Design and experimental assessment of a novel damper with high endurance to seismic loads

The study presents the design and the experimental characterization of a new energy dissipation device aimed at providing improved resistance to repeated seismic loads. Differently from conventional steel hysteretic dampers, which dissipate energy by yielding of a mild steel core and are noted to suffer low-cycle fatigue, the new damper provides energy dissipation by the friction that is activated between a moving shaft and a lead core prestressed within a tube. The prestress level is controlled during the assembling process, allowing to adjust the axial strength of the damper. Thanks to the ability of lead to restore its properties by static recrystallization taking place immediately after deformation, repeated cycles of loading do not produce damages that may accrue and eventually lead to failure of the device. Moreover, prestressing of the lead core allows to achieve high specific strength (i.e., high force to volume ratio), thereby providing low dimensions which help to reduce the architectural invasiveness. Prototypes of the damper were subjected to the test procedure established in the European standard EN 15129 for Displacement Dependent Devices, fulfilling the relevant requirements. The damper provides a robust and stable response over repeated cycles, characterized by essentially rectangular hysteresis loops with an equivalent viscous damping ratio ξeff of about 55%. Moreover, it shows low sensitivity of mechanical properties on the loading rate and the ability to withstand multiple cycles of motion at the design earthquake displacement without deterioration of performance, demonstrating maintenance-free operation in presence of repeated ground shakes. Its ability to survive several strong motions without being damaged, and its high damping capability coupled to a compact design and low manufacturing cost, are the distinctive features that make it suitable for social housing

Level-3 Calorimetric Resolution available for the Level-1 and Level-2 CDF Triggers

As the Tevatron luminosity increases sophisticated selections are required to be efficient in selecting rare events among a very huge background. To cope with this problem, CDF has pushed the offline calorimeter algorithm reconstruction resolution up to Level 2 and, when possible, even up to Level 1, increasing efficiency and, at the same time, keeping under control the rates. The CDF Run II Level 2 calorimeter trigger is implemented in hardware and is based on a simple algorithm that was used in Run I. This system has worked well for Run II at low luminosity. As the Tevatron instantaneous luminosity increases, the limitation due to this simple algorithm starts to become clear: some of the most important jet and MET (Missing ET) related triggers have large growth terms in cross section at higher luminosity. In this paper, we present an upgrade of the Level 2 Calorimeter system which makes the calorimeter trigger tower information available directly to a CPU allowing more sophisticated algorithms to be implemented in software. Both Level 2 jets and MET can be made nearly equivalent to offline quality, thus significantly improving the performance and flexibility of the jet and MET related triggers. However in order to fully take advantage of the new L2 triggering capabilities having at Level 1 the same L2 MET resolution is necessary. The new Level-1 MET resolution is calculated by dedicated hardware. This paper describes the design, the hardware and software implementation and the performance of the upgraded calorimeter trigger system both at Level 2 and Level 1.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures,34th International Conference on High Energy Physics, Philadelphia, 200

Efeito de extratos vegetais fermentados sobre adultos de Anastrepha fraterculus (Wied., 1830) (Diptera: Tephritidae) em laboratório.

A mosca-das-frutas sul-americana, Anastrepha fraterculus (Wied., 1830), é a principal praga das frutíferas de clima temperado na região sul do Brasil. Neste trabalho foi avaliado o efeito de extratos vegetais fermentados sobre adultos de Anastrepha fraterculus em laboratório. Os extratos fermentados de plantas avaliados foram: Margarida-do-Campo, Aspilia foliacea (Spreng.) Baker; Línguade-vaca, Chaptalia nutans (L.) Polak; Uva-do-japão, Hovenia dulcis Thunb.; Cinamomo, Melia azedarach L.; Fumo-bravo, Solanum mauritianum Scop.; Ervade-passarinho, Tripodanthus acutifolius Thieg. Os extratos (500gr de planta com 1,5 L de água de fonte) foram produzidos através de fermentação anaeróbica ou aeróbica, com presença ou ausência de 20gr de fermento fresco e seco e 40gr de açúcar. Dois casais de 25 dias de idade provenientes de uma criação artificial sob condições controladas (25 ±3ºC, 70±10% e fotofase de 14 horas) foram confinados em gaiola cilíndrica transparente (8 cm de diâmetro x 11 cm de altura) contendo água, dieta (açúcar, gérmen de trigo e extrato de soja na proporção de 3:1:1) e o seu respectivo tratamento em recipiente de 4mL. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi inteiramente casualizado em dez repetições. Os extratos foram avaliados na concentração de 10% fornecidos via ingestão, integrados a 5% proteína hidrolisada (BioFruit®) mantendo-se um tratamento testemunha. A avaliação da mortalidade foi feita 24, 48, 72 e 96 horas após o fornecimento aos insetos. Os dados da mortalidade foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias comparadas ao teste de Tukey (P<0,05). Os extratos com fermentação aeróbica da espécie Aspilia foliacea (margarida-do-campo), com e sem fermento fresco proporcionaram mortalidade superior a 85%, diferenciando-se dos demais extratos que não causaram mortalidade significativa de adultos de A. fraterculus

Effect of toroidal field ripple on plasma rotation in JET

Dedicated experiments on TF ripple effects on the performance of tokamak plasmas have been carried out at JET. The TF ripple was found to have a profound effect on the plasma rotation. The central Mach number, M, defined as the ratio of the rotation velocity and the thermal velocity, was found to drop as a function of TF ripple amplitude (3) from an average value of M = 0.40-0.55 for operations at the standard JET ripple of 6 = 0.08% to M = 0.25-0.40 for 6 = 0.5% and M = 0.1-0.3 for delta = 1%. TF ripple effects should be considered when estimating the plasma rotation in ITER. With standard co-current injection of neutral beam injection (NBI), plasmas were found to rotate in the co-current direction. However, for higher TF ripple amplitudes (delta similar to 1%) an area of counter rotation developed at the edge of the plasma, while the core kept its co-rotation. The edge counter rotation was found to depend, besides on the TF ripple amplitude, on the edge temperature. The observed reduction of toroidal plasma rotation with increasing TF ripple could partly be explained by TF ripple induced losses of energetic ions, injected by NBI. However, the calculated torque due to these losses was insufficient to explain the observed counter rotation and its scaling with edge parameters. It is suggested that additional TF ripple induced losses of thermal ions contribute to this effect

The problem of political science and practical politics

Copyright @ 2006 The AuthorsWe reflect on the reasons why there is not a greater and more fruitful relationship between those who seek to understand policy and the political process from academia and those with a similar task in ‘practical politics’. We attribute this lack of engagement to three core factors: (1) from without, instrumental government visions of political science perpetuate the view that the discipline exists to serve those with power; (2) from within, scientism and abstraction diminish the discipline's stock of ‘usable’ product for ‘practical politics’; and (3) where relevant research exists, its uptake is hampered by limited communication between these spheres

Effect of preoperative pulmonary hemodynamic and cardiopulmonary bypass on lung function in children with congenital heart disease

In children with congenital heart disease (CHD), pulmonary blood flow (Qp) contributes to alterations of pulmonary mechanics and gas exchange, while cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) induces lung edema. We aimed to determine the effect of hemodynamics on lung function and lung epithelial lining fluid (ELF) biomarkers in biventricular CHD children undergoing CPB. CHD children were classified as high Qp (n = 43) and low Qp (n = 17), according to preoperative cardiac morphology and arterial oxygen saturation. We measured ELF surfactant protein B (SP-B) and myeloperoxidase activity (MPO) as indexes of lung inflammation and ELF albumin as index of alveolar capillary leak in tracheal aspirate (TA) samples collected before surgery and in 6 hourly intervals within 24 h after surgery. At the same time points, we recorded dynamic compliance and oxygenation index (OI). The same biomarkers were measured in TA samples collected from 16 infants with no cardiorespiratory diseases at the time of endotracheal intubation for elective surgery. Preoperative ELF biomarkers in CHD children were significantly increased than those found in controls. In the high Qp, ELF MPO and SP-B peaked 6 h after surgery and tended to decrease afterward, while they tended to increase within the first 24 h in the low Qp. ELF albumin peaked 6 h after surgery and decreased afterwards in both CHD groups. Dynamic compliance/kg and OI significantly improved after surgery only in the High Qp. Conclusion: In CHD children, lung mechanics, OI, and ELF biomarkers were significantly affected by CPB, according to the preoperative pulmonary hemodynamics.What is Known:• Congenital heart disease children, before cardiopulmonary run, exhibit changes in respiratory mechanics, gas exchange, and lung inflammatory biomarkers that are related to the preoperative pulmonary hemodynamics.• Cardiopulmonary bypass induces alteration of lung function and epithelial lining fluid biomarkers according to preoperative hemodynamics.What is New:• Our findings can help to identify children with congenital heart disease at high risk of postoperative lung injury who may benefit of tailored intensive care strategies, such as non-invasive ventilation techniques, fluid management, and anti-inflammatory drugs that can improve cardiopulmonary interaction in the perioperative period

Optical, near-IR and sub-mm IFU Observations of the nearby dual AGN Mrk 463

We present optical and near-IR Integral Field Unit (IFU) and ALMA band 6 observations of the nearby dual Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) Mrk 463. At a distance of 210 Mpc, and a nuclear separation of $\sim$4 kpc, Mrk 463 is an excellent laboratory to study the gas dynamics, star formation processes and supermassive black hole (SMBH) accretion in a late-stage gas-rich major galaxy merger. The IFU observations reveal a complex morphology, including tidal tails, star-forming clumps, and emission line regions. The optical data, which map the full extent of the merger, show evidence for a biconical outflow and material outflowing at $>$600 km s$^{-1}$, both associated with the Mrk 463E nucleus, together with large scale gradients likely related to the ongoing galaxy merger. We further find an emission line region $\sim$11 kpc south of Mrk 463E that is consistent with being photoionized by an AGN. Compared to the current AGN luminosity, the energy budget of the cloud implies a luminosity drop in Mrk 463E by a factor 3-20 over the last 40,000 years. The ALMA observations of $^{12}$CO(2-1) and adjacent 1mm continuum reveal the presence of $\sim$10$^{9}$M$_\odot$ in molecular gas in the system. The molecular gas shows velocity gradients of $\sim$800 km/s and $\sim$400 km/s around the Mrk 463E and 463W nuclei, respectively. We conclude that in this system the infall of $\sim$100s $M_\odot$/yr of molecular gas is in rough balance with the removal of ionized gas by a biconical outflow being fueled by a relatively small, $<$0.01% of accretion onto each SMBH.Comment: Accepted by The Astrophysical Journal, 23 pages, 19 figure

Open Clusters IC 4665 and Cr 359 and a Probable Birthplace of the Pulsar PSR B1929+10

Based on the epicyclic approximation, we have simulated the motion of the young open star clusters IC 4665 and Collinder 359. The separation between the cluster centers is shown to have been minimal 7 Myr ago, 36 pc. We have established a close evolutionary connection between IC 4665 and the Scorpius-Centaurus association -- the separation between the centers of these structures was $\approx200$ pc 15 Myr ago. In addition, the center of IC 4665 at this time was near two well-known regions of coronal gas: the Local Bubble and the North Polar Spur. The star HIP 86768 is shown to be one of the candidates for a binary (in the past) with the pulsar PSR B1929+10. At the model radial velocity of the pulsar $V_r= 2\pm50$ km s$^{-1}$, a close encounter of this pair occurs in the vicinity of IC 4665 at a time of -1.1 Myr. At the same time, using currently available data for the pulsar B1929+10 at its model radial velocity $V_r=200\pm50$ km s$^{-1}$, we show that the hypothesis of Hoogerwerf et al. (2001) about the breakup of the $\zeta$Oph--B1929+10 binary in the vicinity of Upper Scorpius (US) about 0.9 Myr ago is more plausible.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure