Evaluation of Mix Design Methods for Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement Mixes with Foamed Bitumen

AbstractThe main objective of this work is to evaluate the use of two mix design procedures for designing bituminous pavement mixes with foamed bitumen. Mix design was carried out following the South African and Caltrans guidelines. The RAP materials used for mix design were collected from the NH-5, Chennai-Tada section. Using foamed bitumen produced from Wirtgen WLB 10 foaming equipment, a mix with RAP material, virgin aggregate and active filler were produced in the pug mill mixer. Marshall compaction effort was used for fabricating the samples. Using the indirect tensile strength test on dry and wet specimens, the optimum binder content was determined. It was seen that the two mix design procedure adopted showed different mix constituents despite using the same RAP source

Is current forest landscape research approaches providing the right insights? Observations from India context

One of the major challenges in the current scenario for ecological conservation is to quantify the forest landscape in its spatio-temporal domain and understand further implications of those. While the detailed study of the forest ecosystems may provide insights into biodiversity, carrying capacity and productive nature, most of the studies are restricted to single time/event inventory and focused on assessment of tree diversity patterns. Through the adoption of geospatial technologies like remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS), though forest monitoring has been possible, the linkages to the biodiversity distribution and its patterns are still at an empirical level, thus supporting broad measures of protection and preservation without accounting for the local/regional variability.Towards this the paper discusses the lacuna in the current landscape research approaches in Indian scenario. Presents a framework to analyze the landscape structure at the, micro, meso and macro levels. Emphasize the need for the collection of spatio-temporal field data to analyze the change in biodiversity and their linked entities. The paper suggests the need for development of long term ecological area networks to understand the ecological processes, making the data open and improve collaborations among the organizations working in the similar domain to enhance the impact of the research works

EDDY CURRENT THERMOGRAPHY FOR RAIL INSPECTION

Abstract With the tendency of the railway transportation into heavy haul, more frequent usage of rail tracks and increased axle load, the problem of surface damage and fatigue is dominant on rails. Rolling contact fatigue (RCF), which leads to crack formation in rail track heads, is becoming a growing concern in the transportation industry. It occurs on or very close to the rail head surface, and is a significant cause of rail failure. The detection of cracks in RAILS is a critical requirement in the Railway industry. Cracks, if undetected will lead to rail fractures and consequently may lead to catastrophic accidents. Thus with the development and operation of high speed trains, condition based maintenance and monitoring becomes an important approach for the improvement of reliability and safety of rail transportation. Eddy Current Thermography (ECT) is an emerging NDT method especially for conductive material like rails which combines the advantages of eddy current testing and IR Thermography. Due to electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and high permeability of rails, ECT is very suitable for its damage detections. This technology describes an inspection methodology which utilizes scanning induction Thermography in which coil is excited by a high frequency alternating current and induced eddy current are generated in sample placed near the coil. The thermographic camera is arranged to capture data indicative of a thermal response resulting from the flow of electrical current through the copper coil which scans the rail track. A computer system is configured to process the data from the thermographic camera to generate an indication of a presence of a discontinuity in the rails

Dissection of Besnoitia besnoiti intermediate host life cycle stages: From morphology to gene expression.

Cyst-forming Apicomplexa (CFA) of the Sarcocystidae have a ubiquitous presence as pathogens of humans and farm animals transmitted through the food chain between hosts with few notable exceptions. The defining hallmark of this family of obligate intracellular protists consists of their ability to remain for very long periods as infectious tissue cysts in chronically infected intermediate hosts. Nevertheless, each closely related species has evolved unique strategies to maintain distinct reservoirs on global scales and ensuring efficient transmission to definitive hosts as well as between intermediate hosts. Here, we present an in-depth comparative mRNA expression analysis of the tachyzoite and bradyzoite stages of Besnoitia besnoiti strain Lisbon14 isolated from an infected farm animal based on its annotated genome sequence. The B. besnoiti genome is highly syntenic with that of other CFA and also retains the capacity to encode a large majority of known and inferred factors essential for completing a sexual cycle in a yet unknown definitive host. This work introduces Besnoitia besnoiti as a new model for comparative biology of coccidian tissue cysts which can be readily obtained in high purity. This model provides a framework for addressing fundamental questions about the evolution of tissue cysts and the biology of this pharmacologically intractable infectious parasite stage

Dissection of Besnoitia besnoiti intermediate host life cycle stages: From morphology to gene expression

Cyst-forming Apicomplexa (CFA) of the Sarcocystidae have a ubiquitous presence as pathogens of humans and farm animals transmitted through the food chain between hosts with few notable exceptions. The defining hallmark of this family of obligate intracellular protists consists of their ability to remain for very long periods as infectious tissue cysts in chronically infected intermediate hosts. Nevertheless, each closely related species has evolved unique strategies to maintain distinct reservoirs on global scales and ensuring efficient transmission to definitive hosts as well as between intermediate hosts. Here, we present an in-depth comparative mRNA expression analysis of the tachyzoite and bradyzoite stages of Besnoitia besnoiti strain Lisbon14 isolated from an infected farm animal based on its annotated genome sequence. The B. besnoiti genome is highly syntenic with that of other CFA and also retains the capacity to encode a large majority of known and inferred factors essential for completing a sexual cycle in a yet unknown definitive host. This work introduces Besnoitia besnoiti as a new model for comparative biology of coccidian tissue cysts which can be readily obtained in high purity. This model provides a framework for addressing fundamental questions about the evolution of tissue cysts and the biology of this pharmacologically intractable infectious parasite stage

Retrenchment Strategy In Human Resource Management: The Case Of Voluntary Separation Scheme (Vss)

One of the major challenges of business leadership in this millennium is to manage continued improvement in a competitive position. In order to stay competitive, companies are trying to become more "mean and lean". To achieve this, many major corporations have adopted the "downsizing and rightsizing" strategy. Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) has been a global phenomenon since the 1980's and is common particularly in larger companies. In this study, the reaction to the VSS program involving the employees of a government agency embracing privatisation was studied, specifically the influence of the basic needs and referent power on the choice of acceptance and non-acceptance of VSS. The second objective of this study was to evaluate the success or failure of the VSS from the workers perspective in particular, whether their decision met their needs. The results showed that basic needs had an influence on the acceptance and the nonacceptance of VSS, namely health needs, security needs and self-esteem needs. All the referent powers (subjective norms) had an influence, but surprisingly close friends had the strongest influence. Differences were also found between the expectations and the perception of the workers who accepted or rejected the VSS. From the workers' perspective, it appeared that the VSS carried out in this organization was not a success

Mango (Mangifera indica. L) Malformation an Unsolved Mystery

Abstract : Mango (Mangifera indica L.) universally considered to be one of the finest fruits, and is an important crop in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. There are about 1500 varieties of mango in the world of which about 1200 are found in India. Among the known diseases of mango, mango malformation is the most serious disease. The etiology of malformation has not yet been discovered due to paucity of information and thus no effective control measure is known. This review summarizes the plausible cause of the etiology of this disease

Infrared spectroscopic studies of hydrogenated silicon clusters - guiding the search for Si₂H_x species in the Circumstellar Envelope of IRC+10216

Silicon-bearing species Si2Hx (x = 1-6) are probable candidates in the circumstellar envelope of IRC+ 10216. We have observed several fundamentals of new silicon-containing radicals Si2H3 and Si2H5 in addition to the well-known Si2H4 and Si2H6 species from infrared spectroscopy in low temperature silane matrices at 10 K. Several infrared bands identify the Si2Hx species and can be used to search for these molecules in the circumstellar envelope of IRC+ 10216. These infrared bands are confirmed by ab initio quantum chemical calculation as well as via corresponding infrared spectra detected for the deuterated species Si2Dx