Influence of aggregate and curing regime on the mechanical properties of ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC)

A new generation of concrete, Ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) has been developed for its outstanding mechanical performance and shows a very promising future in construction applications. In this paper, several possibilities are examined for reducing the price of producing UHPFRC and for bringing UHPFRC away from solely precast applications and onto the construction site as an in situ material. Recycled glass cullet and two types of local natural sand were examined as replacement materials for the more expensive silica sand normally used to produce UHPFRC. In addition, curing of UHPFRC cubes and prisms at 20 degrees C and 90 degrees C has been investigated to determine differences in both mechanical and ductility.

A genome-wide association study provides evidence for association of chromosome 8p23 (MYP10) and 10q21.1 (MYP15) with high myopia in the French population.

PURPOSE. Myopia is a complex trait affected by both genetic and environmental factors. High myopia is associated with increased risk of sight-threatening eye disorders such as retinal detachment. The purpose of this genome-wide association study was to identify susceptibility genes contributing to high myopia in the French population. METHODS. High myopic cases were genotyped using Affymetrix SNP 6.0 chips and population controls were selected from the GABRIEL French dataset in which samples were genotyped by Illumina Human610 quad array. The association study was conducted using 152,234 single nucleotide polymorphisms that were present on both manufacturers' chips in 192 high myopic cases and 1064 controls to identify associated regions. Imputation was performed on peak regions. RESULTS. Associations were found at known myopia locus MYP10 on chromosome 8p23 and MYP15 on chromosome 10q21.1. Rs189798 (8p23) and rs10825992 (10q21.1) showed the strongest associations in these regions (P=6.32x10-7 and P=2.17x10-5, respectively). The imputed results at 8p23 showed 2 peaks of interest. The first spanned 30kb including rs189798 between MIR4660 and PPP1R3B with the most significant association at rs17155227 (P=1.07x10-10). The second novel peak was 4kb in length, encompassing MIR124-1 and the MSRA gene, with the strongest association at rs55864141 (P=1.30x10-7). The peak of imputed data at 10q21.1 was 70kb in length between ZWINT and MIR3924, with rs3107503 having the lowest P value (P=1.54x10-7). CONCLUSION. We provide evidence for the association of MYP10 at 8p23 and MYP15 at 10p21.1 with high myopia in the French population and refine these regions of association.

Welfare regime and social class variation in poverty and economic vulnerability in Europe: an analysis of EU-SILC

In this paper we address a set of interrelated issues. These comprise increasing concerns about reliance on nationally based income poverty measures in the context of EU enlargement, the relative merits of one-dimensional versus multidimensional approaches to poverty and social exclusion and the continuing relevance of class-based explanations of life chances. When identifying economically vulnerable groups we find that, contrary to the situation with national income poverty measures, levels of vulnerability vary systematically across welfare regimes. The multidimensional profile of the economically vulnerable sharply differentiates them from the remainder of the population. While they are also characterised by distinctively higher levels of multiple deprivation, a substantial majority of the economically vulnerable are not exposed to such deprivation. Unlike the national relative income approach, the focus on economic vulnerability reveals a pattern of class differentiation that is not dominated by the contrast between the self-employed and all others. In contrast to a European-wide relative income approach, it also simultaneously captures the fact that absolute levels of vulnerability are distinctively higher among the lower social classes in the less comprehensive and generous welfare regimes while class relativities are significantly sharper at the other end of the spectrum.

Laser - Ion Acceleration in the Laser Transparency Regime

Experiments on laser-induced ion acceleration from ultra-thin (nm) foil targets reveal a dramatic increase in the conversion efficiency and the acceleration of C6$+$ions in a phase stable way by the laser radiation pressure.

Variation and Change in French Morphosyntax: The Case of Collective Nouns

Collective nouns such as majorité or foule have long been of interest to linguists for their unusual semantic properties, and provide a valuable source of new data on the evolution of French grammar. This book tests the hypothesis that plural agreement with collective nouns is becoming more frequent in French. Through an analysis of data from a variety of sources, including sociolinguistic interviews, gap-fill tests and corpora, the complex linguistic and external factors which affect this type of agreement are examined, shedding new light on their interaction in this context. Broader questions concerning the methodological challenges of studying variation and change in morphosyntax, and the application of sociolinguistic generalisations to the French of France, are also addressed.

Reviews:

‘Cet ouvrage constitue un apport majeur dans le champ de la linguistique variationniste et diachronique, tant par les résultats mis au jour que par la qualité de sa démarche méthodologique.’ — Sophie Prévost, French Studies 69.4, October 2015, 578-79

‘While language variation and change have been the focal point for linguists on this side of the Atlantic, Tristram argues that studies on morphosyntactic variation in French studies are lacking due to a focus on phonology and dialectology as well as denial of variation and change in the French language. Tristram’s book is thus a welcome contribution.’ — Samira Hassa, French Review 89.3, 2016, 108

‘Anyone teaching variation in French will want to talk about the findings and reflections reported in this study. A remarkable amount of ground is covered in a small compass. This is a highly welcome addition to the Legenda list, and one must hope that further linguistics titles will be added to it before very long.’ — Nigel Armstrong, Journal of French Language Studies 26.2, 2016, 211-13

Mapping piezoelectric nonlinearity in the Rayleigh regime using band excitation piezoresponse force microscopy

Band excitation piezoresponse force microscopy enables local investigation of the nonlinear piezoelectric behavior of ferroelectric thin films. However, the presence of additional nonlinearity associated with the dynamic resonant response of the tip-surface junction can complicate the study of a material's nonlinearity. Here, the relative importance of the two nonlinearity sources was examined as a function of the excitation function. It was found that in order to minimize the effects of nonlinear tip-surface interactions but achieve good signal to noise level, an optimal excitation function must be used. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3593138]