Association between people’s attitudes towards human-elephant conflict and their locational,demographic,and socio-economic characteristics in Buxa Tiger Reserve and its adjoining area,India

“Human-elephant conflict(HEC)”,the alarming issue,in present day context has attracted the attention of environmentalists and policy makers.The rising conflict between human beings and wild elephants is common in Buxa Tiger Reserve(BTR)and its adjoining area in West Bengal State,India,making the area volatile.People’s attitudes towards elephant conservation activity are very crucial to get rid of HEC,because people’s proximity with wild elephants’habitat can trigger the occurrence of HEC.The aim of this study is to conduct an in-depth investigation about the association of people’s attitudes towards HEC with their locational,demographic,and socio-economic characteristics in BTR and its adjoining area by using Pearson’s bivariate chi-square test and binary logistic regression analysis.BTR is one of the constituent parts of Eastern Doors Elephant Reserve(EDER).We interviewed 500 respondents to understand their perceptions to HEC and investigated their locational,demographic,and socio-economic characteristics including location of village,gender,age,ethnicity,religion,caste,poverty level,education level,primary occupation,secondary occupation,household type,and source of firewood.The results indicate that respondents who are living in enclave forest villages(EFVs),peripheral forest villages(PFVs),corridor village(CVs),or forest and corridor villages(FCVs),mainly males,at the age of 18–48 years old,engaged with agriculture occupation,and living in kancha and mixed houses,have more likelihood to witness HEC.Besides,respondents who are illiterate or at primary education level are more likely to regard elephant as a main problematic animal around their villages and refuse to participate in elephant conservation activity.For the sake of a sustainable environment for both human beings and wildlife,people’s attitudes towards elephants must be friendly in a more prudent way,so that the two communities can live in harmony.

Practice on Gravity-1 Rocket Dynamic Characteristics Design

Since the Dongfeng-2 missile, full-vehicle modal testing has been established as an indispensable part of the development and testing of rocket and missile models. However, as rockets have been developed larger, the cost and duration of such tests have significantly increased, magnifying their impact on model development. This article follows the process of the modal testing practice of the Gravity-1 rocket, reviewing and summarizing the design process of the rocket's dynamic characteristics. Initially, the article introduces common modeling techniques for launch rockets, including the mass-beam model and the hybrid element model. It then discusses the relationship between the structural dynamics model of the launch rocket and modal testing, aiming to reduce testing costs through refined structural dynamics modeling methods. Subsequently, the article describes the dynamic characteristics design process of the Gravity-1 carrier rocket, categorizes structural parameters, and studies how the selection of structural parameters affects the predicted dynamic characteristics of the rocket. Finally, it elaborates on the design of the modal testing scheme and the dynamic characteristics design based on the test data.

Experimental study of the dynamic mechanical responses and failure characteristics of coal under true triaxial confinements

Investigations on the dynamic mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of coal under in-situ stress is essential for the prevention of dynamic disasters in deep coal mines.Thus,a modified true triaxial Hopkinson bar was employed to explore the dynamic mechanical behaviors of coal at different confining pressures(0–20 MPa)and strain rates(40–220 s^(-1)).The results show that the dynamic peak stress is positively correlated with lateral static pre-stressσy andσz,but negatively correlated with axial static prestressσx.At approximate strain rates,increasing the lateral static pre-stress facilitates increasing the dynamic peak stress,but the minimum lateral static pre-stress is the primary factor limiting a significant increase in dynamic peak stress of coal.Furthermore,the dynamic differential stress is linearly related to the logarithm of strain rate,and the peak strain varies linearly with strain rate.However,there is no significant correlation between confining pressure and peak strain.Moreover,X-ray CT images and photographic fracture observations of coal samples show the failure patterns under uniaxial and triaxial conditions are splitting failure and shear failure,respectively.The device provides a viable approach for fully comprehending the dynamic mechanical behaviors of rock-like material in complex stress conditions.

Strength and deformation characteristics of irregular columnar jointed rock mass: A combined experimental and theoretical study

The irregularity of jointed network poses a challenge to the determination of field mechanical param-eters of columnar jointed rock mass(CJRM),and a reasonable prediction of deformation and strength characteristics of CJRM is important for engineering construction.The Voronoi diagram and three-dimensional printing technology were used to make an irregular columnar jointed mold,and the irregular CJRM(ICJRM)specimens with different dip directions and dip angles were prepared.Uniaxial compression tests were performed,and the anisotropic strength and deformation characteristics of ICJRM were described.The failure modes and mechanisms were revealed in accordance with the final appearances of the ICJRM specimens.Based on the model test results,the empirical correlations for determining the field deformation and strength parameters of CJRM were derived using the dip angle and modified joint factor.The proposed empirical equations were used in the Baihetan Project,and the calculated mechanical parameters were compared with the field test results and those obtained from the tunneling quality index method.Results showed that the deformation parameters determined by the two proposed methods are all consistent with the field test results,and these two methods can also estimate the strength parameters effectively.

Macrosomia in non-gestational diabetes pregnancy:glucose tolerance test characteristics and feto-maternal complications in tropical Asia Pacific Australia

Objective:To look into the glucose tolerance test characteristics and determine complications in non-gestational diabetes pregnant subjects.Methods:From 2006 to 2009 all non-gestational diabetes mellitus(non-CDM)pregnant women who delivered macrosomia at the North Australia's Townsville Hospital were retrospectively reviewed by extracting data from clinical record.Glucose tolerance tests results were analysed in the light of an earlier diagnosis of non-GDM.Results:Ninety-one non-CDM mothers with macrosomia were studied and compared with 41normoglycemic subjects without macrosomia.Of the subjects with non-GDM macrosomia,45(49.4%)had normal SO g glucose challenge test(GCT)without further testing,another 8(8.8%)had abnormal GCT but normal 75 g oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT).A total of 4(4.4%)subjects had normal GCT and OGTT.Interestingly.14 out of 16(87.5%)subjects who were tested with OGTT owing to past history of macrosomia had normal results but delivered macrosomic babies.Only 12 subjects had both GCT and OGTT,the rest of the cohort had either of the two tests.Subjects with non-CDM macrosomia had higher frequency of neonatal hypoglycaemia 34%as compared to 10%in nonmacrosomic babies(P=0.003).Other feto-maternal complications were similar in both groups.Conclussions:No significant pattern of glucose tolerance characteristics was identified in nonGDM mothers with macrosomic babies.In spite of being normoglycemic significant neonatal hypoglycaemia was recorded in non-GDM macrosomic babies.Further prospective studies on a larger population are needed to verify our findings.

Statistic Analysis on Quantitative Characteristics for Developing the DUS Test Guideline of Ranunculus asiaticus L.

Selection of quantitative characteristics, division of their expression ranges, and selection of example varieties are key issues on developing DUS Test Guidelines, which are more crucial for quantitative characteristics since their expressions vary in different degrees. Taking the development of DUS Test Guideline of Ranunculus asiaticus L. as an example, this paper applied statistic-based approaches for the analyses of quantitative characteristics. We selected 9 quantitative characteristics from 18 pre-selected characteristics, based on within-variety uniformity, stability between different growing cycles, and correlation among characteristics, by the analyses of coefficient of variation, paired-samples t-test and partial correlation. The expression ranges of the 9 selected quantitative characteristics were divided into different states using descriptive statistics and distribution frequency of varieties. Eight of the 9 selected quantitative characteristics were categorized as standard characteristics as they showed one peak in distribution frequency of 120 varieties in various expressions of the characteristics, whereas, plant height can be categorized as grouping characteristic since it gave two peaks, and can group the varieties into pot and cut varieties. Finally, box-plot was applied to visually select the example varieties, and varieties 7, 12, and 28 were determined as the example varieties for plant height. The methods described in this paper are effective for the selection of quantitative characteristics, division of expression ranges, and selection of example varieties in Ranunculus asiaticus L. for DUS test, and may also be interest for other plant genera.

In-Situ Test on Fatigue Characteristics of Top-Mounted Dividable Pile-Board Subgrade for High-Speed Railway

To simulate the fatigue characteristics of the pile-board structure under long-term dynamic load, using the in-situ dynamic testing system DTS-1, the forced vibration loading was repeated one million times at different cross-sections of the pile-board structure for high-speed railway. The dynamic deformation, permanent deformation and dynamic stress of main reinforcements were measured. The test results show that the dynamic responses of the pile-board structure almost did not vary with the forced vibration times under the simulated trainload. After one million times of forced vibration, the permanent deformations of the midspan section of intermediate span and midspan section of side span were 0.7 mm and 0. 6 mm, respectively, and there was no accumulative plastic deformation at the bearing section of intermediate span.

Displacement characteristic of landslides reinforced with flexible piles: field and physical model test

A field monitoring system was established in an active river bank landslide in the Three Gorges area, China, and a consecutive monitoring for about 5 years were conducted to understand the displacement characteristics of flexible piles and the surrounding soil. It was found that piles deformed elastically under reservoir operation, and the soil in front of piles was gradually separated from piles. The movement of the pile heads exceeded that of the soil between and behind piles. This phenomenon was further studied by a large-scale physical model test to gain insights into the pile-soil interaction. The displacement relationship between pile heads and the surrounding soil is in good agreement with the field data. The physical model test shows that the deformation process of pile-reinforced landslides can be divided into two stages: firstly, when the piles head movement exceeds soil movement, the soil arching is mainly affected by the deflection of the piles, the arches between and behind piles bent upwards;but when the soil movement exceeds piles head movement, the arches near the upslope and downslope bent downwards and upwards, respectively. Furthermore, the different deformation of two adjacent piles and the pile stiffness influenced the arch’s shape and formation;the flexible piles exhibit great coordinated deformation with the landslide, and caused the soil arch on the downslope.

Test of frequency characteristic for well and itsresponse to seismic waves

The permeation parameters have been calculated by forefathers on the basis of permeation theory by means of the Slug test (Yin, Zheng, 1992) and the restoration curves of well level. We are interested in oscillation of the well level when we make Slug test. Both the permeation parameters and frequency parameters, i.e., natural period and damping coefficients of well aquifer, have been calculated on the basis of vibration theory by means of the oscillation curves. Not only this has given a new method, but also the different response of well level to seismic waves has been explained by it in theory.

Mechanical characteristic and failure mechanism of joint with composite sucker rod

Composite sucker rods are widely used in oil fields because of light weight,high strength,and corrosion resistance.Bonded technology becomes the primary connection method of composites.However,the joints with composite sucker rods are prone to debone and fracture.The connected characteristics are less considered,so the failure mechanism of the joint is still unclear.Based on the cohesive zone model(CZM)and the Johnson-Cook constitutive model,a novel full-scale numerical model of the joint with composite sucker rod was established,and verified by pull-out experiments.The mechanical properties and slip characteristics of the joint were studied,and the damaged procession of the joint was explored.The results showed that:a)the numerical model was in good agreement with the experimental results,and the error is within 5%;b)the von Mises stress,shear stress,and interface stress distributed symmetrically along the circumferential path increased gradually from the fixed end to the loading end;c)the first-bonded interface near the loading end was damaged at first,followed by debonding of the second-bonded interface,leading to the complete shear fracture of the epoxy,and resulted in the debonding of the joint with composite sucker rod,which can provide a theoretical basis for the structural design and optimization of the joint.

Physical modeling of long-term dynamic characteristics of the subgrade for medium-low-speed maglevs

To investigate the dynamic characteristics and long-term dynamic stability of the new subgrade structure of medium-low-speed(MLS)maglevs,cyclic vibration tests were performed under natural and rainfall conditions,and the dynamic response of the subgrade structure was monitored.The dynamic response attenuation characteristics along the depth direction of the subgrade were compared,and the distribution characteristics of the dynamic stress on the surface of the subgrade along the longitudinal direction of the line were analyzed.The critical dynamic stress and cumulative deformation were used as indicators to evaluate the long-term dynamic stability of the subgrade.Results show that water has a certain effect on the dynamic characteristics of the subgrade,and the dynamic stress and acceleration increase with the water content.With the dowel steel structure set between the rail-bearing beams,stress concentration at the end of the loaded beam can be prevented,and the diffusion distance of the dynamic stress along the longitudinal direction increases.The dynamic stress measured in the subgrade bed range is less than 1/5 of the critical dynamic stress.The postconstruction settlement of the subgrade after similarity ratio conversion is 3.94 mm and 7.72 mm under natural and rainfall conditions,respectively,and both values are less than the 30 mm limit,indicating that the MLS maglev subgrade structure has good long-term dynamic stability.

The influence of pore characteristics on rock fragmentation mechanism by high-voltage electric pulse

High-voltage electric pulse(HVEP)is an innovative low-energy and high-efficiency technique.However,the underlying physics of the electrical breakdown within the rock,and the coupling mechanism between the various physical fields involved in HVEP still need to be further understood.In this study,we establish a 2D numerical model of multi-physical field coupling of the electrical breakdown of porous rock with randomly distributed pores to investigate the effect of pore characteristics(porosity,pore media composition)on the partial electrical breakdown of rock(i.e.the generation of a plasma channel inside the rock).Our findings indicate that the generation of a plasma channel is directionally selective and extends in the direction of a weak electrical breakdown intensity.As the porosity of the rock increases,so does the intensity of the electric field in the‘electrical damage’region—the greater the porosity,the greater the effectiveness of rock-breaking.As the fraction of pore fluid(S_(water)/S_(air))gradually declines,the generation time of the plasma channel decreases,and the efficacy of rock-breaking by HVEP increases.In addition,in this study,we conducted an indoor experiment utilizing an electric pulse drill to break down the rock in order to recreate the growth mode of the plasma channel in the rock.Moreover,the experimental results are consistent with the simulation results.In addition,the development of this type of partial electrical breakdown is confirmed to be related to electrode polarity and pore characteristics via the experiment of the symmetrical needle-needle electrode arrangement,which further demonstrates the mechanism of partial electrical breakdown.This research is significant for comprehending the process of electric impulse rock-breaking and gives theoretical guidance and technological support for advancing electric impulse drilling technology.

TEST METHOD OF HIGH-SPEED ON-OFF VALVE DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS

According to the valve port features of high speed on-off valve and its actions, the valve port can be simplified into an a-type half bridge construction. A method that tests the dynamic characteristics of the high speed on-off valve by the output pressure signal of the a-type half bridge is proposed. Having analyzed the factors related to the dynamic characteristics of an a-type half bridge, a rule for designing the outlet chamber＇s volume is worked out. According to the rule, a test stand is built to test the self-developed high-speed on-off valve. From the test results, it can be seen that with the outlet chamber＇s volume controlled by the rule the rise time of the pressure signals driven by signals with different frequencies changes very little. The test results conform to the simulation results, which nroves the correctness of the method.

Optimization of ITO/V_(2)O_(5)/Alq3/TPBi/BPhen/LiF/Al Layers Configuration for OLED and Study of Its Optical and Electrical Characteristics

Nowadays,OLEDs have shown aesthetic potential in smart cards,sensor displays,other electronic devices,sensitive medical devices and signal monitoring etc.due to their wide range of applications like low power consumption,high contrast ratio,speed highly electroluminescent,wide viewing angle and fast response time.In this paper,a highly efficient organic LED ITO/V_(2)O_(5)/Alq3/TPBi/BPhen/LiF/Al with low turn-on voltage and high optically efficiency is presented including electrical and optical characteristics.The simulation of electrical characteristics like current versus applied voltage,current density versus applied voltage,recombination prefactor versus excess carrier density characteristics and optical characteristics like light flux versus current density,light flux versus applied voltage and optical efficiency versus applied voltage has been explained.The physical design,working principle and thickness of different layers along with the process of formation of singlet and triplet excitons are discussed in detail.Here double electron transport layer(ETL),cathode layers are used to enhance the electrical and optical efficiency of OLED.The operating voltage is found to be~3.2 V for the ITO/V_(2)O_(5)/Alq3/TPBi/BPhen/LiF/Al heterostructure based OLED.The designed organic LED has achieved the maximum optical efficiency at 3 V.

A study on characteristic indexesof railway ballast bed underhigh-frequency radar

Purpose–In this paper,a high-frequency radar test system was used to collect the data of clean ballast bed and fouled ballast bed of ballasted tracks,respectively,for a quantitative evaluation of the condition of railway ballast bed.Design/methodology/approach–Based on original radar signals,the time–frequency characteristics of radar signals were analyzed,five ballast bed condition characteristic indexes were proposed,including the frequency domain integral area,scanning area,number of intersections with the time axis,number of timedomain inflection points and amplitude envelope obtained by Hilbert transform,and the effectiveness and sensitivity of the indexes were analyzed.Findings–The thickness of ballast bed tested at the sleep bottom by high-frequency radar is up to 55 cm,which meets the requirements of ballast bed detection.Compared with clean ballast bed,the values of the five indexes of fouled ballast bed are larger,and the five indexes could effectively show the condition of the ballast bed.The computational efficiency of amplitude envelope obtained by Hilbert transform is 140 s$km
1,and the computational efficiency of other indexes is 5 s$km
1.The amplitude envelopes obtained by Hilbert transform in the subgrade sections and tunnel sections are the most sensitive,followed by scanning area.The number of intersections with the time axis in the bridge sections was the most sensitive,followed by the scanning area.The scanning area can adapt to different substructures such as subgrade,bridges and tunnels,with high comprehensive sensitivity.Originality/value–The research can provide appropriate characteristic indexes from the high-frequency radar original signal to quantitatively evaluate ballast bed condition under different substructures.

Model test to investigate failure mechanism and loading characteristics of shallow-bias tunnels with small clear distance

Based on the similarity theory,a tunnel excavation simulation testing system under typical unsymmetrical loading conditions was established.Using this system,the failure mechanism of surrounding rock of shallow-bias tunnels with small clear distance was analyzed along with the load characteristics.The results show that:1) The failure process of surrounding rock of shallow-bias tunnels with small clear distance consists of structural and stratum deformation induced by tunnel excavation; Microfracture surfaces are formed in the tunnel surrounding rock and extend deep into the rock mass in a larger density; Tensile cracking occurs in shallow position on the deep-buried side,with shear slip in deep rock mass.In the meantime,rapid deformation and slip take place on the shallow-buried side until the surrounding rocks totally collapse.The production and development of micro-fracture surfaces in the tunnel surrounding rock and tensile cracking in the shallow position on the deep-buried side represent the key stages of failure.2) The final failure mode is featured by an inverted conical fracture with tunnel arch as its top and the slope at tunnel entrance slope as its bottom.The range of failure on the deep-buried side is significantly larger than that on the shallow-buried side.Such difference becomes more prominent with the increasing bias angle.What distinguishes it from the "linear fracture surface" model is that the model proposed has a larger fracture angle on the two sides.Moreover,the bottom of the fracture is located at the springing line of tunnel arch.3) The total vertical load increases with bias angle.Compared with the existing methods,the unsymmetrical loading effect in measurement is more prominent.At last,countermeasures are proposed according to the analysis results: during engineering process,1) The surrounding rock mass on the deep-buried side should be reinforced apart from the tunnel surrounding rock for shallow-buried tunnels with small clear distance; moreover,the scope of consolidation should go beyond the midline of tunnel(along the direction of the top of slope) by 4 excavation spans of single tunnel.2) It is necessary to modify the load value of shallow-bias tunnels with small clear distance.

Quantizing Analysis and Processing of Test Conditions for Infantry Grenade Ignition Characteristics

A rule of how the ignition probability or invalidation probability of infantry grenade varies with the projectile quantity is presented based on the statistical analysis. The statistical induction, quantizing analysis and data processing in the infantry grenade type approval test are completed, and we obtain how various test factors in the research item affect the test results(invalidation probability), i.e., quantized data. The acquisition of these quantized data provides theory basis and data auspice for further reasonable filtration of all test factors and the optimization of test scheme.

Novel method for operating characteristics test of a hydraulic pump

The traditional testing method of a hydraulic pump requires a large amount of test data from a variety of pump working conditions. The test is usually time-consuming and energy-consu- ming. And the accurate characteristic curves of the pump were hardly obtained due to a limited a- mount and discreteness of the test data. In order to simplify the test procedure and improve the test accuracy, a novel method for measuring hydraulic pump operating characteristic based on multi-ele- ment nonlinear regression （NLMR） modeling is proposed in this paper. The main idea of this model- ing method is establishing a mathematical model to predict the performance parameters of the hy- draulic pump, only a small amount of test data is needed. Consequently, the pump operating charac- teristics in any working conditions are obtained. And the test results of the pump are easily charac- terized in the graphs, charts, tables and so on. The evaluations of the model are carried out and dis- cussed in this paper. The result shows that the test error of the novel method can be controlled to be about 0. 1%. Compared with the traditional test method, the proposed method reduces greatly the test time and the random error of the test data, and improves the efficiency and accuracy of the pump test.

Field tests on mechanical characteristics and strength parameters of red-sandstone

Large-scale field shear tests on ten specimens of the red-sandstone embankment at a highway in Hunan,China,were performed to examine mechanical characteristics and parameters of red-sandstone.The curves of thrust-displacement,failure mode,and shear strength parameters for red-sandstone with different water contents,different compactions,and different grain size distributions were obtained from the tests.A practical procedure of in-situ test for red-sandstone embankment was proposed to normalize the test equipment and test steps.Based on three-dimensional thrust-sliding limit equilibrium method,the formulas for calculating strength parameters of red-sandstone considering three-dimensional sliding surface were inferred.The results show that red-sandstone has typical complete curves of stress-strain,strain softening,which are caused by the special structure of red-sandstone;water content and compaction are important factors for strength and failure mode of red-sandstone;The average value of cohesion and internal friction angle of the specimens calculated by three-dimensional technique are 21.56 kPa and 29.29°,respectively,and those by traditional two-dimensional method are 25.52 kPa and 33.76°,respectively.

Experimental Study on Excavation Characteristics of Rockmass by Triaxial Test

Applying MTS rock stiffness test machine, tests under triaxial condition were carried out for rockmass under loading and unloading. By measuring and analyzing such mechanical properties as stress, strain, elastic modulus, Poisson ratio and elastic wave velocity during the whole test process, the differences of mechanical characteristics under loading and unloading conditions were revealed, to provide some useful references for excavation.