Seismic pounding mitigation by using viscous and viscoelastic dampers

This paper examines the effects of viscous and viscoelastic dampers as an efficient technique for seismic pounding mitigation. To aim that, 15 steel frame models with different numbers of stories and bays and also with different types of ductility were analyzed under 10 different earthquake records for assigned values of link damping and stiffness and the most suitable values of damper parameters (damping and stiffness) are presented. Moreover, it is demonstrated that viscous dampers can perform as efficiently as viscoelastic alternative with a more economical aspect for pounding mitigation purposes.Keywords: Adjacent buildings;Viscous and Viscoelastic links;Separation distance;Poundingmitigatio

Minimal Walking Technicolor: Set Up for Collider Physics

Different theoretical and phenomenological aspects of the Minimal and Nonminimal Walking Technicolor theories have recently been studied. The goal here is to make the models ready for collider phenomenology. We do this by constructing the low energy effective theory containing scalars, pseudoscalars, vector mesons and other fields predicted by the minimal walking theory. We construct their self-interactions and interactions with standard model fields. Using the Weinberg sum rules, opportunely modified to take into account the walking behavior of the underlying gauge theory, we find interesting relations for the spin-one spectrum. We derive the electroweak parameters using the newly constructed effective theory and compare the results with the underlying gauge theory. Our analysis is sufficiently general such that the resulting model can be used to represent a generic walking technicolor theory not at odds with precision data.Comment: 42 pages, 3 figures. RevTex forma

Chi8: a GPU program for detecting significant interacting SNPs with the Chi-square 8-df test

BACKGROUND: Determining interacting SNPs in genome-wide association studies is computationally expensive yet of considerable interest in genomics. FINDINGS: We present a program Chi8 that calculates the Chi-square 8 degree of freedom test between all pairs of SNPs in a brute force manner on a Graphics Processing Unit. We analyze each of the seven WTCCC genome-wide association studies that have about 5000 total case and controls and 400,000 SNPs in an average of 9.6 h on a single GPU. We also study the power, false positives, and area under curve of our program on simulated data and provide a comparison to the GBOOST program. Our program source code is freely available from http://www.cs.njit.edu/usman/Chi8

Renal Hyperfiltration and the Development of Microalbuminuria in Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine prospectively whether renal hyperfiltration is associated with the development of microalbuminuria in patients with type 1 diabetes, after taking into account known risk factors. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The study group comprised 426 participants with normoalbuminuria from the First Joslin Kidney Study, followed for 15 years. Glomerular filtration rate was estimated by serum cystatin C, and hyperfiltration was defined as exceeding the 97.5th percentile of the sex-specific distribution of a similarly aged, nondiabetic population (134 and 149 ml/min per 1.73 m2 for men and women, respectively). The outcome was time to microalbuminuria development (multiple albumin excretion rate >30 μg/min). Hazard ratios (HRs) for microalbuminuria were calculated at 5, 10, and 15 years. RESULTS: Renal hyperfiltration was present in 24% of the study group and did not increase the risk of developing microalbuminuria. The unadjusted HR for microalbuminuria comparing those with and without hyperfiltration at baseline was 0.8 (95% CI 0.4–1.7) during the first 5 years, 1.0 (0.6–1.7) during the first 10 years, and 0.8 (0.5–1.4) during 15 years of follow-up. The model adjusted for baseline known risk factors including A1C, age at diagnosis of diabetes, diabetes duration, and cigarette smoking resulted in similar HRs. In addition, incorporating changes in hyperfiltration status during follow-up had minimal impact on the HRs for microalbuminuria. CONCLUSION;S Renal hyperfiltration does not have an impact on the development of microalbuminuria in type 1 diabetes during 5, 10, or 15 years of follow-up.National Institutes of Health Grant (DK 041526

Experimental study on perfomance of wind catcher in tropical climate

Today, the knowledge of using natural ventilation in buildings with consideration of traditional architecture of different areas, has become an important factor to consider in the buildings. The focus is on increasing the quality of space regarding to climate and environmental parameters. Iran is a country with vast and different types of climate and each one has come with it's own harmonic way and response in architecture. In these study conventional traditional buildings exposed to the hot and humid weather in the northern coast of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea is considered. The wind catcher is widely applied in these areas to enhance the natural ventilation in buildings. Studying the regional measures of the local expert architects can contribute to a suitable building design for such a climate. This paper aims to study how the wind catcher works by the wind-tunnel testing and CFD simulations. The main objective of this research is to discover how a wind catcher works by considering climate situations of a tropical region. The results show that increasing the height optimizes a wind catcher's performance by taking other appropriate variables. Furthermore, this study shows that the proposed system, even at relatively low speed outdoor wind, is able to create ventilation in a residential unit. According to the results of the wind-tunnel test and CFD simulations, the wind catcher can be used in hot and humid tropical areas to help create thermal comfort in green buildings by increasing the natural ventilation

Rare Earth Element Recovery from Phosphogypsum using a Biolixiviant

This project describes the process of recovering of rare earth elements (REE) from phosphogypsum (PG) waste using a novel biolixviant produced by a bacteria strain known as Glucanobacter oxydans and is inspired by novel research occurring at Idaho National Laboratories. This report details design of a plant which has the capacity to produce the biolixiviant through fermentation, use this biolixiviant to leach REE from a solid waste such as PG, and recover the REE in oxide form through crystallization, filtration, and subsequent high temperature decomposition. The plant has the capability of processing nearly 1 million MT of PG a year and yields 286,000 kg of a rare earth oxide (REO) mixture, valued at approximately $9 per kg. As it stands, this process is unprofitable: it has a negative internal rate of return after 15 years of production and has a NPV of negative$147,664,900. In its third year of production, operating at 91% capacity, the plant has a -21.17% ROI. An alternative design is considered where fermentation is cut and H2SO4 is the lixiviant, removing 79% of the original capital necessary to create the plant. Though still negative, the IRR/ROI are much more sensitive to changes in product price, thus opening a potential path to profitability in the near future as prices are expected to increase

Longitudinal photocurrent spectroscopy of a single GaAs/AlGaAs v-groove quantum wire

Modulation-doped GaAs v-groove quantum wires (QWRs) have been fabricated with novel electrical contacts made to two-dimensional electron-gas (2DEG) reservoirs. Here, we present longitudinal photocurrent (photoconductivity/PC) spectroscopy measurements of a single QWR. We clearly observe conductance in the ground-state one-dimensional subbands; in addition, a highly temperature-dependent response is seen from other structures within the v-groove. The latter phenomenon is attributed to the effects of structural topography and localization on carrier relaxation. The results of power-dependent PC measurements suggest that the QWR behaves as a series of weakly interacting localized states, at low temperatures

Interactions between nation branding and corporate branding

The aim of this article is studying interactions between nation branding and corporate branding through reviewing the literature. Results show that both branding of a country and its corporates have influence to each other, either positive or negative effect that is called virtuous cycle or a vicious cycle. In fact, these two types of branding, act as a synergistic reinforcement tool to protect, improve or enhance the other one and therefore should be observed and maintained simustainasly.Keywords: National Reputation, CorporateBranding, Brand Positive Cycle, National Identit

Transdiagnostic treatment of co-occurrence of anxiety and depressive disorders based on repetitive negative thinking: A case series

Objective: The transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral treatments for treating the coexistence of anxiety and mood disorders received useful empirical supports in the recent years. However, these treatments still have moderate efficacy. Following the improvements and developments in transdiagnostic protocols and considering the importance of repetitive negative thinking as a core transdiagnostic factor in emotional disorders, this study examined a new form of transdiagnostic treatment based on Repetitive Negative Thinking (TTRNT) of co-occurrence of anxiety and depressive disorders. Methods: Treatment efficacy was assessed using single case series with multiple baselines. Three patients meeting the criteria for co-occurrence of anxiety and depressive disorders were selected using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV. The patients were treated individually for 12 weekly sessions. Participants completed the standardized outcome measures during the baseline, treatment and one-month follow-up. Results: At post-treatment, all participants showed significant clinical changes on a range of standardized outcome measures, and these gains were largely maintained through the one-month follow-up both in the principle and co-principal diagnosis. Conclusions: Although the results of this preliminary investigation indicated that TTRNT could be a time effective and efficient treatment for individuals with co-occurrence of anxiety and depressive disorders, further controlled clinical trials are necessary to examine this new treatment approach