Economic surprises and inflation expectations: Has anchoring of expectations survived the crisis?

This paper analyses price formation in medium- to longer-term maturity segments of euro area and US inflation-linked and nominal bond markets around the releases of important economic indicators. We compare the pre-crisis and crisis periods, controlling for liquidity effects observed in financial markets. The results allow us to draw conclusions about the anchoring of inflation expectations in the two currency areas before and during the crisis. We find a somewhat stronger anchoring of inflation expectations in the euro area than in the United States. During the crisis, the degree of anchoring of inflation expectations did not change in the euro area, but it decreased to some extent in the United States

Shear Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Beams without and with Small Amounts of Shear Reinforcement

Bæreevnevurderingen af eksisterende betonkonstruktioner udføres i mange tilfælde ud fra designmodeller. I disse designmodeller er minimumsforskydningsarmeringsforholdet, ρw,min, og den maksimale bøjle afstand, sl,max, blevet introduceret for at forhindre et skørt forskydningsbrud. Mange eksisterende betonkonstruktioner overholder dog ikke disse krav. I disse tilfælde er det ikke muligt at inkludere forskydningsarmeringen når forskydningskapaciteten vurderes. Udviklingen af en nøjagtig forskydningsmodel, der tager højde for selv små mængder forskydningsarmering, er derfor et behov for passende at kunne vurdere sikkerhedsniveauet og undgå unødvendig forstærkning af eksisterende betonkonstruktioner og den tilhør-ende miljøpåvirkning.Ved bæreevnevurdering af armerede betonbroer forsimples brodækket typisk til at fungere som en bjælke. For armeret betonbjælker uden og med små mængder forskydningsarmering er det velkendt, at forskydningsbruddet karakteriseres ved udviklingen af en kritisk forskydningsrevne. Efter udviklingen af denne kritiske forskydningsrevne styres forskydningskapaciteten af summen af forskydning der overføres af hver af de potentielle forskydningsmekanismer, såsom friktion mellem revneflader, hældningen af trykstringeren, resterende trækspændinger, dorn virkning og aktivering af forskydningsarmeringen. Udviklingen af en nøjagtig forskydningsmodel bør derfor inkludere forskydningsbidraget fra hver af disse forskydningsmekanismer. Dette studie undersøger disse forskydningsmekanismer i armeret betonbjælker uden og med små mængder forskydningsarmering.Et litteraturstudie viser, at der kun er udført begrænsede forskydningsforsøg af bjælker med små mængder forskydningsarmering. Derfor udføres to store eksperimentelle kampagner Shear test series I og Shear test series II som en del af ph.d.- studiet. Begge eksperimentelle kampagner er designet til at undersøge indflydelsen af små mængder forskydningsarmering på forskydningsopførelsen og forskydningskapacitet af armerede betonbjælker. Shear test series I viser, at forskydningskapaciteten for bjælker med et forskydningsarmeringsforhold under minimumskravene i henhold til de nuværende designstandarder er den samme som identiske bjælker uden forskydningsarmering. Imidlertid viser Shear test series II også, at forskydningskapaciteten øges, når afstanden og diameteren af forskydningsarmeringen reduceres for bjælker med et konstant forskydningsarmeringsforhold. Afhandlingen viser, at de tilgængelige modeller i litteraturen for friktion mellem betonens revneflader generelt overvurderer spændingerne sammenlignet med MixedMode test i post-peak regimet (forskydningsglidning større end 0,2 mm). Hvor Mixed-Mode test mest præcist efterligner revnekinematikken for den kritiske forskydningsrevne i armerede betonbjælker. Målinger af revnekinematikken af bjælker fra den eksperimentelle kampagne Shear test series I viser, at revneudviklingen er større for bjælker med små mængder forskydningsarmering end bjælker uden forskydningsarmering. Ved at anvende en velkendt model fra litteraturen for friktion mellem betonens revneflader på den målte revnekinematik viser den større revneudvikling sig at resultere i en overvurdering af dette forskydningsbidrag. Der foreslås derfor et nyt udtryk for friktion mellem betonens revneflader. Sammenligning af dette udtryk med forskydningsforsøgene og Mixed-Mode test viser en god overensstemmelse. Afhandlingen viser også, at de dorntest, der udføres i litteraturen for at vurdere forskydningskraften overført af dornvirkning af trækarmeringen i armeret betonbjælker uden forskydningsarmering, udføres uden at påføre armering en trækkraft. Dorntest af emner med en realistisk aktivering af trækarmeringen udføres derfor under dette ph.d.-studie. Testene viser, at spændingsniveauet i armeringen har en stor indflydelse på forholdet mellem dorn kraften og dorn deformationen. Testene viser også, at forholdet mellem dorn kraften og dorn deformationen har et lineært elastisk regime efterfulgt af et ikke-lineært plastisk regime. Sådanne modeller mangler i øjeblikket i litteraturen. Derfor foreslås en lineær elastisk og en modificeret stift plastisk dornmodel til at bestemme forskydningskraften overført af dornvirkning. En sammenligning af de foreslåede modeller med test viser en god overensstemmelse. Afhandlingen viser desuden, at der kun findes få modeller i litteraturen til vurdering af forskydningskraften overført af dornvirkning i bjælker med forskydningsarmering, og samtidig er de empiriske. Den lineære elastiske dornmodel for bjælker uden forskydningsarmering udvides derfor til at dække bjælker med forskydningsarmering.Desuden estimerer denne afhandling forskydningskraften, der overføres af hver potentiel forskydningsmekanisme baseret på de foreslåede modeller og DIC-målingerne af 16 forskydningstest fra den eksperimentelle kampagne Shear test series I. Forskydningstestene inkluderer bjælker med et forskydningsarmeringsforhold varieret mellem 0,04-0,17 %, bjælker med en effektiv højde varieret mellem 330-660 mm og identiske bjælker uden forskydningsarmering. Sammenligning af den estimerede forskydningskraft og den faktiske forskydningskraft viser en god overensstemmelse i både pre-peak og post-peak regimet.Endelig er det vist, at den styrende forskydningsmekanisme ændres som en funktion af forskydningsarmeringsforholdet. For bjælker uden eller med et lavt forskydningsarmeringsforhold overføres forskydningskraften primært af de skøre betonbidrag, dvs. friktion mellem revneflader og resterende trækspændinger. For bjælker med et større forskydningsarmeringsforhold overføres forskydningskraften primært af de mere duktile bidrag, dvs. dornvirkning og aktivering af forskydningsarmeringen. The assessment of the load-bearing capacity of existing concrete structures is, in many cases, performed on the basis of design models. In these design models, the minimum shear reinforcement ratio, ρw,min, and the maximum spacing of the shear reinforcement, sl,max, have been introduced to prevent a brittle shear failure. However, many existing concrete structures do not comply with these requirements. In such cases, it is not possible to account for the shear reinforcement when assessing the shear capacity. The development of an accurate shear model that accounts for even small amounts of shear reinforcement is, therefore, a need to suitably evaluate the level of safety and avoid unnecessary strengthening of existing concrete structures and the associated environmental impact.When assessing the load-bearing capacity of RC bridges, the bridge deck is typically simplified to act as a beam. For reinforced concrete beams without and with small amounts of shear reinforcement, it is well-known that the shear failure is characterised by the development of a critical shear crack. After the development of the critical shear crack, the shear capacity is governed by the sum of shear forces carried by each of the potential shear-transfer actions, such as aggregate interlock, the inclination of the compression chord, residual tensile stresses, dowel action and the shear reinforcement. The development of an accurate shear model should therefore account for the shear contribution from each of these shear-transfer actions. This thesis investigates these shear-transfer actions of reinforced concrete beams without and with small amounts of shear reinforcement.A literature review reveals that only limited experimental investigations have been performed on beams with small amounts of shear reinforcement. Therefore, two large experimental campaigns Shear test series I and Shear test series II are performed as part of the PhD study. Both experimental campaigns are designed to investigate the influence of small amounts of shear reinforcement on the shear behaviour and shear capacity of RC beams. Shear test series I shows that the shear capacity of beams with a shear reinforcement ratio below the minimum requirements according to the current design standards is similar to identical beams without shear reinforcement. However, Shear test series II also shows that the shear capacity increases as the spacing and diameter of the shear reinforcement are decreased for beams with a constant shear reinforcement ratio.The thesis shows that the available aggregate interlock models in the literature, in general, overestimate the stresses when compared to Mixed-Mode tests in the post-peak regime (shear slip larger than 0.2 mm). The Mixed-Mode tests imitate most accurately the crack kinematics of the critical shear crack in RC beams. Measurements of the crack kinematics of beams from the experimental campaign Shear test series I show that the crack development is more severe for beams with small amounts of shear reinforcement than for beams without shear reinforcement. By applying a well-known aggregate interlock model from the literature to the measured crack kinematics, the more severe crack development shows to result in an overestimation of the shear contribution from aggregate interlock. A new expression for the aggregate interlock stresses is therefore proposed. Comparing this expression with the shear and Mixed-Mode tests shows a good agreement.The thesis also shows that the dowel tests performed in the literature to evaluate the shear force carried by dowel action of the tensile reinforcement in RC beams without shear reinforcement are conducted without subjecting the reinforcement to a tensile force. Dowel tests of members with a realistic activation of the tensile reinforcement are therefore performed during the PhD study. The tests show that the level of tension in the reinforcement significantly influences the relation between the dowel force and the dowel displacement. The tests also show that the relation between the dowel force and the dowel displacement is initially linear elastic, followed by a non-linear plastic regime. Such models are currently missing in the literature. Therefore, a linear elastic and a modified rigid plastic dowel model is proposed to evaluate the shear force carried by dowel action. A comparison of the proposed models with tests shows a reasonably good agreement.The thesis furthermore shows that only a few models are available in the literature for estimating the shear force carried by dowel action of beams with shear reinforcement, and they are purely empirical. The linear elastic dowel model for beams without shear reinforcement is therefore extended to cover beams with shear reinforcement. Furthermore, this thesis estimates the shear force carried by each potential sheartransfer action based on the proposed models and the DIC measurements of 16 shear tests from the experimental campaign Shear test series I. The shear tests include beams with a shear reinforcement ratio ranging between 0.04-0.17 %, beams with an effective height varied between 330-660 mm and identical beams without shear reinforcement. Comparing the estimated shear force and the actual shear force shows a good agreement in both the pre-peak and the post-peak regimes. Finally, it is shown that the governing shear-transfer action changes as a function of the shear reinforcement ratio. For beams without or with a low shear reinforcement ratio, the shear force is primarily carried by the brittle concrete contributions, i.e. aggregate interlock and residual tensile stresses. For beams with a larger shear reinforcement ratio, the shear force is primarily carried by the more ductile contributions, i.e. dowel action and activation of the shear reinforcement.<br/

Comparison of Short-Term Estrogenicity Tests for Identification of Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals

The aim of this study was to compare results obtained by eight different short-term assays of estrogenlike actions of chemicals conducted in 10 different laboratories in five countries. Twenty chemicals were selected to represent direct-acting estrogens, compounds with estrogenic metabolites, estrogenic antagonists, and a known cytotoxic agent. Also included in the test panel were 17β-estradiol as a positive control and ethanol as solvent control. The test compounds were coded before distribution. Test methods included direct binding to the estrogen receptor (ER), proliferation of MCF-7 cells, transient reporter gene expression in MCF-7 cells, reporter gene expression in yeast strains stably transfected with the human ER and an estrogen-responsive reporter gene, and vitellogenin production in juvenile rainbow trout. 17β-Estradiol, 17α-ethynyl estradiol, and diethylstilbestrol induced a strong estrogenic response in all test systems. Colchicine caused cytotoxicity only. Bisphenol A induced an estrogenic response in all assays. The results obtained for the remaining test compounds—tamoxifen, ICI 182.780, testosterone, bisphenol A dimethacrylate, 4-n-octylphenol, 4-n-nonylphenol, nonylphenol dodecylethoxylate, butylbenzylphthalate, dibutylphthalate, methoxychlor, o,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDE, endosulfan, chlomequat chloride, and ethanol—varied among the assays. The results demonstrate that careful standardization is necessary to obtain a reasonable degree of reproducibility. Also, similar methods vary in their sensitivity to estrogenic compounds. Thus, short-term tests are useful for screening purposes, but the methods must be further validated by additional interlaboratory and interassay comparisons to document the reliability of the methods

Эпидемиологические исследования в сексологии

Представлены результаты эпидемиологического исследования, позволившие автору на примере обследования 1000 человек популяции из западного региона Украины сформулировать основные закономерности изменения отношения к браку и сексуального поведения мужчин и женщин в современном обществе.The findings of epidemiological study, which allowed the author to formulate main regularities of the changes in the attitude to the marriage and sexual behavior of men and women in the contemporary society on the example of the examination of 1000 persons from the western regions of Ukraine, are presented