Plane strain quasi-static deformation of a poroelastic half-space in welded contact with an elastic half-space due to tensile faulting

An analytical solution is obtained of the problem of the plane strain quasi-static deformation of a composite consisting of a poroelastic half-space in welded contact with an elastic half-space caused by a long tensile fault located in the elastic half-space. The solution obtained is in the Fourier-Laplace transform domain. Two integrations are required to be performed to get the solution in the space-time domain. Schapery's formula is used for the Laplace inversion and extended Simpson's formula for the Fourier inversion. The diffusion of the pore pressure and the consolidation rate are studied numerically. It is found that the consolidation rate is not affected much by the compressibility of the fluid constituents of the poroelastic material

Photo thermal induced effects on testes and pituitary gonadotropic cells during resting phase of reproductive cycle in a murrel, Channa punctatus (Bloch)

Effects of various combinations of photoperiod and temperature (NL-NT, LD 15:9-28°C, NL-28°C and LD 15:9 NT) were studied on testicular activity and pituitary gonadotropic cells in Channa punctatus during resting phase of reproductive cycle. Long photoperiod (LD 15:9-28°C) and warm temperature (NL-28°C) regimes were found to be more effective for testicular maturation and secretory activity of gonadotropic cells suggesting testicular maturation via brain-pituitary-testicular axis

Quasi-static axisymmetric deformation of a poroelastic half-space with anisotropic permeability and compressible constituents by surface loads

A quasi-static axisymmetric solution is obtained of the fully coupled diffusion-deformation system of equations for a poroelastic half-space possessing anisotropic permeability and compressible solid and fluid constituents. This solution is used to study analytically the deformation of a half-space by surface loads. The problem of normal disc loading is discussed in detail. The effects of the compressibility of the solid and fluid constituents and the anisotropy in permeability are studied numerically

Analyzing the genetic relatedness of pigeonpea varieties released over last 58 years in India

The genetic base of 150 pigeonpea varieties released in India during1960 to 2018 was examined. Of these, 89, 57, three, and one variety were developed by pedigree selection, pureline selection, mutation and population improvement, respectively. Examination of pedigree records of 89 pigeonpea varieties developed through pedigree breeding method between 1971 and 2018 traced back to 113 ancestors. The highest mean genetic contribution was recorded for the genotype T 190 (0.051) accompanied by UPAS 120 (0.049) and ICP 8863 (0.043). The ancestor T 190 appeared with highest frequency of 21, directly as one of the parent (male/female) in four varieties and indirectly in the development of 17 varieties. Similarly, the ancestors UPAS 120 and ICP 8863 were more frequently used (in nine varieties) as direct parents followed by T 21 and C 11 (in five varieties). The variety PRG 176 involved the highest number (9) of ancestors during the course of its development followed by the variety VBN (Rg) 3 with eight ancestors. Results indicated that 51.69% (46 of the 89 varieties) of released varieties were developed through bi-parental crossing whereas 48.31% involved multiple parents. The frequent use of a limited number of ancestors has caused the narrow genetic base of released pigeonpea varieties. We recommend large-scale deployment of novel germplasm resources for generating broad-base breeding populations. This will help to obtain improved pigeonpea cultivars with high grain yield, biotic tolerance and climate adaptation

A Deterministic Improved Q-Learning for Path Planning of a Mobile Robot

This paper provides a new deterministic Q-learning with a presumed knowledge about the distance from the current state to both the next state and the goal. This knowledge is efficiently used to update the entries in the Q-table once only by utilizing four derived properties of the Q-learning, instead of repeatedly updating them like the classical Q-learning. Naturally, the proposed algorithm has an insignificantly small time complexity in comparison to its classical counterpart. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm stores the Q-value for the best possible action at a state and thus saves significant storage. Experiments undertaken on simulated maze and real platforms confirm that the Q-table obtained by the proposed Q-learning when used for the path-planning application of mobile robots outperforms both the classical and the extended Q-learning with respect to three metrics: traversal time, number of states traversed, and 90° turns required. The reduction in 90° turnings minimizes the energy consumption and thus has importance in the robotics literature

Superconductivity at 11.3 K induced by cobalt doping in CeOFeAs

Pure phases of a new oxyarsenide superconductor of the nominal composition CeOFe0.9Co0.1As was successfully synthesized by solid state reaction in sealed silica ampoules at 1180 C. It crystallizes in the layered tetragonal ZrCuSiAs type structure (sp gp P4/nmm) with lattice parameter of a = 3.9918(5) angstrom and c = 8.603(1) angstrom. A sharp superconducting transition is observed at 11.31 K with an upper critical field of 45.22 T at ambient pressure. The superconducting transition temperature is drastically lowered (~ 4.5, 4.9 K) on increasing the concentration (x = 0.15, 0.2) of cobalt

Bianchi Type III Anisotropic Dark Energy Models with Constant Deceleration Parameter

The Bianchi type III dark energy models with constant deceleration parameter are investigated. The equation of state parameter $\omega$ is found to be time dependent and its existing range for this model is consistent with the recent observations of SN Ia data, SN Ia data (with CMBR anisotropy) and galaxy clustering statistics. The physical aspect of the dark energy models are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, Accepted version of IJT

Subconjunctivally implantable hydrogels with degradable and thermoresponsive properties for sustained release of insulin to the retina.

The objective of this work is to develop subconjunctivally implantable, biodegradable hydrogels for sustained release of intact insulin to the retina to prevent and treat retinal neurovascular degeneration such as diabetic retinopathy. The hydrogels are synthesized by UV photopolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) monomer and a dextran macromer containing multiple hydrolytically degradable oligolactate-(2-hydroxyetheyl methacrylate) units (Dex-lactateHEMA) in 25:75 (v:v) ethanol:water mixture solvent. Insulin is loaded into the hydrogels during the synthesis process with loading efficiency up to 98%. The hydrogels can release biologically active insulin in vitro for at least one week and the release kinetics can be modulated by varying the ratio between NIPAAm and Dex-lactateHEMA and altering the physical size of the hydrogels. The hydrogels are not toxic to R28 retinal neuron cells in culture medium with 100% cell viability. The hydrogels can be implanted under the conjunctiva without causing adverse effects to the retina based on hematoxylin and eosin stain, immunostaining for microglial cell activation, and electroretinography. These subconjunctivally implantable hydrogels have potential for long-term periocular delivery of insulin or other drugs to treat diabetic retinopathy and other retinal diseases

Environmental effect on egress simulation

Abstract. Evacuation and egress simulations can be a useful tool for studying the effect of design decisions on the flow of agent movement. This type of simulation can be used to determine before hand the effect of design decisions and enable exploration of potential improvements. In this work, we study at how agent egress is affected by the environment in real world and large scale virtual environments and investigate metrics to analyze the flow. Our work differs from many evacuation systems in that we support grouping restrictions between agents (e.g., families or other social groups traveling together), and model scenarios with multiple modes of transportation with physically realistic dynamics (e.g., individuals walk from a building to their own cars and leave only when all people in the group arrive).