Lightweight Structural Concrete

Using of Lightweight concrete (LWC) amounts to a lower cost and a better thermal performance due to its unique properties and light density. The main disadvantage in using lightweight concrete is that its mechanical properties are relatively poor. An effective method to improve the mechanical properties of lightweight concrete is using a dosage of nano-silica in the concrete mix. The gained enhancement of mechanical properties promotes a more serious discussion of structural applications of lightweight concrete. There exists an optimum dosage of nano-silica by which the mechanical properties enhancement is maximized. Increasing the nano-silica content beyond the optimum dosage degrades the mechanical properties. However, a fixed optimum dosage is not agreed upon in literature. This paper investigates the optimum dosage of NS to enhance the mechanical properties and microstructure of a lightweight concrete made with lightweight expanded clay aggregates (LECA). The results concluded that a dosage of 0.75% of nano-silica is optimum for the studied lightweight concrete mixes.

Deposited Layers as Negative Electrodes for Lithium Ion Batteries

The battery usage increases every year. The batteries help with development of mobility both from point of view of portable electronic and from view of goods and people transport in electromobility. One of the main parameters is gravimetric and volumetric capacity, which we are trying continually increase. One of the main ways is to change current used material by new ones with better parameters. One of possibilities is to use thin layer and so-called battery conversion principle. Electrodes works on conversion principle have usual higher capacities. The main disadvantage of such system is large volume change of electrode material due charging and discharging. This can be partly solved by special 3D structure which compensate the volume changes. This work focusses on preparing basic thin layer electrode by help of electrodeposition. The electrodes are then cycled against lithium.

MODELING AND INVESTIGATION OF THE REGULATOR WORKING IN THE POINTWISE SLIDING MODE

The main disadvantage of the classic sliding mode is that the control signal is made of high frequency variations. In the recommended pointwisesliding mode the frequency of the variations decreases, since the control signal makes jumps at the isolated points. At the same time, the trajectory remains in a small neighborhood of the plane of switching. In the finish mode, the trajectories that start over the sliding plane reach simultaneously the equilibrium point. It is possible to assume that these regulators will expand the implementation scope of the sliding (quazisliding) modes.

Women and Pensions in Italy: Gender Imbalances and the Equalization of Retirement Age

This paper examines the age at retirement for men and women in Italy. Despite the expansion of women’s educational attainments, they still display lower employment rates, are frequently engaged in involuntary part-time jobs and have more fragmented careers. As a consequence, the mean age at which women receive a pension is higher than that of men. Using Labour Force Survey (2006 and 2012), the authors test the hypothesis that women’s higher age at retirement is determined by a selection bias towards more educated and work oriented women. A Heckman selection model has been developed. Results show that the main disadvantage is suffered by women with medium and low levels of education who show the highest estimated age at retirement, whereas higher educated women retire on average before men with the same level of education. The authors argue that pension policies, without interventions in the field of work-life balance policies, end up penalizing women with lower levels of education.

Quantitative assessment of the level of instability of a single-plane balance platform

BACKGROUND: Balance training on unstable surfaces is widely used in medicine and sports. The main disadvantage of balance platforms is weakly definable assessment of the level of instability (IL) they create. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the mechanical characteristics of a suspended single-plane instability balance platform which determines quantitative instability characteristics. METHODS: Three criteria influencing the IL were evaluated: 1. The displacement of the platform board by changing the position of the object on the board; 2. Amount of force required for board displacement; 3. The vibration damping of the platform. RESULTS: 1. 1IL the displacement of the object on the board affected 0.66 cm. the displacement of the board relative to the platform frame; 2IL – 0.79 cm; 3IL – 0.91 cm.; 2. A force of 2.64 is required for a board displacement of 1IL compared to 2IL and 5.76 times that of 3IL. 3. Damping factor 1IL – 0.015, 2IL – 0.006, 3IL – 0.003. CONCLUSIONS: 1. The longer the suspension, the change in the position of the object on the board affects the greater movement of the board relative to the platform. 2. Different IL can be compared with each other depending on how different the force required to cause the board to move. 3. The platform dampens vibrations weakly, but the damping between 1 and 3 IL differs about 5 times.

Properties of Sealed Joints After Exposure to Water

In practice, sealed joints in the construction industry are very often exposed to adverse climatic influences. One of these climatic influences is the effect of water, for example in the form of rain or humidity. This article is therefore devoted to the sealing of joints of problematic base materials, which are then exposed to the effects of water and subsequently tested according to the recommended test standards. For this research, a problematic substrate based on cement is selected, and glass cement is specifically chosen for its shortcomings. The main disadvantage of this material is the existence of small particles on its surface, which due to their insufficient wettability disrupt the adhesion of both the primer and subsequently the sealant to this substrate and thus significantly reduce the quality of the sealed joint. Furthermore, representatives of several types of sealants and primers recommended for them available on the Czech market are selected for this experiment. Test specimens are made using glass cement plates treated with the appropriate primer and the sealant. These test specimens are then the goal of a test procedure to verify the properties of the sealed joint of the problematic material and the selected primer and sealant that is exposed to the water element. The results of these tests are then presented in the article.

Development of a Dendrimeric Peptide-Based Approach for the Differentiation of Animals Vaccinated with FlagT4G against Classical Swine Fever from Infected Pigs

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) causes a viral disease of high epidemiological and economical significance that affects domestic and wild swine. Control of the disease in endemic countries is based on live-attenuated vaccines (LAVs) that induce an early protective immune response against highly virulent CSFV strains. The main disadvantage of these currently available LAVs is the lack of serological techniques to differentiate between vaccinated and infected animals (DIVA concept). Here, we describe the development of the FlagDIVA test, a serological diagnostic tool allowing for the differentiation between animals vaccinated with the FlagT4G candidate and those infected with CSFV field strains. The FlagDIVA test is a direct ELISA based on a dendrimeric peptide construct displaying a conserved epitope of CSFV structural protein E2. Although FlagDIVA detected anti-CSFV anti-bodies in infected animals, it did not recognize the antibody response of FlagT4G-vaccinated animals. Therefore, the FlagDIVA test constitutes a valuable accessory DIVA tool in implementing vaccination with the FlagT4G candidate.

Role of Susceptibility Weighted Images (SWI) in Grading of Brain Glioma

Background Glioma is the most common intracranial primary tumor of central nervous system (CNS) and accounts for about 70% of primary adult malignant brain tumors. The optimum therapeutic treatment and prognosis evaluation largely depends on the tumor pathological grades. Objective To evaluate the role of susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) in grading of cerebral gliomas. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results were compared and correlated to the pathology results to evaluate its role. The pathological grading of the glioma was done according to WHO 2007 classification system. Patients and Methods This was a retrospective study that included 35 adult patients, (11females & 24 males), their ages ranging from 18 years to 73 years. They were pathologically proven glioma patients ranging from grade I to grade IV. All the patients were referred from neurosurgeon to our radiology center (private center). This study was carried out during the period between January 2017 and November 2018. Results In our study, there were a strong positive correlation between both conventional imaging and pathological grading and between pathological and SWI grading. Using SWI sequence in grading of glioma will be very beneficial in patients with contraindication to contrast. Conclusion SWI using 3T MR system may provide quite useful information for preoperative glioma grading. There seems to be a strong positive correlation between pathological grading and SWI grading system for glioma. The main disadvantage for SWI is the extra time added to the usual time of routine MRI protocol used in cases of intra cranial space occupying lesions (SOL).

Versions of Pragmatic Liberalism: from Rorty back to Dewey

Aim. The aim of this study is to analyze and evaluate two versions of the theory of liberalism which emerged within the philosophical tradition of pragmatism: Richard Rorty’s “ironic liberalism” and John Dewey’s “renascent liberalism”. Methods. The study is based on: 1) comparative analysis, which shows the differences and points of contact between Dewey’s classical pragmatism and Rorty’s neo-pragmatism, in particular, between different versions of their liberal theories; 2) critical analysis, which made it possible to identify the shortcomings and advantages in the arguments of the above-mentioned philosophers. Results. The author analyzed Rorty’s and Dewey’s theories of liberalism in relation to their theories of reality, human specificity, and ethics. In this way, the specific liberal views of these American philosophers on such issues as the relationship between private and public, the main goals of politics, and the values of the social order were explicated. It allowed offering a thorough critique of Rorty’s “ironic liberalism”, and supporting of Dewey’s “renascent liberalism”. Conclusion. While Dewey saw the mission of liberalism in enabling individuals to improve their experience, Rorty insisted on the need for a liberal policy of providing the basic conditions for individual self-creation. The main disadvantage of Rorty’s neo-pragmatism, and, in particular, “ironic liberalism”, was the exclusion from the philosophy of the modifying tools of human behavior, which were expressed by the concepts of “good” or “virtue”, in Dewey’s “renascent liberalism”. This circumstance necessitates a return from Rorty back to Dewey in the discussions on pragmatic liberalism. Key words: philosophy of pragmatism, Richard Rorty, John Dewey, historicism, naturalism, liberalism.

A Double Sky-Hook Algorithm for Improving Road-Holding Property in Semi-Active Suspension Systems for Application to In-Wheel Motor

This paper presents a double sky-hook algorithm for controlling semi-active suspension systems in order to improve road-holding property for application in an in-wheel motor. The main disadvantage of the in-wheel motor is the increase in unsprung masses, which increases after shaking of the wheel, so it has poor road-holding that the conventional theoretical sky-hook algorithm cannot achieve. The double sky-hook algorithm uses a combination of damper coefficients, one from the chassis motion and the other from the wheel motion. Computer simulations using a quarter and full car dynamic models with the road conditions specified by ISO2631 showed the effectiveness of the algorithm. It was observed that the algorithm was the most effective in the vicinity of the wheel hop frequency. This paper also proposed the parameter set of the double sky-hook algorithm to differentiate the driving mode of vehicles under advanced development.