unreinforced masonry buildings

A recent earthquake of M=4.9 occurred on 29 October 2007 in C, ameli, Denizli, which is located in a seismically active region at southwest Anatolia, Turkey. It has caused extensive damages at unreinforced masonry buildings like many other cases observed in Turkey during other previous earthquakes. Most of the damaged structures were non-engineered, seismically deficient, unreinforced masonry buildings. This paper presents a site survey of these damaged buildings. In addition to typical masonry damages, some infrequent, event-specific damages were also observed. Reasons for the relatively wide spread damages considering the magnitude of the event are discussed in the paper

Search for the anomalous ZZZZZZ and ZZγZZ\gamma gauge couplings through the process e+e−→ZZe^+e^- \to ZZ with unpolarized and polarized beams

This work offers the constraints on the anomalous neutral triple gauge couplings (aNTGC) for the process $e^+e^- \to ZZ$ at the CLIC with $\sqrt{s}=3$ TeV. The realistic CLIC detector environments and their effects are considered in our analysis. The study is planned for the decays of producted $Z$ bosons to a pair of charged leptons (electrons or muons) and neutrino pairs. The bounds on the aNTGCs defining $CP$-conserving $C_{\widetilde{B}W}/{\Lambda^4}$ coupling and three $CP$-violating $C_{WW}/{\Lambda^4}$, $C_{BW}/{\Lambda^4}$, and $C_{BB}/{\Lambda^4}$ couplings are obtained. Also, the effects and advantages of polarization for incoming electron beams in these calculations are investigated.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figure

Graphene and Related Materials for the Internet of Bio-Nano Things

Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT) is a transformative communication framework, characterized by heterogeneous networks comprising both biological entities and artificial micro/nano-scale devices, so-called Bio-Nano Things (BNTs), interfaced with conventional communication networks for enabling innovative biomedical and environmental applications. Realizing the potential of IoBNT requires the development of new and unconventional communication technologies, such as molecular communications, as well as the corresponding transceivers, bio-cyber interfacing technologies connecting the biochemical domain of IoBNT to the electromagnetic domain of conventional networks, and miniaturized energy harvesting and storage components for the continuous power supply to BNTs. Graphene and related materials (GRMs) exhibit exceptional electrical, optical, biochemical, and mechanical properties, rendering them ideal candidates for addressing the challenges posed by IoBNT. This perspective article highlights recent advancements in GRM-based device technologies that are promising for implementing the core components of IoBNT. By identifying the unique opportunities afforded by GRMs and aligning them with the practical challenges associated with IoBNT, particularly in the materials domain, our aim is to accelerate the transition of envisaged IoBNT applications from theoretical concepts to practical implementations, while also uncovering new application areas for GRMs

A Patient with Proopiomelanocortin Deficiency: An Increasingly Important Diagnosis to Make

Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) deficiency is a rare monogenic disorder with early-onset obesity. Investigation of this entity have increased our insight into the important role of the leptin-melanocortin pathway in energy balance. Here, we present a patient with POMC deficiency due to a homozygous c.206delC mutation in the POMC gene. We discuss the pathogenesis of this condition with emphasis on the crosstalk between hypothalamic and peripheral signals in the development of obesity and the POMC-melanocortin 4 receptors system as a target for therapeutic intervention

Effects of Nigella sativa seeds and certain species of fungi extracts on number and activation of dural mast cells in rats

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of Nigella sativa seeds and certain species of fungi extracts on the number and degranulation states of dural mast cells in rats. Rats were fed ad libitum with normal tap water or tap water with extract of N. sativa seed, Ramaria condensata, Lactarius salmonicolor, Lactarius piperatus, and Tricholoma terreum for 3 days. Mast cells in dura mater were counted and evaluated in terms of granulation and degranulation states. Compound 48/80, a mast cell degranulating agent, and T. terreum significantly increased the percent of degranulated mast cells in dura mater, respectively (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05). Moreover, T. terreum causes a significant increase in the total number of mast cells (p < 0.05). N. sativa significantly inhibited mast cell degranulation induced by both the compound 48/80 and T. terreum (p < 0.05), and significantly decreased the mast cell numbers increased by T. terreum (p < 0.05). Our results suggested that T. terreum following ingestion can contribute to headaches like migraine via dural mast cell degranulation and N. sativa may be able to exert analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects by stabilizing dural mast cells. However, investigation is needed to determine the ingredients of N. sativa that may be responsible for these beneficial effects

Field-Cycling Relaxometry as a Molecular Rheology Technique: Common Analysis of NMR, Shear Modulus and Dielectric Loss Data of Polymers vs Dendrimers

© 2015 American Chemical Society. Linear poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) as well as a poly(propyleneimine) (PPI) dendrimer with different molar masses (M) are investigated by field-cycling (FC) 1H NMR, shear rheology (G) and dielectric spectroscopy (DS). The results are compared in a reduced spectral density representation: the quantity R1(ωαα)/R1α(0), where R1(ωαα) is the master curve of the frequency dependent spin-lattice relaxation rate with αα denoting the local correlation time, is compared to the rescaled dynamic viscosity n′(ωαα)/n′α(0). The quantities R1α(0) and n′α(0), respectively, are the zero-frequency limits of a simple liquid reference system. Analogously, the dielectric loss data can be included in the methodological comparison. This representation allows quantifying the sensitivity of each method with respect to the polymer-specific relaxation contribution. Introducing a "cumulative mode ratio" Fi(M) for each technique i, which measures the zero-frequency plateau of the rescaled spectral density, characteristic power-law behavior Fi(M) Mα i is revealed. In the case of PPG, FNMR(M), FG(M), and FDS(M) essentially agree with predictions of the Rouse model yielding characteristic exponents αi. The crossover to entanglement dynamics is identified by a change in αi around M ≅ 10 kg/mol. The analysis is extended to the dendrimer which exhibits a relaxation behavior reminiscent of Rouse dynamics. Yet, clear evidence of entanglement is missing. The M-dependencies of the dendrimer diffusion coefficient D obtained by pulsed field-gradient NMR and the zero-shear viscosity are found to be D(M) M-1.6±0.2 and (M) M1.9±0.2, respectively, in good agreement with our theoretical prediction n(M) M1/3 D-1(M). The close correspondence of R1(ωαα) with n′(ωαα) establishes FC NMR as a powerful tool of "molecular rheology" accessing the microscopic processes underlying macroscopic rheological behavior of complex fluids