bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Improvement of Bending Fatigue Test for Asphalt Surfacing on Orthotropic Steel Bridge Deck
Authors: Zhao Y. , Jiang L. , Zhou L. 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
In order to evaluate the fatigue performance for orthotropic steel bridge decks (OSBD) surfacing more scientifically and reasonably, one improved fatigue bending test for OSBD surfacing was developed based on the French “Laboratoire des Ponts et Chaussées” (LCPC) test. Besides, a better specimen preparation method was proposed based on the rolling compaction method. The loading force during testing was determined by building a three-dimensional finite element model of the entire bridge. In addition, a submodel technique was applied to enhance calculation accuracy. In order to verify the validation of this improved test, two types of deck surfacing mixtures: epoxy asphalt concrete (EAC) and high-strength asphalt concrete (HSAC) were tested, and the fatigue process of these two mixtures was recorded. During the fatigue test procedures, EAC surfacing can endure over 8 × 106 loading cycles and the fatigue life of HSAC surfacing was between 2 and 3 × 106 loading cycles. The EAC cracking process demonstrated brittle failure, while HSAC demonstrated ductile failure. These results reflected that the surfacing specimen fatigue performances during the laboratory test coincide with the practical OSBDs surfacing performance on an actual bridge. The improved bending fatigue test proved to be an effective way to reflect the OSBD surfacing mechanical response.
The Influence of Aggregate Lithological Nature on Pavement Texture Polishing: A Comparative Investigation on a Test Site in Southern Italy
Authors: Iuele T. , Vaiana R. , Gallelli V. , De Masi F. 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
Pavement surface performance plays a key role in tyre-road interaction phenomena and greatly affects road safety, vehicle's operational costs, and environmental sustainability. Surface texture and friction change over time with the action of the repeated passage of vehicle tires, especially those of heavy vehicles (long-term variations). Other factors related to asphalt mix composition, primarily the aggregates and their mineralogical composition, the binder and their combination, have a great effect on micro and macrotexture evolution. In particular, the extent to which a surface will polish depends on both the level of traffic and the ability of the aggregate to resist polishing. Moreover, an aggregate may provide different levels of skid resistance depending on where it is used because the polishing effect is also influenced by other stresses such as braking and cornering forces. In light of the above, this paper focused on a 4-year monitoring of a test site (both straight and curve sections) with four different dense graded friction courses designed and produced with aggregates of different petrographic nature: limestone, basalt, and expanded clay. Several devices and test methods (Skid Tester, Sand Patch Test, Laser Profilometer) were used in order to investigate skid resistance and macro-texture progression. Results showed that: (i) mixes have a different microtexture deterioration behavior in relation to aggregate type, especially during the pavement early life, confirming how limestone does not perform as well as basalt or expanded clay under traffic actions; (ii) macrotexture evolution trend is characterized by a consistent decrease after 4 years; the maximum value of macrotexture was registered 13 months after opening to traffic (when the migrated bitumen is completely removed by traffic). Results highlighted practical applications and perspectives for both practitioners and researchers.
Factors Affecting Direct Tension Pull-Off Test Results of Materials Bonded to Concrete
Authors: Harries K. A. , Sweriduk M. E. 
Published: December 2016

AbstractThe direct tension pull-off test (ASTM D7522/D7522M-15, ASTM D4541-09e1, ASTM C1583/C1583M-13 and others) is the only practical, in situ test to assess bond strength of materials bonded to a concrete substrate relatively. Although the method is prescribed, there are a number of variations anecdotally seen in practice which may affect the uniform interpretation of the test method results. In particular, it was hypothesized that both shear and normal stresses introduced by the drilling process damage the sample affecting results disproportionately with the depth of cut. This study systematically investigated this hypothesis with the aim of providing improved guidance associated with depth, and indeed method, of core drilling. Preformed, hand-drilled, and core-drilled specimens were tested, and the results were compared. Additionally, a system for applying a controlled torsional moment to the specimens was used to quantitatively investigate the effect of such force being applied during the specimen preparation. This study also investigated the effect of using square cuts. Hand-drilled and core-drilled specimens were observed to have reduced pull-off capacity—exhibiting a reduction of 0.03 MPa/mm depth and 0.04 MPa/mm depth, respectively—with increased core depth, although this was not attributed to the torsion that may be present during the drilling process. Square specimens exhibited marginally lower capacity than comparable round specimens and a similar increased reduction in capacity of 0.05 MPa/mm depth of cut. Finally, a discussion of the implications and interpretation of pull-off test results is presented.
Electro-Osmotic Chemical Treatment for Marine Clayey Soils: A Laboratory Experiment and A Field Study
Authors: Zhang L. , Wang N. W. , Jing L. P. , Fang C. , Shan Z. D. , Li Y. Q. 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
An electro-osmotic chemical treatment (ECT) method for marine clayey soils was investigated in this study using self-designed laboratory equipment. According to related studies, electrolytes are an important factor for improving the bearing capacity of marine clayey soils. This study focused on improving the mechanical properties of marine clayey soils by using ECT and analyzed the effects of using a salt electrolyte solution on soil strength. The design of the ECT procedure was also investigated in this study. In addition, this study considered various practical issues, including the current, voltage, and bearing capacity of soils before and after testing. The laboratory testing results demonstrated that the ECT technique is an effective method for improving marine clayey soils and that the concentration of the salt solution obviously influences improvements of soil strength. Furthermore, based on laboratory results, a field study was performed in the Dong-gang Business District, Dalian City. The results from the field study were compared with those from the laboratory, and the feasibility of using ECT for marine clayey soils was further analyzed. An empirical formula for the strengthened zone was also developed for strengthening marine clayey soils to meet construction requirements. This study provides some references and suggestions for the practical application of the ECT technique for marine clayey soils.
A Nano-Scale Approach to Study the Healing Phenomenon in Warm Mix Asphalt
Authors: Nazzal Munir D. , AbuQtaish Lana , Kaya Savas , Abbas Ala , Powers David 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
During the past decade, new technologies such as warm mix asphalt (WMA) technology have been used to help in reducing the carbon footprint of asphalt pavements. However, there are still unanswered questions and concerns regarding the long-term performance of asphalt material produced using these technologies. One of these questions is the influence of using these technologies on the healing behavior of asphalt binders, which might have a significant impact on their performance. In this paper, a nano-scale approach that uses atomic force microscopy (AFM) was developed and employed to evaluate the effect of different WMA technologies on the healing characteristics of commonly used asphalt binders, namely, PG 64-22, and PG 70-22M. The considered WMA technologies included: Advera®, Evotherm® M1, Sasobit®, and foamed WMA. The results of this paper indicated that Advera®, Evotherm® M1, and foamed WMA technologies improved the micro-crack closure rate in the considered asphalt binders. Furthermore, only the Sasobit significantly decreased the cohesive bonding energy in the asphalt binders, which may suggest that it may adversely affect their intrinsic healing. The other WMA technologies improved the hydroxyl cohesive bonding energy with an asphalt binder but did not significantly influence the carboxyl cohesive bonding energy.
Total Electron Content Anomalies Before Mw 6.0+ Earthquakes in the Seismic Zone of Southwest China Between 2001 and 2013
Authors: Guo J. , Yu H. , Li W. , Liu X. , Kong Q. , Zhao C. 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
To investigate the coupling relationship between ionospheric variations and great earthquakes in the seismic zone of southwest China, the total electron content (TEC) anomalies before Mw 6.0+ earthquakes in that area between 2001 and 2013 were analyzed to study the precursors of great earthquakes. To analyze the lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere effect, TEC estimated by the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe was used to determine anomalies prior to 18 moderate-to-great earthquakes with magnitudes of ≥ 6.0. Spatial and temporal TEC variations in the seismic zone were calculated and examined to study the relationship between the identified TEC anomalies and subsequent earthquakes. The results showed that ionospheric anomalies were observed before 72 % of earthquakes and among those anomalies, positive and negative anomalies accounted for approximately 58 % and 42 % of anomalies, respectively. Most of the ionospheric anomalies could be observed within 1 to 6 days prior to the earthquakes and approximately 82 % of ionospheric anomalies usually occurred between 13:00 and 18:00 in the region's local time. Furthermore, the anomaly amplitudes and occurrence time were proportional to the magnitude of the earthquake but the relationship was not linear. After eliminating the effect of solar activities and geomagnetic storms, some obvious and regular anomalous behavior in TEC could be detected on the 19th day before several earthquakes and the peak of anomaly enhancement coincided with the vertical projection of the epicenter. Our results indicate that these TEC anomalies may be the ionospheric precursors of forthcoming earthquakes in the seismic belt of southwest China.
Experimental Study on the Dynamic Response of PHC Pipe-Piles in Liquefiable Soil
Authors: Huang F. , Qian H. , Zhuang Y. , Fu C. 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
Shaking-table testing of seismic performance and dynamic interaction of prestressed high-strength concrete (PHC) pipe-piles in saturated soils and unsaturated soils was conducted using a series of sine waves, typical earthquake waves, as well as artificial ground motions based on in situ measurements. The presented test results, involving the time history of water pore pressure ratio and the responding displacement related to soil liquefaction, indicated that the natural frequency of soil-pile system decreased because of gradual degradation of soil and pile shift. Moreover, the peak displacement responses of piles in saturated soil were larger than the peak displacements in unsaturated soil. In addition, prestressing in pile was beneficial to the resistance of pile damage or degradation. These experimental results were able to calibrate FE models and to provide a database for seismic design of PHC pipe-piles.
Classification of Seismic Events and Quarry Blasts Using Singular Value Decomposition and Support Vector Machine
Authors: Li X. B. , Shang X. Y. , Peng K. 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
Investigating two types of seismic signals often misclassified in practice, seismic events and quarry blasts, two novel approaches using singular value decomposition (SVD) to extract features of the main wavelet coefficients (WCs) and product function components (PFs) and the support vector machine (SVM) to classify them are proposed. This research collected and preprocessed 200 seismic events and 200 quarry blasts from the Yongshaba mine, China. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and local mean decomposition (LMD) were used to decompose the signals into several WCs and PFs, respectively, and the correlation coefficient and variance contribution ratio were used to select the main WCs and PFs. Finally, the singular value features of the selected six WCs and PFs, which can discriminate between seismic events and quarry blasts, were extracted, and the features were input to backpropagation (BP) neural network, Bayes, SVM, and logistic regression (LR) classifiers. The results show that SVD can effectively extract signal features, and that the SVM classifier offers better classification results than the BP neural network, Bayes, and LR classifiers. In addition, the LMD-SVD-SVM-based method is better than the DWT-SVD-SVM-based method in accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity, with values of 96.0 %, 97.0 %, and 95.0 %, and 95.5 %, 97.0 %, and 94.0 %, respectively. Therefore, DWT and LMD based on SVD and SVM techniques provide useful approaches to seismic event and quarry-blast classification.
Laboratory Investigation of a Geosynthetic Reinforced Pavement Under Static and Dynamic Loading
Authors: Kiptoo D. , Aschrafi J. , Kalumba D. , Lehn J. , Moormann C. , Zannoni E. 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
Construction of roads in soft soils is often associated with design and construction difficulties due to their compressibility nature and weak strength. Road pavements in such areas when subjected to traffic loading that are static and dynamic in nature experience a rapid deterioration of the base material and progressive permanent surface deformation. Both reduce serviceability, and subsequently, the design life of the pavement. In this study, reinforcement geosynthetics (geogrids and geotextiles) were used as reinforcement inclusions within a granular base underlying a soft subgrade having a California Bearing Ratio less than 2 % in a 1.0 m3 steel test box. Bench scale plate load tests (static and cyclic) were conducted on a 305mm diameter circular steel plate on the two-layer system using a Universal Compression Machine. Static loading was applied at a rate of 1.2mm/min. Dynamic sinusoidal load was superimposed atop a static hold down force of 4kN. The dynamic load was linearly increased with an incremental load of 4kN for every 8 cycles at a frequency of 0.2 Hz. For the tests, settlement failure of the composite system was considered at a deformation of 75mm as prescribed for unpaved roads. The results showed that there was a significant improvement in bearing capacity and reduction in settlement accruing from geosynthetic inclusion as shown by the bearing capacity ratio (BCR) of 1.21, 1.29, and 1.63 for geogrid, geotextile, and geogrid-geotextile combinations, respectively. Additionally, a settlement reduction factor (SRF) of 18 % for geogrid, 23 % for geotextile, and 31 % for the geogrid-geotextile combination resulted. There was also an improvement in extended pavement life as depicted by the traffic benefit ratio (TBR) greater than 1 for all reinforced base layers. Comparing geotextile and geogrid reinforced pavements, the results showed that geosynthetic tensile strength is not the governing performance indicator.
Regulation of Physical Microglia–Neuron Interactions by Fractalkine Signaling after Status Epilepticus
Authors: Eyo Ukpong B. , Peng Jiyun , Murugan Madhuvika , Mo Mingshu , Lalani Almin , Xie Ping , Xu Pingyi , Margolis David J. , Wu Long-Jun 
Published: December 2016

AbstractMicroglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, perform elaborate surveillance in which they physically interact with neuronal elements. A novel form of microglia–neuron interaction named microglial process convergence (MPC) toward neuronal axons and dendrites has recently been described. However, the molecular regulators and pathological relevance of MPC have not been explored. Here, using high-resolution two-photon imagingin vivoandex vivo, we observed a dramatic increase in MPCs after kainic acid– or pilocarpine-induced experimental seizures that was reconstituted after glutamate treatment in slices from mice. Interestingly, a deficiency of the fractalkine receptor (CX3CR1) decreased MPCs, whereas fractalkine (CX3CL1) treatment increased MPCs, suggesting that fractalkine signaling is a critical regulator of these microglia–neuron interactions. Furthermore, we found that interleukin-1β was necessary and sufficient to trigger CX3CR1-dependent MPCs. Finally, we show that a deficiency in fractalkine signaling corresponds with increased seizure phenotypes. Together, our results identify the neuroglial CX3CL1–CX3CR1 communication axis as a modulator of potentially neuroprotective microglia–neuron physical interactions during conditions of neuronal hyperactivity.
YeastGPCRsignaling reflects the fraction of occupied receptors, not the number
Authors: Bush Alan , Vasen Gustavo , Constantinou Andreas , Dunayevich Paula , Patop Inés Lucía , Blaustein Matías , Colman‐Lerner Alejandro 
Published: December 2016

AbstractAccording to receptor theory, the effect of a ligand depends on the amount of agonist–receptor complex. Therefore, changes in receptor abundance should have quantitative effects. However, the response to pheromone inSaccharomyces cerevisiaeis robust (unaltered) to increases or reductions in the abundance of the G‐protein‐coupled receptor (GPCR), Ste2, responding instead to thefractionof occupied receptor. We found experimentally that this robustness originates during G‐protein activation. We developed a complete mathematical model of this step, which suggested the ability to compute fractional occupancy depends on the physical interaction between the inhibitory regulator of G‐protein signaling (RGS), Sst2, and the receptor. Accordingly, replacing Sst2 by the heterologous hsRGS4, incapable of interacting with the receptor, abolished robustness. Conversely, forcing hsRGS4:Ste2 interaction restored robustness. Taken together with other results of our work, we conclude that thisGPCRpathway computes fractional occupancy because ligand‐boundGPCR–RGScomplexes stimulate signaling while unoccupied complexes actively inhibit it. In eukaryotes, manyRGSs bind to specificGPCRs, suggesting these complexes with opposing activities also detect fraction occupancy by a ratiometric measurement. Such complexes operate aspush‐pulldevices, which we have recently described.
Innovative Approaches to Organizing Physical Education of Pupils of Secondary Comprehensive Educational Institutions
Authors: Васьков Ю. В. 
Published: December 2016

The objective is to determine ways of improving the educational process in terms of physical training in a secondary comprehensive educational institution pursuant to the introduction of innovative approaches to organization of pupils’ activity.
Materials and methods. The experience gained in organizing the educational process in terms of physical training demonstrates that secondary comprehensive educational institutions lack implementation of innovative approaches based on the learner-centered training.
Results. The paper determines the relevant problems in the educational process improvement at physical training lessons. It reviews the theoretical aspects and conditions of implementation in the academic process of such modern innovative approaches as culturological, competency-based, synergetic, axiological, acmeological, and others, and outlines ways of implementing these approaches in the real academic process. The paper studies the consequences of the effect of the innovative approaches on ensuring the learner-centered training in the educational process.
Conclusions. The implementation of the innovative approaches proves to be contributing to the increase in the level of organization of the educational process with the learner-centered approach applied. The research determines certain complications when organizing pupils’ training in secondary comprehensive educational institutions with innovative approaches implemented therein.
The Devil Is in the Details: Linking Home Buyout Policy, Practice, and Experience After Hurricane Sandy
Authors: Binder Sherri Brokopp , Greer Alex 
Published: December 2016

Federal housing recovery policy bounds many of the decisions made by households after a disaster. Within this policy domain, home buyout programs are increasingly used to encourage residents to permanently relocate out of areas considered at risk for future hazards. While buyouts offer homeowners and governments potential benefits, research exploring the impacts of these policies is limited. In this paper, we present an in-depth examination of the community experience of buyouts, a perspective that is noticeably lacking in the literature. Using data from two mixed-method empirical studies, we explored the implications of buyout program design and implementation for Oakwood Beach, New York, a community offered a buyout after Hurricane Sandy. We found that design decisions made at program conception significantly impacted participants’ experience of the buyout, including their understanding of program goals and their progression through the buyout and relocation process. We conclude with recommendations for future buyouts, including increased inclusion of affected communities in the process of and pre-event planning for recovery, along with recommendations for future research.
The Comparative and Usefulness of Platelet Distribution Width in Acute Coronary Syndrome
Authors: Mappangara Idar , Mappahya Ali Aspar , Witjaksono Sheila 
Published: December 2016

BACKGROUND: Identifying risk factors for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is important for both diagnostic and prognostic purposes. Abnormal platelet parameters, mainly platelet count (PC), mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) are thought to be among these risk factors because platelet activation plays a pivotal role in ACS. PDW is a more specific marker of platelet activation, since it does not increase during simple platelet swelling. In this study, the comparison of risk factors along with the PDW between Non ST-Elevation ACS (NSTEACS) and ST-Elevation ACS (STEACS) were investigated.METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study, patients with ACS that admitted at dr.Wahidin Sudirohusodo General Hospital Makassar since December 2014 to March 2015 who undergo coronary angiography were enrolled. All data variables were taken according to the medical record. PDW was taken on first blood examination at hospital admission. Data was significant if p-value <0.05 and was processed with SPSS version 16.RESULTS: A total of 63 patients were enrolled. There were significantly higher PDW (p=0.047) in STEACS group (13.7±2.0 fL) than in NSTEACS group (12.6±2.3 fL). There were a significant positive correlation between PDW value and SYNTAX scores (Pearson, r=0.552, p=0.000). Cardiovascular risk factors such as history of ACS before (p=0.049 & OR=10.216) and dyslipidemia (p=0.049 & OR=3.915) along with PDW (p=0.003 & OR=1.733) were significant predictor of the incidence of multivessel disease in patient with ACS.CONCLUSION: An increased PDW may predicting more severe disease in ACS based on incidence of STEACS and multivessel disease more often and higher SYNTAX score.KEYWORDS: platelet distribution width, PDW, acute coronary syndrome, ACS, multivessel disease, SYNTAX