Microrotor of a chain-grafted colloidal disk immersed in the active bath: The impact of particle concentration, grafting density, and chain rigidity

2018 ◽  
Vol 149 (16) ◽  
pp. 164902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Wang ◽  
Hui-shu Li ◽  
Yu-qiang Ma ◽  
Wen-de Tian ◽  
Kang Chen
Logistics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Lakshmy Subramanian

Health supply chains aim to improve access to healthcare, and this can be attained only when health commodities appropriate to the health needs of the global population are developed, manufactured, and made available when and where needed. The weak links in the health supply chains are hindering the access of essential healthcare resulting in inefficient use of scarce resources and loss of lives. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and demand forecasting is one of the weakest links of health supply chains. Also, many of the existing bottlenecks in supply chains and health systems impede the accurate forecasting of demand, and without the ability to forecast demand with certainty, the stakeholders cannot plan and make commitments for the future. Forecasts are an important feeder for budgeting and logistics planning. Under this backdrop, the study examines how improved forecasting can lead to better short-term and long-term access to health commodities and outlines market-related risks. It explores further how incentives are misaligned creating an uneven distribution of risks, leading to the inability to match demand and supply. For this purpose, a systematic literature review was performed, analyzing 71 articles from a descriptive and content approach. Findings indicate the emerging trends in global health and the consequences of inaccurate demand forecasting for health supply chains. The content analysis identifies key factors that can pose a varying degree of risks for the health supply chain stakeholders. The study highlights how the key factors emerge as enablers and blockers, depending on the impact on the overall health supply chains. The study also provides recommendations for actions for reducing these risks. Consequently, limitations of this work are presented, and opportunities are identified for future lines of research. Finally, the conclusion confirms that by adopting a combination of approaches, stakeholders can ensure better information sharing, identify avenues of diversifying risks, and understand the implications.


2022 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 684
Author(s):  
Maria Maldonado ◽  
Kaitlyn Madison Abe ◽  
James Anthony Letts

The last steps of respiration, a core energy-harvesting process, are carried out by a chain of multi-subunit complexes in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Several essential subunits of the respiratory complexes are RNA-edited in plants, frequently leading to changes in the encoded amino acids. While the impact of RNA editing is clear at the sequence and phenotypic levels, the underlying biochemical explanations for these effects have remained obscure. Here, we used the structures of plant respiratory complex I, complex III2 and complex IV to analyze the impact of the amino acid changes of RNA editing in terms of their location and biochemical features. Through specific examples, we demonstrate how the structural information can explain the phenotypes of RNA-editing mutants. This work shows how the structural perspective can bridge the gap between sequence and phenotype and provides a framework for the continued analysis of RNA-editing mutants in plant mitochondria and, by extension, in chloroplasts.


Author(s):  
Srijith Balakrishnan ◽  
Zhanmin Zhang

Unanticipated events such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, cyber-attacks, and so forth, could cause prolonged disruptions in major utility service networks including, for example, water and electricity, in urban areas. Owing to the presence of complex interdependencies among infrastructure systems in an urban network, the disruption of one system may trigger a chain of events that degrades the proper functioning of several other dependent systems. Consequently, many parts of the city may not have access to multiple utility services and amenities. Identifying the most vulnerable communities exposed to such utility disruptions is key to performing immediate relief operations. In this paper, the concept of Priority Index, introduced as a measure of the susceptibility of communities to the event, is presented to rank urban regions based on the extent of the impact of disruptions (both cascading and interdependent impacts) caused by an event, as well as the social vulnerability of communities. Agent-based models are employed to simulate the consequences of a disruptive event on a semi-realistic urban infrastructure network. Later, the extent of impact on communities is evaluated using the simulation results and the American Community Survey data. The proposed Priority Index could help city administrations and utility service agencies identify the regions in a city that require immediate attention after a disruptive event occurs in the infrastructure network. A case study based on a semi-realistic infrastructure network in Austin, Texas is presented to demonstrate the implementation of the concept of Priority Index and the methodological framework.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 2294-2312
Author(s):  
Tat'yana A. ZHURAVLEVA ◽  
Anastasiya E. ZUBANOVA ◽  
Yuliya S. SOROKVASHINA

Subject. The poverty of the population with all features and factors of its manifestation causes deep structural problems that affect the development of the national economy. Objectives. The aim of the study is a comprehensive analysis of the poverty of the population category, using statistical data, identification of causes of the gap in the level of salaries of Russian and foreign specialists, determination of factors that have the greatest impact on the development of working poverty in Russia. Methods. The study draws on methods of logical and statistical analysis. Results. We considered approaches to the definition of poverty in Russia and other countries, analyzed absolute and relative poverty in Russia, the impact of subsistence minimum on the definition of poverty, assessed nominal and real incomes of the population. The ratio of the average per capita income of the population and the subsistence minimum decreased over the past decade, however, the poverty was not overcome during this period. The per capita income in Russia turned out to be low, real incomes continue to decline. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a decline in wages can be traced, both in space and in time. Conclusions. Worsening the poverty situation in the country creates a chain of problems related to the distrust of the State policy in the social and labor spheres, expanded production slowdown, an increase in social tension in the society. A reduction of working poverty should be a priority task for the State.


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 628-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Ahmed Al-Bukhaiti ◽  
Ahmed Abouel Kasem Mohamad ◽  
Karam Mosa Emara ◽  
Shemy M. Ahmed

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the influence of slurry concentration on the erosion behavior of AISI 5117 steel and high-chromium white cast iron by using a whirling-arm rig. In this study, the slurry erosion mechanism with particle concentration has been studied. Design/methodology/approach The tests were carried out with particle concentrations in the range of 1-7 Wt.%, and the impact velocity of slurry stream was 15 m/s. Silica sand with a nominal size range of 500-710 µm was used as an erodent. The study revealed that the failure mode was independent of concentration. Findings The results showed that the erosion rate decreases with the increase in particle concentration and the variation in the reduction depends on the material. It was found that the variation of fractal dimension calculated from slope of linearized power spectral density of eroded surface image for different concentrations can be used to characterize the slurry erosion intensity in a similar manner to the erosion rate. It was also found that the variation of fractal dimension versus concentration of sand has a general trend that does not depend on magnification factor. Originality/value Using the gravitational measurement and image analysis, the variation of the wear with slurry concentration has been analyzed to investigate the implicated mechanisms of erosion during the process.


1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-6
Author(s):  
LEWIS M. ROUTLEDGE

The Pennines are a chain of low mountains, which are often called the 'backbone of England', stretching 300 km from Ashbourne in Derbyshire almost to the Scottish border. Much of the land is over 250 m in altitude, with the highest peak, Cross Fell (893 m), being the highest peak in England outside of the Lake District National Park.


2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily R. Crawford

This case study focuses on a 2008 incident where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vans appeared near a K-5 elementary school. It was the first time school personnel experienced the impact of federal immigration agents policing illegality in their school community, and the event set off a chain of decision-making choices as to how personnel would respond. This article specifically explores how educators’ roles within a school shaped their access to information and subsequent sensemaking about ICE, asking two questions: (a) How does one’s position within a school shape a person’s sensemaking if a situation necessitates in-the-moment policy making? and (b) How might prior knowledge and professional position affect the information one accesses, shares, and uses in the policy-making process? Evidence comes from interviews with 14 personnel who reflected on the event, and shows that Aurora staff quickly established a policy and protocol within a few days to keep the school environment a safe space. The findings demonstrate that the school principal was a key “sensemaker” for other personnel. Ultimately, the school created its first school policy and protocol to ensure the school was a safe space for undocumented students, fusing a familiar school policy with new policy.


2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe-Lahai Sormana ◽  
Santanu Chattopadhyay ◽  
J. Carson Meredith

Nanocomposites based on segmented poly(urethane urea) were prepared by reacting a poly(diisocyanate) with diamine-modified Laponite-RD nanoparticles that served as a chain extender. The nanocomposites were prepared at a constantNH2to NCO mole ratio of 0.95, while varying the fraction of diamine-modified Laponite relative to the free diamine chain extender. Compared to neat poly(urethane urea), all nanocomposites showed increased tensile strength and elongation at break. As Laponite loading increased, tensile properties passed through a maximum at a particle concentration of 1 mass%, at which a 300% increase in tensile strength and 40% increase in elongation at break were observed. A maximum in urea and urethane hard-domain melting endotherms was also observed at this Laponite loading. Optimal mechanical and thermal properties coincided with a minimum in the size of the inorganic Laponite phase. Nanocomposites containing diamine-modified Laponite had higher tensile strengths than those with nonreactive monoamine-modified Laponite or diamine-modified Cloisite.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean G. Pruitt

Except when there is substantial third-party pressure for settlement, participants in intractable conflict will only enter negotiation if they are motivated to end the conflict and optimistic about negotiation’s chances of success. The sources of such optimism are explored using case material from three intractable interethnic conflicts that were ultimately resolved by negotiation. In all three cases, optimism developed during prenegotiation communication between the parties. Also there were two main channels of communication, each channel providing credibility to the other and serving as a back-up if the other failed. In two of the cases the communication was face-to-face and friendly, but in the third it was distant and mediated by a chain of two intermediaries. A possible reason for this difference is that the parties were positively interdependent in the first two cases but not in the third. The paper concludes with a summary of three psychological experiments that demonstrate the impact of positive vs. negative interdependence.


2008 ◽  
Vol 363 (1509) ◽  
pp. 3503-3514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L Griffiths ◽  
Michael L Kalish ◽  
Stephan Lewandowsky

The question of how much the outcomes of cultural evolution are shaped by the cognitive capacities of human learners has been explored in several disciplines, including psychology, anthropology and linguistics. We address this question through a detailed investigation of transmission chains, in which each person passes information to another along a chain. We review mathematical and empirical evidence that shows that under general conditions, and across experimental paradigms, the information passed along transmission chains will be affected by the inductive biases of the people involved—the constraints on learning and memory, which influence conclusions from limited data. The mathematical analysis considers the case where each person is a rational Bayesian agent. The empirical work consists of behavioural experiments in which human participants are shown to operate in the manner predicted by the Bayesian framework. Specifically, in situations in which each person's response is used to determine the data seen by the next person, people converge on concepts consistent with their inductive biases irrespective of the information seen by the first member of the chain. We then relate the Bayesian analysis of transmission chains to models of biological evolution, clarifying how chains of individuals correspond to population-level models and how selective forces can be incorporated into our models. Taken together, these results indicate how laboratory studies of transmission chains can provide information about the dynamics of cultural evolution and illustrate that inductive biases can have a significant impact on these dynamics.


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