Performance of Earth Retention System, St. Louis Data Center

The design and performance of the earth retention system for a 35 ft deep excavation in medium clay is described. The earth retention system consisted of soldier piles and lagging with tieback anchors. One level of tiebacks included helical anchors installed in loose to medium dense sand. Behavior of the helical anchors in contrast to conventional drilled-in anchors is discussed

Rock Evaluation for Engineered Facilities

The need for comprehensive information on the characteristics and behavior of earth materials has been recognized for many years, perhaps for as long as significant construction has taken place in and on the surface of the earth. In recent years, however, the magnitude and complexity of engineered construction has greatly increased, resulting in a corresponding increase in the need for information on the engineering properties of soil and rock materials, Direct testing of soil and rock can be utilized to furnish necessary information. However, both field and laboratory testing can be extremely expensive, particularly where testing must include applications of stress to large masses of earth material, For this reason, significant technical and economic advantages can be realized through the development of indirect or short-cut methods for obtaining indications of the properties and characteristics of geologic materials. Some years ago the value of topographic maps, aerial photographs, pedologic descriptions, and geological surveys in characterizing soil materials was realized. To make this information useful for engineering studies, a serious effort was initiated to obtain data on the engineering properties of various soil groups and associations established on the basis of geological and pedological surveys. The correlation of performance data with information on areal distribution and location furnished by geologic and pedologic works has proven extremely valuable in the planning and construction of facilities in and on soil. In recent years, the size and importance of structures and facilities designed by engineers and architects has greatly increased. This has produced an increased interest in the rock materials underlying surficial soil layers. A clear need has arisen for a program to provide an engineering evaluation of rock materials for the purposes of location, design, construction, and maintenance of engineered facilities. However, a serious gap exists in the association of engineering characteristics with rock units identified on the basis of geological classifications, Therefore, there is a need for the development of a comprehensive evaluation program which permits utilization of existing data and which aids in the procurement of necessary information on engineering characteristics of rock

Engineering Data System for Bedrock Occurrences and Properties

The initial work plan included the development of a classification system based on index tests. An investigation of previous works in classification of rock on the basis of index tests showed that a variety of classification systems utilizing many different index tests had been developed. However, this survey showed that no generally applicable system had been developed and that little communication had been established between field investigators, facility designers, and those in charge of construction and maintenance of facilities. Therefore, the initial plan for work was modified to include the development of a comprehensive methodology for evaluation of rock. The development of such an evaluation schema was to include the establishment of an information bank to provide access to collected data by any interested individual. The first step in the development of this rock evaluation program was a survey of the categories of information that have been collected concerning geologic materials, particularly rock strata. On the basis of this investigation of existing data, a method was devised to collect, categorize, and present more extensive data on rock materials. The general schema for the evaluation program was then developed. At the present time, a research effort is continuing to test and verify the validity of the evaluation program which has been developed. A final step in this effort will be a full implementation of the rock evaluation program for project planning in Kentucky

Proposed U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Hydrocarbons Agreement: Background and Issues for Congress

This report discusses the offshore areas of the Gulf of Mexico that provide a setting for domestic and international energy production, U.S. military training and border operations, trade and commerce, fishing, tourist attractions, and recreation

An improved method for measuring quantitative resistance to the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici using high-throughput automated image analysis

Zymoseptoria tritici causes Septoria tritici blotch (STB) on wheat. An improved method of quantifying STB symptoms was developed based on automated analysis of diseased leaf images made using a flatbed scanner. Naturally infected leaves (n = 949) sampled from fungicide-treated field plots comprising 39 wheat cultivars grown in Switzerland and 9 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) grown in Oregon were included in these analyses. Measures of quantitative resistance were percent leaf area covered by lesions, pycnidia size and gray value, and pycnidia density per leaf and lesion. These measures were obtained automatically with a batch-processing macro utilizing the image-processing software ImageJ. All phenotypes in both locations showed a continuous distribution, as expected for a quantitative trait. The trait distributions at both sites were largely overlapping even though the field and host environments were quite different. Cultivars and RILs could be assigned to two or more statistically different groups for each measured phenotype. Traditional visual assessments of field resistance were highly correlated with quantitative resistance measures based on image analysis for the Oregon RILs. These results show that automated image analysis provides a promising tool for assessing quantitative resistance to Z. tritici under field conditions

Rising happiness in nations,1946-2004. A reply to Easterlin

ABSTRACT The ‘Easterlin paradox’ holds that economic growth does not add to the quality-of-life and that this appears in the fact that average happiness in nations has not risen in the last few decades. The latest trend data show otherwise. Average happiness has increased slightly in rich nations and considerably in the few poor nations for which data are available. Since longevity has also increased, the average number of happy life years has increased at an unprecedented rate since the 1950s

Impact of Gravel Dredging Operations on Surface Water Quality in Streams in the Upper Cumberland Basin

This is a report to the USEPA, Kentucky Division of Water and the Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, focused on the biologic and morphological impacts of gravel mining in the upper Cumberland basin

Interaction of Oral Bacteria With Gingival Epithelial Cell Multilayers

Primary gingival epithelial cells were cultured in multilayers as a model for the study of interactions with oral bacteria associated with health and periodontal disease. Multilayers maintained at an air-liquid interface in low calcium medium displayed differentiation and cytokeratin properties characteristic of junctional epithelium. Multilayers were infected with fluorescently labeled Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum or Streptococcus gordonii, and bacterial association was determined by confocal microscopy and quantitative image analysis. P. gingivalis invaded intracellularly and spread cell to cell. A. actinomycetemcomitans and F. nucleatum remained extracellular and showed intercellular movement through the multilayer. S. gordonii remained extracellular and predominantly associated with the superficial cell layer. None of the bacterial species disrupted barrier function as measured by transepithelial electrical resistance. P. gingivalis did not elicit secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. However, A. actinomycetemcomitans and S. gordonii induced IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 secretion; and F. nucleatum stimulated production of IL-1β and TNF-α. A. actinomycetemcomitans, F. nucleatum and S. gordonii, but not P. gingivalis, increased levels of apoptosis after 24 h infection. The results indicate that the organisms with pathogenic potential were able to traverse the epithelium, while the commensal bacteria did not. In addition, distinct host responses characterized the interaction between the junctional epithelium and oral bacteria

Continued inhibition of structural damage over 2 years in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with rituximab in combination with methotrexate

Background Rituximab inhibited structural damage at 1 year in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had had a previous inadequate response to tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors. Objective To assess structural damage progression through 2 years. Methods Intention-to-treat patients with one post-baseline radiograph (rituximab n = 281; placebo n = 187) received background methotrexate (MTX) and were randomised to rituximab (2 x 1000 mg infusions, 2 weeks apart) or placebo; patients were eligible for rituximab re-treatment every 6 months. By week 104, 82% of the placebo population had received >= 1 dose of rituximab. Radiographic end points included the change in total Sharp score (TSS), erosion and joint space narrowing scores at week 104. Results At week 104, significantly lower changes in TSS (1.14 vs 2.81; p < 0.0001), erosion score (0.72 vs 1.80; p < 0.0001) and joint space narrowing scores (0.42 vs 1.00; p < 0.0009) were observed with rituximab plus MTX vs placebo plus MTX. Within the rituximab group, 87% who had no progression of joint damage at 1 year remained non-progressive at 2 years. Conclusions Rituximab plus MTX demonstrated significant and sustained effects on joint damage progression in patients with RA and a previously inadequate response to TNF inhibitor