Chaos synchronization in a 6-D hyperchaotic system with self-excited attractor

This paper presented stability application for chaos synchronization using a 6-D hyperchaotic system of different controllers and two tools: Lyapunov stability theory and Linearization methods. Synchronization methods based on nonlinear control strategy is used. The selecting controller's methods have been modified by applying complete synchronization. The Linearization methods can achieve convergence according to the of complete synchronization. Numerical simulations are carried out by using MATLAB to validate the effectiveness of the analytical technique

Mechanical and fracture properties of a self-compacting version of CARDIFRC Mix II

CARDIFRC is the trade name of two main groups of ultra-high performance fibre-reinforced concrete mixes – Mixes I and II – differing primarily in the maximum size of quartz sand used (0.6 mm in Mix I, and 2 mm in Mix II). In this paper, the conversion of CARDIFRC Mix II to a self-compacting and industrially competitive ultra-high performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) is described. A full mechanical and fracture characterisation (i.e. size-independent fracture energy and the corresponding bi-linear stress-crack opening relationship) of this UHPFRC is provided

Synthesis, Characterization and Antimicrobial Screening of New Schiff Bases Linked to Phthalimidyl Phenyl Sulfonate Moiety

A series of Schiff bases linked to phthalimidyl phenyl sulfonate moiety have been synthesized via multistep synthesis. The first step involved reaction of phthalic anhydride with aniline producing N-phenyl phthalamic acid which was subsequently dehydrated to the corresponding N-phenyl phthalimide via treatment with acetic anhydride and anhydrous sodium acetate. The synthesized imide was treated with chlorosulfonic acid in the third step producing 4-(N-phthalimidyl) phenyl sulfonyl chloride which was introduced in reaction with 4-hydroxy acetophenone in the fourth step producing 4-[4-(N-phthalimidyl) phenyl sulfonate] acetophenone and this in turn was introduced successfully in condensation reaction with various aromatic primary amines affording the desired new Schiff bases. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized through spectral data including FTIR, 1HNMR and 13CNMR. Antimicrobial activity of the prepared Schiff bases was evaluated against two types of bacteria and one type of fungi and the new Schiff bases were found to exhibit good antimicrobial activity against the tested organisms

The Benefit of Semen Cryostorage on Certain Sperm Function Parameters Following in Vitro Activation

Background: Under different circumstances, adequate production of the semen specimen followed by preparation for  intrauterine insemination (IUI) is of utmost importance at many centers. Cryostorage for 24 - 48 hours, could solve the problem of semen to the performance of IUI. It is also advantageous if the male partner has difficulty in producing a semen sample or not available at the time of IUI and reducing psychological pressure on the day of his partner's aiming for repeating insemination after 24 hr. Aim: The objective of this study was to investigate the beneficial effect of semen cryostored at 5 degrees centigrade (5°C) for 24 hr by modifying Tris Solution (MTS) mixed with 30% egg yolk (EY) on maintaining the functional and fecundity sperm parameters of patient`s semen. Materials & Methods: Thirty eight infertile patient`s semen samples (who was visiting  the High Institute of Infertility Diagnosis & Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) for three weeks) were involved in this study. Semen analysis was done for all samples as recommended by (WHO Laboratory Manual for the examination of human semen and sperm–cervical mucus interaction 1999). The patient`s semen samples were divided into two groups; both groups were activated in vitro with FertiCultTM medium using the simple layer method (SLM) for 30 min; a second group treated with (MTS) mixed with 30% (EY) and cryostorage for 24 hr after activation. Results: The results showed a highly significant (P<0.001) improved of all the certain sperm function parameters of group 2 (cryostorage group) compared with group 1. It showed also improvement of all parameters of infertile men semen. There was a highly significant (P<0.001) increase in the percentage of grade A and grade B active sperm motility in group 2 compared with group 1. Conclusions: It is concluded that the use of (MTS) with 30% (EY) maintains adequate sperm viability and fecundity after 24 hr of cryostorage, and it was extremely recommended for patients requiring intrauterine insemination (IUI) in different circumstances

Outcome of patients with visceral leishmaniasis in Diyala province

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis is the second largest parasitic killer in the world after malaria. Objective: The outcome of patient with visceral leishmaniasis in hospital samples depending on spot test for diagnosis. Patients and Methods: This study was conducted in Al-Batool Teaching Hospital in Baqubah- Diyala province, during the period from January 2015 to December 2015. Thirty five collecting cases were suspected to have visceral leishmaniasis. History was taken regarding residence, gender, age, animal contact, blood group type. Clinical examination and investigation were done using complete blood count, abdominal ultrasound and spot test. Results: In this study, thirty-five children were diagnosed as visceral leishmaniasis. It is found more among males (60%) than females (40%), more common in spring and winter, than in summer and autumn; which was (48.5%, 31%, 14% and 0.05%) respectively. High percentage recorded among patient with type (A) and (B) blood group, and less in (AB) and (O) (57%,22%,5%,14%) respectively also infection in rural area (71%) more than in urban (29%). Regarding the site of infection, organomegaly was (57%), splenomegaly (14%), hepatomegaly (17%), hepatosplenomegaly (26%) no-organomegaly(43%). All patients were anemic (43%), mild anemia (10 mg% and less) and (57%) severe anemia (7mg% and less). The percentage of duration of fever was 17%2 weeks. Conclusion: Visceral leishmaniasis is a common in patients live in rural areas that have contact with animals (Dog, fox and jackals)

The effect of 980 nm and 1480 nm pumping on the performance of newly Hafnium Bismuth Erbium-doped fiber amplifier

An experimental study on the comparison of optical amplifying performance between 980 nm and 1480 nm pumping for the newly Hafnium Bismuth Erbium co-doped fiber (HB-DF) has been presented. A short length of 1-meter HB-EDF was used as the gain medium of the optical amplifier. 1480 nm pumping is found to provide higher attainable gain and lower noise figure compared to 980 nm pumping. At 1480 nm pumping, the average small signal gain for HB-EDFA in the single pass configuration has improved by 13.4 dB in the C-band region range from 1525 nm to 1565 nm. In the double-pass configuration, a maximum small signal gain of 36.6 dB was achieved at the wavelength of 1560 nm, this is 11.6 dB higher compared to the HB-EDFA with 980 nm pumping. The double pass HB-EDFA with 1480 nm pumping has exhibited a reduction of average noise figure by 23.4% and 29.8% for-30 dBm and-10 dBm of input signal power respectively in the C- and L-band region

Delamination characteristics of glare laminates containing doubler and splice features under high cycle fatigue loading

A modified cohesive zone model (CZM) has been developed to simulate damage initiation and evolution inGlare™ Fibre-Metal Laminate (FML) specimens containing both splice and doubler features under high-cycle fatigue loading. The model computes the cohesive stiffness degradation under mixed-mode loading based on user-defined crack growth rate data and is implemented in a VUMAT subroutine for the FEA software Abaqus/Explicit. To validate the model experimental data has been obtained for a number of Glare 4B specimens containing splice and doubler features monitored using digital image correlation (DIC) to provide full-field displacement and strain data and Acoustic Emission (AE) monitoring to detect damage initiation and propagation. The model was used to predict the initiation and growth of damage in splice joints under quasi-static loading. The results were verified against the cohesive zone model available in Abaqus and then validated against experimental data on Glare specimens. The codes are currently being extended to incorporate a mixed-mode fatigue damage evolution model based on input Paris laws, which have been extracted from high cycle fatigue experiments on Glare specimens containing both splice and doubler joints

Predicting interlaminar damage behaviour of fibre-metal laminates containing adhesive joints under bending loads

This study includes experimental and numerical investigations on fibre-metal laminate structures containing adhesive joints under static bending loads. Experimental tests were carried out on Glare® 4B specimens manufactured in-house and containing doubler joint features. Numerical analyses were performed using Abaqus software including damage in the glass fibre reinforced polymer layers, ductile damage in the resin pockets (FM94 epoxy) and plasticity in the metal layers. A new cohesive zone model coupling friction and interfacial shear under through-thickness compressive stress has been developed to simulate delamination initiation and growth at the metal/fibre interfaces with the adhesive joint under flexural loading. This model is implemented through a user-defined VUMAT subroutine in the Abaqus/Explicit software and includes two main approaches, firstly, combining friction and interfacial shear stresses created in the interlaminar layers of the fibre-metal laminate as a result of through-thickness stresses and secondly, considering elastic-plastic damage behaviour using a new cohesive zone model based on the trapezoidal law (which provides more accurate results for the simulation of toughened epoxy matrices than the commonly used bilinear cohesive zone model). Numerical results have been validated against experimental data from 4-point bending tests and a good correlation observed with respect to both crack initiation and evolution. Delamination and shear failure were noted to be the predominant failure modes under bending stresses as expected. This is due to the higher mode-II stresses introduced during bending which cause different damage evolution behaviour to that seen for axial stresses. Finite element results revealed that both friction and shear strength parameters generated from through-thickness compression stresses have a significant effect in predicting damage in fibre-metal laminate structures under this type of loading

CFD analysis of phase-change material-based heat storage with dimple-shaped fins: evaluation of fin configuration and distribution pattern

Copyright © The Author(s) 2022. Phase-change materials (PCMs) have a remarkable potential for use as efficient energy storage means. However, their poor response rates during energy storage and retrieval modes require the use of heat transfer enhancers to combat these limitations. This research marks the first attempt to explore the potential of dimple-shaped fins for the enhancement of PCM thermal response in a shell-and- tube casing. Fin arrays with different dimensions and diverse distribution patterns were designed and studied to assess the effect of modifying the fin geometric parameters and distribution patterns in various spatial zones of the physical domain. The results indicate that increasing the number of dimple fins in the range of 8–32 results in faster heat storage rates by up to 8.7% faster than they would be without the dimple fins. Further improvements of approximately 1.4, 1.2, 1.1, and 1.0% can be obtained by optimizing the position of the first fin section, the spacing between other fin sections, the fin spacing based on the aromatic algorithm, and the use of the staggered fin distribution. The heat storage rate is improved by almost 12% for the best case compared with that of the no-fin case.Al-Mustaqbal University College (MUC), Babylon, Iraq, for funding this work (Grant number MUC- E-0122); Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for funding this work through Large Groups (Project under grant number RGP. 2/142/43)

Effects of potassium availability on growth and development of barley cultivars

Potassium deficiency is one of the major issues affecting crop production around the globe. Giving the high cost of potassium fertilizers and environmental concerns related to inappropriate fertilization practices, developing more potassium use efficient (KUE) varieties is critical for sustainable food production in agricultural systems. In this study, we analysed the impact of potassium availability on agronomical attributes of thirty barley genotypes grown at four different levels of potassium (0.002 mM, 0.02 mM, 2 mM, 20 mM) under glasshouse conditions. The results showed that the availability of potassium in the soil had a major effect on yield components i.e., spike number, grain number and grain weight. Furthermore, grain weight showed a strong correlation with grain number and spike number at all levels of potassium supply. Although an increase in potassium supply led to an increase in plant height in all genotypes, the correlation with grain weight was very weak at all levels. Potassium supplementation caused an increase in shoot dry weight, which also showed a weak correlation with grain weight at the 0.002 mM potassium supply level. The genotypes Gebeina, Skiff, YF374, Flagship and YF374 were highly efficient in performing at suboptimal K supply levels and, thus, can be recommended to be grown in K-impoverished soils. We also suggest that grain and spike numbers could be used as proxies for KUE studies, to construct DH lines and identify QTL to improve low potassium tolerance and KUE in barley