Probabilistic Modeling of Structural Forces

Since forces acting on structures fluctuate widely with time and space during the lifetime of a structure, variations of the forces should be considered by probability distributions. Probabilistic definition of forces is expressed by random field variables including stochastic parameters. Structural forces are simulated by adopting Normal and Gamma probability distribution functions. The basic model given by JCSS (Joint Committee on Structural Safety) code principles is used as model to take into account the variations. In the simulation of the live loads comprised of sustained and intermittent loads, time intervals are assumed to follow a Poisson process and their distributions are defined by exponential distributions. The simulated loads are evaluated in terms of percentiles, correlation effects, reduction factors and extreme values. Results are compared with those of deterministic model as well. It has been observed that probabilistic model is more realistic and the results can be used in the calculation of specific fractiles like load and resistance factor design

Marek's Disease Virus VP22: Subcellular Localization and Characterization of Carboxyl Terminal Deletion Mutations

AbstractMarek's disease virus (MDV) is an alphaherpesvirus that causes T cell lymphoma and severe immunosuppression in chickens. The MDV UL49 gene, which encodes the tegument viral protein 22 (VP22), has been expressed as a green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein in chicken embryonic fibroblasts to examine its subcellular localization. As with both human herpesvirus 1 and bovine herpesvirus 1VP22-GFP fusion proteins, the MDV VP22-GFP product binds to microtubules and heterochromatin. In addition, the MDV protein also binds to the centrosomes. During mitosis, VP22-GFP binds to sister chromatids, but dissociates from the centrosomes and the microtubules of the mitotic spindle. A series of VP22 carboxy terminal truncation mutants were constructed to define regions responsible for these binding properties. These mutants identified separable domains or motifs responsible for binding microtubules and heterochromatin