Effect of moisture and temperature on the mechanical properties of concrete

Concrete is one of the most widely used building materials. Extensive research was accomplished testing concrete properties including but not limited to modulus of elasticity, compressive strength, tensile strength, and Poisson\u27s ratio using modulus of elasticity and strength testing. The research was done under laboratory conditions. The ideal air temperature in the laboratory was between 68 and 71 °F, and the ideal air relative humidity in a laboratory was between 40 and 60 percent. Research was accomplished on properties of concrete during the curing process at extreme temperatures experienced in the developed world, but little on concrete that is already cured in the temperature range of -4 °F and 122 °F. There has also been some research of cured concrete at very high temperatures to simulate the strength properties of concrete in a fire. Virtually no research has been accomplished on the properties of concrete relating to moisture either during or after the curing process, thus there is a need for research on this topic. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Sonography of Cat Scratch Disease

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135329/1/jum2015343387.pd

Defining the target population to make marine image-based biological data FAIR

Marine imaging studies have unique constraints on the data collected requiring a tool for defining the biological scope to facilitate data discovery, quality evaluation, sharing and reuse. Defining the ‘target population’ is way of scoping biological sampling or observations by setting the pool of organisms to be observed or sampled. It is used in survey design and planning, to determine statistical inference, and is critical for data interpretation and reuse (both images and derived data). We designed a set of attributes for defining and recording the target population in biological studies using marine photography, incorporating ecological and environmental delineation and marine imaging method constraints. We describe how this definition may be altered and recorded at different phases of a project. The set of attributes records the definition of the target population in a structured metadata format to enhance data FAIRness. It is designed as an extension to the image FAIR Digital Objects metadata standard, and we map terms to other biological data standards where possible. This set of attributes serves a need to update ecological metadata to align with new remotely-sensed data, and can be applied to other remotely-sensed ecological image data

Reciprocity and the Hyperlocal Journalist

Increased interest in hyperlocal news has led to growing evidence of its economic value, its ability to play traditional democratic roles associated with news, and its merits and deficiencies in comparison with the outputs a declining established commercial news industry. Given many hyperlocal producers cite the desire to play a role in producing better communities, this paper breaks new ground in examining the social and cultural dimensions of hyperlocal journalism’s news-making, community-building, and place-making roles. We examine this emergent cultural form’s affinity with telling stories, and enabling conversations, about civic and political concerns, but also its affinity with, and celebration of, the banal everyday. Employing the novel theoretical concept of reciprocal journalism we provide new evidence about the mutually reinforcing online, and offline, practices that underpin relationships between producers and the communities they inhabit and represent. Drawing on evidence from the most extensive multi-method study of UK hyperlocal news to date, it demonstrates the different kinds of direct and indirect reciprocal exchange practices common in community news, and shows how such work, often composed of journalistic and community-activist practices, can enable and foster relationships of sustained reciprocity which improve and strengthen both hyperlocal news and the communities it serves

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Shaping 3D root system architecture

Plants are sessile organisms rooted in one place. The soil resources that plants require are often distributed in a highly heterogeneous pattern. To aid foraging, plants have evolved roots whose growth and development are highly responsive to soil signals. As a result, 3D root architecture is shaped by myriad environmental signals to ensure resource capture is optimised and unfavourable environments are avoided. The first signals sensed by newly germinating seeds — gravity and light — direct root growth into the soil to aid seedling establishment. Heterogeneous soil resources, such as water, nitrogen and phosphate, also act as signals that shape 3D root growth to optimise uptake. Root architecture is also modified through biotic interactions that include soil fungi and neighbouring plants. This developmental plasticity results in a ‘custom-made’ 3D root system that is best adapted to forage for resources in each soil environment that a plant colonises

Radial Collateral Ligament of the Elbow

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135312/1/jum20143361041.pd

Mercury Concentrations and Awareness in Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil: Baseline Measures for Evaluating the Minamata Convention

The 2013 Minamata Convention seeks to reduce anthropogenic emissions of mercury (Hg) and enhance public awareness of Hg exposure and impacts. The treaty also requires countries to increase monitoring of Hg in the environment in order to reduce human exposure and examine the efficacy of the treaty over time. Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil, is located in a watershed with a history of significant Hg deposition from gold mining and sugarcane farming. This study provides previously unpublished data on the presence of Hg in certain fish in Campos and the awareness of mercury contamination among the local population. We analyzed Hg concentrations in five commonly consumed fish species by the residents of Campos and found concentrations to be elevated in some species, to vary significantly among species, and to correlate with trophic levels likely due to biomagnification. A sample survey of people in Campos found that education levels negatively correlated with knowledge of the presence of Hg in fish and the negative health effects of both Hg and heavy metal contamination in general. These findings have potential importance for understanding Hg levels in the environment, underscore the necessity for public awareness and education efforts regarding Hg contamination (as called for in the new Convention), and provide baseline measures for the presence of Hg in fish in Campos and public awareness related to this presence. These data can be compared to future studies to examine the efficacy of the Convention and other efforts to reduce Hg emissions and exposure to Hg in this part of Brazil