Experimental investigation on the use of waste elastomeric polymers for bitumen modification

The study described in this paper focused on the possible use of waste products coming from the production of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and polybutadiene rubber (PBR), as bitumen modifiers. Modified binders containing these products were prepared in the laboratory with different polymer dosages and were thereafter subjected to the evaluation of empirical and rheological properties. For comparative purposes, the study also considered SBR and PBR products of premium quality. Ageing effects were also taken into account by means of proper laboratory simulations. Obtained results indicated that the two types of polymer (SBR and PBR) have completely different effects on the rheology and expected performance of the resulting modified binders. In particular, while the two polymers showed similar effects in terms of resistance to permanent deformation, the SBR products proved to be superior from the viewpoint of fatigue resistance. However, only minor differences were found when comparing the effects produced by premium quality and waste polymers. As a result of the experimental findings, it was concluded that the use of waste SBR polymers can be an attractive solution for the production of affordable modified binders

STR-920: STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOUR OF REINFORCED HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE COLUMNS SUBJECTED TO MONOTONIC AXIAL LOADING

This paper presents the results of experimental and analytical investigations on the structural performance of high performance reinforced concrete (HPC) columns subjected to monotonic axial loading. Reinforced columns made of self-consolidating concrete (SCC), engineered cementitious composite (ECC) and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) were tested to failure under axial loading. The test variables included concrete strength and length/slenderness of columns (classified as short and long columns). The UHPC and ECC columns demonstrated excellent ductility and higher energy absorbing capacity compared to their SCC counterparts. UHPC columns also illustrated higher ultimate load capacity compared to both ECC and SCC columns. The efficiency of UHPC and ECC columns was also judged based on strength and ductility ratio compared to their SCC counterparts. Existing models and other Code based equations were used to predict the axial load capacity as a part of analytical investigation. The predictions suggested the need for the modification of existing models/Code based equations for UHPC and ECC columns

Constructing Diabatic States from Adiabatic States: Extending Generalized Mulliken–Hush to Multiple Charge Centers with Boys Localization

This article shows that, although Boys localization is usually applied to single-electron orbitals, the Boys method itself can be applied to many electron molecular states. For the two-state charge-transfer problem, we show analytically that Boys localization yields the same charge-localized diabatic states as those found by generalized Mulliken–Hush theory. We suggest that for future work in electron transfer, where systems have more than two charge centers, one may benefit by using a variant of Boys localization to construct diabatic potential energy surfaces and extract electronic coupling matrix elements. We discuss two chemical examples of Boys localization and propose a generalization of the Boys algorithm for creating diabatic states with localized spin density that should be useful for Dexter triplet-triplet energy transfer

Definition of Spam 2.0: New Spamming Boom

The most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, however the term “spam” is used to describe similarabuses in other media and mediums. Spam 2.0 (or Web 2.0 Spam) is refereed to as spam content that is hosted on online Web 2.0 applications. In this paper: we provide a definition of Spam 2.0, identify and explain different entities within Spam 2.0, discuss new difficulties associated with Spam 2.0, outline its significance, and list possible countermeasure. The aim of this paper is to provide the reader with a complete understanding of this new form of spamming

Up-Regulation of Tmevpg1 and Rmrp LncRNA Levels in Splenocytes and Brain of Mouse with Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Background: Two long noncoding (lnc) RNAs, which have been recognized as Tmevpg1/Ifng-AS1/NeST and Rmrp play indispensable roles in the differentiation of TH1 and TH17, respectively. The aim of the present scientific study was to analyze the expression levels of the aforementioned lncRNAs in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) as an animal model for multiple sclerosis (MS).Materials and Methods: Initially, EAE was induced in C57BL/6 mice via immunization by using MOG peptide. The leukocyte infiltration rate and demyelination of neuronal axons were determined. Secondly, the expression levels of Tmevpg1, Rmrp, Tbx21, and Rorc were analyzed in the cultured splenocytes and brain lysates, by using Real-Time PCR assay; eventually, the levels of interferon-gamma and interleukin-17 evaluated by ELISA.Results: Gene expression analysis revealed that Rorc expression in the splenocytes of EAE mice in comparison to the controls was elevated; however, Tbx21 expression did not show any significant difference. Tmevpg1 and Rmrp levels increased in the splenocytes of EAE mice (4.48 times and 39.70 times, respectively, p = 0.0001). Besides, in the brain lysate, the entire genes that have been mentioned were higher than the controls (Tmevpg1: 3.35 times p = 0.02 and Rmrp 11.21 times, p = 0.0001).Conclusion: The marked up-regulation in Tmevpg1 and Rmrp transcripts suggested the essential roles of lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of EAE and multiple sclerosis indeed. Further investigations are necessary to evaluate the values of these lncRNAs as the target for the therapy or molecular marker for disease monitoring

A multidimensional control architecture for combined fog-to-cloud systems

The fog/edge computing concept has set the foundations for the deployment of new services leveraging resources deployed at the edge paving the way for an innovative collaborative model, where end-users may collaborate with service providers by sharing idle resources at the edge of the network. Combined Fog-to-Cloud (F2C) systems have been recently proposed as a control strategy for managing fog and cloud resources in a coordinated way, aimed at optimally allocating resources within the fog-to-cloud resources stack for an optimal service execution. In this work, we discuss the unfeasibility of the deployment of a single control topology able to optimally manage a plethora of edge devices in future networks, respecting established SLAs according to distinct service requirements and end-user profiles. Instead, a multidimensional architecture, where distinct control plane instances coexist, is then introduced. By means of distinct scenarios, we describe the benefits of the proposed architecture including how users may collaborate with the deployment of novel services by selectively sharing resources according to their profile, as well as how distinct service providers may benefit from shared resources reducing deployment costs. The novel architecture proposed in this paper opens several opportunities for research, which are presented and discussed at the final section.This work was supported by the H2020 EU mF2C project, ref. 730929 and for UPC authors, also by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund under contract RTI2018-094532-B-I00.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Electrical manipulation of spin states in a single electrostatically gated transition-metal complex

We demonstrate an electrically controlled high-spin (S=5/2) to low-spin (S=1/2) transition in a three-terminal device incorporating a single Mn2+ ion coordinated by two terpyridine ligands. By adjusting the gate-voltage we reduce the terpyridine moiety and thereby strengthen the ligand-field on the Mn-atom. Adding a single electron thus stabilizes the low-spin configuration and the corresponding sequential tunnelling current is suppressed by spin-blockade. From low-temperature inelastic cotunneling spectroscopy, we infer the magnetic excitation spectrum of the molecule and uncover also a strongly gate-dependent singlet-triplet splitting on the low-spin side. The measured bias-spectroscopy is shown to be consistent with an exact diagonalization of the Mn-complex, and an interpretation of the data is given in terms of a simplified effective model.Comment: Will appear soon in Nanoletter

Strong polarization-induced reduction of addition energies in single-molecule nanojunctions

We address polarization-induced renormalization of molecular levels in solid-state based single-molecule transistors and focus on an organic conjugate molecule where a surprisingly large reduction of the addition energy has been observed. We have developed a scheme that combines a self-consistent solution of a quantum chemical calculation with a realistic description of the screening environment. Our results indeed show a large reduction, and we explain this to be a consequence of both (a) a reduction of the electrostatic molecular charging energy and (b) polarization induced level shifts of the HOMO and LUMO levels. Finally, we calculate the charge stability diagram and explain at a qualitative level general features observed experimentally.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

When size really does matter - providing PrEP across Queensland

Background: Providing universal access to PrEP across Queensland, the 2nd largest and 3rd most populous state in Australia has provided unique challenges. Queensland has 22.5% of Australia’s total land area, compared to the 14.4% of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania combined. Queensland is also less centralised with 50% of the population living outside the state capital and 25% outside of the south eastern region. Notably, this population distribution is reflected in HIV diagnoses with 24% of new diagnoses in 2015 coming from Health Service Areas outside of the south east. Method: The unique service models, buildings, personalities, communities and clinical capacity of regional services has required bespoke solutions to implement QPrEPd in these sites. Many sites have not taken part in clinical trials before and required additional support. Additionally, the barriers to access found in more conservative services and communities has required the implementation team to advocate and educate for universal PrEP provision. Protocol modification has enabled nurses to manage ongoing PrEP provision in services with limited medical officer support. Results: Eleven study sites are outside of the south east corner; 7 public sexual health services, 3 general practices in Cairns and one Aboriginal Medical Service in Toowoomba. These sites have enrolled 18.5% of the all participants. The remaining 11 sites in the south east corner are include 5 general practices, including one run through a community based organisation, 5 public sexual health clinics and one private hospital. Overall, nearly 63% of the participants have enrolled at general practice sites. Conclusions: While this project has provided access to PrEP throughout much of Queensland, gaps remain. The key limitation in regional areas where there is no public sexual health service is the lack of S100 prescribing general practitioners. In order to expand access other service delivery models are being explored

HMD-TMO: A Tone Mapping Operator for 360° HDR Images Visualization for Head Mounted Displays

International audienceWe propose a Tone Mapping Operator, denoted HMD-TMO, dedicated to the visualization of 360 • High Dynamic Range images on Head Mounted Displays. The few existing studies about this topic have shown that the existing Tone Mapping Operators for classic 2D images are not adapted to 360 • High Dynamic Range images. Consequently, several dedicated operators have been proposed. Instead of operating on the entire 360 • image, they only consider the part of the image currently viewed by the user. Tone mapping a part of the 360 • image is less challenging as it does not preserve the global luminance dynamic of the scene. To cope with this problem, we propose a novel tone mapping operator which takes advantage of both a view-dependant tone mapping that enhances the contrast, and a Tone Mapping Operator applied to the entire 360 • image that preserves global coherency. Furthermore, we present a subjective study to model lightness perception in a Head Mounted Display