Mechanical Performance Evaluation Of Improved Soils Using Compound Stabilizer And Fibre Reinforcement

Construction of civil engineering structures on weak or soft soil is difficult without any soil improvement due to their poor shear strength and high compressibility. The problems of utilization of common stabilizers are such as: high cost of production, increment in greenhouse gases emissions followed by the cement and lime production and application on only a certain type of soils. In this study, effectiveness of CLR (Cement-Lime-Rice husk ash admixture), CL (Cement-Lime admixture), OPEFB fibre (Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch) and OPEFB-CLR on geotechnical properties of problematic soils was evaluated and investigated. The primary objective of this research was to study the strength, deformation and compaction characteristics of CLR treated soils and fibre-CLR treated soils as a reinforced material on weak, soft or problematic soils. This was achieved by studying the changes induced in treated and untreated soils using grain size distribution, atterberg limits, compaction ability (standard proctor test), oedometer, california bearing ratio (CBR), unconfined compressive strength and consolidatedundrained triaxial (CU). To evaluate the effects of random distribution of OPEFB coated fibres on treated soil a series of triaxial CU test were carried out. The fibres coated with Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) provide acceptable protection against the biodegradability of the OPEFB fibre. In addition, CU triaxial test was also conducted to evaluate the influence of optimum OPEFB coated fibre on the stress– strain–strength behaviour of treated soil with 10% and 12.5% CLR contents at 7 and 28 days of curing

Public Transportation Modelling To Determine The Performance Of Bus Services: Case Study Of Penang Island

Tesis ini membincangkan analisis ke atas permodelan pengangkutan awam untuk menentukan prestasi perkhidmatan bas awam di Pulau Pinang dengan menggunakan perisian EMME/3. Sejumlah 14 senario telah dikenalpasti untuk mengkaji kesan ke atas perbezaan masa (i.e. pagi, tengahari dan petang untuk hari-hari bekerja serta hujung minggu) dan perbezaan jarak kepala (yang diperhatikan dan yang dijadualkan) untuk bas-bas Rapid dan juga untuk sistem kombinasi bas (Bas Rapid dan bas-bas lain). Pengumpulan data bagi tujuan kajian ini adalah koordinat stesen-stesen bas, pemilihan zon, matriks asalan-destinasi, tempoh berhenti, tempoh menunggu, tempoh perjalanan, jarak kepala, kelajuan bas dan isipadu penumpang. This thesis discusses on public transportation modelling to determine the performance of bus services in Penang Island. To simulate the public transportation system, EMME/3 software was employed. A total of 14 scenarios were identified in order to assess the effects of different periods of time (i.e. in the morning, afternoon and evening of weekdays and during weekends) and different headways (observed and scheduled headway) for Rapid Penang buses and combined bus system (Rapid Penang buses and non Rapid Penang buses). In this research, field data including the bus station coordinates, zones selection, OD matrix, layover time, waiting time, travel time, headway, speed and the passenger volume were collected

Mn oxide as a kinetically dominant “true” catalyst for water oxidation

Nature uses an Mn cluster for water oxidation, and thus, water oxidation using Mn clusters is interesting when used in artificial water-splitting systems. An important question is whether an Mn cluster is a true catalyst for water oxidation or not. Herein, an Mn–K cluster was investigated for electrochemical water oxidation to find the true and the kinetically dominant catalyst using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electrochemical methods. The experiments showed that conversion into nanosized Mn oxide occurred for the cluster, and the nanosized Mn oxides are the true catalyst for water oxidation

Role of decomposition products in the oxidation of cyclohexene using a manganese(III) complex

Metal complexes are extensively explored as catalysts for oxidation reactions; molecular-based mechanisms are usually proposed for such reactions. However, the roles of the decomposition products of these materials in the catalytic process have yet to be considered for these reactions. Herein, the cyclohexene oxidation in the presence of manganese(III) 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)-21H,23H-porphine chloride tetrakis(methochloride) (1) in a heterogeneous system via loading the complex on an SBA-15 substrate is performed as a study case. A molecular-based mechanism is usually suggested for such a metal complex. Herein, 1 was selected and investigated under the oxidation reaction by iodosylbenzene or (diacetoxyiodo)benzene (PhI(OAc)2). In addition to 1, at least one of the decomposition products of 1 formed during the oxidation reaction could be considered a candidate to catalyze the reaction. First-principles calculations show that Mn dissolution is energetically feasible in the presence of iodosylbenzene and trace amounts of water

challenges for biomimetic water oxidation

Herein, we report the synthesis, characterization, crystal structure, density functional theory calculations, and water-oxidizing activity of a pivalate Mn–Ca cluster. All of the manganese atoms in the cluster are Mn(IV) ions and have a distorted MnO6 octahedral geometry. Three Mn(IV) ions together with a Ca(II) ion and four-oxido groups form a cubic Mn3CaO4 unit which is similar to the Mn3CaO4 cluster in the water-oxidizing complex of Photosystem II. Using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometry, extended X-ray absorption spectroscopy, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical methods, a conversion into nano-sized Mn-oxide is observed for the cluster in the water-oxidation reaction

ORIGINAL ARTICLE Corresponding Author The Role of Agricultural Credit, Subsidies and Extension on Dairy Sector Sustainability: A Case of Northern Iran

ABSTRACT Financing and farmer knowledge in management ability have been major concerns of dairy development efforts. Therefore, this study conducted with the objectives of identifying the impact of agricultural credit, subsidy and extension on dairy sector sustainability in Iran. The study was carried out in Northern region in Iran. Purposive sampling approach was adopted to collect the data. The data was collected from 119 farmers through pre-tested structured questionnaire. Twenty one percent of respondents had taken credit and 72 % of farmers had received subsidies to develop their dairy production capacity. In this study, around 97 % of farmers who had linked with extension facility and 45 % of them had participated for several trainings which were conducted by different institutions. Further, positive relationship also existed between productivity of the dairy herd and farmers' education, milk yield, gross income and number of milking cows. It was observed that milk yield had correlation with received credit amount and value of received subsidy by farmers. The results clearly illustrated credit and subsidy in dairy sector could considerably facilitate to alleviate poverty in rural areas because credit not only helps to increase the income from the each milking animal but also assists to expand sustainability of livestock sector

Mechanistic Understanding of Water Oxidation in the Presence of a Copper Complex by In Situ Electrochemical Liquid Transmission Electron Microscopy

The design of molecular oxygen-evolution reaction (OER) catalysts requires fundamental mechanistic studies on their widely unknown mechanisms of action. To this end, copper complexes keep attracting interest as good catalysts for the OER, and metal complexes with TMC (TMC = 1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) stand out as active OER catalysts. A mononuclear copper complex, [Cu(TMC)(H2O)](NO3)2 (TMC = 1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane), combined both key features and was previously reported to be one of the most active copper-complex-based catalysts for electrocatalytic OER in neutral aqueous solutions. However, the functionalities and mechanisms of the catalyst are still not fully understood and need to be clarified with advanced analytical studies to enable further informed molecular catalyst design on a larger scale. Herein, the role of nanosized Cu oxide particles, ions, or clusters in the electrochemical OER with a mononuclear copper(II) complex with TMC was investigated by operando methods, including in situ vis-spectroelectrochemistry, in situ electrochemical liquid transmission electron microscopy (EC-LTEM), and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis. These combined experiments showed that Cu oxide-based nanoparticles, rather than a molecular structure, are formed at a significantly lower potential than required for OER and are candidates for being the true OER catalysts. Our results indicate that for the OER in the presence of a homogeneous metal complex-based (pre)catalyst, careful analyses and new in situ protocols for ruling out the participation of metal oxides or clusters are critical for catalyst development. This approach could be a roadmap for progress in the field of sustainable catalysis via informed molecular catalyst design. Our combined approach of in situ TEM monitoring and a wide range of complementary spectroscopic techniques will open up new perspectives to track the transformation pathways and true active species for a wide range of molecular catalysts.ISSN:1944-8244ISSN:1944-825

The acute effect of common peroneal nerve electrical stimulation on quadriceps maximum activity failure in patient with knee osteo arthritis after ten physiotherapy sessions

Introduction: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent OA worldwide, particularly in the USA. Studies show that knee OA leads to functional limitations, including problems with weight tolerance during walking, climbing stairs, household activities, and lightweight package transport. Since the quadriceps muscles play a critical role in weight tolerance throughout the knee joint, weakness in these muscles diminishes the capacity to protect the knee and results in knee susceptibility to more physical stress and developed structural injuries. Abnormal quadriceps muscle functioning that often manifests into weakness is part of a movement disorder presumably due to certain neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease (PD), stroke, etc., or knee injuries after surgery, arthritis, traumatic injuries, and more. This weakness can originate from atrophy or neural inhibition that prevents maximal activation of the quadriceps muscle. This condition is called arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI), which Hopkins first introduced in 1990. AMI is associated with several causes, including swelling, inflammation, pain, joint stiffness, and structural damage, though the importance of these causes remains unclear. Consistently, this phenomenon is caused by discharging the sensory receptors in the damaged knee joint.&nbsp

Mechanistic Understanding of Water Oxidation in the Presence of a Copper Complex by In Situ Electrochemical Liquid Transmission Electron Microscopy

The design of molecular oxygen-evolution reaction (OER) catalysts requires fundamental mechanistic studies on their widely unknown mechanisms of action. To this end, copper complexes keep attracting interest as good catalysts for the OER, and metal complexes with TMC (TMC = 1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) stand out as active OER catalysts. A mononuclear copper complex, [Cu(TMC)(H2O)](NO3)2 (TMC = 1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane), combined both key features and was previously reported to be one of the most active copper-complex-based catalysts for electrocatalytic OER in neutral aqueous solutions. However, the functionalities and mechanisms of the catalyst are still not fully understood and need to be clarified with advanced analytical studies to enable further informed molecular catalyst design on a larger scale. Herein, the role of nanosized Cu oxide particles, ions, or clusters in the electrochemical OER with a mononuclear copper(II) complex with TMC was investigated by operando methods, including in situ vis-spectroelectrochemistry, in situ electrochemical liquid transmission electron microscopy (EC-LTEM), and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis. These combined experiments showed that Cu oxide-based nanoparticles, rather than a molecular structure, are formed at a significantly lower potential than required for OER and are candidates for being the true OER catalysts. Our results indicate that for the OER in the presence of a homogeneous metal complex-based (pre)catalyst, careful analyses and new in situ protocols for ruling out the participation of metal oxides or clusters are critical for catalyst development. This approach could be a roadmap for progress in the field of sustainable catalysis via informed molecular catalyst design. Our combined approach of in situ TEM monitoring and a wide range of complementary spectroscopic techniques will open up new perspectives to track the transformation pathways and true active species for a wide range of molecular catalysts