Critical Threshold Value Research Articles

Contract employment policy and research productivity of knowledge workers: an analysis of Spanish universities

This article investigates how contract employment practices adopted by universities—fixed-term contracts and permanent contracts—impact research productivity measured in terms of publications in scholarly journals. The empirical application considers the Spanish public higher education system for the period 2002–2008. We report an inverse U-shaped relationship between the rate fixed-term contracts and the research productivity of Spanish universities. That is, contract policies based on fixed-term contracts are conducive to research productivity; however, beyond a critical threshold value increases in the proportion of fixed-term contracts are associated with declining research productivity. These findings reveal that contract employment policies shape research productivity, and that flexible and balanced contract practices are critical for enhancing universities’ research productivity. The results suggest that the excessive use of fixed-term contracts might create an unstable working environment that limits the universities’ capacity to capitalize on their knowledge workers. Policy implications and future research avenues are discussed.

Interacting convection modes in a saturated porous medium of nearly square planform: four modes

Abstract Convection can occur in a confined saturated porous box when the associated Rayleigh number exceeds a threshold critical value: the identity of the preferred onset convection mode depends sensitively on the geometry of the box. Here we discuss examples for which the box dimensions are such that four modes share a common critical Rayleigh number. Perturbation theory is used to derive a system of coupled ordinary differential equations that governs the nonlinear interaction of the four modes and an analysis of this set is undertaken. In particular, it is demonstrated that as the Rayleigh number is increased beyond critical so a series of pitchfork bifurcations occur and multiple stable states are identified that correspond to the survival of just one of the four modes. The basins of attraction for each mode in the 4D phase space are described by a reduction to a suitable 3D counterpart.

Managing Pesticide Risks for Non-Target Ecosystems with Pesticide Risk Indicators

In the search for effective pesticide risk management tools, the design of pesticide risk indicators is nowadays receiving increasing attention as a complement to more established regulatory strategies. In the present paper, we apply some recently developed pesticide risk indices and test their potential for management purposes. A pilot approach is proposed, which explores pesticide worst-case hazard scenarios at different space-time scales by means of a set of 5 ecotoxicological risk indices. The results are then interpreted from the perspective of a decision support method using the so-called Critical Threshold Value approach. Our risk analysis is then enriched within a multicriteria framework which integrates environmental, agronomic and economic objectives.

Epidemic spreading of interacting diseases with activity of nodes reshapes the critical threshold

In this paper, based on susceptible–infected–susceptible (SIS) scheme, we introduce a framework that allows us to describe the spreading dynamics of two interacting diseases with active nodes. Different from previous studies, the two different diseases, propagating concurrently on the same population, can interact with each other by modifying their transmission rates. Meanwhile, according to certain probabilities, each node on the complex networks rotates between active state and inactive state. Based on heterogeneous mean-field approach, we analyze the epidemic thresholds of the two diseases and compute the temporal evolution characterizing the spreading dynamics. In addition, we validate these theoretical predictions by numerical simulations with phase diagrams. Results show that the secondary thresholds for the two opposite scenarios (mutual enhancement scenario and mutual impairment scenario) are different. We also find that the value of critical threshold and the final size of spreading dynamics are reduced as the node activity rate decreases.

Surfactant Incorporated Co Nanoparticles Polymer Composites with Uniform Dispersion and Double Percolation

Series of Cobalt nanoparticles incorporated polymethylmethacrylate composites in the presence and absence of dodecyl-benzene-sulphonic acid (DBSA-CoNPs/PMMA and CoNPs/PMMA, resp.) were synthesized by solution mixing methodology. UV-visible and FTIR techniques were used to confirm the formation of nanocomposite. UV-visible spectra of the composites showed the incorporation of filler particles in the polymer matrix. On the other hand, FTIR spectra indicated the physical interaction between the two phases of the composite. Moreover, the electrical nature of the composites was studied by plotting graphs between electrical conductivity (measured using LCR meter at 100 kHz) and contents of the filler particles as introduced in the polymer matrix. An increase in electrical conductivity was first observed with increasing filler concentration up to the critical percolation threshold value (0.5% for DBSA-CoNPs/PMMA and 1% for CoNPs/PMMA), which then dropped upon further increments in the filler content. However, at higher concentrations, a second jump in the conductivity was observed in case of DBSA-CoNPs/PMMA composites.

Identification of Free Flowing Vehicles on Two Lane Intercity Highways under Heterogeneous Traffic condition

Abstract: A free moving vehicle is a vehicle that travels at their desired speed without any influenced from other vehicles within the same traffic stream or in the opposite traffic stream and the speed is considered as free-flow speed (FFS). This FFS or in another word desired speed can achieve only when the vehicle is travelling in the FFC. FFC is one of the key parameters which is directly related to the LOS assessment for two-lane highways. In the past decades, different researchers used different methodologies to calculate the FFC but all of them were based on homogeneous traffic conditions while in India heterogeneous traffic condition occurred. US HCM 2010 recommend calculating FFS at low traffic volume as vehicle will travel under FFC. On the other hand, other researchers suggested different critical headway value in order to identify the FFC. So, there was a need to examine the previously proposed guidelines or methodology in order to examine their suitability for heterogeneous traffic condition. Different five study sites were selected from different regions of India and different relationships were established between previously used measures to identify the FFC. It was concluded that headway can't be used under heterogeneous traffic condition as well travel mean speed and 85 th percentile speed also. So, a new measure namely; speed difference (SD), which is the difference in speed of two consecutive vehicles in the traffic stream introduced in this study. A relationship was established between SD and headway threshold but it found inappropriate for the existing heterogeneous traffic condition at all the study sites. Finally, the gap is used instead of headway and found suitable for heterogeneous traffic condition. A critical gap threshold value of 10 seconds was observed at all the study sites which showed that the vehicles would be in FFC after that critical gap value and ultimately FFS can be calculated by considering those vehicles which were travelling greater than 10 sec gap value.

Effect of changing polarity of graphite tool/ Hadfield steel workpiece couple on machining performances in die sinking EDM

In this study, machining performance ouput parameters such as machined surface roughness (SR), material removal rate (MRR), tool wear rate (TWR), were experimentally examined and analyzed with the diversifying and changing machining parameters in (EDM). The processing parameters (input par.) of this research are stated as tool material, peak current (I), pulse duration (ton) and pulse interval (toff). The experimental machinings were put into practice by using Hadfield steel workpiece (prismatic) and cylindrical graphite electrodes with kerosene dielectric at different machining current, polarity and pulse time settings. The experiments have shown that the type of tool material, polarity (direct polarity forms higher MRR, SR and TWR), current (high current lowers TWR and enhances MRR, TWR) and pulse on time (ton=48□s is critical threshold value for MRR and TWR) were influential on machining performance in electrical discharge machining.

Bilayer honeycomb lattice with ultracold atoms: Multiple Fermi surfaces and incommensurate spin density wave instability

We propose an experimental setup using ultracold atoms to implement a bilayer honeycomb lattice with Bernal stacking. In presence of a potential bias between the layers and at low densities, Fermions placed in this lattice form an annular Fermi sea. The presence of two Fermi surfaces leads to interesting patterns in Friedel oscillations and RKKY interactions in presence of impurities. Furthermore, a repulsive fermion-fermion interaction leads to a Stoner instability towards an incommensurate spin-density-wave order with a wave vector equal to the thickness of the Fermi sea. The instability occurs at a critical interaction strength which goes down with the density of the fermions. We find that the instability survives interaction renormalization due to vertex corrections and discuss how this can be seen in experiments. We also track the renormalization group flows of the different couplings between the fermionic degrees of freedom, and find that there are no perturbative instabilities, and that Stoner instability is the strongest instability which occurs at a critical threshold value of the interaction. The critical interaction goes to zero as the chemical potential is tuned towards the band bottom.

A novel approach for assessing the LOS for two‐lane intercity highways under heterogeneous traffic conditions

SummaryPerformance of two‐lane intercity highways has been evaluated in terms of level of service (LOS) by different researchers. Different follower‐related performance measures, namely, the number of followers (NF), percent followers (PF), follower density (FD) and the number of followers as a proportion of capacity (NFPC) are examined in the present study to define LOS. Data are collected from five sites located in different parts of India. While almost all the past studies used 3‐s headway rule to identify followers suggested by US Highway Capacity Manual, a new methodology is proposed in the current study to identify the followers by analysing speed difference (SD) and the gap between two consecutive vehicles. It is observed that vehicles travel in non‐following condition after a critical gap threshold value of 10 s. By using a SD limit of −4 km/h to +10 km/h and a gap value of 10 s, followers are identified across all the study sites. Thereafter, different critical gap values ranging from 1.9 s to 4.3 s are observed at the study sites beyond which the probability of not following would increase. Variation in two‐way traffic volume is found to be the main contributory factor which affects the critical gap values. Among all of the performance measures, NFPC shows a strong correlation with two‐way traffic volume followed by FD under heterogeneous traffic condition. Finally, different threshold values of LOS ranges for two‐lane intercity highways are provided by carrying out cluster analysis with the help of NFPC and FD. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Observation of superconducting vortex clusters in S/F hybrids.

While Abrikosov vortices repel each other and form a uniform vortex lattice in bulk type-II superconductors, strong confinement potential profoundly affects their spatial distribution eventually leading to vortex cluster formation. The confinement could be induced by the geometric boundaries in mesoscopic-size superconductors or by the spatial modulation of the magnetic field in superconductor/ferromagnet (S/F) hybrids. Here we study the vortex confinement in S/F thin film heterostructures and we observe that vortex clusters appear near magnetization inhomogeneities in the ferromagnet, called bifurcations. We use magnetic force microscopy to image magnetic bifurcations and superconducting vortices, while high resolution scanning tunneling microscopy is used to obtain detailed information of the local electronic density of states outside and inside the vortex cluster. We find an intervortex spacing at the bifurcation shorter than the one predicted for the same superconductor in a uniform magnetic field equal to the thermodynamical upper critical field Hc2. This result is due to a local enhanced stray field and a competition between vortex-vortex repulsion and Lorentz force. Our findings suggest that special magnetic topologies could result in S/F hybrids that support superconductivity even when locally the vortex density exceeds the thermodynamic critical threshold value beyond which the superconductivity is destroyed.

Geochemical sources of vanadium in soils: Evidences in a southern Italy area

Identifying differences of vanadium concentrations in soils is essential to individuate pollution sources and potential risks to humans and the environment. Marked differences in the geochemical composition of the rocks, which form the parent materials of soils, and variations in the intensity of soil-forming processes can result in wide ranges of concentrations of vanadium in soils, even in those unaffected by contamination. Conversely, the anthropogenic input can give rise to contamination in urban soil. The main aim of this study was to analyse the concentrations of vanadium in a southern Italy area, in both rural and urban soils, in order to determine different geochemical sources. In the study area, 149 topsoil samples were collected (0.10m) and analysed for vanadium and other elements by ICP-MS. Statistical and geostatistical methods were used to identify the main factors influencing the different sources of vanadium in urban and peri-urban soils and to map the concentrations of vanadium. The concentrations of V were higher in the rural soils where were related to the ophiolite-bearing units outcroppings, which influenced importantly the distribution of vanadium, rather than in the urban soil, where were lowly affected by anthropogenic pollution due, predominantly, to circulating vehicle fuels. In urban area the mean concentration of vanadium amounted below the critical threshold value imposed by Italian Decree 152/2006.

Likely effects of climate change on groundwater availability in a Mediterranean region of Southeastern Spain

AbstractGroundwater resources are typically the main fresh water source in arid and semi‐arid regions. Natural recharge of aquifers is mainly based on precipitation; however, only heavy precipitation events (HPEs) are expected to produce appreciable aquifer recharge in these environments. In this work, we used daily precipitation and monthly water level time series from different locations over a Mediterranean region of Southeastern Spain to identify the critical threshold value to define HPEs that lead to appreciable aquifer recharge in this region. Wavelet and trend analyses were used to study the changes in the temporal distribution of the chosen HPEs (≥20 mm day−1) over the observed period 1953–2012 and its projected evolution by using 18 downscaled climate projections over the projected period 2040–2099. The used precipitation time series were grouped in 10 clusters according to similarities between them assessed by using Pearson correlations. Results showed that the critical HPE threshold for the study area is 20 mm day−1. Wavelet analysis showed that observed significant seasonal and annual peaks in global wavelet spectrum in the first sub‐period (1953–1982) are no longer significant in the second sub‐period (1983–2012) in the major part of the ten clusters. This change is because of the reduction of the mean HPEs number, which showed a negative trend over the observed period in nine clusters and was significant in five of them. However, the mean size of HPEs showed a positive trend in six clusters. A similar tendency of change is expected over the projected period. The expected reduction of the mean HPEs number is two times higher under the high climate scenario (RCP8.5) than under the moderate scenario (RCP4.5). The mean size of these events is expected to increase under the two scenarios. The groundwater availability will be affected by the reduction of HPE number which will increase the length of no aquifer recharge periods (NARP) accentuating the groundwater drought in the region. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

High Concentrations of H2O2 Make Aerobic Glycolysis Energetically More Favorable for Cellular Respiration.

Since the original observation of the Warburg Effect in cancer cells, over 8 decades ago, the major question of why aerobic glycolysis is favored over oxidative phosphorylation has remained unresolved. An understanding of this phenomenon may well be the key to the development of more effective cancer therapies. In this paper, we use a semi-empirical method to throw light on this puzzle. We show that aerobic glycolysis is in fact energetically more favorable than oxidative phosphorylation for concentrations of peroxide (H2O2) above some critical threshold value. The fundamental reason for this is the activation and high engagement of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) in response to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) H2O2 by mitochondria and the high concentration of H2O2 (produced by mitochondria and other sources). This makes oxidative phosphorylation an inefficient source of energy since it leads (despite high levels of ATP production) to a concomitant high energy consumption in order to respond to the hazardous waste products resulting from cellular processes associated with this metabolic pathway. We also demonstrate that the high concentration of H2O2 results in an increased glucose consumption, and also increases the lactate production in the case of glycolysis.

Relaxation rate of a stochastic spreading process in a closed ring

The relaxation process of a diffusive ring becomes underdamped if the bias (so-called affinity) exceeds a critical threshold value, also known as the delocalization transition. This is related to the spectral properties of the pertinent stochastic kernel. We find the dependence of the relaxation rate on the affinity and on the length of the ring. Additionally we study the implications of introducing a weak link into the circuit and illuminate some subtleties that arise while taking the continuum limit of the discrete model.

A novel chaotic attractor and its weak signal detection application

In this paper, we present a new sinusoidal chaotic attractor and its weak signal detection application. This new system has a simple structure, parametric variety and high applicability. Its dynamic characteristics are studied in detailed. Firstly, the relationship between the system state and the amplitude of the forcing term is defined by examining the Lyapunov exponents of the system. The chaotic system’s dynamical behavior is observed by this way. Secondly, the critical threshold value of the system is determined by the bifurcation analysis. This critical value named as tangent bifurcation point is a suitable one to detect weak signal which is submerged in strong noise. Thirdly, electronic circuit of the novel chaotic attractor is designed. Finally, a weak signal detection application of the system is studied. Simulation results indicate that this system can detect weak signal with high detection accuracy and low signal to noise ratio (SNR). It can also detect weak signal in high frequency cases. Matlab-Simulink® and PSpice simulation results prove the correctness of the theoretical analysis of studied system.

Large exchange-dominated domain wall velocities in antiferromagnetically coupled nanowires

Magnetic nanowires supporting field- and current-driven domain wall motion are envisioned for methods of information storage and processing. A major obstacle for their practical use is the domain-wall velocity, which is traditionally limited for low fields and currents due to the Walker breakdown occurring when the driving component reaches a critical threshold value. We show through numerical and analytical modeling that the Walker breakdown limit can be extended or completely eliminated in antiferromagnetically coupled magnetic nanowires. These coupled nanowires allow for large domain-wall velocities driven by field and/or current as compared to conventional nanowires.

Induced Magnetic Field Used to Detect the Sigma Phase of a 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel

Sigma phases are formed due to heat treatments and/or welding processes during the solidification stage, and they are responsible for embrittlement of duplex stainless steels. Only a small amount of this phase promotes unfavorable mechanical properties and liability to corrosion. In this work, a new affordable approach to detect and follow-up the kinetics of the sigma phase transformation is evaluated. The measurements are based on an induced magnetic field generated through the interaction between an external magnetic field and the microstructure under study. To validate this approach, the induced magnetic field values are compared with the values of the Charpy impact energy, and the sigma phase is assessed by optical microscopy. Moreover, surface fractures are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results from the 2205 duplex stainless steel used show that there is a direct relation among the impact energy, fracture mechanism and induced magnetic field. The method proved to be able to follow up the embrittlement of the DSS successfully. Moreover, the results confirm that the presence of a sigma phase can be studied based on an induced magnetic field, even when in low amounts, and that a critical threshold value can be defined to monitor structures in service.

Surface deformation and shear flow in ligand mediated cell adhesion.

We present a unified, multiscale model to study the attachment/detachment dynamics of two deforming, charged, near spherical cells, coated with binding ligands and subject to a slow, homogeneous shear flow in a viscous, ionic fluid medium. The binding ligands on the surface of the cells experience both attractive and repulsive forces in an ionic medium and exhibit finite resistance to rotation via bond tilting. The microscale drag forces and couples describing the fluid flow inside the small separation gap between the cells, are calculated using a combination of methods in lubrication theory and previously published numerical results. For a selected range of material and fluid parameters, a hysteretic transition of the sticking probability curves (i.e., the function [Formula: see text]) between the adhesion phase (when [Formula: see text]) and the fragmentation phase (when [Formula: see text]) is attributed to a nonlinear relation between the total nanoscale binding forces and the separation gap between the cells. We show that adhesion is favoured in highly ionic fluids, increased deformability of the cells, elastic binders and a higher fluid shear rate (until a critical threshold value of shear rate is reached). Within a selected range of critical shear rates, the continuation of the limit points (i.e., the turning points where the slope of[Formula: see text] changes sign) predict a bistable region, indicating an abrupt switching between the adhesion and the fragmentation regimes. Although, bistability in the adhesion-fragmentation phase diagram of two deformable, charged cells immersed in an ionic aqueous environment has been identified by some in vitro experiments, but until now, has not been quantified theoretically.

Magnetic anisotropy in rapidly quenched amorphous glass-coated nanowires

Results on the roles played by the magnetoelastic and magnetostatic anisotropy terms in the magnetic behavior of glass-coated magnetostrictive amorphous nanowires prepared by means of rapid solidification are reported. Their contributions have been analyzed both experimentally, through hysteresis loop measurements, and theoretically, using micromagnetic simulations. All the investigated samples exhibit a magnetically bistable behavior, characterized by a single-step magnetization reversal when the applied field reaches a critical threshold value, called switching field. The combined interpretation of the experimental and theoretical data allows one to understand the effect of the magnetoelastic term on the value of the switching field, on one hand, and the effect of the magnetostatic term on the nucleation mechanism on the other, both with an essential impact on the characteristics of the nanowires’ magnetic bistability. The results are crucial for understanding the basic magnetic properties of these novel rapidly solidified ultrathin magnetic wires, as well as for tailoring their properties according to the specific requirements of various sensing applications.

Shear Bond Strength of Intraoral Laser Welding and its Effect on Intrapulpal Temperature Rise in Primary Teeth: An in Vitro Study.

This study compared the shear bond strength (SBS) of conventional welding (CW) and intraoral laser welding (LW) on fixed space maintainers (SMs), and investigated the intrapulpal temperature change (ITC) during LW. Lasers have been used for intraoral welding. The SBS test used 26 molar bands divided into two groups, CW and LW. Stainless steel wires were welded to the middle of the buccal and lingual aspects of all the bands, using an Nd:YAG laser for the LW group and silver solder and flux soldering media for the CW group. The samples, fixed to acrylic resin blocks, were subjected to shear testing. In the ITC test, 25 exfoliated primary second molar teeth were used to adapt molar bands. J-type thermocouple wire was positioned in the pulp chamber. ITCs were determined during Nd:YAG laser welding of stainless steel wires to the bands. Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine differences in SBS between the groups. ITCs were analyzed by paired t test. The SBS between groups showed significant differences (LW: 489.47 ± 135.70; CW: 49.71 ± 17.76; p < 0.001). The mean ITC during LW was 3.64 ± 0.79 (min: 2.4; max: 5.10). None of the samples' ITCs exceeded the critical threshold value (5.5 °C). LW obtained a higher-strength joint than CW. ITCs during LW do not present a thermal risk to primary teeth. The intraoral use of LW for SMs in primary teeth is recommended in terms of strength and ITCs.