Assessment of silicone polymer composites for the trace extraction of herbicides : a tool for environmental forensics

Passive samplers are not only a versatile tool to integrate environmental concentrations of pollutants, but also to avoid the use of live sentinel organisms for environmental monitoring. This study introduced the use of magnetic silicone polymer composites (Fe-PDMS) as passive sampling media to pre-concentrate a wide range of analytes from environmental settings. The composite samplers were assessed for their accumulation properties by performing lab experiments with two model herbicides (Atrazine and Irgarol 1051) and evaluated for their uptake properties from environmental settings (waters and sediments). The Fe-PDMS composites showed good accumulation of herbicides and pesticides from both freshwater and saltwater settings and the accumulation mechanism was positively correlated with the log Kow value of individual analytes. Results from the studies show that these composites could be easily used for a wide number of applications such as monitoring, cleanup, and/or bioaccumulation modeling, and as a non-intrusive and nondestructive monitoring tool for environmental forensic purposes.

Aerodynamic Load Characteristics Evaluation and Tri-Axial Performance Testing on Fiber Reinforced Polymer Connections and Metal Fasteners to Promote Hurricane Damage Mitigation

Damages during extreme wind events highlight the weaknesses of mechanical fasteners at the roof-to-wall connections in residential timber frame buildings. The allowable capacity of the metal fasteners is based on results of unidirectional component testing that do not simulate realistic tri-axial aerodynamic loading effects. The first objective of this research was to simulate hurricane effects and study hurricane-structure interaction at full-scale, facilitating better understanding of the combined impacts of wind, rain, and debris on inter-component connections at spatial and temporal scales. The second objective was to evaluate the performance of a non-intrusive roof-to-wall connection system using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials and compare its load capacity to the capacity of an existing metal fastener under simulated aerodynamic loads. The Wall of Wind (WoW) testing performed using FRP connections on a one-story gable-roof timber structure instrumented with a variety of sensors, was used to create a database on aerodynamic and aero-hydrodynamic loading on roof-to-wall connections tested under several parameters: angles of attack, wind-turbulence content, internal pressure conditions, with and without effects of rain. Based on the aerodynamic loading results obtained from WoW tests, sets of three force components (tri-axial mean loads) were combined into a series of resultant mean forces, which were used to test the FRP and metal connections in the structures laboratory up to failure. A new component testing system and test protocol were developed for testing fasteners under simulated tri-axial loading as opposed to uni-axial loading. The tri-axial and uni-axial test results were compared for hurricane clips. Also, comparison was made between tri-axial load capacity of FRP and metal connections. The research findings demonstrate that the FRP connection is a viable option for use in timber roof-to-wall connection system. Findings also confirm that current testing methods of mechanical fasteners tend to overestimate the actual load capacities of a connector. Additionally, the research also contributes to the development a new testing protocol for fasteners using tri-axial simultaneous loads based on the aerodynamic database obtained from the WoW testing.

Development of Innovative Load Transfer Mechanism to Reduce Hurricane-Induced Failures in New and Existing Residential Construction

Implicit in current design practice of minimum uplift capacity, is the assumption that the connection's capacity is proportional to the number of fasteners per connection joint. This assumption may overestimate the capacity of joints by a factor of two or more and maybe the cause of connection failures in extreme wind events. The current research serves to modify the current practice by proposing a realistic relationship between the number of fasteners and the capacity of the joint. The research is also aimed at further development of non-intrusive continuous load path (CLP) connection system using Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) and epoxy. Suitable designs were developed for stud to top plate and gable end connections and tests were performed to evaluate the ultimate load, creep and fatigue behavior. The objective was to determine the performance of the connections under simulated sustained hurricane conditions. The performance of the new connections was satisfactory.

The use of presidential executive orders to control the management and administration of the federal government

As long as governmental institutions have existed, efforts have been undertaken to reform them. This research examines a particular strategy, coercive controls, exercised through a particular instrument, executive orders, by a singular reformer, the president of the United States. The presidents studied- Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton-are those whose campaigns for office were characterized to varying degrees as against Washington bureaucracy and for executive reform. Executive order issuance is assessed through an examination of key factors for each president including political party affiliation, levels of political capital, and legislative experience. A classification typology is used to identify the topical dimensions and levels of coerciveness. The portrayal of the federal government is analyzed through examination of public, media, and presidential attention. The results show that executive orders are significant management tools for the president. Executive orders also represent an important component of the transition plans for incoming administrations. The findings indicate that overall, while executive orders have not increased in the aggregate, they are more intrusive and significant. When the factors of political party affiliation, political capital, and legislative experience are examined, it reveals a strong relationship between executive orders and previous executive experience, specifically presidents who served as a state governor prior to winning national election as president. Presidents Carter, Reagan, and Clinton (all former governors) have the highest percent of executive orders focusing on the federal bureaucracy. Additionally, the highest percent of forceful orders were issued by former governors (41.0%) as compared to their presidential counterparts who have not served as governors (19.9%). Secondly, political party affiliation is an important, but not significant, predictor for the use of executive orders. Thirdly, management strategies that provide the president with the greatest level of autonomy-executive orders redefine the concept of presidential power and autonomous action. Interviews of elite government officials and political observers support the idea that executive orders can provide the president with a successful management strategy, requiring less expenditure of political resources, less risk to political capital, and a way of achieving objectives without depending on an unresponsive Congress.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from R/V "Jean Charcot" GEOMANCHE 76/2 stations

This report presents the preliminary results of the study of rocks and sediments obtained by dredging during four cruises of the R/V Jean Charcot and R/V Le Suroit during a cooperative program between CNEXO and CEPM (CH 58: April 1975; SU 01: December 1975; CH 66: February 1976; and CH 67: March 1976). Several dredges on the continental slope of the Goban Spur recovered "granitic" rocks on two morphological structures, Granite Cliff and "Menez Bihan" (Pautot et al., 1976), in water depths ranging from 3200 to 4200 meters. According to the radiometric age and petrology, the granodiorite appears to have a close affinity with similar igneous facies which have been described in Iberia (Capdevilla et al., 1973) and attributed to the Variscan intrusive episode which is also found in the nearby continental area (southwest Great Britain and Brittany, France). They often are coated by a centimeter-thick layer of ferromanganiferous deposits (Shaaf et al., 1977).

Petrologia do Plutão Bom Jardim de Goiás (PBJG): implicação na evolução neoproterozoica da Província Tocantins

The Bom Jardim de Goiás Pluton (PBJG) is a semi-circular body, located in the central portion of the Tocantins Province, intrusive into orthogneisses and metassupracrustals of the Arenópolis Magmatic Arc. These metasupracrustals present a low to moderate dipping banding or schistosity, have a low to moderate angle of banding / foliation, defined by mica, andalusite and sillimanite and cordierite, which characterize an amphibolite facies metamorphism. This structure is crosscut by the emplacement of the PBJG rocks. The abrupt nature of the contacts and the absence of ductile structures indicate that the intrusion took place in a relatively cold crust. Under petrographic grounds, the pluton consists mainly of monzodiorites, tonalite and granodiorite, following the low to medium-K calk-alkaline alkaline trend. Rocks of the PBJG have hornblende and biotite as the main mafic phases, besides subordinate clinopyroxene, titanite, epidote and opaque. Late dikes of leucogranite contain only mineral biotite as relevant accessory mineral. One U-Pb zircon dating of a monzodiorite yielded an age of 550 ± 12 Ma (MSWD = 1.06). Whole-rock and mineral chemistry suggest that the studied rocks are calc-alkaline, having evolved by fractional crystallization of Ca- and Fe-Mg minerals under high oxygen fugacity. Using the amphibole-plagioclase geothermometer and the Al-in amphibole geobarometer, we calculate temperatures and pressures of, respectively, 692-791 °C e 2.4-5.0 kbar for the intrusion of the PBJG, which is corroborated by previous metamorphic assemblages in the country rocks. The geological, geochemical and geochronological features of PBJG demonstrate their post-tectonic or post-collisional nature, with emplacement into an already uplifted and relatively cool crust at the end of brasiliano orogeny in this portion of the Tocantins Province.

Petrologia do Plutão Bom Jardim de Goiás (PBJG): implicação na evolução neoproterozoica da Província Tocantins

The Bom Jardim de Goiás Pluton (PBJG) is a semi-circular body, located in the central portion of the Tocantins Province, intrusive into orthogneisses and metassupracrustals of the Arenópolis Magmatic Arc. These metasupracrustals present a low to moderate dipping banding or schistosity, have a low to moderate angle of banding / foliation, defined by mica, andalusite and sillimanite and cordierite, which characterize an amphibolite facies metamorphism. This structure is crosscut by the emplacement of the PBJG rocks. The abrupt nature of the contacts and the absence of ductile structures indicate that the intrusion took place in a relatively cold crust. Under petrographic grounds, the pluton consists mainly of monzodiorites, tonalite and granodiorite, following the low to medium-K calk-alkaline alkaline trend. Rocks of the PBJG have hornblende and biotite as the main mafic phases, besides subordinate clinopyroxene, titanite, epidote and opaque. Late dikes of leucogranite contain only mineral biotite as relevant accessory mineral. One U-Pb zircon dating of a monzodiorite yielded an age of 550 ± 12 Ma (MSWD = 1.06). Whole-rock and mineral chemistry suggest that the studied rocks are calc-alkaline, having evolved by fractional crystallization of Ca- and Fe-Mg minerals under high oxygen fugacity. Using the amphibole-plagioclase geothermometer and the Al-in amphibole geobarometer, we calculate temperatures and pressures of, respectively, 692-791 °C e 2.4-5.0 kbar for the intrusion of the PBJG, which is corroborated by previous metamorphic assemblages in the country rocks. The geological, geochemical and geochronological features of PBJG demonstrate their post-tectonic or post-collisional nature, with emplacement into an already uplifted and relatively cool crust at the end of brasiliano orogeny in this portion of the Tocantins Province.

Petrologia e geoquímica do magmatismo ediacarano Serra do Caramuru, Rio Grande do Norte, NE do Brasil

The Serra do Caramuru and Tapuio stocks, located in the extreme NE of Rio Piranhas-Seridó Domain (RN), are representative of the Ediacaran-Cambrian magmatism, an important magmatic feature of the Brasilian / Panafrican orogeny of the Borborema Province. These bodies are lithologically similar, intrusive in paleoproterozoic gneiss embasement, being separated by a thin belt of mylonitic orthogneiss. The field relations show a magmatic stratigraphy initiated by dioritic facies that coexists with the porphyritic granitic and equigranular granitic I facies, and less frequently with equigranular granitic II facies. These rocks are crosscut by late granitic dykes and sheets with NE-SW / NNE-SSW orientation. The dioritic facies (diorite, quartz diorite, quartz monzodiorites, tonalite and granodiorite) is leucocratic to melanocratic, rich in biotite and hornblende. The granitic facies are hololeucocratic to leucocratic, and have biotite ± hornblende. Petrographic and geochemical (whole rock) data, especially from Serra do Caramuru pluton, suggest fractionation of zircon, apatite, clinopyroxene (in diorites), opaque minerals, titanite, biotite, hornblende, allanite, plagioclase, microcline and garnet (in dykes). The behavior of trace elements such as Zr, La and Yb indicates that the dioritic magma does not constitute the parental magma for the granitic facies. On the other hand, the granitic facies seems to be cogenetic to each other, displaying differentiation trends and very similar rare earth elements (REE) spectra [12.3≤(La/Yb)N≤190.8; Eu/Eu*=0.30-0.68]. Field relationships and REE patterns [6.96≤(La/Yb)N≤277.8; Eu/Eu*=0.18-0.58] demonstrate that the granitic dykes and sheets are not cogenetically related to the Serra do Caramuru magmatism. The dioritic facies is metaluminous (A/CNK = 0.88-0.74) and shoshonitic, whereas the granitic ones are metaluminous to peraluminous (A/CNK = 1.08-0.93) and high potassium calc-alkaline. Dykes and sheets are strictly peraluminous (A/CNK = 1.01-1.04). Binary diagrams relating compatible and incompatible trace elements and microtextures indicate the fractional crystallization as the dominant mechanism of magmatic evolution of the various facies. The Serra do Caramuru and Tapuio stocks have well preserved magmatic fabric, do not show metamorphic minerals and are structurally isotropic, showing crosscutting contact with the ductile fabric of the basement. These observations lead to interpretate a stage of relative tectonic stability, consistent with the orogenic relaxation period of the Brasiliano / Pan-African orogeny. Chemical plots involving oxides and trace elements indicate late to post-collisional emplacement. In this context, the assumed better mechanism to describe the stocks emplacement within an extensional T Riedel joint, with ENE-WSW extensional vector. The U-Pb zircon age of 553 ± 10 Ma allows correlating the Serra do Caramuru magmatism to the group of post-collisional bodies, equigranular high potassium calc-alkaline granites of the NE of Rio Piranhas-Seridó Domain.

Petrologia e geoquímica do magmatismo ediacarano Serra do Caramuru, Rio Grande do Norte, NE do Brasil

The Serra do Caramuru and Tapuio stocks, located in the extreme NE of Rio Piranhas-Seridó Domain (RN), are representative of the Ediacaran-Cambrian magmatism, an important magmatic feature of the Brasilian / Panafrican orogeny of the Borborema Province. These bodies are lithologically similar, intrusive in paleoproterozoic gneiss embasement, being separated by a thin belt of mylonitic orthogneiss. The field relations show a magmatic stratigraphy initiated by dioritic facies that coexists with the porphyritic granitic and equigranular granitic I facies, and less frequently with equigranular granitic II facies. These rocks are crosscut by late granitic dykes and sheets with NE-SW / NNE-SSW orientation. The dioritic facies (diorite, quartz diorite, quartz monzodiorites, tonalite and granodiorite) is leucocratic to melanocratic, rich in biotite and hornblende. The granitic facies are hololeucocratic to leucocratic, and have biotite ± hornblende. Petrographic and geochemical (whole rock) data, especially from Serra do Caramuru pluton, suggest fractionation of zircon, apatite, clinopyroxene (in diorites), opaque minerals, titanite, biotite, hornblende, allanite, plagioclase, microcline and garnet (in dykes). The behavior of trace elements such as Zr, La and Yb indicates that the dioritic magma does not constitute the parental magma for the granitic facies. On the other hand, the granitic facies seems to be cogenetic to each other, displaying differentiation trends and very similar rare earth elements (REE) spectra [12.3≤(La/Yb)N≤190.8; Eu/Eu*=0.30-0.68]. Field relationships and REE patterns [6.96≤(La/Yb)N≤277.8; Eu/Eu*=0.18-0.58] demonstrate that the granitic dykes and sheets are not cogenetically related to the Serra do Caramuru magmatism. The dioritic facies is metaluminous (A/CNK = 0.88-0.74) and shoshonitic, whereas the granitic ones are metaluminous to peraluminous (A/CNK = 1.08-0.93) and high potassium calc-alkaline. Dykes and sheets are strictly peraluminous (A/CNK = 1.01-1.04). Binary diagrams relating compatible and incompatible trace elements and microtextures indicate the fractional crystallization as the dominant mechanism of magmatic evolution of the various facies. The Serra do Caramuru and Tapuio stocks have well preserved magmatic fabric, do not show metamorphic minerals and are structurally isotropic, showing crosscutting contact with the ductile fabric of the basement. These observations lead to interpretate a stage of relative tectonic stability, consistent with the orogenic relaxation period of the Brasiliano / Pan-African orogeny. Chemical plots involving oxides and trace elements indicate late to post-collisional emplacement. In this context, the assumed better mechanism to describe the stocks emplacement within an extensional T Riedel joint, with ENE-WSW extensional vector. The U-Pb zircon age of 553 ± 10 Ma allows correlating the Serra do Caramuru magmatism to the group of post-collisional bodies, equigranular high potassium calc-alkaline granites of the NE of Rio Piranhas-Seridó Domain.

Paragenesis, geochemistry and metallogeny of the Dublin Gulch intrusion-related Au deposit, Yukon Territory, Canada

This study concerns the Dublin Gulch intrusion-related gold system, Yukon Territory, Canada. Located 85 km, north northwest of the town of Mayo, YT, the property hosts a 3.3 M oz Au deposit associated with a mid-Cretaceous pluton. A detailed, 8 stage, hydrothermal paragenesis has been constructed for the deposit. At least two discrete fluids are responsible for sulfide mineralization at Dublin Gulch. The latter of the two hydrothermal fluids is responsible for the majority of Au endowment on the property. Geochemical signatures of mineralization support this finding, displaying distinct populations of arsenopyrite compositions and sulfur isotopes for each fluid. Lead isotopes from sulfosalts associated with the second fluid suggest hydrothermal scavenging from country rocks. Geochronology and petrogenetic studies show that a short lived intrusive event c. 93-94 Ma took place at Dublin Gulch and that the main Au mineralising fluid may be linked to a yet unseen intrusion at depth.

(Table 3) Isotopic composition of pyrite sulfur and carbonate carbon in carbonate nodules and host sediments from Core DM9-666, Gulf of California

Isotopic-geochemical study revealed presence of mantle He (3He/4He up to 223x10**-8) in gases from mud volcanoes of Eastern Georgia. This fact confirms that the Middle Kura basin fill encloses an intrusive body previously distinguished from geophysical data. Wide variations of carbon isotopic composition d13C in CH4 and CO2 and chemical composition of gas and water at temporally constant 3He/4He ratio indicate their relation with crustal processes. Unusual direct correlations of 3He/4He ratio with concentrations of He and CH4 and 40Ar/36Ar ratio can be explained by generation of gas in the Cenozoic sequence of the Middle Kura basin.

A Methodology to Emulate Single Event Upsets in Flip-Flops using FPGAs through Partial Reconfiguration and Instrumentation

This paper presents a methodology to emulate Single Event Upsets (SEUs) in FPGA flip-flops (FFs). Since the content of a FF is not modifiable through the FPGA configuration memory bits, a dedicated design is required for fault injection in the FFs. The method proposed in this paper is a hybrid approach that combines FPGA partial reconfiguration and extra logic added to the circuit under test, without modifying its operation. This approach has been integrated into a fault-injection platform, named NESSY (Non intrusive ErrorS injection SYstem), developed by our research group. Finally, this paper includes results on a Virtex-5 FPGA demonstrating the validity of the method on the ITC’99 benchmark set and a Feed-Forward Equalization (FFE) filter. In comparison with other approaches in the literature, this methodology reduces the resource consumption introduced to carry out the fault injection in FFs, at the cost of adding very little time overhead (1.6 �μs per fault).

La déconstruction de l'onto-théologie par Jacques Derrida : détour littéraire et mise en relief de la matrice langagière comme "différance".

Le mouvement derridien de la différance marque la rupture avec l'affirmation de la métaphysique de la présence, avec l'autorité du signifié transcendantal. Dans cet univers mouvant de signifiants qui se renvoient perpétuellement les uns aux autres, la logique d'univocité se disloque. La "présence" n'est que fantomatique, s'esquissant au sein d'une chaîne ininterrompue de signifiants et se laissant toujours creuser par la marque d'un irréductible manque. Face au logocentrisme, corollaire de l'affirmation de la présence, l'écriture se veut siège et articulation de la trace, d'une origine qui ne peut être que raturée, véhicule d'une irrémédiable fêlure. La volet littéraire de la déconstruction a pour but de mettre en évidence le fonctionnement de l'"indécidabilité" du discours, soit une certaine ambivalence dans la signification qui caractérise tout texte. L'objectif principal de la présente recherche est de fournir une compréhension plus approfondie de la déconstruction en insistant sur l'ancrage langagier de tout texte. Le discours philosophique n'échappe ainsi pas au mécanisme différentiel du langage et de la dérive métaphorique. La parenté entre la perspective déconstructiviste derridienne et la conception mallarméenne du langage poétique semble frappante. La mise en oeuvre, par Mallarmé, d'une dislocation de l'espace textuel, son minutieux "creusement" du vers après renoncement à toute quête d'"Idéal", la mise en relief du leurre de l'appropriation langagière, voilà qui trouve un écho particulier dans les thèses derridiennes. La "mimésis" platonicienne se voit au travers du prisme de la "mimique" mallarméenne. La déconstruction poursuit son travail de "luxation" de l'oreille philosophique, insérant les philosophèmes dans la matrice langagière, les livrant ainsi au hasard du cheminement textuel et les confrontant à l'aporie. La philosophie n'a alors d'autre choix que d'abandonner ses prétentions transcendantales. La marche de la "différance" instaure une inexorable distance qui prive le sujet de tout rapport direct avec une origine assurée et lui ôte toute possibilité de maîtrise sur le monde. Au travers de la langue, se profile la question de l'altérité, de la relation dissymétrique qui nous lie à cet "autre", ce "tout-autre" qui nous fonde et nous constitue. L'accueil inconditionnel de cette altérité nous mènera à l'étude de la "religion", la déconstruction se tournant vers le "religieux" tout en effectuant un "retournement" habile de tout credo essentialiste.

(Table 1) Sample descriptions and results: Carbon, lipid, and kerogen analyses, at DSDP Leg 64 Holes

Pleistocene sediments in the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California, have been intruded by sills and their organic matter thus subjected to thermal stress. Sediment samples from DSDP/IPOD Sites 477, 478, and 481, and samples of thermally unaltered materials from Sites 474 and 479 were analyzed to characterize the lipids and kerogens and to evaluate the effects of the intrusive thermal stresses. The lipids of the thermally unaltered samples are derived from microbial and terrestrial higher-plant detritus. The samples from the sill proximities contain the distillates, and those adjacent to the sills contain essentially no lipids. The pyrograms of the kerogens from the unaltered samples reflect their predominantly autochthonous microbial origin. When compared with the unaltered samples, the pyrograms of the altered kerogen samples reflect the thermal effects by a reduction in the complexity of the products. Kerogens adjacent to the sills produced little or no pyrolysis products. The effects of intrusions into unconsolidated, wet sediments resulted in in situ pyrolysis of the organic matter, as confirmed by these data.

Trace element composition of IODP Site 304-U1309 and 305-U1309 (Table A2)

IODP Site U1309 was drilled at Atlantis Massif, an oceanic core complex, at 30°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). We present the results of a bulk rock geochemical study (major and trace elements) carried out on 228 samples representative of the different lithologies sampled at this location. Over 96% of Hole U1309D is made up of gabbroic rocks. Diabases and basalts cross-cut the upper part of the section; they have depleted MORB compositions similar to basalts sampled at MAR 30°N. Relics of mantle were recovered at shallow depth. Mantle peridotites show petrographic and geochemical evidence of extensive melt-rock interactions. Gabbroic rocks comprise: olivine-rich troctolites (> 70% modal olivine) and troctolites having high Mg# (82-89), high Ni (up to 2300 ppm) and depleted trace element compositions (Yb 0.06-0.8 ppm); olivine gabbros and gabbros (including gabbronorites) with Mg# of 60-86 and low trace element contents (Yb 0.125-2.5 ppm); and oxide gabbros and leucocratic dykes with low Mg# (< 50), low Ni (~65 ppm) and high trace element contents (Yb up to 26 ppm). Troctolites and gabbros are amongst the most primitive and depleted oceanic gabbroic rocks. The main geochemical characteristics of Site U1309 gabbroic rocks are consistent with a formation as a cumulate sequence after a common parental MORB melt, although (lack of systematic) downhole variations indicate that the gabbroic series were built by multiple magma injections. In detail, textural and geochemical variations in olivine-rich troctolites and gabbronorites suggest chemical interaction (assimilation?) between the parental melt and the intruded lithosphere. Site U1309 gabbroic rocks do not represent the complementary magmatic product of 30°N volcanics, although they sample the same mantle source. The bulk trace element composition of Site U1309 gabbroic rocks is similar to primitive MORB melt compositions; this implies that there was no large scale removal of melts from this gabbro section. The occurrence of such a large magmatic sequence implies that a high magmatic activity is associated with the formation of Atlantis Massif. Our results suggest that almost all melts feeding this magmatic system stays trapped into the intruded lithosphere.