Understanding the mismatch between income poverty and deprivation: A dynamic comparative analysis

In this paper we seek to shed light on the mismatch between income poverty and deprivation through a comparative and dynamic analysis of both forms of disadvantage. By extending analysis over five waves of the ECHP we are able to take into account the key dimensions characterizing poverty profiles overtime. Our conclusions turn out to be remarkably stable across countries. While persistent income poverty measures are systematically related to both cross-sectional and longitudinal measures of deprivation, the scale of mismatch is no less at the latter than at the former level. There is some evidence that although rates of volatility for income and deprivation measures are roughly similar, the processes of change themselves are somewhat different. Further light is shed on the underlying processes by cross-classifying the forms of deprivation. Those exposed to both types of deprivation are differentiated from others in terms of need and resource variables. Conclusions relating to the socio-demographic influences on risk levels are influenced by choice and combination of indicators. The results of our analysis confirm the need to devote considerably more attention than heretofore to the analysis of multi-dimensional poverty dynamics.

BDDT: Block-level Dynamic Dependence Analysis for Task-Based Parallelism

We present BDDT, a task-parallel runtime system that dynamically discovers and resolves dependencies among parallel tasks. BDDT allows the programmer to specify detailed task footprints on any memory address range, multidimensional array tile or dynamic region. BDDT uses a block-based dependence analysis with arbitrary granularity. The analysis is applicable to existing C programs without having to restructure object or array allocation, and provides flexibility in array layouts and tile dimensions.
We evaluate BDDT using a representative set of benchmarks, and we compare it to SMPSs (the equivalent runtime system in StarSs) and OpenMP. BDDT performs comparable to or better than SMPSs and is able to cope with task granularity as much as one order of magnitude finer than SMPSs. Compared to OpenMP, BDDT performs up to 3.9× better for benchmarks that benefit from dynamic dependence analysis. BDDT provides additional data annotations to bypass dependence analysis. Using these annotations, BDDT outperforms OpenMP also in benchmarks where dependence analysis does not discover additional parallelism, thanks to a more efficient implementation of the runtime system.

Micro-mechanical analysis of bonding failure in a particle-filled composite

Composites with a weak interface between the filler and matrix which are susceptible to interfacial crack formation are studied. A finite-element model is developed to predict the stres/strain behavior of particulate composites with an interfacial crack. This condition can be distinguished as a partially bonded inclusion. Another case arises when there is no bonding between the inclusion and the matrix. In this latter case the slip boundary condition is imposed on the section of the interface which remains closed. The states of stress and displacement fields are obtained for both cases. The location of any further deformation through crazing or shear band formation is identified as the crack tip. A completely unbonded inclusion with partial slip at a section of the interface reduces the concentration of the stress at the crack tip. Whereas this might lead to slightly higher strength, it decreases the load-transfer efficiency and stiffness of this type of composite. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of poly ethylene glycol on the mechanical and thermal properties of bioactive Poly (ε–caprolactone) melt extrudates for pharmaceutical applications

This paper investigates the effects of polyethylene glycol (PEG), on the mechanical and thermal properties of nalidixic acid/ploy ε-caprolactone (NA)/PCL blends prepared by hot melt extrusion. The blends were characterized by tensile and flexural analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction. Experimental data indicated that the addition of NA caused loss of the tensile strength and toughness of PCL. Thermal analysis of the PCL showed that on addition of the thermally unstable NA, thermal degradation occurred early and was autocatalytic. However, the NA did benefit from the heat shielding provided by the PCL matrix resulting in more thermally stable NA particles. Results show that loading PEG in the PCL had a detrimental effect on the tensile strength and toughness of the blends, reducing them by 20-40%. The partial miscibility of the PCL-PEG system, causes an increase in Tg. While increases in the crystallinity is attributed to the plasticisation effect of PEG and the nucleation effect of NA. The average crystal size increased by 8% upon PEG addition.

Mechanical analysis of infant carrying in hominoids

In all higher nonhuman primates, species survival depends upon safe carrying of infants clinging to body hair of adults. In this work, measurements of mechanical properties of ape hair (gibbon, orangutan, and gorilla) are presented, focusing on constraints for safe infant carrying. Results of hair tensile properties are shown to be species-dependent. Analysis of the mechanics of the mounting position, typical of heavier infant carrying among African apes, shows that both clinging and friction are necessary to carry heavy infants. As a consequence, a required relationship between infant weight, hair-hair friction coefficient, and body angle exists. The hair-hair friction coefficient is measured using natural ape skin samples, and dependence on load and humidity is analyzed. Numerical evaluation of the equilibrium constraint is in agreement with the knuckle-walking quadruped position of African apes. Bipedality is clearly incompatible with the usual clinging and mounting pattern of infant carrying, requiring a revision of models of hominization in relation to the divergence between apes and hominins. These results suggest that safe carrying of heavy infants justify the emergence of biped form of locomotion. Ways to test this possibility are foreseen here.

Effect of Biomimetic Remineralization on the Dynamic Nanomechanical Properties of Dentin Hybrid Layers

The mineral and organic phases of mineralized dentin contribute co-operatively to its strength and toughness. This study tested the null hypothesis that there is no difference in nano-dynamic mechanical behavior (complex modulus-E*; loss modulus-E ''; storage modulus-E'; in GPa) of dentin hybrid layers (baseline: E*, 3.86 +/- 0.24; E '', 0.23 +/- 0.05; E', 3.85 +/- 0.24) created by an etch-and-rinse adhesive in the presence or absence of biomimetic remineralization after in vitro aging. Using scanning probe microscopy and nano-dynamic mechanical analysis, we demonstrated that biomimetic remineralization restored the nano-dynamic mechanical behavior of heavily remineralized, resin-sparse regions of dentin hybrid layers (E*, 19.73 +/- 3.85; E '', 8.75 +/- 3.97; E', 16.02 +/- 2.58) to those of the mineralized dentin base (E*, 19.20 +/- 2.42; E '', 6.57 +/- 1.96; E', 17.39 +/- 2.0) [p > 0.05]. Conversely, those resin-sparse, water-rich regions degraded in the absence of biomimetic remineralization, with significant decline [p < 0.05] in their complex and storage moduli (E*, 0.83 +/- 0.35; E '', 0.88 +/- 0.24; E', 0.62 +/- 0.32). Intrafibrillar apatite deposition preserves the integrity of resin-sparse regions of hybrid layers by restoring their nanomechanical properties to those exhibited by mineralized dentin.

Thermal and mechanical properties of PVDF/PANI blends

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Relationships between the curing conditions and some mechanical properties of hybrid thermosetting materials

The relationship between the heat of polymerization (ΔH) and activation energy (Ea) parameters, obtained by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the ratio of epoxy resin to hardener of the thermosetting materials based on an organic-inorganic hybrid epoxy resin (OG) was investigated. Activation energy (Ea) and heat of polymerization (ΔH) increased with an increasing OG content, up to 70 wt%. Further increase in OG content to 80wt% reduced Ea and ΔH. Dynamic mechanical analysis indicates that the maximum cross-link density is obtained at 83 wt% OG, whereas fracture toughness and tensile modulus mechanical properties are maximized at 70 wt% OG. ©2006 Sociedade Brasileira de Química.

Evaluation of weather influence on mechanical and viscoelastic properties of polyetherimide/carbon fiber composites

In order to investigate how environmental degradation affects the mechanical and thermal performance of polyetherimide/carbon fiber laminates, in this work different weathering were conducted. Additionally, dynamic mechanical analysis, interlaminar shear strength tests and non-destructive inspections were performed on this composite before and after being submitted to hygrothermal, UV radiation and thermal shock weathering. According to our results, hygrothermally aged samples had their glass transition temperature and elastic and storage moduli reduced by plasticization effect. Photooxidation, due to UV radiation exposure, occurred only on the surface of the laminates. Thermal shock induced a reversible stress on the composite's interface region. The results revealed that the mechanical behavior can vary during weather exposure but since this variation is only subtle, this thermoplastic laminate can be considered for high-performance applications, such as aerospace. © The Author(s) 2013.

MATERIAL MODELING AND ANALYSIS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A REALISTIC BLAST HEADFORM

Blast traumatic brain injury (BTBI) has become an important topic of study because of the increase of such incidents, especially due to the recent growth of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This thesis discusses a project in which laboratory testing of BTBI was made possible by performing blast loading on experimental models simulating the human head. Three versions of experimental models were prepared – one having a simple geometry and the other two having geometry similar to a human head. For developing the head models, three important parts of the head were considered for material modeling and analysis – the skin, skull and brain. The materials simulating skin, skull and brain went through many testing procedures including dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). For finding a suitable brain simulant, several materials were tested under low and high frequencies. Step response analysis, rheometry and DMA tests were performed on materials such as water based gels, oil based mixtures and silicone gels cured at different temperatures. The gelatins and silicone gels showed promising results toward their use as brain surrogate materials. Temperature degradation tests were performed on gelatins, indicating the fast degradation of gelatins at room temperature. Silicone gels were much more stable compared to the water based gels. Silicone gels were further processed using a thinner-type additive gel to bring the dynamic modulus values closer to those of human brain matter. The obtained values from DMA were compared to the values for human brain as found in literature. Then a silicone rubber brain mold was prepared to give the brain model accurate geometry. All the components were put together to make the entire head model. A steel mount was prepared to attach the head for testing at the end of the shock tube. Instrumentation was implemented in the head model to obtain effective results for understanding more about the possible mechanisms of BTBI. The final head model was named the Realistic Explosive Dummy Head or the “RED Head.” The RED Head offered potential for realistic experimental testing in blast loading conditions by virtue of its material properties and geometrical accuracy.