1,438 research outputs found
Case Studies in Forensic Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering
Forensics in the geo-domain encompasses an extensive array of topics with specific emphasis in geotechnical related fields. A new discipline known as forensic geotechnical engineering (FGE) has been created to deal with investigations of soil-interaction related failures of engineered facilities or structures. A practicing geotechnical engineer cannot provide services without the fear of a lawsuit. Services of geotechnical engineers experienced in jurisprudence system are commissioned to investigate such failures. This paper presents two case histories where forensic geotechnical engineering was effectively utilized to identify, investigate, and remediate the problem as well assist in litigation. The first case history identifies a request from an office building owner for a forensic geotechnical engineering review of an extensive distress settlement cracking claim. The claim resulted in discovery of a relic sinkhole with neither collapse nor an injury combined with deficient foundation and slab design. The second case history illustrates how a forensic geotechnical investigation was undertaken to identify causative factors of the slope failure and to address the extent of damage. In both cases, the project owner(s) were able to recover a major portion of the loss and litigation cost from the insurance company
Broader niches revealed by fossil data donât reduce estimates of range loss and fragmentation of African montane trees
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.The data supporting the results already exists and is freely available in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the African Pollen Database (APD).Aim: Many speciesâ climate tolerances are broader than those estimated from current native ranges. Indeed, some Afromontane treesâ niches are up to 50% larger after incorporating fossil data. This expansion could reduce estimates of speciesâ future range loss due to climate change but also implies strong non-climatic limitations on speciesâ current ranges. One such limitation is land use, which fossil data suggest influences Afromontane tree distribution, preventing these trees from occupying warmer conditions than they currently do. We aim to assess the degree to which the broader climatic tolerances revealed by fossil data buffers projected range loss from climate and land use for Afromontane trees.
Location: Africa.
Time period: Last 21,000 years.
Major taxa studied: Afromontane trees.
Methods: We used species distribution models informed by both current and fossil distributions to project future ranges under climate and land-use projections. Results: We found that projected range reductions are only slightly ameliorated by incorporating fossil distributions and these improvements diminish further under severe land use or climate change scenarios. Taxa that are less impacted by climate are more impacted by intense land use. Depending on the severity of climate and land use, the geographic extent of Afromontane tree speciesâ ranges will contract by 40-85% and the trees will completely be lost from large portions of Africa. We projected that the surviving speciesâ ranges will become increasingly fragmented.
Main conclusions: Maintaining Afromontane ecosystems will require mitigation of both climate and land-use change and protecting areas to optimize connectivity. Our findings caution that species with climate tolerances broader than their current range might not necessarily fare better under strong changes in climate or land use
Late onset of Huntington's disease
Twenty-five patients with late-onset Huntington's disease were studied; motor impairment appeared at age 50 years or later. The average age at onset of chorea was 57.5 years, with an average age at diagnosis of 63.1 years. Approximately 25% of persons affected by Huntington's disease exhibit late onset. A preponderance of maternal transmission was noted in late-onset Huntington's disease. The clinical features resembled those of mid-life onset Huntington's disease but progressed more slowly. Neuropathological evaluation of two cases reveal less severe neuronal atrophy than for mid-life onset disease
General Report - Session 8
This General Report presents a summary of the eleven (11) papers accepted for the session 8 focused on Case History of Forensic-Geotechnical Engineering and Case Histories on Health Monitoring and Retrofit of Infrastructure. The session includes discussion of Reliability of Codes; Risk Analysis Pertaining to Public Structures, Non-Destructive Evaluation and Load Testing of Drilled Shafts, Auger Cast Piles and Driven Piles, and Damage Evaluation; Advance Information, Systems in the Geotechnical Risk Predication and Assessment. The papers originate from eight countries and cover an array of important topics in the area of forensic and geotechnical engineering. These include case histories; geotechnical-forensic engineering investigation of structures; probabilistic three dimensional modeling; behavior of laterally loaded piles; failure of helical anchors; working pile load tests; refurbished used of timber piles; and vibration effects on historic buildings. A list of the papers is assimilated in Table 1 by topic. The summary illustrated below will give the reader(s) a general overview of the focus of those papers and is intended to direct the reader to their area of interest. The activities of Session 8 also include case histories on health monitoring and retrofit of infrastructure, including bridges, tunnels, and other transportation and geotechnical structures, and their effects on existing facilities and buildings, and remediation. The Session 8 organizers greatly appreciate the efforts of the authors and commend the quality of the accepted papers
Implementation of a patient participation strategy in a randomized controlled hand hygiene promotion study â a mixed-method qualitative and quantitative evaluation
The best way to skin a cat: product consumption versus direct observation for monitoring hand hygiene performance
Reduction of hospital-acquired MRSA as a result of increased use of hydoalcoholic handrub solution: a 7 year follow-up
Finite size giant magnons in the SU(2) x SU(2) sector of AdS_4 x CP^3
We use the algebraic curve and Luscher's mu-term to calculate the leading
order finite size corrections to the dispersion relation of giant magnons in
the SU(2) x SU(2) sector of AdS_4 x CP^3. We consider a single magnon as well
as one magnon in each SU(2). In addition the algebraic curve computation is
generalized to give the leading order correction for an arbitrary multi-magnon
state in the SU(2) x SU(2) sector.Comment: 19 pages; v2, v3: references added, typos fixe
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