Analysis on the behaviour of FRP reinforced concrete railway sleepers

The most commonly used materials for railway sleepers include timber, steel and concrete; with each of these materials possessing different characteristics that leave them susceptible to various failure modes. Due to this many sleepers fail before they reach their target design life, which is estimated to cost the Australian Railway Industry up to $80 million per year, therefore highlighting the need for a more durable sleeper design. This dissertation assesses the potential of concrete railway sleepers reinforced glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars as a solution to this problem. The dissertation involved analysing the current proposed pressure distribution patterns under the sleeper for varied ballast conditions, to determine which assumed pressure distribution gave the most critical design forces. With the critical patterns determined the effect of key sleeper parameters of support modulus and sleeper modulus were then evaluated. The results indicated that the bearing pressure distribution had a significant effect on the design forces, while the other parameters’ effects were negligible. With the critical design forces and corresponding parameters determined the required reinforcement layout for a narrow gauge concrete sleeper for both steel and GFRP bars were calculated. A finite element model was then developed for both alternative reinforcement materials, to compare and evaluate the performance of the new GFRP reinforced sleeper against a traditional steel reinforced concrete sleeper. From the results it was concluded that the concrete sleeper reinforced with GFRP bars performs just as well as the steel reinforced sleeper, but due to the lower modulus of elasticity for GFRP compared to steel, this design requires a significantly larger percentage of reinforcement (approximately 50%) to meet serviceability requirements. Therefore, further work needs to be undertaken to determine if there is an overall cost benefit in adopting this new design

Purdue Conference on Active Nonproliferation

Design a small modular reactor that is easily transportable for use in disaster relief as well as remote military outposts. A rail shippable reactor gives quick and easy transportation from one part of a country to another. The reactor must have a three MWe production capacity to ensure the reactor has the performance to power larger government facilities, such as hospitals and water treatment plants. The reactor must have enough fuel for a six-month minimum fuel cycle. Atmospheric cooling only provides the ability to reject heat to the atmosphere, minimizing the weight requirements. Uranium fuel will have a maximum of 19.75% enrichment, to minimize proliferation concerns with the reactor

Amino acid degradation pathway inhibitors trigger apoptosis in Chinese Hamster Ovary cells

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Quiet Supersonic Flights 2018 (QSF18) Test: Galveston, Texas Risk Reduction for Future Community Testing with a Low-Boom Flight Demonstration Vehicle

The Quiet Supersonic Flights 2018 (QSF18) Program was designed to develop tools and methods for demonstration of overland supersonic flight with an acceptable sonic boom, and collect a large dataset of responses from a representative sample of the population. Phase 1 provided the basis for a low amplitude sonic boom testing in six different climate regions that will enable international regulatory agencies to draft a noise-based standard for certifying civilian supersonic overland flight. Phase 2 successfully executed a large scale test in Galveston, Texas, developed well documented data sets, calculated dose response relationships, yielded lessons, and identified future risk reduction activities

Tier-Scalable Reconnaissance Missions For The Autonomous Exploration Of Planetary Bodies

A fundamentally new (scientific) reconnaissance mission concept, termed tier-scalable reconnaissance, for remote planetary (including Earth) atmospheric, surface and subsurface exploration recently has been devised that soon will replace the engineering and safety constrained mission designs of the past, allowing for optimal acquisition of geologic, paleohydrologic, paleoclimatic, and possible astrobiologic information of Venus, Mars, Europa, Ganymede, Titan, Enceladus, Triton, and other extraterrestrial targets. This paradigm is equally applicable to potentially hazardous or inaccessible operational areas on Earth such as those related to military or terrorist activities, or areas that have been exposed to biochemical agents, radiation, or natural disasters. Traditional missions have performed local, ground-level reconnaissance through rovers and immobile landers, or global mapping performed by an orbiter. The former is safety and engineering constrained, affording limited detailed reconnaissance of a single site at the expense of a regional understanding, while the latter returns immense datasets, often overlooking detailed information of local and regional significance

Cancer of the ampulla of Vater: analysis of the whole genome sequence exposes a potential therapeutic vulnerability

BACKGROUND: Recent advances in the treatment of cancer have focused on targeting genomic aberrations with selective therapeutic agents. In rare tumors, where large-scale clinical trials are daunting, this targeted genomic approach offers a new perspective and hope for improved treatments. Cancers of the ampulla of Vater are rare tumors that comprise only about 0.2% of gastrointestinal cancers. Consequently, they are often treated as either distal common bile duct or pancreatic cancers. METHODS: We analyzed DNA from a resected cancer of the ampulla of Vater and whole blood DNA from a 63 year-old man who underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy by whole genome sequencing, achieving 37× and 40× coverage, respectively. We determined somatic mutations and structural alterations. RESULTS: We identified relevant aberrations, including deleterious mutations of KRAS and SMAD4 as well as a homozygous focal deletion of the PTEN tumor suppressor gene. These findings suggest that these tumors have a distinct oncogenesis from either common bile duct cancer or pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, this combination of genomic aberrations suggests a therapeutic context for dual mTOR/PI3K inhibition. CONCLUSIONS: Whole genome sequencing can elucidate an oncogenic context and expose potential therapeutic vulnerabilities in rare cancers