Geotechnical Evaluation of Foundation Soils for a Building (Case Study of a Site in Jimma City, Southwestern Ethiopia)

This paper presents the findings of laboratory tests that were carried out on a soil sample collected from a site, in Jimma City, southwestern Ethiopia. The aim of the investigation is to determine the basic shear strength parametres of the soil, which is an important parametre to determine bearing capacity of the soil. Engineering tests such as direct shear, sieve size analyses, atterberg limits, and specific gravity were carrieid out on sample collected from 3m hund dug test pit. All analysis was carried out in line with the ASTM standards. Results obtained showed that the soil investigated contains 35.85% clay, 24.32% silt, 60.17% fine, and 28.70% sand and 11.13% gravel. The result of Atterberg limits analysis showed that the liquid limts is 81%, plastic limit is 55.57% and index of plasticity is 24.43. Clay activity of the soil is 0.68. Thus, the soil investigated is classified as inactive clay of high plasticity. The cohesion value of the soil is 40.2kPa and the angle of internal friction is 19.26o. With these c and ɸ values, the soil will have good bearing capacity and will be good foundation materials for structures. Keywords: Bearing capacity, shear strength, sieve size analysis, specific gravity

Nulägesrapport inom livscykelanalyser av litiumjonbatterier : en undersökning av viktiga skillnader i tidigare studier och framtida forskningsbehov

The use of electric vehicles has seen a rapid growth in the past decade as it is expected to have an important role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector. The increased demand for electric vehicles has in turn amplified the demand for traction batteries, especially lithium-ion batteries. However, to avoid problem-shifting it is important to consider the life-cycleimpact from the transition to an electrified transport fleet, since lithium-ion batteries are associated with its own environmental problems. Previous life-cycle assessments have been conducted, however, many studies lack in traceability and transparency regarding both battery composition, raw material supply and the processes included in the system boundaries. This makes it hard to compare the results and prevents the field from reaching a consensus in the best approach in conducting lifecycle assessments. To enable future life-cycle assessments of lithium-ion batteries it is important to identify the key assumptions in the previous studies and understand why they differ to such large extent. This report will therefore assess how previous studies differ in two regards: 1. the methodological choices and 2. the environmental impact categories evaluated. By doing so, this report helps future studies identify how these choices affect the results and therefore aid in choosing the best options. The results of the study show that the processes with the largest contribution to the environmental impact is the mining of materials, cell assembly and the use-phase and should therefore be assessed further in detail in future studies in order to reduce uncertainties. The impact categories that are concerned the most is the global warming potential, human toxicity potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential and abiotic depletion potential. A large contributor to several of these impact categories is the electricity used in both the production- and use-phase. Consequently, using an electricity mix with higher shares of renewables have been stated as an efficient measure to reduce the life-cycle impact from lithium-ion batteries. Furthermore, there is a need for future studies that conduct full cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessments with primary data from manufacturers, preferably representable of large-scale production and data that better represents the current industry practice end-of-life treatment. The best practice model to conduct future lifecycle assessment is dependent on the goal and scope of the study. Both the functional unit and the system boundaries should reflect the goal of the assessment. Cradle-to-grave assessment is to be preferred if the goal is to compare the environmental impact between using batteries in electric vehicles to internal combustion vehicles. In that case, the functional unit should also include the performance of the battery, such as charge efficiency and lifetime, and therefore the unit kilometres driven is preferred. Also, in order to include the most common environmental impact categories that are concerned, five categories should be included: the global warming potential, eutrophication potential, acidification potential, abiotic depletion potential and human toxicity potential

Neural mechanisms of top-down control during visual search: effects of template complexity

Neural mechanisms of top-down control during visual search: effects of template complexit

An ERP study of visual search showing early detection of feature conjunctions

An ERP study of visual search showing early detection of feature conjunction

Possible Implication of Red Blood Cells in the Prothrombotic Risk in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease that can be considered as a prothrombotic state1. A great number of studies have investigated the possible role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the etiology and pathogenesis of this disease. The presence of large amounts of superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide produced by activated neutrophils has been reported in the synovial fluid of patients with RA. This may cause lipid peroxidation that yields a wide variety of end products, including malondialdehyde (MDA), a known marker of oxidative stress. These products are therefore transported from the synovial fluid to the blood circulation system2. Considering that elevated levels of MDA have been observed in the blood plasma of patients with RA2, the aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether the elevated levels of plasmatic MDA could be associated with a modification of the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of blood plasma that is usually indicative of a “systemic” oxidative imbalance3. In addition, in view of their activity as redox effectors or scavengers4, as well as determinants of thrombus formation5, we evaluated red blood cell (RBC) features in terms of their redox state and lifespan marker molecules

LAND PARCELING AND NEIGHBORHOOD IMPACTS IN BRAZIL

The proposal and implementation of parceling real estate into smaller lots in Brazil is done according to legal and technical formalities. However, these instruments have proved inefficient in reducing the resulting environmental impacts. The ambiguities of the federal, state and municipal laws and regulations have limited the effectiveness of the actions of urban administrators. Law 10257/2001 emerged as an alternative to overcome these difficulties, proposing the adoption of neighborhood impact studies as an instrument to evaluate new proposals of urban occupation for purposes of environmental licensing. Thus, the purpose of this law is to provide the foundations for municipal public authorities to establish criteria for the assessment, mitigation and compensation of impacts resulting from new occupations. However, the very vagueness of the generic nature of this federal law and its incorrect application in the municipal sphere has posed the greatest obstacles to the good use of this instrument of urban environmental management. These deficiencies are classified herein in the categories of philosophical, technical and operational problems. The problems of a philosophical nature lead to technical difficulties, which in turn trigger operational deficiencies. This article discusses these deficiencies and points out ways to reduce them

The Prophet Elijah as an Agent of Change for Community Development

Modern christian leaders can become involved as agents of change in their communities, specifically in ways demonstrated by principles of community development seen in the Old testament prophet Elisha’s miracles. According to christ’s teachings (Luke 12:32-34), the mission of christians is not just going to church every weekend and participating in internal church programs; it involves taking care of the needs of the community outside the church as well. 2 Kings 1-8 details the Prophet Elisha’s actions as he dealt with different issues that occurred in his community—some involving only individuals and others affecting the whole community

Regional Anesthesia in Trauma Medicine

Regional anesthesia is an established method to provide analgesia for patients in the operating room and during the postoperative phase. While regional anesthesia offers unique advantages, as shown by the recent military experience, it is not commonly utilized in the prehospital or emergency department setting. Most often, regional anesthesia techniques for traumatized patients are first utilized in the operating room for procedural anesthesia or for postoperative pain control. While infiltration or single nerve block procedures are often used by surgeons or emergency medicine physicians in the preoperative phase, more advanced techniques such as plexus block procedures or regional catheter placements are more commonly performed by anesthesiologists for surgery or postoperative pain control. These regional techniques offer advantages over intravenous anesthesia, not just in the perioperative phase but also in the acute phase of traumatized patients and during the initial transport of injured patients. Anesthesiologists have extensive experience with regional techniques and are able to introduce regional anesthesia into settings outside the operating room and in the early treatment phases of trauma patients