Average Fracture Energy for Crack Propagation in Postfire Concrete

Wedge-splitting tests of postfire concrete specimens were carried out in the present research to obtain the load-displacement curves. Ten temperatures varying from room temperature to 600°C were employed. In order to calculate the accurate fracture energy, the tails of load-displacement curves were best fitted using exponential and power functions. Three fracture energy quantities (fracture energy GF, stable fracture energy GFS, and unstable fracture energy GFU) with their variation tendency and their mutual relationship were determined to predict energy consumption for the complete fracture propagation. Additionally, the stable fracture work WFS was also calculated. All these fracture parameters sustain an increase-decrease tendency which means that the fracture property of postfire concrete shares the same tendency

High-Salt Diet Has a Certain Impact on Protein Digestion and Gut Microbiota: A Sequencing and Proteome Combined Study

High-salt diet has been considered to cause health problems, but it is still less known how high-salt diet affects gut microbiota, protein digestion, and passage in the digestive tract. In this study, C57BL/6J mice were fed low- or high-salt diets (0.25 vs. 3.15% NaCl) for 8 weeks, and then gut contents and feces were collected. Fecal microbiota was identified by sequencing the V4 region of 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Proteins and digested products of duodenal, jejunal, cecal, and colonic contents were identified by LC-MS-MS. The results indicated that the high-salt diet increased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, the abundances of genera Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcus (P < 0.05), but decreased the abundance of Lactobacillus (P < 0.05). LC-MS-MS revealed a dynamic change of proteins from the diet, host, and gut microbiota alongside the digestive tract. For dietary proteins, high-salt diet seemed not influence its protein digestion and absorption. For host proteins, 20 proteins of lower abundance were identified in the high-salt diet group in duodenal contents, which were involved in digestive enzymes and pancreatic secretion. However, no significant differentially expressed proteins were detected in jejunal, cecal, and colonic contents. For bacterial proteins, proteins secreted by gut microbiota were involved in energy metabolism, sodium transport, and protein folding. Five proteins (cytidylate kinase, trigger factor, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, transporter, and undecaprenyl-diphosphatase) had a higher abundance in the high-salt diet group than those in the low-salt group, while two proteins (acetylglutamate kinase and PBSX phage manganese-containing catalase) were over-expressed in the low-salt diet group than in the high-salt group. Consequently, high-salt diet may alter the composition of gut microbiota and has a certain impact on protein digestion

Designing forest biodiversity experiments : general considerations illustrated by a new large experiment in subtropical China

Funded by German Research Foundation. Grant Number: DFG FOR 891/1 and 2 National Natural Science Foundation of China. Grant Numbers: NSFC 30710103907, 30930005, 31170457 , 31210103910 Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Sino-German Centre for Research Promotion in BeijingPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Designing forest biodiversity experiments: general considerations illustrated by a new large experiment in subtropical China


 Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) experiments address ecosystem-level consequences of species loss by comparing communities of high species richness with communities from which species have been gradually eliminated. BEF experiments originally started with microcosms in the laboratory and with grassland ecosystems. A new frontier in experimental BEF research is manipulating tree diversity in forest ecosystems, compelling researchers to think big and comprehensively.
 We present and discuss some of the major issues to be considered in the design of BEF experiments with trees and illustrate these with a new forest biodiversity experiment established in subtropical China (Xingangshan, Jiangxi Province) in 2009/2010. Using a pool of 40 tree species, extinction scenarios were simulated with tree richness levels of 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 species on a total of 566 plots of 25.8 × 25.8 m each.
 The goal of this experiment is to estimate effects of tree and shrub species richness on carbon storage and soil erosion; therefore, the experiment was established on sloped terrain. The following important design choices were made: (i) establishing many small rather than fewer larger plots, (ii) using high planting density and random mixing of species rather than lower planting density and patchwise mixing of species, (iii) establishing a map of the initial 'ecoscape' to characterize site heterogeneity before the onset of biodiversity effects and (iv) manipulating tree species richness not only in random but also in trait-oriented extinction scenarios.
 Data management and analysis are particularly challenging in BEF experiments with their hierarchical designs nesting individuals within-species populations within plots within-species compositions. Statistical analysis best proceeds by partitioning these random terms into fixed-term contrasts, for example, species composition into contrasts for species richness and the presence of particular functional groups, which can then be tested against the remaining random variation among compositions.
 We conclude that forest BEF experiments provide exciting and timely research options. They especially require careful thinking to allow multiple disciplines to measure and analyse data jointly and effectively. Achieving specific research goals and synergy with previous experiments involves trade-offs between different designs and requires manifold design decisions.&#13

Effect of Different Cooling Regimes on the Mechanical Properties of Cementitious Composites Subjected to High Temperatures

The influence of different cooling regimes (quenching in water and cooling in air) on the residual mechanical properties of engineered cementitious composite (ECC) subjected to high temperature up to 800°C was discussed in this paper. The ECC specimens are exposed to 100, 200, 400, 600, and 800°C with the unheated specimens for reference. Different cooling regimens had a significant influence on the mechanical properties of postfire ECC specimens. The microstructural characterization was examined before and after exposure to fire deterioration by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results from the microtest well explained the mechanical properties variation of postfire specimens

A Hybrid Multi-Step Rolling Forecasting Model Based on SSA and Simulated Annealing—Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization for Wind Speed

With the limitations of conventional energy becoming increasing distinct, wind energy is emerging as a promising renewable energy source that plays a critical role in the modern electric and economic fields. However, how to select optimization algorithms to forecast wind speed series and improve prediction performance is still a highly challenging problem. Traditional single algorithms are widely utilized to select and optimize parameters of neural network algorithms, but these algorithms usually ignore the significance of parameter optimization, precise searching, and the application of accurate data, which results in poor forecasting performance. With the aim of overcoming the weaknesses of individual algorithms, a novel hybrid algorithm was created, which can not only easily obtain the real and effective wind speed series by using singular spectrum analysis, but also possesses stronger adaptive search and optimization capabilities than the other algorithms: it is faster, has fewer parameters, and is less expensive. For the purpose of estimating the forecasting ability of the proposed combined model, 10-min wind speed series from three wind farms in Shandong Province, eastern China, are employed as a case study. The experimental results were considerably more accurately predicted by the presented algorithm than the comparison algorithms

Introduction to the development and application of engineered cementitious composite (ECC)

Concrete is the predominant building material in civil engineering. A major impediment to the efficient implementation of ordinary concrete in infrastructure is the low tensile strength and strain capacity. Unlike brittle concrete, engineered cementitious composite (ECC) demonstrates high tensile property with robust strain-hardening performance accompanied by multiple self-controlled cracks. ECC holds the promise to enhance the structural and durability performances of infrastructure. The objective of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive view of the recent development of ECC materials and structures including its application from experimental studies to advanced numerical modeling methods and techniques. The structure of the book, in terms of the layout and the contents, is also presented

Advances in Engineered Cementitious Composites: Materials, Structures, and Numerical Modeling

Advances in Engineered Cementitious Composite: Materials, Structures and Numerical Modelling focuses on recent research developments in high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites, covering three key aspects, i.e., materials, structures and numerical modeling. Sections discuss the development of materials to achieve high-performance by using different type of fibers, including polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyethylene (PE) polypropylene (PP) and hybrid fibers. Other chapters look at experimental studies on the application of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites on structures and the performance of structural components, including beams, slabs and columns, and recent development of numerical methods and modeling techniques for modeling material properties and structural behavior. This book will be an essential reference resource for materials scientists, civil and structural engineers and all those working in the field of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites and structures