AbstractA comprehensive laboratory evaluation of the geotechnical and geoenvironmental properties of five predominant types of construction and demolition (C&D) waste materials was undertaken in this ...research study. The C&D materials tested were recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), crushed brick (CB), waste rock (WR), reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), and fine recycled glass (FRG). The geotechnical assessment included particle size distribution, particle density, water absorption, compaction, Los Angeles abrasion, postcompaction sieve analysis, flakiness index, hydraulic conductivity and California bearing ratio (CBR) tests. Shear strength properties of the materials were studied through a series of triaxial tests. Consolidated drained triaxial tests undertaken on the recycled materials indicated that the recycled materials had a drained cohesion ranging from 41 kPa to 46 kPa and a drained friction angle ranging from 49° to 51°, with the exception of FRG and RAP. The response of the materials under repeated load was investigated using repeated load triaxial (RLT) tests. The RLT testing results indicated that RCA, WR, and CB performed satisfactorily at 98% maximum dry density and at a target moisture content of 70% of the optimum moisture content under modified compaction. The geoenvironmental assessment included pH value, organic content, total and leachate concentration of the material for a range of contaminant constituents. In terms of usage in pavement subbases, RCA and WR were found to have geotechnical engineering properties equivalent or superior to that of typical quarry granular subbase materials. CB at the lower target moisture contents of 70% of the OMC was also found to meet the requirements of typical quarry granular subbase materials. The properties of CB, RAP, and FRG, however, may be further enhanced with additives or mixed in blends with high quality aggregates to enable their usage in pavement subbases.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, FGGLJ, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background
The prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR) has increased worldwide in recent decades. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of self‐reported AR and profiles of AR‐related ...comorbidities in the adult population of China over time.
Methods
This study surveyed residents of 18 major cities in mainland China. Telephone interviews were conducted with study participants after sampling target telephone numbers by random digit dialing. The questions asked during telephone interviews were based on those included in validated questionnaires and focused on topics regarding AR, nonallergic rhinitis (NAR), acute/chronic rhinosinusitis (ARS/CRS), asthma, and atopic dermatitis (AD).
Results
During 2011, a total of 47 216 telephone interviews were conducted, and the overall response rate was 77.5%. When compared with the AR prevalence in 11 cities surveyed in 2005, there was a significant increase in self‐reported adult AR in eight of those cities (P < 0.01). In 2011, the standardized prevalence of self‐reported adult AR in the 18 cities was 17.6%. The concentration of SO2 was positively correlated with the prevalence of AR (r = 0.504, P = 0.033). A multiple regression model showed that the absolute change in household yearly income was significantly associated with the change in the prevalence of AR (R2 = 0.68), after adjusting for PM10, SO2, NO2, temperature, and humidity. The overall prevalences of NAR, ARS, CRS, asthma, and AD in the general population were 16.4%, 5.4%, 2.1%, 5.8%, and 14%, respectively.
Conclusion
During a 6‐year period, there was a significant increase in the prevalence of self‐reported AR in the general Chinese adult population. The incidence of AR being accompanied by rhinosinusitis, asthma, or AD was significantly higher among individuals having self‐reported AR compared with the general population.
Optical phase estimation is a vital measurement strategy that is used to perform accurate measurements of various physical quantities including length, velocity and displacements. The precision of ...such measurements can be greatly enhanced by the use of entangled or squeezed states of light as demonstrated in a variety of different optical systems. Most of these accounts, however, deal with the measurement of a very small shift of an already known phase, which is in stark contrast to ab initio phase estimation where the initial phase is unknown. Here, we report on the realization of a quantum-enhanced and fully deterministic ab initio phase estimation protocol based on real-time feedback control. Using robust squeezed states of light combined with a real-time Bayesian adaptive estimation algorithm, we demonstrate deterministic phase estimation with a precision beyond the quantum shot noise limit. The demonstrated protocol opens up new opportunities for quantum microscopy, quantum metrology and quantum information processing.
Background & Aims Little is known about in utero exposure to and postnatal clearance of anti–tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents in neonates. We investigated the concentrations of adalimumab and ...infliximab in umbilical cord blood of newborns and rates of clearance after birth, and how these correlated with drug concentrations in mothers at birth and risk of infection during the first year of life. Methods We performed a prospective study of 80 pregnant women with inflammatory bowel diseases at tertiary hospitals in Denmark, Australia, and New Zealand from March 2012 through November 2014: 36 received adalimumab and 44 received infliximab; 39 received concomitant thiopurines during pregnancy. Data were collected from medical records on disease activity and treatment before, during, and after pregnancy. Concentrations of anti-TNF agents were measured in blood samples from women at delivery and in umbilical cords, and in infants for every 3 months until the drug was no longer detected. Results The time from last exposure to anti-TNF agent during pregnancy correlated inversely with the concentration of the drugs in the umbilical cord (adalimumab: r = -0.64, P = .0003; infliximab: r = -0.77, P < .0001) and in mothers at time of birth (adalimumab, r = -0.80; infliximab, r = -0.80; P < .0001 for both). The median ratio of infant:mother drug concentration at birth was 1.21 for adalimumab (95% confidence interval CI, 0.94–1.49) and 1.97 for infliximab (95% CI, 1.50–2.43). The mean time to drug clearance in infants was 4.0 months for adalimumab (95% CI, 2.9–5.0) and 7.3 months for infliximab (95% CI, 6.2–8.3; P < .0001). Drugs were not detected in infants after 12 months of age. Bacterial infections developed in 4 infants (5%) and viral infections developed in 16 (20%), all with benign courses. The relative risk for infection was 2.7 in infants whose mothers received the combination of an anti-TNF agent and thiopurine, compared with anti-TNF monotherapy (95% CI, 1.09–6.78; P = .02). Conclusions In a prospective study of infants born to mothers who received anti-TNF agents during pregnancy, we detected the drugs until 12 months of age. There was an inverse correlation between the time from last exposure during pregnancy and drug concentration in the umbilical cord. Infliximab was cleared more slowly than adalimumab from the infants. The combination of an anti-TNF agent and thiopurine therapy during pregnancy increased the relative risk for infant infections almost 3-fold compared with anti-TNF monotherapy. Live vaccines therefore should be avoided for up to 1 year unless drug clearance is documented, and pregnant women should be educated on the risks of anti-TNF use.
We argue that because of a long history of intergroup conflict and competition, humans evolved to be tribal creatures. Tribalism is not inherently bad, but it can lead to ideological thinking and ...sacred values that distort cognitive processing of putatively objective information in ways that affirm and strengthen the views and well-being of one's ingroup (and that increase one's own standing within one's ingroup). Because of this shared evolutionary history of intergroup conflict, liberals and conservatives likely share the same underlying tribal psychology, which creates the potential for ideologically distorted information processing. Over the past several decades, social scientists have sedulously documented various tribal and ideological psychological tendencies on the political right, and more recent work has documented similar tendencies on the political left. We contend that these tribal tendencies and propensities can lead to ideologically distorted information processing in any group. And this ideological epistemology can become especially problematic for the pursuit of the truth when groups are ideologically homogenous and hold sacred values that might be contradicted by empirical inquiry. Evidence suggests that these conditions might hold for modern social science; therefore, we conclude by exploring potential ideologically driven distortions in the social sciences.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Biotin6uril hexaesters represent a new class of anionophores which operate solely through CH···anion interactions. The use of soft H-bond donors favors the transport of less hydrophilic anions ...(e.g., Cl–, NO3 –) over hard, stongly hydrated anions (e.g., HCO3 – and SO4 2–). Especially relevant is the selectivity between chloride and bicarbonate, the major inorganic anions in biological systems.
This paper presents the findings of a laboratory investigation on the characterization of recycled crushed brick when blended with recycled concrete aggregate and crushed rock for pavement sub-base ...applications. The engineering properties of the crushed brick blends were compared with typical state road authority specifications in Australia for pavement sub-base systems to ascertain the potential use of crushed brick blends in these applications. The experimental programme included particle-size distribution, modified Proctor compaction, particle density, water absorption, California bearing ratio (CBR), Los Angeles abrasion, pH, organic content, and repeated load triaxial tests. Laboratory tests were undertaken on mixtures of 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, and 50% crushed brick blended with recycled concrete aggregate or crushed rock. The research indicates that up to 25% crushed brick could be safely added to recycled concrete aggregate and crushed rock blends in pavement sub-base applications. The repeated load triaxial test results on the blends indicate that the effects of crushed brick content on the mechanical properties in terms of permanent deformation and resilient modulus of both the recycled concrete aggregate and crushed rock blends were marginal compared to the effects on dry density and moisture content.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We present a revised and extended high Arctic air temperature reconstruction from a single proxy that spans the past ∼12,000 y (up to 2009 CE). Our reconstruction from the Agassiz ice cap (Ellesmere ...Island, Canada) indicates an earlier and warmer Holocene thermal maximum with early Holocene temperatures that are 4–5 °C warmer compared with a previous reconstruction, and regularly exceed contemporary values for a period of ∼3,000 y. Our results show that air temperatures in this region are now at their warmest in the past 6,800–7,800 y, and that the recent rate of temperature change is unprecedented over the entire Holocene. The warmer early Holocene inferred from the Agassiz ice core leads to an estimated ∼1 km of ice thinning in northwest Greenland during the early Holocene using the Camp Century ice core. Ice modeling results show that this large thinning is consistent with our air temperature reconstruction. The modeling results also demonstrate the broader significance of the enhanced warming, with a retreat of the northern ice margin behind its present position in the mid Holocene and a ∼25% increase in total Greenland ice sheet mass loss (∼1.4 m sea-level equivalent) during the last deglaciation, both of which have implications for interpreting geodetic measurements of land uplift and gravity changes in northern Greenland.
Reduction of the Arctic sea ice cover can affect the atmospheric circulation and thus impact the climate beyond the Arctic. The atmospheric response may, however, vary with the geographical location ...of sea ice loss. The atmospheric sensitivity to the location of sea ice loss is studied using a general circulation model in a configuration that allows combination of a prescribed sea ice cover and an active mixed layer ocean. This hybrid setup makes it possible to simulate the isolated impact of sea ice loss and provides a more complete response compared to experiments with fixed sea surface temperatures. Three investigated sea ice scenarios with ice loss in different regions all exhibit substantial near-surface warming, which peaks over the area of ice loss. The maximum warming is found during winter, delayed compared to the maximum sea ice reduction. The wintertime response of the midlatitude atmospheric circulation shows a nonuniform sensitivity to the location of sea ice reduction. While all three scenarios exhibit decreased zonal winds related to high-latitude geopotential height increases, the magnitudes and locations of the anomalies vary between the simulations. Investigation of the North Atlantic Oscillation reveals a high sensitivity to the location of the ice loss. The northern center of action exhibits clear shifts in response to the different sea ice reductions. Sea ice loss in the Atlantic and Pacific sectors of the Arctic cause westward and eastward shifts, respectively.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Solar variability has been hypothesized to be a major driver of North Atlantic millennial-scale climate variations through the Holocene along with orbitally induced insolation change. However, ...another important climate driver, volcanic forcing has generally been underestimated prior to the past 2,500 years partly owing to the lack of proper proxy temperature records. Here, we reconstruct seasonally unbiased and physically constrained Greenland Summit temperatures over the Holocene using argon and nitrogen isotopes within trapped air in a Greenland ice core (GISP2). We show that a series of volcanic eruptions through the Holocene played an important role in driving centennial to millennial-scale temperature changes in Greenland. The reconstructed Greenland temperature exhibits significant millennial correlations with K
and Na
ions in the GISP2 ice core (proxies for atmospheric circulation patterns), and δ
O of Oman and Chinese Dongge cave stalagmites (proxies for monsoon activity), indicating that the reconstructed temperature contains hemispheric signals. Climate model simulations forced with the volcanic forcing further suggest that a series of large volcanic eruptions induced hemispheric-wide centennial to millennial-scale variability through ocean/sea-ice feedbacks. Therefore, we conclude that volcanic activity played a critical role in driving centennial to millennial-scale Holocene temperature variability in Greenland and likely beyond.
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