bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Monolithic Concrete vs Precast Concrete for the Construction of Bridge by Th Cantilever Method
Authors: Morlova Dumitru Daniel , Chiotan Corina 
Published: October 2015

Rezumat
În cadrul articolului cu titlul „Beton monolit versus beton prefabricat la execuția în consolă a podurilor” vor fi abordate o serie de probleme care apar atât la proiectarea cât şi la execuţia structurilor de poduri din beton precomprimat utilizând metoda execuţiei în consolă.
Această metodă a revoluţionat podurile din beton, din punct de vedere al deschiderilor şi al uşurinţei traversării unor obstacole dificile. În afara avantajelor realizării unor structuri din beton monolit prin execuţie în consolă, utilizarea elementelor prefabricate conduce la micşorarea semnificativă a timpului de execuţie şi la diminuarea problemelor care pot apărea din cauza curgerii lente şi a contracţiei betonului.
Materialul prezentat în cadrul articolului cu titlul „Beton monolit versus beton prefabricat la execuția în consolă a podurilor” va prezenta principiul metodei de execuţie în consolă, avantajele utilizării acestei metode, cazurile particulare pentru care se pretează o astfel de structură, scheme statice şi secţiunile transversale adoptate pentru acest tip de structuri, cât şi modul de îmbinare al tronsoanelor prefabricate în funcţie de generaţia din care fac parte.
De asemenea, se va prezenta un studiu de caz în care vor fi analizate cele doua variante de execuție în consolă (turnare monolită a tronsoanelor respectiv montare de tronsoane prefabricate) și vor fi prezentate concluzii privind oportunitatea utilizării uneia dintre cele două variante.
Ecological Solutions Applied to Hot Mix Asphalt
Authors: Lixandru Cătălina , Dicu Mihai , Răcănel Carmen , Burlacu Adrian 
Published: October 2015

Rezumat
Mixturile asfaltice sunt materiale compozite realizate din amestecuri de agregate naturale sau artificiale, filer și bitum, avȃnd la baza dozaje bine stabilite și o tehnologie adecvata astfel încȃt să rezulte un material rutier cât mai durabil posibil.
În urma studiilor efectuate pe plan internațional cât și pe plan național, s-a demostrat că se pot înlocui cu succes agregatele naturale cu zguri siderurgice sau de oțelărie, care prin prelucrare și sortare la dimensiuni necesare sunt cele mai adecvate din punct de vedere al proprietăților fizico-mecanice.
Mixturile asfaltice ecologice obținute prin înlocuirea agregatelor minerale cu zguri siderurgice vor intra în alcătuirea structurii rutiere, începand cu studiul pentru un strat de bază. Pentru evaluarea performanțelor mixturilor asfaltice în care agregatele naturale sunt înlocuite cu agregate artificiale, se va studia o mixtură asfaltică pentrul stratul de bază respectiv AB 31.5 pentru care se vor face încercări pentru trei rețete de mixturi asfaltice: mixtura asfaltică cu agregate minerale de carieră, mixtura asfaltică în care agregatele minerale vor fi înlocuite în proporție de 50 % cu zguri siderurgice și o mixtură asfaltică care va conține zguri siderurgice în proporție de 100%.
Încercările de laborator se vor face în cadrul Laboratorului de Drumuri din cadrul Facultății de Căi Ferate, Drumuri și Poduri, Universitatea Tehnică de Construcții București; rezultatele obținute vor fi detaliate sub forma de tabele și grafice, concluziile urmând a face aprecieri asupra performanțelor mixturilor asfaltice ecologice. Astfel, se vor stabili performanțele mixturilor asfaltice ecologice comparativ cu calitățile mixturilor asfaltice clasice, folosind următoarele încercări: determinarea densității aparente, a volumului de goluri, caracteristicilor Marshall și a modulului de rigiditate.
Experimental Modelling of Asphaltic Layers Behaviour at Reflective Fracture from Degraded Pavements – Parametric Studies
Authors: Lobază Mihai Gabriel , Dicu Mihai 
Published: October 2015

Rezumat
Datorită degradării în timp a îmbrăcăminților rutiere, trebuiesc adoptate măsuri pentru reabilitarea acestora cu costuri cât mai mici. Una din soluțiile des utilizate îl reprezintă așternerea covoarelor asfaltice peste cele degradate. Problema principală care apare în cazul acestei soluții este transmiterea fisurilor din stratul existent în covorul de protecție (fisurare reflectivă).
Adoptarea soluției optime în cazul straturilor asfaltice de protecție, din punct de vedere al comportării la fisurare, scade considerabil costurile de întreținere/reabilitare a structurii rutiere existente. De aceea sunt necesare studii experimentale efectuate în laborator, care presupune costuri mici, dar și o perioadă mai scurtă de timp față de sectoarele experimentale.
În cadrul încercărilor de laborator efectuate, s-a urmărit și măsurat parametrii fisurării: deschiderea și lungimea fisurii în mixtură, deschiderea fisurii betonului, deformația probei și numărul de cicluri. Interpretarea acestor parametri, prin stabilirea unor legi de evoluție a acestora, ne poate oferi o imagine a modului în care fisura se transmite din betonul de ciment prefisurat în stratul de protecție și apoi se propagă pe întreaga grosime a acestuia.
Se poate astfel stabili care este rețeta de mixtură asfaltică care se comportă cel mai bine la acest tip de fisurare, evitându-se astfel adoptarea unei soluții neadecvate care atrage după sine costuri ridicate de întreținere.
An Optimized Elasto-Plastic Subgrade Reaction For Modeling The Response Of A Nonlinear Foundation For A Structural Analysis
Authors: Ray Richard Paul 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Geotechnical and structural engineers are faced with a difficult task when their designs interact with each other. For complex projects, this is more the norm than the exception. In order to help bridge that gap, a method for modeling the behavior of a foundation using a simple elasto-plastic subgrade reaction was developed. The method uses an optimization technique to position 4-6 springs along a pile foundation to produce similar load deflection characteristics that were modeled by more sophisticated geotechnical finite element software. The methodology uses an Excel spreadsheet for accepting user input and delivering an optimized subgrade spring stiffness, yield, and position along the pile. In this way, the behavior developed from the geotechnical software can be transferred to the structural analysis software. The optimization is achieved through the solver add-in within Excel. Additionally, a beam on a nonlinear elastic foundation model is used to compute deflections of the optimized subgrade reaction configuration.
Reducing The Operating Costs Of An Apartment Building
Authors: Takács Ján , Rácz Lukáš 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Circulation pumps are mechanical devices, which are used to create the overpressure required for the transportation of a heat-transfer medium in heating technology as well as in other related technologies. In a circulation pump the mechanical energy generated by the drive machine – an electric motor is transformed to hydraulic energy, which consists of kinetic and static energy. In the pipeline of a heating system circulation pumps represent a source of hydraulic energy (positive differential pressure), which is consumed to transport the heat-transfer medium. During the flow, the heat-transfer medium puts up resistance to the so-called passive resistors, which consist of pressure losses from friction in the pipes and pressure losses due to local resistance. In this article the authors analyze the effect of a circulation pump on the operating costs in an apartment building. Different types of circulating pumps, ranging from the most unfavorable to the optimal, were selected.
Comparison Of Selected Pedotransfer Functions For The Determination Of Soil Water Retention Curves
Authors: Kupec Michal , Stradiot Peter , Rehák Štefan 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Soil water retention curves were measured using a sandbox and the pressure plate extractor method on undisturbed soil samples from the Borská Lowland. The basic soil properties (e.g. soil texture, dry bulk density) of the samples were determined. The soil water retention curve was described using the van Genuchten model (Van Genuchten, 1980). The parameters of the model were obtained using the RETC program (Van Genuchten et al., 1991). For the determination of the soil water retention curve parameters, two pedotransfer functions (PTF) were also used that were derived for this area by Skalová (2003) and the Rosetta computer program (Schaap et al., 2001). The performance of the PTFs was characterized using the mean difference and root mean square error.
Towards a semantic map for intensifying particles: Evidence from Avar
Authors: Forker Diana 
Published: October 2015

AbstractIn this paper I examine the multifunctional enclitic =goin the Nakh-Daghestanian language Avar. By means of a semantic map I show that its central function is the expression of emphasis and/or contrast. Other uses are the expression of identity, scalar additivity, reflexivity (including local and long-distance reflexives, emphatic reflexive uses), the marking of indefinite pronouns and adverbs, and the derivation of cardinal numerals and converbs. The paper also advances a hypothesis about the origin of =goand argues that it goes back to the copula -ugo. The use of the copula in cleft constructions gave rise to the emphatic/contrastive function, and all other uses can be viewed as extension of this function.
The Periaqueductal Gray Orchestrates Sensory and Motor Circuits at Multiple Levels of the Neuraxis
Authors: Koutsikou Stella , Watson Thomas C. , Crook Jonathan J. , Leith J. Lianne , Lawrenson Charlotte L. , Apps Richard , Lumb Bridget M. 
Published: October 2015

The periaqueductal gray (PAG) coordinates behaviors essential to survival, including striking changes in movement and posture (e.g., escape behaviors in response to noxious stimuli vs freezing in response to fear-evoking stimuli). However, the neural circuits underlying the expression of these behaviors remain poorly understood. We demonstratein vivoin rats that activation of the ventrolateral PAG (vlPAG) affects motor systems at multiple levels of the neuraxis through the following: (1) differential control of spinal neurons that forward sensory information to the cerebellum via spino-olivo-cerebellar pathways (nociceptive signals are reduced while proprioceptive signals are enhanced); (2) alterations in cerebellar nuclear output as revealed by changes in expression of Fos-like immunoreactivity; and (3) regulation of spinal reflex circuits, as shown by an increase in α-motoneuron excitability. The capacity to coordinate sensory and motor functions is demonstrated in awake, behaving rats, in which natural activation of the vlPAG in fear-conditioned animals reduced transmission in spino-olivo-cerebellar pathways during periods of freezing that were associated with increased muscle tone and thus motor outflow. The increase in spinal motor reflex excitability and reduction in transmission of ascending sensory signals via spino-olivo-cerebellar pathways occurred simultaneously. We suggest that the interactions revealed in the present study between the vlPAG and sensorimotor circuits could form the neural substrate for survival behaviors associated with vlPAG activation.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTNeural circuits that coordinate survival behaviors remain poorly understood. We demonstrate in rats that the periaqueductal gray (PAG) affects motor systems at the following multiple levels of the neuraxis: (1) through altering transmission in spino-olivary pathways that forward sensory signals to the cerebellum, reducing and enhancing transmission of nociceptive and proprioceptive information, respectively; (2) by alterations in cerebellar output; and (3) through enhancement of spinal motor reflex pathways. The sensory and motor effects occurred at the same time and were present in both anesthetized animals and behavioral experiments in which fear conditioning naturally activated the PAG. The results provide insights into the neural circuits that enable an animal to be ready and able to react to danger, thus assisting in survival.
Loss of RAD-23 Protects Against Models of Motor Neuron Disease by Enhancing Mutant Protein Clearance
Authors: Jablonski Angela M. , Lamitina Todd , Liachko Nicole F. , Sabatella Mariangela , Lu Jiayin , Zhang Lei , Ostrow Lyle W. , Gupta Preetika , Wu Chia-Yen , Doshi Shachee , Mojsilovic-Petrovic Jelena , Lans Hannes , Wang Jiou , Kraemer Brian , Kalb Robert G. 
Published: October 2015

Misfolded proteins accumulate and aggregate in neurodegenerative disease. The existence of these deposits reflects a derangement in the protein homeostasis machinery. Using a candidate gene screen, we report that loss of RAD-23 protects against the toxicity of proteins known to aggregate in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Loss of RAD-23 suppresses the locomotor deficit ofCaenorhabditis elegansengineered to express mutTDP-43 or mutSOD1 and also protects against aging and proteotoxic insults. Knockdown of RAD-23 is further neuroprotective against the toxicity of SOD1 and TDP-43 expression in mammalian neurons. Biochemical investigation indicates that RAD-23 modifies mutTDP-43 and mutSOD1 abundance, solubility, and turnover in association with altering the ubiquitination status of these substrates. In human amyotrophic lateral sclerosis spinal cord, we find that RAD-23 abundance is increased and RAD-23 is mislocalized within motor neurons. We propose a novel pathophysiological function for RAD-23 in the stabilization of mutated proteins that cause neurodegeneration.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTIn this work, we identify RAD-23, a component of the protein homeostasis network and nucleotide excision repair pathway, as a modifier of the toxicity of two disease-causing, misfolding-prone proteins, SOD1 and TDP-43. Reducing the abundance of RAD-23 accelerates the degradation of mutant SOD1 and TDP-43 and reduces the cellular content of the toxic species. The existence of endogenous proteins that act as “anti-chaperones” uncovers new and general targets for therapeutic intervention.
Savings upon Re-Aiming in Visuomotor Adaptation
Authors: Morehead J. Ryan , Qasim Salman E. , Crossley Matthew J. , Ivry Richard 
Published: October 2015

Sensorimotor adaptation has traditionally been viewed as a purely error-based process. There is, however, growing appreciation for the idea that performance changes in these tasks can arise from the interplay of error-based adaptation with other learning processes. The challenge is to specify constraints on these different processes, elucidating their respective contributions to performance, as well as the manner in which they interact. We address this question by exploring constraints on savings, the phenomenon in which people show faster performance gains when the same learning task is repeated. In a series of five experiments, we demonstrate that error-based learning associated with sensorimotor adaptation does not contribute to savings. Instead, savings reflects improvements in action selection, rather than motor execution.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTSavings is the phenomenon in which people show faster relearning of a previously forgotten memory. In the motor learning domain, this phenomenon has been a puzzle for learning models that operate exclusively on error-based learning processes. We demonstrate, in a series of experiments, that savings selectively reflects improvements in action selection: Participants are more adept in invoking an appropriate aiming strategy when presented with a previously experienced perturbation. Indeed, improvements in action selection appear to be the sole source of savings in visuomotor adaptation tasks. We observe no evidence of savings in implicit error-based adaptation.
Congruent Visual Speech Enhances Cortical Entrainment to Continuous Auditory Speech in Noise-Free Conditions
Authors: Crosse Michael J. , Butler John S. , Lalor Edmund C. 
Published: October 2015

Congruent audiovisual speech enhances our ability to comprehend a speaker, even in noise-free conditions. When incongruent auditory and visual information is presented concurrently, it can hinder a listener's perception and even cause him or her to perceive information that was not presented in either modality. Efforts to investigate the neural basis of these effects have often focused on the special case of discrete audiovisual syllables that are spatially and temporally congruent, with less work done on the case of natural, continuous speech. Recent electrophysiological studies have demonstrated that cortical response measures to continuous auditory speech can be easily obtained using multivariate analysis methods. Here, we apply such methods to the case of audiovisual speech and, importantly, present a novel framework for indexing multisensory integration in the context of continuous speech. Specifically, we examine how the temporal and contextual congruency of ongoing audiovisual speech affects the cortical encoding of the speech envelope in humans using electroencephalography. We demonstrate that the cortical representation of the speech envelope is enhanced by the presentation of congruent audiovisual speech in noise-free conditions. Furthermore, we show that this is likely attributable to the contribution of neural generators that are not particularly active during unimodal stimulation and that it is most prominent at the temporal scale corresponding to syllabic rate (2–6 Hz). Finally, our data suggest that neural entrainment to the speech envelope is inhibited when the auditory and visual streams are incongruent both temporally and contextually.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTSeeing a speaker's face as he or she talks can greatly help in understanding what the speaker is saying. This is because the speaker's facial movements relay information about what the speaker is saying, but also, importantly, when the speaker is saying it. Studying how the brain uses this timing relationship to combine information from continuous auditory and visual speech has traditionally been methodologically difficult. Here we introduce a new approach for doing this using relatively inexpensive and noninvasive scalp recordings. Specifically, we show that the brain's representation of auditory speech is enhanced when the accompanying visual speech signal shares the same timing. Furthermore, we show that this enhancement is most pronounced at a time scale that corresponds to mean syllable length.
CaMKII Controls Whether Touch Is Painful
Authors: Yu Hongwei , Pan Bin , Weyer Andy , Wu Hsiang-En , Meng Jingwei , Fischer Gregory , Vilceanu Daniel , Light Alan R. , Stucky Cheryl , Rice Frank L. , Hudmon Andy , Hogan Quinn 
Published: October 2015

The sensation of touch is initiated when fast conducting low-threshold mechanoreceptors (Aβ-LTMRs) generate impulses at their terminals in the skin. Plasticity in this system is evident in the process of adaption, in which a period of diminished sensitivity follows prior stimulation. CaMKII is an ideal candidate for mediating activity-dependent plasticity in touch because it shifts into an enhanced activation state after neuronal depolarizations and can thereby reflect past firing history. Here we show that sensory neuron CaMKII autophosphorylation encodes the level of Aβ-LTMR activity in rat models of sensory deprivation (whisker clipping, tail suspension, casting). Blockade of CaMKII signaling limits normal adaptation of action potential generation in Aβ-LTMRs in excised skin. CaMKII activity is also required for natural filtering of impulse trains as they travel through the sensory neuron T-junction in the DRG. Blockade of CaMKII selectively in presynaptic Aβ-LTMRs removes dorsal horn inhibition that otherwise prevents Aβ-LTMR input from activating nociceptive lamina I neurons. Together, these consequences of reduced CaMKII function in Aβ-LTMRs cause low-intensity mechanical stimulation to produce pain behavior. We conclude that, without normal sensory activity to maintain adequate levels of CaMKII function, the touch pathway shifts into a pain system. In the clinical setting, sensory disuse may be a critical factor that enhances and prolongs chronic pain initiated by other conditions.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThe sensation of touch is served by specialized sensory neurons termed low-threshold mechanoreceptors (LTMRs). We examined the role of CaMKII in regulating the function of these neurons. Loss of CaMKII function, such as occurred in rats during sensory deprivation, elevated the generation and propagation of impulses by LTMRs, and altered the spinal cord circuitry in such a way that low-threshold mechanical stimuli produced pain behavior. Because limbs are protected from use during a painful condition, this sensitization of LTMRs may perpetuate pain and prevent functional rehabilitation.
Neuronal Migration Dynamics in the Developing Ferret Cortex
Authors: Gertz Caitlyn C. , Kriegstein Arnold R. 
Published: October 2015

During mammalian neocortical development, newborn excitatory and inhibitory neurons must migrate over long distances to reach their final positions within the cortical plate. In the lissencephalic rodent brain, pyramidal neurons are born in the ventricular and subventricular zones of the pallium and migrate along radial glia fibers to reach the appropriate cortical layer. Although much less is known about neuronal migration in species with a gyrencephalic cortex, retroviral studies in the ferret and primate suggest that, unlike the rodent, pyramidal neurons do not follow strict radial pathways and instead can disperse horizontally. However, the means by which pyramidal neurons laterally disperse remain unknown. In this study, we identified a viral labeling technique for visualizing neuronal migration in the ferret, a gyrencephalic carnivore, and found that migration was predominantly radial at early postnatal ages. In contrast, neurons displayed more tortuous migration routes with a decreased frequency of cortical plate-directed migration at later stages of neurogenesis concomitant with the start of brain folding. This was accompanied by neurons migrating sequentially along several different radial glial fibers, suggesting a mode by which pyramidal neurons may laterally disperse in a folded cortex. These findings provide insight into the migratory behavior of neurons in gyrencephalic species and provide a framework for using nonrodent model systems for studying neuronal migration disorders.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTElucidating neuronal migration dynamics in the gyrencephalic, or folded, cortex is important for understanding neurodevelopmental disorders. Similar to the rodent, we found that neuronal migration was predominantly radial at early postnatal ages in the gyrencephalic ferret cortex. Interestingly, ferret neurons displayed more tortuous migration routes and a decreased frequency of radial migration at later ages coincident with the start of cortical folding. We found that ferret neurons use several different radial glial fibers as migratory guides, including those belonging to the recently described outer radial glia, suggesting a mechanism by which ferret neurons disperse laterally. It is likely that excitatory neurons horizontally disperse in other gyrencephalic mammals, including the primate, suggesting an important modification to the current model deduced primarily from the rodent.