STRUCTURAL CONCRETE MIX FOR CONSTRUCTION FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE/PULSE SHIELDING

Conductive concrete mixtures are described that are configured to provide EMP shielding and reflect and/or absorb, for instance, EM waves propagating through the conductive concrete mixture. The conductive concrete mixtures include cement, water, conductive carbon material, magnetic material, and metallic conductive material. The conductive carbon material may include conductive carbon particles, conductive carbon powder, and/or coke breeze. The metallic conductive material may include steel fibers, and the magnetic material may include taconite. The conductive concrete mixture may also include supplementary cementitious materials (SCM). A method of making a concrete structure includes pouring a concrete mixture to form conductive concrete, and positioning a first conductive screen within the conductive concrete proximate to an exterior surface of the conductive concrete. The method also includes positioning a second conductive screen within the conductive concrete in electrical contact with the first conductive screen

STRUCTURAL CONCRETE MIX FOR CONSTRUCTION FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE/PULSE SHIELDING

Conductive concrete mixtures are described that are configured to provide EMP shielding and reflect and/or absorb, for instance, EM waves propagating through the conductive concrete mixture. The conductive concrete mixtures include cement, water, conductive carbon material, magnetic material, and metallic conductive material. The conductive carbon material may include conductive carbon particles, conductive carbon powder, and/or coke breeze. The metallic conductive material may include steel fibers, and the magnetic material may include taconite. The conductive concrete mixture may also include supplementary cementitious materials (SCM). A method of making a concrete structure includes pouring a concrete mixture to form conductive concrete, and positioning a first conductive screen within the conductive concrete proximate to an exterior surface of the conductive concrete. The method also includes positioning a second conductive screen within the conductive concrete in electrical contact with the first conductive screen

Daylight performance through different types of glazing in the tropics

Having glazing on buildings will allow natural daylighting in a room. There are four types of glazing which are commonly used in the market today: Clear, light green, bronze and black float glass where tinted glazing will provide shading to the interior. These four glass are being tested using Integrated Environmental Solutions Virtual Environment (IESVE) software with different proportion to investigate the influence of arrangements of glazing to permit daylight and to serve as shading device. There are 40 combinations of different glazing proportion tested in the simulation. The combination of 75 % clear float glass on a green float glass base gives the highest lux value at a point 90cm from the opening whereas the lowest value is exhibited through a 25% green float glass with a black float glass base of 75%. The finding shows that glazing with lower Visual Light Transmittance as the base will give a lower Daylight Factor compared to using it on top of the other glazing. Furthermore, although there is a large contrast of Daylight Factor between the 0.9m and 3.6m depth, several combination of glazing achieved the requirement of Malaysian Standard 1525 for daylighting in office

Heated Bridge Deck System and Materials and Method for Constructing the Same

Aheated bridge deck (20) uses electrodes (24,26) embedded within conductive concrete and connected to a power Source to remove Snow and ice accumulation. A cement-based mixture containing optimal amounts of conductive materials is molded into pre-formed slabs (22) placed atop the paved Surface of a bridge deck. Alternatively, the conductive concrete may be cast in place on top of an existing bridge deck. A control unit with temperature and moisture Sensors may be coupled to the heated bridge deck

Regional variability in use of a novel assessment of thoracolumbar spine fractures: United States versus international surgeons

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Considerable variability exists in clinical approaches to thoracolumbar fractures. Controversy in evaluation and nomenclature contribute to this confusion, with significant differences found between physicians, between different specialties, and in different geographic regions. A new classification system for thoracolumbar injuries, the Thoracolumbar Injury Severity Score (TLISS), was recently described by Vaccaro. No assessment of regional differences has been described. We report regional variability in use of the TLISS system between United States and non-US surgeons.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-eight spine surgeons (8 neurosurgeons and 20 orthopedic surgeons) reviewed 56 clinical thoracolumbar injury case histories, which included pertinent imaging studies. Cases were classified and scored using the TLISS system. After a three month period, the case histories were re-ordered and the physicians repeated the exercise; 22 physicians completed both surveys and were used to assess intra-rater reliability. The reliability and treatment validity of the TLISS was assessed. Surgeons were grouped into US (n = 15) and non-US (n = 13) cohorts. Inter-rater (both within and between different geographic groups) and intra-rater reliability was assessed by percent agreement, Cohen's kappa, kappa with linear weighting, and Spearman's rank-order correlation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Non-US surgeons were found to have greater inter-rater reliability in injury mechanism, while agreement on neurological status and posterior ligamentous complex integrity tended to be higher among US surgeons. Inter-rater agreement on management was moderate, although it tended to be higher in US-surgeons. Inter-rater agreement between US and non-US surgeons was similar to within group inter-rater agreement for all categories. While intra-rater agreement for mechanism tended to be higher among US surgeons, intra-rater reliability for neurological status and PLC was slightly higher among non-US surgeons. Intra-rater reliability for management was substantial in both US and non-US surgeons. The TLISS incorporates generally accepted features of spinal injury assessment into a simple patient evaluation tool. The management recommendation of the treatment algorithm component of the TLISS shows good inter-rater and substantial intra-rater reliability in both non-US and US based spine surgeons. The TLISS may improve communication between health providers and may contribute to more efficient management of thoracolumbar injuries.</p

Built-in and induced polarization across LaAlO3_3/SrTiO3_3 heterojunctions

Ionic crystals terminated at oppositely charged polar surfaces are inherently unstable and expected to undergo surface reconstructions to maintain electrostatic stability. Essentially, an electric field that arises between oppositely charged atomic planes gives rise to a built-in potential that diverges with thickness. In ultra thin film form however the polar crystals are expected to remain stable without necessitating surface reconstructions, yet the built-in potential has eluded observation. Here we present evidence of a built-in potential across polar \lao ~thin films grown on \sto ~substrates, a system well known for the electron gas that forms at the interface. By performing electron tunneling measurements between the electron gas and a metallic gate on \lao ~we measure a built-in electric field across \lao ~of 93 meV/\AA. Additionally, capacitance measurements reveal the presence of an induced dipole moment near the interface in \sto, illuminating a unique property of \sto ~substrates. We forsee use of the ionic built-in potential as an additional tuning parameter in both existing and novel device architectures, especially as atomic control of oxide interfaces gains widespread momentum.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Nature physics on May 1st, 201

Identification of leukocyte surface P2X7 as a biomarker associated with Alzheimer\u27s disease

Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) has shown altered immune responses in the periphery. We studied P2X7 (a proinflammatory receptor and a scavenger receptor) and two integrins, CD11b and CD11c, on the surface of circulating leukocytes and analysed their associations with Aβ-PET, brain atrophy, neuropsychological assessments, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers. Total 287 age-matched, sex-balanced participants were recruited in a discovery cohort and two validation cohorts through the AIBL study and studied using tri-colour flow cytometry. Our results demonstrated reduced expressions of P2X7, CD11b, and CD11c on leukocytes, particularly monocytes, in Aβ +ve cases compared with Aβ -ve controls. P2X7 and integrin downregulation was observed at pre-clinical stage of AD and stayed low throughout disease course. We further constructed a polygenic risk score (PRS) model based on 12 P2RX7 risk alleles to assess the genetic impact on P2X7 function in AIBL and ADNI cohorts. No significant association was identified between the P2RX7 gene and AD, indicating that P2X7 downregulation in AD is likely caused by environmental changes rather than genetic factors. In conclusion, the downregulation of P2X7 and integrins at pre-clinical stage of AD indicates altered pro-inflammatory responses, phagocytic functions, and migrating capabilities of circulating monocytes in early AD pathogenesis. Our study not only improves our understanding of peripheral immune involvement in early stage of AD but also provides more insights into novel biomarker development, diagnosis, and prognosis of AD