Length-weight and length-length relationships of the Mediterranean shad Alosa agone (Scopoli, 1786) from the Northeastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey

The relationships between total length (TL), fork length (FL) and standard length (SL), and between TL and weight were investigated for Mediterranenan shad, Alosa agone, from two estuary localities (Karaduvar and Samandag), North-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. A total of 297 specimens, 150 males and 147 females, were captured by gill net and trammel net between September 2006 and May 2007 from the NE Mediterranean Sea coast of Turkey. The values of the exponent b of the length-weight relationships (LWRs) were 3.50 for female and 3.49 for male. The length-length relationship (LLRs) between the three length measurements (TL-FL-SL) were highly correlated (r2>0.99, P<0.001). This study presented the first reference on LWRs and LLRs for Mediterranean shad species from NE Mediterranean coast of Turkey.Key words: Alosa agone, Mediterranean shad, length-weight relationship, length-length relationship, NE Mediterranean Sea

Effects of chills on the solidification pattern of an axial steel cast impeller

This paper presents three-dimensional simulation of transient conduction heat transfer within an axial impeller (AISI 1016), two different sizes of chills (AISI 1016), core (green sand) and mold (green sand) by using Ansys CFX. Specific heat, density and thermal conductivity of AISI 1016 steel, mold and Core materials are considered as functions of temperature

Recent Ferroalloy Studies at Istanbul Technical University

The present report is the summary of the experimental studies on the production of ferroalloys and iron-based alloys, which have been conducted in the laboratories of Macro to Nano Research Team (MtNT, Yücel’s Group) at Istanbul Technical University (ITU, Turkey) – Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department in the last decade. Ferromolybdenum, ferrochromium, ferronickel, and iron-based alloys with alloying elements (Mo, Ni, Cr, etc.) were produced through different reduction processes (metallothermic and carbothermic) starting from different reactant materials such as mill scale, hematite, magnetite, NiO, Cr2O3, chromic acid, and MoO3. The effects of different stoichiometric amounts of reactants and reductant powders were investigated for the production of unalloyed Fe. While, different amounts of metal oxide ratios and their effects on metal recoveries, compositions, and microstructure of final alloys were studied during Fe-based alloys production, raw materials and produced alloys and slags were characterized by using chemical analysis methods (AAS, ICP), X-ray diffraction spectrometry (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS) techniques. Keywords: iron-based alloys, carbothermic reduction, metallothermic reduction, İT

On 3-dimensional f-Kenmotsu manifolds and Ricci solitons

The aim of the present paper is to study 3-dimensional f-Kenmotsu manifolds and Ricci solitons. First, we give an example of a 3-dimensional f-Kenmotsu manifold. Then we consider a Riccisemisymmetric 3-dimensional f-Kenmotsu manifold and prove that a 3-dimensional f-Kenmotsu manifold is Ricci semisymmetric if and only if it is an Einstein manifold. Moreover, we investigate an η-parallel Ricci tensor in a 3-dimensional f-Kenmotsu manifold. Finally, we study Ricci solitons in a 3-dimensional f-Kenmotsu manifold.Метою даної статті є вивчення 3-вимірних f-многовидів Кенмоцу та солітонів Річчі. Спочатку наведено приклад 3-вимірного f-многовиду Кенмоцу. Потім розглянуто напівсиметричний за Річчі 3-вимірний f-многовид Кенмоцу i доведено, що 3-вимірний f-многовид Кенмоцу є напівсиметричним за Річчі тоді i тільки тоді, коли він є многовидом Ейнштейна. Також досліджено n-паралельний тензор Річчі у 3-вимірному f-многовиді Кенмоцу. Насамкінець, досліджено солітони Річчі у 3-вимірному f-многовиді Кенмоцу

Rare Decay of the Top t -> cgg in the Standard Model

We calculate the one-loop flavor changing neutral current top quark decay t -> cgg in the Standard Model. We demonstrate that the rate for t -> cgg exceeds the rate for a single gluon emission t -> cg by about two orders of magnitude, while the rate for t -> cq barq (q=u) is slightly smaller than for t -> cg.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures and 2 tables. Typo in Eq.2.1 corrected, text slightly modified, references added. Version to appear in Phys.Rev.

Signatures for doubly-charged Higgsinos at colliders

Several supersymmetric models with extended gauge structures predict light doubly-charged Higgsinos. Their distinctive signature at the large hadron collider is highlighted by studying their production and decay characteristics.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, Latex. Submitted for SUSY 2008 proceeding

Solid oxide fuel cell hybrid system: A detailed review of an environmentally clean and efficient source of energy

This paper reports a review of an environmentally clean and efficient source of energy such as solid oxide fuel cell hybrid systems. Due to climate concerns, most nations are seeking alternative means of generating energy from a clean, efficient and environmental-friendly method. However, this has proven a big hurdle for both academic and industry researchers over many years. Currently, practical and technically feasible solution can be obtained via an integration of a microturbine and a fuel cell (hybrid systems). Combining the two distinct systems in a hybrid arrangement the efficiency of the microturbine increases from 25 to 30% to the 60-65% range. Hence, this paper outlines an engineering power generation solution towards the acute global population growth, the growing need, environmental concerns, intelligent use of energy with attendant environmental and hybrid system layouts concerning arising problems and tentative proposed solutions. Furthermore, advantages of a solid oxide fuel cell hybrid systems with respect to the other technologies are identified and discussed rationally. Special attention is devoted to modelling with software and emulator rigs and system prototypes. The paper also reviews the limitations and the benefits of these hybrid systems in relationship with energy, environment and sustainable development. Few potential applications, as long-term potential actions for sustainable development, and the future of such devices are further discussed

Implementation of repeat HIV testing during pregnancy in Kenya: a qualitative study.

BackgroundRepeat HIV testing in late pregnancy has the potential to decrease rates of mother-to-child transmission of HIV by identifying mothers who seroconvert after having tested negative for HIV in early pregnancy. Despite being national policy in Kenya, the available data suggest that implementation rates are low.MethodsWe conducted 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews with healthcare providers and managers to explore barriers and enablers to implementation of repeat HIV testing guidelines for pregnant women. Participants were from the Nyanza region of Kenya and were purposively selected to provide variation in socio-demographics and job characteristics. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed in Dedoose software using a thematic analysis approach. Four themes were identified a priori using Ferlie and Shortell's Framework for Change and additional themes were allowed to emerge from the data.ResultsParticipants identified barriers and enablers at the client, provider, facility, and health system levels. Key barriers at the client level from the perspective of providers included late initial presentation to antenatal care and low proportions of women completing the recommended four antenatal visits. Barriers to offering repeat HIV testing for providers included heavy workloads, time limitations, and failing to remember to check for retest eligibility. At the facility level, inconsistent volume of clients and lack of space required for confidential HIV retesting were cited as barriers. Finally, at the health system level, there were challenges relating to the HIV test kit supply chain and the design of nationally standardized antenatal patient registers. Enablers to improving the implementation of repeat HIV testing included client dissemination of the benefits of antenatal care through word-of-mouth, provider cooperation and task shifting, and it was suggested that use of an electronic health record system could provide automatic reminders for retest eligibility.ConclusionsThis study highlights some important barriers to improving HIV retesting rates among pregnant women who attend antenatal clinics in the Nyanza region of Kenya at the client, provider, facility, and health system levels. To successfully implement Kenya's national repeat HIV testing guidelines during pregnancy, it is essential that these barriers be addressed and enablers capitalized on through a multi-faceted intervention program

Production of Single Heavy Charged Leptons at a Linear Collider

A sequential fourth generation of quarks and leptons is allowed by precision electroweak constraints if the mass splitting between the heavy quarks is between 50 and 80 GeV. Although heavy quarks can be easily detected at the LHC, it is very difficult to detect a sequential heavy charged lepton, L, due to large backgrounds. Should the L mass be above 250 GeV, it can not be pair-produced at a 500 GeV ILC. We calculate the cross section for the one-loop process e+e- -> L tau. Although the cross section is small, it may be detectable. We also consider contributions from the two Higgs doublet model and the Randall-Sundrum model, in which case the cross section can be substantially higher.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure

Exploring Spoken Named Entity Recognition: A Cross-Lingual Perspective

Recent advancements in Named Entity Recognition (NER) have significantly improved the identification of entities in textual data. However, spoken NER, a specialized field of spoken document retrieval, lags behind due to its limited research and scarce datasets. Moreover, cross-lingual transfer learning in spoken NER has remained unexplored. This paper utilizes transfer learning across Dutch, English, and German using pipeline and End-to-End (E2E) schemes. We employ Wav2Vec2-XLS-R models on custom pseudo-annotated datasets and investigate several architectures for the adaptability of cross-lingual systems. Our results demonstrate that End-to-End spoken NER outperforms pipeline-based alternatives over our limited annotations. Notably, transfer learning from German to Dutch surpasses the Dutch E2E system by 7% and the Dutch pipeline system by 4%. This study not only underscores the feasibility of transfer learning in spoken NER but also sets promising outcomes for future evaluations, hinting at the need for comprehensive data collection to augment the results