151 research outputs found
THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF QUASI-STATIC COMPRESSION OF HEXAGONAL RING
This paper presents a study on the load-compression and energy absorption characteristics of a laterally crushed across faces of hexagonal ring with constraints on expansion perpendicular to the loading axis. The theoretical analysis in compression across faces is developed using Equivalent Structure Technique. Experimental observations are compared with theoretical analyses and good agreements are seen
Homosexuality and Human Rights in Egypt
The accused persons have practised sodomy. Oriental society criminalizes homosexuality and delinquency, which are condemned by Islam and all divine religions. This practice, if spread, will destroy the whole society.' The state security prosecutor's report contained these words regarding the case of the 52 Egyptians accused of sodomy, who were arrested on 11 May 2001 on the tourist Queen Boat. On 14 November, 23 of them were found guilty. The main two accusations were obscenity (in Egyptian criminal law, obscenity means sodomy) and contempt of religion
Refining Nodes and Edges of State Machines
State machines are hierarchical automata that are widely used to structure complex behavioural specifications. We develop two notions of refinement of state machines, node refinement and edge refinement. We compare the two notions by means of examples and argue that, by adopting simple conventions, they can be combined into one method of refinement. In the combined method, node refinement can be used to develop architectural aspects of a model and edge refinement to develop algorithmic aspects. The two notions of refinement are grounded in previous work. Event-B is used as the foundation for our refinement theory and UML-B state machine refinement influences the style of node refinement. Hence we propose a method with direct proof of state machine refinement avoiding the detour via Event-B that is needed by UML-B
Potential energy threshold for nano-hillock formation by impact of slow highly charged ions on a CaF(111) surface
We investigate the formation of nano-sized hillocks on the (111) surface of
CaF single crystals by impact of slow highly charged ions. Atomic force
microscopy reveals a surprisingly sharp and well-defined threshold of potential
energy carried into the collision of about 14 keV for hillock formation.
Estimates of the energy density deposited suggest that the threshold is linked
to a solid-liquid phase transition (``melting'') on the nanoscale. With
increasing potential energy, both the basal diameter and the height of the
hillocks increase. The present results reveal a remarkable similarity between
the present predominantly potential-energy driven process and track formation
by the thermal spike of swift ( GeV) heavy ions.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
IMPACT OF ASPARTAME CONSUMPTION ON NEUROTRANSMITTERS IN RAT BRAIN
Background: Aspartame (APM), a common artificial sweetener, has been used for diabetic subjects and body weight
control for a long time. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the impact of APM consumption on
neurotransmitters and oxidative stress in ratâs brain.
Materials and Methods: Four groups of male Wistar albino rats was used: Group1, control (Rats fed on normal diet).
Group 2: Rats were received aspartame (50 mg/kg b w). Group3: Rats were received aspartame (75 mg/kg b w). Group 4:
Rats were received aspartame (125 mg/kg b w). Five rats were decapitated after 10, 20, 30 and 40 days from start of
experiment. Blood and brain tissue were collected for biochemical analysis. Biochemical analysis of brain tissue includes
neurotransmitters (Acetylcholine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, Îł-aminobutyric acid and serotonin). Serum for
determination of lipid peroxidation (MDA), reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase (SOD).
Results: the data obtained showed that antioxidant activities (SOD and GSH) were reduced significantly (
Practising social justice: Community organisations, what matters and what counts
This thesis investigates the situated knowing-in-practice of locally-based community organisations, and studies how this practice knowledge is translated and contested in inter-organisational relations in the community services field of practices. Despite participation in government-led consultation processes, community organisations express frustration that the resulting policies and plans inadequately take account of the contributions from their practice knowledge. The funding of locally-based community organisations is gradually diminishing in real terms and in the competitive tendering environment, large nationally-based organisations often attract the new funding sources. The concern of locally-based community organisations is that the apparent lack of understanding of their distinctive practice knowing is threatening their capacity to improve the well-being of local people and their communities. In this study, I work with practitioners, service participants and management committee members to present an account of their knowing-in-practice, its character and conditions of efficacy; and then investigate what happens when this local practice knowledge is translated into results-based accountability (RBA) planning with diverse organisations and institutions. This thesis analyses three points of observation: knowing in a community of practitioners; knowing in a community organisation and knowing in the community services field of practices. In choosing these points of observation, the inquiry explores some of the relations and intra-actions from the single organisation to the institutional at a time when state government bureaucracy has mandated that community organisations implement RBA to articulate outcomes that can be measured by performance indicators. A feminist, performative, relational practice-based approach employs participatory action research to achieve an enabling research experience for the participants. It aims to intervene strategically to enhance recognition of the distinctive contributions of community organisationsâ practice knowledge. This thesis reconfigures understandings of the roles, contributions and accountabilities of locally-based community organisations. Observations of situated practices together with the accounts of workers and service participants demonstrate how community organisations facilitate service participantsâ struggles over social justice. A new topology for rethinking social justice as processual and practice-based is developed. It demonstrates how these struggles are a dynamic complex of iteratively-enfolded practices of respect and recognition, redistribution and distributive justice, representation and participation, belonging and inclusion. The focus on the practising of social justice in this thesis offers an alternative to the neo-liberal discourse that positions community organisations as sub-contractors accountable to government for delivering measurable outputs, outcomes and efficiencies in specified service provision contracts. The study shows how knowing-in-practice in locally-based community organisations contests the representational conception of knowledge inextricably entangled with accountability and performance measurement apparatus such as RBA. Further, it suggests that practitioner and service participant contributions are marginalised and diminished in RBA through the privileging of knowledge that takes an âexpertâ, quantifiable and calculative form. Thus crucially, harnessing local practice knowing requires re-imagining and enacting knowledge spaces that assemble and take seriously all relevant stakeholder perspectives, diverse knowledges and methods
Religion and religious education : comparing and contrasting pupilsâ and teachersâ views in an English school
This publication builds on and develops the English findings of the qualitative study of European teenagersâ perspectives on religion and religious education (Knauth et al. 2008), part of âReligion in Education: A contribution to dialogue or a factor of conflict in transforming societies of European countries?â (REDCo) project. It uses data gathered from 27 pupils, aged 15-16, from a school in a multicultural Northern town in England and compares those findings with data gathered from ten teachers in the humanities faculty of the same school, collected during research for the Warwick REDCo Community of Practice. Comparisons are drawn between the teachersâ and their pupilsâ attitudes and values using the same structure as the European study: personal views and experiences of religion, the social dimension of religion, and religious education in school. The discussion offers an analysis of the similarities and differences in worldviews and beliefs which emerged. These include religious commitment/observance differences between the mainly Muslim-heritage pupils and their mainly non-practising Christian-heritage teachers. The research should inform the ways in which the statutory duties to promote community cohesion and equalities can be implemented in schools. It should also facilitate intercultural and interreligious understanding between teachers and the pupils from different ethnic and religious backgrounds
The role of lubricant feeding conditions on the performance improvement and friction reduction of journal bearings
Most conventional hydrodynamic journal bearing performance tools can not suitably assess the effect of lubricant feeding conditions on bearing performance, even though these conditions are known to affect important performance parameters such as eccentricity and powerloss.
A thermohydrodynamic analysis suitable to deal with realistic feeding conditions has been proposed.
Special attention was given to the treatment of phenomena taking place within grooves and their
vicinity,as well as to the ruptured film region.
The effec to flubricant feeding pressure and temperature, groove length ratio,width ratio and number
(single/twin) on bearing performance has been analyzed for a broad range of conditions.It was found
that a careful tuning of the feeding conditions may indeed improve bearing performance.FCT - POCTI/EME/39202/200
Pharmacogenetics of Bleeding and Thromboembolic Events in Direct Oral Anticoagulant Users
Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and TherapeuticsThis study aimed to analyze associations between genetic variants and the occurrence of clinical outcomes in dabigatran, apixaban, and rivaroxaban users. This was a retrospective real-world study linking genotype data of three Finnish biobanks with national register data on drug dispensations and healthcare encounters. We investigated several single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the ABCG2, ABCB1, CES1, and CYP3A5 genes potentially associated with bleeding or thromboembolic events in direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) users based on earlier research. We used Cox regression models to compare the incidence of clinical outcomes between carriers and noncarriers of the SNVs or haplotypes. In total, 1,806 patients on apixaban, dabigatran, or rivaroxaban were studied. The ABCB1 c.3435C>T (p.Ile1145=, rs1045642) SNV (hazard ratio (HR) 0.42, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.18-0.98, P = 0.044) and 1236T-2677T-3435T (rs1128503-rs2032582-rs1045642) haplotype (HR 0.44, 95% CI, 0.20-0.95, P = 0.036) were associated with a reduced risk for thromboembolic outcomes, and the 1236C-2677G-3435C (HR 2.55, 95% CI, 1.03-6.36, P = 0.044) and 1236T-2677G-3435C (HR 5.88, 95% CI, 2.35-14.72, P A (rs4148738) SNV associated with a lower risk for bleeding events (HR 0.37, 95% CI, 0.16-0.89, P = 0.025) in apixaban users. ABCB1 variants are potential factors affecting thromboembolic events in rivaroxaban users and bleeding events in apixaban users. Studies with larger numbers of patients are warranted for comprehensive assessment of the pharmacogenetic associations of DOACs and their relevance for clinical practice.Peer reviewe
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