Optimal Damper Placement Using Combined Fitness Function

Passive control of structures represents practical concept and qualitative change of the design and construction of new seismically resistant structures and strengthening of existing ones. The best distribution obtained by the minimization or maximization of the defined structural responses is achieved by optimal placement of the different types of control devices in structures. In this paper the procedure for optimal placement of viscous damping devices (PDD–Prestressed Damping Device-PDD) (space distributed) in structures for controlling their response due to seismic excitation, will be presented. For the purpose of determination of the PDDs' optimal location, 3D five story steel frame structure has been designed following Eurocode 3 and Eurocode 8 requirements. Nine, previously defined, initial configurations have been used as a starting point in the process of optimization. The desired performance has been defined using the fitness function derived from the inter-story drift and energy dissipated by the PDDs vs. input energy in the structure in two directions x and y. The value of the fitness function has been used to rank and quantify the optimum of the particular solution among all other solutions in the optimization process. Numerous nonlinear analyses have been conducted and a lot of analytical results have been collected in order to confirm the validity and the application of the presented procedure including the fitness function in any steel structure

The Future of Cervical Cancer Prevention in Europe

Cervical cancer remains a significant source of disease and death in Europe. However, we now have the means to prevent virtually every case of cervical cancer through comprehensive, population-based, organised cervical cancer prevention programmes that effectively integrate cervical screening with the new technologies and vaccines that are now available. Given the potential health benefits of these programmes in reducing disease incidence and mortality, their establishment is now an ethical imperative for all European countries

Effect of cadmium stress on antioxidative enzymes during the germination of Serbian spruce [Picea omorika (Pan..) Purkynĕ]

When considering the effect of heavy metals on trees generally and on forest ecosystems especially,  importance is given to their influence on seed germination in metal polluted soil. There is insufficient data on  this subject, especially when conifers are concerned. In this work, the influence of high cadmium  concentrations on percentage germination, specific activities and isoenzyme patterns of catalase (CAT),  superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) during the germination of Serbian spruce [Picea omorika (Pan..) Purkynĕ] was studied. Cadmium chloride concentrations of up to 0.1 mM did not cause an inhibition of germination, while 1 mM concentration inhibited germination and the activities of catalase, superoxide  dismutase and peroxidase. The isoenzyme profile of catalase and superoxide dismutase did not change at high cadmium concentrations, while peroxidase expression of basic peroxidase (B5) with pI value of 9.1 increased. This isoform of POD can play an important role in the early development of Serbian spruce and its defense mechanism against heavy metals.Key words: Seed germination, catalase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, heavy metals

Ambient vibration testings and field investigations of two historical buildings in Europe

In this study, the methodology and results of ambient vibration-based investigations of the historical Tash Mosque in Kosovo and a 3-story historical building in Bulgaria are presented. The investigations include full-scale in situ testing of both structures due to ambient vibrations induced by micro-seismic, wind, traffic, and other human activities. To this aim, Ranger seismometers and Kinemetric products were used. Measurements were performed in both horizontal directions in several points along the structures' height utilizing a high-speed data acquisition device. All recorded data have been analyzed and processed by the software developed at IZIIS, and then the processed data were used as input for modal analysis. The basic assumption is that the excitation can be considered as a stationary random process to have a relatively flat spectrum. The paper clearly describes the procedure used for investigations and presents the dynamic properties of the whole structures. The investigated structures are both historical buildings and defined as architectural heritage and the outcome of this study including the natural vibration frequencies and mode shapes) can be very beneficial for the verification stage of the analytical/numerical models for future retrofitting/rehabilitation schemes

Serbian spruce, endemicity and advantages

Picea omorika (Pančić) Purkynĕ is Balkan endemic coniferous species and Tertiary relict of the European flora. Its natural habitat is fragmented and reduced to the middle and upper courses of the Drina River, in Western Serbia and Eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. This region represents species long-term, cryptic and last refugium. The current limited natural range of Serbian spruce is mainly the result of the species poor competing ability. It retreats to areas less inhabitable by its competitors, predominantly Picea abies and Fagus orientalis. It inhabits open habitats, comprising cliffs and forest clearings, characterized by strong northerlywind, snow and rockfalls. Since the middle of the 19th century, its natural range declines continuously. Planting Serbian spruce outside its natural range has a long tradition, either as an ornamental tree species, or for afforestation, throughout Central and Northern Europe. Despite its endemism, P. omorika is considered as one of the most adaptable spruces. Wood properties are determined by cell arrangement, size and shape, and cell wall structure and thickness. Conifers, as a response to mechanical stress, such as wind and stem lean, form reaction wood called compression wood (CW). Its formation occurs on the lower side of the leaning stem, resulting in eccentric growth. Wood opposite to the CW in the same growth ring is termed opposite wood (OW), while wood from growth rings that do not contain any CW is termed normal wood (NW). CW is characterized by reduced tracheid length, rounder cell cross-sectional profile, presence of intercellular spaces, absence of the S3 cell wall layer and presence of helical cavities in S2 layer. Higher lignification, as one of the main characteristics of CW, is associated with changed lignin composition, increased amounts of phydroxyphenyl monomers and increased condensation of monomer units in the polymer. Consequently, CW contains less cellulose, with greatly increased amounts of galactan, and slightly lower amounts of mannan and xylan, and with higher angle of cellulose microfibrils in the S2 layer of the cell wall, compared to NW. CW occurs in a range of gradations from near NW to severe CW (SCW), mild CW (MCW) forming a continuum between NW and SCW. The degree of development of particular features of CW does not necessarily change in parallel to each other, so the severity of a given tracheid is represented as a function of the degrees of development of individual features, mainly lignification, helical cavities and cell wall thickness. Visual detection of compression wood severity, more precisely the determination of MCW, is difficult. As the severity of CW affects mechanical and chemical properties of wood in forest products industry it is desirable to be able to measure CW severity. We developed different morphometric and non-morphometric methods for distinguishing wood samples on a compression severity scale. They are based on tracheid double wall thickness, cellulose microfibrils order (distribution and alignment of cellulose microfibrils), or variation in lignin structure. We used confocal fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy, and fluorescence-detected linear dichroism (FDLD) microscopy, combined with development of new algorithms and statistical analysis. We tested our methods on stem samples of P. omorika juvenile trees exposed to long term static bending. P. omorika belongs to slow-growing conifer species in which CW typically occurs in a severe form, while juvenile conifer wood is characterized by randomly distributed MCW, NW often being absent. These are the features that suggest P. omorika juvenile wood a good choice of samples for evaluation of the precision of methods suggested for estimation of compression wood severity. Our methods for distinguishing wood samples on a compression severity scale provide a fine gradation of juvenile P. omorika wood samples from NW to the severest form of CW, compression severity scales being partially different. The presented results qualify our methods for use in estimation of compression wood severity in forest products industries, individually or in combination, and confirm juvenile P. omorika stem samples as a good choice of samples for evaluation of the precision of methods suggested for compression wood severity estimation

Serbian spruce (Picea omorika (Pančić) Purkyné) - endemicity and advantages

Conifers, as a response to mechanical stress, such as wind and stem lean, form reaction wood called compression wood (CW). CW occurs in a range of gradations from near normal wood (NW) to severe CW (SCW). As the severity of CW affects the mechanical and chemical properties of wood, and as CW has limited value in the forest products industry, it is desirable to be able to measure CW severity. Picea omorika belong to slow-growing conifer species in which CW typically occurs in a severe form. We developed different morphometric and non-morphometric methods for estimation of CW severity tested on wood samples of P. omorika juvenile trees exposed to long term static bending. This specific review is aimed at presenting P. omorika as one of the most adaptable spruces, and as a good model for testing of methods for estimation of compression wood severity. First, we summarize main knowledge about P. omorika, features of CW, and methods for assessment of wood quality. Then, we present breifly our recently published methods for estimation of compression wood severity tested on P. omorika juvenile wood samples.Konifere kao odgovor na mehanički stres (vetar, savijanje) formiraju reakciono drvo koje se naziva kompresiono drvo (CW). CW se javlja u nizu gradacija od skoro normalnog drveta (NW) do jako izraženog CW (SCW). S obzirom da stepen izraženosti osobina CW ima značajan uticaj na mehaničke i hemijske osobine drveta i da CW ima ograničenu vrednost za drvnu industriju, poželjno je moći odrediti stepen izraženosti osobina CW u uzorku. Picea omorika spada u sporo rastuće četinarske vrste kod kojih se CW tipočno javlja u jako izraženoj formi. Mi smo razvili nekoliko morfometrijskih i ne-morfometrijskih metoda za procenu izraženosti osobina CW u uzorku, testiranih na uzorcima drveta juvenilnih stabala P. omorika koja su bila izložena dugotajnom statičkom savijanju. Ovaj revijski rad ima za cilj da predstavi Pančićevu omoriku kao jednu od najadaptabilnijih smrča i kao dobar model za testiranje metoda za procenu izraženosti osobina CW u uzorku. U prvom delu sumiramo znanja o Pančićevoj omorici, osobinama CW i metodama za procenu kvaliteta drveta, a u drugom ukratko predstavljamo naše nedavno objavljene metode za za procenu izraženosti osobina CW u uzorku, testirane na uzorcima drveta juvenilnih stabala P. omorika

Changes in sclerenchyma cell walls related to stem twining in Dioscorea balcanica

Dioscorea balcanica Košanin, family Dioscoreaceae, is an endemic, endangered liana species and a Tertiary relict of Balkan Peninsula. Gelatinous fibers, specialized sclerenchyma cells and well-known components of tension wood, are responsible for stem twining in liana plants. The aim of this investigation was to determine changes in sclerenchyma cell walls correlated with the twining process in liana plants. Our results showed that the differences in cell walls of sclerenchyma cells between straight and twisted internodes are not visible by light microscopy, but they are visible by SEM microscopy. In twisted internodes, cell walls of sclerenchyma cells in the region of contact with the support (‘‘tension’’ side of twisted internodes) appear smooth on the cross sections, suggesting cellulose microfibrils oriented almost parallel to the fiber axis. In contrast, cell walls of the entire ring of sclerenchyma cells in straight internodes, as well as cell walls of sclerenchyma cells on the “opposite” side of twisted internodes, appear jagged on the cross sections, suggesting cellulose microfibrils oriented at very high microfibril angle to the fiber axis. This result suggests that gelatinous fibers in D. balcanica stem have lignified G-layer, and thus could contribute to the understanding of ‘‘late lignification of the G-layer’’

Klijanja semena Pančićeve omorike (Picea omorika (Pančić) Purkyně) i antioksidativni enzimi

Pančićeva omorika predstavlja Balkansku endemičnu vrstu smrče i tercijarni relikt. Određen je sastav antioksidativnih enzima tokom klijanja semena omorike u fiziološkim uslovima, a radi boljeg razumevanja mehanizama otpornosti na zagađivače iz spoljašnje sredine.1 Ovo je prva studija aktivnosti enzima katalaze (CAT), superoksid dismutaze (SOD) i peroksidaze (POD) tokom klijanja dve linije semena Pančićeve omorike (A – borealis i S – srpska). Klijanje semena je praćeno tokom 7 dana. Za procenat klijavosti korišćen je proboj radikule za više od 1 milimetar kao kriterijum. Linija A je pokazala veći procenat klijavosti (74%) i veću aktivnost enzima po jedinici sveže mase klijanaca u poređenju sa linijom S (63%). CAT aktivnost kod linije A je povećana po jedinici mase klijanaca i suvih semena, a nakon 7 dana kod neisklijalih semena nije detektovana. SOD aktivnost je ostala na sličnom nivou u obe linije. Aktivnost POD na početku nije detektovana, ali se naglo povećala nakon četvrtog dana da bi sedmog bila 10 U/g sveže mase klijanaca kod linije S i 28 U/g kod A. CAT i SOD su uključeni u očuvanje klijavosti semena i imaju ulogu zaštite od reaktivnih kiseoničnih vrsta tokom skladištenja i klijanja, dok je katalazna aktivnost bitna za procenu klijavosti. Najveću promenu aktivnosti za vreme klijanja pokazala je peroksidaza, čija aktivnost nije detektovana u suvim semenima, a tokom klijanja naglo se povećala i značajna je u kasnijim fazama klijanja

IMPACT OF CLIMATE FACTORS, BREED, AND BOAR UTILIZATION FREQUENCY ON SEMEN QUALITY AND SPERM MORPHOLOGY

The primary objective of this research was to evaluate boar ejaculate variability and the occurrence of anomalies in spermatozoa, considering climatic factors during spermatogenesis breed, and utilization frequency. This study involved 17 boars (n=129 ejaculates) and fertility testing was conducted during the most critical period of the year, from August to October. The observed sperm characteristics included: ejaculate volume (VOL), sperm concentration (CON, spermatozoa/ml), total number and number of functional spermatozoa (NT, NF), percentage of sperm motility in the native ejaculate and after dilution (MOTN, MOTD), number of produced doses (NPD), percentage of dead and live spermatozoa (PM, PZ), and sperm anomalies. The assessment of the effect was performed using a General Linear Model procedure. The breed did not influence sperm variability, while the frequency of boar utilization impacted on the occurrence of secondary anomalies. The determined regression coefficient indicated that extending the interval by one day increased PPPK by 0.340-0.348%. The maximum daily temperature during semen collection (model 1) and the value of the TH index during semen collection (model 3) influenced ejaculate volume. An increase of one ℃ in temperature, or one unit in THI value, led to a (p<0.05) increase in VOL by 3.540 ml and 2.798 ml, respectively. Furthermore, the maximum daily temperature (model 2) and the TH index value (model 4) at the beginning of the epididymal phase of spermatogenesis had an impact on semen motility, as well as the percentage of live and dead spermatozoa

Lean thinking in the European hotel industry

This paper assesses lean practices in waste management using sample of small and medium sized hotels in 19 European countries. Seven value mapping streams were assessed, namely: Process activity mapping, Supply chain response matrix, Production variety funnel, Quality filter mapping, Demand amplification mapping, Decision point analysis, and Physical structure with particular reference guest reservation and reception, and to hotel procurement systems. It was found hotels do apply value mapping techniques, and similarities were found in hotel operations regardless of location. It is suggested that every value stream mapping technique (except production variety funnel and supply chain response matrix), can have a high impact on detecting and eliminating waste both upstream and downstream the value chain. The paper concludes by discussing managerial and research implications