Deflection control for reinforced recycled aggregate concrete beams: Experimental database and extension of the fib Model Code 2010 model

Recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) has emerged as a viable solution for solving some of the environmental problems of concrete production. However, design guidelines for deflection control of reinforced RAC members have not yet been proposed. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the applicability of the fib Model Code 2010 (MC2010) deflection control model to reinforced RAC beams. Three databases of long-term studies on natural aggregate concrete (NAC) and RAC beams were compiled and meta-analyses of deflection predictions by MC2010 were performed. First, the MC2010 deflection control model was tested against a large database of long-term tests on NAC beams. Second, a database of RAC and companion NAC beams was compiled and initial and long-term deflections were calculated using the MC2010 model. It was shown that deflections of RAC beams are significantly underestimated relative to NAC beams. Previously proposed modifications for MC2010 equations for shrinkage strain and creep coefficient were used, and new modifications for the modulus of elasticity and empirical coefficient β were proposed. The improved MC2010 deflection control model on RAC beams was shown to have equal performance to that on companion NAC beams. The proposals presented in this paper can help engineers to more reliably perform deflection control of reinforced RAC members.This is the peer-reviewed version of the article: N. Tošić, S. Marinković, and J. de Brito, ‘Deflection control for reinforced recycled aggregate concrete beams: Experimental database and extension of the fib Model Code 2010 model’, Structural Concrete, vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 2015–2029, 2019 [https://doi.org/10.1002/suco.201900035

Genome-wide association analyses identify new susceptibility loci for oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer.

We conducted a genome-wide association study of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer in 6,034 cases and 6,585 controls from Europe, North America and South America. We detected eight significantly associated loci (P < 5 × 10−8), seven of which are new for these cancer sites. Oral and pharyngeal cancers combined were associated with loci at 6p21.32 (rs3828805, HLA-DQB1), 10q26.13 (rs201982221, LHPP) and 11p15.4 (rs1453414, OR52N2–TRIM5). Oral cancer was associated with two new regions, 2p23.3 (rs6547741, GPN1) and 9q34.12 (rs928674, LAMC3), and with known cancer-related loci—9p21.3 (rs8181047, CDKN2B-AS1) and 5p15.33 (rs10462706, CLPTM1L). Oropharyngeal cancer associations were limited to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region, and classical HLA allele imputation showed a protective association with the class II haplotype HLA-DRB1*1301–HLA-DQA1*0103–HLA-DQB1*0603 (odds ratio (OR) = 0.59, P = 2.7 × 10−9). Stratified analyses on a subgroup of oropharyngeal cases with information available on human papillomavirus (HPV) status indicated that this association was considerably stronger in HPV-positive (OR = 0.23, P = 1.6 × 10−6) than in HPV-negative (OR = 0.75, P = 0.16) cancers

An embedding technique to determine ττ backgrounds in proton-proton collision data

An embedding technique is presented to estimate standard model tau tau backgrounds from data with minimal simulation input. In the data, the muons are removed from reconstructed mu mu events and replaced with simulated tau leptons with the same kinematic properties. In this way, a set of hybrid events is obtained that does not rely on simulation except for the decay of the tau leptons. The challenges in describing the underlying event or the production of associated jets in the simulation are avoided. The technique described in this paper was developed for CMS. Its validation and the inherent uncertainties are also discussed. The demonstration of the performance of the technique is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions collected by CMS in 2017 at root s = 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 41.5 fb(-1).Peer reviewe

Measurement of the Z y production cross section in pp collisions at 8 TeV and search for anomalous triple gauge boson couplings

The cross section for the production of Z γ in proton-proton collisions at 8 TeV is measured based on data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 fb −1 . Events with an oppositely-charged pair of muons or electrons together with an isolated photon are selected. The differential cross section as a function of the photon transverse momentum is measured inclusively and exclusively, where the exclusive selection applies a veto on central jets. The observed cross sections are compatible with the expectations of next-to-next-to-leading-order quantum chromodynamics. Limits on anomalous triple gauge couplings of ZZ γ and Z γγ are set that improve on previous experimental results obtained with the charged lepton decay modes of the Z boson

Search for Lepton-Universality Violation in B^{+}→K^{+}ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-} Decays.

A measurement of the ratio of branching fractions of the decays B^{+}→K^{+}μ^{+}μ^{-} and B^{+}→K^{+}e^{+}e^{-} is presented. The proton-proton collision data used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.0  fb^{-1} recorded with the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. For the dilepton mass-squared range 1.1<q^{2}<6.0  GeV^{2}/c^{4} the ratio of branching fractions is measured to be R_{K}=0.846_{-0.054}^{+0.060}_{-0.014}^{+0.016}, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. This is the most precise measurement of R_{K} to date and is compatible with the standard model at the level of 2.5 standard deviations

Performance of missing transverse momentum reconstruction in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV using the CMS detector

The performance of missing transverse momentum ((p) over right arrow (miss)(T)) reconstruction algorithms for the CMS experiment is presented, using proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected at the CERN LHC in 2016. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The results include measurements of the scale and resolution of (p) over right arrow (miss)(T), and detailed studies of events identified with anomalous (p) over right arrow (miss)(T). The performance is presented of a (p) over right arrow (miss)(T) reconstruction algorithm that mitigates the effects of multiple proton-proton interactions, using the "pileup per particle identification" method. The performance is shown of an algorithm used to estimate the compatibility of the reconstructed (p) over right arrow (miss)(T) with the hypothesis that it originates from resolution effects.Peer reviewe

Geochemistry of trace elements and water quality assessment of natural water within the Tarim River Basin in the extreme arid region, NW China

Concentrations of twenty-one trace elements were measured by ICP-MS in 57 river and 20 well water samples collected in 2011 to define the spatial variability, sources, and the quality of natural water within the Tarim River Basin (TRB), one of the driest arid zones on the earth. The results showed that waters within the TRB were slightly alkaline with high total dissolved solids (TDS). TDS values in 76% of the samples, especially the well waters, were brackish water. The measured trace elements could be divided into dominant trace elements (&gt;10 mu g/L; Sr, B, Al, Li, Fe, Ba, and Mn), moderate trace elements (10-0.1 mu g/L; Ti Pb, As, Ni, Cu, Zn, V, and Cr), and low trace elements (&lt;0.1 mu g/L; Sn, Cd, Tl, Co, Sb, and Ga). The trace element concentrations in both the southern sub-basin and the Tarim River were high whereas those in the northern sub-basin were low. The trace elements have slightly higher concentrations in well waters than those in river waters. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that B, Li, Sr, Co, Cd, and Tl derive from evaporite dissolution and carbonate weathering, while Ni, Cu, Zn, Sn, and Ga originate from mining industries. According to the water quality index (WQI), about 79% of the waters within the TRB can be classified of &quot;good&quot; and &quot;excellent&quot; quality, and are suitable for drinking. However, the high boron concentrations in the southeastern and the Yarkant sub-basins, high fluorine in the southeastern sub-basin and well waters, and high total hardness (TH) in the southern and the Yarkant sub-basins, and the Tarim River could constitute a threat to human health.</p

Controlling factors of the delta B-11-pH proxy and its research direction

Significant boron isotope fractionation occurs in nature (-70 aEuro degrees to +75 aEuro degrees) due to the high geochemical reactivity of boron and the large relative mass difference between B-10 and B-11. Since the 1990s, reconstruction of ancient seawater pH using the isotopic composition of boron in bio-carbonates (delta B-11(carb)), and then calculation of the past pCO(2) have become important issues for the international isotope geochemistry community, and are called the delta B-11-pH proxy. Although many achievements have been made by this proxy, various aspects of boron systematics require rigorous evaluation. Based on the previous researches, mechanism of boron isotope fractionation, variation of boron isotope (delta B-11) in nature (especially in bio-carbonates) and controlling factors of the delta B-11-pH proxy, such as the dissociation constant of B(OH)(3) in seawater (pK(a)), the delta B-11 of seawater (delta B-11(SW)), the boron isotopic fractionation factor between B(OH) (4) (-) and B(OH)(3) (alpha (4-3)), and the incorporated species of boron into bio-carbonates, are reviewed in detail and the research directions of this proxy are proposed. Generally, the controversy about pK(a), delta B-11(sw), and alpha (4-3) is relatively less, but whether boron incorporated into bio-carbonates only in the form of B(OH) (4) (-) remains doubtful. In the future, it is required that the physicochemical processes that control boron incorporation into carbonates be rigorously characterized and that the related chemical and isotopic fractionation be quantified. It is also necessary and important to establish a &quot;best-fit empirically equation&quot; between delta B-11(carb) and pH of seawater based on the precipitation experiments of inorganic or culture experiments of corals or foraminifera. In addition, extended application of the delta B-11-pH proxy to the earlier part of the Phanerozoic relying on the Brachiopods is worthy of studying. Like other geochemical indicators, there are limiting factors of delta B-11; however, it remains a very powerful tool in the reconstruction of past seawater pH at present.</p