Geotehnička klasifikacija tla i hrvatski Nacionalni dodatak Eurokodu 8

One of the challenging tasks for Croatian accession to the European Union is the completion of the National Annex to Eurocode 8 (EC8) that calls for the development of national seismic hazard maps. These maps need to be developed for several return periods (probabilities of exceedance) and should consider both bedrock and soil conditions. The latter is especially challenging as it calls for site characterization at a microzonation level, i.e., site characterization based upon Vs,30, SPT blowcounts, and undrained shear strength, information available only in the departments of Public Works of major cities. In this paper, the authors discuss several shortcomings associated with the EC8 ground type definitions and propose their revision. The authors also present the ongoing work for preparation of the Croatian National Annex to EC8 and explain the rationale for the improvement of EC8 ground type definitions.U postupku pristupanja Europskoj uniji, jedna od obaveza Republike Hrvatske je da, u sklopu Nacionalnog dodatka za Eurokod 8, izradi karte seizmičkog hazarda. Te karte treba izraditi za nekoliko povratnih razdoblja (perioda) i to, za potresnu pobudu na osnovnoj stijeni i na površini tla. Ovo drugo uključuje i definiranje osobina slojeva tala na određenoj lokaciji, tzv. mikrozonaciju, i to na temelju brzina posmičnih elastičnih valova, Vs,30, broja udaraca standardnog penetracijskog pokusa, SPT i nedrenirane čvrstoće tla, podataka koji se mogu naći u arhivama gradskih uprava. U članku autori razmatraju klasifikaciju tipova tala za mikrozonaciju, kako ih definira Eurokod 8, i iznose neke nedostatke takve podjele, te predlažu određene izmjene. Autori također prezentiraju i neke elemente Hrvatskog nacionalnog dodatka za EC8

Geotehnička klasifikacija tla i hrvatski Nacionalni dodatak Eurokodu 8

One of the challenging tasks for Croatian accession to the European Union is the completion of the National Annex to Eurocode 8 (EC8) that calls for the development of national seismic hazard maps. These maps need to be developed for several return periods (probabilities of exceedance) and should consider both bedrock and soil conditions. The latter is especially challenging as it calls for site characterization at a microzonation level, i.e., site characterization based upon Vs,30, SPT blowcounts, and undrained shear strength, information available only in the departments of Public Works of major cities. In this paper, the authors discuss several shortcomings associated with the EC8 ground type definitions and propose their revision. The authors also present the ongoing work for preparation of the Croatian National Annex to EC8 and explain the rationale for the improvement of EC8 ground type definitions.U postupku pristupanja Europskoj uniji, jedna od obaveza Republike Hrvatske je da, u sklopu Nacionalnog dodatka za Eurokod 8, izradi karte seizmičkog hazarda. Te karte treba izraditi za nekoliko povratnih razdoblja (perioda) i to, za potresnu pobudu na osnovnoj stijeni i na površini tla. Ovo drugo uključuje i definiranje osobina slojeva tala na određenoj lokaciji, tzv. mikrozonaciju, i to na temelju brzina posmičnih elastičnih valova, Vs,30, broja udaraca standardnog penetracijskog pokusa, SPT i nedrenirane čvrstoće tla, podataka koji se mogu naći u arhivama gradskih uprava. U članku autori razmatraju klasifikaciju tipova tala za mikrozonaciju, kako ih definira Eurokod 8, i iznose neke nedostatke takve podjele, te predlažu određene izmjene. Autori također prezentiraju i neke elemente Hrvatskog nacionalnog dodatka za EC8

Važnost podataka i upravljanja procesima u projektiranju temeljenom na Eurokodu 7

This paper describes how a geotechnical database may be generated from the information system (IS) of a geotechnical consulting company established in compliance with the ISO 9001, ISO 17025 QMS standards and Eurocode 7. The application of these principles is illustrated using a geotechnical consulting company Geokon of Zagreb, Croatia as an example. An overview of Geokon’s geotechnical data management system is presented by describing the procedures for data input, maintenance, use, expansion and upgrade. Included in this paper are relevant flow charts and a hierarchy of both geotechnical databases and other databases.U radu se opisuje na koji način se geotehnička baza podataka može stvarati kroz informacijski sustav (IS) geotehničke organizacije u skladu sa zahtjevima upravljanja kvalitetom standarda ISO 9001, ISO 17025 i propisa Eurocode 7. Primjena tih načela prikazana je na primjeru tvrtke Geokon-Zagreb d.d. Pregled upravljanja geotehničkim podacima dan je kroz opis unosa podataka, te njihove obrade, korištenja, dodavanja i nadogradnje. Uz ostalo dani su grafički prikazi dijagrama toka i međuodnosa geotehničke baze podataka i drugih baza podataka

Gasoline Price and Competition: New Evidence from Traffic Pattern

Competition is considered as an important factor that influences gasoline prices. In spatial competition, an increased density of competitors has a direct impact on lowering gasoline price. However, prior research omitted an important demand factor: traffic volume. This paper uses a reduced-form approach to test for the relationship between market density and retail gasoline price with and without traffic volume. The omission of traffic volume biases the estimated effect of market density on retail gasoline price and leads to a 61% overstatement. Furthermore, this paper examines the relationship between market density and price dispersion with and without traffic dispersion

Yeast peroxin pex11 and its proposed transporter function in membranes of unilamellar vesicles

Peroksin-11 (Pex11) je membranski protein, ki se nahaja na peroksisomih kvasovke Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Nedavno je bilo predpostavljeno, da naj bi v perkosisomih tvoril pore za prehajanje topljencev manjših od 400 Da. Namen naloge je bil nadgraditi omenjeno raziskavo, pri čemer smo želeli (i) pridobiti rekombinantni Pex11 in preveriti njegovo porotvorno aktivnost na unilamelarnih veziklih napolnjenih s kalceinom ter (ii) preveriti specifičnost pore za prehajanje molekul NADH in koencima A na sistemu planarnih membran. Za pridobivanje Pex11 smo testirali dva različna seva in vektorja ter ovrednotili donos rekombinantnega Pex11 pri različnih pogojih gojenja. Optimiziran postopek gojenja smo prenesli na večjo skalo in uspešno izolirali rekombinatni Pex11. Z namenom doložitve lipidnega vezavnega partnerja smo izvedli sedimentacijski test in točkovni nanos lipidov. Porotvornost smo preverjali s kalceinskim testom na unilamelarnih veziklih, sestavljenih iz celokupnega lipidnega ekstrakta govejih eritrocitov ali fosfatidilholina. Čeprav lipidnega receptorja in specifičnosti pore nismo uspeli določiti, smo z vezikli iz celokupnega lipidnega ekstrakta govejih eritrocitov potrdili, da je Pex11 porotovrni protein.Peroxin 11 (Pex11) is a peroxisome membrane protein of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It has recently been assumed that Pex11 forms pores that allow the passage of solutes smaller than 400 Da. The aim of the thesis was to upgrade the mentioned study, by (i) obtaining recombinant Pex11 and verifying its pore-forming activity on unilamellar vesicles loaded with calcein, and (ii) checking the specificity of the pore for the transport of NADH and coenzyme A using the system of planar membranes. To obtain Pex11, two different strains and vectors were tested and evaluated for the yield of recombinant Pex11 under different cultivation conditions. The optimized cultivation process was transferred to a larger scale and we successfully isolated recombinant Pex11. In order to determine the lipid binding partner, we performed a sedimentation test and a lipid dot blot assay. The pore-forming activity was tested fluorimetrically on calcein-loaded unilamellar lipid vesicles composed of a total lipid extract of bovine erythrocytes or phosphatidylcholine. Although we were not able to determine the lipid receptor and pore specificity, vesicles from the total lipid extract of bovine erythrocytes confirmed, that Pex11 was a pore-forming protein

Effect of NLP proteins on yeasts

Proteine iz družine NLP (Nep1-like proteins) najdemo v raznolikih, taksonomsko nesorodnih mikroorganizmih (glivah, oomicetah, bakterijah). Takšni mikroorganizmi so zelo razširjeni in lahko okužijo različne pridelke, predvsem dvokaličnice, kot so krompir, paradižnik, soja, tobak in hmelj. Nekateri proteini NLP so citotoksični za dvokaličnice saj povzročijo nekrozo tkiva in aktivirajo imunski odziv rastline. Poleg citotoksičnih proteinov pa obstajajo tudi proteini NLP, ki niso citotoksični. Proteini NLP so po strukturi podobni aktinoporinom, toksinom, ki tvorijo pore v celično membranoin se prav tako kot aktinoporini vežejo na sfingolipide. Za proučevanje interakcije med proteini NLP in sfingolipidi smo izbrali kvasovko Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ki je enostaven in dobro poznan modelni organizem ter hkrati vsebuje sfingolipide, ki so v precejšnji meri podobni rastlinskim sfingolipidom. Ugotovili smo, da se citotoksični protein NLPPya veže na kvasne protoplaste močneje in je tudi bolj toksičen za kvasovke od proteina HaNLP3, ki ni cititoksičen za rastline. Za proučevanje vezave proteinov NLP na kvasne sfingolipide smo uporabili dva mutirana seva kvasovke, ki imata okvarjeno manozilacijo sfingolipidov. Ugotovili smo, da se največ proteina veže na sev BY4742 csg2Δ, ki nima manoziliranih sfingolipidov, ima pa povečano količino inozitol-fosforil ceramidov.Proteins from the NLP family (Nep1-like proteins) are found in a variety of taxonomically unrelated microorganisms (fungi, oomycetes, bacteria). Such microorganisms are widespread and can infect different crop plants, especially dicotyledons such as potatoe, tomatoe, soybean, tobacco and hop. Some NLP proteins are cytotoxic to dicotyledonous plants, and cause tissue necrosis and induce immune response of the plant. In addition to cytotoxic proteins, there are also NLP proteins that are not cytotoxic. NLP proteins are structurally similar to actinoporins, toxins that form pores into the cell membrane. NLP proteins bind to sphingolipids, just like actinoporins. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is a simple and well-known model organism and contains sphingolipids that are similar to plant sphingolipids, has been selected for the study of the interaction between NLP proteins and sphingolipids. We found that the cytotoxic protein NLPPya binds to the yeast protoplasts more strongly and is also more toxic to yeasts than the protein HaNLP3, which is not cytotoxic to plants. To examine the binding of NLP proteins to yeast sphingolipids we used two mutants with impaired sphingolipid mannosylation, and compared them to the wild type cells. We found that most proteins bind to the BY4742 csg2Δ strain which does not have manosylated sphingolipids, but has an increased amount of ceramides and inositol-phosphoryl ceramides