Axial Bearing Behaviour of A Model Pile in Sand under Multiple Static Cycles

[[abstract]]This paper designed and built a set of loading equipment for conducting model pile test. The cyclic axial load was manually applied in a displacement-controlled type. A fully instrumented aluminium model pile was designed with the outer and inner diameters of 18mm and 17mm and a length of 450mm. The thickness is only 0.5mm. The length to diameter ratio is approximately 25. Seven strain gauges were carefully pasted on the inner wall and a mini-type load cell was installed at the bottom of the wall. The sand specimens were prepared in a relative density approximately 70% and with a diameter of 40cm and a height of 60 cm. Two types of cyclic axial load were performed for both dry sand and saturated sand. The first applies the compressive load first and then applies the uplift load. This finished a compressive-tensile load cycle(C-T type). The same cycle was then repeated five times. The second applies the uplift load first and then applying the compressive load. This finished a tensile-compressive load cycle (T-C type). Each cycle was then repeated five times also. The measured load-displacement curves of pile head and the transfer curves of the pile shaft were analysed to deduce the characteristics of cyclic axial bearing behaviours. The focus was put on (1) the difference of the compressive and tensile bearing capacities; (2) the effect of the number of applied loading cycles; (3) the development of end bearing capacity with pile head displacement; (4) the unit friction distribution pattern along pile length. Based on the test results, some interesting phenomenon and conclusions are reported herein.[[incitationindex]]EI[[booktype]]紙

Design procedure and performance estimation of tidal current power system

The demand to secure an alternative resource has been increased recently rather than fossil or nuclear\ud powers. One of the affordable ocean energy is the tidal energy since it is considered as a reliable and predictable power\ud source. The turbine is one of the essential components which can convert the tidal current into the rotational force. The\ud design optimization of turbine can contribute significantly to the performance of system. There are several key aspects\ud in the design of turbine. Also the estimation of the device performance is to be carried out by the proven technologies.\ud This paper introduces the design procedure of the tidal current turbine considering number of blades, shape, sectional\ud profile, diameter, etc. Also the performance evaluations of the system with single and multi-arrangements are discussed

A Performance Evaluation of Introducing Balanced Scorecard to High-tech Related Industries in Taiwan

Balanced Scorecard (BSC) has become the most desirable performance evaluation tool for industries in Taiwan; however, difficulty or bad performance of system introduction has occurred due to an incomplete understanding of the implementation approaches and correct objectives of the BSC system, causing the risk of cost loss. Two domestic high-tech companies in the high-tech related industry were served as the object of study in this research. The contents of four perspectives of the BSC were converted to twenty key performance evaluation indicators in terms of modern business administration as the variables in the research. Based on the DMAIC model, the importance and satisfaction of BSC implementation factors in high-tech related industry are defined first. The performance indices of satisfaction and importance of implementing BSC are standardized by fuzzy methods for evaluation and a performance matrix with the target line and upper and lower performance control lines are established. Management can analyze the performance level and compare the performance indices and matrixes of two companies after introducing BSC according to the coordinates of satisfaction and importance of implementation factors in the matrixes. These two-dimension matrices will then be converted to one-dimension coordinates for cross performance matrices of four quadrants. Next, performance improvement strategies will be devised in accordance with the aspects of the theory of constraints. After carrying out improvement strategies, the cross performance matrix will be constructed to verify the effect and ascertain the factors of bad performance. In this way, improvement strategies can be re-devised and the most appropriate distribution of resources will be made to sustain the optimum state of ability and cost during the process of introducing the BSC system. Requirements for a short period of time and low cost to evaluate the performance of BSC introduction can be met via this simple and convenient evaluation model presented in this research. Resources will be invested to enhance satisfaction for the implementation factors of high importance and low satisfaction. Likewise, resources will be adjusted to reduce the cost of system introduction for the implementation factors of low importance and high satisfaction. As a result, the time efficiency of introducing the BSC system will be promoted effectively

Neutron beam test of CsI crystal for dark matter search

We have studied the response of Tl-doped and Na-doped CsI crystals to nuclear recoils and $\gamma$'s below 10 keV. The response of CsI crystals to nuclear recoil was studied with mono-energetic neutrons produced by the $^3$H(p,n)$^3$He reaction. This was compared to the response to Compton electrons scattered by 662 keV $\gamma$-ray. Pulse shape discrimination between the response to these $\gamma$'s and nuclear recoils was studied, and quality factors were estimated. The quenching factors for nuclear recoils were derived for both CsI(Na) and CsI(Tl) crystals.Comment: 21pages, 14figures, submitted to NIM

Electromagnetic properties of graphene junctions

A resonant chiral tunneling (CT) across a graphene junction (GJ) induced by an external electromagnetic field (EF) is studied. Modulation of the electron and hole wavefunction phases $\varphi$ by the external EF during the CT processes strongly impacts the CT directional diagram. Therefore the a.c. transport characteristics of GJs depend on the EF polarization and frequency considerably. The GJ shows great promises for various nanoelectronic applications working in the THz diapason.Comment: 4 pages 3 figure

Human muscle-derived cell populations isolated by differential adhesion rates: Phenotype and contribution to skeletal muscle regeneration in Mdx/SCID mice

Muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) isolated from murine skeletal tissue by the preplate method have displayed the capability to commit to the myogenic lineage and regenerate more efficiently than myoblasts in skeletal and cardiac muscle in murine Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy mice (mdx). However, until now, these studies have not been translated to human muscle cells. Here, we describe the isolation, by a preplate technique, of candidate human MDSCs, which exhibit myogenic and regenerative characteristics similar to their murine counterparts. Using the preplate isolation method, we compared cells that adhere faster to the flasks, preplate 2 (PP2), and cells that adhere slower, preplate 6 (PP6). The human PP6 cells express several markers of mesenchymal stem cells and are distinct from human PP2 (a myoblast-like population) based on their expression of CD146 and myogenic markers desmin and CD56. After transplantation to the gastrocnemius muscle of mdx/SCID mice, we observe significantly higher levels of PP6 cells participating in muscle regeneration as compared with the transplantation of PP2 cells. This study supports some previous findings related to mouse preplate cells, and also identifies some differences between mouse and human muscle preplate cells

Inflationary models inducing non-Gaussian metric fluctuations

We construct explicit models of multi-field inflation in which the primordial metric fluctuations do not necessarily obey Gaussian statistics. These models are realizations of mechanisms in which non-Gaussianity is first generated by a light scalar field and then transferred into curvature fluctuations. The probability distribution functions of the metric perturbation at the end of inflation are computed. This provides a guideline for designing strategies to search for non-Gaussian signals in future CMB and large scale structure surveys.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure

Golgi Outpost Synthesis Impaired by Toxic Polyglutamine Proteins Contributes to Dendritic Pathology in Neurons

Dendrite aberration is a common feature of neurodegenerative diseases caused by protein toxicity, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely elusive. Here, we show that nuclear polyglutamine (polyQ) toxicity resulted in defective terminal dendrite elongation accompanied by a loss of Golgi outposts (GOPs) and a decreased supply of plasma membrane (PM) in Drosophila class IV dendritic arborization (da) (C4 da) neurons. mRNA sequencing revealed that genes downregulated by polyQ proteins included many secretory pathway-related genes, including COPII genes regulating GOP synthesis. Transcription factor enrichment analysis identified CREB3L1/CrebA, which regulates COPII gene expression. CrebA overexpression in C4 da neurons restores the dysregulation of COPII genes, GOP synthesis, and PM supply. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-PCR revealed that CrebA expression is regulated by CREB-binding protein (CBP), which is sequestered by polyQ proteins. Furthermore, co-overexpression of CrebA and Rac1 synergistically restores the polyQ-induced dendrite pathology. Collectively, our results suggest that GOPs impaired by polyQ proteins contribute to dendrite pathology through the CBP-CrebA-COPII pathway. ? 2017 The Author(s)113Ysciescopu

Polar vs. nonpolar InGaN/GaN quantum heterostructures: Opposite quantum confined electroabsorption and carrier dynamics behavior

We present a study of quantum confined electroabsorption and carrier dynamics in polar c-plane and nonpolar a-plane InGaN/GaN quantum heterostructures. We demonstrate red-shifting absorption edge, due to quantum confined Stark effect, in nonpolar InGaN/GaN quantum structures in response to increased electric field, while we show the opposite effect with blue-shifting absorption spectra in polar quantum structures. Moreover, confirmed by time-resolved photoluminescence measurements, we prove that carrier lifetimes increase with increasing electric field for nonpolar structures, whereas the opposite occurs for polar ones