Response of Circular Foundation Subjected to Dynamic Forces in Sandy Soils

In a machine-foundation soil system, the frequency and amplitude have to be controlled by suitable means such as by balancing of dynamic loads or using suitable foundation. The dynamic forces can be transmitted to the soil through the foundation by appropriate selection of foundation mass or by using damping. This paper is the outcome of a research study conducted recently to investigate dynamic response of circular foundation in sandy soils. The paper concentrates on dynamic behavior for circular foundation with cap-anchor made of reinforced cement concrete. The influence of increase of base diameter of cap-anchor foundation on resonant frequency and amplitude for various eccentricities ranging from 0° to 42° were studied. Significant increases in 6equency with different eccentricities were observed with increase in base diameter of the cap-anchor foundation from 0% to 40%. On the other hand, reduction of amplitude at resonance was recorded with the increase of base diameter at various eccentricities. Increase in resonant frequency (η) was observed as 27% whereas percentage increase in amplitude reduction (Ψ) was recorded 64% with embedment ratio of 30% only. It was found that the increase of base diameter of the circular foundation with cap-anchor can control vibration and is capable of withstanding higher dynamic forces when compared to simple foundation or non-circular/vertical foundation with cap-anchor

Observations of Multiple Surges Associated with Magnetic Activities in AR10484 on 25 October 2003

We present a multiwavelength study of recurrent surges observed in H{\alpha}, UV (SOHO/EIT) and Radio (Learmonth, Australia) from the super-active region NOAA 10484 on 25 October, 2003. Several bright structures visible in H{\alpha} and UV corresponding to subflares are also observed at the base of each surge. Type III bursts are triggered and RHESSI X-ray sources are evident with surge activity. The major surge consists of the bunches of ejective paths forming a fan-shape region with an angular size of (\approx 65\degree) during its maximum phase. The ejection speed reaches upto \sim200 km/s. The SOHO/MDI magnetograms reveal that a large dipole emerges east side of the active region on 18-20 October 2003, a few days before the surges. On October 25, 2003, the major sunspots were surrounded by "moat regions" with moving magnetic features (MMFs). Parasitic fragmented positive polarities were pushed by the ambient dispersion motion of the MMFs and annihilated with negative polarities at the borders of the moat region of the following spot to produce flares and surges. A topology analysis of the global Sun using PFSS shows that the fan structures visible in the EIT 171 A images follow magnetic field lines connecting the present AR to a preceding AR in the South East. Radio observations of type III bursts indicate that they are coincident with the surges, suggesting that magnetic reconnection is the driver mechanism. The magnetic energy released by reconnection is transformed into plasma heating and provides the kinetic energy for the ejections. A lack of a radio signature in the high corona suggests that the surges are confined to follow the closed field lines in the fans. We conclude that these cool surges may have some local heating effects in the closed loops, but probably play a minor role in global coronal heating and the surge material does not escape to the solar wind.Comment: Accepted for the Publication in ApJ; 25 pages, 10 Figures, and 1 Tabl

Improvement in Organogenesis and the Development of a Transformation Procedure for Cucumber and Muskmelon

A comprehensive study was carried out to optimise and improve a direct shoot organogenesis system to facilitate the transfer of reporter genes (GUSINT and nptII into cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and muskmelon (C. melo L.) plants. The studies carried out were: (i) a comparative study on direct and indirect shoot regeneration (ii) the improvement of a direct shoot regeneration system by using an ethylene action inhibitor, silver nitrate and an ethylene biosynthesis inhibitor, cobalt chloride (iii) identification of suitable strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes that are able to infect cucumber and muskmelon plants (iv) development of an intron containing gene transformation system for both cucurbit species through A. tumefaciens and (v) analysis of transformants. For the comparative study of direct and indirect shoot regeneration, four different types of explants from five elite commercial cucumber cultivars namely Spring Swallow, Suyo Cross, Suyo Long, Tasty Glory. Tasty Green and one muskmelon cultivar called Birdie were used. Explants from both species were cultured onto Murashige and Skoog medium containing different concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine alone and in combination with either 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid or naphthalene acetic acid. 6-benzylaminopurine alone at 1.0 or 2.0 mg/L significantly (p<0.05) induced shoot primordia from the largest number of proximal cotyledon and hypocotyl explants of all cucumber cultivars and muskmelon explants tested. However, the addition of either 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid or naphthalene acetic acid to 6-benzylaminopurine, resulted in a reduction of the shoot primordia induction rate. Higher number of shoots induced from ex plants as well as high numbers of morphological normal shoots were obtained when explants were cultured on. medium containing 6-benzylaminopurine alone. Specific concentrations of indole-butyric acid and naphthalene acetic acid significantly (p<0.05) contributed to root initiation from the largest number of cucumber and muskmelon shoots, respectively. Dark treatment was sufficient to significantly induce root formation from the non-rooting cucumber and muskmelon shoots. The addition of either silver nitrate or cobalt chloride to the seed germination medium or shoot primordia induction medium caused a significant (p<0.05) enhancement of shoot regeneration rate from cucumber cv. SS and TG explants compared to the control. The regeneration rate was further enhanced when these two ethylene inhibitors were added to both SGM and SPI media. Furthermore, the number of shoots induced from explants of both Spring Swallow and Tasty Green cultivars was also enhanced upon the same treatment. However, muskmelon shoot induction and regeneration were reduced when the same treatment was employed

Scandals from an Island: Testing Anglo-American Corporate Governance Frameworks

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of banking scandals in relation to corporate governance (CG) failures in an emerging economy, arguing that Anglo-American ideas of CG are misplaced in traditional settings. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders. Observations of annual general meetings (AGMs) and the personal working experience of one of the researchers, along with documentation, provided triangulating data on CG practices. Findings The authors have found that both of the banks studied had adopted CG practices contrary to the expectations of the Sri Lankan CG codes. Key features of CG practices that emerged from their investigations of these two scandals are ineffectual central bank regulations, familial boards of directors, ceremonial board meetings, biased auditing practices and manipulative AGMs, relying on traditional structures of accountability centred around families, kin and social networks. Research limitations/implications The authors argue, drawing on Weber (1958, 1961, 1968, 1978), that the traditionalist culture mediates the process of rationality in bank governance codes and regulatory frameworks Therefore, practices fall far short of expectations. Originality/value The paper builds on the extended critique of shareholder-centric CG models and their transferability to alien contexts. It contributes to the CG studies calling for more appreciation of the need to move beyond the conventional view of CG problems as simply down to conflicts of interests. The authors complement and advance the decoupling debate in CG studies drawing on the Weberian notion of traditionalism

Network Effects on Scientific Collaborations

Background: The analysis of co-authorship network aims at exploring the impact of network structure on the outcome of scientific collaborations and research publications. However, little is known about what network properties are associated with authors who have increased number of joint publications and are being cited highly. Methodology/Principal Findings: Measures of social network analysis, for example network centrality and tie strength, have been utilized extensively in current co-authorship literature to explore different behavioural patterns of co-authorship networks. Using three SNA measures (i.e., degree centrality, closeness centrality and betweenness centrality), we explore scientific collaboration networks to understand factors influencing performance (i.e., citation count) and formation (tie strength between authors) of such networks. A citation count is the number of times an article is cited by other articles. We use co-authorship dataset of the research field of 'steel structure' for the year 2005 to 2009. To measure the strength of scientific collaboration between two authors, we consider the number of articles co-authored by them. In this study, we examine how citation count of a scientific publication is influenced by different centrality measures of its co-author(s) in a co-authorship network. We further analyze the impact of the network positions of authors on the strength of their scientific collaborations. We use both correlation and regression methods for data analysis leading to statistical validation. We identify that citation count of a research article is positively correlated with the degree centrality and betweenness centrality values of its co-author(s). Also, we reveal that degree centrality and betweenness centrality values of authors in a co-authorship network are positively correlated with the strength of their scientific collaborations. Conclusions/Significance: Authors' network positions in co-authorship networks influence the performance (i.e., citation count) and formation (i.e., tie strength) of scientific collaborations. © 2013 Uddin et al.published_or_final_versio