bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Review of Commercial Vehicle Aerodynamic Drag Reduction Techniques
Authors: Garry K P 
Published: April 2010

The aerodynamic characteristics of commercial vehicles have been of interest to researchers for many years, primarily with a view to reducing drag and consequently improving fuel efficiency. Despite developments in the design of low drag vehicles proprietary devices in various forms remain the most effective method of reducing drag on the majority of vehicles in current use. The relative effectiveness of these devices is discussed in relation to the variety of vehicle geometries to which they are fitted and performance assessments are made, particularly with reference to the need for crosswind efficiency. A general summary of potential aerodynamic developments is given, emphasizing the concept of matching the flowfield of cab and container to obtain optimum interference. The effectiveness of cab–container gap seals and trailer side skirts, both intended to reduce drag under crosswind conditions, is also discussed. All such developments are taken in the context of existing commercial and legal constraints likely to influence their impact on the next generation of commercial vehicles.
The Dynamic Stability of Mobile Cranes
Authors: Eden J F , Homer P , Butler A J 
Published: April 2010

Overturning occurs in an unacceptabtably high proportion of accidents to mobile cranes. These are often considered to operate as static machines and empirical factors are used to make allowance for dynamic effects. This paper examines a number of static and dynamic effects that contribute to a reduction in crane stability. It introduces the concept of a ‘stability quotient’ to indicate the ratio of an overturning moment under dynamic conditions to its static equivalent. The results of tests to verify theoretical findings are discussed. A reduction in slewing speeds is one of the principal recommendations.
The Value of Flexibility in Make-to-Order Systems: The Effect of Demand Correlation
Authors: Chod Jiri , Pyke David , Rudi Nils 
Published: April 2010

We consider a manufacturer of mass-customized modular products who orders components under demand uncertainty, and sets prices, produces to order, and trades excess components in a secondary market after this uncertainty is resolved. The sequence of events reflects, in a parsimonious fashion, the considerable reduction in demand uncertainty between the procurement stage and the selling season, typical of industries with long supply lead times and short product life cycles. We prove that, in contrast to conventional wisdom, the value of production flexibility and expected profit increase with demand correlation if, and only if, commonality between the corresponding products does not exceed a threshold. We also prove that the value of flexibility and expected profit may each increase or decrease with demand variability, depending on demand correlations and component commonalities across the entire product line. Finally, we prove that when demand shocks are independent, the optimal product prices are positively correlated if, and only if, the degree of commonality between the corresponding products exceeds a threshold.
Reduction of Earth Pressure on Buried Pipes by EPS Geofoam Inclusions
Authors: Kim H. , Choi B. , Kim J. 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
This paper presents the experimental study that investigated the applicability of compressible inclusion, expanded polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam panels, placed over a buried pipe. A series of model tests was conducted to identify the optimal EPS geometry. The tests employed multiple sections of EPS for imperfect ditch condition. Full-scale tests were also performed to calibrate the reduction in earth pressure due to the placement of double layers of EPS. In the model tests, one layer of EPS Geofoam reduced the vertical earth pressure acting on the pipe up to 73 % depending on the width of EPS. Double layers of EPS could induce the reduction of vertical earth pressure on the pipe as much as 71 % and horizontal earth pressure on the pipe about 60 % depending on the spacing between Geofoam inclusions. The full-scale test results indicated that the magnitude of the vertical pressure decreased by about 31 %–36 %. In case of horizontal pressure, 37 % reduction was observed for double layers of EPS while only 5 % reduction was found for a single layer of EPS. This study demonstrates that multiple layers of EPS provide better solutions in reducing the earth pressure on a pipe.
Modified Null Pressure Plate Apparatus for Measurement of Matric Suction
Authors: Power Kenton C. , Vanapalli Sai K. 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
The null pressure plate apparatus is conventionally used in the measurement of matric suction of fine-grained unsaturated soil specimens applying the axis-translation technique. This apparatus is typically used to measure the matric suction in the range of 50–500 kPa in a laboratory environment. This paper provides design and construction details of the modifications and improvements to the conventionally used null pressure plate apparatus to promote the accuracy and repeatability of matric suction measurements. Several test results of matric suction measurements on compacted Indian Head till specimens over a suction range of 30–300 kPa are reported using both the modified null pressure plate and the contact filter paper technique. The results indicate that there is a good comparison between these two techniques on identically prepared specimens.
Surprising Fitness Consequences of GC-Biased Gene Conversion: I. Mutation Load and Inbreeding Depression
Authors: Glémin Sylvain 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
GC-biased gene conversion (gBGC) is a recombination-associated process mimicking selection in favor of G and C alleles. It is increasingly recognized as a widespread force in shaping the genomic nucleotide landscape. In recombination hotspots, gBGC can lead to bursts of fixation of GC nucleotides and to accelerated nucleotide substitution rates. It was recently shown that these episodes of strong gBGC could give spurious signatures of adaptation and/or relaxed selection. There is also evidence that gBGC could drive the fixation of deleterious amino acid mutations in some primate genes. This raises the question of the potential fitness effects of gBGC. While gBGC has been metaphorically termed the “Achilles' heel” of our genome, we do not know whether interference between gBGC and selection merely has practical consequences for the analysis of sequence data or whether it has broader fundamental implications for individuals and populations. I developed a population genetics model to predict the consequences of gBGC on the mutation load and inbreeding depression. I also used estimates available for humans to quantitatively evaluate the fitness impact of gBGC. Surprising features emerged from this model: (i) Contrary to classical mutation load models, gBGC generates a fixation load independent of population size and could contribute to a significant part of the load; (ii) gBGC can maintain recessive deleterious mutations for a long time at intermediate frequency, in a similar way to overdominance, and these mutations generate high inbreeding depression, even if they are slightly deleterious; (iii) since mating systems affect both the selection efficacy and gBGC intensity, gBGC challenges classical predictions concerning the interaction between mating systems and deleterious mutations, and gBGC could constitute an additional cost of outcrossing; and (iv) if mutations are biased toward A and T alleles, very low gBGC levels can reduce the load. A robust prediction is that the gBGC level minimizing the load depends only on the mutational bias and population size. These surprising results suggest that gBGC may have nonnegligible fitness consequences and could play a significant role in the evolution of genetic systems. They also shed light on the evolution of gBGC itself.
Ritual Genital Cutting of Female Minors
Authors:   Committee on Bioethics
Published: April 2010

This Policy Statement was retired May 2010.
The traditional custom of ritual cutting and alteration of the genitalia of female infants, children, and adolescents, referred to as female genital mutilation or female genital cutting (FGC), persists primarily in Africa and among certain communities in the Middle East and Asia. Immigrants in the United States from areas in which FGC is common may have daughters who have undergone a ritual genital procedure or may request that such a procedure be performed by a physician. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that pediatricians and pediatric surgical specialists should be aware that this practice has life-threatening health risks for children and women. The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes all types of female genital cutting that pose risks of physical or psychological harm, counsels its members not to perform such procedures, recommends that its members actively seek to dissuade families from carrying out harmful forms of FGC, and urges its members to provide patients and their parents with compassionate education about the harms of FGC while remaining sensitive to the cultural and religious reasons that motivate parents to seek this procedure for their daughters.
Sedimentary architecture of the Loire River drowned valleys of the French Atlantic shelf
Authors: Proust Jean-Noël , Renault Mathieu , Guennoc Pol , Thinon Isabelle 
Published: April 2010

AbstractThe analysis of a dense grid of high resolution seismic profiles collected offshore the present day Loire River estuary indicates the presence of a thick and complex Pleistocene coastal wedge between the coast and 50 meters water depth. Most of this coastal wedge is preserved in a fossil valley network starting 10 km off the coast on the “Precontinent Breton” topographies and wedging out progressively 50 km in the offshore where the shelf flattens. This system is comprised of three main valleys 30 km long, 40–60 m deep and 0.7 to 4 km wide each, in average, with a northern valley incompletely filled by sediment. These valleys are incised into Eocene (Ypresian-Bartonian) sedimentary rocks lying unconformably on the metamorphic and magmatic rocks of the South Armorican Massif basement. The coastal wedge is comprised of six seismic units. From the base of the valleys to the seafloor, these units are successively interpreted as (1) colluvial (U1) and braided river deposits (U2), overlain by restricted marine to estuarine sediments (U3), and (2) straight to meandering fluvial deposits (U4) giving rise vertically to floodout marine sediments (U5). The whole sediment pile is capped by open marine bioturbated mudstones (U6).This succession of seismic units is organised in two depositional sequences bounded by an unconformity of regional extent, which corresponds to a drastic change in the paleovalley fill architecture. The lower sequence fills up the southern and central valleys when the upper sequence fills up the northern valley network. Both sequences are sharply truncated by a ravinement surface at the base of the offshore shales formed during the Holocene marine transgression. The correlation of the observed depth of the incisions and transgression surfaces with the global sea-level curve provides an indirect estimate of the ages of the depositional sequences. The lower sequence is probably Saalian (130–200 Ka, MIS 6) and the upper one Weischelian (110–12 Ka, MIS 2–4 and 5a–d). The ages and the infill of these valleys are very close to the ones observed in the largest paleovalleys of the inner French Atlantic shelf (Gironde, English Channel) and consistent with the sedimentary record of the continental Loire River (stepped terraces). In the later case, the Saalian period corresponds to a sharp increase on the incision of the river that shaped the morphology and determined the location of the present-day Loire valley.
Sedimentary record of environmental changes and human interferences in a macrotidal bay for the last millenaries: the Marennes-Oléron Bay (SW France)
Authors: Allard Jonathan , Chaumillon Eric , Bertin Xavier , Poirier Clément , Ganthy Florian 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
This synthesis of the morphological and stratigraphical evolutions of the Marennes-Oléron Bay (west coast of France) combines bathymetric data (1824 and 2003) and very high-resolution seismic profiling groundtruthed by vibracore samples. The Marennes-Oléron Bay is characterised by a very high sedimentation rate and appears to be an ideal place to investigate the sedimentary record of the major environmental changes that occurred since the last several millennia.
The sediment budget of the Marennes-Oléron Bay, between 1824 and 2003, is clearly positive. The flood-dominated northern Marennes-Oléron Bay displays sediment gain in both intertidal and subtidal areas whereas the ebb-dominated southern Marennes-Oléron Bay displays sediment gain restricted to the intertidal area and deepening of subtidal channels. In addition, human influences such as oyster farming may play a role in the sediment gain of the bay.
The sediment-fill of the northern Marennes-Oléron Bay consists of five main phases: (1) lenticular units and flooded intertidal flats recording lower sea level periods before 7500 yr B.P.; (2) tidal channel-fills recording changes in tidal drainage pattern from 7500 to 5000 yr B.P.; (3) a subtidal unit which constitutes the main phase of sediment fill in the northern part of the bay from 5000 to 1500 yr B.P.; (4) a major channelized erosional surface related to huge coastline changes from 1500 to 1000 yr B.P.; and (5) a mud drape emplaced during the last millennia and potentially recording historical human impact (deforestation and land reclamation). The sediment fill of the southern Marennes-Oléron consists of sandbanks, mixed sand-and-mud flats and tidal channels, mainly emplaced under wave-and-tide processes since the last centuries.
Despite its relatively thin (20 m at the maximum), recent and rapid sediment fill, the stratigraphic organization and morphological evolution of the Marennes-Oléron Bay is very complex and spatially variable. Like in many other estuaries, sediment fill of the Marennes-Oléron Bay was successively controlled by relative sea level changes, and then by sediment supply driven by hydrodynamic changes related to huge coastline migrations, and finally by human activities. Moreover, this kind of “rocky coast” estuary, where the sediment-fill is very thin and discontinuous, is characterised by a bedrock control at each phases of the sediment fill both in terms of preservation in topographic lows and in terms of control on hydrodynamics and related sediment input.
Quaternary compound incised valleys of the Roussillon coast (SE France): correlation of seismic data with core data
Authors: Tesson Michel , Labaune Caroline , Gensous Bernard , Delhaye-Prat Vincent 
Published: April 2010

AbstractA detailed study of a Pliocene to Quaternary incised-valley system located under the Roussillon coastal area (Gulf of Lion) is carried out by means of a high-resolution seismic data set (coastal lagoons and adjacent shelf area), drill reports and analysis of a cored drill (Leucate SC1) performed in 2007 on the barrier beach in the North of Leucate lagoon.The lowermost surface (S100/S200), correlated with a pebbles level on the Leucate core SC1 (R0), erosionnally overlies pliocene deposits. It is incised by a thalweg 15 m depth and deepens progressively from the coastal plain to the outer shelf and dips under the Quaternary forced regressive wedges.Above this basal surface, the infilling of the incised valley corresponds to the seismic unit U1. The lower part of U1 shows continuous sub-horizontal reflectors and is correlated (Leucate SC1) to marine muds with levels of mud-supported gravels (body B). The upper part of unit U1 comprises seismic erosional reflectors that are almost amalgamated under the barrier beach. It is correlated on the Leucate well to body C comprising coarse levels (gravels and pebbles) alternating with marine muds (lower part) and marine coarse sands (upper part). The upper part of the unit is dated 12900 cal yr B.P. This unit is interpreted as resulting of successive phases of incision and infilling due to base-level changes during Pleistocene glacial and interglacial periods. Coarse levels of sand and gravel corresponding to river stages and sands and muds shelly levels representing marine stages.The overlying units represent post-glacial late transgressive (S650) and highstand (U660, U661, U662) deposits.This system is a rare example of well preserved compound incised valleys correlated offshore with Quaternary lowstand wedges.By comparison, the incised valleys along the Atlantic coast of France are “simple” incised valleys where only the last episode of incision/infilling is observable. The Quaternary “compound” incised valleys cited in the literature represent examples of the fluvial part of incised systems, whereas the Languedoc-Roussillon incised valleys probably correspond to estuary or embayment, successively reoccupied during the various Quaternary eustatic cycles.Tectonics is the main factor controlling the depositional stratigraphic architecture. The studied area is located at the hinge point between continental uplift and marine subsidence and favoured the preservation of successive phases of erosion/infilling. The geometry of the Pliocene deposits has also an impact on the shape and orientation of the buried paleovalleys.
The Late Holocene sediment infilling and beach barrier dynamics of the Thau lagoon (Gulf of Lions, Mediterranean sea, SE France)
Authors: Ferrer Pierre , Benabdellouahed Massinissa , Certain Raphaël , Tessier Bernadette , Barusseau Jean-Paul , Bouchette Frédéric 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
A study combining very high resolution seismic and sediment core data has been carried out on the Thau lagoon (Mediterranean coast, microtidal setting, SE France) in order to understand more clearly the dynamics and Holocene chronology of its closure through the different stages of its filling. One main seismic unit (U2) has been defined into the infill, above the rocky basement (U0) and a composite unit U1, which is interpreted as remnants of Pleistocene fluvial terraces or/and to early marine Holocene deposits. Unit U2, that reaches locally 9 m in thickness, rests conformably on U1 in the central part of the lagoon and onlaps U0 or U1 close to the edge of the lagoon. It is divided in two sub-units, U2-1 and U2-2. U2-2 rests paraconformably on U2-1 in the central part of the lagoon where the infill is the thickest, while a marked erosional unconformity is observed between U2-1 and U2-2 on topographic highs of the basement and on the seaward edge of the lagoon. A total of seven elementary sequences have been observed in U2-1 and U2-2.
According to core data, U2 consists in a series of mud-dominated sequences, with shell fragments dispersed at the base. The vertical distribution of the fauna into U2-1 and U2-2 reveals a lagoonal environment. However in U2-1, marine species are more abundant in the south of the lagoon. 14C AMS dating provides three ages: ~ 6000 cal yr B.P. in the lower part of U2-1 on CAL1, ~ 5400 cal yr B.P. just above the boundary between U2-1 and U2-2 on CAL4, ~ 3000 cal yr B.P. in the middle of U2-2 on CAL4.
A scenario to explain the lagoon infill stratigraphy and geometry is proposed. The beginning of the lagoon infill occurred with the initiation of the barrier construction, as soon as the sea-level rise slowed down significantly, i.e. between 7000–6000 yr B.P. The sediment-fill began into the back-barrier system, with a high rate of sedimentation for U2-1, according to the radiocarbon data. At 5400 yr B.P., the barrier is assumed to be totally closed leading to the deposition of the fully lagoonal U2-2 succession. The unconformity between U2-1 and U2-2 is interpreted as the result of a rapid landward retreat of the barrier. This severe retreat could be related to climate forcing and/or brutal change in sediment discharge driven by the Rhône River, which is the main sediment source of the longshore drift. In this scenario, the last sub-unit, U2-2, represents most of the late Holocene infill. In this framework, the elementary sequences observed in U2-2 could be related to high frequency climate changes of about 1000–1500 years periodicity according to 14C dates.
Stratigraphic records and variability of incised valleys and estuaries along French coasts
Authors: Chaumillon Eric , Tessier Bernadette , Reynaud Jean-Yves 
Published: April 2010

AbstractSome of the striking results of the papers published in the special publication “French Incised valleys, estuaries and lagoons” of the Bulletin de la Société géologique de France are presented and compared. The selection of papers within this volume focuses exclusively on the recent progress made on modern French incised valleys, estuaries and lagoons around the coasts of France. Those papers together with abundant papers recently published on modern French incised valleys provide new insights for the knowledge on these sedimentary systems. The large amount of new results obtained is indebted to an extensive exploration within a large variety of estuaries, lagoons and coastal areas, from macrotidal tide-dominated, to microtidal wave-dominated, with also meso- to macrotidal mixed tide- and wave-dominated estuaries. These data allow comparing incised valleys within the same setting of tectonically stable and sediment starved margins, but showing contrasted conditions of hydrodynamics, sediment supply and bedrock control. At a stratigraphic level, sea-level variation is the main parameter controlling incised valley formation and sediment fill. The first-order controlling factor explaining the observed variations in valley fills is hydrodynamics. Three valley-fill categories are highlighted: tide-dominated, mixed tide-and-wave and wave-dominated, that match the classification based on hydrodynamics and morphology of present-day estuaries or lagoons. The second-order controlling factor explaining the observed variations in valley fills is the antecedent morphology of the bedrock, which in turn controls hydrodynamics and sediment supply. Finally, a promising result is the demonstration of the potential of incised valley fills to record high frequency environmental changes related to climate events and human activities.
Holocene sedimentary infilling of a tide-dominated estuarine mouth. The example of the macrotidal Seine estuary (NW France)
Authors: Tessier Bernadette , Delsinne Nicolas , Sorrel Philippe 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
The results of a seismo-stratigraphic study performed to study the Holocene sedimentary infilling at the mouth of the Seine River are presented. Combined data comprise very high resolution seismic reflection profiles, vibrocores, up to 4.5 m long, radiocarbon dating and old bathymetric charts. The infill is divided into two main stages: the transgressive systems tract, relative to the early Holocene high rate of sea-level rise, from 9000 to 7000 cal B.P., made of fine-grained, organic-rich, tidal flat to swamp deposits; the highstand systems tract, relative to the middle to late Holocene low rate of sea-level rise, from 7000 to 3000 cal B.P., characterized by the development of the high energy estuarine body above the main axis of the incised valley. Simultaneously, on the southern edge of the valley, a coastal barrier constructed above a bedrock plateau under the dominant action of waves. At 3000 cal B.P., probably in relation to a major climatic deterioration, the destruction of the barrier occurred and the tidal estuarine body expanded finally over the whole incised valley area. The rate of sea-level rise and the bedrock morphology appear to be the two main key-factors that control the sedimentary infilling architecture of this macrotidal, tide-dominated estuarine setting at the pluri-millenium Holocene time scale. Also, rapid climate changes determine part of the infill pattern, especially during the late Holocene sea-level highstand context.