A study on fire design accidental loads for aluminum safety helidecks

The helideck structure must satisfy the safety requirements associated with various environmental and accidental loads. Especially, there have been a number of fire accidents offshore due to helicopter collision (take-off and/or landing) in recent decades. To prevent further accidents, a substantial amount of effort has been directed toward the management of fire in the safety design of offshore helidecks. The aims of this study are to introduce and apply a procedure for quantitative risk assessment and management of fires by defining the fire loads with an applied example. The frequency of helicopter accidents are considered, and design accidental levels are applied. The proposed procedures for determining design fire loads can be efficiently applied in offshore helideck development projects

Screening and optimization of extracellular lipases by Acinetobacter species isolated from oil-contaminated soil in South Korea

A total of 53 strains of bacteria were isolated from oil contaminated soil collected in South Korea. The isolated bacteria were screened using spirit blue agar and Rhodamine-B agar media. Two of the isolated strains exhibited a greater clear zone than the others, indicating higher lipase activity. Therefore, these two strains (BK43 and BK44) were selected and identified based on their morphological and physiological characteristics. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing was also implemented. Phylogenetic analyses based on the results of 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that BK43 and BK44 were close in identity to Acinetobacter junii. The optimum pH and temperature for lipase production by BK43 were found to be 6.0 at 30°C, after 24 h of incubation, while BK44 were found to be 6.0 at 25°C, after 12 h of incubation. In addition, increased enzymatic production was obtained when the organisms were cultured in medium supplemented with 1% sucrose as the carbon source. Among the different lipase inducers tested, both strains utilized Tween 80 and produced a great level of extracellular lipase. Overall, the results of the present study demonstrate that the genus Acinetobacter is good for extracellular lipase production under acidic conditions.Key words: Acinetobacter, lipase, optimization, screening

Proteins identification of wheat-rye translocation lines by MALDI-TOF-TOF mass spectrometry and ESI-QTOF/MS

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between Timed Up and Go (TUG) performance, verbal executive function (EF) performance, and quality-of-life (QOL) measures in Parkinson's disease (PD). DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Sixteen movement disorder centers from across the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with PD (N=1964). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: TUG test, immediate and delayed 5-word recall, verbal fluency, PD QOL Questionnaire. RESULTS: TUG performance and verbal EF performance were significantly associated with, and predictors of, QOL measures, having the greatest association and predictability with the mobility domain of the QOL measures. CONCLUSIONS: The TUG test and verbal EF tests have QOL correlates, making the combined evaluation of mobility, cognitive, and QOL decline a potential examination tool to evaluate the sequelae of PD

Representation of Bay of Bengal upper-ocean salinity in general circulation models

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) upper-ocean salinity is examined in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-Climate Forecasting System version 2 (CFSv2) coupled model, Modular Ocean Model version 5 (MOM5), and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services Global Ocean Data Assimilation System (INC-GODAS). CFSv2 displays a large positive salinity bias with respect to World Ocean Atlas 2013 in the upper 40 m of the water column. The prescribed annual mean river discharge and excess evaporation are the main contributors to the positive bias in surface salinity. Overestimation of salinity advection also contributes to the high surface salinity in the model during summer. The surface salinity bias in MOM5 is smaller than in CFSv2 due to prescribed local freshwater flux and seasonally varying river discharge. However, the bias is higher around 70 m in summer and 40 m in fall. This bias is attributed to excessive vertical mixing in the upper ocean. Despite the fact that representation of salinity in INC-GODAS is more realistic due to data assimilation, the vertical mixing scheme still imposes systematic errors. The small-scale processes that control oceanographic turbulence are not adequately resolved in any of these models. Better parameterizations based on dedicated observational programs may help improve freshwater representation in regional and global models

Temperature dependence of the electronic structure of the J(eff)=12 Mott insulator Sr2IrO4 studied by optical spectroscopy

We investigated the temperature-dependent evolution of the electronic structure of the J(eff)=1/2 Mott insulator Sr2IrO4 using optical spectroscopy. The optical conductivity spectra sigma(omega) of this compound has recently been found to exhibit two d-d transitions associated with the transition between the J(eff)=1/2 and J(eff)=3/2 bands due to the cooperation of the electron correlation and spin-orbit coupling. As the temperature increases, the two peaks show significant changes resulting in a decrease in the Mott gap. The experimental observations are compared with the results of first-principles calculation in consideration of increasing bandwidth. We discuss the effect of the temperature change in the electronic structure of Sr2IrO4 in terms of local lattice distortion, excitonic effect, electron-phonon coupling, and magnetic ordering.open69575

Nonlinear structural behaviour and design formulae for calculating the ultimate strength of stiffened curved plates under axial compression

Cylindrically curved and stiffened plates are often used in ship and offshore structures. For example, they can be found in the cambered decks, fore and aft side shells and circular bilge parts of ships. A number of studies have investigated curved plates in which the buckling/ultimate strength is increased according to the curvature under various loading scenarios and design formulas. However, information regarding the nonlinear structural behaviour and design formulas for calculating the ultimate strength of the stiffened curved plates is currently limited. In this paper, a series of finite element analyses are performed on stiffened curved plates with varying geometric parameters. The existing curvatures are also analysed to clarify the effects of these parameters on the buckling/post-buckling characteristics and collapse behaviour under axial compression. The results are used to derive closed-form expressions to predict the ultimate compressive strength of curved stiffened plates for marine applications

Superconductivity below 20 K in heavily electron-doped surface layer of FeSe bulk crystal

A superconducting transition temperature (T-c) as high as 100 K was recently discovered in one monolayer FeSe grown on SrTiO3. The discovery ignited efforts to identify the mechanism for the markedly enhanced T-c from its bulk value of 8 K. There are two main views about the origin of the T-c enhancement: interfacial effects and/or excess electrons with strong electron correlation. Here, we report the observation of superconductivity below 20 K in surface electron-doped bulk FeSe. The doped surface layer possesses all the key spectroscopic aspects of the monolayer FeSe on SrTiO3. Without interfacial effects, the surface layer state has a moderate T-c of 20 K with a smaller gap opening of 4.2 meV. Our results show that excess electrons with strong correlation cannot induce the maximum T-c, which in turn reveals the need for interfacial effects to achieve the highest T-c in one monolayer FeSe on SrTiO3.1116Ysciescopu

Protection by the NDI1 Gene against Neurodegeneration in a Rotenone Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease

It is widely recognized that mitochondrial dysfunction, most notably defects in the NADH-quinone oxidoreductase (complex I), is closely related to the etiology of sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD). In fact, rotenone, a complex I inhibitor, has been used for establishing PD models both in vitro and in vivo. A rat model with chronic rotenone exposure seems to reproduce pathophysiological conditions of PD more closely than acute mouse models as manifested by neuronal cell death in the substantia nigra and Lewy body-like cytosolic aggregations. Using the rotenone rat model, we investigated the protective effects of alternative NADH dehydrogenase (Ndi1) which we previously demonstrated to act as a replacement for complex I both in vitro and in vivo. A single, unilateral injection of recombinant adeno-associated virus carrying the NDI1 gene into the vicinity of the substantia nigra resulted in expression of the Ndi1 protein in the entire substantia nigra of that side. It was clear that the introduction of the Ndi1 protein in the substantia nigra rendered resistance to the deleterious effects caused by rotenone exposure as assessed by the levels of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine. The presence of the Ndi1 protein also prevented cell death and oxidative damage to DNA in dopaminergic neurons observed in rotenone-treated rats. Unilateral protection also led to uni-directional rotation of the rotenone-exposed rats in the behavioral test. The present study shows, for the first time, the powerful neuroprotective effect offered by the Ndi1 enzyme in a rotenone rat model of PD