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The response of partially saturated granular cargoes during maritime transportation has resulted in the capsize and sinking of 27 bulk carriers at sea and the loss over 90 seafarers' lives in the last decade. The partially saturated granular material response to energy imparted during cargo loading, ship engine vibrations and vessel rolling motions from sea states causes a change in state of the granular cargo, which can lead to vessel instability and ultimately capsize. However, the mechanisms driving the response of partially saturated granular cargos within a bulk carrier hold are not well understood. This paper presents results from an experimental study of rolling table centrifuge model tests on a partially saturated silica sand to contribute to improved understanding of the response of granular cargoes during maritime transport. Observed settlement, pore pressure, moisture content and density changes during and/or following a sequence of large amplitude rolling motions are presented. The results indicate that for the conditions considered, a progressive upwards migration of pore water during rolling led to creation of a free surface of water above the granular sample that was left in a denser, lower moisture content sample compared to its initial state. Sloshing of free water on top of even a competent cargo during rolling motions of the ship can contribute to loss of ship stability and ultimately capsize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violations of environmental regulations often involve multiple parties since companies, as well as employees of the companies, face regulatory obligations and can expend compliance-enhancing effort. When deterring such violations by punishing violators, court judges must determine which party or parties to punish with sanctions. Our study explores such sanction decisions made by Belgian judges in response to environmental offenses and the defendants' intent to comply as captured by three key Belgian legal elements reflecting culpability: purpose, willingness, and knowledge. Our empirical results reveal that the three culpability factors play strong roles in shaping judges' sanction decisions, especially the relative use of firm sanctions and employee sanctions. As important, our empirical results strongly demonstrate that judges appear to perceive firm and employee sanctions as complements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fines fraction in mechanical pulp, produced during wood processing can impact the mechanical properties of the resulting paper positively or negatively, making them potential additives for paper strength improvement at the right loading level. To enhance fines' effectiveness as paper strength additives that have heterogeneous surface chemistries, this work employed a regioselective surface esterification method conducted under mild conditions in acetone, with the addition of succinic anhydride and imidazole. This approach converted surface hydroxyl groups of fines into carboxylic acid groups, resulting in a final content of near 0.5 mmol g−1. This modification increased fines' hydrophilicity, as evidenced by enhanced moisture absorption capacity in dynamic vapor sorption analysis. These fines with additional functionality strengthened intermolecular bonding, leading to over 150% enhancement in tensile strength and Young's modulus when cast into thin films. Fines were substituted at 10–20 wt.% concentration to the fiber fraction of softwood thermomechanical pulp (TMP) and bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp (BCTMP) forming handsheets. It was observed that fines modified with succinic anhydride and imidazole were more effective in enhancing paper strength, including tensile (up to 30%), burst (up to 39%) and tear (up to 4%) indices. This improvement was likely due to enhanced intermolecular bonding between modified fines and the fiber surfaces. By modifying mechanical pulp fines with succinic anhydride and imidazole, we have converted a potential heterogeneous waste product from the industry into a valuable by-product to enhance paper performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a novel procedure to assess fragmentation from automatic analysis of 3D photogrammetric models with a commercial software. The muckpiles from 12 blasts were photographed with a conventional drone to build 3D photogrammetric models; the flights were made with a relatively constant ground sampling distance (GSD) of 6.2 sd 0.92 mm (mean and standard deviation, respectively). A comparison with already published mass-based size distributions from 11 of these blasts, shows a good performance of automatic 3D-fragmentation measurements in the coarse range (P ≥ 60%), while deviations between mass-based and 3D model fragmentation analysis grow towards the central-fines range. As a solution, the Swebrec function is fitted to the reliable part of the size distributions, well above the GSD, and then is extended towards the fines, down to a percentage passing of 5–10%. The suitable fitting range is obtained iteratively from the mass-based fragmentation data; the lower fragment size considered is independent of the model's resolution (i.e. GSD) with mean of 357 mm (equivalent to a passing in the range 66–86%, and well above the GSD of our models). The resulting distributions match properly mass-based size distributions with relative errors in percentile sizes of 15.5 sd 3.4%, and they can be represented with the simplest form of the fragmentation-energy-fan. As a guideline for reconstruction of size distributions and fines assessment when mass-based data is not available, the lower-fitting limit of 357 mm yields reasonable results (mean errors in pass in the range 5–36%) for the present case. The errors are limited enough to keep a sound description of the variation of fragmentation with change in blast design. Highlights: 3D photogrammetric models are obtained from UAV flights over the muckpiles to assess fragmentation from blasting with a commercial software. The coarse fraction is reasonably well estimated through automatic analysis of 3D muckpile models. To correct deviations in the central-fines range, the Swebrec function is fitted to the coarse range (passings generally above 70%) and extrapolated to passing of 5–10%. The smaller fragment size considered for the fit is estimated for each blast from sieving data and it is independent of the model's resolution; the mean of these sizes (357 mm) procures a proper fines assessment for the present case. The reconstructed image-based size distributions match properly mass-based size distributions and are sensitive to changes in the powder factor in line with fragmentation-energy-fan principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aeolian sand (AS) is locally available in desert area that can be used as road construction material. However, AS is a loose granular material with low bearing capacity which needs to be stabilized. This paper presents a novel study of using geopolymer (GP) and fines to stabilize AS. A series of cyclic triaxial tests was conducted to study the effect of GP and fines contents on cyclic response of stabilized AS. The experimental results show that adding fines into AS can effectively increase the cyclic loading capacity but increase the accumulated axial strain of the mixture; inclusion of GP into the AS-fines mixture greatly enhances the cyclic loading capacity and reduces the accumulated axial strain of the mixture. The shakedown response of the untreated AS changes from plastic shakedown to incremental collapse with increase in cyclic stress ratio (CSR); however, the GP-fines-AS mixture with higher fines and GP contents mainly experiences plastic shakedown. The modulus index of untreated AS or fines-containing AS shows an increase-stable trend with loading cycles, indicating strengthening in the soil matrix, but that of the GP-fines-AS mixture shows increase-stable, stable or decrease-stable trend with loading cycles, depending on the CSR and fines and GP contents. Microcharacterization using scanning electron microscope (SEM) shows that the added fines greatly alter the microstructure of AS by filling the voids and acting as lubricant, which facilitates the movement of AS particles and thus induces larger axial strain. The added GP increases the cyclic loading capacity of the treated soil by inducing a chemical fabric in the treated soils. Increase in fines and GP content results in larger contact area and stronger fabric leading to enhanced stabilizing effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolution from fines migration to deposition and clogging is critical for many geotechnical and environmental engineering practices. In this study, the coupling of computational fluid dynamic and discrete element method was adopted to tackle fines migration. The surface energy density term γ was used to represent the combination of Coulomb forces and van der Waals interactions. A particle-scale mechanical analysis method was adopted to identify three criteria of particle deposition conditions. (1) The drag force on the fines should be less than the electrical forces between particles, (2) the drag force and electrical force torques should be on the same order of magnitude, and (3) the contact angle between particles should be greater than 5.5°. The deposition efficiency increases from 8.5 to 37.8% as surface density energy increases from 0.001 to 0.01 J/m2 at a Reynolds number of 10. As the electrical force is more than 10 times the drag force, clogging occurred. Due to the inertial and Dean forces and the filtration effect of micropillars, a band of lacking particles appears in the symmetrical center of the pore throat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulp refining is an essential process step prior to paper production. The contribution of fines production during refining to the resulting paper strength so far has mostly been considered qualitatively. A quantitative and experimental evaluation regarding their effect has not yet been published. Unbleached softwood kraft pulp was refined using a PFI mill and a disc refiner at different refining intensities. Prior to handsheet forming, fines were removed in a lab scale pressure screen from one part of the refined and unrefined samples in order to investigate the difference in tensile strength between sheets with and without fines, which were furthermore produced with and without additional wet pressing. It was found, that fines formed in a disc refiner at 250 kWh/t are responsible for up to 25% of the breaking length increase, while the PFI mill at 10,000 revolutions fines only contribute to a maximum of 12%. In terms of fines efficiency, the disc refiner was able to achieve higher results compared to the PFI mill, which however might be attributed to the higher fibre flexibilization in the PFI mill. Thus fines formed in the refining process are of high importance for strength development especially for the disc refiner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabric anisotropy and fines content (fc) in sands modify significantly their mechanical behaviour, particularly as related to static liquefaction under undrained conditions. The fabric anisotropy aspect, expressed by means of an evolving fabric tensor F, has been addressed in the recently developed Anisotropic Critical State Theory (ACST) that enhances the two critical state conditions on stress ratio (η) and void ratio (e) of the classical Critical State Theory by an additional condition on the critical state value of F in relation to loading direction; based on this concept it introduces the dependence of dilatancy on fabric anisotropy. Various models have been successfully developed within this framework for clean sands. The fc aspect has been addressed within the Equivalent Granular State Theory (EGST) that substitutes a properly defined equivalent granular void ratio (e*) for e in any model for clean sand in order to obtain the response of sand with fines without any other change of the model structure and constants. Along these lines, a constitutive model is constructed in this work in order to address the effect of both F and fc simultaneously, by a combination of these two powerful propositions. The idea is very simple: one takes a constitutive model developed within ACST for clean sands, hence it accounts for fabric anisotropy, and substitutes the e* for e, as well as the derivative quantities of such substitution, hence it accounts for fc. The result yields a model that can simulate data on the undrained response for a range of fc, with emphasis on static liquefaction. It is shown that the inclusion of fabric anisotropy improves previous similar simulations made within the EGST but without the framework of ACST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanistic pavement design procedures of flexible pavement based on elastic-layer theories require the determination or estimation of resilient modulus (MR) for each layer in the pavement structure. Considering the complexity and cost of testing required, regression models have been developed to predict resilient modulus of heavy-duty base crushed rock mixes from their physical and engineering properties. Testing results of MR for three different gradations of the same crushed rock with 15 different fines combinations of crusher dust (CD) and Claypro (CP) have been used to calibrate a universal threeparameter deviatoric stress model. The latter relates resilient modulus to both deviatoric and confining stresses and considers shear stresses and strains developed during loading. Physical properties of these mixes were then used to develop multiple linear regression models to predict the three parameters of the calibrated deviatoric stress model. The modelling process was repeated by including California bearing ratio as a predictor with the physical properties. Both sets of models show the properties considered herein, serve to explain a high variation in the three parameters, ranging between 71 and 91%. However, correlation between measured and predicted MR values from both sets of models is 0.90 and 0.87, respectively. Furthermore, the optimum clay content (CP) for the different mixtures was also assessed. The results indicated that 1% of CP can be considered the optimum content for all three gradations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers product recall under a perfect regime of strict liability. We show that safety is under supplied given output due to an under internalization of infra-marginal units. If we add a mandatory refund with a possible penalty fee in the event that the product turns out to be unsafe, then while the price increases, there is no change in the allocation, utility, profit or total welfare. The recall procedure is then neutral. We then extend the model to examine optimal fines and minimum output taxes, endogenous proclivity to return a product, endogenous decision to sue in the event of damage and the effects of having the consumer under estimate expected damages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the emergence of micro and nanofibrillated celluloses and their application in papermaking, the influence of the so called fines fraction of pulps on both process and product properties has received increasing research interest in recent years. Several researchers have experimented with primary and/or secondary pulp fines to assess their effects on paper properties with not always consistent results. Our work focuses on the targeted application of the primary fines fraction of an unbleached softwood kraft pulp. The primary fines are separated from the pulp to be subsequently added to achieve blends of 5 % , 9 % and 12 % primary fines content. These blends were then refined in a PFI mill to evaluate the effect of the primary fines on refining as well as on paper properties of hand sheets prepared from these pulps. It is shown that the addition of primary fines enhances tensile strength in the unrefined and slightly refined state, while the maximum tensile strength of the highly refined reference pulp is not increased. A slightly increased dewatering resistance (Schopper Riegler) at comparable air permeability (Gurley) for a given tensile strength was also observed. The linear relationship between tensile index and apparent sheet density seems to be affected in the unrefined and slightly refined state where the breaking length of the fines enriched samples is higher for a given apparent density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider competition between a legal firm that sells a product protected by intellectual property rights (IPR) laws and a counterfeiter who illegally copies and sells products without the permission of the brand-name producer. Each time the counterfeiter is caught, the payment of a fine proportional to the amount confiscated and to the price of the original goods is imposed. However, fines are pocketed by the legal firm. In this paper, a differential game is studied in which both firms compete for prices while the legal firm invests in advertising to increase goodwill and, accordingly, demand. Based on this, a feedback Nash equilibrium is computed and discussed. Unfortunately, the analytical results are too complex to allow an explicit comparison between the payoff of the producer with and without the presence of counterfeiting. However, through some numerical simulations, it is shown that, under specific values for the parameters of the model, the genuine producer can be also better off in the presence of counterfeiting rather than in its absence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the construction of the unbound pavement layers of Corridors X and XI in Serbia, a problem was detected regarding the evaluation of cleanliness of the available materials. The European standard for the sand equivalent from 1999 to 2015 had significant changes related to the test procedure. A mass correction has been taken into account. It consists of replacing a part of the fines with rinsed material (0.063/2 mm) when the percentage of fines exceeds 10% in a tested fraction. Thus, the test sample usually yields high values of the sand equivalent, which often exceeds the limits of 50% and 60%. From the standpoint of the technical specifications, aggregates are considered clean, while using other methods like methylene blue or a plasticity index, the presence of clay particles above the limits can be confirmed. This paper presents the results of research on 63 laboratory-prepared test samples of limestone aggregate with small quantities of the smectite group of clay minerals, where the fines content in the unbound aggregate, 0/31.5 mm, gradually increased up to 20%. It was found that the sand equivalent values are continuously decreasing from 84 to 14% in the fraction 0/2 mm and from 87 to 18% in the 0/4 mm fraction, with increasing of the methylene blue value of the all-in aggregate (MBA) from 0.4 to 4.5 g/kg. Correlations of different methods and fractions, as well as with the content of fines were found. There are no correlations with SE10 because of grouping the test data around one point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refining (i.e., mechanical beating of pulp) is a common procedure that is used in paper-making to improve the mechanical properties of the final product. The improvements caused by refining are mainly attributed to increased density and to a better bonding between fibers. In this work, we study how various mechanisms that can be triggered by refining affect the tensile behavior of the sheets. Consequently, we use direct numerical simulations of fiber networks. We relate our finding to the experimental measurements that we conducted on handsheets. We have found that fibrillar fines with size distributions below the resolution of modern state-of-the art pulp characterization tools have a substantial contribution to the increased strength and stiffness of the sheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of wood chips into the market for small-scale heating appliances of below 100 kW has become more challenging due to stricter regulations on emission levels for carbon monoxide and particle emission, e.g. in Germany. Therefore, it is important to identify high wood chip qualities that are suitable for failure-free and low-emission combustion. In this investigation, several wood chip assortments produced from stem wood and forest residues were analysed and combusted in up to two different wood chip boilers with a nominal heat capacity of 50 and 99 kW at full load. Some combustion tests were performed at part load (i.e. 30% heat output). Throughout experiments, the emission behaviour was measured (CO, NOX and total particulate matter (TPM)). In total, seven different wood chip assortments were tested in the large boiler, whereas ten wood chip assortments were combusted in the smaller furnace. Wood chips from stem wood are characterized by lower ash contents (0.27-1.05 w%, d.b.), lower nitrogen contents (0.04-0.14 w%, d.b.) and lower aerosol forming elements (379-1075 mg/kg, d.b.) compared to forest residues (A = 0.58-2.05 w%¸ N = 0.13-0.32 w%, aerosols = 728-2199 mg/kg, d.b.). Combustion of stem wood caused lower emissions compared to forest residues at full-load operation. Overall, part-load operation caused higher CO and particle emissions. In addition, increases of fine woody particles lead to increases in CO emissions. The influence of moisture content was more pronounced especially for CO emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The natural characteristics of the formation of proluvial deposits necessitates regulating their particle size distribution and moisture content before placement in the dam body. Soil material can be created from proluvial deposits for various zones of the dam body, including rubble-clay soil for impervious components, which with proper compaction, is characterized by high seepage, piping, and mechanical strength as well as small compressibility. It is advisable to carry out quality control of compaction of such soil on the basis of fines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The influence of the physical and colloidal properties of W-stone ground lignocellulose native fines (LF) on the properties of lignocellulosic composite filaments was investigated. W-stone ground LF is a low-cost material exhibiting a microfibrillar structure with the chemical structure of native wood. The physical properties of manufactured LFs were investigated by utilising SEM imaging, turbidity measurements and image-based particle analysis using a Kajaani fibre analyser. The properties of LFs were varied by adjusting the process energy input that altered the produced material's particle size and shape and subsequent fractionation with a wire. The reduction in particle size was observed to increase the colloidal stability of produced LFs, but no significant changes in the chemical profile of the LFs were observed. The effect of the properties of LF on the manufacture of composite filaments with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was studied by using a dry-jet wet spinning approach. The smaller particle size had a positive effect on the mechanical properties of composite filaments (tenacity increased from 5.5 to up to 7.6 cN/tex). The compatibility of different plasticisers with LF-CMC composite filaments was also studied. It was observed that the number of free hydroxyls per a monomer unit of the plasticiser had a positive correlation with the plasticisation effect in the LF-CMC composite filaments. Regenerated cellulose filaments are often rather expensive to be used in many applications such as composites. The investigated filaments could thus be used in low-cost applications requiring a fully biodegradable material profile. Here, the presence of lignin may increase the structural compatibility of the produced matrix. Graphical abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The current study examined the relations between objective and subjective measures of driving patterns, focusing on traffic violations. In addition, the study explored the potential use of rewards in order to modify driving behaviors and examined the relationship between attitudinal and demographic variables and the frequency of speeding. Method: We acquired subjective and objective data on driving behaviors in a sample of 114 young student drivers in Israel's Southern region. We used a survey to acquire data on the participants' history of violations, self-reported driving behavior, and subjective attitudes towards risks and fines. We then examined the participants' objective driving behaviors using Get Location, a specifically designed smartphone application. Results: We found a substantive gap between subjective and objective data regarding traffic violations, but they were also significantly correlated. The demographic variables, including gender, failed to distinguish between frequent and non-frequent speeders, while attitudinal variables succeeded. Frequent speeders required a significantly higher potential reward, as well as a higher fine to motivate behavioral changes. Conclusion: Self-reported data can serve as a reasonable proxy for measuring the tendency to adopt particular driving patterns, including the tendency to engage in violations. In addition, the use of rewards can complement or possibly replace the reliance on negative sanctions in order to modify behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A monopolist sells a luxury genuine product which can be illegally copied and sold by a competitive fringe of counterfeiters. Fines imposed on caught counterfeiters are pocketed by the genuine firm. We prove that if production costs are low, then the genuine manufacturer would lobbying for high penalties so that counterfeiters should be thrown out of the market. In this case, the presence of counterfeiters does not provide any benefit to the producer of the original product. Whenever the production cost is neither too high nor too low, the optimal fine guarantees a positive demand for the genuine product as well as for the fake; the genuine producer is better off than in a world without counterfeiters. If production costs are too high, the genuine firm has no more incentive to produce. Its remaining goal is to collect penalty money from counterfeiters. Again, the presence of counterfeiters provides a benefit to the genuine manufacturer. Finally, a comparison between full protection and null protection policies is performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binary granular soils, mixtures of carbonate sands and nonplastic fines, are widely used for constructions of foundation, airport and embankment in island and coast. Impact load (e.g., sea wave, aircraft landing, pile driving and dynamic compaction during foundation, et al.) is frequently exerted to the mixtures. It is therefore of extreme importance to investigate the evolutions of particle size distribution, particle breakage and volumetric deformation of the mixtures under impact load due to that the grains of carbonate sands are easily to be crushed, which may significant affect its mechanical behavior. Three mixtures (i.e., 100% carbonate plus 0% fines (by dry weight), 90% carbonate plus 10% fines and 80% carbonate plus 20% fines) were prepared to analyze the effect of fines content on particle breakage and volumetric deformation under impact load. It was observed that a unique fractal grading could be obtained for all the mixtures when the blow number was large enough ( $$N>20,000$$ ). The void ratio of the mixtures converged to be a constant ultimate value as the mixture reached the fractal state. The volumetric strain and relative particle breakage with respect to the blow number could be described by hyperbolic functions, indicating that the volumetric strain and relative particle breakage progressively increased to ultimate values with increasing the blow number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a Stackelberg differential game to study the dynamic interaction between a polluting firm and a regulator who sets pollution limits overtime. At each time, the firm settles emissions taking into account the fine for non-compliance with the pollution limit, and balances current costs of investments in a capital stock which allows for future emission reductions. We derive two main results. First, we show that the optimal pollution limit decreases as the capital stock increases, while both emissions and the level of non-compliance decrease. Second, we find that offering fine discounts in exchange for firm's capital investment is socially desirable. We numerically obtain the optimal value of such discount, which crucially depends on the severity of the fine. In the limiting scenario with a very large severity of the fine, the optimal discount implies that no penalties are levied, since the firm shows adequate adaptation progress through capital investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The swelling behavior of pulp fibers has a significant influence on process and product properties. The water uptake of fibers is controlled by a different mechanism. While fiber charge is a driving factor for swelling, the swelling is hindered by the solid structure of the fiber wall. In the case of the fines fraction of pulps, this structure is broken to some extent and the fines are able to swell two to three times more compared to fibers. Thus fines are an important factor regarding the swelling behavior and water retention of pulps, although, at least for chemical pulp, their mass fraction is only between 4 and 15%. For this reason, it is of interest to investigate not just the swelling behavior of pulps, but also of the fiber and fines fractions separately. Swelling is often characterized using the water retention value (WRV) based on a centrifugation technique. WRV measurement is a standardized method for the measurement of the amount of water retained in a given pulp sample. For fine cellulosic materials the standardized procedure cannot be performed. Thus, various modifications of the standard method have been applied by different groups for the evaluation of these materials. Due to these modifications the values obtained cannot be related to the standardized method. In this work a novel approach to determining the WRV of the fines fraction in a given pulp based on the standard procedure will be presented. This allows a quantitative investigation of the contribution of the fibers and fines fraction to the WRV of any given pulp sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a challenge to suggest a constitutive model for describing the stress-strain behavior of sand-fines mixtures due to that these granular mixtures exhibited very complex behaviors at different densities, pressures and fines contents. In this study, an elastoplastic constitutive model within the framework of the bounding surface plasticity and critical state theories was proposed for sand-nonplastic-fines mixtures by using the concept of the equivalent-skeleton void ratio and equivalent-skeleton void-ratio state index. The proposed model with a set of material constants calibrated from a few tests could be used to model the fines-dependent and state-dependent behaviors of the sand-nonplastic-fines mixture including the strain-softening and volumetric-expansion behaviors in the drained triaxial compression tests, and also the effects of fines content on the critical state lines in both the deviatoric stress versus mean effective stress and the void ratio versus mean effective stress planes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a strategic situation in which a firm may conceal the illegal activity of violating environmental regulations and a regulator seeks to verify the illegality to punish the firm. We study two main factors, fines and social monitoring, that influence the firm's decision in that situation. First, we find all the possible equilibria of our model and examine conditions of those two factors that lead to each equilibrium. Using the equilibrium conditions, we then study the optimal enforcement policies that induce the most socially desirable equilibrium and improve social welfare within each equilibrium. Our main findings are as follows. First, the two factors have a complementary relationship in getting the most desirable equilibrium: Certain high levels of fines and social monitoring are both needed. Second, if making the social monitoring above the certain critical level is impossible, setting the level of the fines as high as possible may be the optimal enforcement policy. Finally, if setting the fines above the certain critical level is not available, either, setting the level of the fines as low as possible might be optimal, and the higher level of the social monitoring does not necessarily bring higher social welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both social norms and monetary fines can deter acts that are privately beneficial but socially undesirable. The number and the identities of those who commit the acts differ between with norms and with fines. Fines are more likely to make higher-income individuals better off than norms. As a society becomes more affluent, fines are more likely to increase the number of those who commit than norms, and norms become the better system of deterring socially undesirable acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a biodegradable, inexpensive and universally accessible material, paper is used widely in many applications, including packaging, office supplies and household products. However, the hydrophilic and oleophilic nature of paper often limits its use in applications that involve direct contact with liquids. The main purpose of this study was to create highly amphiphobic paper for products such as low cost medical testing strips, liquid packaging, and breathable and disposable medical apparel. A three-step process was developed to create paper with contact angles greater than 150° for water and motor oil, and greater than 140° for n-hexadecane. First, a commercially available debonding agent was used to manipulate the dimensions of the fiber network through efficient fines removal and modification of inter-fiber hydrogen bonding. Then an oxygen plasma was used to create nano-scale roughness on the micrometer-sized fibers and to remove residual fines that were blocking the inter-fiber pores. Finally, the paper was immersed in a fluorosilane solution to obtain a thin, low surface energy coating. XPS, SEM, mercury porosimetry and profilometry were used to evaluate changes in the fiber network after each step. This study marks the first report that uses debonder agents specifically to modify the anti-wetting properties of paper substrates by controlling the topology of the fiber network. The processes used in this procedure are simple, cost effective and amenable to scale-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assess the impact of a 100-per cent increase of fines on compliance with speed-limits (50 km/h) and parking regulations in urban areas. Norm violations were measured through standardized observations in all five major cities in Switzerland before and after fines had been raised by 100 % or more at two pre- and two post-intervention periods. The speed of 20,000 cars was measured, and 10,000 parked cars were controlled. Levels of police controls remained stable over the entire period, but enforcement activity varied considerably across cities. Violations of parking regulations decreased by 32 %. Speed-limit violations remained unaffected in the longer run by higher fines. When cities without relevant enforcement activity were excluded, a reduction by 17 % was observed. No causal inferences can be drawn given the absence of a control area. However, the data suggest that higher fines deter traffic violations, provided enforcement activity remains at relevant levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents an industrial case study where possibilities of removing the excess of fines from crushed sand are investigated in full-scale sand washing experiments. The results are in line with previously reported investigations on laboratory scale, and indicate that the used washing technique primarily reduced the amount of material in size fractions below about 250 µm with emphasis on particles smaller than about 30 µm. This suggests that similar results can be expected from any similar and simple aggregate washing processes where basically only the Stoke's law principle is utilised for classification purposes. Concrete with the crushed washed fine aggregate displayed significantly better workability in terms of higher slump and slump-flow values compared to the corresponding mixes with the unwashed crushed sand. This is a direct result of removal of the finest particles, which are decisively contributing to the reduced flowability of the cement paste matrix of the concrete through their excessive water demand due to the large specific surface area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rheological behaviour of homogenised fibres originally having different lengths was evaluated. For this purpose, mixtures of pulp fibres and fines were fibrillated mechanically without pre-treatment and characterised with regard to morphology and viscosity. It was found that, for all samples, a similar number of homogenisation passes was needed to reach a viscosity plateau. However, the value of the final viscosity differed significantly: homogenised suspensions derived from fines achieved only about 60 % of the viscosity of suspensions derived from pulp. Already after a few homogenisation cycles, no differences between the samples could be measured using optical devices, indicating that fibrillation on the nanometre scale was responsible for the distinct rheological behaviours. Atomic force microscopy measurements indicated significantly reduced fibril lengths for the suspensions derived from fines, which explains their reduced viscosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The suffusion phenomenon occurs when fine soil particles are detached by seepage flow and transported away from the matrix. This process is one of the main causes of failure of hydraulic structures and road embankments. This study aimed to build a numerical model for simulating the suffusion within a porous medium. This model combines a flow law and an erosion equation related to the evolution of soil porosity. In addition, the dispersion and the deposition kinetics of eroded particles were combined with detachability process. The equations describe the evolution of the instantaneous concentration of the fluidized solid and the variation of eroded mass. Sensitivity analysis allows highlighting the influence of the different parameters on the suffusion, particularly that deposition kinetics starts acting only below a given hydraulic gradient and beyond a sample length. The simulation results indicate that the suffusion process is strongly related to hydraulic conditions, physical soil characteristics and pore water chemicals. The adjustment of numerical results with experimental data from laboratory tests provides a good agreement. This model is devoted to investigate conditions leading hydraulic works to avoid suffering suffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to present a study on the mechanical behavior of three Algerian sands through cyclic triaxial tests with focus on the effect of the fines content. The particularity of this study is to keep the amount of the sand material matrix as a constant parameter for the entire range of fines content. This choice was considered due to the difficulty to determine experimentally the maximum and minimum void ratios of soil mixtures for fines content exceeding 15 %. The materials used in this investigation are originated from two different regions (Chlef and Boumerdes) in northern Algeria and are known for their higher seismicity levels. By varying the cyclic stress ratios and the proportion of fines contained naturally in the sand, a series of cyclic triaxial tests were carried out on reconstituted samples with a density index of 0.5 and an initial confining pressure of 100 kPa, on a servo-controlled dynamic machine with a sinusoidal frequency signal of 0.05 Hz and alternated symmetrical cycles. Comparing the clean and natural sands, the test results indicate that the presence of fines influences significantly the liquefaction resistance. Indeed, the fines content increases the liquefaction resistance for Zemmouri sand, decreases or stabilizes it for the Rass and Chlef sands, respectively. The effect of fines on the Chlef and Rass sands is in good agreement with the published literature, where the liquefaction resistance decreases to a threshold value and then increases with the increase of the fines content. This study can be used in soil classification and determination of liquefaction potential of seismic areas with smaller amounts of fines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing the amount of fines in a blast-furnace charge significantly increases furnace productivity while also decreasing coke rate and the cost of making pig iron. The agglomeration facility at the metallurgical combine of EZRAZ ZSMK was originally designed to make one type of concentrate for blast-furnace smelting. The capacity of the warehouses where raw materials are averaged and the capacities of the equipment for crushing, screening, and delivering limestone to the facility were planned accordingly. The charge which is currently used for the sintering machines contains up to 10 iron-bearing components (concentrates, ores, additives) that differ significantly from one another in their chemical composition and physicochemical properties (granulometric composition, initial and final melting points, etc.). Irregular deliveries of iron-ore-based raw materials, the small reserves of these materials, and the inadequate storage capacity of the warehouses are adversely affecting the conditions under which the materials are averaged, thus leading to a reduction in the sinter's mechanical strength and an increase in its content of fines. Implementation of a plan to improve the designs of the screens and screening surfaces and introduce measures to reduce the sinter's content of fines has made it possible to lower the amount of fines in skip coke by 0.4-0.6 abs.%, improve the gasdynamic regime of the blast furnaces, increase productivity by 0.1-0.3%, and reduce the coke rate by 0.1-0.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal erosion has long been a major problem associated with earthen structures, and its field investigation has been limited because of its complexity. Laboratory experiments provide a potential insight into the induced processes. Soils suitable to suffusion involve an easy movement of fine particles between the coarse ones. In this study, suffusion experiments were performed on a laboratory column packed with different sand-fines mixtures and subjected to controlled flow conditions. The mixtures are made of Fontainebleau sand (NE34) and fines (kaolinite or illite or silt). The initiation and the progression of soil suffusion were investigated for soil mixtures, and the hydraulic conductivity variation was derived from pressure measurements. Attempts are made to assess the influence of the type and content of fine particles on mixtures suffusion. The results show that among the tested fine particles, illite exhibits a great resistance against suffusion. Fine content increase involves less suitability to suffusion till a threshold value. Recorded pressures indicate that detachment of fines may be followed by clogging in the soil matrix, leading to a decrease of hydraulic conductivity. Furthermore, analytical solutions of simplified mathematical model based on the mass conservation of eroded particles (Govindaraju et al., J Hydrol 172:331-350, ) were used to simulate the recorded soil suffusion curves, and the model performance was evaluated. Comparisons between numerical and experimental results indicated a quite good agreement, and allowed the estimation of the model parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two strong earthquakes occurred in the region of Chlef (north western part of Algeria) during the last century. From the geological context, there were several great masses of sandy soil ejections on to the ground surface level and severe damages to civil and hydraulic structures. These damages were due to the soil liquefaction phenomenon. The objective of this laboratory investigation is to study the effect of low plastic fines and gradation characteristics on the undrained shear strength (liquefaction resistance) response of sand-silt mixture samples. For this purpose, a series of undrained monotonic triaxial tests were carried out on reconstituted saturated silty sand samples with different fines content ranging from 0 to 50 % at two initial relative densities (D = 20 and 91 %). The initial confining pressure was kept at 100 kPa. The evaluation of the data indicates that the undrained shear strength at the peak (q) can be correlated to the undrained residual strength (S), the excess pore pressure (Δu), the fines content (F) and the intergranular void ratio (e). The test results indicate also that the undrained shear strength at the peak decreases with the increment of the coefficient of uniformity and fines content as well as with the decrement of the mean grain size in the range of 0-50 % fines content for both relative densities (D = 20 and 91 %). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A luxury monopolist can prefer increasing its net profits by raising the costs of a competitive fringe of counterfeiters compared to a situation where it can completely drive them out of the market. The mechanism underpinning this outcome results from the fact that counterfeiters can generate net revenues for the luxury monopolist because (1) sanctions imposed to counterfeiters are shaped and pocketed by the luxury monopolist under cover of deterrence (2) costs and profit loss due to counterfeiters and incurred by the luxury monopolist can be less than what is usually assumed. Moreover, the presence of counterfeits can be considered as promotional devices that signal the true luxury cachet, increases the snob value of the counterfeited brand and rewards high-end designers in a non-monetary way. In short, counterfeiting is like the light of the sun: it can burn the genuine firm but living without can be more harmful for the genuine firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The determination of the appropriate undrained residual shear strength of silty sands soils that are prone to liquefaction to be used in the assessment of the post-liquefaction stability of different types of earth structures is becoming a major challenge.The objective of this laboratory investigation is to study the effect of intergranular void ratio on undrained residual shear strength of loose, medium dense and dense (Dr = 12, 50, and 90% before consolidation) sand-silt mixtures under monotonic loading and liquefaction potential under cyclic loading. For this purpose, a series of undrained monotonic triaxial tests were carried out on reconstituted saturated silty sand samples with fine contents ranging from 0 to 50%. The confining pressure was kept constant to 100 kPa in all tests. The results of undrained monotonic tests indicate that the global void ratio does not represent the actual behaviour of the soil and the undrained residual shear strength decreases linearly with the increase of the intergranular void ratio and similar trend is happening with the fine content of the sand-silt mixtures up to 50% as well. Undrained cyclic test results show that the increase of the intergranular void ratio and the fine content accelerate the liquefaction phenomenon for the stress ratio under study and the liquefaction resistance decreases with the increase of the intergranular void ratio and the loading amplitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different types of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and fines suspensions were produced, characterized, and then added to a papermaking pulp suspension. High and medium molar mass cationic polyelectrolytes were used as fixatives. The drainage behavior of the pulp suspensions with additives were evaluated against the strength properties of hand sheets made thereof. The effects of salt concentration, pH, fixative type, dosage and type of fibrillar material on drainage were examined. All the MFC and fines samples produced had clearly different properties due to their dissimilar production methods, and they also introduced specific responses on the measured drainage and paper strength. Generally, the addition of MFC decreased the drainage rate of pulp suspension and increased the strength of paper. However, it was shown that by optimum selection of materials and process conditions an enhancement of the strength properties could be achieved without simultaneously deteriorating the drainage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers a firm’s choice of abatement and of the number of permits if actual pollution is stochastic such that full compliance cannot be ensured. This straightforward extension induces non-trivial and unexpected comparative static properties, such as: permits and abatement can be either substitutes or complements, higher fines can lower the number of acquired permits (or abatement), and higher permit prices can reduce abatement. Yet integrating these reactions into a (competitive) permit market eliminates puzzling features. This is an additional justification of tradable permits over standards, where regulators must cope with potentially counterproductive firm reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Whether the presence of non-plastic silt in a granular mix soil impact its liquefaction potential and how to evaluate liquefaction resistance of sand containing different amounts of silt contents are both controversial issues. This paper presents the results of an experimental evaluation to address these issues. Two parameters, namely, equivalent intergranular void ratio (ec)eq and equivalent interfine void ratio (ef)eq, proposed in a companion paper (Thevanayagam, 2007) as indices of active grain contacts in a granular mix, are used to characterize liquefaction resistance of sands and silty sands. Results indicate that, at the same global void ratio (e), liquefaction resistance of silty sand decreases with an increase in fines content (CF) up to a threshold value (CFth). This is due to a reduction in intergrain contact density between the coarse grains. Beyond CFth, with further addition of fines, the interfine contacts become significant while the inter-coarse grain contacts diminish and coarse grains become dispersed. At the same e, the liquefaction resistance increases and the soil becomes stronger with a further increase in silt content. Beyond a limiting fines content (CFL), the liquefaction resistance is controlled by interfine contacts only. When CFCFth, at the same (ef)eq, the cyclic strength of a sandy silt is comparable to the host silt at a void ratio equal to (ef)eq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present investigation was to prepare and evaluate the influence of adding fines on the in vitro performance of liposomal amikacin dry powder inhaler (AMK LDPI) formulations. Liposomes composed of hydrogenated soyaphosphatidylcholine, cholesterol and saturated soyaphosphatidylglycerol (AMK 1), or stearylamine (AMK 2) were prepared by a reverse phase evaporation technique, extruded to reduce size and separated from unentrapped drug. Purified liposomal dispersion was subjected to lyophilization using optimized cryoprotectant to achieve maximum percentage drug retentio (PDR). Lactose carrier in varying mass ratios with or without addition of fines in different mixing sequences was used to formulate AMK LDPI formulations. AMK LDPI formulations were characterized for angle of repose, compressibility index, dispersibility index, scanning electron microscopy, and fine perticle fraction (FPF). PDR was found to be 97.6%±2.2% for AMK1 and 98.5%±1.9% for AMK2 using sucrose as optimized cryoprotectant in lipid:sucrose ratio of 1∶4. Lactose carrier containing 10% fines (wt/wt) was found to be the optimum blend at 1∶5 mass ratio of liposome:lactose. The addition of fines and the order of mixing of fines were found to influence the FPF with significantly different device fractions. FPF of AMK LDPI formulations using Rotahaler as the delivery device at 30, 60, and 90 L/min were found to be 21.85%±2.2% and 24.6%±2.4%, 25.9% ±1.8% and 29.2%±2.1%, and 29.5%±2.6% and 34.2%±2.0% for AMK1 and AMK2, respectively. From the studies performed in this investigation, it was observed that liposomal charge, addition of fines and order of mixing fines, has a significant effect ( P<.05) on in vitro deposition of drug from LDPI formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road traffic is a typical example of an occupation with bilateral care and activity choices. In such a setting, common liability rules which simply divide damages cannot induce efficient outcomes. It is shown that fines for the violation of traffic regulations which depend on the occurrence of an accident can induce optimal behaviour. The properties of such efficient fines are derived. In particular, efficient fines tend to increase more than proportionally with the severity of an offence, while fines for repeat offenders can rise at a decreasing rate with the number of violations. To evaluate the scope for efficiency-enhancing reforms of fine systems, it is investigated whether actual regulations particularly for speeding conform to the non-proportionality requirement in selected European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT. The author calculated the specific costs of executing probation and community service orders. In addition, she attempted to design indicators that help determine the amount of effort probation officers make to perform their duties. In Hungary, the probation service is under the supervision of the judicial system; therefore, it does not have a separate budget. The author calculated the costs of alternative sanctions in multiple steps. The study found that in 1997 the costs of performing probation orders amounted to HUF 10,645 (± 47 Euro) per case per year whereas those of performing community service totalled HUF 13,395 (± 60 Euro). The analysis established that fines imposed are collected and utilised by the courts themselves. This implies a risk, namely, that judicial sanctioning practice may be determined not only by penal law but also by financial considerations. The author claims that this casts a different light on the recent punishment practice under which imprisonment (and its non-suspended form, in particular) has been increasingly replaced by fines rather than community sanctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of recycled pulps were evaluated after a series of treatments designed to improve and/or modify the pulp characteristics. Tensile strength, bursting strength, and apparent density of the pulps decreased with recycling. However, the tear strength, in most cases, increased after the first recycle and then decreased after the second recycle. Carboxyl content and WRV of pulps also decreased with recycling. Chemical treatments did not increase the bonding ability of recycled pulps and, in most cases, decreased the physical properties of the pulps. Altering the physical state of the cellulose microstructure through additional swelling did not appear to be a significant factor for strength restoration. It may be that the hemicelluloses plan a greater role in recycling than originally thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface properties of bleached kraft pulps were evaluated before and after recycling, and after a series of chemical treatments designed to improve and/or modify the pulp characteristics. The surface free energy characteristics of the pulps were determined using the Wilhelmy technique, and ESCA and ATR-FTIR methods were used to evaluate the chemical composition of the surfaces of the pulp fibers. In general rather small changes were noted at the fiber surfaces with recycling and chemical treatment. Recycling tended to increase the acid component and decrease the base component of the surface free energy of the pulps. This could result from exposure of carboxyl groups from hemicelluloses and/or from oxidized layers from the bleaching process. ESCA analyses also indicated increased carboxyl concentration at the surfaces of the recycled fibers. Although treatment with aqueous bases and organic solvents tended to increase the hydroxyl content on the surface of recycled pulps, the chemical treatments were not beneficial to pulp quality. AFM and SEM of fiber and fine surfaces of kraft pulps revealed that the fines fraction was altered to a much greater extent with recycling. Although recycled fibers appeared to have improved wettability, these small changes in the surface characteristics do not appear to play the dominant role in the characteristics of recycled pulps. Recycling did not change the crystallinity of whole pulps, but it increased the crystallinity of the fines fraction. The increase in the crystallinity of the fines fraction and the reduction in the water retention value (WRV) and the bulk carboxyl content (xylan) of the recycled pulps, as noted in Part I of this paper, appear to play the predominant role in determining the characteristics of recycled pulps. It appears that the loss of the hemicelluloses in the bulk of the fiber with recycling is much more important for internal fibrillation than the apparent small increase of hemicelluloses at the surface of recycled fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to determine the swelling of different types of mechanical pulp fines. The physical and chemical characteristics of the fines were also examined. It was found that the degree of swelling correlates with the proportion of fibrillar material, that is fibrillar content of the fines. The fines with the lowest fibrillar content had a swelling comparable to mechanical pulp fibres (0.69 g/g), whereas the fines with a high fibrillar content had a swelling comparable to never dried kraft pulp fibres (1.41 g/g). Hemicellulose content and charge could not explain the differences in swelling of different types of the mechanical pulp fines. While the lignin content appears to be an important factor in the degree of swelling of mechanical pulp fines, the results suggest that structural differences between the particles are also important. The ‘bulk elastic modulus’ was determined by measuring the change in swelling for a known change in osmotic pressure. All the mechanical pulp fines had a high bulk elastic modulus compared to kraft fines. However, fibrillar fines had a lower bulk elastic modulus than flake like fines. Mechanical pulp fines, both fibrillar and flake like varieties, did not hornify appreciably. The swelling of both the fines and the fibre fractions increased slightly with the specific energy consumption in the refining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyses of sentencing (and other criminal justice processes such as the decision to prosecute, plea bargaining, and contact with the police) often use the isolated individual as the unit of analysis. However, the criminal justice system often processes either offenses or court cases rather than persons. If court cases always involved one individual, this would have little impact. However, offenses involving co-offending—two or more persons acting together—comprise a substantial proportion of criminal activity (Reiss, 1980, 1986). Depending on the prevalence of co-offending, it may be very likely that two or more individuals involved in the same case will be selected as members of the same sample of criminal justice or criminological data. Unless it can be shown that both the individual-level variables of co-offenders and their error terms are mutually independent, analyses based on methods such as ordinary least-squares multiple regression would violate the underlying assumptions of such models. However, alternatives to linear models assuming either type of independence are available. Among the most useful of these are mixed models, specifically those assuming compound symmetry. This is illustrated with an analysis of fines imposed on criminally convicted antitrust offenders. These models may yield results which are substantially different than those from models which ignore co-offending. In a model of fines imposed on antitrust offenders, models which ignore co-offending generally overstate both estimates and statistical significance of offense-level variables and understate those of offender-level variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attention on stalking – willful and repetitive, sometimes dangerous harassment – and the ways in which legislation can address this issue is investigated. Since the attention on stalking is only a recent development a review is given of the international regulations as well as several opinions about the nature of stalking [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]