Preventing Cracking at Diaphragm/Plate Girder Connections in Steel Bridges, HR-393, 1998

Some of the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) continuous, steel, welded plate girder bridges have developed web cracking in the negative moment regions at the diaphragm connection plates. The cracks are due to out-of-plane bending of the web near the top flange of the girder. The out-of-plane bending occurs in the "web-gap", which is the portion of the girder web between (1) the top of the fillet welds attaching the diaphragm connection plate to the web and (2) the fillet welds attaching the flange to the web. A literature search indicated that four retrofit techniques have been suggested by other researchers to prevent or control this type of cracking. To eliminate the problem in new bridges, AASHTO specifications require a positive attachment between the connection plate and the top (tension) flange. Applying this requirement to existing bridges is expensive and difficult. The Iowa DOT has relied primarily on the hole-drilling technique to prevent crack extension once cracking has occurred; however, the literature indicates that hole-drilling alone may not be entirely effective in preventing crack extension. The objective of this research was to investigate experimentally a method proposed by the Iowa DOT to prevent cracking at the diaphragm/plate girder connection in steel bridges with X-type or K-type diaphragms. The method consists of loosening the bolts at some connections between the diaphragm diagonals and the connection plates. The investigation included selecting and testing five bridges: three with X-type diaphragms and two with K-type diaphragms. During 1996 and 1997, these bridges were instrumented using strain gages and displacement transducers to obtain the response at various locations before and after implementing the method. Bridges were subjected to loaded test trucks traveling in different lanes with speeds varying from crawl speed to 65 mph (104 km/h) to determine the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results of the study show that the effect of out-of-plane loading was confined to widths of approximately 4 in. (100 mm) on either side of the connection plates. Further, they demonstrate that the stresses in gaps with drilled holes were higher than those in gaps without cracks, implying that the drilling hole technique is not sufficient to prevent crack extension. The behavior of the web gaps in X-type diaphragm bridges was greatly enhanced by the proposed method as the stress range and out-of-plane distortion were reduced by at least 42% at the exterior girders. For bridges with K-type diaphragms, a similar trend was obtained. However, the stress range increased in one of the web gaps after implementing the proposed method. Other design aspects (wind, stability of compression flange, and lateral distribution of loads) must be considered when deciding whether to adopt the proposed method. Considering the results of this investigation, the proposed method can be implemented for X-type diaphragm bridges. Further research is recommended for K-type diaphragm bridges.

Taajuusmuuttajat voimalaitosten pumppauksissa, erityisesti syöttöveden pyörimisnopeussäädön vaikutus ruiskutusvesijärjestelmiin

Työn ensimmäisessä osassa tutustutaan pumppauksen teoriaan ja esitellään kuristus- ja pyörimisnopeussäätö. Toisessa osassa perehdytään pyörimisnopeussäädössä käytettävän taajuusmuuttajan rakenteeseen ja sen eri osissa syntyviin häviöihin. Kolmannessa osassa tutkitaan kolmen eri tavoin säädetyn pumppauksen toimintaa Pelloksen voimalaitoksella. Lauhdepumpun kierrosnopeussäätöä verrataan vaihtoehtoiseen kuristussäätöön. Viimeisessä osassa selvitetään mahdollisuutta poistaa pyörimisnopeussäädön turhaksi tekemä syöttövesiventtiili voimalaitosten suunnittelusta. Erityisesti etsitään vaihtoehtoisia menetelmiä ruiskutusveden tuottamiseen. Uusia vaihtoehtoja ruiskutusvedelle esitetään kaksitoista. Ruiskutusvesitekniikoita vertaillaan keskenään ja parasta vaihtoehtoa verrataan nykyiseen menettelyyn.

Antifungal activity against postharvest fungi by extracts from Colombian propolis

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the antifungal properties of Colombian propolis extracts against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Botryodiplodia theobromae, and to isolate and identify the main constituents from the active extracts. Therefore, propolis samples were thoroughly extracted with n-hexane/methanol (EPEM), dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and methanol. Experimental results indicated that mycelial growth of all selected microorganisms was reduced in culture media containing EPEM and dichloromethane fractions. Furthermore, through antifungal bioassay-guided fractionation, three known labdane-type diterpenes: isocupressic acid (1), (+)-agathadiol (2) and epi-13-torulosol (3) were isolated as the main constituents from the active fractions.

AnaBench: a Web/CORBA-based workbench for biomolecular sequence analysis

Affiliation: Département de biochimie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal

Hydrodynamic Study of Swirling Fluidized Bed and the Role of Distributor

The study aims to the hydrodynamic characteristics of swirling fluidized bed, using large particles (Geldart D-type) selected from locally available agricultural produce (coffee beans and black pepper). The important variables considered in the present study include percentage area of opening, angle of air injection and the percentage useful area of the distributor. A total of seven distributors have been designed and fabricated for a bed column of 300 mm, namely single row vane type distributors (15˚ and 20˚ vane angle), inclined hole type distributors (15˚ and 20˚ vane angle) and perforated plate distributors. The useful area of distributor of single row vane type, three now vane-type and inclined hole-type distributors are respectively 64%,91% and 94%. The hydrodynamic parameters considered in the present study include distributor pressure drop, air velocity, minimum fluidizing velocity, bed pressure drop, bed height and the bed behaviour. It has been observed that, in general, the distributor pressure drop decreases with an increase in the percentage area of opening, Further, and increase in the area of opening above 17% will not considerably reduce the distributor pressure drop. In the present study, for the distributor with an area of opening 17%, and corresponding to the maximum measured superficial velocity of 4.33 m/s, the distributor pressure drop obtained was 55.25mm of water. The study on the bed behavior revealed that, in a swirling fluidized bed, once swirl motion starts, the bed pressure drop increases with superficial velocity in the outer region and it decreases in the inner region. This means that, with higher superficial velocity, the air might get by-passed through the inner boundary of the bed (around the cone). So, depending on the process for which the bed is used, the maximum superficial velocity is to be limited to have an optimum bed performance.

Social Inequality and Social Policy outside the OECD

Almost all Latin American countries are still marked by extreme forms of social inequality – and to an extent, this seems to be the case regardless of national differences in the economic development model or the strength of democracy and the welfare state. Recent research highlights the fact that the heterogeneous labour markets in the region are a key source of inequality. At the same time, there is a strengthening of ‘exclusive’ social policy, which is located at the fault lines of the labour market and is constantly (re-)producing market-mediated disparities. In the last three decades, this type of social policy has even enjoyed democratic legitimacy. These dynamics challenge many of the assumptions guiding social policy and democratic theory, which often attempt to account for the specificities of the region by highlighting the purported flaws of certain policies. We suggest taking a different perspective: social policy in Latin American should not be grasped as a deficient or flawed type of social policy, but as a very successful relation of political domination. ‘Relational social analysis’ locates social policy in the ‘tension zone’ constituted by the requirements of economic reproduction, demands for democratic legitimacy and the relative autonomy of the state. From this vantage point, we will make the relation of domination in question accessible for empirical research. It seems particularly useful for this purpose to examine the recent shifts in the Latin American labour markets, which have undergone numerous reforms. We will examine which mechanisms, institutions and constellations of actors block or activate the potentials of redistribution inherent in such processes of political reform. This will enable us to explore the socio-political field of forces that has been perpetuating the social inequalities in Latin America for generations.

Estudoda sismicidade na região de Sobral - CE em 2008

The town of Sobral is located at the northwest part of the Ceará State, 250 km away from its capital, Fortaleza. In January 2008, an intense seismic activity began near Sobral with one event with magnitude 4,2mb on May 21. Since the start of its seismic activity, all events were recorded by the SBBR station (located on EMBRAPA Caprinos Farm), which operates in the region since August 2007. After this event, monitoring the seismic activity was carried out with the deployment of a local three component digital seismographic network, from June 5, 2008 until September 24. Initially, this network was composed of six seismographic stations. Later additional five stations were deployed until August 26 2008. This local network detected approximately 2,800 earthquakes. In this study we analyzed 581 earthquakes recorded by at least three stations for hypocentral and focal mechanism determination, and to contribute to a better explanation of the seismicity which in this region. To determine the hypocenters, we used a half-space model, with vP = 6,00 km/s and vP/vS = 1,71. From the hypocentral determination, it was revealed an active seismic zone with depth ranging between 1 and 8 km, 6 km long in E - W direction. The determination of fault planes and focal mechanism was obtained using the programs FPFIT and PLAN, which allowed comparison between their respective results in order to obtain more accurate results. A set of 24 earthquakes were selected to determine fault using PLAN planes and focal mechanisms using FPFIT. With the aid of detailed map of hypocenters this set, it was possible to identify three structures. Therefore, the set of 24 earthquakes were divided into three subsets. The type of mechanism was predominantly strike-slip with a dextral direction. Although the region has two tectonic structures near the site of the study area: the Café- Ipueiras Fault (normal fault) and the Sobral-Pedro II Lineament (dextral strike-slip fault) it was not possible to correlate the seismicity founded with those structures

Paleodistributions and Comparative Molecular Phylogeography of Leafcutter Ants (Atta spp.) Provide New Insight into the Origins of Amazonian Diversity

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Anatomical aspects of the gynoecium of species of Anthurium sect. Urospadix Engl. (Araceae, Alismatales)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Mechanical and thermal cycling effects on the flexural strength of glass ceramics fused to titanium

This study evaluated the effects of mechanical and thermal cycling on the flexural strength (ISO 9693) of three brands of ceramics fused to commercially pure titanium (cpTi). Metallic frameworks of 25 x 3 x 0.5 mm dimensions (N = 84) were cast in cpTi, followed by 150-mu m aluminum oxide airborne particle abrasion at a designated area of the frameworks (8 x 3 mm). Bonder and opaque ceramic were applied on the frameworks, and then the corresponding ceramic (Triceram, Super Porcelain Ti-22, Vita Titankeramik) was fired onto them (thickness: 1 mm). Half of the specimens from each ceramic-metal combination were randomly tested without aging (only water storage at 37 degrees C for 24 hours), while the other half were mechanically loaded (20,000 cycles under 10 N load, immersion in distilled water at 37 degrees C) and thermocycled (3,000 cycles, between 5-55 degrees C, dwell time of 13 seconds). After the flexural strength test, failure types were noted. Mechanical and thermal cycling decreased the mean flexural strength values significantly (p<0.05) for all the three ceramic-cpTi combinations tested when compared to the control group. In all the three groups, failure type was exclusively adhesive at the opaque ceramic-cpTi interfacial zone with no presence of ceramic on the substrate surface except for a visible oxide layer.

Broiler litter reutilization applying different composting concepts

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Neolignans, styrylpyrones and flavonoids from an Aniba species

The trunk wood and barks from an Aniba species contain four esters of benzoic acid with cinnamyl alcohol, five benzofuran neolignans, licarin-A, burchellin, cis-burchellin, burchellin-rearranged and cis-burchellin-rearranged, one tetrahydrofuran neolignan, aristolignin, three bicyclooctane guianin-type neolignans, (7S, 8S, 1'R, 5'R)-4-hydroxy-3,3'-dimethoxy-4',6'-dioxo-8.1', 7.5'-neolignan-Delta: 1,3,5,2',8' and the new (7S, 8S, 1'R, 4'R, 5'S)-4'-hydroxy-3,4,3'-trimethoxy-6'-oxo-8.1', 7.5'-neolignan-Delta: 1,3,5,2',8' and (7S, 8S, 1'R, 4'R, 5'S)-4,4'-dihydroxy-3,3'-dimethoxy-6'-oxo-8.1', 7.5'-neolignan-Delta: 1,3,5,2',8', one new bicyclooctane canellin-type neolignan (7S, 8S, 1'S, 4'R, 5'R, 6'S)-4',6'-dihydroxy-3,4-dimethoxy-3'-oxo-8.1', 7.5'-neolignan-Delta: 1,3,5,8', two styrylpyrones, 4-methoxy-6-(11,12-dimethoxy-trans-styryl)-2-pyrone and 6-(11,12-methylenedioxy-trans-styryl)-4-methoxy-2-pyrone, two styrylpyrone dimers: 4'-methoxy-8-(11,12-dimethoxyphenyl)-7-[6-(4-methoxy-2-pyronyl)-6-(E)-styryl-1'-oxabicyclo[4,2,0]octa-4'-en-2'-one and the new 11,12-dimethoxyphenyl-7,7'-di-[6-(4-methoxy-2-pyronyl)]-cyclobutane and six flavonoids, 3,5-dihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxyflavone, 5-hydroxy-3,7,4'-trimethoxyflavone, 3,5,4'-trihydroxy-7-methoxyflavone, 2,3-dihydro-5-hydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxyflavone, 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavone, 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxyflavone and a new flavan, 6,7,3',4',5'-pentamethoxyflavan. (C) 1997 Elsevier B.V. Ltd.

The fish fauna in tropical rivers: The case of the Sorocaba river basin, São Paulo, Brazil

A survey was carried out on the fish species in the Sorocaba River basin, the main tributary of the left margin of the Tietê River, located in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The species were collected with gill nets. After identification of the specimens, their relative abundance, weight and standard length were determined. Up to the present moment there are not any studies that focus this subject in this hydrographic basin. Fifty-three species, distributed in eighteen families and six orders were collected. Characiformes were represented by twenty-eight species, Siluriformes by seventeen species, the Gymnotiformes by three species, Perciformes and Cyprinodontiformes by two species, and the Synbranchiformes by one species. Among the collected species there were two exotic. The most abundant species were Astyanax fasciatus and Hypostomus ancistroides. In relation to total weight the most representative species were Hoplias malabaricus and Hypostomus ancistroides. Cyprinus carpio, Prochilodus lineatus, Schizodon nasutus and Hoplias malabaricus were the most representative species in relation to average weight. Largest standard length were recorded for Sternopygus macrurus, Steindachnerina insculpta, Eigenmannia off. virescens and Cyprinus carpio.

Biomass and yield of peanut grown on tropical soil amended with sewage sludge contaminated with lead

Application of sewage sludge with high lead (Pb) contents may pollute soils and contaminate crops. The objective of this work was to evaluate peanut responses to application of sewage sludge with varying Pb contents in order to supply phosphorus (P) to the plant. A greenhouse experiment was carried out with peanut grown on soil sample from a medium-textured Haplustox. Treatments were arranged in 3 × 2 + 2 factorial scheme, replicated three times, distributed in randomized block design, and consisted of: three Pb rates applied to soil with sewage sludge (3, 21, and 42 mg kg-1) × two times of sewage sludge application (30 days before peanut sowing and at the day of the sowing) + mineral fertilization + control (without sewage sludge and mineral fertilization). Sewage sludge was efficient to supply P to peanut. Sewage sludge containing high rates of Pb, when applied, did not harm biomass and yield of the plant, but increased HCl-extractable Pb in soil and Pb content in shoot, roots, and pod husks. Increase of Pb content in pod husks may represent contamination risk of kernels and their products with fragments from husks detached during manipulation or industrial processing of peanuts. © 2012 Fábio Camilotti et al.

Avaliação da uniformidade em microaspersor autocompensante Naandan 2002 utilizando água com alto teor de ferro

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)