Determination of Tension Crack Development in Plastic P.C. Concrete with Retarding Admixtures, MLR-86-12, 1987

Bridge deck cracking occasionally occurs during construction for any number of reasons. Improper design, concrete placement or deck curing can result in cracks. One contributing factor toward cracking may be dead load deflections induced during concrete placement. For both continuous and non-continuous bridges, specific placement sequences are required to minimize harmful deflections in previously placed sections. Set retarding admixtures are also used to keep previously placed concrete plastic until the pour is completed. The problem is--at what point does movement of the concrete cause permanent damage to the deck. The study evaluated the time to crack formation relationship for mixes with low and high dosages of set retarding admixtures currently approved for use in Iowa state and county projects.

Elastic stresses and plastic deformations in 'Santa Clara' tomato fruits caused by package dependent compression

The objective of this work was to study the fruit compression behavior aiming to develop new tomato packages. Deformations caused by compression forces were observed inside packages and in individual 'Santa Clara' tomato fruit. The forces applied by a transparent acrylic lever to the fruit surface caused pericarp deformation and the flattened area was proportional to the force magnitude. The deformation was associated to the reduction in the gas volume (Vg), caused by expulsion of the air from the loculus cavity and reduction in the intercellular air volume of the pericarp. As ripening advanced, smaller fractions of the Vg reduced by the compressive force were restored after the stress was relieved. The lack of complete Vg restoration was an indication of permanent plastic deformations of the stressed cells. Vg regeneration (elastic recovery) was larger in green fruits than in the red ones. The ratio between the applied force and the flattened area (flattening pressure), which depends on cell turgidity, decreased during ripening. Fruit movements associated with its depth in the container were observed during storage in a transparent glass container (495 x 355 x 220 mm). The downward movement of the fruits was larger in the top layers because these movements seem to be driven by a summation of the deformation of many fruits in all layers.

Plastic modifications within inhibitory control networks induced by practicing a stop-signal task: an electrical neuroimaging study.

INTRODUCTION: Inhibitory control refers to our ability to suppress ongoing motor, affective or cognitive processes and mostly depends on a fronto-basal brain network. Inhibitory control deficits participate in the emergence of several prominent psychiatric conditions, including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or addiction. The rehabilitation of these pathologies might therefore benefit from training-based behavioral interventions aiming at improving inhibitory control proficiency and normalizing the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. The development of an efficient inhibitory control training regimen first requires determining the effects of practicing inhibition tasks. METHODS: We addressed this question by contrasting behavioral performance and electrical neuroimaging analyses of event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded from humans at the beginning versus the end of 1 h of practice on a stop-signal task (SST) involving the withholding of responses when a stop signal was presented during a speeded auditory discrimination task. RESULTS: Practicing a short SST improved behavioral performance. Electrophysiologically, ERPs differed topographically at 200 msec post-stimulus onset, indicative of the engagement of distinct brain network with learning. Source estimations localized this effect within the inferior frontal gyrus, the pre-supplementary motor area and the basal ganglia. CONCLUSION: Our collective results indicate that behavioral and brain responses during an inhibitory control task are subject to fast plastic changes and provide evidence that high-order fronto-basal executive networks can be modified by practicing a SST.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells stabilize already-formed aortic aneurysms more efficiently than vascular smooth muscle cells in a rat model.

PURPOSE: Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) expand because of aortic wall destruction. Enrichment in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells (VSMCs) stabilizes expanding AAAs in rats. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) can differentiate into VSMCs. We have tested the hypothesis that bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) stabilizes AAAs in a rat model. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Rat Fischer 344 BM-MSCs were isolated by plastic adhesion and seeded endovascularly in experimental AAAs using xenograft obtained from guinea pig. Culture medium without cells was used as control group. The main criteria was the variation of the aortic diameter at one week and four weeks. We evaluated the impact of cells seeding on inflammatory response by immunohistochemistry combined with RT-PCR on MMP9 and TIMP1 at one week. We evaluated the healing process by immunohistochemistry at 4 weeks. RESULTS: The endovascular seeding of BM-MSCs decreased AAA diameter expansion more powerfully than VSMCs or culture medium infusion (6.5% ± 9.7, 25.5% ± 17.2 and 53.4% ± 14.4; p = .007, respectively). This result was sustained at 4 weeks. BM-MSCs decreased expression of MMP-9 and infiltration by macrophages (4.7 ± 2.3 vs. 14.6 ± 6.4 mm(2) respectively; p = .015), increased Tissue Inhibitor Metallo Proteinase-1 (TIMP-1), compared to culture medium infusion. BM-MSCs induced formation of a neo-aortic tissue rich in SM-alpha active positive cells (22.2 ± 2.7 vs. 115.6 ± 30.4 cells/surface units, p = .007) surrounded by a dense collagen and elastin network covered by luminal endothelial cells. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown in this rat model of AAA that BM-MSCs exert a specialized function in arterial regeneration that transcends that of mature mesenchymal cells. Our observation identifies a population of cells easy to isolate and to expand for therapeutic interventions based on catheter-driven cell therapy.

Investigation of Uplift Failures in Flexible Pipe Culverts, HR-306, 1990

This study was precipitated by several failures of flexible pipe culverts due to apparent inlet floatation. A survey of Iowa County Engineers revealed 31 culvert failures on pipes greater than 72" diameter in eight Iowa counties within the past five years. No special hydrologic, topography, and geotechnical environments appeared to be more susceptible to failure. However, most failures seemed to be on pipes flowing in inlet control. Geographically, most of the failures were in the southern and western sections of Iowa. The forces acting on a culvert pipe are quantified. A worst case scenario, where the pipe is completely plugged, is evaluated to determine the magnitude of forces that must be resisted by a tie down or headwall. Concrete headwalls or slope collars are recommended for most pipes over 4 feet in diameter.

Design Methodology for Corrugated Metal Pipe Tiedowns, HR-332, Phase 1, 1993

Questionnaires were sent to transportation agencies in all 50 states in the U.S., to Puerto Rico, and all provinces in Canada asking about their experiences with uplift problems of - corrugated metal pipe (CMP). Responses were received from 52 agencies who reported 9 failures within the last 5 years. Some agencies also provided design standards for tiedowns to resist uplift. There was a wide variety in restraining forces used; for example for a pipe 6 feet in diameter, the resisting force ranged from 10 kips to 66 kips. These responses verified the earlier conclusion based on responses from Iowa county engineers that a potential uplift danger exists.when end restraint is not provided for CMP and that existing designs have an unclear theoretical or experimental basis. In an effort to develop more rational design standards, the longitudinal stiffness of three CMP ranging from 4 to 8 feet in diameter were measured in the laboratory. Because only three tests were conducted, a theoretical model to evaluate the stiffness of pipes of a variety of gages and corrugation geometries was also developed. The experimental results indicated a "stiffness" EI in the range of 9.11 x 10^5 k-in^2 to 34.43 x 10^5 k-in^2 for the three pipes with the larger diameter pipes having greater stiffness. The theoretical model developed conservatively estimates these stiffnesses.

Plastic Air Content versus Hardened Air Content by High Pressure Air Meter, MLR-99-03, 2001

Plastic air content is typically tested by the pressure method, ASTM C138. Loss of air content through the paver has been shown to exceed 2 percent at times. Research has shown that early deterioration of pavements in Iowa may be directly or indirectly related to low or inadequate air content. Hardened air content is typically checked using the linear traverse method, ASTM C457. The linear traverse method is very time consuming and could not be used on a production scale. A quick and effective method of testing in place air content is needed. Research has shown a high degree of correlation with the high-pressure method of determining air content of hardened concrete versus plastic air content in laboratory conditions. This research indicated that air contents are more variable when comparing core results to plastic air content, although the overall average for the air content was comparable. Perhaps, the location of the plastic air content test, obtained from construction records, versus location of the cores was not as accurate as needed.

Degree of previous cutting in explaining the differences in diameter distributions between mature managed and natural Norway spruce forests

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Functions for estimating stem diameter and tree age using tree height, crown width and existing stand database information

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Yield potential of chive : effects of cultivar, plastic mulch and fertilisation

Selostus: Lajikkeen, muovikatteen ja lannoituksen vaikutus ruohosipulin satoon

Development and fruit yield of strawberry plants as affected by crown diameter and plantlet growing period

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of crown diameter and growing period of runner tips in 128 cell-trays on growth and yield of strawberry in the field. Treatments consisted of three classes of runner tip crown diameters, between 2.0 to 3.9 mm; 4.0 to 5.5 mm and 5.6 to 7.0 mm, respectively, and four growing periods in trays, 24; 39; 54 and 69 days, respectively. Higher shoot dry mass of transplants at planting and earlier yield of plants in the field were obtained in transplants grown for 69 days in trays. Larger runner tips lead to more vigorous transplants at planting and plants with higher vegetative growth in the field, with minor impact on yield. Increasing the growing time of runner tips in trays improved early fruit yield and decreased plant vegetative growth in the field.

The use of quantile trees in the prediction of the diameter distribution of a stand

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Calibrating predicted tree diameter distributions in Catalonia, Spain

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Bayesian estimation of diameter distribution during harvesting

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