Dynamic analysis of dynamic cone penetration test for subgrade compaction assessment

In practice, soil compaction quality assessment relies on the determination of the in-place compacted dry unit weight, which is then compared with the maximum dry unit weight obtained from a laboratory compaction test. Most DOTs typically require that the in-place dry unit weight for compacted soil be over 95% of the laboratory maximum dry unit weight obtained from Standard Proctor compaction test results. Nuclear gauges may be used to determine the in-place dry unit weight, however, they are potentially hazardous and require safety precautions. Other tests, such as the Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DCPT), can be used for soil compaction quality assessment

Análises laboratoriais físico-químicas e biológicas da estação de tratamento de esgoto de Balneário Camboriú

TCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Físicas e Matemáticas, Curso de Química.Os esgotos domésticos contêm aproximadamente 99,9% de água. A fração restante inclui sólidos orgânicos e inorgânicos, suspensos e dissolvidos, bem como microrganismos. Portanto, é devido a essa fração de 0,1% que há necessidade de se tratar os esgotos. A características dos esgotos é função dos usos à qual a água foi submetida. Esses usos, e a forma com que são exercidos, variam com o clima, situação social, econômica, e hábitos da população. No projeto de uma estação de tratamento, normamente não se determina os diversos compostos dos quais a água residuária é constituída, pela dificuldade em se conhecer exatamente o efluente, já que este constante sofre alterações em função do que se deseja nele. Assim, é preferível a utilização de parâmetros indiretos que traduzam o caráter ou o potencial poluidor do despejo em questão. Tais parâmetros definem a qualidade do esgoto, podendo ser dividos em três categorias: parâmetros físicos, químicos e biológicos (VON, 1995). O tratamento dos esgotos sanitários antes de seu lançamento em qualquer corpo hídrico tem como objetivo: prevenir e reduzir a disseminação de doenças transmissíveis causadas pelos microrganismos patogênicos; conservar as fontes de abastecimento de água para uso doméstico, industrial e agrícola; manter as características da água necessária à psicultura; fazer a manutenção das águas para banho e outros propósitos recreativos; preservar a fauna e a flora aquáticas. O grau necessário a ser alcançado num determinado tratamento de esgotos sanitários varia de lugar para lugar e depende dos seguintes requisitos: Usios preponderantes das águas receptoras a jusante do ponto de lançamento dos esgotos; capacidade do corpo de água em assimilar, por diluição e autodepuração, o líquido tratado; exigências legais estabelecidas pelos órgãos de controle de poluíção para o corpo receptor em apreço

Formation of Atomic Carbon Chains from Graphene Nanoribbons

The formation of one-dimensional carbon chains from graphene nanoribbons is investigated using it ab initio molecular dynamics. We show under what conditions it is possible to obtain a linear atomic chain via pulling of the graphene nanoribbons. The presence of dimers composed of two-coordinated carbon atoms at the edge of the ribbons is necessary for the formation of the linear chains, otherwise there is simply the full rupture of the structure. The presence of Stone-Wales defects close to these dimers may lead to the formation of longer chains. The local atomic configuration of the suspended atoms indicates the formation of single and triple bonds, which is a characteristic of polyynes.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Rich cities, poor countryside? Social structure of the poor and poverty risks in urban and rural places in an affluent country

This paper contributes to the field of regional poverty literature by using linked tax data to examine poverty in a large district in Switzerland with one million inhabitants and rural and urban parts. We measure poverty using income and asset-based approaches. Our regional comparison of the social structure of the poor shows that poor people in rural areas are more likely to be of retirement age. Among the workforce, the share of poor is larger for those who work in agriculture compared to those working in industry or the service sector. In urban areas, the poor are more often freelancers and people of foreign origin. Despite where they live, people with little education, single parents, and people working in gastronomy/tourism are disproportionately often poor. We then use a random forest based variable importance assessment to clarify whether the importance of poverty risks factors differs in urban and rural locations. It shows little regional differences among the major poverty risk factors, and it demonstrates that the opportunity structure, like density of workplaces or aggravated access in mountain areas, seem to be of minor importance compared to risk factors that relate to the immediate social situation

Why is Impact Measurement Abandoned in Practice? Evidence use in evaluation and contracting for five European Social Impact Bonds

Despite broad consensus on the importance of measuring “impact,” the term is not always understood as estimating counterfactual and causal estimates. We examine a type of public sector financing, “Social Impact Bonds,” a scheme where investors front money for public services, with repayment conditional on impact. We examine five cases in four European countries of Social Impact Bonds financing active labor market programs, testing the claim that Social Impact Bonds would move counterfactual causal impact evaluation to the heart of policy. We examine first how evidence was integrated in contracts, second the overall evidence generated and third, given that neither contracts nor evaluations used counterfactual definitions of impact, we explore stakeholders’ perspectives to better understand the reasons why. We find that although most stakeholders wanted the Social Impact Bonds to generate impact estimates, beliefs about public service reform, incentives, and the logic of experimentation led to the acceptance of non-causal definitions

Dance Master, Dance Mistress: Transformative Dance Pedagogy

This study is a qualitative exploration utilizing content analysis and analytic induction in an interdisciplinary exploration of educational principles and dance pedagogy. Data consists of educational theory, dance pedagogy, dance history, and the observations and experiences of the researcher. The complex challenges of dance pedagogy are explored for the purpose of better dance pedagogy in postsecondary realms. Some scholars have called for new, more resonant, models for higher education dance pedagogy. This study envisions transformative postsecondary dance pedagogy, embracing both educational tenets and dance performance with schemata applicable for both experiential learning and dance technique training

The Impact of Social Impact Bond Financing

Social impact bonds (SIBs), also known as Pay for Success, are an innovation in Payment by Results contracting. Investors finance programs and are repaid based on the “SIB effect,” which includes changes in outcomes attributable to financing. We generate a quantitative estimate of this part of the SIB effect for two active labor market programs in the Netherlands and Switzerland. Comparing program impacts within providers using SIB and non-SIB contracts suggests financing has positive impacts on public benefit receipt, employment, and income. Qualitative research suggests this is because SIB contracts increased pressure for all involved parties, leading to the institutionalization of selection and greater resources for SIB-financed services. Contracts with high pressure, like SIBs, may compromise both performance requirements and the potential to measure performance. We examine the implications of these findings in relation to agency and stewardship theories and highlight the significance of SIBs as multilateral as opposed to bilateral contracts

V(D)J recombination frequency is affected by the sequence interposed between a pair of recombination signals: sequence comparison reveals a putative recombinational enhancer element

The immunoglobulin heavy chain intron enhancer (Eμ) not only stimulates transcription but also V(D)J recombination of chromosomally integrated recombination substrates. We aimed at reproducing this effect in recombination competent cells by transient transfection of extrachromosomal substrates. These we prepared by interposing between the recombination signal sequences (RSS) of the plasmid pBlueRec various fragments, including Eμ, possibly affecting V(D)J recombination. Our work shows that sequences inserted between RSS 23 and RSS 12, with distances from their proximal ends of 26 and 284 bp respectively, can markedly affect the frequency of V(D)J recombination. We report that the entire Eμ, the Eμ core as well as its flanking 5′ and 3′ matrix associated regions (5′ and 3′ MARs) upregulate V(D)J recombination while the downstream section of the 3′ MAR of Eμ does not. Also, prokaryotic sequences markedly suppress V(D)J recombination. This confirms previous results obtained with chromosomally integrated substrates, except for the finding that the full length 3′ MAR of Eμ stimulates V(D)J recombination in an episomal but not in a chromosomal context. The fact that other MARs do not share this activity suggests that the effect is not mediated through attachment of the recombination substrate to a nuclear matrix-associated recombination complex but through cis-activation. The presence of a 26 bp A-T-rich sequence motif in the 5′ and 3′ MARs of Eµ and in all of the other upregulating fragments investigated, leads us to propose that the motif represents a novel recombinational enhancer element distinct from those constituting the Eµ cor