Performance indicators for roadway bridges

Publicado em "Maintenance, monitoring, safety, risk and resilience of bridges and bridge networks". ISBN 978-1-138-02851-7The performance indicators should, by its definition, allow capturing the life-cycle degradation processes affecting maintenance plans or the remaining lifetime. The qualitative or quantitative performance indicators are obtained through visual inspections, non-destructive tests or monitoring systems. After their quantification and the comparison with the respective performance goals and thresholds, a Quality Control plan should be accomplished. The COST TU1406 Action aims to uniform the European performance indicators, systemize the knowledge on the Quality Control plans for bridges, establish quality specifications and finally to develop the guideline and recommendations for the assessment of performance indicators. This contribution focuses on the current work of the first Working Group, WG1, where the first step is a collection of the key performance indicators at a European level. First those key performance indicators which capture mechanical and technical properties and its degradation behavior are assessed, while the further consideration reflect on the natural aging, quality of the material, service life design methods, and sustainable, environmental, economic and social based indicators.COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)Project “LeCIE – Life-cycle assessment for railway construction – strategies and methods

Spectrophotometric properties of dwarf planet Ceres from the VIR spectrometer on board the Dawn mission

We study the spectrophotometric properties of dwarf planet Ceres in the VIS-IR spectral range by means of hyper-spectral images acquired by the VIR imaging spectrometer on board the NASA Dawn mission. Disk-resolved observations with a phase angle within the $7^{\circ}<\alpha<132^{\circ}$ interval were used to characterize Ceres' phase curve in the 0.465-4.05 $\mu$m spectral range. Hapke's model was applied to perform the photometric correction of the dataset, allowing us to produce albedo and color maps of the surface. The $V$-band magnitude phase function of Ceres was fitted with both the classical linear model and H-G formalism. The single-scattering albedo and the asymmetry parameter at 0.55$\mu$m are $w=0.14\pm0.02$ and $\xi=-0.11\pm0.08$, respectively (two-lobe Henyey-Greenstein phase function); the modeled geometric albedo is $0.094\pm0.007$; the roughness parameter is $\bar{\theta}=29^{\circ}\pm6^{\circ}$. Albedo maps indicate small variability on a global scale with an average reflectance of $0.034 \pm 0.003$. Isolated areas such as the Occator bright spots, Haulani, and Oxo show an albedo much higher than average. We measure a significant spectral phase reddening, and the average spectral slope of Ceres' surface after photometric correction is $1.1\%k\AA^{-1}$ and $0.85\%k\AA^{-1}$ at VIS and IR wavelengths, respectively. Broadband color indices are $V-R=0.38\pm0.01$ and $R-I=0.33\pm0.02$. H-G modeling of the $V$-band magnitude phase curve for $\alpha<30^{\circ}$ gives $H=3.14\pm0.04$ and $G=0.10\pm0.04$, while the classical linear model provides $V(1,1,0^{\circ})=3.48\pm0.03$ and $\beta=0.036\pm0.002$. The comparison with spectrophotometric properties of other minor bodies indicates that Ceres has a less back-scattering phase function and a slightly higher albedo than comets and C-type objects. However, the latter represents the closest match in the usual asteroid taxonomy.Comment: 14 pages, 20 figures, published online on Astronomy and Astrophysics on 13 February 2017. Revised to reflect minor changes in text and figures made in proofs, updated value of V-R and R-

Mesosiderites on Vesta: A Hyperspectral VIS-NIR Investigation

The discussion about the mesosiderite origin is an open issue since several years. Mesosiderites are mixtures of silicate mineral fragments or clasts, embedded in a FeNi metal matrix. Silicates are very similar in mineralogy and texture to howardites [1]. This led some scientists to conclude that mesosiderites could come from the same parent parent asteroid of the howardite, eucrite and diogenite (HED) meteorites [2, 3]. Other studies found a number of differences between HEDs and mesosiderite silicates that could be explained only by separate parent asteroids [4]. Recently, high precision oxygen isotope measurements of m esosiderites silicate fraction were found to be isotopically identical to the HEDs, requiring common parent body, i.e. 4 Vesta [5]. Another important element in favor of a common origin was given by the identification of a centimeter-sized mesosiderite clast in a howardite (Dar al Gani 779): a metal-rich inclusion with fragments of olivine, anorthite, and orthopyroxene plus minor amounts of chromite, tridymite, and troilite [6]. The Dawn mission with its instruments, the Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIR) [7], the Framing Camera [8] and the Gamma-Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND) [9] confirmed that Vesta has a composition fully compatible with HED meteorites [10]. We investigate here the possibility to discern mesosiderite rich locations on the surface of Vesta by means of hyperspectral IR images

A supergeometric approach to Poisson reduction

This work introduces a unified approach to the reduction of Poisson manifolds using their description by graded symplectic manifolds. This yields a generalization of the classical Poisson reduction by distributions (Marsden-Ratiu reduction). Further it allows one to construct actions of strict Lie 2-groups and to describe the corresponding reductions.Comment: 40 pages. Final version accepted for publicatio

Dietary folates and cancer risk in a network of case-control studies

Background Folate deficiency leads to DNA damage and inadequate repair, caused by a decreased synthesis of thymidylate and purines. We analyzed the relationship between dietary folate intake and the risk of several cancers. Patients and methods The study is based on a network of case-control studies conducted in Italy and Switzerland in 1991-2009. The odds ratios (ORs) for dietary folate intake were estimated by multiple logistic regression models, adjusted for major identified confounding factors. Results For a few cancer sites, we found a significant inverse relation, with ORs for an increment of 100μg/day of dietary folate of 0.65 for oropharyngeal (1467 cases), 0.58 for esophageal (505 cases), 0.83 for colorectal (2390 cases), 0.72 for pancreatic (326 cases), 0.67 for laryngeal (851 cases) and 0.87 for breast (3034 cases) cancers. The risk estimates were below unity, although not significantly, for cancers of the endometrium (OR=0.87, 454 cases), ovary (OR=0.86, 1031 cases), prostate (OR=0.91, 1468 cases) and kidney (OR=0.88, 767 cases), and was 1.00 for stomach cancer (230 cases). No material heterogeneity was found in strata of sex, age, smoking and alcohol drinking. Conclusions Our data support a real inverse association of dietary folate intake with the risk of several common cancer

The Mineralogy of Ceres’ Nawish Quadrangle

Quadrangle Ac-H-08 Nawish is located in the equatorial region of Ceres (Lat 22°S-22°N, Lon 144°E- 216°E), and it has variable mineralogy and geology. Here, we report on the mineralogy using spectra from the Visible and InfraRed (VIR) mapping spectrometer onboard the NASA Dawn mission. This quadrangle has two generally different regions: the cratered highlands of the central and eastern sector, and the eastern lowlands. We find this dichotomy is also associated with differences in the NH_4-phyllosilicates distribution. The highlands, in the eastern part of the quadrangle, appear depleted in NH_4-phyllosilicates, conversely to the lowlands, in the north-western side. The Mg-phyllosilicates distribution is quite homogeneous across Nawish quadrangle, except for few areas. The 2.7 µm band depth is lower in the south-eastern part, e.g. in the Azacca ejecta and Consus crater ejecta, and the band depth is greatest for the Nawish crater ejecta, and indicates the highest content of Mg-phyllosilicates of the entire quadrangle. Our analysis finds an interesting relationship between geology, mineralogy, topography, and the age in this quadrangle. The cratered terrains in the highlands, poor in NH_4 phyllosilicates, are older (̴2 Ga). Conversely, the smooth terrain, such as with Vindimia Planitia, is richer in ammonia-bearing phyllosilicates and is younger (̴1 Ga). At the local scale, Ac-H-8 Nawish, displays several interesting mineralogical features, such as at Nawish crater, Consus crater, Dantu and Azzacca ejecta, which exhibit localized Na-carbonates deposits. This material is superimposed on the cratered terrains and smooth terrains and shows the typical depletion of phyllosilicates, already observed on Ceres in the presence of Na-carbonates

Pengaruh Fraksi Penipisan (P) Air Tanah Tersedia Pada Berbagai Fase Tumbuh Terhadap Pertumbuhan, Hasil Dan Efisiensi Penggunaan Air Tanaman Kedelai (Glycine Max [L] Merr.)

Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh fraksi penipisan (p) air tanah tersedia pada berbagai fase tumbuh terhadap pertumbuhan dan efisiensi penggunaan air tanaman kedelai. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di dalam rumah plastik, laboratorium lapang terpadu, Universitas Lampung pada bulan Oktober 2015 sampai dengan Januari 2016. Penelitian ini menggunakan rancangan Faktorial dalam Acak Lengkap (RAL) dengan 2 faktor perlakuan, yaitu faktor I (Fraksi penipisan air tanah tersedia, p) dan faktor II (fase tumbuh, F). Masing-masing perlakuan terdiri dari 3 taraf, yaitu faktor I terdiri dari P1(0,2), P2(0,4) dan P3(0,6) dari penipisan air tanah tersedia, dan faktor II terdiri dari fase vegetatif aktif (F1), fase pembungaan (F2), dan fase pembentukan polong (F3), dengan ulangan sebanyak 3 kali. Pengukuran evapotranspirasi tanaman acuan dilakukan pada fraksi penipisan 0,2 dari air tanah tersedia dengan menggunakan tanaman rumput. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa, perlakuan fraksi penipisan (p) air tanah tersedia pada berbagai fase tumbuhtidak berpengaruh terhadap pertumbuhan dan efisiensi penggunaan air tanaman kedelai.Tanaman kedelai pada perlakuan fraksi penipisan (p) air tanah tersedia tidak mengalami cekaman air pada semua perlakuan, karena tanaman sebelum mendekati batas bawah perlakuan segera diberi irigasi dan dikembalikan ke kondisi kapasitas lapang. Produksi tertinggi dengan nilai efisiensi penggunaan air tertinggi dicapai oleh perlakuan fraksi penipisan (0-0,2) air tanah tersedia pada perlakuan fase pembungaan (F2). Tanaman kedelai menghasilkan produksi yang tinggi pada fraksi penipisan 0,4 untuk perlakuan fase pertumbuhan aktif dan fraksi penipisan 0,2 untuk perlakuan fase pembungaan dan fase pengisian polong

Procedimento Blupis e seleção massal em cana-de-açúcar.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi comparar a seleção via procedimento BLUP individual simulado (BLUPIS) versus seleção massal em famílias de irmãos-completos de cana-de-açúcar. Foram utilizadas 80 famílias originadas de cruzamentos biparentais da série RB03. O experimento foi desenvolvido em área experimental, localizado no Município de São Tomé, Paraná. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos incompletos, com cinco repetições por família. Para seleção considerou-se a variável tonelada de sólidos solúveis por hectare (TSH). Utilizou-se o modelo 35 do programa computacional Selegen REML/BLUP, via procedimento BLUPIS para a indicação do número de clones potenciais a serem selecionados. Estes resultados foram correlacionados com o número de clones selecionados via seleção massal dentro das famílias. A seleção clonal via procedimento BLUPIS indica maior número de clones promissores para caracteres quantitativos dentro de famílias com elevados efeitos genotípicos

The quantum non-linear Schrodinger model with point-like defect

We establish a family of point-like impurities which preserve the quantum integrability of the non-linear Schrodinger model in 1+1 space-time dimensions. We briefly describe the construction of the exact second quantized solution of this model in terms of an appropriate reflection-transmission algebra. The basic physical properties of the solution, including the space-time symmetry of the bulk scattering matrix, are also discussed.Comment: Comments on the integrability and the impurity free limit adde