543 research outputs found
Analytical Modelling of Jointed Precast Concrete Beam-to-Column Connections with Different Damping Systems
Jointed precast concrete systems typically have low inherent damping and are thus particularly suitable for applying supplemental damping systems. Analytical modelling is utilised to characterise jointed beam-to-column rocking connections, using a rate-dependent tri-linear compound version of the well-known Menegotto-Pinto rule. The analytical model is verified against near full-scale experimental results. The beam-column connections are constructed utilising Damage Avoidance Design (DAD) principles with unbonded post-tensioned tendons. High force-to-volume extrusion-based energy dissipaters are externally fitted to provide supplemental energy dissipation and modify joint hysteretic performance. Multiple joint configurations are analysed, with supplemental damping systems modified to investigate the effect of damping forces on joint hysteresis. Particular attention is given to the re-centring limit. Good agreement between the analytical models and experimental results is demonstrated, with discussion of possible improvements. Overall, system damping behaviour is significantly improved by adding the extrusion based damping system
Typical Gibbs configurations for the 1d Random Field Ising Model with long range interaction
We study a one--dimensional Ising spin systems with ferromagnetic,
long--range interaction decaying as n^{-2+\a}, \a \in [0,\frac 12], in the
presence of external random fields. We assume that the random fields are given
by a collection of symmetric, independent, identically distributed real random
variables, gaussian or subgaussian with variance . We show that for
temperature and variance of the randomness small enough, with an overwhelming
probability with respect to the random fields, the typical configurations,
within volumes centered at the origin whose size grow faster than any power of
, % {\bf around the origin} are intervals of spins followed by
intervals of spins whose typical length is \simeq
\th^{-\frac{2}{(1-2\a)}} for 0\le \a<1/2 and
for \a=1/2
Phase Transition in the 1d Random Field ising model with long range interaction
We study the one dimensional Ising model with ferromagnetic, long range
interaction which decays as |i-j|^{-2+a}, 1/2< a<1, in the presence of an
external random filed. we assume that the random field is given by a collection
of independent identically distributed random variables, subgaussian with mean
zero. We show that for temperature and strength of the randomness (variance)
small enough with P=1 with respect to the distribution of the random fields
there are at least two distinct extremal Gibbs measures
Study of the dependence of 198Au half-life on source geometry
We report the results of an experiment to determine whether the half-life of
\Au{198} depends on the shape of the source. This study was motivated by recent
suggestions that nuclear decay rates may be affected by solar activity, perhaps
arising from solar neutrinos. If this were the case then the -decay
rates, or half-lives, of a thin foil sample and a spherical sample of gold of
the same mass and activity could be different. We find for \Au{198},
, where
is the mean half-life. The maximum neutrino flux at the sample in our
experiments was several times greater than the flux of solar neutrinos at the
surface of the Earth. We show that this increase in flux leads to a significant
improvement in the limits that can be inferred on a possible solar contribution
to nuclear decays.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur
A Comparison of Low-Gravity Measurements On-Board Columbia During STS-40
The first NASA Spacelab Life Sciences mission (SLS-1) flew 5 June to 14 June 1991 on the orbiter Columbia (STS-40). The purpose of the mission was to investigate the human body\u27s adaptation to the low-gravity conditions of space flight and the body\u27s readjustment after the mission to the 1 g environment of earth. In addition to the life sciences experiments manifested for the Spacelab module, a variety of experiments in other scientific disciplines flew in the Spacelab and in Get Away Special (GAS) Canisters on the GAS Bridge Assembly. Several principal investigators designed and flew specialized accelerometer systems to better assess the results of their experiments by means of a low-gravity environment characterization. This was also the first flight of the NASA Microgravity Science and Applications Division (MSAD) sponsored Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) and the first flight of the NASA Orbiter Experiments Office (OEX) sponsored Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment accelerometer (OARE). We present a brief introduction to seven STS-40 accelerometer systems and discuss and compare the resulting data. During crew sleep periods, acceleration magnitudes in the 10-6 to 10-5 g range were recorded in the Spacelab module and on the GAS Bridge Assembly. Magnitudes increased to the 10-4 g level during periods of nominal crew activity. Vernier thruster firings caused acceleration shifts on the order of 10-4 g and primary thruster firings caused accelerations as great as 10-2 g. Frequency domain analysis revealed typical excitation of Orbiter and Spacelab structural modes at 3.5, 4.7, 5.2, 6.2, 7, and 17 Hz
Searches for solar-influenced radioactive decay anomalies using Spacecraft RTGs
Experiments showing a seasonal variation of the nuclear decay rates of a
number of different nuclei, and decay anomalies apparently related to solar
flares and solar rotation, have suggested that the Sun may somehow be
influencing nuclear decay processes. Recently, Cooper searched for such an
effect in Pu nuclei contained in the radioisotope thermoelectric
generators (RTGs) on board the Cassini spacecraft. In this paper we modify and
extend Cooper's analysis to obtain constraints on anomalous decays of
Pu over a wider range of models, but these limits cannot be applied to
other nuclei if the anomaly is composition-dependent. We also show that it may
require very high sensitivity for terrestrial experiments to discriminate among
some models if such a decay anomaly exists, motivating the consideration of
future spacecraft experiments which would require less precision.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures (to appear in Astroparticle Physics
Cloud microphysical effects of turbulent mixing and entrainment
Turbulent mixing and entrainment at the boundary of a cloud is studied by
means of direct numerical simulations that couple the Eulerian description of
the turbulent velocity and water vapor fields with a Lagrangian ensemble of
cloud water droplets that can grow and shrink by condensation and evaporation,
respectively. The focus is on detailed analysis of the relaxation process of
the droplet ensemble during the entrainment of subsaturated air, in particular
the dependence on turbulence time scales, droplet number density, initial
droplet radius and particle inertia. We find that the droplet evolution during
the entrainment process is captured best by a phase relaxation time that is
based on the droplet number density with respect to the entire simulation
domain and the initial droplet radius. Even under conditions favoring
homogeneous mixing, the probability density function of supersaturation at
droplet locations exhibits initially strong negative skewness, consistent with
droplets near the cloud boundary being suddenly mixed into clear air, but
rapidly approaches a narrower, symmetric shape. The droplet size distribution,
which is initialized as perfectly monodisperse, broadens and also becomes
somewhat negatively skewed. Particle inertia and gravitational settling lead to
a more rapid initial evaporation, but ultimately only to slight depletion of
both tails of the droplet size distribution. The Reynolds number dependence of
the mixing process remained weak over the parameter range studied, most
probably due to the fact that the inhomogeneous mixing regime could not be
fully accessed when phase relaxation times based on global number density are
considered.Comment: 17 pages, 10 Postscript figures (figures 3,4,6,7,8 and 10 are in
reduced quality), to appear in Theoretical Computational Fluid Dynamic
Autonomous and non-cell autonomous role of cilia in structural birth defects in mice
Ciliopathies are associated with wide spectrum of structral birth defects (SBDs), indicating impoartant roles for cilia in decelopment , here we provide novel insights into the temporospatial requirement for cilia in SBDs arising from deficiency in Ift140, an intraflagellar transport (IFT) protein regulating ciliogenesis. Ift140-deficient mice exhibit cilia defects accompanied by wide spectrum of SBDs including macrostomia (craniofacial defects), exencephaly, body wall defects, tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), randomized heart looping, congenital heart defects (CHDs), lung hypoplasia, renal anomalies, and polydactyly. Tamoxifen inducible CAGGCre-ER deletion of a floxed Ift140 allele between E5.5 to 9.5 revealed early requirement for Ift140 in left-right heart looping regulation, mid to late requirement for cardiac outflow septation and alignment, and late requirement for craniofacial development and body wall closure. Surprisingly, CHD were not observed with 4 Cre drivers targeting different lineages essential for heart development, but craniofacial defects and omphalocele were observed with Wnt1-Cre targeting neural crest and Tbx18-Cre targeting epicardial lineage and rostral sclerotome through which trunk neural crest cells migrate. These findings revealed cell autonomous role of cilia in cranial/trunk neural crest-mediated craniofacial and body wall closure defects, while non-cell autonomous multi-lineage interactions underlie CHD pathogenesis, revealing unexpected developmental complexity for CHD associated with ciliopathies
A real quaternion spherical ensemble of random matrices
One can identify a tripartite classification of random matrix ensembles into
geometrical universality classes corresponding to the plane, the sphere and the
anti-sphere. The plane is identified with Ginibre-type (iid) matrices and the
anti-sphere with truncations of unitary matrices. This paper focusses on an
ensemble corresponding to the sphere: matrices of the form \bY= \bA^{-1} \bB,
where \bA and \bB are independent matrices with iid standard
Gaussian real quaternion entries. By applying techniques similar to those used
for the analogous complex and real spherical ensembles, the eigenvalue jpdf and
correlation functions are calculated. This completes the exploration of
spherical matrices using the traditional Dyson indices .
We find that the eigenvalue density (after stereographic projection onto the
sphere) has a depletion of eigenvalues along a ring corresponding to the real
axis, with reflective symmetry about this ring. However, in the limit of large
matrix dimension, this eigenvalue density approaches that of the corresponding
complex ensemble, a density which is uniform on the sphere. This result is in
keeping with the spherical law (analogous to the circular law for iid
matrices), which states that for matrices having the spherical structure \bY=
\bA^{-1} \bB, where \bA and \bB are independent, iid matrices the
(stereographically projected) eigenvalue density tends to uniformity on the
sphere.Comment: 25 pages, 3 figures. Added another citation in version
Women, men and coronary heart disease: a review of the qualitative literature
Aim. This paper presents a review of the qualitative literature which examines the experiences of patients with coronary heart disease. The paper also assesses whether the experiences of both female and male patients are reflected in the literature and summarizes key themes.
Background. Understanding patients' experiences of their illness is important for coronary heart disease prevention and education. Qualitative methods are particularly suited to eliciting patients' detailed understandings and perceptions of illness. As much previous research has been 'gender neutral', this review pays particular attention to gender.
Methods. Published papers from 60 qualitative studies were identified for the review through searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PREMEDLINE, PsychINFO, Social Sciences Citation Index and Web of Science using keywords related to coronary heart disease.
Findings. Early qualitative studies of patients with coronary heart disease were conducted almost exclusively with men, and tended to generalize from 'male' experience to 'human' experience. By the late 1990s this pattern had changed, with the majority of studies including women and many being conducted with solely female samples. However, many studies that include both male and female coronary heart disease patients still do not have a specific gender focus. Key themes in the literature include interpreting symptoms and seeking help, belief about coronary 'candidates' and relationships with health professionals. The influence of social roles is important: many female patients have difficulties reconciling family responsibilities and medical advice, while male patients worry about being absent from work.
Conclusions. There is a need for studies that compare the experiences of men and women. There is also an urgent need for work that takes masculinity and gender roles into account when exploring the experiences of men with coronary heart disease
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