Drilled Pier Load Test, Fort Collins, Colorado

A full-scale compressive load test was conducted on a drilled pier in the Pierre Shale Formation near Fort Collins, Colorado, to verify design parameters. The test pier was designed based on presumptive design criteria for both end-bearing and skin friction in the shale. The maximum test load of 6.7 MN (750 tons) resulted in a deflection of approximately 230 mm (9.0 in.). Instrumentation within the pier allowed determination of the actual end-bearing and skin friction values at various applied loads. Based on results of the test, production piers were redesigned for skin friction only and shear rings were added to enhance shaft resistance

Three-Nucleon Electroweak Capture Reactions

Recent advances in the study of the p-d radiative and mu-3he weak capture processes are presented and discussed. The three-nucleon bound and scattering states are obtained using the correlated-hyperspherical-harmonics method, with realistic Hamiltonians consisting of the Argonne v14 or Argonne v18 two-nucleon and Tucson-Melbourne or Urbana IX three-nucleon interactions. The electromagnetic and weak transition operators include one- and two-body contributions. The theoretical accuracy achieved in these calculations allows for interesting comparisons with experimental data.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, invited talk at the CFIF Fall Workshop: Nuclear Dynamics, from Quarks to Nuclei, Lisbon, 31st of October - 1st of November 200

Communicative Predictors of a Shared Family Identity: Comparison of Grandchildren’s Perceptions of Family-of-Origin Grandparents and Stepgrandparents

From an intergroup perspective on family relationships, the current study investigates family-of-origin grandparents and stepgrandparents to determine similarities and differences in communication and relational dimensions. Participants (N = 88) completed questionnaires on family-of-origin grandparents and stepgrandparent relationships. From the perspective of young adult grandchildren, the research explores the role of supportive communication, reciprocal self-disclosure, nonaccommodative communication, and parental encouragement in predicting a sense of shared family identity with each grandparent type. Results are discussed in terms of implications for intergroup research, grandparent-grandchild communication, and stepfamily relationships

Discrimination of the toxigenic dinoflagellate species Alexandrium tamarense and Alexandrium ostenfeldii in co-occurring natural populations from Scottish coastal waters

Blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense (Lebour) Balech, a known producer of potent neurotoxins associated with paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), are common annual events along the Scottish east coast. The co-occurrence of a second Alexandrium species, A. ostenfeldii (Paulsen) Balech & Tangen is reported in this study from waters of the Scottish east coast. The latter species has been suspected to be an alternative source of PSP toxins in northern Europe. Recent identification of toxic macrocyclic imines known as spirolides in A. ostenfeldii indicates a potential new challenge for monitoring toxic Alexandrium species and their respective toxins in natural populations. In mixed phytoplankton assemblages, Alexandrium species are dicult to discriminate accurately by conventional light microscopy. Species-specific rRNA probes based upon 18S and 28S ribosomal DNA sequences were developed for A. ostenfeldii and tested by dot-blot and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques. Hybridization patterns of A. ostenfeldii probes for cultured Alexandrium isolates, and cells from field populations from the Scottish east coast, were compared with those of rDNA probes for A. tamarense and a universal dinoflagellate probe. Alexandrium cell numbers in field samples determined by whole-cell in situ hybridization were much lower than those determined by optical microscopy with the Utermöhl method involving sedimentation chambers, but the results were highly correlated (e.g. r2=0.94; n=6 for A. tamarense). Determination of spirolides and PSP toxins by instrumental analysis on board ship demonstrated the presence of both toxi

Is HA coating beneficial? (Part I)

This article reviews the Perspective concerning HA Coating of implantS. AlthoughHA-Coated implants form a Stronger connection with bone at a faster rate than metal surfaceimplant, the disadvantage is that the HA Coating may undergo physiological resorption. Theeffect and significance of this resorption on the long- term survival remains unknown