Analysis of Phasing Seismic Retrofits: A Case Study

Building performance and safety have always been a high concern in seismic areas, especially as certain building configurations and designs have proven inadequate and dangerous in large earthquakes. Building failures due to earthquake forces are combated by local seismic ordinances, which describe the types of buildings at risk and mandate when they are required to be seismically retrofitted. This paper investigates the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry and the necessity of seismically retrofitting buildings, particularly soft story wood frame, non-ductile concrete, and welded steel moment frame structures. This case study focuses on the voluntary seismic retrofit of a high-rise building in San Francisco, CA that was split into five project phases, and how the phasing impacted the structure, the client, and the general contractor. Through informal interviews with the project team, the phasing plan was evaluated to determine if the retrofit created a deeper understanding of the building structurally, allowed flexibility within the execution of the retrofit, and influenced parties’ risks. These findings are useful in demonstrating how phasing a retrofit can be advantageous and disadvantageous in future seismic retrofits

New Theory of the Aurora Polaris

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77559/1/AIAA-5630-904.pd

Fungi isolated from Miscanthus and sugarcane: biomass conversion, fungal enzymes, and hydrolysis of plant cell wall polymers.

BackgroundBiofuel use is one of many means of addressing global change caused by anthropogenic release of fossil fuel carbon dioxide into Earth's atmosphere. To make a meaningful reduction in fossil fuel use, bioethanol must be produced from the entire plant rather than only its starch or sugars. Enzymes produced by fungi constitute a significant percentage of the cost of bioethanol production from non-starch (i.e., lignocellulosic) components of energy crops and agricultural residues. We, and others, have reasoned that fungi that naturally deconstruct plant walls may provide the best enzymes for bioconversion of energy crops.ResultsPreviously, we have reported on the isolation of 106 fungi from decaying leaves of Miscanthus and sugarcane (Appl Environ Microbiol 77:5490-504, 2011). Here, we thoroughly analyze 30 of these fungi including those most often found on decaying leaves and stems of these plants, as well as four fungi chosen because they are well-studied for their plant cell wall deconstructing enzymes, for wood decay, or for genetic regulation of plant cell wall deconstruction. We extend our analysis to assess not only their ability over an 8-week period to bioconvert Miscanthus cell walls but also their ability to secrete total protein, to secrete enzymes with the activities of xylanases, exocellulases, endocellulases, and beta-glucosidases, and to remove specific parts of Miscanthus cell walls, that is, glucan, xylan, arabinan, and lignin.ConclusionThis study of fungi that bioconvert energy crops is significant because 30 fungi were studied, because the fungi were isolated from decaying energy grasses, because enzyme activity and removal of plant cell wall components were recorded in addition to biomass conversion, and because the study period was 2 months. Each of these factors make our study the most thorough to date, and we discovered fungi that are significantly superior on all counts to the most widely used, industrial bioconversion fungus, Trichoderma reesei. Many of the best fungi that we found are in taxonomic groups that have not been exploited for industrial bioconversion and the cultures are available from the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures in Utrecht, Netherlands, for all to use

Shear Viscosities from the Chapman-Enskog and the Relaxation Time Approaches

The interpretation of the measured elliptic and higher order collective flows in heavy-ion collisions in terms of viscous hydrodynamics depends sensitively on the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density. Here we perform a quantitative comparison between the results of shear viscosities from the Chapman-Enskog and relaxation time methods for selected test cases with specified elastic differential cross sections: (i) The non-relativistic, relativistic and ultra-relativistic hard sphere gas with angle and energy independent differential cross section (ii) The Maxwell gas, (iii) chiral pions and (iv) massive pions for which the differential elastic cross section is taken from experiments. Our quantitative results reveal that (i) the extent of agreement (or disagreement) depends sensitively on the energy dependence of the differential cross sections employed, and (ii) stress the need to perform quantum molecular dynamical (URQMD) simulations that employ Green-Kubo techniques with similar cross sections to validate the codes employed and to test the accuracy of other methods.Comment: To be submitted to PR

Helminth Parasites of Two Species of Lepomis (Osteichthyes: Centrarchidae) from an Urban Watershed and their Potential Use in Environmental Monitoring

We provide a checklist of the common parasites of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) collected from eight creeks within an urban watershed located in Columbus, Georgia. A total of 12 parasite species were observed from 427 fish dissected. Bluegill (n = 222) were infected with 11 species, which included five species of larval helminths (Proteocephalus sp., Bothriocephalus sp., Posthodiplostomum minimum, Diplostomulum sp. and Clinostomum complanatum), one adult trematode (Pisciamphistoma stunkardi), four adult nematodes (Philometra sp., Philometra intraoculus, Spinetectus carolini and Camallanus oxycephalus) and one adult acanthocephalan (Neochinorhynchus cylindratus). Redbreast sunfish (n = 205) were infected with the same parasite species, except for the absence of larval Bothriocephalus sp. and the presence of an adult trematode (Crepidostomum cooperi). Metacercariae of the trematode P. minimum were the most common parasite in both fish species. Similar parasite communities in these sunfishes suggest that these species share similar microhabitats within the watershed, food resources and foraging sites. Seasonal comparison between the number of summer and winter parasites indicate a greater mean number of parasites per host in summer. We discuss the utility of such baseline parasite data in the potential environmental monitoring of the Bull and Upatoi Creeks watershed

Body Performance in Gendered Language Deconstructing the Mandarin Term Sajiao in the Cultural Context of Taiwan

Abstract Language not only constitutes but also restricts communicative actions. Words, phrases, and terms routinely used by native speakers to refer to communication practices reveal profound meanings about the culture under study. These terms are defined as cultural terms, which are meta-language used by native speakers to characterize communication practices that are significant to them. This paper explores the meaning and the social practice of a Mandarin cultural term, sajiao, a babyish form of persuasion. The framework derived from the tradition of ethnography of communication examines how sajiao is understood as a gender indicator and how femininity is talked and performed in the Mandarin-speaking community, Taiwan. The study discusses the importance of language in understanding gender, and the necessity to include the analyses of everyday language in gender education. Il linguaggio costituisce ma, al tempo stesso, vincola le azioni comunicative. Le parole, le frasi, i termini che i parlanti nativi utilizzano normalmente per riferirsi alle loro pratiche comunicative sono indicatori di significato rispetto alla cultura oggetto di studio. Questi termini di riferimento sono "termini culturali", espressioni metalinguistiche utilizzate per riferirsi a, e connotare le pratiche comunicative rilevanti per i parlanti. Questo articolo esplora il significato del termine culturale sajiao che in mandarino indica una forma infantilizzata di persuasione, ossia una specifica pratica sociale. Il quadro teoretico di riferimento si inscrive all'interno della tradizione dell'etnografia della comunicazione. All'interno di questo quadro, l'articolo esamina i modi con cui sajiao viene interpretato (i.e. come un indicatore di genere) e come la femminilità viene detta e agita in una comunità di parlanti mandarino a Taiwan. L'articolo evidenzia l'importanza dello studio del linguaggio nella comprensione del genere e la necessità di includere una analisi del linguaggio di tutti i giorni nell'educazione al genere

Influence of keel impacts and laying hen behavior on keel bone damage.

Keel bone damage, which presents as fractures and/or deviations of the keel, has been detected in laying hens housed in all types of systems. Factors leading to keel bone damage in hens housed with limited vertical space, such as those housed in furnished systems, are not well understood, and are the topic of this study. Ten focal hens from each of 12 furnished cages (4 rooms of 3 cages) were fitted with keel mounted tri-axial accelerometers. Their behavior was video recorded continuously over two 3-wk trials: the first when the hens were between 52 and 60 wk of age, and the second approximately 20 wk later. The integrity of each hen's keel was evaluated at the start and end of each 3-wk trial using digital computed tomography. We identified predominant behaviors associated with acceleration events sustained at the keel (collisions, aggressive interactions and grooming) by pairing accelerometer outputs with video data. For each recorded acceleration event we calculated the acceleration magnitudes as the maximum summed acceleration recorded during the event, and by calculating the area under the acceleration curve. A principle components analysis, which was used as a data reduction technique, resulted in the identification of 4 components that were used in a subsequent regression analysis. A key finding is that the number of collisions a hen has with structures in her environment, and the number of aggressive interactions that a hen is involved, each affect the likelihood that she will develop 1 or more fractures within a 3-wk time span. This relationship between hen behavior and keel fracture formation was independent of the magnitude of acceleration involved in the event. Observed behavior did not have an impact on the formation of keel bone deviations, further supporting reports that the mechanisms underlying the 2 types of keel bone damage are different