Criteria and Practices of Various States for the Design of Jointless and Integral Abutment Bridges

The design of integral abutment bridges is not explicitly addressed in the U.S. bridge design specifications. Despite the lack of a specific national design standard for such bridges, their usage has grown steadily since several states began experimenting with this type of structure in the 1980s. The primary objective of the work reported here was to understand and compare the current (2017) design criteria and parameters that are being utilized by various states for the design of jointless and integral abutment bridges. In this paper, the required information was sought by obtaining all publicly-available “bridge design manuals” that are commonly (but not universally) published by state departments of transportation. Furthermore, when such information was not available online, direct contacts were made to obtain the necessary information. Data on each state’s integral abutment preferences, pile types, pile orientation and embedment, skew angle, maximum permissible length, etc. are provided and compared

Environmental Degradation and the Limits to LOV

We show how consumers’ environmental concerns may limit ‘love of variety’ (LOV) and be reflected in consumers decisions. We investigate how the impact of environmental degradation on LOV influences demand and optimal product variety, and how a pollution tax on firms might be used to improve upon the market outcome and increase welfare

Regression model for the study of sole and cumulative effect of temperature and solar radiation on wheat yield

The effect of variability in temperature, solar radiation and photothermal quotient were studied under varying planting windows in three wheat genotypes to cope environmental vulnerability. Regression models are regarded as valuable tools for the evaluation of temperature, solar radiation and photothermal quotient effects on wheat yield to bring its resilience to climatic vulnerability. The objective of this study was to evaluate sole and cumulative impact of temperature and solar radiation on spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield using regression modeling approach. The data collected at maturity for grain number, grain weight and grain yield were regressed against mean temperature, solar radiation and photothermal quotient (PTQ) (temperature plus solar radiation) from emergence to anthesis and maturity, using STATISTICA9 software. Scatter-plot regression model was developed at 95% confidence interval with crop data and climate variables. Results indicate direct relationship of yield with solar radiation, cumulative effect of temperature and solar radiation, whereas yield had an inverse relationship with temperature alone. Direct relationship between PTQ and yield parameters confirmed PTQ as crop-yield determinant, thus, its management needs to be done by choosing a more appropriate sowing time and best suited genotypes as an adapted management strategy for farmers under increased climatic vulnerability.Key words: Photothermal quotient, planting windows, solar radiation, temperature, wheat

Imaging rotational dynamics of nanoparticles in liquid by 4D electron microscopy

In real time and space, four-dimensional electron microscopy (4D EM) has enabled observation of transient structures and morphologies of inorganic and organic materials. We have extended 4D EM to include liquid cells without the time resolution being limited by the response of the detector. Our approach permits the imaging of the motion and morphological dynamics of a single, same particle on nanometer and ultrashort time scales. As a first application, we studied the rotational dynamics of gold nanoparticles in aqueous solution. A full transition from the conventional diffusive rotation to superdiffusive rotation and further to a ballistic rotation was observed with increasing asymmetry of the nanoparticle morphology. We explored the underlying physics both experimentally and theoretically according to the morphological asymmetry of the nanoparticles

The influence of fibre length, diameter and concentration on the strength and strain to failure of glass fibre-reinforced polyamide 6,6

Results of an investigation of the mechanical performance of injection moulded long glass fibre-reinforced polyamide 6,6 composites are presented. The glass fibre content in these composites was varied over the range 10-50% by weight using fibres with average diameters of 10, 14, and 17 μm. Mechanical testing and analysis of the apparent interfacial shear strength was carried out at 23 and 150 °C on dry-as-moulded and boiling water conditioned samples. The results from these composites are compared with standard extrusion compounded short glass fibre materials. The influence of fibre diameter and concentration on the residual fibre length, fibre orientation distribution and composite strength and elongation to failure is presented and discussed in comparison to the predictions of some of the available micromechanical models

Revisiting Cancer Stem Cells as the Origin of Cancer-Associated Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment: A Hypothetical View from the Potential of iPSCs

The tumor microenvironment (TME) has an essential role in tumor initiation and development. Tumor cells are considered to actively create their microenvironment during tumorigenesis and tumor development. The TME contains multiple types of stromal cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), Tumor endothelial cells (TECs), tumor-associated adipocytes (TAAs), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and others. These cells work together and with the extracellular matrix (ECM) and many other factors to coordinately contribute to tumor growth and maintenance. Although the types and functions of TME cells are well understood, the origin of these cells is still obscure. Many scientists have tried to demonstrate the origin of these cells. Some researchers postulated that TME cells originated from surrounding normal tissues, and others demonstrated that the origin is cancer cells. Recent evidence demonstrates that cancer stem cells (CSCs) have differentiation abilities to generate the original lineage cells for promoting tumor growth and metastasis. The differentiation of CSCs into tumor stromal cells provides a new dimension that explains tumor heterogeneity. Using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), our group postulates that CSCs could be one of the key sources of CAFs, TECs, TAAs, and TAMs as well as the descendants, which support the self-renewal potential of the cells and exhibit heterogeneity. In this review, we summarize TME components, their interactions within the TME and their insight into cancer therapy. Especially, we focus on the TME cells and their possible origin and also discuss the multi-lineage differentiation potentials of CSCs exploiting iPSCs to create a society of cells in cancer tissues including TME