Higher-order Value Research Articles

REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS USING LOCALLY MANUFACTURED STEEL BARS: INVESTIGATION OF FLEXURAL BEHAVIOR

While much attention has been and continue deservedly to be given to the effect of the variability of concrete strength and properties on the response of reinforced concrete structures, there is little, if any, information on the effects of variability of steel strength. Steel mechanical properties, including its yield strength, can significantly exceed the minimum nominal strength values for a specific grade of steel depending on the steel manufacturing processes. Such an increase in yield strength can have negative effects on the flexural behavior of beams designed as tension controlled, and reduce their ductility, an essential property in seismic resisting structures. An experimental and analytical study of the flexural behavior of RC beams was conducted through the investigation of the Moment-Curvature relationships and the ultimate steel strains. The main variable was the level of the actual steel yield stress as compared to the nominal value. It was found that unexpectedly high values of steel yield stress reduce the beam ductility and violate the tension-control condition, which was enforced in the design stage. Appropriate design corrections are proposed to account for high yield stress values in order to achieve the desired ductility of beams while maintaining the moment capacities.

Windbreaks for railway lines: Wind tunnel experimental tests

A number of tests were carried out in the Politecnico di Milano wind tunnel to study the properties of different windbreak barriers for high-speed railway lines. A possible problem with the wind tunnel testing of these devices is the need to create wide scenarios (long barriers) and achieve high Reynolds number values in order to avoid scaling problems. In this study, two experimental campaigns were performed. In the first stage, the Reynolds number sensitivity was checked through specific tests in a high-speed test section (Remax = 7 × 105): it was found that, in the presence of barriers, the rolling moment coefficient is independent of the Reynolds number. A second experimental campaign was then carried out in a low-speed test section (Remax = 1.3 × 105) where a very long scenario was reproduced (150 m at real scale): barriers of different types, heights and porosities were tested. To compare them, forces and pressures on the vehicle model as well as forces on the barrier were measured.

Similarities and differences in values between Vietnamese parents and adolescents

<b>Background</b><br /> The purpose of this study was to analyse similarities and differences in the motivational value system of Vietnamese parents and adolescents, in the context of Schwartz’s value theory. Also, the transmission of values between two generations was studied.<br /> <b>Participants and procedure</b><br /> The study was performed in three different cities of Vietnam – Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City – on adolescents, their fathers and mothers (N = 2226). The hierarchy of values was measured with a Vietnamese version of the Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ-40). Additionally, expectations of parents toward children and preferences of children were measured with a list of 28 features and attitudes prepared for the study.<br /> <b>Results</b><br /> The results show that both parents and their adolescent children highly respect universalism, conformity, and benevolence in contrast to power and stimulation, which is still typical for a collectivistic culture. The differences arise in higher-order values: while parents value conservatism (security, conformity and tradition), their children prefer more openness to change (self-direction and hedonism) values, which is typical for a more individualistic culture. The results also reveal that parents in Vietnam expect and transfer to children some attitudes and features such as studiousness, filial piety and diligence, but not riskiness, desire or humour. Although adolescents are aware of their parents’ expectations, they do not fully accept them.<br /> <b>Conclusions</b><br /> The results provide hints for parents to plan their strategy on appropriate education of their children, in the current context of global integration and cultural changes.

Existence and multiplicity for a system of fractional higher-order two-point boundary value problem

The purpose of this paper is to establish some results on the existence of multiple positive solutions for a system of nonlinear fractional order two-point boundary value problem. The main tool is a fixed point theorem of the cone expansion and compression of functional type and five functional fixed point theorem. Some examples are also presented to illustrate the availability of the main results.

Human Value, Dignity, and the Presence of Others.

In the health care professions, the meaning of--and implications for--'dignity' and 'value' are progressively more important, as scholars and practitioners increasingly have to make value judgments when making care decisions. This paper looks at the various arguments for competing sources of human value that medical professionals can consider--human rights, autonomy, and a higher-order moral value--and settles upon a foundational model that is related to (though distinct from) the Kantian model that is popular within the medical community: human value is foundational; human dignity, autonomy, and rights derive from the relational quality of human dignity. Moral dignity is expressed though the relationships we cultivate, the communal ends we pursue, and the rights we enjoy. Correlatively, human dignity is inseparable from its ground (i.e., morality), and the relationship between these two is best represented for Kant in the humanities formulation. The foundational model of dignity ensures that human value is non-circularly derived, but is ultimately tied to expressions of individual human dignity that comes from the dignity of morality. Linking Kant's dignity of humanity to the dignity of morality affords a unique and efficacious response to the discussion of human value. In one sense, dignity is amplificatory, since its worth is inextricable with that of autonomy and the rights afforded to the autonomous. But that isn't to say that the worth of dignity is merely amplificatory. Rather, human dignity indicates the absolute inner value (MM 6:435) found in each individual in virtue of being human (MM 6:435, 462). That inner worth engenders certain universal rights--derivable from the dignity and fundamental rational appeal of morality--just as it provides for the possibility for a community of beings to seek to live the moral life.

Retrospective Analysis of Recent Flood Events With Persistent High Surface Runoff From Hydrological Modelling

Abstract. Floods are one of the most common and widespread disasters in India, with an estimated 40Mha of land prone to this natural disaster (National Flood Commission, India). Significant loss of property, infrastructure, livestock, public utilities resulting in large economic losses due to floods are recurrent every year in many parts of India. Flood forecasting and early warning is widely recognized and adopted as non-structural measure to lower the damages caused by the flood events. Estimating the rainfall excess that results into excessive river flow is preliminary effort in riverine flood estimation. Flood forecasting models are in general, are event based and do not fully account for successive and persistent excessive surface runoff conditions. Successive high rainfall events result in saturated soil moisture conditions, favourable for high surface runoff conditions. The present study is to explore the usefulness of hydrological model derived surface runoff, running on continuous times-step, to relate to the occurrence of flood inundation due to persistent and successive high surface runoff conditions. Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC), a macro-scale hydrological model, was used to simulate daily runoff at systematic grid level incorporating daily meteorological data and land cover data. VIC is a physically based, semi-distributed macroscale hydrological model that represents surface and subsurface hydrologic process on spatially distributed grid cell. It explicitly represents sub-grid heterogeneity in land cover classes, taking their phenological changes into account. In this study, the model was setup for entire India using geo-spatial data available from multiple sources (NRSC, NBSS&LUP, NOAA, and IMD) and was calibrated with river discharge data from CWC at selected river basins. Using the grid-wise surface runoff estimates from the model, an algorithm was developed through a set of thresholds of successive high runoff values in order to identify grids/locations with probable flooding conditions. These thresholds were refined through iterative process by comparing with satellite data derived flood maps of 2013 and 2014 monsoon season over India. India encountered many cyclonic flood events during Oct–Dec 2013, among which Phailin, Lehar, and Madi were rated to be very severe cyclonic storm. The path and intensity of these cyclonic events was very well captured by the model and areas were marked with persistent coverage of high runoff risk/flooded area. These thresholds were used to monitor floods in Jammu Kashmir during 4–5 Sep and Odisha during 8–9 Aug, 2014. The analysis indicated the need to vary the thresholds across space considering the terrain and geographical conditions. With respect to this a sub-basin wise study was made based on terrain characteristics (slope, elevation) using Aster DEM. It was found that basins with higher elevation represent higher thresholds as compared to basins with lesser elevation. The results show very promising correlation with the satellite derived flood maps. Further refinement and optimization of thresholds, varying them spatially accounting for topographic/terrain conditions, would lead to estimation of high runoff/flood risk areas for both riverine and drainage congested areas. Use of weather forecast data (NCMWRF, (GEFS/R)), etc. would enhance the scope to develop early warning systems.

BVPs for higher-order integro-differential equations with ϕ-Laplacian and functional boundary conditions

Abstract In this paper, we study the existence of solutions of a class of higher-order integro-differential boundary value problems with ϕ-Laplacian like operator and functional boundary conditions. By giving the definition of a pair of coupled lower and upper solutions and some new hypotheses, we obtain some new existence results for boundary value problems with ϕ-Laplacian like operator by employing the Schauder fixed point theorem and an appropriate Nagumo condition. Finally, an example is given to illustrate the results. MSC:39K10, 34B15.

Confined gradual typing

Gradual typing combines static and dynamic typing flexibly and safely in a single programming language. To do so, gradually typed languages implicitly insert casts where needed, to ensure at runtime that typing assumptions are not violated by untyped code. However, the implicit nature of cast insertion, especially on higher-order values, can jeopardize reliability and efficiency: higher-order casts can fail at any time, and are costly to execute. We propose Confined Gradual Typing, which extends gradual typing with two new type qualifiers that let programmers control the flow of values between the typed and the untyped worlds, and thereby trade some flexibility for more reliability and performance. We formally develop two variants of Confined Gradual Typing that capture different flexibility/guarantee tradeoffs. We report on the implementation of Confined Gradual Typing in Gradualtalk, a gradually-typed Smalltalk, which confirms the performance advantage of avoiding unwanted higher-order casts and the low overhead of the approach.

Ethics in Teaching

This article discusses (i) teaching as a profession, (ii) norms of teaching and (iii) ethics in teaching, particularly in Indian higher education. Like other professions, teachers possess specialized skills, knowledge and attitudes in area of their expertise, work in lieu of rewards and recognition and are guided by formal rules and informal conventions. The norms governing the teaching profession include higher-order values like integrity, empathy, respect and justice. The ethics in the teaching are conceptualized in the context of teachers, students, parents and communities surrounding the college/university. The first two are more important in higher education than the last two. Accordingly, ethics in teaching of higher education cover: content and pedagogical competency, fair assessment, respect to stakeholders, professional conduct, student development, reasonable pay, perks and leaves, avoidance of dual relationships, counselling to students and parents and involvement in community development.

Practical and effective higher-order optimizations

Inlining is an optimization that replaces a call to a function with that function's body. This optimization not only reduces the overhead of a function call, but can expose additional optimization opportunities to the compiler, such as removing redundant operations or unused conditional branches. Another optimization, copy propagation, replaces a redundant copy of a still-live variable with the original. Copy propagation can reduce the total number of live variables, reducing register pressure and memory usage, and possibly eliminating redundant memory-to-memory copies. In practice, both of these optimizations are implemented in nearly every modern compiler. These two optimizations are practical to implement and effective in first-order languages, but in languages with lexically-scoped first-class functions (aka, closures), these optimizations are not available to code programmed in a higher-order style. With higher-order functions, the analysis challenge has been that the environment at the call site must be the same as at the closure capture location, up to the free variables, or the meaning of the program may change. Olin Shivers' 1991 dissertation called this family of optimizations superΒ and he proposed one analysis technique, called reflow , to support these optimizations. Unfortunately, reflow has proven too expensive to implement in practice. Because these higher-order optimizations are not available in functional-language compilers, programmers studiously avoid uses of higher-order values that cannot be optimized (particularly in compiler benchmarks). This paper provides the first practical and effective technique for superΒ (higher-order) inlining and copy propagation, which we call unchanged variable analysis. We show that this technique is practical by implementing it in the context of a real compiler for an ML-family language and showing that the required analyses have costs below 3% of the total compilation time. This technique's effectiveness is shown through a set of benchmarks and example programs, where this analysis exposes additional potential optimization sites.

Symmetric positive solutions of higher-order boundary value problems

We study the higher-order boundary value problems. The existence of symmetric positive solutions of the problem is discussed. Our results extend some recent work in the literature. The analysis of this paper mainly relies on the monotone iterative technique.

Fuel rich and fuel lean catalytic combustion of the stabilized confined turbulent gaseous diffusion flames over noble metal disc burners

Catalytic combustion of stabilized confined turbulent gaseous diffusion flames using Pt/Al2O3 and Pd/Al2O3 disc burners situated in the combustion domain under both fuel-rich and fuel-lean conditions was experimentally studied. Commercial LPG fuel having an average composition of: 23% propane, 76% butane, and 1% pentane was used. The thermal structure of these catalytic flames developed over Pt/Al2O3 and Pd/Al2O3 burners were examined via measuring the mean temperature distribution in the radial direction at different axial locations along the flames. Under-fuel-rich condition the flames operated over Pt catalytic disc attained high temperature values in order to express the progress of combustion and were found to achieve higher activity as compared to the flames developed over Pd catalytic disc. These two types of catalytic flames demonstrated an increase in the reaction rate with the downstream axial distance and hence, an increase in the flame temperatures was associated with partial oxidation towards CO due to the lack of oxygen. However, under fuel-lean conditions the catalytic flame over Pd catalyst recorded comparatively higher temperatures within the flame core in the near region of the main reaction zone than over Pt disc burner. These two catalytic flames over Pt and Pd disc burners showed complete oxidation to CO2 since the catalytic surface is covered by more rich oxygen under the fuel-lean condition.

A comparison of self-other agreement in personal values versus the Big Five personality traits

Can we judge other people’s values accurately, or are values too subjective to assess? We compared self-other agreement in personal values with agreement in the Big Five personality traits. Self-other agreement in four higher-order values (median r=.47) and in six culture-specific value factors (median r=.50) was substantial and similar to that for the Big Five personality traits (median r=.51). When corrected for attenuation due to measurement error self-other agreement was high for all three scales (median rs>.65). The results suggest that people can assess values of others whom they know well with remarkable accuracy. Therefore, other-ratings of personal values can be used to validate and complement self-report value measures.

Solvability of a Class of Higher-Order Fractional Two-Point Boundary Value Problem

This paper investigates the solvability of a class of higher-order fractional two-point boundary value problem (BVP), and presents several new results. First, Green’s function of the considered BVP is obtained by using the property of Caputo derivative. Second, based on Schaefer’s fixed point theorem, the solvability of the considered BVP is studied, and a sufficient condition is presented for the existence of at least one solution. Finally, an illustrative example is given to support the obtained new results.

Discussion: Behaviour of a sensitive marine sediment: microstructural investigation

The aim of this study is to characterise along various stress paths the microstructural evolution of a deep-water marine sediment from the Gulf of Guinea (GoG). Results obtained at the macroscopic level have shown that the phenomenological behaviour of the GoG sediment is explained by the properties of remoulded samples given by the isotropic and critical state lines, and by the properties of the intact samples given by the damage evolution of the inter-aggregate bonds. Microstructural investigations conducted by mercury intrusion porosimetry and scanning electron microscopy demonstrate that the volumetric strains measured at the macroscopic level come from inter-aggregate pore variations associated with the degrading of the inter-aggregate bonds. The mechanism responsible for reorienting the particles appears to apply in the case of the remoulded sediment. As for the natural sediment, it is first necessary to increase the isotropic consolidation stress towards higher values in order to break the bonds between the aggregates before it becomes possible to activate the particle reorientation mechanism and thus approach the remoulded behaviour.

A Hierarchical Structure of Basic Human Values in a Third-Order Confirmatory Factor Analysis

This study investigates the hierarchical structure of Schwartz et al.’s (2012) refined theory of basic human values. Data were collected using a revised version of the Portrait Values Questionnaire, which measures the 19 more narrowly defined values. Respondents from nine countries participated (N = 3,261): Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, and Turkey. Third-order confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the 19 refined values load on values from the earlier catalog of values. Moreover, these values, together with the two new values introduced in the refined theory, load, in turn, on the theoretically postulated four higher-order values that form the third-order level of analysis. Findings support the proposition that the more narrowly defined values in the refined theory of basic human values are subdimensions of the more broadly defined values in the original theory.

Existence of Positive Solutions for a Nonlinear Higher-Order Multipoint Boundary Value Problem

We study the existence of positive solutions for a nonlinear higher-order multipoint boundary value problem. By applying a monotone iterative method, some existence results of positive solutions are obtained. The main result is illustrated with an example.

Nonlinear Functional Analysis of Boundary Value Problems 2013

and Applied Analysis 3 solve a class of boundary value problems for second-order singular differential equations. (iii) In the paper titled “Existence and uniqueness of solution to nonlinear boundary value problems with sign-changing Green’s function,” by using the cone theory and the Banach contraction mapping principle, some existence and uniqueness results are established for a nonlinear higher-order differential equation boundary value problem with signchanging Green’s function. (iv) In the paper titled “Onboundedness and attractiveness of nonlinear switched delay systems,” the authors study the boundedness and attractiveness problems for a class of nonlinear switched delay systems. Some sufficient conditions are established to guarantee the system’s boundedness. The authors also work out the region where the solution will remain and the relationship between the initial function and the bounded region. (v) In the paper titled “Unbounded solutions of asymmetric oscillator,” the authors establish sufficient conditions for the existence of unbounded solutions of a nonlinear differential equation with a continuous, bounded, and periodic source function. (6) Stochastic Differential Equation Models (i) In the paper titled “A stochastic string with a compound poisson process,” the authors introduce a compound Poisson process with a constant jump intensity and random jump-size to capture information burst and the resulting discontinuous path and derive the no-arbitrage condition on the drift of instantaneous forward rates in the compound model. With the proposedmodel, the impact of random jump on the price of the zero coupon bond is shown in the paper. (ii) In the paper titled “Equilibrium asset and option pricing under jump diffusion model with stochastic volatility,” the authors study the equity premium and option pricing under a jump-diffusion model with stochastic volatility. The pricing kernel is established and the exact expression for the option price is derived by using the Fourier transformation method. (7) Fixed-Point Theory (i) In the paper titled “Generalizations of fixed-point theorems of Altman and Rothe types,” the authors present some extensions of the Altman and Rothe type fixed-point theorems. Some new fixed-point theorems for continuous operators are established by use of the theory of topological degree. (ii) In the paper titled “Commonfixed-points for weak contractive mappings in ordered metric space with applications,” the authors establish some new common fixed-point theorems satisfying a weak contractive condition in the framework of partially ordered metric spaces. Yong Hong Wu Lishan Liu Benchawan Wiwatanapataphee Shaoyong Lai Submit your manuscripts at http://www.hindawi.com Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 Mathematics Journal of Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 Mathematical Problems in Engineering Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Differential Equations International Journal of Volume 2014 Applied Mathematics Journal of Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 Probability and Statistics Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 Journal of Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 Mathematical Physics Advances in Complex Analysis Journal of Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 Optimization Journal of Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 Combinatorics Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 International Journal of Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 Operations Research Advances in

Error Estimate of Eigenvalues of Perturbed Higher-Order Discrete Vector Boundary Value Problems

This paper is concerned with the eigenvalues of perturbed higher-order discrete vector boundary value problems. A suitable admissible function space is first introduced, a new variational formula of eigenvalues is then established under certain nonsingularity conditions, and error estimates of eigenvalues of problems with small perturbation are finally given by using the variational formula. As a direct consequence, continuous dependence of eigenvalues on boundary value problems is obtained under the nonsingularity conditions. In addition, two special perturbed cases are discussed.

Constrained Search for a Class of Good Bijective $S$-Boxes With Improved DPA Resistivity

The transparency order is proposed as a parameter for the robustness of S-boxes to differential power analysis (DPA): lower transparency order implying more resistance. However, most cryptographically strong S-boxes have been found to have high transparency order. In this paper, we characterize transparency order for various classes of S-boxes by computing the upper and lower bounds of transparency order for both even and odd numbers of variables. We find high transparency order values in the class of S-boxes whose sum of autocorrelation spectra of the coordinate functions has zero value for a large number of vectors a. Also instead of propagation characteristics, autocorrelation spectra of the S-box function F are found to be stronger in deciding the transparency order. With this characterization, we performed a constrained random generation and search of a class of balanced 8 × 8 S-boxes with transparency order upper bounded by 7.8. The nonlinearity and absolute indicator values of global avalanche characteristics of the coordinate functions of the S-boxes are in the range (98, 110) and (48, 88), respectively. A correlation analysis DPA on table look-up implementation of AES Rijndael S-box revealed the last round key in 700 power traces, while it took at least 1500 power traces with S-boxes from our proposed class.