wound healing and anti-inflammatory activities