The Investigation of Stability of Tunnels and Settlements with Centrifuge Modeling

In most of the larger cities underground transportation systems have been gettingdesired. Such systems are constructed in urban areas and involve a tunnel, especially in softground and in shallow zones.One of major concerns for tunneling operations in urban area is the effect onneighboring buildings, because the tunneling operation and near structures highly interacteach other. Whatever the used construction method is, the excavation of a tunnel causesdisplacement around the opening and may expand towards the ground surface. Thedislocations of the buildings interact with the ground movement, and the rigidity of existingstructures will promote reduction of the magnitude of displacements induced by tunneling.In this investigation, to determine displacements induced by tunneling, the centrifugemodeling was used. The small scale centrifuge model provided dependable information aboutthe face collapse of a shallow tunnel. A required support pressure for shield driven tunnels insoft materials, and the ground deformations along the longitudinal section of the tunnelmodel, can be identified by simulating a loss of tunnel face stability

Possible activation of the immune system by chronic peripheral nesfatin-1 application at the acute phase of ischemia/reperfusion injury

Objective: Organ transplantation is one of the clinical scenarios involving ischemia and reperfusion process. Ischemia/reperfusion is the pivotal mechanism of organ injury during transplantation. Thus, ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a biphasic phenomenon that can damage the graft by inflammatory responses. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is the main hormonal system that is activated under the influence of stress. Normal HPA axis activity leading to the release of glucocorticoids is essential for homeostasis and survival during stress. Cortisol, a key controller of stress response, is released by the HPA axis. The disrupted release of cortisol in response to inflammation has been shown in animal models. Nesfatin-1 is a peptide involved in the regulation of homeostasis and has anti-inflammatory as well as anti-ischemic properties. Therefore, we aimed to identify the effect of chronic peripheral nesfatin-1 application on the plasma level of cortisol in a rat model of intestinal I/R-based stress. Materials and Methods: Two-month-old 28 Wistar Albino male rats that weighed an average of 200–250 g were used and were randomly divided into the following four experimental groups (n=7): laparotomy, I/R, nesfatin-1+laparotomy, nesfatin-1+I/R. Blood samples were collected in tubes with EDTA. Plasma cortisol levels were analyzed by rat enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Results: Statistically significant decrease was found in the plasma level of cortisol in nesfatin-1+I/R group compared with I/R group (p=0.026) Conclusion: Nesfatin-1 application can inhibit anti-inflammatory responses under the early phase of intestinal I/R and support immune reactions by reducing plasma cortisol level. This effect of nesfatin-1 may also increase the rejection of grafts during transplantation period. © 2015 by Erciyes University School of Medicine

Cosmic axion thermalization

Axions differ from the other cold dark matter candidates in that they form a degenerate Bose gas. It is shown that their huge quantum degeneracy and large correlation length cause cold dark matter axions to thermalize through gravitational self-interactions when the photon temperature reaches approximately 500 eV. When they thermalize, the axions form a Bose-Einstein condensate. Their thermalization occurs in a regime, herein called the `condensed regime', where the Boltzmann equation is not valid because the energy dispersion of the particles is smaller than their interaction rate. We derive analytical expressions for the thermalization rate of particles in the condensed regime, and check the validity of these expressions by numerical simulation of a toy model. We revisit axion cosmology in light of axion Bose-Einstein condensation. It is shown that axions are indistinguishable from ordinary cold dark matter on all scales of observational interest, except when they thermalize or rethermalize. The rethermalization of axions that are about to fall in a galactic potential well causes them to acquire net overall rotation as they go to the lowest energy state consistent with the total angular momentum they acquired by tidal torquing. This phenomenon explains the occurrence of caustic rings of dark matter in galactic halos. We find that photons may reach thermal contact with axions and investigate the implications of this possibility for the measurements of cosmological parameters.Comment: 38 pages, 1 figur

Internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the Astley-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Theistic Faith Revised among Muslim, Christian, and religiously unaffiliated secondary school students in England

This paper explores the psychometric properties of the seven-item Astley-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Theistic Faith among Muslim secondary school students (N = 1,146) in England, surveyed alongside Christian (N = 575) and religiously unaffiliated (N = 361) students, in a sample in which Muslim students comprise the majority. The data demonstrated a satisfactory level of internal consistency reliability among all three groups, although less good among the Muslim students: Muslim (α = .79), Christian (α = .92), and religious unaffiliated (α = .86). The shorter five-item Astley-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Theistic Faith Revised provided a higher level of internal consistency reliability across all three groups: Muslim (α = .85), Christian (α = .94), and religiously unaffiliated (α = .95) and is commended for further use

Diseño e implementación de un sistema domótico utilizando plataformas de desarrollo como controlador

Desarrolla un sistema domótico inteligente adaptable a todo tipo de edificio para garantizar un mayor control y gestión de las funciones de la vivienda. Estudia el desarrollo de un sistema domótico gobernado por servidores locales y plataformas de desarrollo comerciales como controladores, lo que permitirá la autonomía del control de la vivienda tanto para las personas que carezcan de las capacidades para realizarlo, como para aquellas que desean tener un mayor control remoto, seguridad o comodidad en su viviend

Vitamin e treatment enhances erythrocyte deformability in aged rats

The harmful effects of aging on blood rheology have been well known. These effects in the aging have been found to be associated with an increase in oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to seek whether treatment of vitamin E as a potent antioxidant could improve the age-related haemorheological abnormalities. For this purpose, male Wistar rats at the age of 3 and 24 months were used. The following parameters were evaluated: red blood cell (RBC) deformability, aggregation, plasma viscosity, vitamin E level, total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS) and oxidative stress index (OSI), and the following results were obtained. First, aging was associated with a decrease in RBC deformability and increase in RBC aggregation and plasma viscosity. Second, compared with the young group, while plasma TOS levels and OSI were found to be significantly increased in aged rats, there was no significant change in their plasma TAS level. Third, vitamin E administration produced significant improvement in RBC deformability and decrement in TOS and OSI values in aged rats with respect to young and aged control groups. We did not find any significant effect of vitamin E treatment on RBC aggregation in both young and aged rats and finally, we found a significantly lower plasma vitamin E level in aged rats than in young rats. In conclusion, these findings suggest that blood rheology impairs with age and vitamin E has ameliorating effects on age-induced haemorheological abnormalities especially in RBC deformability, probably by reducing the increased oxidative stress in old age

Control de cambios / Rastrea los cambios / El camino cambia: Reflexiones sobre un mundo en transformación

“Track changes: Reflecting on a transforming world” was the theme chosen to invite panels, papers, posters and alternative presentations to be part of the 2019 international congress of SIEF that was held in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia (Spain). This introduction includes a description of the content of the congress, the rationale of the choice of plenaries and some reflections about the outcomes of the congress.El lema elegido para presentar paneles, ponencias, posters y presentaciones en formatos alternativos para el congreso internacional 2019 de SIEF -que tuvo lugar en Santiago de Compostela, Galicia (España)- fue “Track changes: Reflecting on a transforming world”. Esta introducción incluye una descripción del contenido del congreso, la idea para la elección de las plenarias y algunas reflexiones sobre los resultados del congreso. &nbsp

Pathways between childhood trauma, intimate partner violence, and harsh parenting : findings from the UN multi-country study on men and violence in Asia and the Pacific

2016-2017 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journal201804_a bcmaVersion of RecordPublishe

Unraveling the Shift to the Entrepreneurial Economy

A recent literature has emerged providing compelling evidence that a major shift in the organization of the developed economies has been taking place: away from what has been characterized as the managed economy towards the entrepreneurial economy. In particular, the empirical evidence provides consistent support that (1) the role of entrepreneurship has significantly increased, and (2) a positive relationship exists between entrepreneurial activity and economic performance. However, the factors underlying this observed shift have not been identified in a systematic manner. The purpose of this paper is to suggest some of the factors leading to this shift and implications for public policy. In particular, we find that a fundamental catalyst underlying the shift from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy involved the role of technological change. However, we also find that it was not just technological change but rather involved a number of supporting factors, ranging from the demise of the communist system, increased globalization, new competition for multinational firms and higher levels of prosperity. Recognition of the causes of the shift from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy suggests a rethinking of the public policy approach. Rather than the focus of directly and exclusively on promoting startups and SMEs, it may be that the current approach to entrepreneurship policy is misguided. The priority should not be on entrepreneurship policy but rather a more pervasive and encompassing approach, policy consistent with an entrepreneurial economy

Drivers for international innovation activities in developed and emerging countries

This paper aims to shed light on firm specific drivers that lead firms to internationalise their innovation activities. The paper draws a comprehensive picture of driving forces by including firm capabilities, characteristics of the firm’s competitive environment and the influence of innovation obstacles in the home country. In particular, the role of the potential driving forces is tested on the probability to carry out different innovative activities abroad (R&D, design/conception of new products, manufacturing of innovative products and implementation of new processes). In a second step these driving forces are used to observe their impact on the decision to locate innovation activities in various countries and regions (China, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and North America) as well as in groups of countries with similar levels of knowledge (country clubs). The analysis is based on the Mannheim Innovation Panel survey which represents the German CIS (Community Innovation Survey) contribution. Two survey waves are combined and result in a sample of about 1400 firms. The results show that the decision to perform innovation activities abroad is mainly driven by organisational capabilities such as absorptive capacities, international experience and existing technological competences of the respective firm. Innovation barriers at the German home base such as lack of labour and high innovation costs foster the set up of later-stage innovation activities abroad while the lack of demand demonstrates a barrier to the internationalisation decision for the development and manufacturing of new products. Location decisions receive the strongest influencing effects from the international experience of the firm. Firms which innovate in developing countries seem to require a more extensive level of international experience by international R&D cooperation