Hybrid Panel Research Articles

Disseminated Extranodal NK/T-Cell lymphoma, Presenting as an Orbital Mass.

An 84-year-old male patient presented with decreased vision of 20/300 in the right eye, with additional painless upper eyelid fullness, hypoglobus, severe limitation of ocular motility, and conjunctival chemosis of the right eye for several months duration (panel A). He was referred after failing to respond to a trial of oral corticosteroids for presumed orbital myositis. MRI revealed an enlarged enhancing lacrimal gland (arrow), extraocular muscles, and mucosal thickening of the ethmoid sinus (arrowhead) on the right side (panel B). Lacrimal gland biopsy demonstrated medium-sized atypical lymphocytes with irregular nuclear contours, scant-to-moderate amounts of cytoplasm, and brisk mitotic figures (arrow) (panel C, hematoxylin-eosin, ×630), which expressed cytotoxic and natural killer-cell markers CD56 (panel D, ×400), perforin, and T-cell intracellular antigen 1, and were CD4-positive and CD8-negative. Neoplastic cells were positive for Epstein–Barr virus-encoded RNA by in situ hybridization (panel E, ×400). Clinical, morphologic, and immunophenotypic findings were compatible with extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type). Optical coherence tomography revealed diffuse choroidal thickening with an undulating anterior border (sea-sick choroid) (arrow), compatible with choroidal involvement by lymphoma (panel F). Positron emission tomography scan showed significantly increased activity in the regional and distal lymph nodes and in multiple bones, compatible with disseminated disease. The patient succumbed to disease shortly after diagnosis. This case highlights the importance of prompt and accurate diagnosis of natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, which can present with orbital and ocular involvement simulating an inflammatory process.FIG

Perfect stabilisation of the electrical efficiency of a set of semi-transparent photovoltaic panels using a smart cooling system

The hybrid solar photovoltaic systems are among the most widely used photovoltaic systems due to their high electrical efficiency. In this paper, a set of smart hybrid photovoltaic systems, integrating a semi-transparent photovoltaic panel with smart hybrid solar collector tubes is proposed. Additionally, a smart cooling system is used for the first time to perfectly stabilize the electrical efficiency of the proposed hybrid systems for different solar irradiation. These new systems are mainly proposed for the first time to improve the electrical efficiency of a semi-transparent photovoltaic panel. To obtain the effects of sun irradiation and linear Fresnel lens on the performance of each hybrid system, a set of mathematical equations is coded in MATLAB software. The main results revealed that the maximum electrical efficiency of the SPV/SHC/Bi2Te3, SPV/SHC/PbTe, SPV/SHC/Bi2Te3/Bi2Te3, SPV/SHC/Bi2Te3/PbTe, and SPV/SHC/PbTe/PbTe in absence of smart cooling system are respectively 2.88%, 3%, 5.76%, 5.88%, and 6% higher than that of the stand-alone SPV system. When these hybrid panels are equipped with smart cooling system, the maximum electrical efficiency of the SPV/SHC/Bi2Te3, SPV/SHC/PbTe, SPV/SHC/Bi2Te3/Bi2Te3, SPV/SHC/Bi2Te3/PbTe and SPV/SHC/PbTe/PbTe are respectively 3.58%, 3.7%, 6.46%, 6.58% and 6.7% higher than that of the conventional SPV system. These results also showed that the SPV/SHC/PbTe/PbTe system with smart cooling system is electrically more efficient than the other systems, which is due to its higher efficiency and power output of 14.1% and 410.271 W. The electrical efficiency of the proposed hybrid systems, equipped with an intelligent cooling system, stays stable for higher and medium values of sun irradiation. These results provide a definitive solution to the problem of decreasing electrical efficiency of photovoltaic panels due to the increase of its temperature.

Experimental investigation of the air blast performance of hybrid composite skinned sandwich panels with X-ray micro-CT damage assessment

This research investigates the performance of interlaminar hybrid composites as the skins of composite sandwich panels under blast loading with the aim of promoting delamination between dissimilar plies for energy absorption. The deformation of the composite panels was captured using high-speed digital image correlation (DIC). High-speed full-field DIC enables failure to be captured at the moment it occurs across the entire panel. X-ray micro-CT imaging was used to assess the post-blast damage sustained by particular areas of interest from each panel, which were selected based on DIC results. The combination of full-field DIC and detailed X-ray micro-CT scanning enabled a unique comparison of both the global and localised blast resilience of hybrid and conventional composite sandwich panels to be performed.Following a single blast load, the extent of damage to the Hybrid-3B skinned sandwich panel was found to lie between that of GFRP and CFRP skinned sandwich panels. X-ray micro-CT scanning of these panels reveals that there is no continuous damage path through the skin thickness of Hybrid-3B, whereas the GFRP and CFRP panels sustain damage in every ply.Following repeat blast loading, the Hybrid-4 skinned sandwich panel suffered from a front skin crack spanning the length of the panel. Post-blast compressive strength testing reveals that this skin crack and resulting core crack acted as a stress relief, limiting the damage sustained elsewhere in the panel.It was concluded that Hybrid-3B results in a good trade-off between strength and stiffness and is advantageous over conventional CFRP and GFRP panels under a single blast load. Under repeated loading Hybrid-4 offers advantages over Hybrid-3B. Finally, the design of the support structure can significantly aid in blast resilience, and, a holistic approach considering both panels and support should be taken when designing for blast resilience.

Detection of multiple types of cancer driver mutations using targeted RNA sequencing in non-small cell lung cancer.

DNA-based next-generation sequencing has been widely used in the selection of target therapies for patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). RNA-based next-generation sequencing has been proven to be valuable in detecting fusion and exon-skipping mutations and is recommended by National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for these mutation types. The authors developed an RNA-based hybridization panel targeting actionable driver oncogenes in solid tumors. Experimental and bioinformatics pipelines were optimized for the detection of fusions, single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), and insertion/deletion (indels). In total, 1253 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples from patients with NSCLC were analyzed by DNA and RNA panel sequencing in parallel to assess the performance of the RNA panel in detecting multiple types of mutations. In analytical validation, the RNA panel achieved a limit of detection of 1.45-3.15 copies per nanogram for SNVs and 0.21-6.48 copies per nanogram for fusions. In 1253 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded NSCLC samples, the RNA panel identified a total of 124 fusion events and 26 MET exon 14-skipping events, in which 14 fusions and six MET exon 14-skipping mutations were missed by DNA panel sequencing. By using the DNA panel as the reference, the positive percent agreement and the positive predictive value of the RNA panel were 98.08% and 98.62%, respectively, for detecting targetable SNVs and 98.15% and 99.38%, respectively, for detecting targetable indels. Parallel DNA and RNA sequencing analyses demonstrated the accuracy and robustness of the RNA sequencing panel in detecting multiple types of clinically actionable mutations. The simplified experimental workflow and low sample consumption will make RNA panel sequencing a potentially effective method in clinical testing.

Energy impact of heat pipe-assisted microencapsulated phase change material heat sink for photovoltaic and thermoelectric generator hybrid panel

As the importance of energy saving continues to increase owing to climate change, various Internet of Things sensors, related to building temperatures, humidity, and energy usage, are being employed in buildings, such as in building energy management systems. Aiming to satisfy the rapidly increasing electric energy demands of buildings, studies have combined various building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) and thermoelectric generators (TEGs) to recover sunlight and heat wasted from building envelopes. However, in most previous studies, active methods for heat rejection were applied to increase the temperature difference between both ends of the TEG and cooling of the solar panel. The actual constructability problems, such as leakage problems, were insufficiently addressed. Therefore, this study proposed a BIPV-TEG system with increased constructability and heat dissipation efficiency using a heat pipe and microencapsulated phase change material (mPCM). In addition, this study analyzed the thermal behaviors and improvements in power generation efficiency through field tests by manufacturing a prototype. The results of the outdoor experiment indicated that the BIPV-TEG-PCM prototype improved power generation efficiency by approximately 2% in the intermediate season and 2.5% in the summer relative to the efficiency of a general PV panel. Moreover, using a single TEG, approximately 3.06 Wh of the heat wasted in the building envelope can be recovered as a form of electricity annually.

Enhancing the overall performance of the hybrid solar photovoltaic collector by open water cycle jet-cooling

In this paper, the electrical and thermal performance of hybrid photovoltaic (PV/T) system works with an active cooling open water cycle has been improved. Experimental tests were conducted on the (PV/T) of two cases (with and without reflectors) and the reference photovoltaic (PV) in Iraq - Samarra located at latitude (34.26°N) and longitude (43.89 °C). Several experiments were carried out during June 2021 with a (0.014 kg/s) mass flow rate. Results manifested that the maximum daily electrical, thermal and overall PV/T collector efficiency with reflectors were 10.2%, 82.3%, 92.5%, respectively, with the highest improvement in the electrical power (EP) of 69.4%. This technique has proven its effectiveness in the hot climate that Iraq enjoys (suffers), and that the water jets played their role in decreasing the temperature of the hybrid panel despite the increase in the concentration of solar radiation throughout the presence of reflectors.

The Intimacy of Paper in Early and Nineteenth-Century American Literature by Jonathan Senchyne

Reviewed by: The Intimacy of Paper in Early and Nineteenth-Century American Literature by Jonathan Senchyne Alexandra Socarides JONATHAN SENCHYNE The Intimacy of Paper in Early and Nineteenth-Century American Literature Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2020. xiv+194 pp. Long before Jonathan Senchyne published The Intimacy of Paper in Early and Nineteenth-Century American Literature (University of Massachusetts Press, 2020), I knew him as the nineteenth-century paper expert. Whenever I had a question about paper, I went to him, and whenever somebody I knew was thinking about paper, I’d ask them if they had talked to him. You might think that this is a small world–people who care about paper–but just a few months ago, a hybrid panel called “Interesting Stuff! Techniques and Approaches to Research with Paper” was held at Harvard University, and the event organizer reports that over a hundred people were in attendance. Why, you might ask, are so many people drawn to thinking and talking about paper? Senchyne’s book helps us answer this question, as it posits paper as a substance both around and within which so much happens. In literary studies, we are always pitching one thing against another: content/form, aesthetics/ideology, public/private, sound/sense. On the one hand, the very presence of paper invites more of these: material text/alphabetic text, bibliographic code/linguistic code, substrate/inscription. In other words, the very presence of paper as a subject of analysis forces us to think about the paper itself versus what the paper holds. Although he acknowledges that many people have been tempted to read paper in this way, Senchyne’s approach to paper is rooted in his desire to undo such a dichotomy. In his words: “Paper is the thin plane where presence and meaning, the ontic and mimetic, the bibliographic and the linguistic cohere and become mutually constitutive” (3). Or, later, “The way paper cuts across, or under, as it were, the division between manuscript and print dissolves the hold of that division on the mind” (19). Thinking about paper in this way sets Senchyne up to challenge theories of the print public sphere that depend on such binaries, arguing, eventually, against Habermas’s limited inclusion of public sphere subjects, since Senchyne shows that considering paper allows us to think instead about “a more diverse range of actors, [End Page 40] many of whom are women and laborers” (29). Paying attention to paper is, in this sense, a transformative experience on multiple levels. The opening chapter of The Intimacy of Paper provides the reader with everything they need to know about how paper was made in America between 1690 and 1867, and simply for this reason alone this book is an incredibly valuable contribution and will be used by a variety of different kinds of scholars for years to come. This period of rag paper production can be split into two periods: 1690–1817, when rag paper was made by hand, and 1817–1867, when rag paper was made by machine. Then, in 1867, “a wood-based pulp replaced a rag-based pulp as the primary ingredient in the majority of paper making” (12) and “ways of writing about one’s relation to paper changed markedly” (13). During this long rag paper period, an “intimacy” of, within, and because of paper is possible precisely because the traces of people who brought it into existence–the people who handled, collected, and worked with the rags–are present within it. And, as this book goes on to prove, literary texts that feature paper and papermaking bear this out. On the one hand, this intimacy is personal, since “writing about rag paper animates thought about readers’ sensual relationships with material texts, revealing similarities in ways of writing and feeling” (4), and, on the other hand, it is political, as Senychne argues that “rag paper drew people together into recognizably political, even national, affiliation before it circulated and was read as a printed text, or even as a precondition of a printed text’s circulation” (37). Once we understand that paper is not subsumed by meaning-making, and that its very presence in the lives of...

Longitudinal association between perceived discrimination and sleep problems among young adults in the United States: Tests of moderation by race/ethnicity and educational attainment

RationaleAlthough perceived discrimination is known to affect sleep, the findings of previous research are limited because they are mostly based on either cross-sectional data or non-generalizable samples, such as clinical samples. There is also little evidence on whether perceived discrimination differently affects sleep problems across different groups. ObjectiveThis study examines whether perceived discrimination is related to sleep problems when considering unmeasured confounding factors and how that relationship varies by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status from a longitudinal perspective. MethodsThis study uses Waves 1, 4, and 5 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) and conducts hybrid panel modeling to estimate both within- and between-individual effects of perceived discrimination on sleep problems. ResultsFirst, the results of the hybrid modeling show that increased perceived discrimination in daily life is related to poorer sleep quality when accounting for unobserved heterogeneity as well as time-constant and time-varying covariates. Moreover, the moderation analyses and the subgroup analyses demonstrate that the association was not found among Hispanics and among those with a bachelor's degree or more. That is, Hispanic origin and college attainment weaken the associations between perceived discrimination and sleep problems, and the differences by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status are statistically significant. ConclusionsThis study suggests a robust link between discrimination and sleep problems and further elaborates on whether this association varies among different groups. Efforts to reduce interpersonal and institutional discrimination (e.g., discrimination at the workplace or in the community) can help to improve sleep problems and thereby promote overall health. We also suggest that future research consider the moderating roles of susceptible and resilient factors in the relationships between discrimination and sleep.

Genome-wide association and genomic prediction for resistance to southern corn rust in DH and testcross populations.

Southern corn rust (SCR), caused by Puccinia polysora Underw, is a destructive disease that can severely reduce grain yield in maize (Zea mays L.). Owing to P. polysora being multi-racial, it is very important to explore more resistance genes and develop more efficient selection approaches in maize breeding programs. Here, four Doubled Haploid (DH) populations with 384 accessions originated from selected parents and their 903 testcross hybrids were used to perform genome-wide association (GWAS). Three GWAS processes included the additive model in the DH panel, additive and dominant models in the hybrid panel. As a result, five loci were detected on chromosomes 1, 7, 8, 8, and 10, with P-values ranging from 4.83×10-7 to 2.46×10-41. In all association analyses, a highly significant locus on chromosome 10 was detected, which was tight chained with the known SCR resistance gene RPPC and RPPK. Genomic prediction (GP), has been proven to be effective in plant breeding. In our study, several models were performed to explore predictive ability in hybrid populations for SCR resistance, including extended GBLUP with different genetic matrices, maker based prediction models, and mixed models with QTL as fixed factors. For GBLUP models, the prediction accuracies ranged from 0.56-0.60. Compared with traditional prediction only with additive effect, prediction ability was significantly improved by adding additive-by-additive effect (P-value< 0.05). For maker based models, the accuracy of BayesA and BayesB was 0.65, 8% higher than other models (i.e., RRBLUP, BRR, BL, BayesC). Finally, by adding QTL into the mixed linear prediction model, the accuracy can be further improved to 0.67, especially for the G_A model, the prediction performance can be increased by 11.67%. The prediction accuracy of the BayesB model can be further improved significantly by adding QTL information (P-value< 0.05). This study will provide important valuable information for understanding the genetic architecture and the application of GP for SCR in maize breeding.

Effects of Compression Ratio and Phenolic Resin Concentration on the Properties of Laminated Compreg Inner Oil Palm and Sesenduk Wood Composites

Due to its inferior properties, oil palm wood (OPW) extracted from the inner layer of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) trunk, referred as inner OPW in this study, is frequently regarded as a waste. Phenolic resin treatment and lamination of inner OPW with other hardwoods may be an excellent way to improve the properties of the inner OPW. In this study, inner OPW were treated with two different concentrations (15% and 20%) of low molecular weight phenol formaldehyde resin (LmwPF) and compressed at different compression ratios (10%, 20%, and 30%). The physical and mechanical properties of the modified inner OPW’s were evaluated according to British Standards (BS) 373: 1957. The results revealed that inner OPW treated with the highest compression ratio (30%) and resin concentration (20%) exhibited the highest weight percent gain, polymer retention and density. In the following phase of the research, the treated inner OPW was used as the core layer in the fabrication of a three-layer laminated compreg hybrid composites, with untreated and treated sesenduk (Endospermum diadenum) wood serving as the face and back layers. The compression ratios of 10% and 20% and resin concentrations of 10% and 20% were used in this phase of study as laminated boards made with 30% compression ratio failed. The findings showed that resin concentration had a significant impact on both the inner OPW and the laminated compreg hybrid panels. Markedly, higher resin concentrations (20%) resulted in improved physical properties, i.e., thickness swelling and water absorption, as well as enhanced mechanical properties (modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity). Although compression ratios had no significant effect on the properties of the laminated products, those compressed at higher compression ratios (20%) performed slightly better than the panels compressed at lower compression ratios (10%).

Analisis Karakteristik Akustik Dan Dinamik Micro-Perforated Panel Dengan Struktur Honeycomb Mengunakan FEM

This study focuses on the discussion of the correlation of acoustic and dynamic characteristics of hybrid panels, namely Micro-perforated Panel (MPP) and Honeycomb (HC) structures. Acoustic characteristics in experimental studies are obtained by the sound absorption coefficient and Sound Transmission Loss. Meanwhile, the dynamic characteristics are obtained by the mode and frequency response analysis of numerical simulation methods. The results of these two characteristics serve as a benchmark for the development of experimental data studies/analysis. The purpose of this study is to obtain dynamic characteristics using mode and frequency response analysis through the finite element method. The development of this experimental study/analysis data is to overcome the drawbacks of experimental testing. The weakness obtained from experimental studies is that the stages are complicated and require a very large amount of money. The method in this study was carried out by numerical simulation using the finite element method using the Ansys 2019 R3 program. The results of this study obtained dynamic characteristics from the development of experimental study analysis methods using numerical simulations through the finite element method. Numerical simulation on the hybrid panel provides efficiency at the experimental testing stage. The results of the mode and frequency response analysis obtained by numerical simulation methods have similarities in the frequency range of high and low frequency values of sound absorption coefficient and soundtransmission loss.

Long Term Performance Assessment of a Residential PV/Thermal Hybrid System

The application of residential rooftop PV systems increased significantly in the last 10 years in many countries and became a major source of clean energy in dwellings besides traditional solar hot water technology. To optimise the performance of these green energy systems, the incorporation of PV/thermal hybrid systems is a future option for sustainable residential building designs. In this work, a novel design of PV/Thermal (PVT) hybrid panels, using heat pipe technology, is proposed with the aim of fulfilling the hot water and electricity demand of a house in Sydney. The heat pipe system is integrated into a traditional PV panel to transfer the heat stored within the PV panel material to a header that is connected to the household hot water cycle. A preliminary analysis of the test results for the proposed PVT system design under different weather conditions in Sydney is conducted, where the transient variation of the output water temperature as well as power production is investigated. The results show that the hot water temperature at the header outlet reaches around a maximum of 50 °C on a typical summer day and a minimum of 30 °C on a typical winter day. The daily heat delivered to the hot water tank is found to be in the range of 3.7–5.2 MJ per m2 of the PVT panel surface area. The results show that the energy efficiency of the adopted PVT panel design could reach more than 4 times higher than the traditional PV panel.

Adolescent Cannabis Use During a Period of Rapid Policy Change: Evidence From the PATH Study

PurposeTo determine whether shifts in various state-level cannabis policies are associated with individual-level changes in adolescent cannabis use following implementation. MethodsWe use the restricted-access youth cohort of the PATH Study, a recent, longitudinal, and nationally representative dataset, to assess whether changes in cannabis policy affect youth cannabis use. Data include respondents aged 12 to 17 years across up to six repeated observations (N = 26,673). Hybrid (between-person and within-person) panel models are used to examine adolescent past-month cannabis use. ResultsWithin-person effects showed that the odds of past-month cannabis use are lower (odds ratio [OR] = 0.632; p < .05) in years when a respondent's state allowed only cannabidiol (CBD) compared to years when the state had legalized medical cannabis. The odds of past-month cannabis use are lower during years when a respondent's state had decriminalized (OR = 0.617; p < .01) or criminalized (OR = 0.648; p < .05) adult recreational cannabis possession compared to years when it was legalized. These effects were robust to numerous controls, including time and state fixed effects. By contrast, significant between-person effects became nonsignificant with state fixed effects included, implying that state-level average use distinguishes average differences between states rather than policy. DiscussionLiberalized cannabis policy is significantly associated with recent adolescent cannabis use. The most consequential policy shift associated with adolescent use is from either criminalization or decriminalization of cannabis possession to legalization, such that states making these changes should consider additional prevention efforts.

36. Clinical utility of copy number alteration analysis in the evaluation of Melanocytic Lesions for diagnosis and prognosis

Melanocytic lesions range from benign to highly aggressive malignancies. Although the diagnosis is often straightforward histologically, ambiguous cases provide a dilemma with critical clinical implications. Copy number alteration (CNA) analysis, from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue, has emerged over the last two decades as a valuable tool for diagnosis of histologically challenging melanocytic lesions. Numerous studies, with various microarray platforms, demonstrate that the number of CNAs in malignant melanomas is higher than in benign melanocytic nevi with proposed cutoffs for adequate sensitivity and specificity. Targeted fluorescence in situ hybridization panels, utilizing probes to detect the CNAs most commonly seen in melanoma, are sufficient for diagnostic purposes. Furthermore, studies determined that CNAs have prognostic significance. Both the number of CNAs and detection of specific CNAs are helpful for risk stratification. To provide evidence-based recommendations for clinical utility of CNAs in melanocytic lesions, the Cancer Genomics Consortium Working Group for Melanocytic Lesions assessed 410 peer-reviewed articles selected from an extensive Ovid search of publications from 1998 through 2021. The group determined the power of CNAs for 1) aiding diagnosis, 2) stratifying risk, and 3) guiding clinical management. We present the evidence base for the clinical utility of CNA assessment in the workup of melanocytic lesions including ocular, mucosal, and cutaneous melanomas with characteristic findings in various subtypes. This working group has synthesized the findings to establish consensus recommendations for the interpretation of CNAs in melanocytic lesions and incorporation into standard clinical laboratory testing.

To sin in secret is no sin at all: On the linkage of policy, society, culture, and firm characteristics with corporate scandals

Using industry-based ratings which aggregate the scandals of a firm on a yearly basis for 5,700 companies from 44 countries, and a hybrid panel data model which allows us to separate the within-firm and the between-entity effects, our empirical approach reveals a broad spectrum of diverse political, cultural, societal, and firm-specific variables that are linked to patterns of unethical corporate behavior and their disclosure. We argue that companies tend to have fewer scandals if there is a high level of institutional pressure or if corporate scandals pose a high-level threat to organizational legitimacy. Moreover, in highly moral societies that closely monitor corporate behavior, more corporate scandals can be observed. Our results are further confirmed through the use of an alternative model which examines the number of scandals mentioned in the media in contrast to the scandal rating.

Back to the future: the long-term effects of skilled migration on tech-intensive trade

An emerging literature suggests that current international trade is partially explained by historical migration flows, alongside current ones. This paper provides new insights and empirical evidence about this long-run pro-trade effect of historical migration. Using hybrid panel data models, we study the link between the Italian emigration of skilled and unskilled workers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the current knowledge-based high-technology manufacturing exports of Italian regions. Our findings support the idea that historical skilled migration has a greater long-term impact than historical unskilled migration.

Assessing the Contribution of Natural Gas Exploitation to the Local Economic Growth in China

This study investigates whether natural gas exploitation is a blessing or a curse for provincial and prefecture economic growth. This study employs regression models and synthetic control methods (SCM) to investigate the research question based on hybrid panel and time-series data from 1993 to 2015 from 14 prefecture cities in Sichuan province in China. Based on the provincial data of Sichuan, the regression results show that natural gas exploitation is a curse for the provincial economic development of Sichuan because of the negative associations between gas resources and economic performance, for which the increasing rent-seeking in the province may partially account. However, the SCM results find that the local economy of Dazhou city may benefit from its sufficient natural gas resources in the short run, but it is not sustainable. Meanwhile, the gas resource has no significant contributions to the regional economic growth of Sichuan overall, which is partially attributed to the fact that resource exploitation has no significant spillover effects on some sustainable contributors, such as education, innovation, and others. The practical implication for the economic governors is that the resource-consumed economic route is not sustainable, although it may drive local economic growth in the short run.

Energy absorption of densified veneer-aramid hybrid composites subjected to ballistic impact

Densified wood technology improves the wood properties such as strength, surface hardness, dimensional stability, and durability. However, the utilization of laminated veneer as densified wood which is used as an armor material, and its ability to absorb ballistic energy has not been researched. The strengthening of the Teak Platinum veneer, which was densified with a hot press, used pre-treatment methods such as partial delignification and self-assembly of bacteria cellulose using Acetobacter xylinum. This research used hybrid and non-hybrid panels. The hybrid panel used epoxy adhesive to combine the laminated aramid fabric and 2 types of densified veneer laminated. Two types of densified veneers consist of the densified veneer with and without stabilizing resin. A ballistic test was carried out on each sample at a distance of 5 m using 9 mm Luger ammunition according to NIJ 0108.01. The ballistic energy absorption was analyzed based on the difference between the initial velocity and the residual velocity of the projectile. The initial velocity and the residual velocity were measured by the chronograph. This result showed that the performance of the hybrid panels was lower than the non-hybrid panels at the same thickness. However, the hybrid panels using aramid and veneer ratio of 2:1 (by volume) and the configuring of fully aramid fabric on the inside was the best combination with a ballistic energy absorption of 78.64% at 354.70 J.

Why is plastic recycling expensive? Hybrid panel data analysis of recyclable plastic containers and packaging in Japan

This study used panel datasets of recyclable plastic containers and packaging (PCP) in Japan to examine the determinants of contract prices (bids) for recycling. The study applied two methods: the first measure used a hybrid model with characteristics of both fixed and random effects models for an analysis of storage facilities managed by municipalities; and the second measure used standard fixed and random effects models for an analysis by each recycler (recycling facility). The main results clearly showed four phenomena: 1) contract prices tend to be low in large population municipalities; 2) higher quality of collected PCP do not necessarily decrease the contract prices; 3) mechanical recycling and consecutive contracts with the same recyclers for PCP increase contract prices; 4) longer transport distances between storage and recycling facilities and isolated island locations increase contract prices. High contract prices suggest the high recycling cost and low market value of recycled material. The results of the first measure also demonstrated that between-effects were larger than within-effects for all the determinants except for time-invariant isolated islands. For example, consecutive contracts with the same recyclers increased contract prices by 9.4% for the between-effects, while by 2.2% for the within-effects. Mechanical recycling increased contract prices by 14.7% for the between-effects, while by 7.0% for the within-effects. As such, policymakers should organize the recycling market so that competitive and high-quality recyclers can make a successful bid for PCP recycling regardless of recycling methods.

Visual Aggression: Images of Martyrdom in Late Medieval Germany

Visual Aggression: Images of Martyrdom in Late Medieval Germany