Search results for "STRAIN"

Synthesis and self-assembly of a PEGylated-graphene aerogel

2016

Abstract In the frame of this work, we present, for the first time, the synthesis and self-assembly of an aerogel built by graphene oxide-polyethylene glycol. The synthetic route involves at first the coupling of GO with an amino-terminated polyethylene glycol sample by carbodiimide in aqueous environment, and the subsequent conversion of the hydrogel achieved into an aerogel via freeze-drying. The 3D PEGylated graphene-based aerogel, characterized by spectroscopic, morphological, structural and mechanical analyses, displays an ultralight and highly porous (99.7%) network and possesses high mechanical properties together with a good biocompatibility.

Does Public Deliberation really Need Normative Constraints? Recovering the Aristotelian Rhetorical Theory

2016

There was recently an attempt to correlate some sectors of the studies on argumentation and the theory of democracy. The relationship between these two areas concerns the fact that in both cases there is a significant interest in normative models of good argumentation. In these models there is no place for rhetoric. Our work has a twofold aim: (1) to show that, starting from the Aristotelian rhetoric, it is possible to develop a more suitable model of argumentation in the public sphere and (2) to doubt the very need to identify normative constraints for this type of argument.

EU Public Diplomacy and the Eastern Partnership : Some Reflections on Goals, Determinants and Constraints

2018

The aim of this article is to show public diplomacy using the example of the European Union, which by its very nature is perceived as an actor with a natural potential to conduct public diplomacy. In a more detailed perspective, the analysis concerns EU public diplomacy towards the states of the Eastern Partnership, which is both an addressee of its objectives and a catalyst for its difficulties and constraints. The article consists of three parts. In the first part, the definitions’ section of public diplomacy was briefly presented. In the second part, the aims and objectives of public diplomacy in the understanding of the European Union were presented. An important element of this section…

B‐DNA structure and stability: the role of nucleotide composition and order

2022

Abstract We have quantum chemically analyzed the influence of nucleotide composition and sequence (that is, order) on the stability of double‐stranded B‐DNA triplets in aqueous solution. To this end, we have investigated the structure and bonding of all 32 possible DNA duplexes with Watson–Crick base pairing, using dispersion‐corrected DFT at the BLYP‐D3(BJ)/TZ2P level and COSMO for simulating aqueous solvation. We find enhanced stabilities for duplexes possessing a higher GC base pair content. Our activation strain analyses unexpectedly identify the loss of stacking interactions within individual strands as a destabilizing factor in the duplex formation, in addition to the better‐known eff…

"Learning Online" for Vocational Teachers : Visualisation of a Competence-Based Approach in Digital Open Badge-Driven Learning

2018

Vocational education in Finland is based on competence-based qualification requirements. Meanwhile, digital open badges promote competence-based assessment and shared expertise in digital environments. The educational setting supports gamified learning solutions and enhances student motivation. The current study aims to examine how learners experience the competence-based approach in the badge-driven learning process of professional development. The theoretical framework focuses on the concept of instructional badging in the competence-based approach. Coordinated by the country’s northernmost school of profesional teacher education, “Learning Online” is a national professional development p…

Non-uniformity of displacement and strain within the Achilles tendon is affected by joint angle configuration and differential muscle loading.

2020

Although the Achilles tendon (AT) has been studied for more than a century, a complete understanding of the mechanical and functional consequences of AT structural organization is currently lacking. The aim of this study was to assess how joint angle configuration affects subtendon displacement and strain of soleus (SOL) and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) muscles. Knots sutured onto SOL and LG subtendons of 12 Wistar rats, were videotaped to quantify displacements and the ankle torque was assessed for different isometric activation conditions (i.e., individual and simultaneous) of the triceps surae muscles. Changing ankle and knee joint angle affected the magnitude of displacement, relative dis…

Mechanical Coupling Between Muscle-Tendon Units Reduces Peak Stresses

2017

The presence of mechanical linkages between synergistic muscles and their common tendons may distribute forces among the involved structures. We review studies, using humans and other animals, examining muscle and tendon interactions and discuss the hypothesis that connections between muscle bellies and within tendons may serve as a mechanism to distribute forces and mitigate peak stresses. peerReviewed

Stress and strain distribution in perforated plate loaded in median plane

2019

School Psychologists' Ethical Strain and Rumination : Individual Profiles and Their Associations with Weekly Well-Being

2017

We investigated school psychologists’ experiences of ethical strain (the frequency of ethical dilemmas at work and the stress caused by these dilemmas) and dilemma-related rumination outside working hours. Individual latent profiles were estimated at the study baseline based on these three dimensions. The psychologists’ weekly well-being (vigor, exhaustion, and sleep quality) was compared against their profile during the following three working weeks. The sample included 133 school psychologists, among whom four groups were identified: Low ruminators (39%), an Intermediate group (39%), High ruminators (20%), and Atypical outliers (2%). High ruminators fared least well in terms of weekly wel…

A Population-Based Approach to the Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem

2004

We present a population-based approach to the RCPSP. The procedure has two phases. The first phase handles the initial construction of a population of schedules and these are then evolved until high quality solutions are obtained. The evolution of the population is driven by the alternative application of an efficient improving procedure for locally improving the use of resources, and a mechanism for combining schedules that blends scatter search and path relinking characteristics. The objective of the second phase is to explore in depth those vicinities near the high quality schedules. Computational experiments on the standard j120 set, generated using ProGen, show that our algorithm produ…