Experimental investigation of evolving anisotropy in unsaturated soils

This paper investigates the ‘initial’ and ‘evolving’ mechanical anisotropy of a compacted unsaturated soil. Awide campaign of triaxial compression and extension tests, involving different stress and suction paths, has been performed on both isotropically and anisotropically compacted samples of unsaturated Speswhite kaolin. The first objective is the definition of the initial yield surface of the compacted soil after suction equalisation and before any plastic loading/wetting path takes place. This is followed by the investigation of the evolution of the yield surface induced by plastic straining along different loading/wetting paths. Experimental results are interpreted by using two alternative stress variables, namely net stresses σij and Bishop’s stress σ� ij ¼ σij þ δijSrs (where δij is Kronecker delta, Sr is the degree of saturation and s is suction). Constant suction cross-sections of the yield surface are represented as distorted ellipses not passing through the origin in the q:p plane of deviator stress plotted against mean net stress, and by distorted ellipses passing through the origin in the q:p* plane of deviator stress plotted against mean Bishop’s stress. The inclination of these distorted elliptical yield curves evolves with plastic straining but remains the same at all suction levels for a given level of plastic deformation. The critical state lines in the planes q:p and q:p*, or in the semi-logarithmic v:lnp and v:lnp* planes (v is the specific volume), are generally independent of initial anisotropy or stress history, suggesting that fabric memory tends to be erased at critical state

Modelling and Optimising of a Light-Weight Rockfall Catch Fence System

Rockfall catch fence is a mechanical barrier system that is used at the foot of cliffs to stop and retain falling rocks from reaching nearby infrastructures. A typical system comprises of a high tensile strength wire mesh that is anchored to the ground by rigid posts and strengthened to the lateral and upslope sides by anchoring tension cables. Additional components, such as shock absorbers, might be added to improve the system capacity to dissipate energy. This multi-component system characterises by geometrical complexity and high nonlinear response to impact loads. A light-weight catch fence system is a simple system that can be easily installed in a time efficient manner using manpower rather than heavy machinery, which makes it ideal for railways located in mountainous and difficult terrain regions where there is difficulty in accessing sites with limited workspaces and restricted installation times. However, this should be combined with a proper design to ensure that the system provides the required protection to impede falling rocks from reaching the train lines. In this paper, a parametric study based on finite element analysis is developed to optimise the design of a light-weight catch fence system that has an energy absorption capacity of up to 100 kJ

Economic and Hydrologic Implications of Selected Water Policy Alternatives for the Southern Ogallala Aquifer

The primary objective of this study was to analyze and evaluate the impacts of selected water conservation policy alternatives on the Ogallala Aquifer underlying the Southern High Plains of Texas and Eastern New Mexico for the purposes of identifying which alternative or alternatives most effectively achieve conservation of the aquifer and keep the heavily agriculturally dependent economy viable. The specific objectives were to: 1. Determine the characteristics of water conservation policy alternatives which could extend the economic life of the aquifer, and 2. Evaluate the economic life of the aquifer across the region under different water conservation alternatives for a sixty year planning horizon

A Process View of Information System Benefits Management and Evaluation

We report research in progress into the issue of Information Systems (IS) benefits management and evaluation, based upon a process view of system delivery. Several authors have proposed ways of monitoring and evaluating IS implementation, suggesting particular methodologies to achieve benefits. In this paper we summarize the advice of different authors and identify key processes in the management of IS implementation. This leads us to an analysis of the generic management processes of IS delivery. The resulting process model provides a framework for the analysis of actual organizational practices

Class II Phosphoinositide 3-Kinases Contribute to Endothelial Cells Morphogenesis

PMCID: PMC3539993This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Evolution of mitochondrial and nuclear genomes in Pennatulacea

We examine the phylogeny of sea pens using sequences of whole mitochondrial genomes and the nuclear ribosomal cluster generated through low coverage Illumina sequencing. Taxon sampling includes 30 species in 19 genera representing 13 families. Ancestral state reconstruction shows that most sea pen mitochondrial genomes have the ancestral gene order, and that Pennatulacea with diverse gene orders are found in a single clade. The monophyly of Pennatulidae and Protoptilidae are rejected by both the mitochondrial and nuclear dataset, while the mitochondrial dataset further rejects monophyly of Virgulariidae, and the nuclear dataset rejects monophyly of Kophobelemnidae. We show discordance between nuclear ribosomal gene cluster phylogenies and whole mitochondrial genome phylogenies and highlight key Pennatulacea taxa that could be included in cnidarian genome-wide studies to better resolve the sea pen tree of life. We further illustrate how well frequently sequenced markers capture the overall diversity of the mitochondrial genome and the nuclear ribosomal genes in sea pens

Phylogenetics and Mitogenome Organisation in Black Corals (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: Antipatharia): An Order-Wide Survey Inferred From Complete Mitochondrial Genomes

Black corals (Anthozoa: Antipatharia) are an ecologically and culturally important group of deep-sea cnidarians. However, as the majority of species inhabit depths >50 m, they are relatively understudied. The inaccessibility of well-preserved tissue for species of interest has limited the scope of molecular analysis, and as a result only a small number of antipatharian mitochondrial genomes have been published. Using next generation sequencing, 18 complete and five partial antipatharian mitochondrial genomes were assembled, increasing the number of complete mitochondrial genomes to 22. This includes species from six antipatharian families, four of which were previously unrepresented, enabling the first family-level, full mitochondrial gene analysis over the whole order. The circular mitogenomes ranged in size from 17,681 to 21,669 bp with the large range in size due to the addition of an intron in COX1 in some species and size variation of intergenic regions. All mitogenomes contained the genes standard to all hexacoral mitogenomes (13 protein coding genes, two rRNAs and two tRNAs). The only difference in gene content is the presence of the COX1 intron in five families. The most variable mitochondrial gene is ND4 which may have implications for future barcoding studies. Phylogenetic analysis confirms that Leiopathidae is sister to all other families. Families Antipathidae, Cladopathidae and Schizopathidae are polyphyletic, supporting previous studies that call for a taxonomic revision

ProfCom: a web tool for profiling the complex functionality of gene groups identified from high-throughput data

ProfCom is a web-based tool for the functional interpretation of a gene list that was identified to be related by experiments. A trait which makes ProfCom a unique tool is an ability to profile enrichments of not only available Gene Ontology (GO) terms but also of ‘complex functions’. A ‘Complex function’ is constructed as Boolean combination of available GO terms. The complex functions inferred by ProfCom are more specific in comparison to single terms and describe more accurately the functional role of genes. ProfCom provides a user friendly dialog-driven web page submission available for several model organisms and supports most available gene identifiers. In addition, the web service interface allows the submission of any kind of annotation data. ProfCom is freely available at http://webclu.bio.wzw.tum.de/profcom/

Contrasting effects of sleep fragmentation and angiotensin-II treatment upon pro-inflammatory responses of mice

Disordered sleep promotes inflammation in brain and peripheral tissues, but the mechanisms that regulate these responses are poorly understood. One hypothesis is that activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) from sleep loss elevates blood pressure to promote vascular sheer stress leading to inflammation. As catecholamines produced from SNS activation can directly regulate inflammation, we pharmacologically altered blood pressure using an alternative approach-manipulation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Male C57BL6/J mice were treated with angiotensin or captopril to elevate and reduce blood pressure, respectively and then exposed to 24-h of sleep fragmentation (SF) or allowed to sleep (control). Pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine gene expression and as endothelial adhesion gene expression as well as serum glucocorticoids (corticosterone) were measured. RAS manipulation elevated cytokines and endothelial adhesion expression in heart and aorta while SF increased cytokine expression in peripheral tissues, but not brain. However, there were interactive effects of angiotensin-II and SF upon cytokine gene expression in hippocampus and hypothalamus, but not prefrontal cortex. SF, but not RAS manipulation, elevated serum corticosterone concentration. These findings highlight the contrasting effects of RAS manipulation and SF, implying that inflammation from SF is acting on different pathways that are largely independent of RAS manipulation