Shear strength characteristics of crushed glass

Drained and undrained triaxial compression tests were performed on two gradations of crushed glass in order to determine the compressibility and shear strength characteristics. Consolidation pressures varied from 10 to 100 psi. Volume changes during consolidation were discussed because of the dependency of shear strength behavior on the density condition at the end of consolidation. Stress-strain-volume change characteristics were observed in order to discuss the load-deformation and dilatancy relationships and the effects of varying density, gradation and consolidation pressure. Stress-strain properties were also determined for the undrained tests. The undrained tests were constant volume tests, thus having no dilatancy effects. The undrained tests did have changes in pore pressure which reflected volume change tendencies. Variations in the modulus of deformation, which is analogous to the modulus of elasticity, with respect to consolidation pressure, gradation, density and drainage condition were reported. Shear strength was analyzed in terms of failure envelopes developed by series of tests having the same initial density and in terms of the maximum friction angles developed on an individual test basis. Effects of varying density, gradation and consolidation pressure were noted. The undrained tests were analyzed on both total and effective stress basis --Abstract, page ii

CP asymmetry in the Higgs decay into the top pair due to the stop mixing

We investigate a potentially large CP violating asymmetry in the decay of a neutral scalar or pseudoscalar Higgs boson into the top-anti-top pair. The source of the CP nonconservation is the complex mixing in the (left-right) stop sector. One of the interesting consequence is the different rates of the Higgs boson decays into CP conjugate polarized states.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures include

Using Toy Animal Ball Poppers to Explore Projectile Motion in Algebra and Calculus Classes

In this manuscript, we describe an activity that we have adapted for use with algebra and calculus students. By videotaping flying balls and then using an iPad app to track the flight for use in a TI-Nspire graphs page, students are encouraged to engage with the mathematics

A Systematic Mapping Approach of 16q12.2/FTO and BMI in More Than 20,000 African Americans Narrows in on the Underlying Functional Variation: Results from the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Study

Genetic variants in intron 1 of the fat mass- and obesity-associated (FTO) gene have been consistently associated with body mass index (BMI) in Europeans. However, follow-up studies in African Americans (AA) have shown no support for some of the most consistently BMI-associated FTO index single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This is most likely explained by different race-specific linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns and lower correlation overall in AA, which provides the opportunity to fine-map this region and narrow in on the functional variant. To comprehensively explore the 16q12.2/FTO locus and to search for second independent signals in the broader region, we fine-mapped a 646-kb region, encompassing the large FTO gene and the flanking gene RPGRIP1L by investigating a total of 3,756 variants (1,529 genotyped and 2,227 imputed variants) in 20,488 AAs across five studies. We observed associations between BMI and variants in the known FTO intron 1 locus: the SNP with the most significant p-value, rs56137030 (8.3×10-6) had not been highlighted in previous studies. While rs56137030was correlated at r2>0.5 with 103 SNPs in Europeans (including the GWAS index SNPs), this number was reduced to 28 SNPs in AA. Among rs56137030 and the 28 correlated SNPs, six were located within candidate intronic regulatory elements, including rs1421085, for which we predicted allele-specific binding affinity for the transcription factor CUX1, which has recently been implicated in the regulation of FTO. We did not find strong evidence for a second independent signal in the broader region. In summary, this large fine-mapping study in AA has substantially reduced the number of common alleles that are likely to be functional candidates of the known FTO locus. Importantly our study demonstrated that comprehensive fine-mapping in AA provides a powerful approach to narrow in on the functional candidate(s) underlying the initial GWAS findings in European populations

The Rise and Fall, and the Rise (Again) of Feminist Research in Music: 'What Goes Around Comes Around'

This article reports from a two-phase study that involved an analysis of the extant literature followed by a three-part survey answered by seventy-one women composers. Through these theoretical and empirical data, the authors explore the relationship between gender and music’s symbolic and cultural capital. Bourdieu’s theory of the habitus is employed to understand the gendered experiences of the female composers who participated in the survey. The article suggests that these female composers have different investments in gender but that, overall, they reinforce the male habitus given that the female habitus occupies a subordinate position in relation to that of the male. The findings of the study also suggest a connection between contemporary feminism and the attitudes towards gender held by the participants. The article concludes that female composers classify themselves, and others, according to gendered norms and that these perpetuate the social order in music in which the male norm dominates

High-Throughput High-Resolution Class I HLA Genotyping in East Africa

HLA, the most genetically diverse loci in the human genome, play a crucial role in host-pathogen interaction by mediating innate and adaptive cellular immune responses. A vast number of infectious diseases affect East Africa, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, but the HLA genetic diversity in this region remains incompletely described. This is a major obstacle for the design and evaluation of preventive vaccines. Available HLA typing techniques, that provide the 4-digit level resolution needed to interpret immune responses, lack sufficient throughput for large immunoepidemiological studies. Here we present a novel HLA typing assay bridging the gap between high resolution and high throughput. The assay is based on real-time PCR using sequence-specific primers (SSP) and can genotype carriers of the 49 most common East African class I HLA-A, -B, and -C alleles, at the 4-digit level. Using a validation panel of 175 samples from Kampala, Uganda, previously defined by sequence-based typing, the new assay performed with 100% sensitivity and specificity. The assay was also implemented to define the HLA genetic complexity of a previously uncharacterized Tanzanian population, demonstrating its inclusion in the major East African genetic cluster. The availability of genotyping tools with this capacity will be extremely useful in the identification of correlates of immune protection and the evaluation of candidate vaccine efficacy

Charge-conjugation-space-reflection parity violation in decay processes in supersymmetry.

Charge-conjugation-space-reflection parity violation in decay processes in supersymmetry