Response of earthquake-resistant reinforced-concrete buildings to blast loading

Recent bomb attacks on buildings have raised awareness about the vulnerability of structures to blast effects. The resiliency of structures against blast-induced impulsive loads is affected by structural characteristics that are also important for seismic resistance. Deformability and continuity of structural elements, strength, stiffness, and stability of the structural framing system and resistance to progressive collapse are factors that play important roles on the survivability of buildings under both blast and seismic loads. The significance of these structural parameters on blast resistance of reinforced concrete buildings is assessed through structural analysis. Both local element performance and global structural response are considered while also assessing the progressive collapse potential. The buildings under investigation include 10-storey moment resisting frames with or without shear walls. The blast loads selected consist of different charge-weight and standoff distance combinations. The results are presented in terms of ductility and drift demands. They indicate improved performance of seismic-resistant buildings when subjected to blast loads, in terms of local column performance, overall structural response, and progressive collapse potential.Murat Saatcioglu, Togay Ozbakkaloglu, Nove Naumoski, and Alan Lloy

Evaluation of the lipophilic properties of opioids, amphetamine-like drugs, and metabolites through electrochemical studies at the interface between two immiscible solutions

For the first time, the partition coefficients of the ionized forms of several opioids, amphetamine-like drugs, and their metabolites were determined by studying their ionic transfer process across the bare interface water/organic solvent. The ionic partition coefficients of the monocationic forms of 12 compounds heroin, 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM), morphine, acetylcodeine, codeine, dihydrocodeine, methamphetamine, amphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or "ecstasy"), 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 3-methoxy-alpha-methyldopamine (3-OMe-alpha-MeDA), and alpha-methyldopamine (alpha-MeDA)-were attained using electrochemical measurements, by cyclic voltammetry, at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES). Then the acquired lipophilicity values were correlated to the chemical structure of the compounds and with the metabolic pathways central to each class of drugs. Although the mechanisms of biotoxicity of this type of drugs are still unclear, the data obtained evidence that the lipophilicity of metabolites may be a contributing factor for the qualitative differences found in their activity. In addition, the partition coefficients of the ionic drugs were calculated using three available software packages: ModesLab, Dragon, and HyperChem. As shown by cross-comparison of the experimental and calculated values, HyperChem was the most reliable software for achieving the main goal. The data obtained so far seem to be correlated to the proposed metabolic pathways of the drugs and could be of great value in understanding their pharmacological and/or toxicological profiles at the molecular level. This study may also contribute to gaining an insight into the mechanisms of biotransportation of this type of compounds given that the ionic partition coefficients reflect their ability to cross the membrane barriers. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

DNAqua-Net: Developing new genetic tools for bioassessment and monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in Europe

publisher: Pensoft Publishers articletitle: DNAqua-Net: Developing new genetic tools for bioassessment and monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in Europe journaltitle: Research Ideas and Outcomes copyright: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ received: 2016-11-27 published: 2016-11-29publisher: Pensoft Publishers articletitle: DNAqua-Net: Developing new genetic tools for bioassessment and monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in Europe journaltitle: Research Ideas and Outcomes copyright: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ received: 2016-11-27 published: 2016-11-29publisher: Pensoft Publishers articletitle: DNAqua-Net: Developing new genetic tools for bioassessment and monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in Europe journaltitle: Research Ideas and Outcomes copyright: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ received: 2016-11-27 published: 2016-11-29publisher: Pensoft Publishers articletitle: DNAqua-Net: Developing new genetic tools for bioassessment and monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in Europe journaltitle: Research Ideas and Outcomes copyright: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ received: 2016-11-27 published: 2016-11-2