Structural Behavior Of Architectural Laminated Glass

Experimental and theoretical investigations conducted over a 20-year time period by several investigators provide sufficient data and information to define, for practical engineering purposes, the behavior of architectural laminated glass under lateral pressures. Investigations included definitions of material properties, theoretical stress analyses, experimental stress analyses, and destructive tests involving monolithic, laminated, and layered glass plates of several geometries. The preponderance of data and information indicate that: (1) Architectural laminated glass behaves in a manner similar to monolithic glass of the same nominal thickness under short-term lateral pressures (representative of wind loads) at and below room temperature; (2) the temperature at which behavior changes from being similar to monolithic to significantly different from monolithic under short-term lateral pressures is not clearly defined, but is around 49°C (120°F); and (3) architectural laminated glass behaves in a manner similar to monolithic glass of the same nominal thickness under long-term lateral pressures (representative of snow loads) at temperatures of 0°C (32°F) and below. © ASCE

Biogenesis and functions of bacterial S-layers.

The outer surface of many archaea and bacteria is coated with a proteinaceous surface layer (known as an S-layer), which is formed by the self-assembly of monomeric proteins into a regularly spaced, two-dimensional array. Bacteria possess dedicated pathways for the secretion and anchoring of the S-layer to the cell wall, and some Gram-positive species have large S-layer-associated gene families. S-layers have important roles in growth and survival, and their many functions include the maintenance of cell integrity, enzyme display and, in pathogens and commensals, interaction with the host and its immune system. In this Review, we discuss our current knowledge of S-layer and related proteins, including their structures, mechanisms of secretion and anchoring and their diverse functions

Pragmatic financialisation: the role of the Japanese Post Office

The Japanese Post Office, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, was finally privatised in 2015, marking an appropriate time to examine financialisation in Japan. Literature on financialisation and changes in Japanese capitalism assumes convergence on Anglo-American capitalism with a diminishing of state power. The main argument of this paper is that financialisation is instead a more contingent process. This is put forth through an examination of how this process has been mediated by the Japanese state through the workings of the Japanese Post Office. The state has frequently shaped the direction of financialisation by intervening in the routing of household funds via the postal savings system in order to achieve its objectives in different circumstances, particularly evident in the protracted and contested nature of the post bank’s privatisation. Financialisation is thus not preordained; instead its path is hewn by crisis, catastrophe, demographics and the agency of domestic social actors

Measurements of atmospheric electricity aloft

Measurements of the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere above the surface have been made for over 200 years, from a variety of different platforms, including kites, balloons, rockets and aircraft. From these measurements, a great deal of information about the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere has been gained, assisting our understanding of the global atmospheric electric circuit, thunderstorm electrification and lightning generation mechanisms, discovery of transient luminous events above thunderstorms, and many other electrical phenomena. This paper surveys the history of atmospheric electrical measurements aloft, from the earliest manned balloon ascents to current day observations with free balloons and aircraft. Measurements of atmospheric electrical parameters in a range of meteorological conditions are described, including clear air conditions, polluted conditions, non-thunderstorm clouds, and thunderstorm clouds, spanning a range of atmospheric conditions, from fair weather, to the most electrically active

Is there an epidemic of HIV/AIDS among heterosexuals in the USA?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, reports HIV infections and AIDS cases in the United States biannually. Trends in the distribution of HIV/AIDS cases according to sex, race or ethnic group, and various categories of exposure to HIV were analysed. The groups in which there were the greatest percentage increases over time were the group with heterosexual contact and the group for whom the risk factors were not reported or identified. The CDC should be encouraged to provide additional information regarding sexual and drug-using behaviours of those patients listed as "undetermined"

Presenile dementia with Lewy bodies and neurofibrillary tangles.

A 55-year-old man showed progressive mental deterioration over a five-year period along with a syndrome of normal pressure hydrocephalus. At autopsy the main finding was the presence of two age-related neurocellular changes, the neurofibrillary tangle and the Lewy body, in limbic structures and in the pigmented nuclei of the brain stem. Cortical changes were mild, and senile plaques were not present. Electron microscopy occasionally showed an intimate relationship between the paired helical filaments of the neurofibrillary tangle and Lewy bodies in nerve cell processes in the hypothalamus. The findings suggest a closer relationship between Lewy bodies and neurofibrillary tangles than usually suspected. We also speculate that the presence of one type of age change in the brain may accelerate or predispose to other age changes