Imaging of moisture content in wood using electrical capacitance tomography

http://shop.tuverlag.at/de/the-world-conference-on-timber-engineeringThe current study investigates whether an electrical imaging modality, electrical capacitance tomography (ECT), could provide information on the moisture content in wood. In ECT, a set of electrodes are placed around the surface of the object, and based on electrical capacitance measurements from the surface, the spatial distribution of the electrical permittivity inside the object is reconstructed. In this experimental study, water is infiltrated in a wood sample for 7 days, and ECT measurements are sequentially collected during the absorption of water. The reconstructed ECT images show a constant increase of electrical permittivity in the location of water absorption. The results support the feasibility of ECT for imaging the water content in wood.Peer reviewe

Amygdala subnucleus volumes in psychosis high-risk state and first-episode psychosis

Structural and functional abnormalities of the amygdala in schizophrenia have been well documented. Post-mortem studies suggest that the lateral nucleus is particularly affected in schizophrenia. It is not known whether the amygdala subnuclei are differently affected at the time of the first-episode psychosis or already at high-risk state.75 first-episode psychosis patients (FEP), 45 clinical high-risk patients (CHR) and 76 population controls participated in this cross-sectional case-control study. Participants underwent T1-weighted 3T MRI scans, from which the amygdala was segmented using a newly developed automated algorithm. Because early adverse events increase risk for psychosis and affect the amygdala, we also tested whether experiences of childhood maltreatment associate with the putative amygdala subnuclei abnormalities.Compared to the population controls, FEP had smaller volumes of the lateral, and basal nuclei. In CHR, only the lateral nucleus was significantly smaller compared to the control subjects. Experience of childhood maltreatment was inversely associated with lateral nucleus volumes in FEP but not in CHR.These results show that the lateral and basal nuclei of the amygdala are already affected in FEP. These volumetric changes may reflect specific cellular abnormalities that have been observed in post-mortem studies in schizophrenia in the same subnuclei. Decreased volume of the lateral nucleus in CHR suggest that a smaller lateral nucleus could serve as a potential biomarker for psychosis risk. Finally, we found that the lateral nucleus volumes in FEP may be sensitive to the effects of childhood maltreatment.</p

Short-term functional outcome in psychotic patients: results of the Turku early psychosis study (TEPS)

Background Functional recovery of patients with clinical and subclinical psychosis is associated with clinical, neuropsychological and developmental factors. Less is known about how these factors predict functional outcomes in the same models. We investigated functional outcomes and their predictors in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) or a confirmed or nonconfirmed clinical high risk of psychosis (CHR-P vs. CHR-N). Methods Altogether, 130 patients with FEP, 60 patients with CHR-P and 47 patients with CHR-N were recruited and extensively examined at baseline (T0) and 9 (T1) and 18 (T2) months later. Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) at T0, T1 and T2 and psychotic, depression, and anxiety symptoms at T1 and T2 were assessed. Functional outcomes were predicted using multivariate repeated ANOVA. Results During follow-up, the GAF score improved significantly in patients with FEP and CHR-P but not in patients with CHR-N. A single marital status, low basic education level, poor work situation, disorganization symptoms, perceptual deficits, and poor premorbid adjustment in patients with FEP, disorganization symptoms and poor premorbid adjustment in patients with CHR-P, and a low basic education level, poor work situation and general symptoms in patients with CHR-N predicted poor functional outcomes. Psychotic symptoms at T1 in patients with FEP and psychotic and depression symptoms at T1 and anxiety symptoms at T2 in patients with CHR-P were associated with poor functioning. Conclusions In patients with FEP and CHR-P, poor premorbid adjustment and disorganization symptomatology are common predictors of the functional outcome, while a low education level and poor work situation predict worse functional outcomes in patients with FEP and CHR-N. Interventions aimed at improving the ability to work and study are most important in improving the functioning of patients with clinical or subclinical psychosis.</p

Psykoosipotilaiden toimintakyvyn ennuste ja sitä ennustavat tekijät

TAUSTA. Tavoitteenamme oli tutkia luonnollisessa tutkimusasetelmassa psykoosin ja psykoosiriskin vuoksi ensi kertaa hoitoon tulleiden potilaiden toimintakyvyn ennustetta ja siihen vaikuttavia tekijöitä.AINEISTO JA MENETELMÄT. Tutkimusaineisto koostui 130 psykoosi- ja 107 psykoosiriskipotilaasta, joille tehtiin alkuhaastattelun jälkeen seurantahaastattelu yhdeksän ja 18 kuukauden kuluttua. Seurannan perusteella muodostettiin hyvän ja huonon ennusteen ryhmät, joita selitettiin logistisella regressioanalyysillä.TULOKSET JA PÄÄTELMÄT. Psykoosi- ja riskipotilaiden toimintakyvyn ennusteissa ei ollut eroa. Hyvä ennuste yhdistyi naissukupuoleen, lapsuuden sosiaalisuuteen, koulumenestykseen ja vähäisiin traumakokemuksiin sekä hyvään koulutustasoon ja työtilanteeseen. Oireista tunneköyhyys ja ajattelun hajanaisuus liittyvät huonoon ennusteeseen. Monimuuttuja-analyysissä naimattomuus, lapsuuden traumakokemukset ja heikko koulumenestys, huono työtilanne sekä tunneköyhyys ja ajattelun hajanaisuus ennustivat huonoa toimintakykyä. Koulutuksen ja työteon tukemiseen liittyvät kuntoutustoimenpiteet ovat keskeisiä pyrittäessä parantamaan psykoosipotilaiden ja psykoosiriskissä olevien potilaiden toimintakykyä.</p

Short-term analysis of timber-concrete composite bridges

ISSN 0284-5172 Papers presented at the conference were distributed on USB to participants at the conference.Timber-concrete composite (TCC) structures have been studied intensively during the last decades and some analysis methods has been proposed, but mostly for floor construction. Applicability of different analysis methods for TCC bridge design were evaluated in a parametric study. In the evaluation, the influence of the parameters on the deformation, shear force in the connector, compressive stresses in the concrete deck and tensile stresses in the timber beam were investigated. The study was performed on a simply supported TCC beam, with span of 18 m, and with following parameters: different loads, connector arrangements, connector stiffnesses and cross-sectional dimensions. The results indicate large differences between the evaluated methods, in particular for beams with relatively low connector stiffness.Peer reviewe

Life Cycle Assessment on two design alternatives of the Driva Bridge

Environmental performance of timber bridges during their lifespan has become important in recent years. In this study, two timber design alternatives of the Driva Bridge located in Norway were investigated and compared. The study applied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for addressing (1) the distribution of total environmental impact and energy consumption, and (2) the environmental impact and energy consumption variations due to different End-of-Life (EoL) scenarios for timber material. The results relied on five selected midpoint environmental impact indicators. It indicates that different EoL scenarios of timber can largely affect the total environmental impact, and the quantity of steel used significantly influence the total environmental impact as well as total energy consumption.Peer reviewe

Long-term analysis of timber-concrete composite bridges

ISSN 0284-5172 Papers presented at the conference were distributed on USB to participants at the conference.The design of timber-concrete composite bridges is complicated due to time-dependent phenomenon like creep, shrinkage of concrete and effects of the varying temperature and moisture content. Unfortunately, at the moment, Eurocodes include very limited guidelines for designing such bridges. Existing guidelines and methods, time-dependent material models and effects of the environmental variations were studied for the long-term analysis. Based on the findings, a simulation tool for timber-concrete composite beam accounting the time-dependent phenomena was developed. Temperature and moisture content histories of the bridge components based on the existing weather data. The tool was used to simulate the effects over the service life in two cases; a bridge built using un-shored or shored construction method. In overall, wide agreement between the simulation and the approximate model was found.Peer reviewe