Experience in Construction in Hard Rock with Roadheader in the Ariz -Basauri section of the Bilbao Metro

The object of the works to be performed is the extension of the Bilbao Metro network (Vizcaya, Basque Region, Spain). The Ariz-Basauri section of line 2 of the Bilbao Metro is being performed by the UTE Ariz-Basauri, a joint venture formed by the companies Exc. Cantábricas S.A., Vda. de Sainz S.A. and Obras Subterráneas S.A. The total length of the section is 2,372 m. of which 2,108 m. are performed in mine tunnel. The section will provide a service to the centre of Basauri with two stations, Ariz station commencing approximately at KP 1+050 and Basauri station at KP 2+105. Introduction of a new transport infrastructure such as a Metro system in an urban environment has an inevitable impact which must be quantified and, as far as possible, minimized. This impact on the urban environment includes a number of aspects, affecting networks and services, buildings, road traffic and rail traffic, not only influencing the line layout, but also and in particular the construction processes to be applied to ensure a minimum impact on both the existing infrastructure and the population. From the constructor’s viewpoint the shallow nature of the work at around 25 m should be highlighted as well as a work plan requiring 3 shifts and involving night work. The decision taken by ETS (Euskal Trenbide Sarea) not to use explosives due to the urban environment in which the Metro is developed is therefore comprehensible

Estudio coalicional de los parlamentos autonómicos españoles de régimen común

Se analiza la distribución de poder entre los partidos políticos que obtuvieron representación en las elecciones celebradas el 26 de mayo de 1991 para renovar los Parlamentos de las trece Comunidades Autónomas de Régimen Comun. Se usan dos medidas numéricas de poder: el índice de Shapley-Shubik para juegos simples y su generalización, el valor coalicional de Owen para juegos con estructura de coaliciones. Las coaliciones previstas segun el criterio de optimización del valor coalicional coinciden notablemente con las formadas en cada Comunidad Autónoma

Estudio de la interfase en los hormigones reforzados con fibras

In a composite material that uses fibers as reinforcement, the breakage of the matrix is produced jointly with the separation of the fiber from the matrix. The mechanical behavior of the interface describes how fibers can work stabilizing the cracking process. The interface is the medium that puts the fiber on load, being the mechanical behavior of the interface and the strength of the fiber two important parameters to consider to characterize the general behavior of the composite. The present work studies the effect of several parameters on the behavior of the interface. Those parameters are the type of fiber, its geometry and dimension and the modified matrix and loading rate. An experimental technique was designed to allow testing the same set-up for pull-out tests in a quasistatic machine and Charpy pendulum. Modifications of the matrix by adding a mineral admixture improve the behavior of the interface as much as a 100%. It has been observed that combining the two actions, an improved matrix with crimped fibers, the type of failure can be modified. In this new type of failure, the fiber breaks consequently toughness decreases. Other parameters, as the loading rate and inclination of the fiber also affect the behavior of the interface.En un material compuesto que utiliza fibras como refuerzo, la rotura de la matriz se produce conjuntamente con la separación de la fibra de la matriz, por lo que el comportamiento mecánico de la interfase describe hasta que punto las fibras pueden trabajar como estabilizadores en el proceso defisuración. La interfase es el medio que pone en carga a la fibra y, por ello, la resistencia mecánica de la interfase y de la fibra son dos parámetros importantes a considerar para caracterizar el comportamiento general del composite. Este trabajo investiga el efecto de la variación del tipo de fibra, geometría y dimensión de las mismas y las modificaciones de la matriz y la velocidad de desplazamiento en el comportamiento de la interfase. Se ha puesto a punto una técnica experimental que permita utilizar la misma configuración del ensayo de pull-out en una prensa universal quasi-estática y en un pendido Charpy. Si mejoramos la matriz con la incorporación de una adición mineral se consiguen aumentar las resistencias hasta en un 100%. Al mismo tiempo se observa que combinando las dos acciones, una matriz con humo de sílice y una fibra de acero ondulada a lo largo de la generatriz se puede modificar el tipo de fallo, produciéndose la rotura de la fibra y, por lo tanto, con menor tenacidad. Con el aumento de la inclinación de la fibra y la velocidad de carga también se modifican las fuerzas de adherencia

Post-fracture behavior of laminated plates after human impact test

For safety barriers the load bearing capacity of the glass when subjected to the soft body impact should be verified. The soft body pendulum test became a testing standard to classify safety glass plates. The classification of the safety glass do not consider the structural behavior when one sheet of a laminated glass is broken; in situations when the replacement of the plate could not be very urgent, structural behavior should be evaluated. The main objective of this paper is to present the structural behavior o laminated glass plates, though modal test and human impact test, including the post fracture behavior for the laminated cases. A god reproducibility and repeatability is obtained. Two main aspects of the structural behavior can be observed: the increment of the rupture load for laminated plates after the failure of the first sheet, and some similarities with a tempered monolithic behavior of equivalent thickness

Electronic transport and vibrational modes in the smallest molecular bridge: H2 in Pt nanocontacts

We present a state-of-the-art first-principles analysis of electronic transport in a Pt nanocontact in the presence of H2 which has been recently reported by Smit et al. in Nature 419, 906 (2002). Our results indicate that at the last stages of the breaking of the Pt nanocontact two basic forms of bridge involving H can appear. Our claim is, in contrast to Smit et al.'s, that the main conductance histogram peak at G approx 2e^2/h is not due to molecular H2, but to a complex Pt2H2 where the H2 molecule dissociates. A first-principles vibrational analysis that compares favorably with the experimental one also supports our claim .Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

FOXO1 Deletion Reduces Dendritic Cell Function and Enhances Susceptibility to Periodontitis

The host response plays both protective and destructive roles in periodontitis. FOXO1 is a transcription factor that is activated in dendritic cells (DCs), but its function in vivo has not been examined. We investigated the role of FOXO1 in activating DCs in experimental (CD11c.Cre+.FOXO1L/L) compared with matched control mice (CD11c.Cre−.FOXO1L/L) in response to oral pathogens. Lineage-specific FOXO1 deletion reduced the recruitment of DCs to oral mucosal epithelium by approximately 40%. FOXO1 was needed for expression of genes that regulate migration, including integrins αν and β3 and matrix metalloproteinase-2. Ablation of FOXO1 in DCs significantly decreased IL-12 produced by DCs in mucosal surfaces. Moreover, FOXO1 deletion reduced migration of DCs to lymph nodes, reduced capacity of DCs to induce formation of plasma cells, and reduced production of bacteria-specific antibody. The decrease in DC function in the experimental mice led to increased susceptibility to periodontitis through a mechanism that involved a compensatory increase in osteoclastogenic factors, IL-1β, IL-17, and RANKL. Thus, we reveal a critical role for FOXO1 in DC recruitment to oral mucosal epithelium and activation of adaptive immunity induced by oral inoculation of bacteria

A theoretical study on the formation of iodine oxide aggregates and monohydrates

Biotic and abiotic emissions of molecular iodine and iodocarbons from the sea or the ice surface and the intertidal zone to the coastal/polar marine boundary layer lead to the formation of iodine oxides, which subsequently nucleate forming iodine oxide particles (IOPs). Although the link between coastal iodine emissions and ultrafine aerosol bursts is well established, the details of the nucleation mechanism have not yet been elucidated. In this paper, results of a theoretical study of a range of potentially relevant aggregation reactions of different iodine oxides, as well as complexation with water molecules, are reported. Thermochemical properties of these reactions are obtained from high level ab initio correlated calculations including spin-orbit corrections. The results show that the nucleation path most likely proceeds through dimerisation of I2O4. It is also shown that water can hinder gas-to-particle conversion to some extent, although complexation with key iodine oxides does not remove enough of these to stop IOP formation. A consistent picture of this process emerges from the theoretical study presented here and the findings of a new laboratory study reported in the accompanying paper (Gomez Martin et al., 2013)

Diabetes Aggravates Periodontitis by Limiting Repair Through Enhanced Inflammation

Periodontitis is the most common lytic bone disease and one of the first clinical manifestations of diabetes. Diabetes increases the risk of periodontitis. The aim of the present study was to examine mechanisms by which diabetes aggravates periodontitis. Ligature-induced periodontitis was examined in Goto-Kakizaki rats with type 2 diabetes. A tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-specificinhibitor, pegsunercept, was applied to diabetic rats after the onset of periodontal disease. Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), TNF-α, interleukin-1 β (IL-1β), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFβ-1), bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), and BMP-6 were measured by real-time RT-PCR, and histological sections were examined for leukocyte infiltration and several parameters related to bone resorption and formation. Inflammation was prolonged in diabetic rats and was reversed by the TNF inhibitor, which reduced cytokine mRNA levels, leukocyte infiltration, and osteoclasts. In contrast, new bone and osteoid formation and osteoblast numbers were increased significantly vs. untreated diabetic animals. TNF inhibition in diabetic animals also reduced apoptosis, increased proliferation of bone-lining cells, and increased mRNA levels of FGF-2, TGFβ-1, BMP-2, and BMP-6. Thus, diabetes prolongs inflammation and osteoclastogenesis in periodontitis and through TNF limits the normal reparative process by negatively modulating factors that regulate bone. © FASEB