Two-part Paper Research Articles

A Comprehensive Exploration of Biomass Gasification Technologies Advancing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Part I

The pursuit of sustainable energy sources on a worldwide scale is a crucial and pressing matter, with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) offering a comprehensive framework for properly addressing this challenge. This two-part paper provides an overview of the various technologies now available for the process of biomass gasification. Compared to other renewable energy sources, which have undergone significant technological advancements in recent years, the field of biomass conversion is still relatively new. Keeping up with the newest breakthroughs becomes increasingly crucial as new conversion techniques are rapidly being created. In the thermochemical conversion process called ‘biomass gasification’, biomass solid source materials are degraded or incompletely burned in an oxygen-free or oxygen-deficient high-temperature atmosphere, resulting in the production of biomass gas. Part I delves into different biomass gasification techniques, including upstream, gasification and downstream processes, highlighting their importance in transforming biomass into clean and combustible gases.

Microplasma-Sprayed Titanium and Hydroxyapatite Coatings on Ti6Al4V Alloy: in vitro Biocompatibility and Corrosion Resistance: Part I

This two-part paper investigates the bioactivity and mechanical properties of coatings applied to Ti6Al4V, a common titanium alloy used in endoprosthetic implants. Coatings made from hydroxyapatite (HA) powder and commercially pure titanium (CP-Ti) wires were applied using microplasma spraying. The study focuses on the responses of rat mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are essential for bone healing, to these coatings. Part I shows how adjusting the microplasma spraying process allows coatings with varying porosity and surface roughness to be achieved.

The Storage and Production of Bioenergy Using Macroalgae Biomass—Part I: Ensiling

Ensiling is a promising low-cost preservation approach that allows for a year-round supply of kelp feedstock for biofuel production via anaerobic digestion. In this study, farm-grown kelps of known age were ensiled with and without the addition of lactic acid bacterial (LAB) inoculant for a duration of up to one year in order to test long-term storage suitability. The study looked at the impacts of different bacterial inoculums on the chemical and microbial composition over the duration of storage. Significant fluctuations in the pH were observed during ensiling, leading to some cases of secondary fermentation and a loss of volatile components; however, over 12 months, the total mass loss was <2% on average. Biochemical compositional changes occurred in the silage over a period of 12 months, but protein, lipid and carbohydrate content remained suitable for biogas production. Microbial analysis showed variability in the bacterial distribution between the ensiled samples that was coincident with pH variability. Despite this variability, the bacterial communities underwent a succession with a selection for ensilage bacteria and drop in spoilage organisms. This shift supports the viability of this ensiled material for future usage. The impact of ensiling on bioenergy production through anaerobic digestion is explored in the second part of this two-part paper.

Implementations of the Universal Birkhoff Theory for Fast Trajectory Optimization

This is Part II of a two-part paper. Part I presented a universal Birkhoff theory for fast and accurate trajectory optimization. The theory rested on two main hypotheses. In this paper, it is shown that if the computational grid is selected from any one of the Legendre and Chebyshev families of node points, be it Lobatto, Radau, or Gauss, then the resulting collection of trajectory optimization methods satisfies the hypotheses required for the universal Birkhoff theory to hold. All of these grid points can be generated at an O(1) computational speed. Furthermore, all Birkhoff-generated solutions can be tested for optimality by a joint application of Pontryagin’s- and covector-mapping principles, where the latter was developed in Part I. More importantly, the optimality checks can be performed without resorting to an indirect method or even explicitly producing the totality of necessary conditions that result from an application of Pontryagin’s principle. Numerical problems are solved to illustrate all these ideas in addition to demonstrating near-exponential rates of convergence. The examples are chosen to particularly highlight three practically useful features of Birkhoff methods: 1) bang-bang optimal controls can be produced without suffering any Gibbs phenomenon, 2) discontinuous and even Dirac delta covector trajectories can be well approximated, and 3) extremal solutions over dense grids can be computed in a stable and efficient manner.

Benthamís Project of Applied Ethics, c. 1780: Part I, A Penal Code

Benthamís An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (IPML) was originally intended to introduce a utilitarian penal code. Such a code would apply the principle of utility to the task of designing a system of criminal law. Part I, Section I of this two-part paper gives an overview of IPML, in which the basic moral assumptions of utilitarianism are presented, and the central concept of mischief is emphasised. The principle of utility favors making into criminal offences actions that are mischievous and profitable to punish. Section II discusses Chapter XVI of IPML. This chapter is a taxonomy of possible offences and the penal code would explain which acts in the taxonomy are mischievous and profitable to punish. This chapter also suggests how Bentham was beginning to see the need for other utilitarian legal codes. Section III discusses Benthamís concept of a ëcatechism of reasonsí to be included in the code, which would explain to the citizenry why each action in the code is mischievous. Section IV discusses two important sets of manuscripts that illustrate the reasoning that was to accompany the code. The first briefly treats the offence of cruelty to animals and expands on the thinking in the famous footnote to Chapter XVII that argues that non-human animals can be treated wrongly, while the second examines the remarkable treatment of ëpaederastyí, that is, consensual sex between adult males. IPML does not mention paederasty, although several passages are relevant to it. These passages suggest that paederasty is not mischievous. The manuscripts expand on these suggestions, and explicitly argue that paederasty ought not to be an offence. Several new issues are discussed, such as the effect of paederasty on population size. In the subsequent Part II of this paper, Benthamís treatment of punishment in IPML, The Rationale of Punishment, and the penal code will be discussed.

Letter to the editor on seeing an elephant

This contribution is part of the Debate section that dialogues with the two-part paper "The Syntax of Existential Constructions" by Shlomo Izre'el from Tel-Aviv University published in Volume 11 in 2022. This letter is a reply to Rivka Halevy in the same section and published in Volume 11 in 2022 and to Pavel Ozerov in the same section and published in Volume 12 in 2023. First, I will refer to Rivka Halevy’s rejoinder, where she mainly addressed typological issues, among which the syntactical status of the pivot is especially intriguing. I will then deal with Pavel Ozerov’s rejoinder, who addressed the theoretical framework upon which my analysis of the existential-presentative constructions was based. Here I will deal with the complexities in defining and analyzing a syntactic predicate and its relations to the pragmatic notion of comment. In guise of a conclusion, I will touch upon some general observations on the study of language.

Representing turbulent statistics with partitions of state space. Part 2. The compressible Euler equations

This is the second part of a two-part paper. We apply the methodology of the first paper (Souza, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 997, 2024, A1) to construct a data-driven finite-volume discretization of the Liouville/Fokker–Planck equation of a high-dimensional dynamical system, i.e. the compressible Euler equations with gravity and rotation evolved on a thin spherical shell. We show that the method recovers a subset of the statistical properties of the underlying system, steady-state distributions of observables and autocorrelations of particular observables, as well as revealing the global Koopman modes of the system. We employ two different strategies for the partitioning of a high-dimensional state space, and explore their consequences.

Representing turbulent statistics with partitions of state space. Part 1. Theory and methodology

This is the first of a two-part paper. We formulate a data-driven method for constructing finite-volume discretizations of an arbitrary dynamical system's underlying Liouville/Fokker–Planck equation. A method is employed that allows for flexibility in partitioning state space, generalizes to function spaces, applies to arbitrarily long sequences of time-series data, is robust to noise and quantifies uncertainty with respect to finite sample effects. After applying the method, one is left with Markov states (cell centres) and a random matrix approximation to the generator. When used in tandem, they emulate the statistics of the underlying system. We illustrate the method on the Lorenz equations (a three-dimensional ordinary differential equation) saving a fluid dynamical application for Part 2 (Souza, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 997, 2024, A2).

Numerical study on effects of leading-edge manufacturing defects on cavitation performance of a full-scale propeller. I. Simulation for the model- and full-scale propellers without defect

Paper I of this two-part paper focuses on predicting the open-water cavitation performance of the model- and full-scale propellers based on the geometry of David Taylor model basin 5168 propeller without leading-edge (LE) defect. Simulations were conducted using the three-dimensional (3D) steady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes solver in the commercial software package Star-CCM+. Effects of simulation parameters, including domain size, grid size, stretch ratio, first-grid spacing, y+, and turbulence model on the solutions were carefully examined and the best-practice settings for the model propeller and the full-scale propeller with no LE defect were developed. Validation studies were carried out for the propeller model against the experimental data. Results for the full-scale propeller were compared with those of the model-scale propeller. The differences in model and full-scale predictions are generally insignificant. To further confirm this finding, the scale effect was investigated with four additional scale ratios, λ = 2, 3, 4, and 5. The results showed that the scale effect is in general minimal and, therefore, the developed best-practice settings can be applied to the open-water simulation of the full-scale propeller. Paper II presents the simulation for the full-scale propellers with LE defects.

Numerical study on effects of leading-edge manufacturing defects on cavitation performance of a full-scale propeller. II. Simulation for the full-scale propeller with defects

Paper II of this two-part paper investigated the effects of leading-edge (LE) manufacturing defects on the open-water cavitation performance of a full-scale propeller based on the geometry of David Taylor Model Basin propeller by using the three-dimensional (3D) steady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes solver. Various simulation parameters, including domain size, grid size, stretch ratio, first-grid spacing, y+, and turbulence model, were carefully examined for their effects on the solutions, leading to the development of the best modeling practices for the full-scale propeller with LE defects. Employing these recommended best-practice settings, simulations were conducted on the full-scale propellers with 0.10, 0.25, and 0.50 mm LE defects. Compared to the predictions from Paper I [Jin et al., “Numerical study on effects of leading-edge manufacturing defects on cavitation performance of a full-scale propeller—Paper I: Simulation for the model- and full-scale propellers without defect,” Phys. Fluids 36, 105179 (2024).], which did not account for LE defects, the results showed that the LE defects within International Standards Organization (ISO) 484 Class S tolerances narrow the cavitation buckets. As a consequence, such LE defects can result in more than 40% reduction in cavitation inception speed, which is similar to the conclusions drawn from earlier two-dimensional (2D) studies [Jin et al., “2D CFD studies on effects of leading-edge propeller manufacturing defects on cavitation performance,” in SNAME Maritime Convention (The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, 2020).]. Note that Paper I [Jin et al., “Numerical study on effects of leading-edge manufacturing defects on cavitation performance of a full-scale propeller—Paper I: Simulation for the model- and full-scale propellers without defect,” Phys. Fluids 36, 105179 (2024).] presents the simulations for the model- and full-scale propellers without LE defects.

Idempotent uninorms on bounded lattices with at most a single point incomparable with the neutral element: Part II

ABSTRACT This is the second part of a two-part paper which discusses the structure of idempotent uninorms on bounded lattices such that the set of all points incomparable with the neutral element contains at most one point. In Part I we have completely characterized idempotent uninorms on bounded lattices such that all points are comparable with the neutral element. Moreover, we have shown some basic properties and observations on idempotent uninorms on bounded lattices with one point incomparable with the neutral element and we have completely characterized the class of internal uninorms on such lattices. In the present Part II we characterize two special classes of idempotent uninorms on bounded lattices with one point incomparable with the neutral element, including idempotent uninorms with annihilator incomparable with the neutral element, and by composition of these special cases we show the complete characterization of idempotent uninorms on such lattices.

Idempotent uninorms on bounded lattices with at most single point incomparable with the neutral element: Part I

We discuss the structure of idempotent uninorms defined on bounded lattices such that the set of all points incomparable with the neutral element contains at most one point. We show that the structure of idempotent uninorms on lattices with one point incomparable with the neutral element is much more complex than the structure of those defined on lattices where all points are comparable with the neutral element. In Part I of this two-part paper, we completely characterize idempotent uninorms defined on bounded lattices such that all points are comparable with the neutral element. Moreover, we show some basic properties and observations on idempotent uninorms on bounded lattices with one point incomparable with the neutral element and we completely characterize the class of internal uninorms on such lattices. In Part II, we will characterize two special classes of idempotent uninorms defined on bounded lattices with one point incomparable with the neutral element, including idempotent uninorms with annihilator incomparable with the neutral element, and by the composition of these special cases, we will show the complete characterization of idempotent uninorms on such lattices.

Preparation of measured engineering surfaces for modeling tribological systems, part I: Characterization and reconstruction

Surface topography, evolving during the tribological processes, plays an essential role in modeling tribological systems, such as seals, bearings, and gears. Although surface topography's measurement, characterization, and modeling have been extensively studied, its application in modeling tribological systems is still rudimentary. Therefore, the authors intend to establish a framework for preparing measured engineering surfaces for modeling tribological systems, consisting of three aspects: characterization, scale adjustment and filtration, and reconstruction, detailed in a two-part paper series. This paper is part one of the series, focusing on characterization and reconstruction procedures. After describing the processes and methods, measured honing, lapping, and worn surfaces are analyzed as examples. Roughness parameters (52 in total) of measured and reconstructed surfaces are compared to evaluate the performance of the proposed framework. Dry contact and point contact EHL scenarios are also considered to evaluate the reproduction accuracy of the proposed methods in processing engineering rough surfaces. The results show that the proposed characterization and reconstruction procedures have a good reproduction accuracy regarding the roughness parameters, dry contact, and EHL performances.

2024/00254 Deriving manageable research models for complicated problematics associated with next-generation cyber-physical systems

There are many large-scale, transdisciplinary research problematics associated with next-generation cyber-physical systems, which are difficult to capture, analyze, and transfer into sharable research models. This two-part paper is intended to contribute to a better understanding and to provide a systematic approach to describing, scoping, and specifying manageable contents for transdisciplinary research models. Part 1 of the paper analyzes the essence and the interplays of the most important current trends, and creates a robust theoretical and methodological foundation for capturing and scoping research problematics associated with the evolving paradigm of cyber-physical systems. The elaboration and deployment of the proposed approach are discussed in detail in Part 2. Besides the overall procedural framework of the proposed holistic systematic combinational breakdown, all steps are explained and exemplified in an illustrative real-life example. The discussion in both Parts concludes with a number of propositions and further research opportunities concerning the theoretical and methodological foundations.

Development of a Novel Lightweight Utility Pole Using a New Hybrid Reinforced Composite—Part 1: Fabrication and Experimental Investigation

This paper is the first part of a two-part paper that discusses the development of a novel lightweight and cost-effective hybrid 3D composite material and its and utilization for constructing utility poles. The main objective was to generate a material/pole with a comparable performance to the commercially available poles made of 2D fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) and examine its feasibility. The novel hybrid composite was configured using a recently developed and marketed 3D E-glass fabric–epoxy composite reinforced with wood dowels, referred to as 3D dowel-reinforced FRPs (3D-drFRPs) hereafter. Firstly, the compressive and flexural properties of the 3D-drFRPs are evaluated. Then, the development of the 3D pole is discussed followed by the fabrication details of two 3D-drFRPs using the standard test method, and their responses are compared. For the second part, robust finite element (FE) models were developed in an LS-DYNA environment and calibrated based on the experimental results. A sophisticated nonlinear FE model was used to simulate the performances of ASTM standard-size compression and three-point bending specimens and tapered 2D and prismatic 3D poles. Moreover, the responses of equivalent 2D and 3D poles were simulated numerically, as the task could not be accommodated experimentally due to our laboratory’s deficiencies. The integrity of the numerical simulation results was validated against experimental results, confirming the accuracy of the developed model. As an example, the stiffness values for the 3-pt bending specimens and the 3D poles obtained through the simulations were very close to the experimentally obtained results, with small margins of errors of 3.2% and 0.89%, respectively. Finally, a simplified analytical calculation method was developed so practicing engineers can determine the stiffnesses of 3D-DrFRP poles very accurately and quickly.

Postnormal Trust: The Case of the Media

This article is the first installment of a two-part paper aimed at assessing whether the theory of postnormal times provides an appropriate framework for examining the evolution of public trust in the media. Building upon previous studies that have explored the applicability of postnormal times theory in explaining changes in the new century, this paper specifically examines communication as a new case study, delving into factors that either foster or impede trust in the media. This paper argues that communication, both as a theoretical disclipine and as a human activity, exhibits characteristics of postnormality. It contends that not only does communication adhere to the tenets of postnormal times, but it also serves as one of the principal indicators of postnormality on a global scale, particularly concerning trust in the media. The article evaluates the suitability of postnormal times theory to study the recent evolution of communication. It then conducts a review of existing literature on trust in the media and proposes a roadmap for constructing prospective scenarios through the Three Tomorrows’ approach.

The Conspicuous Colour Blue - ‘Lapis Lazuli’ - In the History of Art

Colour plays a fundamental role in human perception and its effects on cognition and behaviour have intrigued generations of researchers. The intent of this two-part paper is to provide a wider understanding of the history and evolution from its early beginnings. It also analyses the diverse characteristics of plant-based colours and minerals that produce this intriguing colour called, ‘blue’. Although a large amount of research has been conducted in this domain, the psychological processes through which colour operates, have not been explored comprehensively. As a result, the field has observed certain conflicting results. The first part of this article studies the colour ‘blue’ as a pigment. Besides, it also offers some early development of the colour ‘blue’ in the light spectrum set by the initial developments in the history of science. The second part examines how ‘blue’ has long proven a problem for artists. There are a few materials that are blue in their natural state, that can serve as pigments for painters. During the Renaissance period, artists used a pigment called natural ultramarine (Lapis-Lazuli), lauded for its rich and striking appearance to capture the great beyond, this mineral was introduced by Venetian merchants and brought originally from the mines of Afghanistan, located in the remote province of Badakhshan. It is very common when religion, science, and the arts meet to apply philosophies which are interwoven around historical and social events to present science as human, relevant and a lively endeavour. Finally, this paper brings to a conclusion a short briefing of the works of two of the most expressive artists, Giotto and Titian, and the usage of lapis lazuli - (Ultramarine) in the development of their colour palette.

Smíšené právní instituty ve veřejné správě – k některým otázkám právního dualismu

It is generally accepted that law consists of two main domains – private and public. At the same time, there is clear scepticism about the sharp separability of these domains. The problém of distinguishing private and public law is undoubtedly also a problem of public administration and its implementation as it is possible that the public purpose will also be fulfilled by private law norms. In addition, there may be legal institutes that combine more or less the norms of public and private law, for which the designation of hybrid legal institutes seems appropriate. However, such institutes may present some difficulties associated with legal dualism. The aim of this two-part paper (within its limited scope) is to provide a basic introduction to the issue of socalled hybrid legal institutes. In the first part of the paper, besides some general background, the text presents a triad of such institutes that are applied in the context of public administration and for which some debate over their legal nature could be observed in the domestic literature. In the second part (which will be published in a future issue of the journal), the text attempts to answer the research question of how to deal with these institutes, or rather considers some basic criteria for distinguishing private and public law in the context of public administration regulation.

To(o) Queer the Analyst: Lesbiana, Junguiana and Sudamericana. Towards Woven Onto-Epistemologies.

This is a two-part paper: in the first one, a personal story serves as a conceptual prism through which I address the issue of how a queer analyst can be a problem for analytical psychology; in the second, I present some readings and images-mostly from decolonial feminisms-that have been of interest to me lately in my path to queer Jungian psychology, that is, to de-essentialize and de-individualize its theory and practice. By borrowing (and altering) the title from Gloria Anzaldúa's (1991/2009a) essay "To(o) queer the writer", this paper explores some themes she has elaborated there on solidarity, theorization and ways of writing and reading from othered points of view. In dialogue with Donna Haraway's (2016) Staying with the Trouble and Ursula K. Le Guin's (1989/2000) The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, together with the imagery of bags, weaving and string figures game, this paper aims to explore the potential of what I have called "woven onto-epistemologies". By imagining and developing this new condition of knowledge, other stories and theories in analytical psychology may have an opportunity to be told.

Positivity-preserving and entropy-bounded discontinuous Galerkin method for the chemically reacting, compressible Euler equations. Part II: The multidimensional case

In this second part of our two-part paper, we extend to multiple spatial dimensions the one-dimensional, fully conservative, positivity-preserving, and entropy-bounded discontinuous Galerkin scheme developed in the first part for the chemically reacting Euler equations. Our primary objective is to enable robust and accurate solutions to complex reacting-flow problems using the high-order discontinuous Galerkin method without requiring extremely high resolution. Variable thermodynamics and detailed chemistry are considered. Our multidimensional framework can be regarded as a further generalization of similar positivity-preserving and/or entropy-bounded discontinuous Galerkin schemes in the literature. In particular, the proposed formulation is compatible with curved elements of arbitrary shape, a variety of numerical flux functions, general quadrature rules with positive weights, and mixtures of thermally perfect gases. Preservation of pressure equilibrium between adjacent elements, especially crucial in simulations of multicomponent flows, is discussed. Complex detonation waves in two and three dimensions are accurately computed using high-order polynomials. Enforcement of an entropy bound, as opposed to solely the positivity property, is found to significantly improve stability. Mass, total energy, and atomic elements are shown to be discretely conserved.