Mechanical Properties and Microstructure Evolution of Cemented Tailings Backfill Under Seepage Pressure

Cemented tailing backfill (CTB) in underground mine inevitably experiences seepage field, which complicates its mechanical behavior. In this study, the mechanical properties and microstructure characteristics of CTB under different seepage water pressures (SWPs) were investigated. The results show that, with the increase in SWP, the mechanical properties of CTB decrease, but the decreasing trend reduces gradually. Higher SWP leads the microstructure of CTB looser and more porous, and the largest proportion of pores initiated and propagated by SWP is micropores, which means the damage in CTB under seepage is mostly caused by micropores. Besides, the mechanical properties of CTB under seepage decrease exponentially with the increase in porosity and present linearly inverse proportional relation to the pore area fractal dimension. Results above indicate that SWP has a significant deterioration effect on the mechanical properties and microstructure of CTB. The research could not only extend the knowledge of mechanical properties and microstructure characteristics of CTB under seepage but also provide a theoretical reference for mechanical index determination and stability analysis of CTB in water-rich underground mines.

Assessment of ITP Learners’ English: A Needs Analysis

This study is to seek out learners’ needs of International Training Program (ITP) English course (batch 58) at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in India. Thirty participants involved in the survey come from nine different countries. The questionnaire-based survey is designed with a focus on two main categories: Target situation analysis (TSA) and Present situation analysis (PSA), which is based on the adaptation of the theoretical frameworks of Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) and of Hutchinson and Waters (1987). The result of TSA has shown that Office job and Social communication are learners’ main purposes for this English course. Two most important elements that the learners expect to develop from this course are oral communication and listening skills, and linguistic knowledge of grammar and pronunciation. Meanwhile, the finding of PSA has indicated vocabulary as their most difficult element. The majority of learners perceive that they are at the third current level of English proficiency, whereas speaking skills are most frequently used in the workplace. Finally, this study has indicated the proportional relation of the elements of PSA to those of TSA. The overall finding contributes to the design for a proper English specific course for learners’ needs in the future.

Design and Analysis of Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor to Monitor Strain and Temperature for Structural Health Monitoring

In this paper, we have proposed a bragg grating based sensor to monitor health of civil structures at distinct temperatures. We have considered increased number of gratings with suitable refractive index to enhance sensitivity of fiber bragg grating sensor. Analysis of Bragg wavelength with respect to load and temperature is successfully studied. The simulation results reveal that when independently strain (50 units per simulation) and temperature (25 ℃) are increased uniformly, a linear shift in Bragg wavelength 0.064 nm and 0.347 nm is observed, respectively. Similarly, when both strain and temperature are increased (ε = 50 & T= 25 ℃) concurrently, a directly proportional relation is found in bragg wavelength (0.403 nm). The results verify the enhanced performance of as-proposed sensor, employing it could be potentially used in civil, bio-medical and military domains.

Typology of partitives

This paper explores the coding patterns of partitives and their functional extensions, based on a convenience sample of 138 languages from 46 families from all macroareas. Partitives are defined as constructions that may express the proportional relation of a subset to a superset (the true-partitive relation). First, it is demonstrated that, crosslinguistically, partitive constructions vary as to their syntactic properties and morphological marking. Syntactically, there is a cline from loose – possibly less grammaticalized – structures to partitives with rigid head-dependent relations and, finally, to morphologically integrated one-word partitives. Furthermore, partitives may be encoded NP-internally (mostly via an adposition) or pronominally. Morphologically, partitives primarily involve markers syncretic with separative, locative or possessive meanings. Finally, a number of languages employ no partitive marker at all. Secondly, these different strategies are not evenly distributed in the globe, with, for example, Eurasia being biased for the separative strategy. Thirdly, on the functional side, partitives may have functions in the following domains in addition to the true-partitive relation: plain quantification (pseudo-partitives), hypothetical events, predicate negation and aspectuality. I claim that the ability to encode plain quantification is the prerequisite for the other domains. Finally, it is argued that there is a universal preference towards syncretism of two semantically distinct concepts: the proportional, true-partitive relation (some of the books) and plain quantification (some books).

The European charcoal trade

About half the wood extracted worldwide from forests is used as fuelwood to produce energy, about 17 percent is converted to charcoal (FAO 2017) which represents one of the least controlled/monitored segments of the European timber market. Although charcoal has a significant share on the European market of wood-based products it is not yet covered by the European Timber Regulations (EUTR), (EU) No 995/2010. For this project, a total of 150 charcoal consignments from eleven countries (Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and Belgium) were examined and evaluated based on the 3D-reflected light microscopy technique. The high-resolution study indicates the proportion of different European timbers compared with that of timbers from subtropical and tropical regions. The share of subtropical and tropical species is surprisingly high with approximately 46% for material received from all countries studied, but far over 60% for Spain, Italy, Poland, and Belgium. The study shows that comparing the results for charcoal received from these countries there is an inversely proportional relation of certified products (FSC and PEFC) and products with timbers from subtropical or tropical origins. In the charcoal consignments from Switzerland, the share of timbers from subtropical or tropical origin is only 13.5%, whereas that of certified products is 60%. In material received from Spain, the proportion of timbers from subtropical or tropical regions is 67%, whereas that of certified products only 8%. A careful check of the declaration on the packaging, of the accompanying certificates, and the information on origin revealed alarming evidence: only 25% of the consignments examined provide information on the bags, e.g., with regard to the processed wood species; and well over half of such declarations were incorrect and/or incomplete. A trade flow analysis of EU member states was carried out to contribute to a better understanding of the relationships between international charcoal trade flows and the end products in European countries. This approach contributes to an essential understanding of charcoal transit in Europe and the results constitute a strong motive for the inclusion of charcoal in the respective annex to the EUTR.

Rethinking Classical Precondition Formulas of Changes

Some authors have expressed the most important preconditions of change success in different formulas. All formulas but one comprise a threshold value below which change cannot happen. The one without a threshold presumes proportionality between some factors and change success. These two approaches seemingly contradict each other. This paper resolves the contradiction by proposing a new model that comprises both a threshold value and a modified proportional relation that becomes valid beyond the threshold value. The conventional dimension of the ‘result’ is modified from ‘change’ to ‘attitude towards change’ because attitude in itself cannot guarantee that the planned change actually happens.

Relation between breast milk energy density and the pre-conception BMI from donations of a human milk bank

Human breast milk is a high value biological substance that grants numerous benefits both to mother and child. Many aspects can produce changes in the milk composition; among them, the pre-conception body mass index (Pre-conception BMI) which is included as a factor that can influence the fat levels and therefore, the milk's energy density. To identify if there is a relation between the breast milk energy density from a human milk bank and Preconception BMI. It is a retrospective study that used information from donations registered in the human milk database at Hospital de Kennedy during 2016. The dependent variable is the energy density from 3 kinds of milk: colostrum, mature and transition milk. As independent variable, Preconception BMI was taken. The R free program version 3.3.0 was used for statistical analysis. The energy density average found for the 3 kinds of milk were: 20.59 + /- 2.3 kcal/oz, 20.51 + /- 2.17 kcal/oz y 19.21 + /- 2.53 for colostrum, transition milk and mature milk respectively. The Preconception BMI average from the donors was 23.56 Kg/m2 for colostrum, 23.9 Kg/m2 for transition milk and 23.1 Kg/m2 for mature milk. No relation between Preconception BMI and energy density of colostrum was found. However, for transition milk and Preconception BMI a directly proportional relation was found (p < 0.01), and for mature milk and Preconception BMI an inversely proportional relation was determined (p = 0.0387). There are internal and external factors than can affect the breast milk lipid content, such as movements of reserves through the organism to protect the milk production, hormonal action, dietary intake, physical activity and socio-economic and cultural aspects; that is why it is not possible to analyze the preconception BMI as a unique predictor of breast milk energy density in an isolated manner. Preconception BMI is related to human breast transition and mature milk energy density in donations registered in 2016 at Kennedy Hospital.

Foolishness, Darkened Icons and the Mechanism of Oblivion in the Context of the Semiotic System of Culture

Foolishness is understood in the context of a cultural semiotic system, where the proportional relation of the whole to the part reflecting the universal principles of the whole contains such phenomena and symbols as, on the one hand, a cosmic night, and on the other, oblivion, soviet theomachism darkened icon, foolishness. For the analysis of these categories, examples are given from the works of writers belonging to the golden chain of the Russian spiritual tradition.

Collapsing stellar filament and exotic matter in Palatini f(R) gravity

We explore the dynamics of collapsing stellar filament in the presence of exotic material like dark matter. We use Palatini f(R) theory to include exotic substance in the collapsing process. We derive a collapse equation by applying Darmois junction conditions on collapsing surface boundary $$\Sigma $$Σ. It is found that the radial pressure related to baryonic matter remains non-zero at $$\Sigma $$Σ. We then discuss the stability criteria of the collapsing process in the framework of three parameteric model, $$f(R)=R+\lambda R_{c}[ 1-(1+\frac{R^{2}}{R^{2}_{c}})^{-n}]$$f(R)=R+λRc[1-(1+R2Rc2)-n]. It is concluded that the stability of collapsing filament depends upon a directly proportional relation of gravitational effects of exotic terms with the radial pressure of seen matter. Stability criteria of family of polytropic filamentary structures are also discussed. For all stable polytropic filaments, it is found that the density of seen material is exponentially related to the exotic forces. Finally, we explore theoretical relation between gravitational waves and dark terms. It is theoretically predicted that the presence of exotic material can affect the propagation of gravitational waves.

Evaluating Performance of Utilizing Onshore Wind Turbines Specifically the Farm Turbines in Kuwait

Renewable energy is considered one of the most important and clean sources; since it does not produce any type of emission or pollution. In Kuwait, the energy of wind is existing in three main locations, which are; Ras Jal Aliyah, Bubian in addition to Subiyah, where the characteristics of wind have been evaluated in this paper based on the data generated from the meteorological measurements at 10m height. Also, different studies have been performed in this paper in order to analyze the impact of height on the parameters of wind energy, wind density, in addition to wind speed. Jal Aliyah location has been studied in this paper and the results showed that there is a proportional relation between the wind speed and power, where the maximum power is potential if the speed is equal to 29.1 m/s, and the maximum averaged flux of wind power is equal to 725.54 W/m2. Where both Bubidan Island and Ras Subiyah showed the wind direction in the North-East quadrant with speed is greater than 10 m/s. But, the higher polarized distribution of Jal Aliyah was in the north direction. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that this paper provides and suggests a proper design of the wind turbines for designers.