An investigation of the behavior of header end-plate connections under monotonic loading

In seismically active regions such as Turkey, the context of the nonlinearity provided by a building is based on the behaviors of structural components; beams, columns and their connections constituting the seismic force resisting system of the structure. Of these members, beam-to-column connections can play a considerably important role even if they have a capability of limited stiffness and flexural strength. Structural steel connections are mainly classified as a pinned or a moment connection. However, some beam-to-column connections having limited stiffness and flexural strength, which are called semi-rigid connections such as header end-plate connections designed so as to transmit only shear forces, can be characterized by moment-rotation relationship. This paper investigates the behavior of header end-plate connections using finite element (FE) modeling. The FE models include material, geometrical and contact nonlinearities. FE modeling technique was first verified through the test results of the experimental research performed by Aggarwal (1990). Then the effect of header end-plate thickness upon moment-rotation relationship was investigated. According to the analyses results, in addition to shear stresses, axial tensile stresses have been observed to occur in the bolts at the tension side and thickness of the header end-plate and beam web play a governing role in the development of initial rotational stiffness and the flexural strength of header end-plate connections

Zero-field NMR J-spectroscopy of organophosphorus compounds

Organophosphorus compounds are a wide and diverse class of chemicals playing a crucial role in living organisms. This aspect has been often investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which provides information about molecular structure and function. In this paper, we report the results of theoretical and experimental studies on basic organophosphorus compounds using zero-field NMR, where spin dynamics are investigated in the absence of a magnetic field with the dominant heteronuclear J-coupling. We demonstrate that the zero-field NMR enables distinguishing the chemicals owing to their unique electronic environment even though their spin systems have the same alphabetic designation. Such information can be obtained just in a single measurement, while amplitudes and widths of observed low-field NMR resonances enable the study of processes affecting spin dynamics. An excellent agreement between simulations and measurements of the spectra, particularly in the largest frequency J-couplings range ever reported in zero-field NMR, is demonstrated

Recent Advancement in Goat Nutrition

Nutrition or feeding is one of the most important components in livestock production and it’s associated with high costs. In goat production, it can typically account for 60% or more of total production costs. As a result, there is much new research being conducted on goat feeding and nutrition in a variety of areas regarding production costs, sustainability, and quality of the product produced. Areas of research that are currently receiving much attention include feed additives such as prebiotics, probiotics, enzymes, antioxidants, plant secondary metabolites, etc. Their use in animal feed is expected to increase due to the abolition of synthetic antimicrobials in feed, although there is still limited information on their use and is accompanied by contradictory research reports. This study aims to highlight some of the recent and emerging studies on the different feed resources, feed additives and dietary feed composition for goats

13^{13}C and 15^{15}N benchtop NMR detection of metabolites via relayed hyperpolarization

Parahydrogen-based nuclear spin hyperpolarization allows various magnetic-resonance applications, and it is particularly attractive because of its technical simplicity, low cost, and ability to quickly (in seconds) produce large volumes of hyperpolarized material. Although many parahydrogen-based techniques have emerged, some of them remain unexplored due to the lack of careful optimization studies. In this work, we investigate and optimize a novel parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP) technique that relies on proton exchange referred to below as PHIP-relay. An INEPT (insensitive nuclei enhanced by polarization transfer) sequence is employed to transfer polarization from hyperpolarized protons to heteronuclei ($^{15}$N and $^{13}$C) and nuclear signals are detected using benchtop NMR spectrometers (1 T and 1.4 T, respectively). We demonstrate the applicability of the PHIP-relay technique for hyperpolarization of a wide range of biochemicals by examining such key metabolites as urea, ammonium, glucose, amino acid glycine, and a drug precursor benzamide. By optimizing chemical and NMR parameters of the PHIP-relay, we achieve a 17,100-fold enhancement of $^{15}$N signal of [$^{13}$C, $^{15}$N$_{2}$]-urea compared to the thermal signal measured at 1 T. We also show that repeated measurements with shorter exposure to parahydrogen provide a higher effective signal-to-noise ratio compared to longer parahydrogen bubbling

Effect of a dietary essential oil mixture on performance of laying hens in the summer season

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplements of either an essential oil mixture (EOM) or a mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) as alternatives to an antibiotic feed additive (avilamycin) for layers kept under hot summer conditions. Four hundred and eighty 54-week old Nick-Brown hens were assigned to four dietary treatments. Each treatment consisted of four replications of 10 cages (three hens per cage). The treatment groups were: 1) Control: Basal diet without additive; 2) Basal diet plus antibiotic (10 mg avilamycin/kg feed); 3) Basal diet plus 1 g MOS/kg feed; 4) Basal diet plus 24 mg EOM/kg feed. Performance of laying hens was affected by dietary treatments. Dietary supplementation of EOM and MOS significantly increased egg production compared with control and antibiotic groups. There were no significant differences in feed consumption between treatments. The EOM significantly improved feed conversion ratio above that of the control group. Egg weights were significantly different between treatments. Laying hens consuming MOS produced significantly lower egg weights than the other groups, while egg weights in the EOM, antibiotic and control groups did not differ significantly. Cracked-broken egg rate was decreased by dietary addition of EOM, MOS and antibiotic compared with the control. Number of deaths among hens was significantly affected by dietary treatments with the number of deaths in the MOS treatment being significantly lower than in the other treatments. The performance of laying hens during the summer season could be maintained with inclusions of EOM and MOS in the diet. Keywords: Essential oils, mannan oligosaccharide, antibiotic, egg production, laying hen, summer seasonSouth African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 36 (4) 2006: pp. 215-22

Sex-specific differences of adenosine triphosphate levels in red blood cells isolated from ApoE/LDLR double-deficient mice

In this study for the first time, we investigated the correlation between sex-specific differences in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels in red blood cells (RBCs) and their mechanical, biochemical, and morphological alterations during the progression of atherosclerosis in ApoE/LDLR double-deficient ($ApoE/LDLR^{-/-}$) mice. Our results indicate that both sex and age affect alterations in RBCs of both $ApoE/LDLR^{-/-}$ and C57BL/6J mice. When compared with male RBCs, female RBCs were characterized by lower basal ATP and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), higher hemoglobin concentration (HGB), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), deformability, and phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure levels, regardless of age in both, $ApoE/LDLR^{-/-}$ and C57BL/6J mice. $ApoE/LDLR^{-/-}$ mice compared with age-matched controls showed lower basal ATP levels regardless of age and sex. Intracellular ATP level of RBCs was decreased solely in senescent female C57BL/6J mice, while it was elevated in males. Basal extracellular ATP levels were 400 times lower than corresponding intracellular level. In conclusion, basal ATP levels, RBC morphology, deformability, PS exposure levels alterations are sex-dependent in mice. Changes in basal ATP levels were correlated with PS exposure and trends of changes in MCV. Trends of changes of the most RBC parameters were similar in both sexes of $ApoE/LDLR^{-/-}$ mice compared with age-matched controls, however, their kinetics and levels vary greatly between different stages of disease progression

Label-free testing strategy to evaluate packed red blood cell quality before transfusion to leukemia patients

Abstract Patients worldwide require therapeutic transfusions of packed red blood cells (pRBCs), which is applied to the high-risk patients who need periodic transfusions due to leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood diseases or disorders. Contrary to the general hospital population where the transfusions are carried out mainly for healthy trauma patients, in case of high-risk patients the proper quality of pRBCs is crucial. This leads to an increased demand for efficient technology providing information on the pRBCs alterations deteriorating their quality. Here we present the design of an innovative, label-free, noninvasive, rapid Raman spectroscopy-based method for pRBCs quality evaluation, starting with the description of sample measurement and data analysis, through correlation of spectroscopic results with reference techniques' outcomes, and finishing with methodology verification and its application in clinical conditions. We have shown that Raman spectra collected from the pRBCs supernatant mixture with a proper chemometric analysis conducted for a minimum one ratio of integral intensities of the chosen Raman marker bands within the spectrum allow evaluation of the pRBC quality in a rapid, noninvasive, and free-label manner, without unsealing the pRBCs bag. Subsequently, spectroscopic data were compared with predefined reference values, either from pRBCs expiration or those defining the pRBCs quality, allowing to assess their utility for transfusion to patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

Reconciling the stratigraphy and depositional history of the Lycian orogen-top basins, SW Anatolia

Terrestrial fossil records from the SWAnatolian basins are crucial both for regional correlations and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. By reassessing biostratigraphic constraints and incorporating new fossil data, we calibrated and reconstructed the late Neogene andQuaternary palaeoenvironments within a regional palaeogeographical framework. The culmination of the Taurides inSWAnatolia was followed by a regional crustal extension from the late Tortonian onwards that created a broad array of NE-trending orogen-top basins with synchronic associations of alluvial fan, fluvial and lacustrine deposits. The terrestrial basins are superimposed on the upper Burdigalian marine units with a c. 7 myr of hiatus that corresponds to a shift from regional shortening to extension. The initial infill of these basins is documented by a transition from marginal alluvial fans and axial fluvial systems into central shallow-perennial lakes coinciding with a climatic shift from warm/humid to arid conditions. The basal alluvial fan deposits abound in fossil macro-mammals of an early Turolian (MN11–12; late Tortonian) age. The Pliocene epoch in the region was punctuated by subhumid/humid conditions resulting in a rise of local base levels and expansion of lakes as evidenced by marsh-swamp deposits containing diverse fossilmammal assemblages indicating late Ruscinian (lateMN15; late Zanclean) ageWe are grateful for the support of the international bilateral project between The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and The Russian Scientific Foundation (RFBR) with grant a number of 111Y192. M.C.A. is grateful to the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA) for a GEBIP (Young Scientist Award) grant. T.K. and S.M. are grateful to the Ege University Scientific Research Center for the TTM/002/2016 and TTM/001/2016 projects. M.C.A., H.A., S.M. and M.B. have obtained Martin and Temmick Fellowships at Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Leiden). F.A.D. is supported by a Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Scientific Research Grant. T.A.N. is supported by an Alexander-von-Humboldt Scholarship. L.H.O. received support from TUBITAK under the 2221 program for visiting scientists