269 research outputs found
Correction to: Utilization of Waste Glass Micro-particles in Producing Self-Consolidating Concrete Mixtures
No full textFollowing publication of the original article (Sharifi et al. 2016), the author reported his name has erroneously spelled as Amin Momeni. The full name is Mohammadamin Momeni
Correction : Low carbon futures: assessing the status of decarbonisation efforts at universities within a 2050 perspective (Energy, Sustainability and Society, (2023), 13, 1, (5), 10.1186/s13705-023-00384-6)
No full textFollowing publication of the original article [1], the authors identified an error since Ayyoob Sharifi was missing from the author group. The missing author name is: Ayyoob Sharifi12 (E-mail: [email protected]) The authors’ affiliation is: 12Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8530, Japan. The Author contributions section should instead read: Author contributions WLF was responsible for the article’s concept and contribute with the whole manuscript; RMD, IRA and PM-H wrote the literature review of the manuscript; DGV, AS and CRPV wrote the method section; MAPD, WL, ALS, AS and CRPV wrote the results and discussion. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. The author group has been updated above and the original article [1] has been corrected
A Multi-Product Inventory Model for Selecting the First and Second Layers of Suppliers in a Supply Chain
No full textIn recent years, Supplier evaluation and selection, an important element in supply chain management, has been gaining attention in both academic literature and industrial practice. The Mixed integer multi-Objective non-Linear programming model (MIMONLP) presented in this paper aimed to evaluate and select the appropriate set of suppliers considering quantitative and qualitative criteria and in addition to selecting the first layer's suppliers which relate directly to the organization, analyses the characteristics of second-layers suppliers, and design a network to determine the flow rate of products and materials between buyers and best suppliers in both layers. Another important feature of this model is considering holding costs of different products over the planning horizon and quantity discounts for the first layer's suppliers at the same time. Finally, the model is solved by using goal programming approach and numerical examples are presented to test the performance of proposed model
Designing the Electrode Geometry and Electrolyte to Enhance the Product Selectivity and Activity in Carbon Dioxide Electroreduction
No full textExcessive utilization of the fossil fuels due to the rapid growth of the global population has resulted in a dramatic increase in the carbon dioxide (CO2) level in the atmosphere which is the main reason for global warming and climate change. Therefore, green technologies are in high demand to develop carbon-neutral energy cycles. In this regard, CO2 electroreduction (CO2ER) has been proposed as a promising approach for CO2 utilization. CO2ER can mitigate the CO2 level in the atmosphere as well as produce value-added chemicals and fuels at ambient conditions. Despite the benefits of CO2 electroreduction, the low energy efficiency and poor product selectivity in CO2ER have retarded large-scale application of this process. Numerous strategies have been proposed to control the selectivity and enhance the catalytic activity in CO2ER. However, the electrode geometry and electrolyte composition in the aqueous electrolytes have been less studied in CO2ER compared to other factors such as catalyst materials and catalyst morphology.
In the first part of this work, the effect of electrode geometry on CO2ER was examined for both polycrystalline Cu and Ag metals. For this purpose, CO2ER was performed on three different electrode shapes, flag (2-D), foil coil (3-D), and wire coil (3-D), in 0.1 M potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3). In addition to the experimental study, COMSOL Multiphysics was also used to predict the current, potential, and electric field distribution. Results showed that both foil coil and wire coil have a higher CO2ER catalytic activity in relation to the flag electrodesregardless of the electrode material (Cu or Ag). By changing the electrode geometry from flag to foil coil and wire coil, a 69% and 76% increase, respectively, in faradaic efficiency (FE) for C2 products were observed. However, the FE for methane increased only on Cu foil coil (104% increase compared to Cu flag), and the Cu wire coil showed a lower FEmethanecompared to other electrode shapes. The shape of the electrode also affected the CO selectivity and activity on Ag electrodes. Ag foil coil and Ag wire coil had a 20% and 5% increase in FE for CO compared to Ag flag at -1.12 V. The observed superior performance on foil coil and wire coil electrodes can be explained by the high electric fields around them due to the larger amount ofsharp and high curvature points on the surface compared to the flag electrode. Enhanced electric field at the interface causes more cations to adsorb to the surface and stabilize the intermediates such as CO2 •− radicals which are needed for CO2ER.
In the second part of this study, the effect of anion and cation in ionic additives on the product selectivity and activity of the Cu catalyst in CO2ER was investigated. For the anion study, 10 mM of an ionic liquid (IL) with the same cation 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium [BMIM]+ and various anions: bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [NTF2]–, triflate [OTF]–, acetate [Ac]–, chloride [Cl]–, and dicyanamide[DCA]– was used. The results showed that although imidazolium-based ILs have a potential to enhance CO2ER due to the interaction of CO2 with imidazolium ring, the anion of IL also plays an important role in CO2ER. It was found that there is a relationship between the hydrophobicity of the anion and CO2ER activity. Higher CO2ER activity was found for more hydrophobic ILs such as [BMIM][NTF2]. In all ILs except for [BMIM][DCA], the formate FE% increased by adding the ILs to the electrolyte. The maximum increase in formate (38.7% FE) was observed for [BMIM][NTF2] at -0.92 V which has the highest hydrophobicity compared to other ILs. However, [BMIM][DCA] which has a high hydrophilicity and a low CO2 affinity shut off the CO2ER and enhanced HER at all potentials. This observation is attributed to the surface poisoning due to the strong adsorption of [BMIM][DCA] which was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
Changing the cation from [BMIM]+ to sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) with [NTF2]– and [DCA]– anions showed that the cation of the additive also plays a role in CO2ER especially for [NTF2]–-based additives. Results showed that all [NTF2]–-based additives increased the FE for formate compared to the additive-free electrolyte (9% FE). Among [NTF2]–-baased additives, [BMIM][NTF2] had a higher FE for formate (38.7%) compared to K[NTF2] (23.2%) and Na[NTF2] (18.5%) at -0.92 V probably due to the presence of imidazolium cation which can further stabilize the intermediates on the surface and enhance CO2ER. However, the FE for C2products (ethylene and ethanol) at high negative potentials were lower for [BMIM][NTF2] and K[NTF2] compared to the additive-free and Na[NTF2] electrolytes. This observation can be due to the presence of [BMIM]+ and hydrated K+ cations on the surface and inhibiting the *CO dimerization which is needed for the formation of C2 products. Electrolytes containing [DCA]–-based additives had a very high HER activity and low CO2ER activity regardless of the cation nature. This is due to the strong adsorption of [DCA]– anions on the surface which poisons the surface for CO2ER
Retraction notice to “In-vitro and in-vivo evaluation of angiogenic potential of a novel lithium chloride loaded silk fibroin/alginate 3D porous scaffold with antibacterial activity, for promoting diabetic wound healing” [Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 277(2024) 134362]
No full textThis article has been retracted: please see Elsevier policy on article withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/article-withdrawal). The article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. The journal was notified of possible image duplication. An investigation by the editorial office confirmed that the publication contained duplicated images in Figs. 3 and 6, as well as duplications with figures from other publications (https://doi.org/10.1002/mabi.202200574 and https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.3c00814). While the corresponding author initially collaborated with the investigation, they were unable to provide satisfactory explanations regarding the image duplications, leading the editors to lose trust in the integrity of the presented data. Additionally, concerns about authorship have been raised, as two co-authors (Morteza Koruji and Ali Mohammad Sharifi) have stated that they never consented to being listed as authors on the submission and were not consulted by the corresponding author. The corresponding author has not responded to the allegations concerning authorship
A time-varying p-median model for location-allocation analysis
No full textLocation models have traditionally played an important role in suggesting sites for the placement of facilities, so that efficient service delivery is ensured. A common formulation of several location models is associated with the p-median problem, which aims to minimize the travel distance between support facilities and demand in a region. However, the influence of external conditions, such as traffic, on travel time is largely ignored. In this paper, we present a time-varying approach to the classical p-median problem, which accounts for fluctuations in travel cost distance at different time intervals. Using Google Traffic and Foursquare data to respectively retrieve traffic information and estimate demand in a region, and by employing an adaptive genetic algorithm in a planning problem application in the Netherlands, we show that our proposed model outperforms the classical p-median formulation, in providing more travel efficient service of demand nodes. Moreover, we achieve better placement of support facilities across major street arteries. The paper concludes with a discussion of associated uncertainties that are important to be recognized prior to viewing the modeling results as suggestions for implementation in planning and policy making.Accepted Author ManuscriptWeb Information System
Long-term Behavior of Mean-field Noisy Bounded Confidence Models with Distributed Radicals
No full textIn this article, we study the nonlinear Fokker-Planck (FP) equation that arises as a mean-field (macroscopic) approximation of bounded confidence opinion dynamics, where opinions are influenced by environmental noises and opinions of radicals (stubborn individuals). The distribution of radical opinions serves as an infinite-dimensional exogenous input to the FP equation, visibly influencing the steady opinion profile. We establish mathematical properties of the FP equation. In particular, we, first, show the well-posedness of the dynamic equation, second, provide existence result accompanied by a quantitative global estimate for the corresponding stationary solution, and, third, establish an explicit lower bound on the noise level that guarantees exponential convergence of the dynamics to stationary state. Combining the results in second and third readily yields the input-output stability of the system for sufficiently large noises. Next, using Fourier analysis, the structure of opinion clusters under the uniform initial distribution is examined. The results of analysis are validated through several numerical simulations of the continuum-agent model (partial differential equation) and the corresponding discrete-agent model (interacting stochastic differential equations) for a particular distribution of radicals
A critical review of selected tools for assessing community resilience
No full textAbstractThe concept of resilience is increasingly used in academic and policy circles. To operationalize this concept and reduce the ambiguities surrounding it, since the turn of the century, various resilience assessment methodologies have been introduced. This paper provides a critical review of 36 selected community resilience assessment tools. These tools have been developed by a variety of entities, including national and local organizations, international donor organizations, and academic researchers. First, an overview of the selected tools is presented. This overview analysis shows that while some commonalities exist, there are also considerable differences between the tools. Next, based on literature review, an analytical framework is developed that identifies six criteria for evaluating performance of resilience assessment tools. These are, namely, addressing multiple dimensions of resilience, accounting for cross-scale relationships, capturing temporal dynamism, addressing uncertainties, employing participatory approaches, and developing action plans. Results show that limited success has been achieved in addressing these criteria. In terms of comprehensiveness, the environmental dimension has received relatively less attention in spite of its significance for building community resilience. Further improvements are needed to account for dynamics over time and across space. More attention to employing iterative processes that involve scenario-based planning is needed to better address challenges associated with uncertainties. Results also show that more attention needs to be paid to stakeholder participation in developing assessment tools. The paper concludes by highlighting several other areas of weakness that need to be addressed and discussing major challenges that still remain
Interfacial conduction in organic ferroelectric memory diodes
No full textSolution-processed memory diodes based on phase separated blends of ferroelectric and semiconducting polymers in the low resistance on-state operate similar to a vertical field-effect transistor at the pinch-off. Numerical simulations have shown that the performance of the diode is dominated by the conduction of charge carriers at the interface between the semiconductor and ferroelectric phases. Here, we present an unambiguous experimental demonstration of the charge injection process in the diodes. We employ a modified diode structure, wherein the electrode in contact with the semiconductor phase has been intentionally removed. Even in the absence of an electrical contact with the semiconductor phase, the diode still shows resistance switching. We provide numerical simulations that reproduce the experimentally measured I-V characteristics and therefore confirm interfacial conduction in the diodes. Furthermore, we discuss the implications of the proposed memory structure particularly in the performance of light-emitting diodes with built-in memory functionality, i.e., MEMOLEDs.Novel Aerospace Material
Sociolinguistic effects of mobility: Iranian Azerbaijanis in the U.S.
No full textThis dissertation investigates the sociolinguistic effects of mobility. I mainly focus on three analytic dimensions of language use: (a) migration discourses; (b) language ideological discourses; and (c) sociolinguistic grammars, and claim that these three dimensions collectively present a conceptual understanding of a sociolinguistics of mobility and migration. The empirical data motivating my analytic framework come from Iranian Azerbaijanis in the U.S.
Scholarship on the sociolinguistics of mobility appears to favor unpredictability with respect to the sociolinguistic effects of mobility and migration – i.e. a rather chaotic situation brought about by the mobility of people and of linguistic resources in a ‘superdiverse’ globalizing world in which patterns of language use are unpredictable. This study attempts to determine what sociolinguistic behaviors change as a result of migration and why, and whether or not some sociolinguistic effects of mobility are indeed predictable.
I follow an ethnographically-grounded discourse analytic approach in which I incorporate knowledge of social, cultural, and situational factors obtained through observational and interview data along with detailed transcriptions of interactions to reach a better understanding of the discursive practices of the community under study. To do so, a total of 25 hours of audio-recordings were collected over the past 4 years in two different contexts: Iran and the U.S.
In chapter 5, I illustrate that past migration trajectory and current migration status affect migrants’ (re)-construction of spatiotemporal representations of the ideal life, using Bakhtin’s (1981) notion of chronotope. In particular, through comparing the educational migrants with those of the U.S. Green Card lottery winners from Iran, I argue that there are discursively realized differences in how these two groups construct chronotopic images of the ideal life. Moreover, I argue that migration discourse does not necessarily deal with a ‘remove’ from homeland, as characterized by Eisenlohr (2006) and Dick (2010); it can also deal with future-oriented desires for a better life in the host country. More specifically, I show how, due to the social, political, and economic issues the educational migrants experienced in Iran before migration as well as the bureaucratic restrictions around them after migration, which deprive them of, for instance, the ability to leave the U.S. to visit their families, their discourses tend to revolve more around hopes for a better future. I argue that such future positionings highlight a different aspect of migration discourse: the generation of chronotopic images of a ‘life beyond’ (Dick, 2010) which renders temporal future topically more prominent (Agha, 2007a) than spatiality. Moreover, scholars of language and migration discuss how the development in new technologies intensifies interconnectedness between the home and host countries (Vertovec, 1999; Blommaert, 2010; De Fina & Perrino, 2013; Lo & Park, 2017); however, this study argues that while technology facilitates connection to the homeland, it also brings feelings of disconnection. This is because the decontextualized information migrants receive from the homeland via new media (1) reminds them of their lack of access to physical presence there and (2) leads to the reconstruction of the image of the homeland which disrupts the image they already have, and hence cause them to feel disconnected.
In chapter 6, I argue that acts of ethnolinguistic identification are chronotopically organized (Blommaert & De Fina, 2017). That is, it is the dialogical nature of various (and sometimes conflicting) large-scale and small-scale chronotopes that informs participants’ understandings of ethnolinguistic identity and guides their discursive processes of (de)authenticating certain identities. I illustrate how the spatiotemporal configurations in which interactions take place make certain chronotopes more salient, and that these more salient chronotopes are invoked by participants, organizing their discourses. Additionally, I illustrate how the participants have a chronotopic understanding of appropriate language choices. That is, given the participants’ experiences interacting with certain types of people in certain time-space frames, they have developed a chronotopic image of appropriate linguistic behaviors. This image then guides not only their own multilingual practices in similar chronotopic contexts, but is also used as a lens through which they evaluate others’ linguistic practices. I specifically show how personhood becomes salient when the participants invoke certain people or types of people while evaluating acceptability of certain multilingual practices.
In chapter 7, I provide a comparative-theoretic account of code-switching in Azeri- Farsi-English multilingual communities in the U.S. and Iran using Bhatt and Bolonyai’s (2011) optimality-theoretic framework for the analysis of inter-community variation. The salient differences between the grammars of these communities, I claim, reside in the relative ‘value’ each community places on the two relational constraints: POWER and SOLIDARITY. Specifically, in the diaspora context, SOLIDARITY outranks POWER, but in the indigenous context POWER outranks SOLIDARITY. I argue that this ranking difference between the two sociolinguistic grammars pertains to the practices that offer the profit of distinction (Bourdieu, 1991): in the diaspora context it is the solidarity function, accomplished by switching to Azeri and/or avoiding POWER switches, whereas in the indigenous context it is the differentiation function, in terms of status/power, accomplished through switching to English/Farsi.
Overall, I argue that a better understanding of the sociolinguistic effects of mobility requires a study of both macro-discursive practices of position-taking and micro-discursive practices dealing with patterns of multilingual language use. Taking into account the migration narratives of this community, we see how being in minority is a salient factor in how the participants position themselves relative to home and host countries. Specifically, their narratives reveal their longings for collective identities, as evident in their discursive constructions of us and/or elicitations of alignments from others to highlight their shared transnational identities. Similarly, such feelings of being in minority are revealed in their language-ideological discourses in that, in terms of language choice, they prefer the relatively more local language that is shared by the interlocutors. Finally, in terms of their multilingual practices, we see how the relative value of solidarity vis-à-vis power is enhanced in diasporic contexts, which is in line with their overall desires for constructing collective transnational identities.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2019-08-01The student, Farzad Karimzad Sharifi, accepted the attached license on 2017-06-22 at 15:10.The student, Farzad Karimzad Sharifi, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2017-06-22 at 15:24.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2017-07-03 at 15:21.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #11253 on 2017-09-29 at 10:46:03Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-29T17:45:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3
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