A Study on the Seismic Response of Ground and Reinforced Concrete Buildings in Belgaum Region, India

In the recent years, each unpredictable earthquake (for example Kobe, 1995; Taiwan, 1999; Kocaeli, 1999 and Bhuj, 2001) has revealed its own saga of destruction and failure of engineered structures. Therefore, regional variation in potential earthquake damage should be carefully assessed for better planning towards disaster mitigation. This requires assessment of the seismic ground motion parameters. The present study focus on the seismic response of ground and reinforced concrete buildings in Belgaum region (located in zone III, as per IS 1893–Part1: 2002) in Karnataka state. At present no strong motion records are available in this region and therefore, wavelet-based spectrum compatibility approach is used to generate synthetic earthquake motions for the region. The effect of soil deposits in the region on propagation of seismic motion parameters to the ground surface is investigated based on equivalent linear approach. The Frequency response analysis of buildings of various configurations is carried out with three dimensional numerical modeling. The results indicate the maximum spectral accelerations at the ground surface in the range of 0.68g to 1.29g and peak ground acceleration (PGA) amplifications in the range of 2.16 to 3.13. The predicted fundamental period of soil deposits in the region varies from 0.2 s to 0.4 s. The configuration of buildings susceptible to resonance due to the close matching of resulting wave frequencies of the ground is identified

Downer cows: a reanalysis of an old data set.

CAUL Read and Publish Agreement.AIMS: To compare the performance of two predictive models for the survival of downer cows. METHODS: The first model had been developed in 1987 using a dataset containing missing values, while the second, new model was developed on the same dataset but using modern data imputation and analytical methods. Missing data were imputed using multiple imputation by chained equations and a logistic regression model fitted to the imputed data, with survival or not as the outcome variable. The predictive ability of the model built on the imputed data was contrasted with the original prognostic model by testing them both on a second smaller but complete data set, collected contemporaneously with the development of the original model but from a different region of New Zealand. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and cut point for the two models were calculated. RESULTS: The original 1987 model had a slightly higher accuracy than that of the new one with a sensitivity of 0.85 (95% CI = 0.72-0.94) and a specificity of 0.82 (95% CI = 0.7-0.91), using a cut point for the probability of survival = 0.313. CONCLUSIONS: The original prognostic formula published by Clark et al. in 1987 performed as well as a modern model built on an imputed data set. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The use of a prognostic test based on the Clark model should remain an important part of the clinical examination of downer cows by New Zealand veterinarians.Abbreviations: AUC: Area under the curve; AST: Aspartate transaminase activity; CK: Creatine phosphokinase activity; GAM: Generalised additive model; NSAID: Non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drugs; PCV: Packed cell volume.Publishe

In vitro anticancer activity of Sargassum sp. polysaccharides against MCF-7 cell lines

1267-1273Seaweed polysaccharides are compounds with promising chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic activities. In this study, polysaccharides isolated from Sargassum seaweeds were tested for their efficiency in cancer therapy. Polysaccharides were isolated, purified, and characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR); and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometric (MALDI-MS). It was found that the polysaccharides from Sargassum sp. branches are sulfated galactose–fucose disaccharides and sulfated galactose monosaccharides attached to the main chain through (1–4) linkages. Further, the polysaccharides were tested for cytotoxicity and anticancer activity against human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7) using the Annexin-V/propidium iodide (PI) staining method

File Specification for the MERRA Aerosol Reanalysis (MERRAero): MODIS AOD Assimilation based on a MERRA Replay

This document describes the gridded output files produced by the Goddard Earth Observing System version 5 (GEOS-5) Goddard Aerosol Assimilation System (GAAS) from July 2002 through December 2014. The MERRA Aerosol Reanalysis (MERRAero) is produced with the hydrostatic version of the GEOS-5 Atmospheric Global Climate Model (AGCM). In addition to standard meteorological parameters (wind, temperature, moisture, surface pressure), this simulation includes 15 aerosol tracers (dust, sea-salt, sulfate, black and organic carbon), ozone, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. This model simulation is driven by prescribed sea-surface temperature and sea-ice, daily volcanic and biomass burning emissions, as well as high-resolution inventories of anthropogenic emission sources. Meteorology is replayed from the MERRA Reanalysis

Dynamic association of the H3K64 trimethylation mark with genes encoding exported proteins in Plasmodium falciparum

Epigenetic modifications have emerged as critical regulators of virulence genes and stage-specific gene expression in Plasmodium falciparum. However, the specific roles of histone core epigenetic modifications in regulating the stage-specific gene expression are not well understood. In this study, we report an unconventional trimethylation at lysine 64 on histone 3 (H3K64me3) and characterize its functional relevance in P. falciparum. We show that PfSET4 and PfSET5 proteins of P. falciparum methylate H3K64 and that they prefer the nucleosome as a substrate over free histone 3 proteins. Structural analysis of PfSET5 revealed that it interacts with the nucleosome as a dimer. The H3K64me3 mark is dynamic, being enriched in the ring and trophozoite stages and drastically reduced in the schizont stages. Stage-specific global chromatin immunoprecipitation -sequencing analysis of the H3K64me3 mark revealed the selective enrichment of this methyl mark on the genes of exported family proteins in the ring and trophozoite stages and a significant reduction of the same in the schizont stages. Collectively, our data identify a novel epigenetic mark that is associated with the subset of genes encoding for exported proteins, which may regulate their expression in different stages of P. falciparum.</p

Processing of vanilla (Vanilla planifolia Andrews) beans - Influence of storing fresh beans, killing temperature and duration of killing on quality parameters

Experiments were conducted at Myladumpara (Kerala) to study the effect of storing freshvanilla (Vanilla planifolia) beans before killing, killing temperature and duration of killingand further curing on quality parameters. The study indicated that storing of fresh beans fora maximum of 3 days after harvest and before killing is advisable and the vanillin content ofsuch beans was the highest (2.51%) when compared to longer duration of storage. Killing ofbeans in hot water maintained at 65°C for 3 min or at 63°C for 5 min was on par. Immediatewrapping of killed beans with woollen cloth and storing in sweating box was the idealmethod for obtaining optimum weight and vanillin content of beans. A higher percentage ofbeans (71 to 84) became ready for conditioning within 15 days of slow drying by this method.Interactions of killing temperature and exposing beans either directly or the next day as wellas killing temperature and duration of killing were significant. &nbsp

Monitoring neutron embrittlement in nuclear pressure vessel steels using micromagnetic Barkhausen emissions

In nuclear power plants, neutron embrittlement of pressure vessel steels has been one of the main concerns. The use of micromagnetic Barkhausen emissions is a promising method to monitor the variations in microstructural and subsurface stress states due to their influence on these emissions. Measurements of these emissions can reveal neutron irradiationdegradation in nuclear power plant components. Samples which were irradiated at differentneutron fluences and annealed at different temperatures were obtained from three reactor surveillance programs. The results of different neutron fluences and annealing procedures showed noticeable fractional changes in the magnetic Barkhausen effect signal parameter, ΔMBE/MBE, and in the mechanical properties of these specimens. For example, increased intensity of neutron fluence decreased the ΔMBE/MBE as well as impact energy and upper‐shelf energy, but increased Rockwell hardness and yield strength. Typical changes in this parameter were in the range from −20% to −45% for fluences of up to 25×1018 n cm−2

The MERRA-2 Aerosol Reanalysis, 1980 Onward. Part I: System Description and Data Assimilation Evaluation

The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) updates NASA's previous satellite era (1980 - onward) reanalysis system to include additional observations and improvements to the Goddard Earth Observing System, Version 5 (GEOS-5) Earth system model. As a major step towards a full Integrated Earth Systems Analysis (IESA), in addition to meteorological observations, MERRA-2 now includes assimilation of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from various ground- and space-based remote sensing platforms. Here, in the first of a pair of studies, we document the MERRA-2 aerosol assimilation, including a description of the prognostic model (GEOS-5 coupled to the GOCART aerosol module), aerosol emissions, and the quality control of ingested observations. We provide initial validation and evaluation of the analyzed AOD fields using independent observations from ground, aircraft, and shipborne instruments. We demonstrate the positive impact of the AOD assimilation on simulated aerosols by comparing MERRA-2 aerosol fields to an identical control simulation that does not include AOD assimilation. Having shown the AOD evaluation, we take a first look at aerosol-climate interactions by examining the shortwave, clear-sky aerosol direct radiative effect. In our companion paper, we evaluate and validate available MERRA-2 aerosol properties not directly impacted by the AOD assimilation (e.g. aerosol vertical distribution and absorption). Importantly, while highlighting the skill of the MERRA-2 aerosol assimilation products, both studies point out caveats that must be considered when using this new reanalysis product for future studies of aerosols and their interactions with weather and climate

Hydrogen charging in nickel and iron and its effect on their magnetic properties

The current study was undertaken to explore the possibility of detecting hydrogen cavitation in magnetic materials through magnetic propertymeasurements. It is known that dissolved hydrogen in a material causes microvoids. These voids may affect the structure‐sensitive magnetic properties such as coercivity and remanence. In this study, hydrogen was introduced into nickel and iron by two processes, namely thermal charging and cathodic charging. The effect on the magnetic properties was measured. In addition, the variation of the magnetic properties with porosity was studied

Evaluation of fatigue damage in steel structural components by magnetoelastic Barkhausen signal analysis

This paper is concerned with using a magnetic technique for the evaluation of fatigue damage in steel structural components. It is shown that Barkhausen effect measurements can be used to indicate impending failure due to fatigue under certain conditions. The Barkhausen signal amplitude is known to be highly sensitive to changes in density and distribution of dislocations in materials. The sensitivity of Barkhausen signal amplitude to fatigue damage has been studied in the low‐cycle fatigue regime using smooth tensile specimens of a medium strength steel. The Barkhausen measurements were taken at depths of penetration of 0.02, 0.07, and 0.2 mm. It was found that changes in magnetic properties are sensitive to microstructural changes taking place at the surface of the material throughout the fatigue life. The changes in the Barkhausen signals have been attributed to distribution of dislocations in stage I and stage II of fatigue life and the formation of a macrocrack in the final stage of fatigue