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Sample records for reinforced heterogeneous multiple

  1. Implications of Heterogeneity in Multiple Myeloma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjay de Mel

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Multiple myeloma is the second most common hematologic malignancy in the world. Despite improvement in outcome, the disease is still incurable for most patients. However, not all myeloma are the same. With the same treatment, some patients can have very long survival whereas others can have very short survival. This suggests that there is underlying heterogeneity in myeloma. Studies over the years have revealed multiple layers of heterogeneity. First, clinical parameters such as age and tumor burden could significantly affect outcome. At the genetic level, there are also significant heterogeneity ranging for chromosome numbers, genetic translocations, and genetic mutations. At the clonal level, there appears to be significant clonal heterogeneity with multiple clones coexisting in the same patient. At the cell differentiation level, there appears to be a hierarchy of clonally related cells that have different clonogenic potential and sensitivity to therapies. These levels of complexities present challenges in terms of treatment and prognostication as well as monitoring of treatment. However, if we can clearly delineate and dissect this heterogeneity, we may also be presented with unique opportunities for precision and personalized treatment of myeloma. Some proof of concepts of such approaches has been demonstrated.

  2. Heterogeneity in the multiple myeloma tumor clone

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Guikema, JEJ; Hovenga, S; Vellenga, E; Bos, NA

    Multiple Myeloma ( MM) is a plasma cell malignancy which is characterized by a very heterogeneous disease outcome. Heterogeneity in plasma cell characteristics, including morphology, maturation status, immunophenotype and genetic abnormalities partly account for the variable disease outcome.

  3. Heterogeneity in the multiple myeloma tumor clone

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Guikema, Jeroen E. J.; Hovenga, Sjoerd; Vellenga, Edo; Bos, Nicolaas A.

    2004-01-01

    Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy which is characterized by a very heterogeneous disease outcome. Heterogeneity in plasma cell characteristics, including morphology, maturation status, immunophenotype and genetic abnormalities partly account for the variable disease outcome. Although

  4. Adaptive Load Balancing of Parallel Applications with Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning on Heterogeneous Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johan Parent

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available We report on the improvements that can be achieved by applying machine learning techniques, in particular reinforcement learning, for the dynamic load balancing of parallel applications. The applications being considered in this paper are coarse grain data intensive applications. Such applications put high pressure on the interconnect of the hardware. Synchronization and load balancing in complex, heterogeneous networks need fast, flexible, adaptive load balancing algorithms. Viewing a parallel application as a one-state coordination game in the framework of multi-agent reinforcement learning, and by using a recently introduced multi-agent exploration technique, we are able to improve upon the classic job farming approach. The improvements are achieved with limited computation and communication overhead.

  5. Influences on Cocaine Tolerance Assessed under a Multiple Conjunctive Schedule of Reinforcement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Jin Ho; Branch, Marc N.

    2009-01-01

    Under multiple schedules of reinforcement, previous research has generally observed tolerance to the rate-decreasing effects of cocaine that has been dependent on schedule-parameter size in the context of fixed-ratio (FR) schedules, but not under the context of fixed-interval (FI) schedules of reinforcement. The current experiment examined the…

  6. Evaluation of a Multiple-Stimulus Presentation Format for Assessing Reinforcer Preferences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeLeon, Iser G.; Iwata, Brian A.

    1996-01-01

    A study of seven adults with profound developmental disabilities compared methods for presenting stimuli during reinforcer-preference assessments. It found that a multiple-stimulus format in which selections were made without replacement may share the advantages of a paired-stimulus format and a multiple-stimulus format with replacement, while…

  7. Self-healing in single and multiple fiber(s reinforced polymer composites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Woldesenbet E.

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available You Polymer composites have been attractive medium to introduce the autonomic healing concept into modern day engineering materials. To date, there has been significant research in self-healing polymeric materials including several studies specifically in fiber reinforced polymers. Even though several methods have been suggested in autonomic healing materials, the concept of repair by bleeding of enclosed functional agents has garnered wide attention by the scientific community. A self-healing fiber reinforced polymer composite has been developed. Tensile tests are carried out on specimens that are fabricated by using the following components: hollow and solid glass fibers, healing agent, catalysts, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and a polymer resin matrix. The test results have demonstrated that single fiber polymer composites and multiple fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites with healing agents and catalysts have provided 90.7% and 76.55% restoration of the original tensile strength, respectively. Incorporation of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the healing medium of the single fiber polymer composite has provided additional efficiency. Healing is found to be localized, allowing multiple healing in the presence of several cracks.

  8. Multiple Spatial Coherence Resonances and Spatial Patterns in a Noise-Driven Heterogeneous Neuronal Network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yu-Ye; Ding Xue-Li

    2014-01-01

    Heterogeneity of the neurons and noise are inevitable in the real neuronal network. In this paper, Gaussian white noise induced spatial patterns including spiral waves and multiple spatial coherence resonances are studied in a network composed of Morris—Lecar neurons with heterogeneity characterized by parameter diversity. The relationship between the resonances and the transitions between ordered spiral waves and disordered spatial patterns are achieved. When parameter diversity is introduced, the maxima of multiple resonances increases first, and then decreases as diversity strength increases, which implies that the coherence degrees induced by noise are enhanced at an intermediate diversity strength. The synchronization degree of spatial patterns including ordered spiral waves and disordered patterns is identified to be a very low level. The results suggest that the nervous system can profit from both heterogeneity and noise, and the multiple spatial coherence resonances are achieved via the emergency of spiral waves instead of synchronization patterns. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

  9. Multiple Spatial Coherence Resonances and Spatial Patterns in a Noise-Driven Heterogeneous Neuronal Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yu-Ye; Ding, Xue-Li

    2014-12-01

    Heterogeneity of the neurons and noise are inevitable in the real neuronal network. In this paper, Gaussian white noise induced spatial patterns including spiral waves and multiple spatial coherence resonances are studied in a network composed of Morris—Lecar neurons with heterogeneity characterized by parameter diversity. The relationship between the resonances and the transitions between ordered spiral waves and disordered spatial patterns are achieved. When parameter diversity is introduced, the maxima of multiple resonances increases first, and then decreases as diversity strength increases, which implies that the coherence degrees induced by noise are enhanced at an intermediate diversity strength. The synchronization degree of spatial patterns including ordered spiral waves and disordered patterns is identified to be a very low level. The results suggest that the nervous system can profit from both heterogeneity and noise, and the multiple spatial coherence resonances are achieved via the emergency of spiral waves instead of synchronization patterns.

  10. Evidence for positive, but not negative, behavioral contrast with wheel-running reinforcement on multiple variable-ratio schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belke, Terry W; Pierce, W David

    2016-12-01

    Rats responded on a multiple variable-ratio (VR) 10 VR 10 schedule of reinforcement in which lever pressing was reinforced by the opportunity to run in a wheel for 30s in both the changed (manipulated) and unchanged components. To generate positive contrast, the schedule of reinforcement in the changed component was shifted to extinction; to generate negative contrast, the schedule was shifted to VR 3. With the shift to extinction in the changed component, wheel-running and local lever-pressing rates increased in the unchanged component, a result supporting positive contrast; however, the shift to a VR 3 schedule in the changed component showed no evidence of negative contrast in the unaltered setting, only wheel running decreased in the unchanged component. Changes in wheel-running rates across components were consistent in showing a compensation effect, depending on whether the schedule manipulation increased or decreased opportunities for wheel running in the changed component. These findings are the first to demonstrate positive behavioral contrast on a multiple schedule with wheel running as reinforcement in both components. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. On the multiple depots vehicle routing problem with heterogeneous fleet capacity and velocity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanum, F.; Hartono, A. P.; Bakhtiar, T.

    2018-03-01

    This current manuscript concerns with the optimization problem arising in a route determination of products distribution. The problem is formulated in the form of multiple depots and time windowed vehicle routing problem with heterogeneous capacity and velocity of fleet. Model includes a number of constraints such as route continuity, multiple depots availability and serving time in addition to generic constraints. In dealing with the unique feature of heterogeneous velocity, we generate a number of velocity profiles along the road segments, which then converted into traveling-time tables. An illustrative example of rice distribution among villages by bureau of logistics is provided. Exact approach is utilized to determine the optimal solution in term of vehicle routes and starting time of service.

  12. Influences on cocaine tolerance assessed under a multiple conjunctive schedule of reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Jin Ho; Branch, Marc N

    2009-11-01

    Under multiple schedules of reinforcement, previous research has generally observed tolerance to the rate-decreasing effects of cocaine that has been dependent on schedule-parameter size in the context of fixed-ratio (FR) schedules, but not under the context of fixed-interval (FI) schedules of reinforcement. The current experiment examined the effects of cocaine on key-pecking responses of White Carneau pigeons maintained under a three-component multiple conjunctive FI (10 s, 30 s, & 120 s) FR (5 responses) schedule of food presentation. Dose-effect curves representing the effects of presession cocaine on responding were assessed in the context of (1) acute administration of cocaine (2) chronic administration of cocaine and (3) daily administration of saline. Chronic administration of cocaine generally resulted in tolerance to the response-rate decreasing effects of cocaine, and that tolerance was generally independent of relative FI value, as measured by changes in ED50 values. Daily administration of saline decreased ED50 values to those observed when cocaine was administered acutely. The results show that adding a FR requirement to FI schedules is not sufficient to produce schedule-parameter-specific tolerance. Tolerance to cocaine was generally independent of FI-parameter under the present conjunctive schedules, indicating that a ratio requirement, per se, is not sufficient for tolerance to be dependent on FI parameter.

  13. Contrast and autoshaping in multiple schedules varying reinforcer rate and duration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, B E; Silberberg, A

    1978-07-01

    Thirteen master pigeons were exposed to multiple schedules in which reinforcement frequency (Experiment I) or duration (Experiment II) was varied. In Phases 1 and 3 of Experiment I, the values of the first and second components' random-interval schedules were 33 and 99 seconds, respectively. In Phase 2, these values were 99 seconds for both components. In Experiment II, a random-interval 33-second schedule was associated with each component. During Phases 1 and 3, the first and second components had hopper durations of 7.5 and 2.5 seconds respectively. During Phase 2, both components' hopper durations were 2.5 seconds. In each experiment, positive contrast obtained for about half the master subjects. The rest showed a rate increase in both components (positive induction). Each master subject's key colors and reinforcers were synchronously presented on a response-independent basis to a yoked control. Richer component key-pecking occurred during each experiment's Phases 1 and 3 among half these subjects. However, none responded during the contrast condition (unchanged component of each experiment's Phase 2). From this it is inferred that autoshaping did not contribute to the contrast and induction findings among master birds. Little evidence of local contrast (highest rate at beginning of richer component) was found in any subject. These data show that (a) contrast can occur independently from autoshaping, (b) contrast assays during equal-valued components may produce induction, (c) local contrast in multiple schedules often does not occur, and (d) differential hopper durations can produce autoshaping and contrast.

  14. Positive behavioral contrast across food and alcohol reinforcers.

    OpenAIRE

    McSweeney, F K; Melville, C L; Higa, J

    1988-01-01

    The present study examined behavioral contrast during concurrent and multiple schedules that provided food and alcohol reinforcers. Concurrent-schedule contrast occurred in the responding reinforced by food when alcohol reinforcers were removed. It also occurred in the responding reinforced by alcohol when food was removed. Multiple-schedule contrast appeared for food when alcohol reinforcers were removed, but not for alcohol when food was removed. These results show that behavioral contrast ...

  15. A multiplicative reinforcement learning model capturing learning dynamics and interindividual variability in mice

    OpenAIRE

    Bathellier, Brice; Tee, Sui Poh; Hrovat, Christina; Rumpel, Simon

    2013-01-01

    Learning speed can strongly differ across individuals. This is seen in humans and animals. Here, we measured learning speed in mice performing a discrimination task and developed a theoretical model based on the reinforcement learning framework to account for differences between individual mice. We found that, when using a multiplicative learning rule, the starting connectivity values of the model strongly determine the shape of learning curves. This is in contrast to current learning models ...

  16. Micromechanics Based Failure Analysis of Heterogeneous Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sertse, Hamsasew M.

    In recent decades, heterogeneous materials are extensively used in various industries such as aerospace, defense, automotive and others due to their desirable specific properties and excellent capability of accumulating damage. Despite their wide use, there are numerous challenges associated with the application of these materials. One of the main challenges is lack of accurate tools to predict the initiation, progression and final failure of these materials under various thermomechanical loading conditions. Although failure is usually treated at the macro and meso-scale level, the initiation and growth of failure is a complex phenomena across multiple scales. The objective of this work is to enable the mechanics of structure genome (MSG) and its companion code SwiftComp to analyze the initial failure (also called static failure), progressive failure, and fatigue failure of heterogeneous materials using micromechanics approach. The initial failure is evaluated at each numerical integration point using pointwise and nonlocal approach for each constituent of the heterogeneous materials. The effects of imperfect interfaces among constituents of heterogeneous materials are also investigated using a linear traction-displacement model. Moreover, the progressive and fatigue damage analyses are conducted using continuum damage mechanics (CDM) approach. The various failure criteria are also applied at a material point to analyze progressive damage in each constituent. The constitutive equation of a damaged material is formulated based on a consistent irreversible thermodynamics approach. The overall tangent modulus of uncoupled elastoplastic damage for negligible back stress effect is derived. The initiation of plasticity and damage in each constituent is evaluated at each numerical integration point using a nonlocal approach. The accumulated plastic strain and anisotropic damage evolution variables are iteratively solved using an incremental algorithm. The damage analyses

  17. Effect of sucrose availability on wheel-running as an operant and as a reinforcing consequence on a multiple schedule: Additive effects of extrinsic and automatic reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belke, Terry W; Pierce, W David

    2015-07-01

    As a follow up to Belke and Pierce's (2014) study, we assessed the effects of repeated presentation and removal of sucrose solution on the behavior of rats responding on a two-component multiple schedule. Rats completed 15 wheel turns (FR 15) for either 15% or 0% sucrose solution in the manipulated component and lever pressed 10 times on average (VR 10) for an opportunity to complete 15 wheel turns (FR 15) in the other component. In contrast to our earlier study, the components advanced based on time (every 8min) rather than completed responses. Results showed that in the manipulated component wheel-running rates were higher and the latency to initiate running longer when sucrose was present (15%) compared to absent (0% or water); the number of obtained outcomes (sucrose/water), however, did not differ with the presentation and withdrawal of sucrose. For the wheel-running as reinforcement component, rates of wheel turns, overall lever-pressing rates, and obtained wheel-running reinforcements were higher, and postreinforcement pauses shorter, when sucrose was present (15%) than absent (0%) in manipulated component. Overall, our findings suggest that wheel-running rate regardless of its function (operant or reinforcement) is maintained by automatically generated consequences (automatic reinforcement) and is increased as an operant by adding experimentally arranged sucrose reinforcement (extrinsic reinforcement). This additive effect on operant wheel-running generalizes through induction or arousal to the wheel-running as reinforcement component, increasing the rate of responding for opportunities to run and the rate of wheel-running per opportunity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Characterisation of cellular adhesion reinforcement by multiple bond force spectroscopy in alveolar epithelial cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Ngoc-Minh; Angely, Christelle; Andre Dias, Sofia; Planus, Emmanuelle; Filoche, Marcel; Pelle, Gabriel; Louis, Bruno; Isabey, Daniel

    2017-07-01

    Integrin-mediated adhesion is a key process by which cells physically connect with their environment, and express sensitivity and adaptation through mechanotransduction. A critical step of cell adhesion is the formation of the first bonds which individually generate weak contacts (∼tens pN) but can sustain thousand times higher forces (∼tens nN) when associated. We propose an experimental validation by multiple bond force spectroscopy (MFS) of a stochastic model predicting adhesion reinforcement permitted by non-cooperative, multiple bonds on which force is homogeneously distributed (called parallel bond configuration). To do so, spherical probes (diameter: 6.6 μm), specifically coated by RGD-peptide to bind integrins, are used to statically indent and homogenously stretch the multiple bonds created for short contact times (2 s) between the bead and the surface of epithelial cells (A549). Using different separation speeds (v = 2, 5, 10 μm/s) and measuring cellular Young's modulus as well as the local stiffness preceding local rupture events, we obtain cell-by-cell the effective loading rates both at the global cell level and at the local level of individual constitutive bonds. Local rupture forces are in the range: f*=60-115 pN , whereas global rupture (detachment) forces reach F*=0.8-1.7 nN . Global and local rupture forces both exhibit linear dependencies with the effective loading rate, the slopes of these two linear relationships providing an estimate of the number of independent integrin bonds constituting the tested multiple bond structure (∼12). The MFS method enables to validate the reinforcement of integrin-mediated adhesion induced by the multiple bond configuration in which force is homogeneously distributed amongst parallel bonds. Local rupture events observed in the course of a spectroscopy manoeuver (MFS) lead to rupture force values considered in the literature as single-integrin bonds. Adhesion reinforcement permitted by the parallel

  19. Assessing Heterogeneity of Osteolytic Lesions in Multiple Myeloma by 1H HR-MAS NMR Metabolomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurette Tavel

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Multiple myeloma (MM is a malignancy of plasma cells characterized by multifocal osteolytic bone lesions. Macroscopic and genetic heterogeneity has been documented within MM lesions. Understanding the bases of such heterogeneity may unveil relevant features of MM pathobiology. To this aim, we deployed unbiased 1H high-resolution magic-angle spinning (HR-MAS nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR metabolomics to analyze multiple biopsy specimens of osteolytic lesions from one case of pathological fracture caused by MM. Multivariate analyses on normalized metabolite peak integrals allowed clusterization of samples in accordance with a posteriori histological findings. We investigated the relationship between morphological and NMR features by merging morphological data and metabolite profiling into a single correlation matrix. Data-merging addressed tissue heterogeneity, and greatly facilitated the mapping of lesions and nearby healthy tissues. Our proof-of-principle study reveals integrated metabolomics and histomorphology as a promising approach for the targeted study of osteolytic lesions.

  20. Application of heterogeneous multiple camera system with panoramic capabilities in a harbor environment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schwering, P.B.W.; Lensen, H.A.; Broek, S.P. van den; Hollander, R.J.M. den; Mark, W. van der; Bouma, H.; Kemp, R.A.W.

    2009-01-01

    In a harbor environment threats like explosives-packed rubber boats, mine-carrying swimmers and divers must be detected in an early stage. This paper describes the integration and use of a heterogeneous multiple camera system with panoramic observation capabilities for detecting these small vessels

  1. A Reinforcement Sensor Embedded Vertical Handoff Controller for Vehicular Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Ma

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Vehicular communication platforms that provide real-time access to wireless networks have drawn more and more attention in recent years. IEEE 802.11p is the main radio access technology that supports communication for high mobility terminals, however, due to its limited coverage, IEEE 802.11p is usually deployed by coupling with cellular networks to achieve seamless mobility. In a heterogeneous cellular/802.11p network, vehicular communication is characterized by its short time span in association with a wireless local area network (WLAN. Moreover, for the media access control (MAC scheme used for WLAN, the network throughput dramatically decreases with increasing user quantity. In response to these compelling problems, we propose a reinforcement sensor (RFS embedded vertical handoff control strategy to support mobility management. The RFS has online learning capability and can provide optimal handoff decisions in an adaptive fashion without prior knowledge. The algorithm integrates considerations including vehicular mobility, traffic load, handoff latency, and network status. Simulation results verify that the proposed algorithm can adaptively adjust the handoff strategy, allowing users to stay connected to the best network. Furthermore, the algorithm can ensure that RSUs are adequate, thereby guaranteeing a high quality user experience.

  2. Finite element modelling of concrete beams reinforced with hybrid fiber reinforced bars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smring, Santa binti; Salleh, Norhafizah; Hamid, NoorAzlina Abdul; Majid, Masni A.

    2017-11-01

    Concrete is a heterogeneous composite material made up of cement, sand, coarse aggregate and water mixed in a desired proportion to obtain the required strength. Plain concrete does not with stand tension as compared to compression. In order to compensate this drawback steel reinforcement are provided in concrete. Now a day, for improving the properties of concrete and also to take up tension combination of steel and glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars promises favourable strength, serviceability, and durability. To verify its promise and support design concrete structures with hybrid type of reinforcement, this study have investigated the load-deflection behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with hybrid GFRP and steel bars by using ATENA software. Fourteen beams, including six control beams reinforced with only steel or only GFRP bars, were analysed. The ratio and the ordinate of GFRP to steel were the main parameters investigated. The behaviour of these beams was investigated via the load-deflection characteristics, cracking behaviour and mode of failure. Hybrid GFRP-Steel reinforced concrete beam showed the improvement in both ultimate capacity and deflection concomitant to the steel reinforced concrete beam. On the other hand, finite element (FE) modelling which is ATENA were validated with previous experiment and promising the good result to be used for further analyses and development in the field of present study.

  3. Algorithmic Foundation of Spectral Rarefaction for Measuring Satellite Imagery Heterogeneity at Multiple Spatial Scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocchini, Duccio

    2009-01-01

    Measuring heterogeneity in satellite imagery is an important task to deal with. Most measures of spectral diversity have been based on Shannon Information theory. However, this approach does not inherently address different scales, ranging from local (hereafter referred to alpha diversity) to global scales (gamma diversity). The aim of this paper is to propose a method for measuring spectral heterogeneity at multiple scales based on rarefaction curves. An algorithmic solution of rarefaction applied to image pixel values (Digital Numbers, DNs) is provided and discussed. PMID:22389600

  4. Complex heterogeneous tissue constructs containing multiple cell types prepared by inkjet printing technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Tao; Zhao, Weixin; Zhu, Jian-Ming; Albanna, Mohammad Z; Yoo, James J; Atala, Anthony

    2013-01-01

    This study was designed to develop a versatile method for fabricating complex and heterogeneous three-dimensional (3D) tissue constructs using simultaneous ink-jetting of multiple cell types. Human amniotic fluid-derived stem cells (hAFSCs), canine smooth muscle cells (dSMCs), and bovine aortic endothelial cells (bECs), were separately mixed with ionic cross-linker calcium chloride (CaCl(2)), loaded into separate ink cartridges and printed using a modified thermal inkjet printer. The three cell types were delivered layer-by-layer to pre-determined locations in a sodium alginate-collagen composite located in a chamber under the printer. The reaction between CaCl(2) and sodium alginate resulted in a rapid formation of a solid composite gel and the printed cells were anchored in designated areas within the gel. The printing process was repeated for several cycles leading to a complex 3D multi-cell hybrid construct. The biological functions of the 3D printed constructs were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Each of the printed cell types maintained their viability and normal proliferation rates, phenotypic expression, and physiological functions within the heterogeneous constructs. The bioprinted constructs were able to survive and mature into functional tissues with adequate vascularization in vivo. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating complex heterogeneous tissue constructs containing multiple cell types using inkjet printing technology. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. On the importance of considering heterogeneity in witnesses' competence levels when reconstructing crimes from multiple witness testimonies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waubert de Puiseau, Berenike; Greving, Sven; Aßfalg, André; Musch, Jochen

    2017-09-01

    Aggregating information across multiple testimonies may improve crime reconstructions. However, different aggregation methods are available, and research on which method is best suited for aggregating multiple observations is lacking. Furthermore, little is known about how variance in the accuracy of individual testimonies impacts the performance of competing aggregation procedures. We investigated the superiority of aggregation-based crime reconstructions involving multiple individual testimonies and whether this superiority varied as a function of the number of witnesses and the degree of heterogeneity in witnesses' ability to accurately report their observations. Moreover, we examined whether heterogeneity in competence levels differentially affected the relative accuracy of two aggregation procedures: a simple majority rule, which ignores individual differences, and the more complex general Condorcet model (Romney et al., Am Anthropol 88(2):313-338, 1986; Batchelder and Romney, Psychometrika 53(1):71-92, 1988), which takes into account differences in competence between individuals. 121 participants viewed a simulated crime and subsequently answered 128 true/false questions about the crime. We experimentally generated groups of witnesses with homogeneous or heterogeneous competences. Both the majority rule and the general Condorcet model provided more accurate reconstructions of the observed crime than individual testimonies. The superiority of aggregated crime reconstructions involving multiple individual testimonies increased with an increasing number of witnesses. Crime reconstructions were most accurate when competences were heterogeneous and aggregation was based on the general Condorcet model. We argue that a formal aggregation should be considered more often when eyewitness testimonies have to be assessed and that the general Condorcet model provides a good framework for such aggregations.

  6. Unsupervised multiple kernel learning for heterogeneous data integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariette, Jérôme; Villa-Vialaneix, Nathalie

    2018-03-15

    Recent high-throughput sequencing advances have expanded the breadth of available omics datasets and the integrated analysis of multiple datasets obtained on the same samples has allowed to gain important insights in a wide range of applications. However, the integration of various sources of information remains a challenge for systems biology since produced datasets are often of heterogeneous types, with the need of developing generic methods to take their different specificities into account. We propose a multiple kernel framework that allows to integrate multiple datasets of various types into a single exploratory analysis. Several solutions are provided to learn either a consensus meta-kernel or a meta-kernel that preserves the original topology of the datasets. We applied our framework to analyse two public multi-omics datasets. First, the multiple metagenomic datasets, collected during the TARA Oceans expedition, was explored to demonstrate that our method is able to retrieve previous findings in a single kernel PCA as well as to provide a new image of the sample structures when a larger number of datasets are included in the analysis. To perform this analysis, a generic procedure is also proposed to improve the interpretability of the kernel PCA in regards with the original data. Second, the multi-omics breast cancer datasets, provided by The Cancer Genome Atlas, is analysed using a kernel Self-Organizing Maps with both single and multi-omics strategies. The comparison of these two approaches demonstrates the benefit of our integration method to improve the representation of the studied biological system. Proposed methods are available in the R package mixKernel, released on CRAN. It is fully compatible with the mixOmics package and a tutorial describing the approach can be found on mixOmics web site http://mixomics.org/mixkernel/. jerome.mariette@inra.fr or nathalie.villa-vialaneix@inra.fr. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  7. 3D hierarchical computational model of wood as a cellular material with fibril reinforced, heterogeneous multiple layers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qing, Hai; Mishnaevsky, Leon

    2009-01-01

    A 3D hierarchical computational model of deformation and stiffness of wood, which takes into account the structures of wood at several scale levels (cellularity, multilayered nature of cell walls, composite-like structures of the wall layers) is developed. At the mesoscale, the softwood cell...... cellular model. With the use of the developed hierarchical model, the influence of the microstructure, including microfibril angles (MFAs, which characterizes the orientation of the cellulose fibrils with respect to the cell axis), the thickness of the cell wall, the shape of the cell cross...... is presented as a 3D hexagon-shape-tube with multilayered walls. The layers in the softwood cell are considered as considered as composite reinforced by microfibrils (celluloses). The elastic properties of the layers are determined with Halpin–Tsai equations, and introduced into mesoscale finite element...

  8. Dynamics and heterogeneity of brain damage in multiple sclerosis

    KAUST Repository

    Kotelnikova, Ekaterina

    2017-10-26

    Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease driving inflammatory and degenerative processes that damage the central nervous system (CNS). However, it is not well understood how these events interact and evolve to evoke such a highly dynamic and heterogeneous disease. We established a hypothesis whereby the variability in the course of MS is driven by the very same pathogenic mechanisms responsible for the disease, the autoimmune attack on the CNS that leads to chronic inflammation, neuroaxonal degeneration and remyelination. We propose that each of these processes acts more or less severely and at different times in each of the clinical subgroups. To test this hypothesis, we developed a mathematical model that was constrained by experimental data (the expanded disability status scale [EDSS] time series) obtained from a retrospective longitudinal cohort of 66 MS patients with a long-term follow-up (up to 20 years). Moreover, we validated this model in a second prospective cohort of 120 MS patients with a three-year follow-up, for which EDSS data and brain volume time series were available. The clinical heterogeneity in the datasets was reduced by grouping the EDSS time series using an unsupervised clustering analysis. We found that by adjusting certain parameters, albeit within their biological range, the mathematical model reproduced the different disease courses, supporting the dynamic CNS damage hypothesis to explain MS heterogeneity. Our analysis suggests that the irreversible axon degeneration produced in the early stages of progressive MS is mainly due to the higher rate of myelinated axon degeneration, coupled to the lower capacity for remyelination. However, and in agreement with recent pathological studies, degeneration of chronically demyelinated axons is not a key feature that distinguishes this phenotype. Moreover, the model reveals that lower rates of axon degeneration and more rapid remyelination make relapsing MS more resilient than the

  9. Dynamics and heterogeneity of brain damage in multiple sclerosis

    KAUST Repository

    Kotelnikova, Ekaterina; Kiani, Narsis A.; Abad, Elena; Martinez-Lapiscina, Elena H.; Andorra, Magi; Zubizarreta, Irati; Pulido-Valdeolivas, Irene; Pertsovskaya, Inna; Alexopoulos, Leonidas G.; Olsson, Tomas; Martin, Roland; Paul, Friedemann; Tegner, Jesper; Garcia-Ojalvo, Jordi; Villoslada, Pablo

    2017-01-01

    Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease driving inflammatory and degenerative processes that damage the central nervous system (CNS). However, it is not well understood how these events interact and evolve to evoke such a highly dynamic and heterogeneous disease. We established a hypothesis whereby the variability in the course of MS is driven by the very same pathogenic mechanisms responsible for the disease, the autoimmune attack on the CNS that leads to chronic inflammation, neuroaxonal degeneration and remyelination. We propose that each of these processes acts more or less severely and at different times in each of the clinical subgroups. To test this hypothesis, we developed a mathematical model that was constrained by experimental data (the expanded disability status scale [EDSS] time series) obtained from a retrospective longitudinal cohort of 66 MS patients with a long-term follow-up (up to 20 years). Moreover, we validated this model in a second prospective cohort of 120 MS patients with a three-year follow-up, for which EDSS data and brain volume time series were available. The clinical heterogeneity in the datasets was reduced by grouping the EDSS time series using an unsupervised clustering analysis. We found that by adjusting certain parameters, albeit within their biological range, the mathematical model reproduced the different disease courses, supporting the dynamic CNS damage hypothesis to explain MS heterogeneity. Our analysis suggests that the irreversible axon degeneration produced in the early stages of progressive MS is mainly due to the higher rate of myelinated axon degeneration, coupled to the lower capacity for remyelination. However, and in agreement with recent pathological studies, degeneration of chronically demyelinated axons is not a key feature that distinguishes this phenotype. Moreover, the model reveals that lower rates of axon degeneration and more rapid remyelination make relapsing MS more resilient than the

  10. Conditioned Reinforcement Value and Resistance to Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahan, Timothy A.; Podlesnik, Christopher A.

    2008-01-01

    Three experiments examined the effects of conditioned reinforcement value and primary reinforcement rate on resistance to change using a multiple schedule of observing-response procedures with pigeons. In the absence of observing responses in both components, unsignaled periods of variable-interval (VI) schedule food reinforcement alternated with…

  11. Multimodal diagnosis of multiple and heterogeneous liver lesions in a young patient; Multimodale Bildgebung multipler Leberlaesionen bei einem jungen Patienten

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kiessling, F.; Schlemmer, H.-P. [Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) Heidelberg (Germany). Abteilung fuer onkologische Diagnostik und Therapie

    2005-10-01

    The classification of liver lesions is often problematic in particular if they are multiple and show an heterogeneous shape. Here we report of a young patient with multiple liver lesions of up to 3 cm size. Using ultrasound, the lesions were hyper-, hypoechogen or mixed. In serial contrast enhanced CT scans some of the lesions showed the typical enhancement pattern of hemangiomas, however, the diagnosis could still not be faithfully determined for all lesions. Therefore, the patient was conducted to contrast enhanced MRI (Gd-DTPA and MnDPDP). While with Gd-DTPA some of the lesions showed a strong enhancement, they remained hypointense after administration of MnDPDP. Finally to exclude a metastatic disease a {sup 99m}Tc-erythrocyte SPECT was performed confirming the diagnosis of hemangiomas for most of the lesions. Diagnosis was not assessed by biopsy because this would only clarify the diagnosis for one or few of the lesions. The patient was subsequently followed up for 3 years and all lesions remained unchanged. This case clearly illustrates the difficulty to get a certain diagnosis of multiple liver lesions with heterogeneous appearance despite the multimodal diagnostic conduct. (orig.) [German] Bei einer Routineuntersuchung wurden bei einem jungen Patienten sonographisch multiple Leberrundherde mit hyper-, hypoechogener und gemischter Echogenitaet detektiert. Auch mittels triphasischer kontrastmittelverstaerkter CT gelang nur bei einem Teil der Herde die Einstufung als Haemangiome anhand ihres Irisblendenphaenomens. MRT-Untersuchungen unter Verwendung von Gd-DTPA und MnDPDP wurden angeschlossen. Mit Gd-DTPA zeigten einige Herde ein kraeftiges Enhancement, unter Verwendung von MnDPDP jedoch blieben sie hypointens. Auf eine Biopsie wurde verzichtet, da diese nur bei einem oder wenigen Herden die Diagnose liefern wuerde, die anderen Herde aber unter Beruecksichtigung ihrer Heterogenitaet unklar geblieben waeren. Eine Sicherung der Diagnose gelang fuer die meisten

  12. Choice between Single and Multiple Reinforcers in Concurrent-Chains Schedules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazur, James E.

    2006-01-01

    Pigeons responded on concurrent-chains schedules with equal variable-interval schedules as initial links. One terminal link delivered a single reinforcer after a fixed delay, and the other terminal link delivered either three or five reinforcers, each preceded by a fixed delay. Some conditions included a postreinforcer delay after the single…

  13. Cytokine profiles show heterogeneity of interferon-β response in multiple sclerosis patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hegen, Harald; Adrianto, Indra; Lessard, Christopher J

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To evaluate serum cytokine profiles for their utility to determine the heterogeneous responses to interferon (IFN)-β treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS: Patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) or clinically isolated syndrome receiving de novo IFN-β treatment...... were included in this prospective, observational study. Number of relapses and changes in disability were assessed 2 years prior to and 2 years after initiation of treatment. Sera were collected at baseline and after 3 months on therapy. Cytokine levels in sera were assessed by Luminex multiplex assays...

  14. Effect of heterogeneity in a horizontal well with multiple fractures on the long term forecast in shale gas reservoirs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nobakht, M.; Ambrose, R.; Clarkson, C.R. [Society of Petroleum Engineers (Canada)

    2011-07-01

    Multiple fracture horizontal wells (MFHWs) are the most popular type of method used for exploiting shale gas reservoirs. When analyzing MFHW's a homogeneous completion model is often used, but this rarely occurs in the field. This paper develops a hybrid method for forecasting MFHWs based on a heterogeneous completion and investigates the effect of completion heterogeneity on production forecasts. First, a current forecasting method for homogeneous completions was modified for heterogeneous completions. The new forecasting method was then validated using a numerical simulation. A relationship between Arps' hyperbolic decline exponent and the heterogeneity of a completion for a particular case was then developed. Lastly, a field case was analyzed to compare the impact of forecasting with and without taking a heterogeneous completion into consideration. Through analysis and simulations this paper found that the long-term forecast of MFHWs can be greatly impacted should heterogeneity of the completion be ignored.

  15. Investigation of digital light processing using fibre-reinforced polymers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hofstätter, Thomas; Pedersen, David Bue; Nielsen, Jakob Skov

    2016-01-01

    Literature research shows multiple applications of fibre-reinforced polymers (FRP) respectively in fused deposition modelling and gypsum printing influencing the quality of the products in terms of stress and strain resistance as well as flexibility. So far, applications of fibre-reinforced polym......Literature research shows multiple applications of fibre-reinforced polymers (FRP) respectively in fused deposition modelling and gypsum printing influencing the quality of the products in terms of stress and strain resistance as well as flexibility. So far, applications of fibre...... of miniaturized objects with relatively high surface quality compared to other additive manufacturing technologies. This paper aim to move fibre reinforced resin parts one step closer towards mechanically strong production-quality components....

  16. Static multiplicities in heterogeneous azeotropic distillation sequences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Esbjerg, Klavs; Andersen, Torben Ravn; Jørgensen, Sten Bay

    1998-01-01

    In this paper the results of a bifurcation analysis on heterogeneous azeotropic distillation sequences are given. Two sequences suitable for ethanol dehydration are compared: The 'direct' and the 'indirect' sequence. It is shown, that the two sequences, despite their similarities, exhibit very...... different static behavior. The method of Petlyuk and Avet'yan (1971), Bekiaris et al. (1993), which assumes infinite reflux and infinite number of stages, is extended to and applied on heterogeneous azeotropic distillation sequences. The predictions are substantiated through simulations. The static sequence...

  17. Formation Learning Control of Multiple Autonomous Underwater Vehicles With Heterogeneous Nonlinear Uncertain Dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Chengzhi; Licht, Stephen; He, Haibo

    2017-09-26

    In this paper, a new concept of formation learning control is introduced to the field of formation control of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), which specifies a joint objective of distributed formation tracking control and learning/identification of nonlinear uncertain AUV dynamics. A novel two-layer distributed formation learning control scheme is proposed, which consists of an upper-layer distributed adaptive observer and a lower-layer decentralized deterministic learning controller. This new formation learning control scheme advances existing techniques in three important ways: 1) the multi-AUV system under consideration has heterogeneous nonlinear uncertain dynamics; 2) the formation learning control protocol can be designed and implemented by each local AUV agent in a fully distributed fashion without using any global information; and 3) in addition to the formation control performance, the distributed control protocol is also capable of accurately identifying the AUVs' heterogeneous nonlinear uncertain dynamics and utilizing experiences to improve formation control performance. Extensive simulations have been conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed results.

  18. Effect of Multiple Reflow Cycles and Al2O3 Nanoparticles Reinforcement on Performance of SAC305 Lead-Free Solder Alloy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tikale, Sanjay; Prabhu, K. Narayan

    2018-05-01

    The effect of Al2O3 nanoparticles reinforcement on melting behavior, microstructure evolution at the interface and joint shear strength of 96.5Sn3Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) lead-free solder alloy subjected to multiple reflow cycles was investigated. The reinforced SAC305 solder alloy compositions were prepared by adding Al2O3 nanoparticles in different weight fractions (0.05, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 wt.%) through mechanical dispersion. Cu/solder/Cu micro-lap-shear solder joint specimens were used to assess the shear strength of the solder joint. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the melting behavior of SAC305 solder nanocomposites. The solder joint interfacial microstructure was studied using scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the increase in melting temperature (T L) and melting temperature range of the SAC305 solder alloy by addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles were not significant. In comparison with unreinforced SAC305 solder alloy, the reinforcement of 0.05-0.5 wt.% of Al2O3 nanoparticles improved the solder wettability. The addition of nanoparticles in minor quantity effectively suppressed the Cu6Sn5 IMC growth, improved the solder joint shear strength and ductility under multiple reflow cycles. However, the improvement in solder properties was less pronounced on increasing the nanoparticle content above 0.1 wt.% of the solder alloy.

  19. Response-reinforcer dependency and resistance to change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cançado, Carlos R X; Abreu-Rodrigues, Josele; Aló, Raquel Moreira; Hauck, Flávia; Doughty, Adam H

    2018-01-01

    The effects of the response-reinforcer dependency on resistance to change were studied in three experiments with rats. In Experiment 1, lever pressing produced reinforcers at similar rates after variable interreinforcer intervals in each component of a two-component multiple schedule. Across conditions, in the fixed component, all reinforcers were response-dependent; in the alternative component, the percentage of response-dependent reinforcers was 100, 50 (i.e., 50% response-dependent and 50% response-independent) or 10% (i.e., 10% response-dependent and 90% response-independent). Resistance to extinction was greater in the alternative than in the fixed component when the dependency in the former was 10%, but was similar between components when this dependency was 100 or 50%. In Experiment 2, a three-component multiple schedule was used. The dependency was 100% in one component and 10% in the other two. The 10% components differed on how reinforcers were programmed. In one component, as in Experiment 1, a reinforcer had to be collected before the scheduling of other response-dependent or independent reinforcers. In the other component, response-dependent and -independent reinforcers were programmed by superimposing a variable-time schedule on an independent variable-interval schedule. Regardless of the procedure used to program the dependency, resistance to extinction was greater in the 10% components than in the 100% component. These results were replicated in Experiment 3 in which, instead of extinction, VT schedules replaced the baseline schedules in each multiple-schedule component during the test. We argue that the relative change in dependency from Baseline to Test, which is greater when baseline dependencies are high rather than low, could account for the differential resistance to change in the present experiments. The inconsistencies in results across the present and previous experiments suggest that the effects of dependency on resistance to change are

  20. Methodology of shell structure reinforcement layout optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szafrański, Tomasz; Małachowski, Jerzy; Damaziak, Krzysztof

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents an optimization process of a reinforced shell diffuser intended for a small wind turbine (rated power of 3 kW). The diffuser structure consists of multiple reinforcement and metal skin. This kind of structure is suitable for optimization in terms of selection of reinforcement density, stringers cross sections, sheet thickness, etc. The optimisation approach assumes the reduction of the amount of work to be done between the optimization process and the final product design. The proposed optimization methodology is based on application of a genetic algorithm to generate the optimal reinforcement layout. The obtained results are the basis for modifying the existing Small Wind Turbine (SWT) design.

  1. A Context-Aware Adaptive Streaming Media Distribution System in a Heterogeneous Network with Multiple Terminals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yepeng Ni

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available We consider the problem of streaming media transmission in a heterogeneous network from a multisource server to home multiple terminals. In wired network, the transmission performance is limited by network state (e.g., the bandwidth variation, jitter, and packet loss. In wireless network, the multiple user terminals can cause bandwidth competition. Thus, the streaming media distribution in a heterogeneous network becomes a severe challenge which is critical for QoS guarantee. In this paper, we propose a context-aware adaptive streaming media distribution system (CAASS, which implements the context-aware module to perceive the environment parameters and use the strategy analysis (SA module to deduce the most suitable service level. This approach is able to improve the video quality for guarantying streaming QoS. We formulate the optimization problem of QoS relationship with the environment parameters based on the QoS testing algorithm for IPTV in ITU-T G.1070. We evaluate the performance of the proposed CAASS through 12 types of experimental environments using a prototype system. Experimental results show that CAASS can dynamically adjust the service level according to the environment variation (e.g., network state and terminal performances and outperforms the existing streaming approaches in adaptive streaming media distribution according to peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR.

  2. Multi-physics corrosion modeling for sustainability assessment of steel reinforced high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lepech, M.; Michel, Alexander; Geiker, Mette

    2016-01-01

    and widespread depassivation, are the mechanism behind experimental results of HPFRCC steel corrosion studies found in the literature. Such results provide an indication of the fundamental mechanisms by which steel reinforced HPFRCC materials may be more durable than traditional reinforced concrete and other......Using a newly developed multi-physics transport, corrosion, and cracking model, which models these phenomena as a coupled physiochemical processes, the role of HPFRCC crack control and formation in regulating steel reinforcement corrosion is investigated. This model describes transport of water...... and chemical species, the electric potential distribution in the HPFRCC, the electrochemical propagation of steel corrosion, and the role of microcracks in the HPFRCC material. Numerical results show that the reduction in anode and cathode size on the reinforcing steel surface, due to multiple crack formation...

  3. Sepsis: Multiple Abnormalities, Heterogeneous Responses, and Evolving Understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iskander, Kendra N.; Osuchowski, Marcin F.; Stearns-Kurosawa, Deborah J.; Kurosawa, Shinichiro; Stepien, David; Valentine, Catherine

    2013-01-01

    Sepsis represents the host's systemic inflammatory response to a severe infection. It causes substantial human morbidity resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Despite decades of intense research, the basic mechanisms still remain elusive. In either experimental animal models of sepsis or human patients, there are substantial physiological changes, many of which may result in subsequent organ injury. Variations in age, gender, and medical comorbidities including diabetes and renal failure create additional complexity that influence the outcomes in septic patients. Specific system-based alterations, such as the coagulopathy observed in sepsis, offer both potential insight and possible therapeutic targets. Intracellular stress induces changes in the endoplasmic reticulum yielding misfolded proteins that contribute to the underlying pathophysiological changes. With these multiple changes it is difficult to precisely classify an individual's response in sepsis as proinflammatory or immunosuppressed. This heterogeneity also may explain why most therapeutic interventions have not improved survival. Given the complexity of sepsis, biomarkers and mathematical models offer potential guidance once they have been carefully validated. This review discusses each of these important factors to provide a framework for understanding the complex and current challenges of managing the septic patient. Clinical trial failures and the therapeutic interventions that have proven successful are also discussed. PMID:23899564

  4. Sparse Group Penalized Integrative Analysis of Multiple Cancer Prognosis Datasets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jin; Huang, Jian; Xie, Yang; Ma, Shuangge

    2014-01-01

    SUMMARY In cancer research, high-throughput profiling studies have been extensively conducted, searching for markers associated with prognosis. Because of the “large d, small n” characteristic, results generated from the analysis of a single dataset can be unsatisfactory. Recent studies have shown that integrative analysis, which simultaneously analyzes multiple datasets, can be more effective than single-dataset analysis and classic meta-analysis. In most of existing integrative analysis, the homogeneity model has been assumed, which postulates that different datasets share the same set of markers. Several approaches have been designed to reinforce this assumption. In practice, different datasets may differ in terms of patient selection criteria, profiling techniques, and many other aspects. Such differences may make the homogeneity model too restricted. In this study, we assume the heterogeneity model, under which different datasets are allowed to have different sets of markers. With multiple cancer prognosis datasets, we adopt the AFT (accelerated failure time) model to describe survival. This model may have the lowest computational cost among popular semiparametric survival models. For marker selection, we adopt a sparse group MCP (minimax concave penalty) approach. This approach has an intuitive formulation and can be computed using an effective group coordinate descent algorithm. Simulation study shows that it outperforms the existing approaches under both the homogeneity and heterogeneity models. Data analysis further demonstrates the merit of heterogeneity model and proposed approach. PMID:23938111

  5. Multiple co-clustering based on nonparametric mixture models with heterogeneous marginal distributions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tokuda, Tomoki; Yoshimoto, Junichiro; Shimizu, Yu; Okada, Go; Takamura, Masahiro; Okamoto, Yasumasa; Yamawaki, Shigeto; Doya, Kenji

    2017-01-01

    We propose a novel method for multiple clustering, which is useful for analysis of high-dimensional data containing heterogeneous types of features. Our method is based on nonparametric Bayesian mixture models in which features are automatically partitioned (into views) for each clustering solution. This feature partition works as feature selection for a particular clustering solution, which screens out irrelevant features. To make our method applicable to high-dimensional data, a co-clustering structure is newly introduced for each view. Further, the outstanding novelty of our method is that we simultaneously model different distribution families, such as Gaussian, Poisson, and multinomial distributions in each cluster block, which widens areas of application to real data. We apply the proposed method to synthetic and real data, and show that our method outperforms other multiple clustering methods both in recovering true cluster structures and in computation time. Finally, we apply our method to a depression dataset with no true cluster structure available, from which useful inferences are drawn about possible clustering structures of the data.

  6. Multiple co-clustering based on nonparametric mixture models with heterogeneous marginal distributions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomoki Tokuda

    Full Text Available We propose a novel method for multiple clustering, which is useful for analysis of high-dimensional data containing heterogeneous types of features. Our method is based on nonparametric Bayesian mixture models in which features are automatically partitioned (into views for each clustering solution. This feature partition works as feature selection for a particular clustering solution, which screens out irrelevant features. To make our method applicable to high-dimensional data, a co-clustering structure is newly introduced for each view. Further, the outstanding novelty of our method is that we simultaneously model different distribution families, such as Gaussian, Poisson, and multinomial distributions in each cluster block, which widens areas of application to real data. We apply the proposed method to synthetic and real data, and show that our method outperforms other multiple clustering methods both in recovering true cluster structures and in computation time. Finally, we apply our method to a depression dataset with no true cluster structure available, from which useful inferences are drawn about possible clustering structures of the data.

  7. Multiple co-clustering based on nonparametric mixture models with heterogeneous marginal distributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshimoto, Junichiro; Shimizu, Yu; Okada, Go; Takamura, Masahiro; Okamoto, Yasumasa; Yamawaki, Shigeto; Doya, Kenji

    2017-01-01

    We propose a novel method for multiple clustering, which is useful for analysis of high-dimensional data containing heterogeneous types of features. Our method is based on nonparametric Bayesian mixture models in which features are automatically partitioned (into views) for each clustering solution. This feature partition works as feature selection for a particular clustering solution, which screens out irrelevant features. To make our method applicable to high-dimensional data, a co-clustering structure is newly introduced for each view. Further, the outstanding novelty of our method is that we simultaneously model different distribution families, such as Gaussian, Poisson, and multinomial distributions in each cluster block, which widens areas of application to real data. We apply the proposed method to synthetic and real data, and show that our method outperforms other multiple clustering methods both in recovering true cluster structures and in computation time. Finally, we apply our method to a depression dataset with no true cluster structure available, from which useful inferences are drawn about possible clustering structures of the data. PMID:29049392

  8. How should periods without social interaction be scheduled? Children's preference for practical schedules of positive reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luczynski, Kevin C; Hanley, Gregory P

    2014-01-01

    Several studies have shown that children prefer contingent reinforcement (CR) rather than yoked noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) when continuous reinforcement is programmed in the CR schedule. Preference has not, however, been evaluated for practical schedules that involve CR. In Study 1, we assessed 5 children's preference for obtaining social interaction via a multiple schedule (periods of fixed-ratio 1 reinforcement alternating with periods of extinction), a briefly signaled delayed reinforcement schedule, and an NCR schedule. The multiple schedule promoted the most efficient level of responding. In general, children chose to experience the multiple schedule and avoided the delay and NCR schedules, indicating that they preferred multiple schedules as the means to arrange practical schedules of social interaction. In Study 2, we evaluated potential controlling variables that influenced 1 child's preference for the multiple schedule and found that the strong positive contingency was the primary variable. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  9. Rapid heterogeneous assembly of multiple magma reservoirs prior to Yellowstone supereruptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wotzlaw, Jörn-Frederik; Bindeman, Ilya N; Stern, Richard A; D'Abzac, Francois-Xavier; Schaltegger, Urs

    2015-09-10

    Large-volume caldera-forming eruptions of silicic magmas are an important feature of continental volcanism. The timescales and mechanisms of assembly of the magma reservoirs that feed such eruptions as well as the durations and physical conditions of upper-crustal storage remain highly debated topics in volcanology. Here we explore a comprehensive data set of isotopic (O, Hf) and chemical proxies in precisely U-Pb dated zircon crystals from all caldera-forming eruptions of Yellowstone supervolcano. Analysed zircons record rapid assembly of multiple magma reservoirs by repeated injections of isotopically heterogeneous magma batches and short pre-eruption storage times of 10(3) to 10(4) years. Decoupled oxygen-hafnium isotope systematics suggest a complex source for these magmas involving variable amounts of differentiated mantle-derived melt, Archean crust and hydrothermally altered shallow-crustal rocks. These data demonstrate that complex magma reservoirs with multiple sub-chambers are a common feature of rift- and hotspot related supervolcanoes. The short duration of reservoir assembly documents rapid crustal remelting and two to three orders of magnitude higher magma production rates beneath Yellowstone compared to continental arc volcanoes. The short pre-eruption storage times further suggest that the detection of voluminous reservoirs of eruptible magma beneath active supervolcanoes may only be possible prior to an impending eruption.

  10. Multiple determinants of transfer of evaluative function after conditioning with free-operant schedules of reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dack, Charlotte; Reed, Phil; McHugh, Louise

    2010-11-01

    The aim of the four present experiments was to explore how different schedules of reinforcement influence schedule-induced behavior, their impact on evaluative ratings given to conditioned stimuli associated with each schedule through evaluative conditioning, and the transfer of these evaluations through derived stimulus networks. Experiment 1 compared two contrasting response reinforcement rules (variable ratio [VR], variable interval [VI]). Experiment 2 varied the response to reinforcement rule between two schedules but equated the outcome to response rate (differential reinforcement of high rate [DRH] vs. VR). Experiment 3 compared molar and molecular aspects of contingencies of reinforcement (tandem VIVR vs. tandem VRVI). Finally, Experiment 4 employed schedules that induced low rates of responding to determine whether, under these circumstances, responses were more sensitive to the molecular aspects of a schedule (differential reinforcement of low rate [DRL] vs. VI). The findings suggest that the transfer of evaluative functions is determined mainly by differences in response rate between the schedules and the molar aspects of the schedules. However, when neither schedule was based on a strong response reinforcement rule, the transfer of evaluative judgments came under the control of the molecular aspects of the schedule.

  11. Whole-body voxel-based personalized dosimetry: Multiple voxel S-value approach for heterogeneous media with non-uniform activity distributions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Min Sun; Kim, Joong Hyun; Paeng, Jin Chul; Kang, Keon Wook; Jeong, Jae Min; Lee, Dong Soo; Lee, Jae Sung

    2017-12-14

    Personalized dosimetry with high accuracy is becoming more important because of the growing interests in personalized medicine and targeted radionuclide therapy. Voxel-based dosimetry using dose point kernel or voxel S-value (VSV) convolution is available. However, these approaches do not consider medium heterogeneity. Here, we propose a new method for whole-body voxel-based personalized dosimetry for heterogeneous media with non-uniform activity distributions, which is referred to as the multiple VSV approach. Methods: The multiple numbers (N) of VSVs for media with different densities covering the whole-body density ranges were used instead of using only a single VSV for water. The VSVs were pre-calculated using GATE Monte Carlo simulation; those were convoluted with the time-integrated activity to generate density-specific dose maps. Computed tomography-based segmentation was conducted to generate binary maps for each density region. The final dose map was acquired by the summation of N segmented density-specific dose maps. We tested several sets of VSVs with different densities: N = 1 (single water VSV), 4, 6, 8, 10, and 20. To validate the proposed method, phantom and patient studies were conducted and compared with direct Monte Carlo, which was considered the ground truth. Finally, patient dosimetry (10 subjects) was conducted using the multiple VSV approach and compared with the single VSV and organ-based dosimetry approaches. Errors at the voxel- and organ-levels were reported for eight organs. Results: In the phantom and patient studies, the multiple VSV approach showed significant improvements regarding voxel-level errors, especially for the lung and bone regions. As N increased, voxel-level errors decreased, although some overestimations were observed at lung boundaries. In the case of multiple VSVs ( N = 8), we achieved voxel-level errors of 2.06%. In the dosimetry study, our proposed method showed much improved results compared to the single VSV and

  12. Organized proteomic heterogeneity in colorectal cancer liver metastases and implications for therapies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turtoi, Andrei; Blomme, Arnaud; Debois, Delphine; Somja, Joan; Delvaux, David; Patsos, Georgios; Di Valentin, Emmanuel; Peulen, Olivier; Mutijima, Eugène Nzaramba; De Pauw, Edwin; Delvenne, Philippe; Detry, Olivier; Castronovo, Vincent

    2014-03-01

    Tumor heterogeneity is a major obstacle for developing effective anticancer treatments. Recent studies have pointed to large stochastic genetic heterogeneity within cancer lesions, where no pattern seems to exist that would enable a more structured targeted therapy approach. Because to date no similar information is available at the protein (phenotype) level, we employed matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) image-guided proteomics and explored the heterogeneity of extracellular and membrane subproteome in a unique collection of eight fresh human colorectal carcinoma (CRC) liver metastases. Monitoring the spatial distribution of over 1,000 proteins, we found unexpectedly that all liver metastasis lesions displayed a reproducible, zonally delineated pattern of functional and therapeutic biomarker heterogeneity. The peritumoral region featured elevated lipid metabolism and protein synthesis, the rim of the metastasis displayed increased cellular growth, movement, and drug metabolism, whereas the center of the lesion was characterized by elevated carbohydrate metabolism and DNA-repair activity. From the aspect of therapeutic targeting, zonal expression of known and novel biomarkers was evident, reinforcing the need to select several targets in order to achieve optimal coverage of the lesion. Finally, we highlight two novel antigens, LTBP2 and TGFBI, whose expression is a consistent feature of CRC liver metastasis. We demonstrate their in vivo antibody-based targeting and highlight their potential usefulness for clinical applications. The proteome heterogeneity of human CRC liver metastases has a distinct, organized pattern. This particular hallmark can now be used as part of the strategy for developing rational therapies based on multiple sets of targetable antigens. © 2014 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

  13. Heterogeneous reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moura Neto, C. de; Nair, R.P.K.

    1979-08-01

    The microscopic study of a cell is meant for the determination of the infinite multiplication factor of the cell, which is given by the four factor formula: K(infinite) = n(epsilon)pf. The analysis of an homogeneous reactor is similar to that of an heterogeneous reactor, but each factor of the four factor formula can not be calculated by the formulas developed in the case of an homogeneous reactor. A great number of methods was developed for the calculation of heterogeneous reactors and some of them are discussed. (Author) [pt

  14. Genetic variants influencing phenotypic variance heterogeneity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ek, Weronica E; Rask-Andersen, Mathias; Karlsson, Torgny; Enroth, Stefan; Gyllensten, Ulf; Johansson, Åsa

    2018-03-01

    Most genetic studies identify genetic variants associated with disease risk or with the mean value of a quantitative trait. More rarely, genetic variants associated with variance heterogeneity are considered. In this study, we have identified such variance single-nucleotide polymorphisms (vSNPs) and examined if these represent biological gene × gene or gene × environment interactions or statistical artifacts caused by multiple linked genetic variants influencing the same phenotype. We have performed a genome-wide study, to identify vSNPs associated with variance heterogeneity in DNA methylation levels. Genotype data from over 10 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and DNA methylation levels at over 430 000 CpG sites, were analyzed in 729 individuals. We identified vSNPs for 7195 CpG sites (P mean DNA methylation levels. We further showed that variance heterogeneity between genotypes mainly represents additional, often rare, SNPs in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with the respective vSNP and for some vSNPs, multiple low frequency variants co-segregating with one of the vSNP alleles. Therefore, our results suggest that variance heterogeneity of DNA methylation mainly represents phenotypic effects by multiple SNPs, rather than biological interactions. Such effects may also be important for interpreting variance heterogeneity of more complex clinical phenotypes.

  15. Nonparametric estimation of the heterogeneity of a random medium using compound Poisson process modeling of wave multiple scattering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Bihan, Nicolas; Margerin, Ludovic

    2009-07-01

    In this paper, we present a nonparametric method to estimate the heterogeneity of a random medium from the angular distribution of intensity of waves transmitted through a slab of random material. Our approach is based on the modeling of forward multiple scattering using compound Poisson processes on compact Lie groups. The estimation technique is validated through numerical simulations based on radiative transfer theory.

  16. An evaluation of resistance to change with unconditioned and conditioned reinforcers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vargo, Kristina K; Ringdahl, Joel E

    2015-09-01

    Several reinforcer-related variables influence a response's resistance to change (Nevin, 1974). Reinforcer type (i.e., conditioned or unconditioned) is a reinforcer-related variable that has not been studied with humans but may have clinical implications. In Experiment 1, we identified unconditioned and conditioned reinforcers of equal preference. In Experiments 2, 3, and 4, we reinforced participants' behavior during a baseline phase using a multiple variable-interval (VI) 30-s VI 30-s schedule with either conditioned (i.e., token) or unconditioned (i.e., food; one type of reinforcement in each component) reinforcement. After equal reinforcement rates across components, we introduced a disruptor. Results of Experiments 2 and 3 showed that behaviors were more resistant to extinction and distraction, respectively, with conditioned than with unconditioned reinforcers. Results of Experiment 4, however, showed that when prefeeding disrupted responding, behaviors were more resistant to change with unconditioned reinforcers than with conditioned reinforcers. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  17. Intra-tumoral Heterogeneity of KRAS and BRAF Mutation Status in Patients with Advanced Colorectal Cancer (aCRC and Cost-Effectiveness of Multiple Sample Testing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan D. Richman

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available KRAS mutation status is established as a predictive biomarker of benefit from anti-EGFr therapies. Mutations are normally assessed using DNA extracted from one formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE tumor block. We assessed heterogeneity of KRAS and BRAF mutation status intra-tumorally (multiple blocks from the same primary tumor. We also investigated the utility and efficiency of genotyping a ‘DNA cocktail’ prepared from multiple blocks. We studied 68 consenting patients in two randomized clinical trials. DNA was extracted, from ≥2 primary tumor FFPE blocks per patient. DNA was genotyped by pyrosequencing for KRAS codons 12, 13 and 61 and BRAF codon 600. In patients with heterogeneous mutation status, DNA cocktails were prepared and genotyped. Among 69 primary tumors in 68 patients, 7 (10.1% showed intratumoral heterogeneity; 5 (7.2% at KRAS codons 12, 13 and 2 (2.9% at BRAF codon 600. In patients displaying heterogeneity, the relevant KRAS or BRAF mutation was also identified in ‘DNA cocktail’ samples when including DNA from mutant and wild-type blocks. Heterogeneity is uncommon but not insignificant. Testing DNA from a single block will wrongly assign wild-type status to 10% patients. Testing more than one block, or preferably preparation of a ‘DNA cocktail’ from two or more tumor blocks, improves mutation detection at minimal extra cost.

  18. Ecosystem services capacity across heterogeneous forest types: understanding the interactions and suggesting pathways for sustaining multiple ecosystem services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alamgir, Mohammed; Turton, Stephen M; Macgregor, Colin J; Pert, Petina L

    2016-10-01

    As ecosystem services supply from tropical forests is declining due to deforestation and forest degradation, much effort is essential to sustain ecosystem services supply from tropical forested landscapes, because tropical forests provide the largest flow of multiple ecosystem services among the terrestrial ecosystems. In order to sustain multiple ecosystem services, understanding ecosystem services capacity across heterogeneous forest types and identifying certain ecosystem services that could be managed to leverage positive effects across the wider bundle of ecosystem services are required. We sampled three forest types, tropical rainforests, sclerophyll forests, and rehabilitated plantation forests, over an area of 32,000m(2) from Wet Tropics bioregion, Australia, aiming to compare supply and evaluate interactions and patterns of eight ecosystem services (global climate regulation, air quality regulation, erosion regulation, nutrient regulation, cyclone protection, habitat provision, energy provision, and timber provision). On average, multiple ecosystem services were highest in the rainforests, lowest in sclerophyll forests, and intermediate in rehabilitated plantation forests. However, a wide variation was apparent among the plots across the three forest types. Global climate regulation service had a synergistic impact on the supply of multiple ecosystem services, while nutrient regulation service was found to have a trade-off impact. Considering multiple ecosystem services, most of the rehabilitated plantation forest plots shared the same ordination space with rainforest plots in the ordination analysis, indicating that rehabilitated plantation forests may supply certain ecosystem services nearly equivalent to rainforests. Two synergy groups and one trade-off group were identified. Apart from conserving rainforests and sclerophyll forests, our findings suggest two additional integrated pathways to sustain the supply of multiple ecosystem services from a

  19. Reinforcement of a plate weakened by multiple holes with several patches for different types of plate-patch attachment

    KAUST Repository

    Zemlyanova, A.

    2014-01-24

    The most general situation of the reinforcement of a plate with multiple holes by several patches is considered. There is no restriction on the number and the location of the patches. Two types of patch attachment are considered: only along the boundary of the patch or both along the boundary of the patch and the boundaries of the holes which this patch covers. The unattached boundaries of the holes may be loaded with given in-plane stresses. The mechanical problem is reduced to a system of singular integral equations which can be further reduced to a system of Fredholm equations. A new numerical procedure for the solution of the system of singular integral equations is proposed in this paper. It is demonstrated on numerical examples that this procedure has advantages in the case of multiple patches and holes and allows achievement of better numerical convergence with less computational effort.

  20. Heterogeneity within compulsive buyers: a Q-sort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thornhill, Kate; Kellett, Stephen; Davies, Jason

    2012-06-01

    This study investigated how compulsive buyers make sense of their excessive shopping behaviour to explore possible sources of heterogeneity between compulsive buyers. Twenty female participants met 'caseness' for compulsive buying (CB) on the CB Scale (CBS), prior to completing a Q-sort specifically related to their experiences of shopping. Participants provided details of occupation, income, and debt levels and completed two psychometric scales: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale-Shopping Version (YBOCS-SV). Principle component analysis (PCA) identified two groups within the compulsive buyers (labelled positive reinforcement and emotional distress) that explained 44% of the study variance. Ten women defined the positive reinforcement factor and tended to identify with pleasurable aspects of buying. Six women characterized the emotional distress factor and endorsed varied financial, emotional, and interpersonal difficulties associated with their CB. The emotional distress group carried significantly greater current debt levels and had significantly more severe CB. The study illustrates that compulsive buyers can relate to their 'symptoms' in dissimilar ways. The clinical implications of such heterogeneity are discussed, methodological shortcomings identified, and areas for future research indicated. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

  1. "Notice of Violation of IEEE Publication Principles" Multiobjective Reinforcement Learning: A Comprehensive Overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chunming; Xu, Xin; Hu, Dewen

    2013-04-29

    Reinforcement learning is a powerful mechanism for enabling agents to learn in an unknown environment, and most reinforcement learning algorithms aim to maximize some numerical value, which represents only one long-term objective. However, multiple long-term objectives are exhibited in many real-world decision and control problems; therefore, recently, there has been growing interest in solving multiobjective reinforcement learning (MORL) problems with multiple conflicting objectives. The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive overview of MORL. In this paper, the basic architecture, research topics, and naive solutions of MORL are introduced at first. Then, several representative MORL approaches and some important directions of recent research are reviewed. The relationships between MORL and other related research are also discussed, which include multiobjective optimization, hierarchical reinforcement learning, and multi-agent reinforcement learning. Finally, research challenges and open problems of MORL techniques are highlighted.

  2. The construction features of the deformation and force model of concrete and reinforced concrete resistance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romashko Vasyl

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The main features of the deformation and force model of deformation of reinforced concrete elements and structures based on generalized diagrams of their state are considered in the article. Particular attention is focused on the basic methodological problems and shortcomings of modern "deformation" models. It is shown that in the most cases these problems can be solved by the generalized diagrams of reinforced concrete elements and structures real state. Thanks to these diagrams, the developed method: provides a single methodological approach to the calculation of reinforced concrete elements and structures normal sections for limit states; allows to reveal the internal static indeterminacy of heterogeneously deformable elements and structures in their ultimate limit state calculation; justifies the application of the basic and derived criteria of reinforced concrete elements and structures bearing capacity exhaustion; retains the essence of the physical processes of concrete and reinforced concrete structures deformation. The defining positions of the generalized (universal methodology for calculating reinforced concrete elements and structures are stated.

  3. Modelling complex systems of heterogeneous agents to better design sustainability transitions policy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mercure, J.F.A.; Pollitt, H.; Bassi, A.M.; Viñuales, J.E.; Edwards, N.R.

    2016-01-01

    This article proposes a fundamental methodological shift in the modelling of policy interventions for sustainability transitions in order to account for complexity (e.g. self-reinforcing mechanisms, such as technology lock-ins, arising from multi-agent interactions) and agent heterogeneity (e.g.

  4. Multiple reversal olfactory learning in honeybees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Theo Mota

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available In multiple reversal learning, animals trained to discriminate a reinforced from a non-reinforced stimulus are subjected to various, successive reversals of stimulus contingencies (e.g. A+ vs. B-, A- vs. B+, A+ vs. B-. This protocol is useful to determine whether or not animals learn to learn and solve successive discriminations faster (or with fewer errors with increasing reversal experience. Here we used the olfactory conditioning of proboscis extension reflex to study how honeybees Apis mellifera perform in a multiple reversal task. Our experiment contemplated four consecutive differential conditioning phases involving the same odors (A+ vs. B- to A- vs. B+ to A+ vs. B- to A- vs. B+. We show that bees in which the weight of reinforced or non-reinforced stimuli was similar mastered the multiple olfactory reversals. Bees which failed the task exhibited asymmetric responses to reinforced and non-reinforced stimuli, thus being unable to rapidly reverse stimulus contingencies. Efficient reversers did not improve their successive discriminations but rather tended to generalize their choice to both odors at the end of conditioning. As a consequence, both discrimination and reversal efficiency decreasedalong experimental phases. This result invalidates a learning-to-learn effect and indicates that bees do not only respond to the actual stimulus contingencies but rather combine these with an average of past experiences with the same stimuli.  

  5. The Effects of Reinforcer Pairing and Fading on Preschoolers' Snack Selections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solberg, Katherine M.; Hanley, Gregory P.; Layer, Stacy A.; Ingvarsson, Einar T.

    2007-01-01

    The effects of reinforcement pairing and fading on preschoolers' snack selections were evaluated in a multiple baseline design. Baseline preferences for snack options were assessed via repeated paired-item preference assessments. Edible, social, and activity-based reinforcers were then exclusively paired with a less preferred snack option. Once…

  6. Multiply fully recyclable carbon fibre reinforced heat-resistant covalent thermosetting advanced composites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Yanchao; Sun, Yanxiao; Yan, Shijing; Zhao, Jianqing; Liu, Shumei; Zhang, Mingqiu; Zheng, Xiaoxing; Jia, Lei

    2017-03-02

    Nondestructive retrieval of expensive carbon fibres (CFs) from CF-reinforced thermosetting advanced composites widely applied in high-tech fields has remained inaccessible as the harsh conditions required to recycle high-performance resin matrices unavoidably damage the structure and properties of CFs. Degradable thermosetting resins with stable covalent structures offer a potential solution to this conflict. Here we design a new synthesis scheme and prepare a recyclable CF-reinforced poly(hexahydrotriazine) resin matrix advanced composite. The multiple recycling experiments and characterization data establish that this composite demonstrates performance comparable to those of its commercial counterparts, and more importantly, it realizes multiple intact recoveries of CFs and near-total recycling of the principal raw materials through gentle depolymerization in certain dilute acid solution. To our best knowledge, this study demonstrates for the first time a feasible and environment-friendly preparation-recycle-regeneration strategy for multiple CF-recycling from CF-reinforced advanced composites.

  7. CLASS-PAIR-GUIDED MULTIPLE KERNEL LEARNING OF INTEGRATING HETEROGENEOUS FEATURES FOR CLASSIFICATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Q. Wang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, many studies on remote sensing image classification have shown that using multiple features from different data sources can effectively improve the classification accuracy. As a very powerful means of learning, multiple kernel learning (MKL can conveniently be embedded in a variety of characteristics. The conventional combined kernel learned by MKL can be regarded as the compromise of all basic kernels for all classes in classification. It is the best of the whole, but not optimal for each specific class. For this problem, this paper proposes a class-pair-guided MKL method to integrate the heterogeneous features (HFs from multispectral image (MSI and light detection and ranging (LiDAR data. In particular, the one-against-one strategy is adopted, which converts multiclass classification problem to a plurality of two-class classification problem. Then, we select the best kernel from pre-constructed basic kernels set for each class-pair by kernel alignment (KA in the process of classification. The advantage of the proposed method is that only the best kernel for the classification of any two classes can be retained, which leads to greatly enhanced discriminability. Experiments are conducted on two real data sets, and the experimental results show that the proposed method achieves the best performance in terms of classification accuracies in integrating the HFs for classification when compared with several state-of-the-art algorithms.

  8. Heterogeneity in Multiple Sclerosis: Scratching the Surface of a Complex Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Disanto, Giulio; Berlanga, Antonio J.; Handel, Adam E.; Para, Andrea E.; Burrell, Amy M.; Fries, Anastasia; Handunnetthi, Lahiru; De Luca, Gabriele C.; Morahan, Julia M.

    2011-01-01

    Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Although the etiology and the pathogenesis of MS has been extensively investigated, no single pathway, reliable biomarker, diagnostic test, or specific treatment have yet been identified for all MS patients. One of the reasons behind this failure is likely to be the wide heterogeneity observed within the MS population. The clinical course of MS is highly variable and includes several subcategories and variants. Moreover, apart from the well-established association with the HLA-class II DRB1*15:01 allele, other genetic variants have been shown to vary significantly across different populations and individuals. Finally both pathological and immunological studies suggest that different pathways may be active in different MS patients. We conclude that these “MS subtypes” should still be considered as part of the same disease but hypothesize that spatiotemporal effects of genetic and environmental agents differentially influence MS course. These considerations are extremely relevant, as outcome prediction and personalised medicine represent the central aim of modern research. PMID:21197462

  9. Spatial heterogeneity regulates plant-pollinator networks across multiple landscape scales.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Freitas Moreira

    Full Text Available Mutualistic plant-pollinator interactions play a key role in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning. In a community, the combination of these interactions can generate emergent properties, e.g., robustness and resilience to disturbances such as fluctuations in populations and extinctions. Given that these systems are hierarchical and complex, environmental changes must have multiple levels of influence. In addition, changes in habitat quality and in the landscape structure are important threats to plants, pollinators and their interactions. However, despite the importance of these phenomena for the understanding of biological systems, as well as for conservation and management strategies, few studies have empirically evaluated these effects at the network level. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the influence of local conditions and landscape structure at multiple scales on the characteristics of plant-pollinator networks. This study was conducted in agri-natural lands in Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil. Pollinators were collected in 27 sampling units distributed orthogonally along a gradient of proportion of agriculture and landscape diversity. The Akaike information criterion was used to select models that best fit the metrics for network characteristics, comparing four hypotheses represented by a set of a priori candidate models with specific combinations of the proportion of agriculture, the average shape of the landscape elements, the diversity of the landscape and the structure of local vegetation. The results indicate that a reduction of habitat quality and landscape heterogeneity can cause species loss and decrease of networks nestedness. These structural changes can reduce robustness and resilience of plant-pollinator networks what compromises the reproductive success of plants, the maintenance of biodiversity and the pollination service stability. We also discuss the possible explanations for

  10. Spatial heterogeneity regulates plant-pollinator networks across multiple landscape scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreira, Eduardo Freitas; Boscolo, Danilo; Viana, Blandina Felipe

    2015-01-01

    Mutualistic plant-pollinator interactions play a key role in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning. In a community, the combination of these interactions can generate emergent properties, e.g., robustness and resilience to disturbances such as fluctuations in populations and extinctions. Given that these systems are hierarchical and complex, environmental changes must have multiple levels of influence. In addition, changes in habitat quality and in the landscape structure are important threats to plants, pollinators and their interactions. However, despite the importance of these phenomena for the understanding of biological systems, as well as for conservation and management strategies, few studies have empirically evaluated these effects at the network level. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the influence of local conditions and landscape structure at multiple scales on the characteristics of plant-pollinator networks. This study was conducted in agri-natural lands in Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil. Pollinators were collected in 27 sampling units distributed orthogonally along a gradient of proportion of agriculture and landscape diversity. The Akaike information criterion was used to select models that best fit the metrics for network characteristics, comparing four hypotheses represented by a set of a priori candidate models with specific combinations of the proportion of agriculture, the average shape of the landscape elements, the diversity of the landscape and the structure of local vegetation. The results indicate that a reduction of habitat quality and landscape heterogeneity can cause species loss and decrease of networks nestedness. These structural changes can reduce robustness and resilience of plant-pollinator networks what compromises the reproductive success of plants, the maintenance of biodiversity and the pollination service stability. We also discuss the possible explanations for these relationships and

  11. Effects of reservoir heterogeneity on scaling of effective mass transfer coefficient for solute transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Juliana Y.; Srinivasan, Sanjay

    2016-09-01

    Modeling transport process at large scale requires proper scale-up of subsurface heterogeneity and an understanding of its interaction with the underlying transport mechanisms. A technique based on volume averaging is applied to quantitatively assess the scaling characteristics of effective mass transfer coefficient in heterogeneous reservoir models. The effective mass transfer coefficient represents the combined contribution from diffusion and dispersion to the transport of non-reactive solute particles within a fluid phase. Although treatment of transport problems with the volume averaging technique has been published in the past, application to geological systems exhibiting realistic spatial variability remains a challenge. Previously, the authors developed a new procedure where results from a fine-scale numerical flow simulation reflecting the full physics of the transport process albeit over a sub-volume of the reservoir are integrated with the volume averaging technique to provide effective description of transport properties. The procedure is extended such that spatial averaging is performed at the local-heterogeneity scale. In this paper, the transport of a passive (non-reactive) solute is simulated on multiple reservoir models exhibiting different patterns of heterogeneities, and the scaling behavior of effective mass transfer coefficient (Keff) is examined and compared. One such set of models exhibit power-law (fractal) characteristics, and the variability of dispersion and Keff with scale is in good agreement with analytical expressions described in the literature. This work offers an insight into the impacts of heterogeneity on the scaling of effective transport parameters. A key finding is that spatial heterogeneity models with similar univariate and bivariate statistics may exhibit different scaling characteristics because of the influence of higher order statistics. More mixing is observed in the channelized models with higher-order continuity. It

  12. Using Natural Language to Enable Mission Managers to Control Multiple Heterogeneous UAVs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trujillo, Anna C.; Puig-Navarro, Javier; Mehdi, S. Bilal; Mcquarry, A. Kyle

    2016-01-01

    The availability of highly capable, yet relatively cheap, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is opening up new areas of use for hobbyists and for commercial activities. This research is developing methods beyond classical control-stick pilot inputs, to allow operators to manage complex missions without in-depth vehicle expertise. These missions may entail several heterogeneous UAVs flying coordinated patterns or flying multiple trajectories deconflicted in time or space to predefined locations. This paper describes the functionality and preliminary usability measures of an interface that allows an operator to define a mission using speech inputs. With a defined and simple vocabulary, operators can input the vast majority of mission parameters using simple, intuitive voice commands. Although the operator interface is simple, it is based upon autonomous algorithms that allow the mission to proceed with minimal input from the operator. This paper also describes these underlying algorithms that allow an operator to manage several UAVs.

  13. Behavior of reinforced concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. H. Tavares

    Full Text Available The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP bars is one of the alternatives presented in recent studies to prevent the drawbacks related to the steel reinforcement in specific reinforced concrete members. In this work, six reinforced concrete beams were submitted to four point bending tests. One beam was reinforced with CA-50 steel bars and five with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP bars. The tests were carried out in the Department of Structural Engineering in São Carlos Engineering School, São Paulo University. The objective of the test program was to compare strength, reinforcement deformation, displacement, and some anchorage aspects between the GFRP-reinforced concrete beams and the steel-reinforced concrete beam. The results show that, even though four GFRP-reinforced concrete beams were designed with the same internal tension force as that with steel reinforcement, their capacity was lower than that of the steel-reinforced beam. The results also show that similar flexural capacity can be achieved for the steel- and for the GFRP-reinforced concrete beams by controlling the stiffness (reinforcement modulus of elasticity multiplied by the bar cross-sectional area - EA and the tension force of the GFRP bars.

  14. Neuropsychological heterogeneity in multiple sclerosis / Heterogeneidade neuropsicológica na esclerose múlipla

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo de Paula Lima

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Multiple sclerosis (MS is a progressively disabling neurological disease which symptoms affect sensory, motor and psychological functioning. Several clinical neurological and psychological variables influence the neuropsychological profile in MS, which is extremely heterogeneous. The main objective of the present study was to investigate if it is possible to statistically stratify control subjects and MS patients from neurological, socio-demographic and neuropsychological dimensions. With this purpose we applied cluster analysis procedures to five neuropsychological instruments selected according to diagnostic accuracy from a pool of 9 neuropsychological tests. The sample was composed of 45 healthy controls and 35 MS patients with similar socio-demographic characteristics. The results indicated an ideal solution with 4 different clusters according to two dimensions: "cognitive" and "psychosocial" functioning, which represent independent but non-disjunctive aspects of neuropsychological functioning in MS.

  15. Does the context of reinforcement affect resistance to change?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevin, J A; Grace, R C

    1999-04-01

    Eight pigeons were trained on multiple schedules of reinforcement where pairs of components alternated in blocks on different keys to define 2 local contexts. On 1 key, components arranged 160 and 40 reinforcers/hr; on the other, components arranged 40 and 10 reinforcers/hr. Response rates in the 40/hr component were higher in the latter pair. Within pairs, resistance to prefeeding and resistance to extinction were generally greater in the richer component. The two 40/hr components did not differ in resistance to prefeeding, but the 40/hr component that alternated with 10/hr was more resistant to extinction. This discrepancy was interpreted by an algebraic model relating response strength to component reinforcer rate, including generalization decrement. According to this model, strength is independent of context, consistent with research on schedule preference.

  16. Online constrained model-based reinforcement learning

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Van Niekerk, B

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Constrained Model-based Reinforcement Learning Benjamin van Niekerk School of Computer Science University of the Witwatersrand South Africa Andreas Damianou∗ Amazon.com Cambridge, UK Benjamin Rosman Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and School... MULTIPLE SHOOTING Using direct multiple shooting (Bock and Plitt, 1984), problem (1) can be transformed into a structured non- linear program (NLP). First, the time horizon [t0, t0 + T ] is partitioned into N equal subintervals [tk, tk+1] for k = 0...

  17. HYDRA: Revealing heterogeneity of imaging and genetic patterns through a multiple max-margin discriminative analysis framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varol, Erdem; Sotiras, Aristeidis; Davatzikos, Christos

    2017-01-15

    Multivariate pattern analysis techniques have been increasingly used over the past decade to derive highly sensitive and specific biomarkers of diseases on an individual basis. The driving assumption behind the vast majority of the existing methodologies is that a single imaging pattern can distinguish between healthy and diseased populations, or between two subgroups of patients (e.g., progressors vs. non-progressors). This assumption effectively ignores the ample evidence for the heterogeneous nature of brain diseases. Neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders are largely characterized by high clinical heterogeneity, which likely stems in part from underlying neuroanatomical heterogeneity of various pathologies. Detecting and characterizing heterogeneity may deepen our understanding of disease mechanisms and lead to patient-specific treatments. However, few approaches tackle disease subtype discovery in a principled machine learning framework. To address this challenge, we present a novel non-linear learning algorithm for simultaneous binary classification and subtype identification, termed HYDRA (Heterogeneity through Discriminative Analysis). Neuroanatomical subtypes are effectively captured by multiple linear hyperplanes, which form a convex polytope that separates two groups (e.g., healthy controls from pathologic samples); each face of this polytope effectively defines a disease subtype. We validated HYDRA on simulated and clinical data. In the latter case, we applied the proposed method independently to the imaging and genetic datasets of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI 1) study. The imaging dataset consisted of T1-weighted volumetric magnetic resonance images of 123 AD patients and 177 controls. The genetic dataset consisted of single nucleotide polymorphism information of 103 AD patients and 139 controls. We identified 3 reproducible subtypes of atrophy in AD relative to controls: (1) diffuse and extensive

  18. Targeting multiple heterogeneous hardware platforms with OpenCL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Paul A.; Kozacik, Stephen T.; Humphrey, John R.; Paolini, Aaron; Kuller, Aryeh; Kelmelis, Eric J.

    2014-06-01

    The OpenCL API allows for the abstract expression of parallel, heterogeneous computing, but hardware implementations have substantial implementation differences. The abstractions provided by the OpenCL API are often insufficiently high-level to conceal differences in hardware architecture. Additionally, implementations often do not take advantage of potential performance gains from certain features due to hardware limitations and other factors. These factors make it challenging to produce code that is portable in practice, resulting in much OpenCL code being duplicated for each hardware platform being targeted. This duplication of effort offsets the principal advantage of OpenCL: portability. The use of certain coding practices can mitigate this problem, allowing a common code base to be adapted to perform well across a wide range of hardware platforms. To this end, we explore some general practices for producing performant code that are effective across platforms. Additionally, we explore some ways of modularizing code to enable optional optimizations that take advantage of hardware-specific characteristics. The minimum requirement for portability implies avoiding the use of OpenCL features that are optional, not widely implemented, poorly implemented, or missing in major implementations. Exposing multiple levels of parallelism allows hardware to take advantage of the types of parallelism it supports, from the task level down to explicit vector operations. Static optimizations and branch elimination in device code help the platform compiler to effectively optimize programs. Modularization of some code is important to allow operations to be chosen for performance on target hardware. Optional subroutines exploiting explicit memory locality allow for different memory hierarchies to be exploited for maximum performance. The C preprocessor and JIT compilation using the OpenCL runtime can be used to enable some of these techniques, as well as to factor in hardware

  19. Bio-inspired heterogeneous composites for broadband vibration mitigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yanyu; Wang, Lifeng

    2015-12-08

    Structural biological materials have developed heterogeneous and hierarchical architectures that are responsible for the outstanding performance to provide protection against environmental threats including static and dynamic loading. Inspired by this observation, this research aims to develop new material and structural concepts for broadband vibration mitigation. The proposed composite materials possess a two-layered heterogeneous architecture where both layers consist of high-volume platelet-shape reinforcements and low-volume matrix, similar to the well-known "brick and mortar" microstructure of biological composites. Using finite element method, we numerically demonstrated that broadband wave attenuation zones can be achieved by tailoring the geometric features of the heterogeneous architecture. We reveal that the resulting broadband attenuation zones are gained by directly superimposing the attenuation zones in each constituent layer. This mechanism is further confirmed by the investigation into the phonon dispersion relation of each layer. Importantly, the broadband wave attenuation capability will be maintained when the mineral platelet orientation is locally manipulated, yet a contrast between the mineral platelet concentrations of the two constituent layers is essential. The findings of this work will provide new opportunities to design heterogeneous composites for broadband vibration mitigation and impact resistance under mechanically challenging environmental conditions.

  20. High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites 6 HPFRCC 6

    CERN Document Server

    Reinhardt, Hans; Naaman, A

    2012-01-01

    High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites (HPFRCC) represent a class of cement composites whose stress-strain response in tension undergoes strain hardening behaviour accompanied by multiple cracking, leading to a high strain prior to failure. The primary objective of this International Workshop was to provide a compendium of up-to-date information on the most recent developments and research advances in the field of High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites. Approximately 65 contributions from leading world experts are assembled in these proceedings and provide an authoritative perspective on the subject. Special topics include fresh and hardening state properties; self-compacting mixtures; mechanical behavior under compressive, tensile, and shear loading; structural applications; impact, earthquake and fire resistance; durability issues; ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete; and textile reinforced concrete. Target readers: graduate students, researchers, fiber producers, desi...

  1. Braided reinforced composite rods for the internal reinforcement of concrete

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonilho Pereira, C.; Fangueiro, R.; Jalali, S.; Araujo, M.; Marques, P.

    2008-05-01

    This paper reports on the development of braided reinforced composite rods as a substitute for the steel reinforcement in concrete. The research work aims at understanding the mechanical behaviour of core-reinforced braided fabrics and braided reinforced composite rods, namely concerning the influence of the braiding angle, the type of core reinforcement fibre, and preloading and postloading conditions. The core-reinforced braided fabrics were made from polyester fibres for producing braided structures, and E-glass, carbon, HT polyethylene, and sisal fibres were used for the core reinforcement. The braided reinforced composite rods were obtained by impregnating the core-reinforced braided fabric with a vinyl ester resin. The preloading of the core-reinforced braided fabrics and the postloading of the braided reinforced composite rods were performed in three and two stages, respectively. The results of tensile tests carried out on different samples of core-reinforced braided fabrics are presented and discussed. The tensile and bending properties of the braided reinforced composite rods have been evaluated, and the results obtained are presented, discussed, and compared with those of conventional materials, such as steel.

  2. On the nature of high field charge transport in reinforced silicone dielectrics: Experiment and simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Yanhui, E-mail: huangy12@rpi.edu; Schadler, Linda S. [Department of Material Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th street, Troy, New York 12180 (United States)

    2016-08-07

    The high field charge injection and transport properties in reinforced silicone dielectrics were investigated by measuring the time-dependent space charge distribution and the current under dc conditions up to the breakdown field and were compared with the properties of other dielectric polymers. It is argued that the energy and spatial distribution of localized electronic states are crucial in determining these properties for polymer dielectrics. Tunneling to localized states likely dominates the charge injection process. A transient transport regime arises due to the relaxation of charge carriers into deep traps at the energy band tails and is successfully verified by a Monte Carlo simulation using the multiple-hopping model. The charge carrier mobility is found to be highly heterogeneous due to the non-uniform trapping. The slow moving electron packet exhibits a negative field dependent drift velocity possibly due to the spatial disorder of traps.

  3. High-density multicore fiber with heterogeneous core arrangement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Amma, Y.; Sasaki, Y.; Takenaga, K.

    2015-01-01

    A 30-core fiber with heterogeneous cores that achieved large spatial multiplicity and low crosstalk of less than −40 dB at 100 km was demonstrated. The correlation lengths were estimated to be more than 1 m.......A 30-core fiber with heterogeneous cores that achieved large spatial multiplicity and low crosstalk of less than −40 dB at 100 km was demonstrated. The correlation lengths were estimated to be more than 1 m....

  4. Flexural reinforced concrete member with FRP reinforcement

    OpenAIRE

    Putzolu, Mariana

    2017-01-01

    One of the most problematic point in construction is the durability of the concrete especially related to corrosion of the steel reinforcement. Due to this problem the construction sector, introduced the use of Fiber Reinforced Polymer, the main fibers used in construction are Glass, Carbon and Aramid. In this study, the author aim to analyse the flexural behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with FRP. This aim is achieved by the analysis of specimens reinforced with GFRP bars, with theoreti...

  5. Imaging metabolic heterogeneity in cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sengupta, Debanti; Pratx, Guillem

    2016-01-06

    As our knowledge of cancer metabolism has increased, it has become apparent that cancer metabolic processes are extremely heterogeneous. The reasons behind this heterogeneity include genetic diversity, the existence of multiple and redundant metabolic pathways, altered microenvironmental conditions, and so on. As a result, methods in the clinic and beyond have been developed in order to image and study tumor metabolism in the in vivo and in vitro regimes. Both regimes provide unique advantages and challenges, and may be used to provide a picture of tumor metabolic heterogeneity that is spatially and temporally comprehensive. Taken together, these methods may hold the key to appropriate cancer diagnoses and treatments in the future.

  6. Assessing appetitive, aversive, and negative ethanol-mediated reinforcement through an immature rat model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pautassi, Ricardo M; Nizhnikov, Michael E; Spear, Norman E

    2009-06-01

    The motivational effects of drugs play a key role during the transition from casual use to abuse and dependence. Ethanol reinforcement has been successfully studied through Pavlovian and operant conditioning in adult rats and mice genetically selected for their ready acceptance of ethanol. Another model for studying ethanol reinforcement is the immature (preweanling) rat, which consumes ethanol and exhibits the capacity to process tactile, odor and taste cues and transfer information between different sensorial modalities. This review describes the motivational effects of ethanol in preweanling, heterogeneous non-selected rats. Preweanlings exhibit ethanol-mediated conditioned taste avoidance and conditioned place aversion. Ethanol's appetitive effects, however, are evident when using first- and second-order conditioning and operant procedures. Ethanol also devalues the motivational representation of aversive stimuli, suggesting early negative reinforcement. It seems that preweanlings are highly sensitive not only to the aversive motivational effects of ethanol but also to its positive and negative (anti-anxiety) reinforcement potential. The review underscores the advantages of using a developing rat to evaluate alcohol's motivational effects.

  7. Quantifying spatial heterogeneity from images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pomerantz, Andrew E; Song Yiqiao

    2008-01-01

    Visualization techniques are extremely useful for characterizing natural materials with complex spatial structure. Although many powerful imaging modalities exist, simple display of the images often does not convey the underlying spatial structure. Instead, quantitative image analysis can extract the most important features of the imaged object in a manner that is easier to comprehend and to compare from sample to sample. This paper describes the formulation of the heterogeneity spectrum to show the extent of spatial heterogeneity as a function of length scale for all length scales to which a particular measurement is sensitive. This technique is especially relevant for describing materials that simultaneously present spatial heterogeneity at multiple length scales. In this paper, the heterogeneity spectrum is applied for the first time to images from optical microscopy. The spectrum is measured for thin section images of complex carbonate rock cores showing heterogeneity at several length scales in the range 10-10 000 μm.

  8. Identifying location and severity of multiple cracks in reinforced concrete cantilever beams using modal and wavelet analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tahere Arefzade

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a method of multiple cracks detection in a cantilever reinforced concrete beam based on wavelet transform is presented. For this purpose, different damage scenarios in concrete beam were considered. Then, the four first mode shapes of undamaged and damaged beam using ABAQUS software were extracted. The estimated mode shapes of the beam are analyzed by the continuous and discrete wavelet transform (CWT & DWT to detect the damage scenarios. It was found that DWT is more sensitive to damage location than CWT in the concrete beam which introduced in this paper. Also, the influence of the mode order and the effect of damage distance from support on the effectiveness of damage detection was evaluated. It was observed that the distance of cracks to each other have no effect on identifying their location.

  9. Visual Analytics for Heterogeneous Geoscience Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Y.; Yu, L.; Zhu, F.; Rilee, M. L.; Kuo, K. S.; Jiang, H.; Yu, H.

    2017-12-01

    Geoscience data obtained from diverse sources have been routinely leveraged by scientists to study various phenomena. The principal data sources include observations and model simulation outputs. These data are characterized by spatiotemporal heterogeneity originated from different instrument design specifications and/or computational model requirements used in data generation processes. Such inherent heterogeneity poses several challenges in exploring and analyzing geoscience data. First, scientists often wish to identify features or patterns co-located among multiple data sources to derive and validate certain hypotheses. Heterogeneous data make it a tedious task to search such features in dissimilar datasets. Second, features of geoscience data are typically multivariate. It is challenging to tackle the high dimensionality of geoscience data and explore the relations among multiple variables in a scalable fashion. Third, there is a lack of transparency in traditional automated approaches, such as feature detection or clustering, in that scientists cannot intuitively interact with their analysis processes and interpret results. To address these issues, we present a new scalable approach that can assist scientists in analyzing voluminous and diverse geoscience data. We expose a high-level query interface that allows users to easily express their customized queries to search features of interest across multiple heterogeneous datasets. For identified features, we develop a visualization interface that enables interactive exploration and analytics in a linked-view manner. Specific visualization techniques such as scatter plots to parallel coordinates are employed in each view to allow users to explore various aspects of features. Different views are linked and refreshed according to user interactions in any individual view. In such a manner, a user can interactively and iteratively gain understanding into the data through a variety of visual analytics operations. We

  10. Study on reinforced concrete beams with helical transverse reinforcement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaarthik Krishna, N.; Sandeep, S.; Mini, K. M.

    2018-02-01

    In a Reinforced Concrete (R.C) structure, major reinforcement is used for taking up tensile stresses acting on the structure due to applied loading. The present paper reports the behavior of reinforced concrete beams with helical reinforcement (transverse reinforcement) subjected to monotonous loading by 3-point flexure test. The results were compared with identically similar reinforced concrete beams with rectangular stirrups. During the test crack evolution, load carrying capacity and deflection of the beams were monitored, analyzed and compared. Test results indicate that the use of helical reinforcement provides enhanced load carrying capacity and a lower deflection proving to be more ductile, clearly indicating the advantage in carrying horizontal loads. An analysis was also carried out using ANSYS software in order to compare the test results of both the beams.

  11. Reinforcement magnitude modulation of rate dependent effects in pigeons and rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginsburg, Brett C; Pinkston, Jonathan W; Lamb, R J

    2011-08-01

    Response rate can influence the behavioral effects of many drugs. Reinforcement magnitude may also influence drug effects. Further, reinforcement magnitude can influence rate-dependent effects. For example, in an earlier report, we showed that rate-dependent effects of two antidepressants depended on reinforcement magnitude. The ability of reinforcement magnitude to interact with rate-dependency has not been well characterized. It is not known whether our previous results are specific to antidepressants or generalize to other drug classes. Here, we further examine rate-magnitude interactions by studying effects of two stimulants (d-amphetamine [0.32-5.6 mg/kg] and cocaine [0.32-10 mg/kg]) and two sedatives (chlordiazepoxide [1.78-32 mg/kg] and pentobarbital [1.0-17.8 mg/kg]) in pigeons responding under a 3-component multiple fixed-interval (FI) 300-s schedule maintained by 2-, 4-, or 8-s of food access. We also examine the effects of d-amphetamine [0.32-3.2 mg/kg] and pentobarbital [1.8-10 mg/kg] in rats responding under a similar multiple FI300-s schedule maintained by 2- or 10- food pellet (45 mg) delivery. In pigeons, cocaine and, to a lesser extent, chlordiazepoxide exerted rate-dependent effects that were diminished by increasing durations of food access. The relationship was less apparent for pentobarbital, and not present for d-amphetamine. In rats, rate-dependent effects of pentobarbital and d-amphetamine were not modulated by reinforcement magnitude. In conclusion, some drugs appear to exert rate-dependent effect which are diminished when reinforcement magnitude is relatively high. Subsequent analysis of the rate-dependency data suggest the effects of reinforcement magnitude may be due to a diminution of drug-induced increases in low-rate behavior that occurs early in the fixed-interval. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

  12. Place preference and vocal learning rely on distinct reinforcers in songbirds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murdoch, Don; Chen, Ruidong; Goldberg, Jesse H

    2018-04-30

    In reinforcement learning (RL) agents are typically tasked with maximizing a single objective function such as reward. But it remains poorly understood how agents might pursue distinct objectives at once. In machines, multiobjective RL can be achieved by dividing a single agent into multiple sub-agents, each of which is shaped by agent-specific reinforcement, but it remains unknown if animals adopt this strategy. Here we use songbirds to test if navigation and singing, two behaviors with distinct objectives, can be differentially reinforced. We demonstrate that strobe flashes aversively condition place preference but not song syllables. Brief noise bursts aversively condition song syllables but positively reinforce place preference. Thus distinct behavior-generating systems, or agencies, within a single animal can be shaped by correspondingly distinct reinforcement signals. Our findings suggest that spatially segregated vocal circuits can solve a credit assignment problem associated with multiobjective learning.

  13. Resistance to extinction, generalization decrement, and conditioned reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dulaney, Alana E; Bell, Matthew C

    2008-06-01

    This study investigated generalization decrement during an extinction resistance-to-change test for pigeon key pecking using a two-component multiple schedule with equal variable-interval 3-min schedules and different reinforcer amounts (one component presented 2-s access to reinforcement and the other 8s). After establishing baseline responding, subjects were assigned to one of the two extinction conditions: hopper stimuli (hopper and hopper light were activated but no food was available) or Control (inactive hopper and hopper light). Responding in the 8-s component was more resistant to extinction than responding in the 2-s component, the hopper stimuli group was more resistant to extinction compared to the Control group, and an interaction between amount of reinforcement, extinction condition, and session block was present. This finding supports generalization decrement as a factor that influences resistance to extinction. Hopper-time data (the amount of time subjects spent with their heads in the hopper) were compared to resistance-to-change data in an investigation of the role of conditioned reinforcement on resistance to change.

  14. Fatigue Life and Microstructure after Multiple Remelting of A359 Matrix Composites Reinforced with SiC Particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klasik A.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the results of fatigue life tests and microstructure examinations of A359 alloy matrix composites (F3S.10S and F3S.30S containing 10 and 30wt% of SiC particles, subjected to multiple remelting by conventional gravity casting. Mechanical characteristics were determined in a modified low cycle fatigue (MLCF test, enabling rapid estimation of fatigue life and other mechanical parameters in practice of any material. Qualitative and quantitative metallographic examinations were also carried out. The quantitative evaluation of microstructure was performed by computer image analysis. A set of geometrical parameters of the reinforcing particles, pores and eutectic precipitates present in the metal matrix was determined. The relationships between the mechanical parameters, structural characteristics and the number of remelting operations were presented. It was found that up to the fourth remelting, the mechanical characteristics, including fatigue life, are slightly deteriorated but decrease gradually in the subsequent operations of remelting. The observed effect is mainly due to the shrinkage porosity occurring as a result of gravity casting. To eliminate this defect, the use of squeeze casting process was recommended. It has also been shown that multiple remelting can be an easy and economically well-founded alternative to other more expensive recycling methods.

  15. REINFORCED COMPOSITE PANEL

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2003-01-01

    A composite panel having front and back faces, the panel comprising facing reinforcement, backing reinforcement and matrix material binding to the facing and backing reinforcements, the facing and backing reinforcements each independently comprising one or more reinforcing sheets, the facing rein...... by matrix material, the facing and backing reinforcements being interconnected to resist out-of-plane relative movement. The reinforced composite panel is useful as a barrier element for shielding structures, equipment and personnel from blast and/or ballistic impact damage....

  16. Longitudinal investigation on learned helplessness tested under negative and positive reinforcement involving stimulus control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Emileane C; Hunziker, Maria Helena

    2014-07-01

    In this study, we investigated whether (a) animals demonstrating the learned helplessness effect during an escape contingency also show learning deficits under positive reinforcement contingencies involving stimulus control and (b) the exposure to positive reinforcement contingencies eliminates the learned helplessness effect under an escape contingency. Rats were initially exposed to controllable (C), uncontrollable (U) or no (N) shocks. After 24h, they were exposed to 60 escapable shocks delivered in a shuttlebox. In the following phase, we selected from each group the four subjects that presented the most typical group pattern: no escape learning (learned helplessness effect) in Group U and escape learning in Groups C and N. All subjects were then exposed to two phases, the (1) positive reinforcement for lever pressing under a multiple FR/Extinction schedule and (2) a re-test under negative reinforcement (escape). A fourth group (n=4) was exposed only to the positive reinforcement sessions. All subjects showed discrimination learning under multiple schedule. In the escape re-test, the learned helplessness effect was maintained for three of the animals in Group U. These results suggest that the learned helplessness effect did not extend to discriminative behavior that is positively reinforced and that the learned helplessness effect did not revert for most subjects after exposure to positive reinforcement. We discuss some theoretical implications as related to learned helplessness as an effect restricted to aversive contingencies and to the absence of reversion after positive reinforcement. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: insert SI title. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  17. Review of Japanese recommendations on design and construction of different classes of fiber reinforced concrete and application examples

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Uchida, Yuichi; Fischer, Gregor; Hishiki, Yoshihiro

    2008-01-01

    The development of concrete and cementitious composites with fiber reinforcement to improve the tensile load-deformation behavior has resulted in three distinct classes of materials. These include conventional Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) with tension softening response, High Performance Fiber...... Reinforced Cement Composites (HPFRCC) with strain hardening and multiple cracking behavior, and Ultra High-strength Fiber Reinforced concrete (UFC) with increased tensile strength. The recommendations on the design, production, and application of these classes of fiber reinforced concrete have been...

  18. Shear behavior of reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) beams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paegle, Ieva; Fischer, Gregor

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes an experimental investigation of the shear behavior of beams consisting of steel reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC). Based on the strain hardening and multiple cracking behavior of ECC, this study investigates the extent to which ECC can improve the shear...... capacity of beams loaded primarily in shear and if ECC can partially or fully replace the conventional transverse steel reinforcement in beams. However, there is a lack of understanding of how the fibers affect the shear carrying capacity and deformation behavior of structural members if used either...

  19. Glucose uptake heterogeneity of the leg muscles is similar between patients with multiple sclerosis and healthy controls during walking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kindred, John H; Ketelhut, Nathaniel B; Rudroff, Thorsten

    2015-02-01

    Difficulties in ambulation are one of the main problems reported by patients with multiple sclerosis. A previous study by our research group showed increased recruitment of muscle groups during walking, but the influence of skeletal muscle properties, such as muscle fiber activity, has not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this investigation was to use the novel method of calculating glucose uptake heterogeneity in the leg muscles of patients with multiple sclerosis and compare these results to healthy controls. Eight patients with multiple sclerosis (4 men) and 8 healthy controls (4 men) performed 15 min of treadmill walking at a comfortable self-selected speed following muscle strength tests. Participants were injected with ≈ 8 mCi of [(18)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose during walking after which positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging was performed. No differences in muscle strength were detected between multiple sclerosis and control groups (P>0.27). Within the multiple sclerosis, group differences in muscle volume existed between the stronger and weaker legs in the vastus lateralis, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus (Pmuscle group or individual muscle of the legs (P>0.16, P≥0.05). Patients with multiple sclerosis and healthy controls showed similar muscle fiber activity during walking. Interpretations of these results, with respect to our previous study, suggest that walking difficulties in patients with multiple sclerosis may be more associated with altered central nervous system motor patterns rather than alterations in skeletal muscle properties. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  20. Spatial heterogeneity study of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Lijuan; Zhong, Bo; Guo, Liyu; Zhao, Xiangwei

    2014-11-01

    Spatial heterogeneity of the animal-landscape system has three major components: heterogeneity of resource distributions in the physical environment, heterogeneity of plant tissue chemistry, heterogeneity of movement modes by the animal. Furthermore, all three different types of heterogeneity interact each other and can either reinforce or offset one another, thereby affecting system stability and dynamics. In previous studies, the study areas are investigated by field sampling, which costs a large amount of manpower. In addition, uncertain in sampling affects the quality of field data, which leads to unsatisfactory results during the entire study. In this study, remote sensing data is used to guide the sampling for research on heterogeneity of vegetation coverage to avoid errors caused by randomness of field sampling. Semi-variance and fractal dimension analysis are used to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin. The spherical model with nugget is used to fit the semivariogram of vegetation coverage. Based on the experiment above, it is found, (1)there is a strong correlation between vegetation coverage and distance of vegetation populations within the range of 0-28051.3188m at Heihe River Basin, but the correlation loses suddenly when the distance greater than 28051.3188m. (2)The degree of spatial heterogeneity of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin is medium. (3)Spatial distribution variability of vegetation occurs mainly on small scales. (4)The degree of spatial autocorrelation is 72.29% between 25% and 75%, which means that spatial correlation of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin is medium high.

  1. An investigation of ductile and brittle reinforcement on the fracture behavior of molybdenum disilicide composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brooks, D.; Soboyejo, W.O.

    1994-01-01

    The results of an ongoing study of the effects of ductile and brittle reinforcement on the fracture toughness of particulate reinforced molybdenum disilicide matrix composites are presented. MoSi 2 composites reinforced with ductile Nb, Mo, and W particles are compared with MoSi 2 composites reinforced with SiC, TiB 2 , and partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ) particles. The effects of different degrees of yttria stabilization on zirconia reinforced composites will also be examined, as well as the effect of solid solution alloying with WSi 2 . The effects of multiple reinforcement of MoSi 2 with 20 vol.% Nb and 20 vol.% unstabilized zirconia (TZ-0) are discussed. The toughening is rationalized using micromechanical models for crack bridging, transformation toughening, and crack deflection

  2. Reinforcement Magnitude: An Evaluation of Preference and Reinforcer Efficacy

    OpenAIRE

    Trosclair-Lasserre, Nicole M; Lerman, Dorothea C; Call, Nathan A; Addison, Laura R; Kodak, Tiffany

    2008-01-01

    Consideration of reinforcer magnitude may be important for maximizing the efficacy of treatment for problem behavior. Nonetheless, relatively little is known about children's preferences for different magnitudes of social reinforcement or the extent to which preference is related to differences in reinforcer efficacy. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the relations among reinforcer magnitude, preference, and efficacy by drawing on the procedures and results of basic experimenta...

  3. Shear crack formation and propagation in reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paegle, Ieva; Fischer, Gregor

    2011-01-01

    capacity of beams loaded primarily in shear. The experimental program consists of ECC with short randomly distributed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber beams with different stirrup arrangements and conventional reinforced concrete (R/C) counterparts for comparison. The shear crack formation mechanism of ECC......This paper describes an experimental investigation of the shear behaviour of beams consisting of steel reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composites (R/ECC). Based on the strain hardening and multiple cracking behaviour of ECC, this study investigates the extent to which ECC influences the shear...

  4. Reinforced sulphur concrete

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    2014-01-01

    Reinforced sulphur concrete wherein one or more metal reinforcing members are in contact with sulphur concrete is disclosed. The reinforced sulphur concrete comprises an adhesion promoter that enhances the interaction between the sulphur and the one or more metal reinforcing members.

  5. Pointwise mutual information quantifies intratumor heterogeneity in tissue sections labeled with multiple fluorescent biomarkers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel M Spagnolo

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Measures of spatial intratumor heterogeneity are potentially important diagnostic biomarkers for cancer progression, proliferation, and response to therapy. Spatial relationships among cells including cancer and stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME are key contributors to heterogeneity. Methods: We demonstrate how to quantify spatial heterogeneity from immunofluorescence pathology samples, using a set of 3 basic breast cancer biomarkers as a test case. We learn a set of dominant biomarker intensity patterns and map the spatial distribution of the biomarker patterns with a network. We then describe the pairwise association statistics for each pattern within the network using pointwise mutual information (PMI and visually represent heterogeneity with a two-dimensional map. Results: We found a salient set of 8 biomarker patterns to describe cellular phenotypes from a tissue microarray cohort containing 4 different breast cancer subtypes. After computing PMI for each pair of biomarker patterns in each patient and tumor replicate, we visualize the interactions that contribute to the resulting association statistics. Then, we demonstrate the potential for using PMI as a diagnostic biomarker, by comparing PMI maps and heterogeneity scores from patients across the 4 different cancer subtypes. Estrogen receptor positive invasive lobular carcinoma patient, AL13-6, exhibited the highest heterogeneity score among those tested, while estrogen receptor negative invasive ductal carcinoma patient, AL13-14, exhibited the lowest heterogeneity score. Conclusions: This paper presents an approach for describing intratumor heterogeneity, in a quantitative fashion (via PMI, which departs from the purely qualitative approaches currently used in the clinic. PMI is generalizable to highly multiplexed/hyperplexed immunofluorescence images, as well as spatial data from complementary in situ methods including FISSEQ and CyTOF, sampling many different

  6. Reinforcer magnitude and rate dependency: evaluation of resistance-to-change mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinkston, Jonathan W; Ginsburg, Brett C; Lamb, Richard J

    2014-10-01

    Under many circumstances, reinforcer magnitude appears to modulate the rate-dependent effects of drugs such that when schedules arrange for relatively larger reinforcer magnitudes rate dependency is attenuated compared with behavior maintained by smaller magnitudes. The current literature on resistance to change suggests that increased reinforcer density strengthens operant behavior, and such strengthening effects appear to extend to the temporal control of behavior. As rate dependency may be understood as a loss of temporal control, the effects of reinforcer magnitude on rate dependency may be due to increased resistance to disruption of temporally controlled behavior. In the present experiments, pigeons earned different magnitudes of grain during signaled components of a multiple FI schedule. Three drugs, clonidine, haloperidol, and morphine, were examined. All three decreased overall rates of key pecking; however, only the effects of clonidine were attenuated as reinforcer magnitude increased. An analysis of within-interval performance found rate-dependent effects for clonidine and morphine; however, these effects were not modulated by reinforcer magnitude. In addition, we included prefeeding and extinction conditions, standard tests used to measure resistance to change. In general, rate-decreasing effects of prefeeding and extinction were attenuated by increasing reinforcer magnitudes. Rate-dependent analyses of prefeeding showed rate-dependency following those tests, but in no case were these effects modulated by reinforcer magnitude. The results suggest that a resistance-to-change interpretation of the effects of reinforcer magnitude on rate dependency is not viable.

  7. Collision-free motion coordination of heterogeneous robots

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ko, Nak Yong [Chosun University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Seo, Dong Jin [RedOne Technologies, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Simmons, Reid G. [Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania (United States)

    2008-11-15

    This paper proposes a method to coordinate the motion of multiple heterogeneous robots on a network. The proposed method uses prioritization and avoidance. Priority is assigned to each robot; a robot with lower priority avoids the robots of higher priority. To avoid collision with other robots, elastic force and potential field force are used. Also, the method can be applied separately to the motion planning of a part of a robot from that of the other parts of the robot. This is useful for application to the robots of the type mobile manipulator or highly redundant robots. The method is tested by simulation, and it results in smooth and adaptive coordination in an environment with multiple heterogeneous robots

  8. Collision-free motion coordination of heterogeneous robots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, Nak Yong; Seo, Dong Jin; Simmons, Reid G.

    2008-01-01

    This paper proposes a method to coordinate the motion of multiple heterogeneous robots on a network. The proposed method uses prioritization and avoidance. Priority is assigned to each robot; a robot with lower priority avoids the robots of higher priority. To avoid collision with other robots, elastic force and potential field force are used. Also, the method can be applied separately to the motion planning of a part of a robot from that of the other parts of the robot. This is useful for application to the robots of the type mobile manipulator or highly redundant robots. The method is tested by simulation, and it results in smooth and adaptive coordination in an environment with multiple heterogeneous robots

  9. Heterogeneous computing with OpenCL

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    Heterogeneous Computing with OpenCL teaches OpenCL and parallel programming for complex systems that may include a variety of device architectures: multi-core CPUs, GPUs, and fully-integrated Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) such as AMD Fusion technology. Designed to work on multiple platforms and with wide industry support, OpenCL will help you more effectively program for a heterogeneous future. Written by leaders in the parallel computing and OpenCL communities, this book will give you hands-on OpenCL experience to address a range of fundamental parallel algorithms. The authors explore memory spaces, optimization techniques, graphics interoperability, extensions, and debugging and profiling. Intended to support a parallel programming course, Heterogeneous Computing with OpenCL includes detailed examples throughout, plus additional online exercises and other supporting materials.

  10. Experimental and numerical modeling of basalt textile reinforced mortar behavior under uniaxial tensile stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larrinaga, Pello; Chastre, Carlos; Biscaia, Hugo C.; San-José, José T.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Making more deepen the knowledge of textile reinforced mortar in tensile stress. • Analyzing the effect of the reinforcing ratio of the composite. • To compare results with Aveston–Cooper–Kelly theory. • To develop a numerical model based on a finite element code. • Considering the importance of the bond-slip law of the mortar-to-textile-interface. - Abstract: During the last years several projects and studies have improved the knowledge about textile reinforced mortar (TRM) technology. TRM has already been used in strengthening masonry and reinforced concrete structural elements such as walls, arches, columns and beams. This material is presented as a real alternative to the use of fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) in situations where these composites have presented some drawbacks or their use is banned. Textile reinforced mortar show a complex mechanical behavior derived from the heterogeneity of the constituent materials. This paper aims to deepen the knowledge of this composite material in terms of tensile behavior. Following this scope, this paper presents an experimental campaign focused on thirty-one TRM specimens reinforced with four different reinforcing ratios. The results are analyzed and contrasted with two distinct models. (i) The Aveston–Cooper–Kelly theory (ACK) which is based on a tri-linear analytical approach; and (ii) a non-linear numerical simulation with a 3D finite element code. The finite element analysis (FEA) of the TRM tensile tests also showed no significant dependence on the basalt-to-mortar interface, i.e., the choice of a bond-slip curve in order to reproduce the bond stresses and slippages along the interface is irrelevant and it can be simply considered as rigid interface

  11. MECHANICAL AND THERMO–MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BI-DIRECTIONAL AND SHORT CARBON FIBER REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. AGARWAL

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper based on bidirectional and short carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites reports the effect of fiber loading on physical, mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties respectively. The five different fiber loading, i.e., 10wt. %, 20wt. %, 30wt. %, 40wt. % and 50wt. % were taken for evaluating the above said properties. The physical and mechanical properties, i.e., hardness, tensile strength, flexural strength, inter-laminar shear strength and impact strength are determined to represent the behaviour of composite structures with that of fiber loading. Thermo-mechanical properties of the material are measured with the help of Dynamic Mechanical Analyser to measure the damping capacity of the material that is used to reduce the vibrations. The effect of storage modulus, loss modulus and tan delta with temperature are determined. Finally, Cole–Cole analysis is performed on both bidirectional and short carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites to distinguish the material properties of either homogeneous or heterogeneous materials. The results show that with the increase in fiber loading the mechanical properties of bidirectional carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites increases as compared to short carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites except in case of hardness, short carbon fiber reinforced composites shows better results. Similarly, as far as Loss modulus, storage modulus is concerned bidirectional carbon fiber shows better damping behaviour than short carbon fiber reinforced composites.

  12. Reinforcement Magnitude: An Evaluation of Preference and Reinforcer Efficacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trosclair-Lasserre, Nicole M.; Lerman, Dorothea C.; Call, Nathan A.; Addison, Laura R.; Kodak, Tiffany

    2008-01-01

    Consideration of reinforcer magnitude may be important for maximizing the efficacy of treatment for problem behavior. Nonetheless, relatively little is known about children's preferences for different magnitudes of social reinforcement or the extent to which preference is related to differences in reinforcer efficacy. The purpose of the current…

  13. Autoshaping Chicks with Heat Reinforcement: The Role of Stimulus-Reinforcer and Response-Reinforcer Relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wasserman, Edward A.; And Others

    1975-01-01

    The present series of experiments attempted to analyze more fully the contributions of stimulus-reinforcer and response-reinforcer relations to autoshaping within a single conditioning situation. (Author)

  14. State-of-the-art of fiber-reinforced polymers in additive manufacturing technologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hofstätter, Thomas; Pedersen, David Bue; Tosello, Guido

    2017-01-01

    Additive manufacturing technologies have received a lot of attention in recent years for their use in multiple materials such as metals, ceramics, and polymers. The aim of this review article is to analyze the technology of fiber-reinforced polymers and its implementation with additive...... manufacturing. This article reviews recent developments, ideas, and state-of-the-art technologies in this field. Moreover, it gives an overview of the materials currently available for fiber-reinforced material technology....

  15. Heterogeneous Face Attribute Estimation: A Deep Multi-Task Learning Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Hu; K Jain, Anil; Shan, Shiguang; Chen, Xilin

    2017-08-10

    Face attribute estimation has many potential applications in video surveillance, face retrieval, and social media. While a number of methods have been proposed for face attribute estimation, most of them did not explicitly consider the attribute correlation and heterogeneity (e.g., ordinal vs. nominal and holistic vs. local) during feature representation learning. In this paper, we present a Deep Multi-Task Learning (DMTL) approach to jointly estimate multiple heterogeneous attributes from a single face image. In DMTL, we tackle attribute correlation and heterogeneity with convolutional neural networks (CNNs) consisting of shared feature learning for all the attributes, and category-specific feature learning for heterogeneous attributes. We also introduce an unconstrained face database (LFW+), an extension of public-domain LFW, with heterogeneous demographic attributes (age, gender, and race) obtained via crowdsourcing. Experimental results on benchmarks with multiple face attributes (MORPH II, LFW+, CelebA, LFWA, and FotW) show that the proposed approach has superior performance compared to state of the art. Finally, evaluations on a public-domain face database (LAP) with a single attribute show that the proposed approach has excellent generalization ability.

  16. Effect of Fiber Reinforcement on the Response of Structural Members

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fischer, Gregor; Li, Victor

    2007-01-01

    This paper describes a series of investigations on the effect of fiber reinforcement on the response of structural members in direct tension and flexure under reversed cyclic loading conditions. The design approach of the fiber reinforced cementitious composite is based on fracture mechanics...... principles, which will be described in the first part of the paper along with an introduction of the relevant material properties of the resulting engineered cementitious composite (ECC). This class of composites is characterized by strain hardening and multiple cracking properties in uniaxial tension...... and an ultimate tensile strain capacity on the order of several percent. Subsequently, the synergistic effects of composite deformation mechanisms in the ECC and structural members subjected to large shear reversals are identified. Beneficial effects observed in the reinforced ECC structural members as compared...

  17. Feasibility Study of Neutron Multiplicity Assay for a Heterogeneous Sludge Sample containing Na, Pu and other Impurities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakamura, H.; Nakamichi, H.; Mukai, Y.; Yoshimoto, K.; Beddingfield, D.H.

    2010-01-01

    To reduce radioactivity of liquid waste generated at PCDF, a neutralization precipitation processes of radioactive nuclides by sodium hydroxide is used. We call the precipitate a 'sludge' after calcination. Pu mass in the sludge is normally determined by sampling and DA within the required uncertainty on DIQ. Annual yield of the mass is small but it accumulates and reaches to a few kilograms, so it is declared as retained waste and verified at PIV. A HM-5-based verification is applied for sludge verification. The sludge contains many chemical components. For example, Pu (-10wt%), U, Am, SUS components, halogens, NaNO 3 (main component), residual NaOH, and moisture. They are mixed together as an impure heterogeneous sludge sample. As a result, there is a large uncertainty in the sampling and DA that is currently used at PCDF. In order to improve the material accounting, we performed a feasibility study using neutron multiplicity assay for impure sludge samples. We have measured selected sludge samples using a multiplicity counter which is called FCAS (Fast Carton Assay System) which was designed by JAEA and Canberra. The PCDF sludge materials fall into the category of 'difficult to measure' because of the high levels of impurities, high alpha values and somewhat small Pu mass. For the sludge measurements, it was confirmed that good consistency between Pu mass in a pure sludge standard (PuO 2 -Na 2 U 2 O 7 , alpha=7) and the DA could be obtained. For unknown samples, using 14-hour measurements, we could obtain quite low statistical uncertainty on Doubles (-1%) and Triples (-10%) count rate although the alpha value was extremely high (15-25) and FCAS efficiency was relatively low (40%) for typical multiplicity counters. Despite the detector efficiency challenges and the material challenges (high alpha, low Pu mass, heterogeneous matrix), we have been able to obtain assay results that greatly exceed the accountancy requirements for retained waste materials. We have

  18. Investigating the interactive role of stressful life events, reinforcement sensitivity and personality traits in prediction of the severity of Multiple Sclerosis (MS symptoms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background & Objective: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neurological condition recognized by demyelination in the central nervous system. The present study was conducted to investigate the interactive role of stressful life events, reinforcement sensitivity, and personality traits in prediction of the severity of symptoms of Multiple sclerosis (MS symptoms. Materials & Methods: This is a correlational study whose statistical population consisted of all the patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis in Shiraz in the first half of 1394, among whom 162 patients were included in this research by means of purposive sampling method. Five-Factor Personality Inventory, Jackson Personality Inventory, Stressful Life Events Scale, and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS were utilised as research tools. In order to analyze the data, descriptive and inferential methods were used. The data were analysed using Pearson correlation and hierarchical regression. Results: The findings revealed that stressful life events (β = 0.41, p <0.001, Behavioral Inhibition System (β = 0.26, p<0.05, and neuroticism index (β = 0.92, p <0.05 were able to predict variance of scores of the severity of symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis significantly. Conclusion: Stressful life events, Behavioral Inhibition System, and neuroticism showed a significant relationship with the severity of symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis; thus, it seems that interaction of personality traits and environmental conditions are among influential factors of the severity of symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. This fact implies that individuals' personal traits play an eminent role in the progression of the disease.

  19. Genomic Signatures of Reinforcement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Austin G. Garner

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Reinforcement is the process by which selection against hybridization increases reproductive isolation between taxa. Much research has focused on demonstrating the existence of reinforcement, yet relatively little is known about the genetic basis of reinforcement or the evolutionary conditions under which reinforcement can occur. Inspired by reinforcement’s characteristic phenotypic pattern of reproductive trait divergence in sympatry but not in allopatry, we discuss whether reinforcement also leaves a distinct genomic pattern. First, we describe three patterns of genetic variation we expect as a consequence of reinforcement. Then, we discuss a set of alternative processes and complicating factors that may make the identification of reinforcement at the genomic level difficult. Finally, we consider how genomic analyses can be leveraged to inform if and to what extent reinforcement evolved in the face of gene flow between sympatric lineages and between allopatric and sympatric populations of the same lineage. Our major goals are to understand if genome scans for particular patterns of genetic variation could identify reinforcement, isolate the genetic basis of reinforcement, or infer the conditions under which reinforcement evolved.

  20. Genomic Signatures of Reinforcement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goulet, Benjamin E.

    2018-01-01

    Reinforcement is the process by which selection against hybridization increases reproductive isolation between taxa. Much research has focused on demonstrating the existence of reinforcement, yet relatively little is known about the genetic basis of reinforcement or the evolutionary conditions under which reinforcement can occur. Inspired by reinforcement’s characteristic phenotypic pattern of reproductive trait divergence in sympatry but not in allopatry, we discuss whether reinforcement also leaves a distinct genomic pattern. First, we describe three patterns of genetic variation we expect as a consequence of reinforcement. Then, we discuss a set of alternative processes and complicating factors that may make the identification of reinforcement at the genomic level difficult. Finally, we consider how genomic analyses can be leveraged to inform if and to what extent reinforcement evolved in the face of gene flow between sympatric lineages and between allopatric and sympatric populations of the same lineage. Our major goals are to understand if genome scans for particular patterns of genetic variation could identify reinforcement, isolate the genetic basis of reinforcement, or infer the conditions under which reinforcement evolved. PMID:29614048

  1. Differential reinforcement and resistance to change of divided-attention performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Podlesnik, Christopher A; Thrailkill, Eric; Shahan, Timothy A

    2012-06-01

    Behavioral momentum theory provides a framework for understanding how conditions of reinforcement influence instrumental response strength under conditions of disruption (i.e., resistance to change). The present experiment examined resistance to change of divided-attention performance when different overall probabilities of reinforcement were arranged across two components of a multiple schedule. Pigeons responded in a delayed-matching-to-sample procedure with compound samples (color + line orientation) and element comparisons (two colors or two line orientations). Reinforcement ratios of 1:9, 1:1, and 9:1 for accurate matches on the two types of comparison trials were examined across conditions using reinforcement probabilities (color/lines) of .9/.1, .5/.5, and .1/.9 in the rich component and .18/.02, .1/.1, and .02/.18 in the lean component. Relative accuracy with color and line comparisons was an orderly function of relative reinforcement, but this relation did not depend on the overall rate of reinforcement between components. The resistance to change of divided-attention performance was greater for both trial types in the rich component with presession feeding and extinction, but not with decreases in sample duration. These findings suggest promise for the applicability of quantitative models of operant behavior to divided-attention performance, but they highlight the need to further explore conditions impacting the resistance to change of attending.

  2. Habituation of reinforcer effectiveness

    OpenAIRE

    David R Lloyd; David R Lloyd; Douglas J Medina; Larry W Hawk; Whitney D Fosco; Jerry B Richards

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we propose an integrative model of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE) that links behavioral and neural based explanations of reinforcement. We argue that habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE) is a fundamental property of reinforcing stimuli. Most reinforcement models implicitly suggest that the effectiveness of a reinforcer is stable across repeated presentations. In contrast, an HRE approach predicts decreased effectiveness due to repeated presentation. We ar...

  3. Structural Behavior of Concrete Beams Reinforced with Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) Bars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ovitigala, Thilan

    The main challenge for civil engineers is to provide sustainable, environmentally friendly and financially feasible structures to the society. Finding new materials such as fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) material that can fulfill the above requirements is a must. FRP material was expensive and it was limited to niche markets such as space shuttles and air industry in the 1960s. Over the time, it became cheaper and spread to other industries such as sporting goods in the 1980-1990, and then towards the infrastructure industry. Design and construction guidelines are available for carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), aramid fiber reinforced polymer (AFRP) and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) and they are currently used in structural applications. Since FRP is linear elastic brittle material, design guidelines for the steel reinforcement are not valid for FRP materials. Corrosion of steel reinforcement affects the durability of the concrete structures. FRP reinforcement is identified as an alternative to steel reinforcement in corrosive environments. Although basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) has many advantages over other FRP materials, but limited studies have been done. These studies didn't include larger BFRP bar diameters that are mostly used in practice. Therefore, larger beam sizes with larger BFRP reinforcement bar diameters are needed to investigate the flexural and shear behavior of BFRP reinforced concrete beams. Also, shear behavior of BFRP reinforced concrete beams was not yet studied. Experimental testing of mechanical properties and bond strength of BFRP bars and flexural and shear behavior of BFRP reinforced concrete beams are needed to include BFRP reinforcement bars in the design codes. This study mainly focuses on the use of BFRP bars as internal reinforcement. The test results of the mechanical properties of BFRP reinforcement bars, the bond strength of BFRP reinforcement bars, and the flexural and shear behavior of concrete beams

  4. Adapting without reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kheifets, Aaron; Gallistel, C Randy

    2012-11-01

    Our data rule out a broad class of behavioral models in which behavioral change is guided by differential reinforcement. To demonstrate this, we showed that the number of reinforcers missed before the subject shifted its behavior was not sufficient to drive behavioral change. What's more, many subjects shifted their behavior to a more optimal strategy even when they had not yet missed a single reinforcer. Naturally, differential reinforcement cannot be said to drive a process that shifts to accommodate to new conditions so adeptly that it doesn't miss a single reinforcer: it would have no input on which to base this shift.

  5. Influence of reinforcement weight fraction on microstructure and properties of submicron WC-Cop/Cu bulk MMCs prepared by direct laser sintering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gu, Dongdong; Shen, Yifu

    2007-01-01

    Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), due to its flexibility in materials and shapes, exhibits a great potential for fabricating complex shaped bulk metal matrix composites (MMCs). In the present work, the submicron WC-10% Co particulate reinforced Cu matrix composites were prepared using DMLS. The influence of reinforcement content on the sintered densification and the attendant microstructures, e.g. the dispersion homogeneity of the reinforcing particulates and the interfacial bonding ability, was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy disperse X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, and atomic force microscope (AFM). It shows that using a low reinforcement content of 20 wt.% results in a poor densification with severe balling phenomena, due to a higher average composite coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and a superheating of the melt. A heterogeneous microstructure with a significant particulate aggregation is obtained at a high reinforcement content of 40 wt.%, because of a limited liquid formation and the resultant high liquid viscosity and reduced Marangoni effect. Using an optimal reinforcement content of 30 wt.% leads to a uniform distribution of the reinforcing particulates and a compatible interfacial microstructure, so as to obtain a favorable sintered density of 90.3% theoretical density

  6. Investigations of timing during the schedule and reinforcement intervals with wheel-running reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belke, Terry W; Christie-Fougere, Melissa M

    2006-11-01

    Across two experiments, a peak procedure was used to assess the timing of the onset and offset of an opportunity to run as a reinforcer. The first experiment investigated the effect of reinforcer duration on temporal discrimination of the onset of the reinforcement interval. Three male Wistar rats were exposed to fixed-interval (FI) 30-s schedules of wheel-running reinforcement and the duration of the opportunity to run was varied across values of 15, 30, and 60s. Each session consisted of 50 reinforcers and 10 probe trials. Results showed that as reinforcer duration increased, the percentage of postreinforcement pauses longer than the 30-s schedule interval increased. On probe trials, peak response rates occurred near the time of reinforcer delivery and peak times varied with reinforcer duration. In a second experiment, seven female Long-Evans rats were exposed to FI 30-s schedules leading to 30-s opportunities to run. Timing of the onset and offset of the reinforcement period was assessed by probe trials during the schedule interval and during the reinforcement interval in separate conditions. The results provided evidence of timing of the onset, but not the offset of the wheel-running reinforcement period. Further research is required to assess if timing occurs during a wheel-running reinforcement period.

  7. Habituation of reinforcer effectiveness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David R Lloyd

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we propose an integrative model of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE that links behavioral and neural based explanations of reinforcement. We argue that habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE is a fundamental property of reinforcing stimuli. Most reinforcement models implicitly suggest that the effectiveness of a reinforcer is stable across repeated presentations. In contrast, an HRE approach predicts decreased effectiveness due to repeated presentation. We argue that repeated presentation of reinforcing stimuli decreases their effectiveness and that these decreases are described by the behavioral characteristics of habituation (McSweeney and Murphy, 2009;Rankin et al., 2009. We describe a neural model that postulates a positive association between dopamine neurotransmission and HRE. We present evidence that stimulant drugs, which artificially increase dopamine neurotransmission, disrupt (slow normally occurring HRE and also provide evidence that stimulant drugs have differential effects on operant responding maintained by reinforcers with rapid vs. slow HRE rates. We hypothesize that abnormal HRE due to genetic and/or environmental factors may underlie some behavioral disorders. For example, recent research indicates that slow-HRE is predictive of obesity. In contrast ADHD may reflect ‘accelerated-HRE’. Consideration of HRE is important for the development of effective reinforcement based treatments. Finally, we point out that most of the reinforcing stimuli that regulate daily behavior are non-consumable environmental/social reinforcers which have rapid-HRE. The almost exclusive use of consumable reinforcers with slow-HRE in pre-clinical studies with animals may have caused the importance of HRE to be overlooked. Further study of reinforcing stimuli with rapid-HRE is needed in order to understand how habituation and reinforcement interact and regulate behavior.

  8. Enhancing corrosion resistance of reinforced concrete structures with hybrid fiber reinforced concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blunt, J.; Jen, G.; Ostertag, C.P.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Reinforced concrete beams were subjected to cyclic flexural loading. • Hybrid fiber reinforced composites were effective in reducing corrosion rates. • Crack resistance due to fibers increased corrosion resistance of steel rebar. • Galvanic corrosion measurements underestimated corrosion rates. • Polarization resistance measurements predicted mass loss more accurately. - Abstract: Service loads well below the yield strength of steel reinforcing bars lead to cracking of reinforced concrete. This paper investigates whether the crack resistance of Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HyFRC) reduces the corrosion rate of steel reinforcing bars in concrete after cyclic flexural loading. The reinforcing bars were extracted to examine their surface for corrosion and compare microcell and macrocell corrosion mass loss estimates against direct gravimetric measurements. A delay in corrosion initiation and lower active corrosion rates were observed in the HyFRC beam specimens when compared to reinforced specimens containing plain concrete matrices cycled at the same flexural load

  9. Heterogeneous networking in the home environment

    OpenAIRE

    Bolla, Raffaele; Davoli, Franco; Repetto, Matteo; Fragopoulos, Tasos; Serpanos, D.; Chessa, Stefano; Ferro, Erina

    2006-01-01

    The management and control at multiple protocol layers of a heterogeneous networking structure, to support multimedia applications in the home environment, is considered. The paper examines possible scenarios, and corresponding architectural solutions, also in the light of existing wireless and sensor networks technologies.

  10. Flexural Behavior of High-Volume Steel Fiber Cementitious Composite Externally Reinforced with Basalt FRP Sheet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seungwon Kim

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available High-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCCs are characterized by unique tensile strain hardening and multiple microcracking behaviors. The HPFRCC, which demonstrates remarkable properties such as strength, ductility, toughness, durability, stiffness, and thermal resistance, is a class of fiber cement composite with fine aggregates. It can withstand tensile stresses by forming distributed microcracks owing to the embedded fibers in the concrete, which improve the energy absorption capacity and apparent ductility. This high energy absorbing capacity can be enhanced further by an external stiff fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP. Basalt fabric is externally bonded as a sheet on concrete materials to enhance the durability and resistance to fire and other environmental attacks. This study investigates the flexural performance of an HPFRCC that is externally reinforced with multiple layers of basalt FRP. The HPFRCC considered in the study contains steel fibers at a volume fraction of 8%.

  11. Transfers in heterogeneous environments; Transferts en milieux heterogenes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flesselles, J M [Saint-Gobain Recherche, 93 - Aubervilliers (France); Gouesbet, G; Mees, L; Roze, C; Girasole, Th; Grehan, G [Laboratoire d' Electromagnetisme et Systemes Particulaires (LESP), UMR CNRS 6614, CORIA. Universite de Rouen et INSA de Rouen, 76 - Saint-Etienne du Rouvray (France); Goyheneche, J M; Vignoles, G; Coindreau, O [Laboratoire des Composites Thermostructuraux (LCTS), UMR 5801, 33 - Pessac (France); Moyne, Ch [LEMTA (UMR 7563) CNRS-INPL-UHP, 54 - Vandoeuvre les Nancy (France); Coussy, O [Institut Navier - ENPC, 77 - Marne-la-Vallee (France); Lassabatere, Th [Electricite de France Les Renardieres, Dept. Materiaux Mecanique des Composants, 77 - Moret sur Loing (France); Tadrist, L [IUSTI - UMR 6595, 13 - Marseille (France)

    2004-07-01

    This document gathers the articles and transparencies of the invited talks given at the 2004 French congress of thermal engineering about transfers in heterogeneous environment. Content: transfer phenomena in industrial glass furnaces; simple and multiple scattering diagnosis by femto-second pulsed laser: application to particulate diagnoses; thermal modeling of thermo-structural composites; hybrid mixtures theory, average volumic measurement, periodical or stochastic homogenization: advance in scale change processes; thermo-hydro-chemical-mechanical coupling in porous medium: application to young concrete structures and to clay barriers of disposal facilities; transfers and flows in fluidization: recent advances and future challenges. (J.S.)

  12. Reinforcement Learning for a New Piano Mover

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuko Ishiwaka

    2005-08-01

    Full Text Available We attempt to achieve corporative behavior of autonomous decentralized agents constructed via Q-Learning, which is a type of reinforcement learning. As such, in the present paper, we examine the piano mover's problem. We propose a multi-agent architecture that has a training agent, learning agents and intermediate agent. Learning agents are heterogeneous and can communicate with each other. The movement of an object with three kinds of agent depends on the composition of the actions of the learning agents. By learning its own shape through the learning agents, avoidance of obstacles by the object is expected. We simulate the proposed method in a two-dimensional continuous world. Results obtained in the present investigation reveal the effectiveness of the proposed method.

  13. Theoretical and numerical analysis of reinforced concrete beams with confinement reinforcement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. G. Delalibera

    Full Text Available This paper discusses the use of confinement in over-reinforced concrete beams. This reinforcement consists of square stirrups, placed in the compression zone of the beam cross-section, in order to improve its ductility. A parametric numerical study is initially performed, using a finite element computational program that considers the material nonlinearities and the confinement effect. To investigate the influence of the transverse reinforcing ratio on the beam ductility, an experimental program was also conducted. Four over-reinforced beams were tested; three beam specimens with additional transverse reinforcement to confine the beams, and one without it. All specimens were fabricated with a concrete designed for a compressive strength of 25 MPa. The experimental results show that the post-peak ductility factor is proportional to the confining reinforcement ratio, however the same is not observed for the pre-peak ductility factor, which varied randomly with changes in the confining reinforcement ratio. It was also observed from the experiments that the confinement effect tends to be smaller close to the beam neutral axis.

  14. Heterogeneity of smooth muscle cells in tunica media of aorta in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... of the tunica media of goat aorta are phenotypically heterogeneous and run in multiple directions. These characteristics probably confer mechanical strength and functional plasticity to the aortic wall. Designers of aortic substitutes should bear this in mind. Keywords: Vascular, Smooth Muscle Cells, Heterogeneity, Aorta ...

  15. Habituation of reinforcer effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lloyd, David R; Medina, Douglas J; Hawk, Larry W; Fosco, Whitney D; Richards, Jerry B

    2014-01-09

    In this paper we propose an integrative model of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE) that links behavioral- and neural-based explanations of reinforcement. We argue that HRE is a fundamental property of reinforcing stimuli. Most reinforcement models implicitly suggest that the effectiveness of a reinforcer is stable across repeated presentations. In contrast, an HRE approach predicts decreased effectiveness due to repeated presentation. We argue that repeated presentation of reinforcing stimuli decreases their effectiveness and that these decreases are described by the behavioral characteristics of habituation (McSweeney and Murphy, 2009; Rankin etal., 2009). We describe a neural model that postulates a positive association between dopamine neurotransmission and HRE. We present evidence that stimulant drugs, which artificially increase dopamine neurotransmission, disrupt (slow) normally occurring HRE and also provide evidence that stimulant drugs have differential effects on operant responding maintained by reinforcers with rapid vs. slow HRE rates. We hypothesize that abnormal HRE due to genetic and/or environmental factors may underlie some behavioral disorders. For example, recent research indicates that slow-HRE is predictive of obesity. In contrast ADHD may reflect "accelerated-HRE." Consideration of HRE is important for the development of effective reinforcement-based treatments. Finally, we point out that most of the reinforcing stimuli that regulate daily behavior are non-consumable environmental/social reinforcers which have rapid-HRE. The almost exclusive use of consumable reinforcers with slow-HRE in pre-clinical studies with animals may have caused the importance of HRE to be overlooked. Further study of reinforcing stimuli with rapid-HRE is needed in order to understand how habituation and reinforcement interact and regulate behavior.

  16. Sorption of diesel oil from polyurethane composite reinforced with palm fiber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dantas, I.R.; Cipriano, J.P.; Costa, I.L.M.; Mulinari, D.R.

    2016-01-01

    One of the methods to contain the diesel oil spill is the application of materials polymeric sorbents and the polyurethane is an option of porous sorbents. In this way, the objective of this study was to evaluate the use of polyurethane composites derivative of castor oil reinforced with palm fibers to sorption of diesel oil and compare with pure polyurethane. The composites were reinforced with 5 to 20% w/w of fibers. Subsequently, the sorption capacity of the composite in function of inserted fiber content in the matrix was analyzed. The physical and morphological characteristics were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy techniques (SEM) and diffraction X-ray (XRD) and the contact angle. The results showed that the composite with 20% w /w showed higher sorption capacity oil diesel compared to pure PU and other composites this fact was due to the heterogeneity of the pores and dispersion of fiber in the matrix. (author)

  17. The use of joint reinforcement in qualifying masonry walls in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, H.G.; Becica, I.J.; Chokshi, N.C.; Con, V.N.; Hamid, A.A.

    1984-01-01

    Wire joint reinforcement has been traditionally used in block masonry walls for crack control and to provide continuity for multiple wythe walls. In a number of nuclear power plants, vertically unreinforced masonry walls that failed to meet the code allowable stresses for unreinforced masonry were qualified using joint reinforcement as a structural steel to carry lateral loads in the horizontal direction. It is the objective of this paper to examine the adequacy of this approach for seismic load application. A state-of-the-art review of available test data and code design provisions will be presented. It is concluded that the use of joint reinforcement to resist tensile stresses due to seismic loading is questionable because of the lack of test data available and especially the characterization of the cyclic behavior of joint reinforced masonry walls. Further research in this area is recommended

  18. Ultrasound scatter in heterogeneous 3D microstructures: Parameters affecting multiple scattering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engle, B. J.; Roberts, R. A.; Grandin, R. J.

    2018-04-01

    This paper reports on a computational study of ultrasound propagation in heterogeneous metal microstructures. Random spatial fluctuations in elastic properties over a range of length scales relative to ultrasound wavelength can give rise to scatter-induced attenuation, backscatter noise, and phase front aberration. It is of interest to quantify the dependence of these phenomena on the microstructure parameters, for the purpose of quantifying deleterious consequences on flaw detectability, and for the purpose of material characterization. Valuable tools for estimation of microstructure parameters (e.g. grain size) through analysis of ultrasound backscatter have been developed based on approximate weak-scattering models. While useful, it is understood that these tools display inherent inaccuracy when multiple scattering phenomena significantly contribute to the measurement. It is the goal of this work to supplement weak scattering model predictions with corrections derived through application of an exact computational scattering model to explicitly prescribed microstructures. The scattering problem is formulated as a volume integral equation (VIE) displaying a convolutional Green-function-derived kernel. The VIE is solved iteratively employing FFT-based con-volution. Realizations of random microstructures are specified on the micron scale using statistical property descriptions (e.g. grain size and orientation distributions), which are then spatially filtered to provide rigorously equivalent scattering media on a length scale relevant to ultrasound propagation. Scattering responses from ensembles of media representations are averaged to obtain mean and variance of quantities such as attenuation and backscatter noise levels, as a function of microstructure descriptors. The computational approach will be summarized, and examples of application will be presented.

  19. Using multiple schedules during functional communication training to promote rapid transfer of treatment effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Wayne W; Greer, Brian D; Fuhrman, Ashley M; Querim, Angie C

    2015-12-01

    Multiple schedules with signaled periods of reinforcement and extinction have been used to thin reinforcement schedules during functional communication training (FCT) to make the intervention more practical for parents and teachers. We evaluated whether these signals would also facilitate rapid transfer of treatment effects across settings and therapists. With 2 children, we conducted FCT in the context of mixed (baseline) and multiple (treatment) schedules introduced across settings or therapists using a multiple baseline design. Results indicated that when the multiple schedules were introduced, the functional communication response came under rapid discriminative control, and problem behavior remained at near-zero rates. We extended these findings with another individual by using a more traditional baseline in which problem behavior produced reinforcement. Results replicated those of the previous participants and showed rapid reductions in problem behavior when multiple schedules were implemented across settings. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  20. Axial Compression Tests on Corroded Reinforced Concrete Columns Consolidated with Fibre Reinforced Polymers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Ding

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Reinforced concrete structure featured by strong bearing capacity, high rigidity, good integrity, good fire resistance, and extensive applicability occupies a mainstream position in contemporary architecture. However, with the development of social economy, people need higher requirements on architectural structure; durability, especially, has been extensively researched. Because of the higher requirement on building material, ordinary reinforced concrete structure has not been able to satisfy the demand. As a result, some new materials and structures have emerged, for example, fibre reinforced polymers. Compared to steel reinforcement, fibre reinforced polymers have many advantages, such as high tensile strength, good durability, good shock absorption, low weight, and simple construction. The application of fibre reinforced polymers in architectural structure can effectively improve the durability of the concrete structure and lower the maintenance, reinforcement, and construction costs in severe environments. Based on the concepts of steel tube concrete, fibre reinforced composite material confined concrete, and fibre reinforced composite material tubed concrete, this study proposes a novel composite structure, i.e., fibre reinforced composite material and steel tube concrete composite structure. The structure was developed by pasting fibre around steel tube concrete and restraining core concrete using fibre reinforced composite material and steel tubes. The bearing capacity and ultimate deformation capacity of the structure was tested using column axial compression test.

  1. No impact of repeated extinction exposures on operant responding maintained by different reinforcer rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, John Y H; Podlesnik, Christopher A

    2017-05-01

    Greater rates of intermittent reinforcement in the presence of discriminative stimuli generally produce greater resistance to extinction, consistent with predictions of behavioral momentum theory. Other studies reveal more rapid extinction with higher rates of reinforcers - the partial reinforcement extinction effect. Further, repeated extinction often produces more rapid decreases in operant responding due to learning a discrimination between training and extinction contingencies. The present study examined extinction repeatedly with training with different rates of intermittent reinforcement in a multiple schedule. We assessed whether repeated extinction would reverse the pattern of greater resistance to extinction with greater reinforcer rates. Counter to this prediction, resistance to extinction was consistently greater across twelve assessments of training followed by six successive sessions of extinction. Moreover, patterns of responding during extinction resembled those observed during satiation tests, which should not alter discrimination processes with repeated testing. These findings join others suggesting operant responding in extinction can be durable across repeated tests. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Optimal Material Layout - Applied on Reinforced Concrete Slabs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dollerup, Niels; Jepsen, Michael S.; Damkilde, Lars

    2015-01-01

    This paper introduces a general, finite-element-based optimisation tool for improving the material layout of concrete structures. The application presented is general and exemplified by material optimisation of reinforced concrete slabs. By utilising the optimisation tool, it is possible to deter......This paper introduces a general, finite-element-based optimisation tool for improving the material layout of concrete structures. The application presented is general and exemplified by material optimisation of reinforced concrete slabs. By utilising the optimisation tool, it is possible...... to determine the optimal material layout of a slab in the ultimate load state, based on simple inputs such as outer geometry, boundary conditions, multiple load cases and design domains. The material layout of the optimal design can either be fully orthotropic or isotropic, or a combination with a predefined...

  3. Flexural strength using Steel Plate, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) on reinforced concrete beam in building technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarigan, Johannes; Patra, Fadel Muhammad; Sitorus, Torang

    2018-03-01

    Reinforced concrete structures are very commonly used in buildings because they are cheaper than the steel structures. But in reality, many concrete structures are damaged, so there are several ways to overcome this problem, by providing reinforcement with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) and reinforcement with steel plates. Each type of reinforcements has its advantages and disadvantages. In this study, researchers discuss the comparison between flexural strength of reinforced concrete beam using steel plates and Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP). In this case, the researchers use Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) as external reinforcements. The dimension of the beams is 15 x 25 cm with the length of 320 cm. Based on the analytical results, the strength of the beam with CFRP is 1.991 times its initial, GFRP is 1.877 times while with the steel plate is 1.646 times. Based on test results, the strength of the beam with CFRP is 1.444 times its initial, GFRP is 1.333 times while the steel plate is 1.167 times. Based on these test results, the authors conclude that beam with CFRP is the best choice for external reinforcement in building technology than the others.

  4. Influence of reinforcement weight fraction on microstructure and properties of submicron WC-Co{sub p}/Cu bulk MMCs prepared by direct laser sintering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gu, Dongdong [College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, 210016 Nanjing (China)]. E-mail: dongdonggu@hotmail.com; Shen, Yifu [College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, 210016 Nanjing (China)]. E-mail: yifushen@nuaa.edu.cn

    2007-04-04

    Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), due to its flexibility in materials and shapes, exhibits a great potential for fabricating complex shaped bulk metal matrix composites (MMCs). In the present work, the submicron WC-10% Co particulate reinforced Cu matrix composites were prepared using DMLS. The influence of reinforcement content on the sintered densification and the attendant microstructures, e.g. the dispersion homogeneity of the reinforcing particulates and the interfacial bonding ability, was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy disperse X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, and atomic force microscope (AFM). It shows that using a low reinforcement content of 20 wt.% results in a poor densification with severe balling phenomena, due to a higher average composite coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and a superheating of the melt. A heterogeneous microstructure with a significant particulate aggregation is obtained at a high reinforcement content of 40 wt.%, because of a limited liquid formation and the resultant high liquid viscosity and reduced Marangoni effect. Using an optimal reinforcement content of 30 wt.% leads to a uniform distribution of the reinforcing particulates and a compatible interfacial microstructure, so as to obtain a favorable sintered density of 90.3% theoretical density.

  5. Thesaurus-based search in large heterogeneous collections

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J. Wielemaker (Jan); M. Hildebrand (Michiel); J.R. van Ossenbruggen (Jacco); G. Schreiber (Guus); A. Sheth; not CWI et al

    2008-01-01

    htmlabstractIn cultural heritage, large virtual collections are coming into existence. Such collections contain heterogeneous sets of metadata and vocabulary concepts, originating from multiple sources. In the context of the E-Culture demonstrator we have shown earlier that such virtual

  6. Heterogeneous Materials I and Heterogeneous Materials II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knowles, K M

    2004-01-01

    In these two volumes the author provides a comprehensive survey of the various mathematically-based models used in the research literature to predict the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of hetereogeneous materials, i.e., materials containing two or more phases such as fibre-reinforced polymers, cast iron and porous ceramic kiln furniture. Volume I covers linear properties such as linear dielectric constant, effective electrical conductivity and elastic moduli, while Volume II covers nonlinear properties, fracture and atomistic and multiscale modelling. Where appropriate, particular attention is paid to the use of fractal geometry and percolation theory in describing the structure and properties of these materials. The books are advanced level texts reflecting the research interests of the author which will be of significant interest to research scientists working at the forefront of the areas covered by the books. Others working more generally in the field of materials science interested in comparing predictions of properties with experimental results may well find the mathematical level quite daunting initially, as it is apparent that the author assumes a level of mathematics consistent with that taught in final year undergraduate and graduate theoretical physics courses. However, for such readers it is well worth persevering because of the in-depth coverage to which the various models are subjected, and also because of the extensive reference lists at the back of both volumes which direct readers to the various source references in the scientific literature. Thus, for the wider materials science scientific community the two volumes will be a valuable library resource. While I would have liked to see more comparison with experimental data on both ideal and 'real' heterogeneous materials than is provided by the author and a discussion of how to model strong nonlinear current--voltage behaviour in systems such as zinc oxide varistors, my overall

  7. Using the Multiple Choice Procedure to Measure College Student Gambling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, Leon Harvey

    2010-01-01

    Research suggests that gambling is similar to addictive behaviors such as substance use. In the current study, gambling was investigated from a behavioral economics perspective. The Multiple Choice Procedure (MCP) with gambling as the target behavior was used to assess for relative reinforcing value, the effect of alternative reinforcers, and…

  8. Learning alternative movement coordination patterns using reinforcement feedback.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Tzu-Hsiang; Denomme, Amber; Ranganathan, Rajiv

    2018-05-01

    One of the characteristic features of the human motor system is redundancy-i.e., the ability to achieve a given task outcome using multiple coordination patterns. However, once participants settle on using a specific coordination pattern, the process of learning to use a new alternative coordination pattern to perform the same task is still poorly understood. Here, using two experiments, we examined this process of how participants shift from one coordination pattern to another using different reinforcement schedules. Participants performed a virtual reaching task, where they moved a cursor to different targets positioned on the screen. Our goal was to make participants use a coordination pattern with greater trunk motion, and to this end, we provided reinforcement by making the cursor disappear if the trunk motion during the reach did not cross a specified threshold value. In Experiment 1, we compared two reinforcement schedules in two groups of participants-an abrupt group, where the threshold was introduced immediately at the beginning of practice; and a gradual group, where the threshold was introduced gradually with practice. Results showed that both abrupt and gradual groups were effective in shifting their coordination patterns to involve greater trunk motion, but the abrupt group showed greater retention when the reinforcement was removed. In Experiment 2, we examined the basis of this advantage in the abrupt group using two additional control groups. Results showed that the advantage of the abrupt group was because of a greater number of practice trials with the desired coordination pattern. Overall, these results show that reinforcement can be successfully used to shift coordination patterns, which has potential in the rehabilitation of movement disorders.

  9. Speculative segmented sum for sparse matrix-vector multiplication on heterogeneous processors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Weifeng; Vinter, Brian

    2015-01-01

    of the same chip is triggered to re-arrange the predicted partial sums for a correct resulting vector. On three heterogeneous processors from Intel, AMD and nVidia, using 20 sparse matrices as a benchmark suite, the experimental results show that our method obtains significant performance improvement over...

  10. Transportation and disposal of low-and medium level waste using fiber reinforced concrete overpacks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pech, R.; Verdier, A.

    1993-01-01

    A multiple-year research effort by Cogema culminated in the development of a new process to immobilize nuclear waste in concrete overpacks reinforced with metal fibers. The fiber concrete overpacks satisfy all French safety requirements relating to waste immobilization and disposal, and have been certified by Andra, the national radioactive waste management agency. This presentation will cover the use of the fiber-reinforced concrete overpack for disposal and transportation, and will discuss their fabrication. (J.P.N.)

  11. Transcription elongation. Heterogeneous tracking of RNA polymerase and its biological implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imashimizu, Masahiko; Shimamoto, Nobuo; Oshima, Taku; Kashlev, Mikhail

    2014-01-01

    Regulation of transcription elongation via pausing of RNA polymerase has multiple physiological roles. The pausing mechanism depends on the sequence heterogeneity of the DNA being transcribed, as well as on certain interactions of polymerase with specific DNA sequences. In order to describe the mechanism of regulation, we introduce the concept of heterogeneity into the previously proposed alternative models of elongation, power stroke and Brownian ratchet. We also discuss molecular origins and physiological significances of the heterogeneity.

  12. Effect of sucrose availability and pre-running on the intrinsic value of wheel running as an operant and a reinforcing consequence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belke, Terry W; Pierce, W David

    2014-03-01

    The current study investigated the effect of motivational manipulations on operant wheel running for sucrose reinforcement and on wheel running as a behavioral consequence for lever pressing, within the same experimental context. Specifically, rats responded on a two-component multiple schedule of reinforcement in which lever pressing produced the opportunity to run in a wheel in one component of the schedule (reinforcer component) and wheel running produced the opportunity to consume sucrose solution in the other component (operant component). Motivational manipulations involved removal of sucrose contingent on wheel running and providing 1h of pre-session wheel running. Results showed that, in opposition to a response strengthening view, sucrose did not maintain operant wheel running. The motivational operations of withdrawing sucrose or providing pre-session wheel running, however, resulted in different wheel-running rates in the operant and reinforcer components of the multiple schedule; this rate discrepancy revealed the extrinsic reinforcing effects of sucrose on operant wheel running, but also indicated the intrinsic reinforcement value of wheel running across components. Differences in wheel-running rates between components were discussed in terms of arousal, undermining of intrinsic motivation, and behavioral contrast. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Thesaurus-based search in large heterogeneous collections

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wielemaker, J.; Hildebrand, M.; van Ossenbruggen, J.; Schreiber, G.

    2008-01-01

    In cultural heritage, large virtual collections are coming into existence. Such collections contain heterogeneous sets of metadata and vocabulary concepts, originating from multiple sources. In the context of the E-Culture demonstrator we have shown earlier that such virtual collections can be

  14. Waves spontaneously generated by heterogeneity in oscillatory media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Xiaohua; Huang, Xiaodong; Hu, Gang

    2016-05-01

    Wave propagation is an important characteristic for pattern formation and pattern dynamics. To date, various waves in homogeneous media have been investigated extensively and have been understood to a great extent. However, the wave behaviors in heterogeneous media have been studied and understood much less. In this work, we investigate waves that are spontaneously generated in one-dimensional heterogeneous oscillatory media governed by complex Ginzburg-Landau equations; the heterogeneity is modeled by multiple interacting homogeneous media with different system control parameters. Rich behaviors can be observed by varying the control parameters of the systems, whereas the behavior is incomparably simple in the homogeneous cases. These diverse behaviors can be fully understood and physically explained well based on three aspects: dispersion relation curves, driving-response relations, and wave competition rules in homogeneous systems. Possible applications of heterogeneity-generated waves are anticipated.

  15. Signaling added response-independent reinforcement to assess Pavlovian processes in resistance to change and relapse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Podlesnik, Christopher A; Fleet, James D

    2014-09-01

    Behavioral momentum theory asserts Pavlovian stimulus-reinforcer relations govern the persistence of operant behavior. Specifically, resistance to conditions of disruption (e.g., extinction, satiation) reflects the relation between discriminative stimuli and the prevailing reinforcement conditions. The present study assessed whether Pavlovian stimulus-reinforcer relations govern resistance to disruption in pigeons by arranging both response-dependent and -independent food reinforcers in two components of a multiple schedule. In one component, discrete-stimulus changes preceded response-independent reinforcers, paralleling methods that reduce Pavlovian conditioned responding to contextual stimuli. Compared to the control component with no added stimuli preceding response-independent reinforcement, response rates increased as discrete-stimulus duration increased (0, 5, 10, and 15 s) across conditions. Although resistance to extinction decreased as stimulus duration increased in the component with the added discrete stimulus, further tests revealed no effect of discrete stimuli, including other disrupters (presession food, intercomponent food, modified extinction) and reinstatement designed to control for generalization decrement. These findings call into question a straightforward conception that the stimulus-reinforcer relations governing resistance to disruption reflect the same processes as Pavlovian conditioning, as asserted by behavioral momentum theory. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  16. The role of multiple neuromodulators in reinforcement learning that is based on competition between eligibility traces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco A Huertas

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The ability to maximize reward and avoid punishment is essential for animal survival. Reinforcement learning (RL refers to the algorithms used by biological or artificial systems to learn how to maximize reward or avoid negative outcomes based on past experiences. While RL is also important in machine learning, the types of mechanistic constraints encountered by biological machinery might be different than those for artificial systems. Two major problems encountered by RL are how to relate a stimulus with a reinforcing signal that is delayed in time (temporal credit assignment, and how to stop learning once the target behaviors are attained (stopping rule. To address the first problem, synaptic eligibility traces were introduced, bridging the temporal gap between a stimulus and its reward. Although these were mere theoretical constructs, recent experiements have provided evidence of their existence. These experiments also reveal that the presence of specific neuromodulators converts the traces into changes in synaptic efficacy. A mechanistic implementation of the stopping rule usually assumes the inhibition of the reward nucleus; however, recent experimental results have shown that learning terminates at the appropriate network state even in setups where the reward cannot be inhibited. In an effort to describe a learning rule that solves the temporal credit assignment problem and implements a biologically plausible stopping rule, we proposed a model based on two separate synaptic eligibility traces, one for long-term potentiation (LTP and one for long-term depression (LTD, each obeying different dynamics and having different effective magnitudes. The model has been shown to successfully generate stable learning in recurrent networks. Although the model assumes the presence of a single neuromodulator, evidence indicates that there are different neuromodulators for expressing the different traces. What could be the role of different

  17. The Role of Multiple Neuromodulators in Reinforcement Learning That Is Based on Competition between Eligibility Traces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huertas, Marco A; Schwettmann, Sarah E; Shouval, Harel Z

    2016-01-01

    The ability to maximize reward and avoid punishment is essential for animal survival. Reinforcement learning (RL) refers to the algorithms used by biological or artificial systems to learn how to maximize reward or avoid negative outcomes based on past experiences. While RL is also important in machine learning, the types of mechanistic constraints encountered by biological machinery might be different than those for artificial systems. Two major problems encountered by RL are how to relate a stimulus with a reinforcing signal that is delayed in time (temporal credit assignment), and how to stop learning once the target behaviors are attained (stopping rule). To address the first problem synaptic eligibility traces were introduced, bridging the temporal gap between a stimulus and its reward. Although, these were mere theoretical constructs, recent experiments have provided evidence of their existence. These experiments also reveal that the presence of specific neuromodulators converts the traces into changes in synaptic efficacy. A mechanistic implementation of the stopping rule usually assumes the inhibition of the reward nucleus; however, recent experimental results have shown that learning terminates at the appropriate network state even in setups where the reward nucleus cannot be inhibited. In an effort to describe a learning rule that solves the temporal credit assignment problem and implements a biologically plausible stopping rule, we proposed a model based on two separate synaptic eligibility traces, one for long-term potentiation (LTP) and one for long-term depression (LTD), each obeying different dynamics and having different effective magnitudes. The model has been shown to successfully generate stable learning in recurrent networks. Although, the model assumes the presence of a single neuromodulator, evidence indicates that there are different neuromodulators for expressing the different traces. What could be the role of different neuromodulators for

  18. Influence of temporal context on value in the multiple-chains and successive-encounters procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Daly, Matthew; Angulo, Samuel; Gipson, Cassandra; Fantino, Edmund

    2006-05-01

    This set of studies explored the influence of temporal context across multiple-chain and multiple-successive-encounters procedures. Following training with different temporal contexts, the value of stimuli sharing similar reinforcement schedules was assessed by presenting these stimuli in concurrent probes. The results for the multiple-chain schedule indicate that temporal context does impact the value of a conditioned reinforcer consistent with delay-reduction theory, such that a stimulus signaling a greater reduction in delay until reinforcement has greater value. Further, nonreinforced stimuli that are concurrently presented with the preferred terminal link also have greater value, consistent with value transfer. The effects of context on value for conditions with the multiple-successive-encounters procedure, however, appear to depend on whether the search schedule or alternate handling schedule was manipulated, as well as on whether the tested stimuli were the rich or lean schedules in their components. Overall, the results help delineate the conditions under which temporal context affects conditioned-reinforcement value (acting as a learning variable) and the conditions under which it does not (acting as a performance variable), an issue of relevance to theories of choice.

  19. Experimental analysis of reinforced concrete beams strengthened in bending with carbon fiber reinforced polymer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. M. VIEIRA

    Full Text Available The use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP has been widely used for the reinforcement of concrete structures due to its practicality and versatility in application, low weight, high tensile strength and corrosion resistance. Some construction companies use CFRP in flexural strengthening of reinforced concrete beams, but without anchor systems. Therefore, the aim of this study is analyze, through an experimental program, the structural behavior of reinforced concrete beams flexural strengthened by CFRP without anchor fibers, varying steel reinforcement and the amount of carbon fibers reinforcement layers. Thus, two groups of reinforced concrete beams were produced with the same geometric feature but with different steel reinforcement. Each group had five beams: one that is not reinforced with CFRP (reference and other reinforced with two, three, four and five layers of carbon fibers. Beams were designed using a computational routine developed in MAPLE software and subsequently tested in 4-point points flexural test up to collapse. Experimental tests have confirmed the effectiveness of the reinforcement, ratifying that beams collapse at higher loads and lower deformation as the amount of fibers in the reinforcing layers increased. However, the increase in the number of layers did not provide a significant increase in the performance of strengthened beams, indicating that it was not possible to take full advantage of strengthening applied due to the occurrence of premature failure mode in the strengthened beams for pullout of the cover that could have been avoided through the use of a suitable anchoring system for CFRP.

  20. Reinforcement Schedules in a Verbal Reinforcement Combination and Renection-Impulsivity

    OpenAIRE

    TAMASE, Koji; UEDA, Masako

    1986-01-01

    It was predicted that higher proportion of the negative reinforcement "Wrong" than that of the positive reinforcement "Right" in a reinforcement combination will produce higher proportion of the correct response and this trend will be greater in reflective children than in impulsive children. From 140 kindergarten children 30 reflective and 30 impulsive children were selected and they were given a two-hole marble-dropping task. The best performance in the ratio of correct responses was obtain...

  1. Phenomenological interpretation of the shear behavior of reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composite beams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paegle, Ieva; Fischer, Gregor

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes an experimental investigation of the shear behavior of beams consisting of steel Reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composites (R/ECC). This study investigates and quantifies the effect of ECC's strain hardening and multiple cracking behavior on the shear capacity of beams...

  2. Clinical heterogeneity in Fabry disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. N. Salogub

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Fabry disease is an X-linked, lysosomal storage disease (OMIM: 301500, caused by α-galactosidase A deficiency, resulting in accumulation of its substrates, glycosphingolipids, primarily – globotriaosylceramide, in the lysosomes of multiple cell types with multi-system clinical manifestations, even within the same family, including abnormalities of the central and peripheral nervous system, kidneys, heart, gastrointestinal tract, lungs, organ of vision. Clinical heterogeneity is often the reason of the delayed diagnosis. Nowadays enzyme replacement therapy has proved its efficiency in the treatment of Fabry disease. Including Fabry disease in the differential diagnosis of a large range of disorders is important because of its wide clinical heterogeneity and the possibility of an earlier intervention with a beneficial treatment.

  3. Do COPD subtypes really exist? COPD heterogeneity and clustering in 10 independent cohorts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Castaldi, Peter J; Benet, Marta; Petersen, Hans; Rafaels, Nicholas; Finigan, James; Paoletti, Matteo; Marike Boezen, H; Vonk, Judith M; Bowler, Russell; Pistolesi, Massimo; Puhan, Milo A; Anto, Josep; Wauters, Els; Lambrechts, Diether; Janssens, Wim; Bigazzi, Francesca; Camiciottoli, Gianna; Cho, Michael H; Hersh, Craig P; Barnes, Kathleen; Rennard, Stephen; Boorgula, Meher Preethi; Dy, Jennifer; Hansel, Nadia N; Crapo, James D; Tesfaigzi, Yohannes; Agusti, Alvar; Silverman, Edwin K; Garcia-Aymerich, Judith

    Background COPD is a heterogeneous disease, but there is little consensus on specific definitions for COPD subtypes. Unsupervised clustering offers the promise of 'unbiased' data-driven assessment of COPD heterogeneity. Multiple groups have identified COPD subtypes using cluster analysis, but there

  4. Establishing books as conditioned reinforcers for preschool children as a function of an observational intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singer-Dudek, Jessica; Oblak, Mara; Greer, R Douglas

    2011-01-01

    We tested the effects of an observational intervention (Greer & Singer-Dudek, 2008) on establishing children's books as conditioned reinforcers using a delayed multiple baseline design. Three preschool students with mild language and developmental delays served as the participants. Prior to the intervention, books did not function as reinforcers for any of the participants. The observational intervention consisted of a situation in which the participant observed a confederate being presented with access to books contingent on correct responses and the participant received nothing for correct responses. After several sessions of this treatment, the previously neutral books acquired reinforcing properties for maintenance and acquisition responses for all three participants.

  5. Management of Reinforcement Corrosion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Küter, André; Geiker, Mette Rica; Møller, Per

    Reinforcement corrosion is the most important cause for deterioration of reinforced concrete structures, both with regard to costs and consequences. Thermodynamically consistent descriptions of corrosion mechanisms are expected to allow the development of innovative concepts for the management...... of reinforcement corrosion....

  6. Noninvasive In-Vivo Quantification of Mechanical Heterogeneity of Invasive Breast Carcinomas.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tengxiao Liu

    Full Text Available Heterogeneity is a hallmark of cancer whether one considers the genotype of cancerous cells, the composition of their microenvironment, the distribution of blood and lymphatic microvasculature, or the spatial distribution of the desmoplastic reaction. It is logical to expect that this heterogeneity in tumor microenvironment will lead to spatial heterogeneity in its mechanical properties. In this study we seek to quantify the mechanical heterogeneity within malignant and benign tumors using ultrasound based elasticity imaging. By creating in-vivo elastic modulus images for ten human subjects with breast tumors, we show that Young's modulus distribution in cancerous breast tumors is more heterogeneous when compared with tumors that are not malignant, and that this signature may be used to distinguish malignant breast tumors. Our results complement the view of cancer as a heterogeneous disease on multiple length scales by demonstrating that mechanical properties within cancerous tumors are also spatially heterogeneous.

  7. Heterogeneous Monolithic Integration of Single-Crystal Organic Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Kyung Sun; Baek, Jangmi; Park, Yoonkyung; Lee, Lynn; Hyon, Jinho; Koo Lee, Yong-Eun; Shrestha, Nabeen K; Kang, Youngjong; Sung, Myung Mo

    2017-02-01

    Manufacturing high-performance organic electronic circuits requires the effective heterogeneous integration of different nanoscale organic materials with uniform morphology and high crystallinity in a desired arrangement. In particular, the development of high-performance organic electronic and optoelectronic devices relies on high-quality single crystals that show optimal intrinsic charge-transport properties and electrical performance. Moreover, the heterogeneous integration of organic materials on a single substrate in a monolithic way is highly demanded for the production of fundamental organic electronic components as well as complex integrated circuits. Many of the various methods that have been designed to pattern multiple heterogeneous organic materials on a substrate and the heterogeneous integration of organic single crystals with their crystal growth are described here. Critical issues that have been encountered in the development of high-performance organic integrated electronics are also addressed. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Research on Heterogeneous Data Exchange based on XML

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Huanqin; Liu, Jinfeng

    Integration of multiple data sources is becoming increasingly important for enterprises that cooperate closely with their partners for e-commerce. OLAP enables analysts and decision makers fast access to various materialized views from data warehouses. However, many corporations have internal business applications deployed on different platforms. This paper introduces a model for heterogeneous data exchange based on XML. The system can exchange and share the data among the different sources. The method used to realize the heterogeneous data exchange is given in this paper.

  9. Integration of heterogeneous features for remote sensing scene classification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xin; Xiong, Xingnan; Ning, Chen; Shi, Aiye; Lv, Guofang

    2018-01-01

    Scene classification is one of the most important issues in remote sensing (RS) image processing. We find that features from different channels (shape, spectral, texture, etc.), levels (low-level and middle-level), or perspectives (local and global) could provide various properties for RS images, and then propose a heterogeneous feature framework to extract and integrate heterogeneous features with different types for RS scene classification. The proposed method is composed of three modules (1) heterogeneous features extraction, where three heterogeneous feature types, called DS-SURF-LLC, mean-Std-LLC, and MS-CLBP, are calculated, (2) heterogeneous features fusion, where the multiple kernel learning (MKL) is utilized to integrate the heterogeneous features, and (3) an MKL support vector machine classifier for RS scene classification. The proposed method is extensively evaluated on three challenging benchmark datasets (a 6-class dataset, a 12-class dataset, and a 21-class dataset), and the experimental results show that the proposed method leads to good classification performance. It produces good informative features to describe the RS image scenes. Moreover, the integration of heterogeneous features outperforms some state-of-the-art features on RS scene classification tasks.

  10. Effects of partial reinforcement and time between reinforced trials on terminal response rate in pigeon autoshaping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gottlieb, Daniel A

    2006-03-01

    Partial reinforcement often leads to asymptotically higher rates of responding and number of trials with a response than does continuous reinforcement in pigeon autoshaping. However, comparisons typically involve a partial reinforcement schedule that differs from the continuous reinforcement schedule in both time between reinforced trials and probability of reinforcement. Two experiments examined the relative contributions of these two manipulations to asymptotic response rate. Results suggest that the greater responding previously seen with partial reinforcement is primarily due to differential probability of reinforcement and not differential time between reinforced trials. Further, once established, differences in responding are resistant to a change in stimulus and contingency. Secondary response theories of autoshaped responding (theories that posit additional response-augmenting or response-attenuating mechanisms specific to partial or continuous reinforcement) cannot fully accommodate the current body of data. It is suggested that researchers who study pigeon autoshaping train animals on a common task prior to training them under different conditions.

  11. Influence of transverse reinforcement on perforation resistance of reinforced concrete slabs under hard missile impact

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orbovic, Nebojsa; Sagals, Genadijs; Blahoianu, Andrei

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes the work conducted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) related to the influence of transverse reinforcement on perforation capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs under “hard” missile impact (impact with negligible missile deformations). The paper presents the results of three tests on reinforced concrete slabs conducted at VTT Technical Research Centre (Finland), along with the numerical simulations as well as a discussion of the current code provisions related to impactive loading. Transverse reinforcement is widely used for improving the shear and punching strength of concrete structures. However, the effect of this reinforcement on the perforation resistance under localized missile impact is still unclear. The goal of this paper is to fill the gap in the current literature related to this topic. Based on similar tests designed by the authors with missile velocity below perforation velocity, it was expected that transverse reinforcement would improve the perforation resistance. Three slabs were tested under almost identical conditions with the only difference being the transverse reinforcement. One slab was designed without transverse reinforcement, the second one with the transverse reinforcement in form of conventional stirrups with hooks and the third one with the transverse reinforcement in form of T-headed bars. Although the transverse reinforcement reduced the overall damage of the slabs (the rear face scabbing), the conclusion from the tests is that the transverse reinforcement does not have important influence on perforation capacity of concrete slabs under rigid missile impact. The slab with T-headed bars presented a slight improvement compared to the baseline specimen without transverse reinforcement. The slab with conventional stirrups presented slightly lower perforation capacity (higher residual missile velocity) than the slab without transverse reinforcement. In conclusion, the performed tests show slightly

  12. Fast prediction of the fatigue behavior of short-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics based on heat build-up measurements: application to heterogeneous cases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serrano, Leonell; Marco, Yann; Le Saux, Vincent; Robert, Gilles; Charrier, Pierre

    2017-09-01

    Short-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics components for structural applications are usually very complex parts as stiffeners, ribs and thickness variations are used to compensate the quite low material intrinsic stiffness. These complex geometries induce complex local mechanical fields but also complex microstructures due to the injection process. Accounting for these two aspects is crucial for the design in regard to fatigue of these parts, especially for automotive industry. The aim of this paper is to challenge an energetic approach, defined to evaluate quickly the fatigue lifetime, on three different heterogeneous cases: a classic dog-bone sample with a skin-core microstructure and two structural samples representative of the thickness variations observed for industrial components. First, a method to evaluate dissipated energy fields from thermal measurements is described and is applied to the three samples in order to relate the cyclic loading amplitude to the fields of cyclic dissipated energy. Then, a local analysis is detailed in order to link the energy dissipated at the failure location to the fatigue lifetime and to predict the fatigue curve from the thermomechanical response of one single sample. The predictions obtained for the three cases are compared successfully to the Wöhler curves obtained with classic fatigue tests. Finally, a discussion is proposed to compare results for the three samples in terms of dissipation fields and fatigue lifetime. This comparison illustrates that, if the approach is leading to a very relevant diagnosis on each case, the dissipated energy field is not giving a straightforward access to the lifetime cartography as the relation between fatigue failure and dissipated energy seems to be dependent on the local mechanical and microstructural state.

  13. Guild-specific responses of avian species richness to LiDAR-derived habitat heterogeneity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weisberg, Peter J.; Dilts, Thomas E.; Becker, Miles E.; Young, Jock S.; Wong-Kone, Diane C.; Newton, Wesley E.; Ammon, Elisabeth M.

    2014-01-01

    Ecological niche theory implies that more heterogeneous habitats have the potential to support greater biodiversity. Positive heterogeneity-diversity relationships have been found for most studies investigating animal taxa, although negative relationships also occur and the scale dependence of heterogeneity-diversity relationships is little known. We investigated multi-scale, heterogeneity-diversity relationships for bird communities in a semi-arid riparian landscape, using airborne LiDAR data to derive key measures of structural habitat complexity. Habitat heterogeneity-diversity relationships were generally positive, although the overall strength of relationships varied across avian life history guilds (R2 range: 0.03–0.41). Best predicted were the species richness indices of cavity nesters, habitat generalists, woodland specialists, and foliage foragers. Heterogeneity-diversity relationships were also strongly scale-dependent, with strongest associations at the 200-m scale (4 ha) and weakest associations at the 50-m scale (0.25 ha). Our results underscore the value of LiDAR data for fine-grained quantification of habitat structure, as well as the need for biodiversity studies to incorporate variation among life-history guilds and to simultaneously consider multiple guild functional types (e.g. nesting, foraging, habitat). Results suggest that certain life-history guilds (foliage foragers, cavity nesters, woodland specialists) are more susceptible than others (ground foragers, ground nesters, low nesters) to experiencing declines in local species richness if functional elements of habitat heterogeneity are lost. Positive heterogeneity-diversity relationships imply that riparian conservation efforts need to not only provide high-quality riparian habitat locally, but also to provide habitat heterogeneity across multiple scales.

  14. Analysis of the Coupled Influence of Hydraulic Conductivity and Porosity Heterogeneity on Probabilistic Risk Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Libera, A.; Henri, C.; de Barros, F.

    2017-12-01

    Heterogeneities in natural porous formations, mainly manifested through the hydraulic conductivity (K) and, to a lesser degree, the porosity (Φ), largely control subsurface flow and solute transport. The influence of the heterogeneous structure of K on flow and solute transport processes has been widely studied, whereas less attention is dedicated to the joint heterogeneity of conductivity and porosity fields. Our study employs computational tools to investigate the joint effect of the spatial variabilities of K and Φ on the transport behavior of a solute plume. We explore multiple scenarios, characterized by different levels of heterogeneity of the geological system, and compare the computational results from the joint K and Φ heterogeneous system with the results originating from the generally adopted constant porosity case. In our work, we assume that the heterogeneous porosity is positively correlated to hydraulic conductivity. We perform numerical Monte Carlo simulations of conservative and reactive contaminant transport in a 3D aquifer. Contaminant mass and plume arrival times at multiple control planes and/or pumping wells operating under different extraction rates are analyzed. We employ different probabilistic metrics to quantify the risk at the monitoring locations, e.g., increased lifetime cancer risk and exceedance of Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), under multiple transport scenarios (i.e., different levels of heterogeneity, conservative or reactive solutes and different contaminant species). Results show that early and late arrival times of the solute mass at the selected sensitive locations (i.e. control planes/pumping wells) as well as risk metrics are strongly influenced by the spatial variability of the Φ field.

  15. Methods for producing reinforced carbon nanotubes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Zhifen [Newton, MA; Wen, Jian Guo [Newton, MA; Lao, Jing Y [Chestnut Hill, MA; Li, Wenzhi [Brookline, MA

    2008-10-28

    Methods for producing reinforced carbon nanotubes having a plurality of microparticulate carbide or oxide materials formed substantially on the surface of such reinforced carbon nanotubes composite materials are disclosed. In particular, the present invention provides reinforced carbon nanotubes (CNTs) having a plurality of boron carbide nanolumps formed substantially on a surface of the reinforced CNTs that provide a reinforcing effect on CNTs, enabling their use as effective reinforcing fillers for matrix materials to give high-strength composites. The present invention also provides methods for producing such carbide reinforced CNTs.

  16. Physical dependence increases the relative reinforcing effects of caffeine versus placebo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrett, B E; Griffiths, R R

    1998-10-01

    Using a within-subject cross-over design, this study examined the role of physical dependence in caffeine reinforcement by experimentally manipulating physical dependence. Each subject was exposed to two chronic drug phases (300 mg/70 kg/day caffeine and placebo) for 9-12 days, with order of phases counterbalanced across subjects. On 2 separate days immediately following each of the chronic drug exposures, subjects received acute doses of either caffeine (300 mg/70 kg) or placebo in counterbalanced order. The reinforcing effects of these drugs were then determined by using a multiple-choice procedure in which subjects made a series of discrete choices between receiving varying amounts of money or receiving the drug again, and a choice between the two drugs. To ensure that subjects completed the form carefully, following exposure to both of the acute drug administrations, one of the subject's previous choices from the multiple-choice form was randomly selected and the consequence of that choice was implemented. When subjects were maintained on chronic caffeine, they were willing to forfeit significantly more money and showed significant increases in typical withdrawal symptoms (e.g. fatigue, mood disturbance) after receiving placebo as compared to the other three conditions. When subjects were maintained on chronic caffeine, they also chose to receive caffeine over placebo twice as often than when they were maintained on chronic placebo. These findings provide the strongest evidence to date indicating that caffeine physical dependence increases the relative reinforcing effects of caffeine versus placebo.

  17. Within-Subject Testing of the Signaled-Reinforcement Effect on Operant Responding as Measured by Response Rate and Resistance to Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, Phil; Doughty, Adam H.

    2005-01-01

    Response rates under random-interval schedules are lower when a brief (500 ms) signal accompanies reinforcement than when there is no signal. The present study examined this signaled-reinforcement effect and its relation to resistance to change. In Experiment 1, rats responded on a multiple random-interval 60-s random-interval 60-s schedule, with…

  18. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Grids for Shear and End Zone Reinforcement in Bridge Beams

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-01

    Corrosion of reinforcing steel reduces life spans of bridges throughout the United States; therefore, using non-corroding carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) reinforcement is seen as a way to increase service life. The use of CFRP as the flexural ...

  19. Deconstructing transcriptional heterogeneity in pluripotent stem cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shalek, Alex K.; Satija, Rahul; DaleyKeyser, AJay; Li, Hu; Zhang, Jin; Pardee, Keith; Gennert, David; Trombetta, John J.; Ferrante, Thomas C.; Regev, Aviv; Daley, George Q.; Collins, James J.

    2014-01-01

    SUMMARY Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) are capable of dynamic interconversion between distinct substates, but the regulatory circuits specifying these states and enabling transitions between them are not well understood. We set out to characterize transcriptional heterogeneity in PSCs by single-cell expression profiling under different chemical and genetic perturbations. Signaling factors and developmental regulators show highly variable expression, with expression states for some variable genes heritable through multiple cell divisions. Expression variability and population heterogeneity can be influenced by perturbation of signaling pathways and chromatin regulators. Strikingly, either removal of mature miRNAs or pharmacologic blockage of signaling pathways drives PSCs into a low-noise ground state characterized by a reconfigured pluripotency network, enhanced self-renewal, and a distinct chromatin state, an effect mediated by opposing miRNA families acting on the c-myc / Lin28 / let-7 axis. These data illuminate the nature of transcriptional heterogeneity in PSCs. PMID:25471879

  20. Operant conditioning of neural activity in freely behaving monkeys with intracranial reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eaton, Ryan W; Libey, Tyler; Fetz, Eberhard E

    2017-03-01

    Operant conditioning of neural activity has typically been performed under controlled behavioral conditions using food reinforcement. This has limited the duration and behavioral context for neural conditioning. To reward cell activity in unconstrained primates, we sought sites in nucleus accumbens (NAc) whose stimulation reinforced operant responding. In three monkeys, NAc stimulation sustained performance of a manual target-tracking task, with response rates that increased monotonically with increasing NAc stimulation. We recorded activity of single motor cortex neurons and documented their modulation with wrist force. We conditioned increased firing rates with the monkey seated in the training booth and during free behavior in the cage using an autonomous head-fixed recording and stimulating system. Spikes occurring above baseline rates triggered single or multiple electrical pulses to the reinforcement site. Such rate-contingent, unit-triggered stimulation was made available for periods of 1-3 min separated by 3-10 min time-out periods. Feedback was presented as event-triggered clicks both in-cage and in-booth, and visual cues were provided in many in-booth sessions. In-booth conditioning produced increases in single neuron firing probability with intracranial reinforcement in 48 of 58 cells. Reinforced cell activity could rise more than five times that of non-reinforced activity. In-cage conditioning produced significant increases in 21 of 33 sessions. In-cage rate changes peaked later and lasted longer than in-booth changes, but were often comparatively smaller, between 13 and 18% above non-reinforced activity. Thus intracranial stimulation reinforced volitional increases in cortical firing rates during both free behavior and a controlled environment, although changes in the latter were more robust. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Closed-loop brain-computer interfaces (BCI) were used to operantly condition increases in muscle and neural activity in monkeys by delivering

  1. A micromechanical approach to elastic and viscoelastic properties of fiber reinforced concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasa Dutra, V.F.; Maghous, S.; Campos Filho, A.; Pacheco, A.R.

    2010-01-01

    Some aspects of the constitutive behavior of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) are investigated within a micromechanical framework. Special emphasis is put on the prediction of creep of such materials. The linear elastic behavior is first examined by implementation of a Mori-Tanaka homogenization scheme. The micromechanical predictions for the overall stiffness prove to be very close to finite element solutions obtained from the numerical analysis of a representative elementary volume of FRC modeled as a randomly heterogeneous medium. The validation of the micromechanical concepts based on comparison with a set of experiments, shows remarkable predictive capabilities of the micromechanical representation. The second part of the paper is devoted to non-ageing viscoelasticity of FRC. Adopting a Zener model for the behavior of the concrete matrix and making use of the correspondence principle, the homogenized relaxation moduli are derived analytically. The validity of the model is established by mean of comparison with available experiment measurements of creep strain of steel fiber reinforced concrete under compressive load. Finally, the model predictions are compared to those derived from analytical models formulated within a one-dimensional setting.

  2. Optimisation of cognitive performance in rodent operant (touchscreen) testing: Evaluation and effects of reinforcer strength.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Benjamin U; Heath, Christopher J; Ossowska, Zofia; Bussey, Timothy J; Saksida, Lisa M

    2017-09-01

    Operant testing is a widely used and highly effective method of studying cognition in rodents. Performance on such tasks is sensitive to reinforcer strength. It is therefore advantageous to select effective reinforcers to minimize training times and maximize experimental throughput. To quantitatively investigate the control of behavior by different reinforcers, performance of mice was tested with either strawberry milkshake or a known powerful reinforcer, super saccharin (1.5% or 2% (w/v) saccharin/1.5% (w/v) glucose/water mixture). Mice were tested on fixed (FR)- and progressive-ratio (PR) schedules in the touchscreen-operant testing system. Under an FR schedule, both the rate of responding and number of trials completed were higher in animals responding for strawberry milkshake versus super saccharin. Under a PR schedule, mice were willing to emit similar numbers of responses for strawberry milkshake and super saccharin; however, analysis of the rate of responding revealed a significantly higher rate of responding by animals reinforced with milkshake versus super saccharin. To determine the impact of reinforcer strength on cognitive performance, strawberry milkshake and super saccharin-reinforced animals were compared on a touchscreen visual discrimination task. Animals reinforced by strawberry milkshake were significantly faster to acquire the discrimination than animals reinforced by super saccharin. Taken together, these results suggest that strawberry milkshake is superior to super saccharin for operant behavioral testing and further confirms that the application of response rate analysis to multiple ratio tasks is a highly sensitive method for the detection of behavioral differences relevant to learning and motivation.

  3. Combining noncontingent reinforcement and differential reinforcement schedules as treatment for aberrant behavior.

    OpenAIRE

    Marcus, B A; Vollmer, T R

    1996-01-01

    Research has shown that noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) can be an effective behavior-reduction procedure when based on a functional analysis. The effects of NCR may be a result of elimination of the contingency between aberrant behavior and reinforcing consequences (extinction) or frequent and free access to reinforcers that may reduce the participant's motivation to engage in aberrant behaviors or mands. If motivation is momentarily reduced, behavior such as mands may not be sensitive to p...

  4. Degradation of Waterfront Reinforced Concrete Structures

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Key words: Degradation, reinforced concrete, Dar es Salaam port. Abstract—One of the ... especially corrosion of the reinforcement. ... Corrosion of steel reinforcement contributes .... cracks along the line of reinforcement bars and most of the ...

  5. Confinement of Reinforced-Concrete Columns with Non-Code Compliant Confining Reinforcement plus Supplemental Pen-Binder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anang Kristianto

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available One of the important requirements for earthquake resistant building related to confinement is the use of seismic hooks in the hoop or confining reinforcement of reinforced-concrete column elements. However, installation of a confining reinforcement with a 135-degree hook is not easy. Therefore, in practice, many construction workers apply a confining reinforcement with a 90-degreehook (non-code compliant. Based on research and records of recent earthquakes in Indonesia, the use of a non-code compliant confining reinforcement for concrete columns produces structures with poor seismic performance. This paper presents a study that introduces an additional element that is expected to improve the effectiveness of concrete columns confined with a non-code compliant confining reinforcement. The additional element, named a pen-binder, is used to keep the non-code compliant confining reinforcement in place. The effectiveness of this element under pure axial concentric loading was investigatedcomprehensively.The specimens tested in this study were 18 concrete columns,with a cross-section of 170 mm x 170 mm and a height of 480 mm. The main test variables were the material type of the pen-binder, the angle of the hook, and the confining reinforcement configuration.The test results indicate that adding pen-binders can effectively improve the strength and ductility of the column specimens confined with a non-code compliant confining reinforcement

  6. The Effects of Delayed Reinforcement on Variability and Repetition of Response Sequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odum, Amy L.; Ward, Ryan D.; Burke, K. Anne; Barnes, Christopher A.

    2006-01-01

    Four experiments examined the effects of delays to reinforcement on key peck sequences of pigeons maintained under multiple schedules of contingencies that produced variable or repetitive behavior. In Experiments 1, 2, and 4, in the repeat component only the sequence right-right-left-left earned food, and in the vary component four-response…

  7. Influence of reinforcement's corrosion into hyperstatic reinforced concrete beams: a probabilistic failure scenarios analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. P. PELLIZZER

    Full Text Available AbstractThis work aims to study the mechanical effects of reinforcement's corrosion in hyperstatic reinforced concrete beams. The focus is the probabilistic determination of individual failure scenarios change as well as global failure change along time. The limit state functions assumed describe analytically bending and shear resistance of reinforced concrete rectangular cross sections as a function of steel and concrete resistance and section dimensions. It was incorporated empirical laws that penalize the steel yield stress and the reinforcement's area along time in addition to Fick's law, which models the chloride penetration into concrete pores. The reliability theory was applied based on Monte Carlo simulation method, which assesses each individual probability of failure. The probability of global structural failure was determined based in the concept of failure tree. The results of a hyperstatic reinforced concrete beam showed that reinforcements corrosion make change into the failure scenarios modes. Therefore, unimportant failure modes in design phase become important after corrosion start.

  8. Masonry arches retrofitted with steel reinforced grout materials: In-situ experimental tests and advanced FE simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertolesi, Elisa; Carozzi, Francesca Giulia; Milani, Gabriele; Poggi, Carlo

    2017-11-01

    The paper presents the results of a series of in-situ tests carried out on two masonry arches, one unreinforced and the other reinforced with SRG (Steel Reinforced Grout). The arches are built adopting a peculiar construction technique using common Italian bricks with dimensions 250 × 120 × 55 mm3 and 10 mm thick mortar joints. One of the two arches has been reinforced with an SRG material constituted by an inox grid embedded into a layer of lime mortar, whereas the second one is maintained unreinforced for comparison purposes. The experimental set-up is designed to apply an eccentric vertical load placed at ¼ of the span in a series of loading and unloading cycles up to the failure. The numerical analyses have been performed using a sophisticated heterogeneous micro-modeling technique, where bricks, mortar joints and the strengthening have been modeled separately. Finally, the numerical outcomes have been comparatively assessed with respect to the experimental results and the crack patterns obtained at the end of the tests, showing a satisfactory agreement in terms of the global behavior of the arches and their collapse mechanisms.

  9. Crack identification for reinforced concrete using PZT based smart rebar active sensing diagnostic network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, N. N.; Wu, F.

    2016-04-01

    An active sensing diagnostic system using PZT based smart rebar for SHM of RC structure has been currently under investigation. Previous test results showed that the system could detect the de-bond of concrete from reinforcement, and the diagnostic signals were increased exponentially with the de-bonding size. Previous study also showed that the smart rebar could function well like regular reinforcement to undertake tension stresses. In this study, a smart rebar network has been used to detect the crack damage of concrete based on guided waves. Experimental test has been carried out for the study. In the test, concrete beams with 2 reinforcements have been built. 8 sets of PZT elements were mounted onto the reinforcement bars in an optimized way to form an active sensing diagnostic system. A 90 kHz 5-cycle Hanning-windowed tone burst was used as input. Multiple cracks have been generated on the concrete structures. Through the guided bulk waves propagating in the structures from actuators and sensors mounted from different bars, crack damage could be detected clearly. Cases for both single and multiple cracks were tested. Different crack depths from the surface and different crack numbers have been studied. Test result shows that the amplitude of sensor output signals is deceased linearly with a propagating crack, and is decreased exponentially with increased crack numbers. From the study, the active sensing diagnostic system using PZT based smart rebar network shows a promising way to provide concrete crack damage information through the "talk" among sensors.

  10. Parasites and health affect multiple sexual signals in male common wall lizards, Podarcis muralis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Martín, J.; Amo de Paz, L.; López, P.

    2008-01-01

    Multiple advertising sexual traits may either advertise different characteristics of male condition or be redundant to reinforce reliability of signals. Research has focused on multiple visual traits. However, in animals that use different multiple additional sensory systems, such as chemoreception,

  11. Finite element modeling of reinforced concrete beams with a hybrid combination of steel and aramid reinforcement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hawileh, R.A.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Modeling of concrete beams reinforced steel and FRP bars. • Developed finite element models achieved good results. • The models are validated via comparison with experimental results. • Parametric studies are performed. - Abstract: Corrosion of steel bars has an adverse effect on the life-span of reinforced concrete (RC) members and is usually associated with crack development in RC beams. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars have been recently used to reinforce concrete members in flexure due to their high tensile strength and superior corrosion resistance properties. However, FRP materials are brittle in nature, thus RC beams reinforced with such materials would exhibit a less ductile behavior when compared to similar members reinforced with conventional steel reinforcement. Recently, researchers investigated the performance of concrete beams reinforced with a hybrid combination of steel and Aramid Fiber Reinforced Polymer (AFRP) reinforcement to maintain a reasonable level of ductility in such members. The function of the AFRP bars is to increase the load-carrying capacity, while the function of the steel bars is to ensure ductility of the flexural member upon yielding in tension. This paper presents a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model that predicted the load versus mid-span deflection response of tested RC beams conducted by other researchers with a hybrid combination of steel and AFRP bars. The developed FE models account for the constituent material nonlinearities and bond–slip behavior between the reinforcing bars and adjacent concrete surfaces. It was concluded that the developed models can accurately capture the behavior and predicts the load-carrying capacity of such RC members. In addition, a parametric study is conducted using the validated models to investigate the effect of AFRP bar size, FRP material type, bond–slip action, and concrete compressive strength on the performance of concrete beams when reinforced

  12. Health monitoring of precast bridge deck panels reinforced with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-01

    The present research project investigates monitoring concrete precast panels for bridge decks that are reinforced with Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars. Due to the lack of long term research on concrete members reinforced with GFRP bars, lo...

  13. Modelling Configuration Knowledge in Heterogeneous Product Families

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Queva, Matthieu Stéphane Benoit; Männistö, Tomi; Ricci, Laurent

    2011-01-01

    Product configuration systems play an important role in the development of Mass Customisation. The configuration of complex product families may nowadays involve multiple design disciplines, e.g. hardware, software and services. In this paper, we present a conceptual approach for modelling...... the variability in such heterogeneous product families. Our approach is based on a framework that aims to cater for the different stakeholders involved in the modelling and management of the product family. The modelling approach is centred around the concepts of views, types and constraints and is illustrated...... by a motivation example. Furthermore, as a proof of concept, a prototype has been implemented for configuring a non-trivial heterogeneous product family....

  14. Using Multiple Schedules during Functional Communication Training to Promote Rapid Transfer of Treatment Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Wayne W.; Greer, Brian D.; Fuhrman, Ashley M.; Querim, Angie C.

    2015-01-01

    Multiple schedules with signaled periods of reinforcement and extinction have been used to thin reinforcement schedules during functional communication training (FCT) to make the intervention more practical for parents and teachers. We evaluated whether these signals would also facilitate rapid transfer of treatment effects across settings and…

  15. Heterogeneous recurrence monitoring and control of nonlinear stochastic processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Hui, E-mail: huiyang@usf.edu; Chen, Yun [Complex Systems Monitoring, Modeling and Analysis Laboratory, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620 (United States)

    2014-03-15

    Recurrence is one of the most common phenomena in natural and engineering systems. Process monitoring of dynamic transitions in nonlinear and nonstationary systems is more concerned with aperiodic recurrences and recurrence variations. However, little has been done to investigate the heterogeneous recurrence variations and link with the objectives of process monitoring and anomaly detection. Notably, nonlinear recurrence methodologies are based on homogeneous recurrences, which treat all recurrence states in the same way as black dots, and non-recurrence is white in recurrence plots. Heterogeneous recurrences are more concerned about the variations of recurrence states in terms of state properties (e.g., values and relative locations) and the evolving dynamics (e.g., sequential state transitions). This paper presents a novel approach of heterogeneous recurrence analysis that utilizes a new fractal representation to delineate heterogeneous recurrence states in multiple scales, including the recurrences of both single states and multi-state sequences. Further, we developed a new set of heterogeneous recurrence quantifiers that are extracted from fractal representation in the transformed space. To that end, we integrated multivariate statistical control charts with heterogeneous recurrence analysis to simultaneously monitor two or more related quantifiers. Experimental results on nonlinear stochastic processes show that the proposed approach not only captures heterogeneous recurrence patterns in the fractal representation but also effectively monitors the changes in the dynamics of a complex system.

  16. Caregiver preference for reinforcement-based interventions for problem behavior maintained by positive reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabor, Anne M; Fritz, Jennifer N; Roath, Christopher T; Rothe, Brittany R; Gourley, Denise A

    2016-06-01

    Social validity of behavioral interventions typically is assessed with indirect methods or by determining preferences of the individuals who receive treatment, and direct observation of caregiver preference rarely is described. In this study, preferences of 5 caregivers were determined via a concurrent-chains procedure. Caregivers were neurotypical, and children had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities and engaged in problem behavior maintained by positive reinforcement. Caregivers were taught to implement noncontingent reinforcement (NCR), differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA), and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), and the caregivers selected interventions to implement during sessions with the child after they had demonstrated proficiency in implementing the interventions. Three caregivers preferred DRA, 1 caregiver preferred differential reinforcement procedures, and 1 caregiver did not exhibit a preference. Direct observation of implementation in concurrent-chains procedures may allow the identification of interventions that are implemented with sufficient integrity and preferred by caregivers. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  17. TensorFlow Agents: Efficient Batched Reinforcement Learning in TensorFlow

    OpenAIRE

    Hafner, Danijar; Davidson, James; Vanhoucke, Vincent

    2017-01-01

    We introduce TensorFlow Agents, an efficient infrastructure paradigm for building parallel reinforcement learning algorithms in TensorFlow. We simulate multiple environments in parallel, and group them to perform the neural network computation on a batch rather than individual observations. This allows the TensorFlow execution engine to parallelize computation, without the need for manual synchronization. Environments are stepped in separate Python processes to progress them in parallel witho...

  18. Effects of reinforcer magnitude on responding under differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedules of rats and pigeons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doughty, Adam H; Richards, Jerry B

    2002-07-01

    Experiment I investigated the effects of reinforcer magnitude on differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL) schedule performance in three phases. In Phase 1, two groups of rats (n = 6 and 5) responded under a DRI. 72-s schedule with reinforcer magnitudes of either 30 or 300 microl of water. After acquisition, the water amounts were reversed for each rat. In Phase 2, the effects of the same reinforcer magnitudes on DRL 18-s schedule performance were examined across conditions. In Phase 3, each rat responded unider a DR1. 18-s schedule in which the water amotnts alternated between 30 and 300 microl daily. Throughout each phase of Experiment 1, the larger reinforcer magnitude resulted in higher response rates and lower reinforcement rates. The peak of the interresponse-time distributions was at a lower value tinder the larger reinforcer magnitude. In Experiment 2, 3 pigeons responded under a DRL 20-s schedule in which reinforcer magnitude (1-s or 6-s access to grain) varied iron session to session. Higher response rates and lower reinforcement rates occurred tinder the longer hopper duration. These results demonstrate that larger reinforcer magnitudes engender less efficient DRL schedule performance in both rats and pigeons, and when reinforcer magnitude was held constant between sessions or was varied daily. The present results are consistent with previous research demonstrating a decrease in efficiency as a function of increased reinforcer magnituide tinder procedures that require a period of time without a specified response. These findings also support the claim that DRI. schedule performance is not governed solely by a timing process.

  19. Genetic dissection of the Drosophila melanogaster female head transcriptome reveals widespread allelic heterogeneity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Elizabeth G; Sanderson, Brian J; McNeil, Casey L; Long, Anthony D; Macdonald, Stuart J

    2014-05-01

    Modern genetic mapping is plagued by the "missing heritability" problem, which refers to the discordance between the estimated heritabilities of quantitative traits and the variance accounted for by mapped causative variants. One major potential explanation for the missing heritability is allelic heterogeneity, in which there are multiple causative variants at each causative gene with only a fraction having been identified. The majority of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) implicitly assume that a single SNP can explain all the variance for a causative locus. However, if allelic heterogeneity is prevalent, a substantial amount of genetic variance will remain unexplained. In this paper, we take a haplotype-based mapping approach and quantify the number of alleles segregating at each locus using a large set of 7922 eQTL contributing to regulatory variation in the Drosophila melanogaster female head. Not only does this study provide a comprehensive eQTL map for a major community genetic resource, the Drosophila Synthetic Population Resource, but it also provides a direct test of the allelic heterogeneity hypothesis. We find that 95% of cis-eQTLs and 78% of trans-eQTLs are due to multiple alleles, demonstrating that allelic heterogeneity is widespread in Drosophila eQTL. Allelic heterogeneity likely contributes significantly to the missing heritability problem common in GWAS studies.

  20. Constrained Active Learning for Anchor Link Prediction Across Multiple Heterogeneous Social Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Junxing; Zhang, Jiawei; Wu, Quanyuan; Jia, Yan; Zhou, Bin; Wei, Xiaokai; Yu, Philip S

    2017-08-03

    Nowadays, people are usually involved in multiple heterogeneous social networks simultaneously. Discovering the anchor links between the accounts owned by the same users across different social networks is crucial for many important inter-network applications, e.g., cross-network link transfer and cross-network recommendation. Many different supervised models have been proposed to predict anchor links so far, but they are effective only when the labeled anchor links are abundant. However, in real scenarios, such a requirement can hardly be met and most anchor links are unlabeled, since manually labeling the inter-network anchor links is quite costly and tedious. To overcome such a problem and utilize the numerous unlabeled anchor links in model building, in this paper, we introduce the active learning based anchor link prediction problem. Different from the traditional active learning problems, due to the one-to-one constraint on anchor links, if an unlabeled anchor link a = ( u , v ) is identified as positive (i.e., existing), all the other unlabeled anchor links incident to account u or account v will be negative (i.e., non-existing) automatically. Viewed in such a perspective, asking for the labels of potential positive anchor links in the unlabeled set will be rewarding in the active anchor link prediction problem. Various novel anchor link information gain measures are defined in this paper, based on which several constraint active anchor link prediction methods are introduced. Extensive experiments have been done on real-world social network datasets to compare the performance of these methods with state-of-art anchor link prediction methods. The experimental results show that the proposed Mean-entropy-based Constrained Active Learning (MC) method can outperform other methods with significant advantages.

  1. Analysis of the Decoupled Access for Downlink and Uplink in Wireless Heterogeneous Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Smiljkovikj, K.; Popovski, Petar; Gavrilovska, L.

    2015-01-01

    Wireless cellular networks evolve towards a heterogeneous infrastructure, featuring multiple types of Base Stations (BSs), such as Femto BSs (FBSs) and Macro BSs (MBSs). A wireless device observes multiple points (BSs) through which it can access the infrastructure and it may choose to receive th...

  2. Study on the Reinforcement Measures and Control Effect of the Surrounding Rock Stability Based on the Shield Tunneling Under Overpass Structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qian-cheng Fang

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available To study the stability of surrounding rocks for shield tunneling under overpass structures and the safety of existing bridge structures, a practical example of the method was cited through a shield tunneling project under the overpass structure between K1+110 and K1+700 on Line 2 of Shenyang Subway, China. The sub-area reinforcement was proposed according to surrounding rock deformation characteristics during shield tunnel excavation. The bridge foundation (i.e., the clear spacing to the shield tunnel is less than 2 m was reinforced by steel support, the bridge foundation (the clear spacing is about 2~7m used “jet grouting pile” reinforcement, whereas the bridge foundation (the clear spacing is greater than 7 m did not adopt any reinforcement measures for the moment. For this study, the mean value and material heterogeneity models were established to evaluate the reinforcement effect from several aspects, such as surrounding rock deformation, plastic zone development, and safety factor. The simulation results were consistent with those of field monitoring. After reinforcement, the maximum deformation values of the surrounding rock were reduced by 4.9%, 12.2%, and 48.46%, and the maximum values of surface subsidence were decreased by 5.6%, 72.2%, and 88.64%. By contrast, the overall safety factor was increased by 4.1%, 55.46%, and 55.46%. This study posited that this reinforcement method can be adopted to solve tunnel construction problems in engineering-geological conditions effectively. References for evaluating similar projects are provided.

  3. The usage of carbon fiber reinforcement polymer and glass fiber reinforcement polymer for retrofit technology building

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarigan, Johannes; Meka, Randi; Nursyamsi

    2018-03-01

    Fiber Reinforcement Polymer has been used as a material technology since the 1970s in Europe. Fiber Reinforcement Polymer can reinforce the structure externally, and used in many types of buildings like beams, columns, and slabs. It has high tensile strength. Fiber Reinforcement Polymer also has high rigidity and strength. The profile of Fiber Reinforcement Polymer is thin and light, installation is simple to conduct. One of Fiber Reinforcement Polymer material is Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Polymer and Glass Fiber Reinforcement Polymer. These materials is tested when it is installed on concrete cylinders, to obtain the comparison of compressive strength CFRP and GFRP. The dimension of concrete is diameter of 15 cm and height of 30 cm. It is amounted to 15 and divided into three groups. The test is performed until it collapsed to obtain maximum load. The results of research using CFRP and GFRP have shown the significant enhancement in compressive strength. CFRP can increase the compressive strength of 26.89%, and GFRP of 14.89%. For the comparison of two materials, CFRP is more strengthening than GFRP regarding increasing compressive strength. The usage of CFRP and GFRP can increase the loading capacity.

  4. Bioinspired Interfacial Chelating-like Reinforcement Strategy toward Mechanically Enhanced Lamellar Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ke; Zhang, Shuhao; Li, Anran; Tang, Xuke; Li, Lidong; Guo, Lin

    2018-05-22

    Many biological organisms usually derived from the ordered assembly of heterogeneous, hierarchical inorganic/organic constituents exhibit outstanding mechanical integration, but have proven to be difficult to produce the combination of excellent mechanical properties, such as strength, toughness, and light weight, by merely mimicking their component and structural characteristics. Herein, inspired by biologically strong chelating interactions of phytic acid (PA) or IP6 in many biomaterials, we present a biologically interfacial chelating-like reinforcement (BICR) strategy for fabrication of a highly dense ordered "brick-and-mortar" microstructure by incorporating tiny amounts of a natural chelating agent ( e. g., PA) into the interface or the interlamination of a material ( e. g., graphene oxide (GO)), which shows joint improvement in hardness (∼41.0%), strength (∼124.1%), maximum Young's modulus (∼134.7%), and toughness (∼118.5%) in the natural environment. Besides, for different composite matrix systems and artificial chelating agents, the BICR strategy has been proven successful for greatly enhancing their mechanical properties, which is superior to many previous reinforcing approaches. This point can be mainly attributed to the stronger noncovalent cross-linking interactions such as dense hydrogen bonds between the richer phosphate (hydroxyl) groups on its cyclohexanehexol ring and active sites of GO, giving rise to the larger energy dissipation at its hybrid interfaces. It is also simple and environmentally friendly for further scale-up fabrication and can be readily extended to other material systems, which opens an advanced reinforcement route to construct structural materials with high mechanical performance in an efficient way for practical applications.

  5. Reinforced concrete tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mariscotti, M.A.J.; Morixe, M.; Tarela, P.A.; Thieberger, P.

    1997-01-01

    In this paper we describe the technique of reinforced concrete tomography, its historical background, recent technological developments and main applications. Gamma radiation sensitive plates are imprinted with radiation going through the concrete sample under study, and then processed to reveal the presence of reinforcement and defects in the material density. The three dimensional reconstruction, or tomography, of the reinforcement out of a single gammagraphy is an original development alternative to conventional methods. Re-bar diameters and positions may be determined with an accuracy of ± 1 mm 0.5-1 cm, respectively. The non-destructive character of this technique makes it particularly attractive in cases of inhabited buildings and diagnoses of balconies. (author) [es

  6. The effect of interlaminar graphene nano-sheets reinforced e-glass fiber/ epoxy on low velocity impact response of a composite plate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Maharma, A. Y.; Sendur, P.

    2018-05-01

    In this study, we compare the inter-laminar effect of graphene nano-sheets (GNSs) and CNTs on the single and multiple dynamic impact response of E-glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite (GFEP). In the comparisons, raw GFEP composite is used as baseline for quantifying the improvement on the dynamic impact response. For that purpose, finite element based models are developed for GNSs on GFEP, graphene coating on glass fibers, inter-laminar composite of CNTs reinforced polyester at 7.5 vol%, and combinations of all these reinforcements. Comparisons are made on three metrics: (i) total deformation, (ii) the contact force, and (iii) internal energy of the composite plate. The improvement on axial modulus (E1) of GFEP reinforced with one layer of GNS (0.5 wt%) without polyester at lamination sequence of [0]8 is 29.4%, which is very close to the improvement of 31% on storage modulus for multi-layer graphene with 0.5 wt% reinforced E-glass/epoxy composite at room temperature. Using three GNSs (1.5 wt%) reinforced polyester composite as interlaminar layer results in an improvement of 57.1% on E1 of GFEP composite. The simulation results reveal that the interlaminar three GNSs/polyester composite at mid-plane of GFEP laminated composite can significantly improve the dynamic impact resistance of GFEP structure compared to the other aforementioned structural reinforcements. Reinforcing GFEP composite with three layers of GNSs/polyester composite at mid-plane results in an average of 35% improvement on the dynamic impact resistance for healthy and damaged composite plate under low velocity impacts of single and multiple steel projectiles. This model can find application in various areas including structural health monitoring, fire retardant composite, and manufacturing of high strength and lightweight mechanical parts such as gas tank, aircraft wings and wind turbine blades.

  7. Overview of medium heterogeneity and transport processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsang, Y.; Tsang, C.F.

    1993-11-01

    Medium heterogeneity can have significant impact on the behavior of solute transport. Tracer breakthrough curves from transport in a heterogeneous medium are distinctly different from that in a homogeneous porous medium. Usually the shape of the breakthrough curves are highly non-symmetrical with a fast rise at early times and very long tail at late times, and often, they consist of multiple peaks. Moreover, unlike transport in a homogeneous medium where the same transport parameters describe the entire medium, transport through heterogeneous media gives rise to breakthrough curves which have strong spatial dependence. These inherent characteristics of transport in heterogeneous medium present special challenge to the performance assessment of a potential high level nuclear waste repository with respect to the possible release of radio nuclides to the accessible environment. Since an inherently desirable site characteristic for a waste repository is that flow and transport should be slow, then transport measurements in site characterization efforts will necessarily be spatially small and temporally short compare to the scales which are of relevance to performance assessment predictions. In this paper we discuss the role of medium heterogeneity in site characterization and performance assessment. Our discussion will be based on a specific example of a 3D heterogeneous stochastic model of a site generally similar to, the Aespoe Island, the site of the Hard Rock Laboratory in Southern Sweden. For our study, alternative 3D stochastic fields of hydraulic conductivities conditioned on ''point'' measurements shall be generated. Results of stochastic flow and transport simulations would be used to address the issues of (1) the relationship of tracer breakthrough with the structure of heterogeneity, and (2) the inference from small scale testing results to large scale and long term predictions

  8. Damage detection of simply supported reinforced concrete beam by S transform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ning; Xi, Jiaxin; Zhang, Xuebing; Liu, Zhenzhou

    2017-08-01

    Signal processing is the key component of vibration-based structural damage detection. The S transform is variable window of short time Fourier transform (STFT) or an extension of wavelet transform (WT). The goal of using S transform is to extract subtle changes in the vibration signals in order to detect and quantify the damage in the structure. This paper presents the concentrated load is applied to the simply supported reinforced concrete beam and adopting the stepwise loading method, the vibration signals of each loading and unloading state is obtained by using the hammer impact. Then the vibration data of the reinforced concrete beam pre-damage and post-damage is analysed by S transform. Experimental result shows the potential ability of S transform in identifying peak energy changes and multiple reflections with different loading force state.

  9. Prediction of reinforcement corrosion using corrosion induced cracks width in corroded reinforced concrete beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, Inamullah; François, Raoul; Castel, Arnaud

    2014-01-01

    This paper studies the evolution of reinforcement corrosion in comparison to corrosion crack width in a highly corroded reinforced concrete beam. Cracking and corrosion maps of the beam were drawn and steel reinforcement was recovered from the beam to observe the corrosion pattern and to measure the loss of mass of steel reinforcement. Maximum steel cross-section loss of the main reinforcement and average steel cross-section loss between stirrups were plotted against the crack width. The experimental results were compared with existing models proposed by Rodriguez et al., Vidal et al. and Zhang et al. Time prediction models for a given opening threshold are also compared to experimental results. Steel cross-section loss for stirrups was also measured and was plotted against the crack width. It was observed that steel cross-section loss in the stirrups had no relationship with the crack width of longitudinal corrosion cracks. -- Highlights: •Relationship between crack and corrosion of reinforcement was investigated. •Corrosion results of natural process and then corresponds to in-situ conditions. •Comparison with time predicting model is provided. •Prediction of load-bearing capacity from crack pattern was studied

  10. Study of the internal confinement of concrete reinforced (in civil engineering) with woven reinforcement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalal, M.; Goumairi, O.; El Malik, A.

    2017-10-01

    Concrete is generally the most used material in the field of construction. Despite its extensive use in structures, it represents some drawbacks related to its properties including its low tensile strength and low ductility. To solve this problem, the use of steel reinforcement in concrete structures is possible. Another possibility is the introduction of different types of continuous fibre / staple in the concrete, such as steel fibres or synthetic fibres, to obtain ″Concretes bundles″. Many types of fibre concrete, which have been developed and for many of them, the gain provided by the fibre was rather low and no significant improvement in tensile strength was really reaching. By cons, the ductility was higher than that of ordinary concrete. The objective of this study is to examine concrete reinforcement by inserting reinforcements woven polyester. These are either woven bidirectional (2D) or three-dimensional woven (3D). So we will report the properties of each type of reinforcement and the influence of the method of weaving on the strength reinforcements and on the strength of concrete in which they are incorporated. Such influence should contribute to improving the sustainability and enhancement of reinforcement

  11. Converting homogeneous to heterogeneous in electrophilic catalysis using monodisperse metal nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witham, Cole A; Huang, Wenyu; Tsung, Chia-Kuang; Kuhn, John N; Somorjai, Gabor A; Toste, F Dean

    2010-01-01

    A continuing goal in catalysis is to unite the advantages of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic processes. To this end, nanoparticles represent a new frontier in heterogeneous catalysis, where this unification can also be supplemented by the ability to obtain new or divergent reactivity and selectivity. We report a novel method for applying heterogeneous catalysts to known homogeneous catalytic reactions through the design and synthesis of electrophilic platinum nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are selectively oxidized by the hypervalent iodine species PhICl(2), and catalyse a range of π-bond activation reactions previously only catalysed through homogeneous processes. Multiple experimental methods are used to unambiguously verify the heterogeneity of the catalytic process. The discovery of treatments for nanoparticles that induce the desired homogeneous catalytic activity should lead to the further development of reactions previously inaccessible in heterogeneous catalysis. Furthermore, a size and capping agent study revealed that Pt PAMAM dendrimer-capped nanoparticles demonstrate superior activity and recyclability compared with larger, polymer-capped analogues.

  12. Emergent dynamics of spatio-temporal chaos in a heterogeneous excitable medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bittihn, Philip; Berg, Sebastian; Parlitz, Ulrich; Luther, Stefan

    2017-09-01

    Self-organized activation patterns in excitable media such as spiral waves and spatio-temporal chaos underlie dangerous cardiac arrhythmias. While the interaction of single spiral waves with different types of heterogeneity has been studied extensively, the effect of heterogeneity on fully developed spatio-temporal chaos remains poorly understood. We investigate how the complexity and stability properties of spatio-temporal chaos in the Bär-Eiswirth model of excitable media depend on the heterogeneity of the underlying medium. We employ different measures characterizing the chaoticity of the system and find that the spatial arrangement of multiple discrete lower excitability regions has a strong impact on the complexity of the dynamics. Varying the number, shape, and spatial arrangement of the heterogeneities, we observe strong emergent effects ranging from increases in chaoticity to the complete cessation of chaos, contrasting the expectation from the homogeneous behavior. The implications of our findings for the development and treatment of arrhythmias in the heterogeneous cardiac muscle are discussed.

  13. Converting Homogeneous to Heterogeneous in Electrophilic Catalysis using Monodisperse Metal Nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Witham, Cole A.; Huang, Wenyu; Tsung, Chia-Kuang; Kuhn, John N.; Somorjai, Gabor A.; Toste, F. Dean

    2009-10-15

    A continuing goal in catalysis is the transformation of processes from homogeneous to heterogeneous. To this end, nanoparticles represent a new frontier in heterogeneous catalysis, where this conversion is supplemented by the ability to obtain new or divergent reactivity and selectivity. We report a novel method for applying heterogeneous catalysts to known homogeneous catalytic reactions through the design and synthesis of electrophilic platinum nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are selectively oxidized by the hypervalent iodine species PhICl{sub 2}, and catalyze a range of {pi}-bond activation reactions previously only homogeneously catalyzed. Multiple experimental methods are utilized to unambiguously verify the heterogeneity of the catalytic process. The discovery of treatments for nanoparticles that induce the desired homogeneous catalytic activity should lead to the further development of reactions previously inaccessible in heterogeneous catalysis. Furthermore, our size and capping agent study revealed that Pt PAMAM dendrimer-capped nanoparticles demonstrate superior activity and recyclability compared to larger, polymer-capped analogues.

  14. The Reinforcing Event (RE) Menu

    Science.gov (United States)

    Addison, Roger M.; Homme, Lloyd E.

    1973-01-01

    A motivational system, the Contingency Management System, uses contracts in which some amount of defined task behavior is demanded for some interval of reinforcing event. The Reinforcing Event Menu, a list of high probability reinforcing behaviors, is used in the system as a prompting device for the learner and as an aid for the administrator in…

  15. Steel fiber reinforced concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baloch, S.U.

    2005-01-01

    Steel-Fiber Reinforced Concrete is constructed by adding short fibers of small cross-sectional size .to the fresh concrete. These fibers reinforce the concrete in all directions, as they are randomly oriented. The improved mechanical properties of concrete include ductility, impact-resistance, compressive, tensile and flexural strength and abrasion-resistance. These uniqlte properties of the fiber- reinforcement can be exploited to great advantage in concrete structural members containing both conventional bar-reinforcement and steel fibers. The improvements in mechanical properties of cementitious materials resulting from steel-fiber reinforcement depend on the type, geometry, volume fraction and material-properties of fibers, the matrix mix proportions and the fiber-matrix interfacial bond characteristics. Effects of steel fibers on the mechanical properties of concrete have been investigated in this paper through a comprehensive testing-programme, by varying the fiber volume fraction and the aspect-ratio (Lid) of fibers. Significant improvements are observed in compressive, tensile, flexural strength and impact-resistance of concrete, accompanied by marked improvement in ductility. optimum fiber-volume fraction and aspect-ratio of steel fibers is identified. Test results are analyzed in details and relevant conclusions drawn. The research is finally concluded with future research needs. (author)

  16. Corrosion of reinforcement bars in steel ibre reinforced concrete structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Solgaard, Anders Ole Stubbe

    and the influence of steel fibres on initiation and propagation of cracks in concrete. Moreover, the impact of fibres on corrosion-induced cover cracking was covered. The impact of steel fibres on propagation of reinforcement corrosion was investigated through studies of their impact on the electrical resistivity...... of concrete, which is known to affect the corrosion process of embedded reinforcement. The work concerning the impact of steel fibres on initiation and propagation of cracks was linked to corrosion initiation and propagation of embedded reinforcement bars via additional studies. Cracks in the concrete cover...... are known to alter the ingress rate of depassivating substances and thereby influence the corrosion process. The Ph.D. study covered numerical as well as experimental studies. Electrochemically passive steel fibres are electrically isolating thus not changing the electrical resistivity of concrete, whereas...

  17. Algorithms for Reinforcement Learning

    CERN Document Server

    Szepesvari, Csaba

    2010-01-01

    Reinforcement learning is a learning paradigm concerned with learning to control a system so as to maximize a numerical performance measure that expresses a long-term objective. What distinguishes reinforcement learning from supervised learning is that only partial feedback is given to the learner about the learner's predictions. Further, the predictions may have long term effects through influencing the future state of the controlled system. Thus, time plays a special role. The goal in reinforcement learning is to develop efficient learning algorithms, as well as to understand the algorithms'

  18. A Randomized Trial of Adjunct mHealth Abstinence Reinforcement With Transdermal Nicotine and Counseling for Smoking Cessation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alessi, Sheila M; Rash, Carla J; Petry, Nancy M

    2017-03-01

    Abstinence reinforcement is efficacious for improving smoking treatment outcomes, but practical constraints related to the need for multiple in-person carbon monoxide (CO) breath tests daily to verify smoking abstinence have limited its use. This study tested an mHealth procedure to remotely monitor and reinforce smoking abstinence in individuals' natural environment. Eligible treatment-seeking smokers (N = 90) were randomized to (1) usual care and ecological monitoring with abstinence reinforcement (mHealth reinforcement) or (2) without reinforcement (mHealth monitoring). Usual care was 8 weeks of transdermal nicotine and twice-weekly telephone counseling. Following training, an interactive voice response system prompted participants to conduct CO tests 1-3 daily at pseudorandom times (7 am to 10 pm) for 4 weeks. When prompted, participants used a study cell phone and CO monitor to complete a CO self-test, video record the process, and submit videos using multimedia messaging. mHealth reinforcement participants could earn prizes for smoking-negative on-time CO tests. The interactive voice response generated preliminary earnings immediately. Earnings were finalized by comparing video records against participants' self-reports. mHealth reinforcement was associated with a greater proportion of smoking-negative CO tests, longest duration of prolonged abstinence, and point-prevalence abstinence during the monitoring/reinforcement phase compared to mHealth monitoring (p mHealth reinforcement has short-term efficacy. Research on methods to enhance and sustain benefits is needed. This study suggests that mHealth abstinence reinforcement is efficacious and may present temporal and spatial opportunities to research, engage, and support smokers trying to quit that do not exist with conventional (not technology-based) reinforcement interventions. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights

  19. Evaluation of Blast Resistance of Fiber Reinforced Composite Specimens under Contact Blast Load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janota, O.; Foglar, M.

    2017-09-01

    This paper presents results of experimental programme which took place in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Experiments were focused on the resistance of full scale concrete panels subjected to contact blast loading. Specimens were loaded by contact blast by plastic explosive. All specimens were reinforced concrete slabs made of fiber concrete. Basalt mesh and textile sheets were added to some of the experiments for creating more heterogeneous material to achieve better resistance of the specimens. Evaluation of experiments was mainly focused on the damaged area on the contact side and soffit of the specimens. Dependency of the final damage of concrete panels on the weight of explosive and concrete strength was assessed.

  20. Genetic dissection of the Drosophila melanogaster female head transcriptome reveals widespread allelic heterogeneity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth G King

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Modern genetic mapping is plagued by the "missing heritability" problem, which refers to the discordance between the estimated heritabilities of quantitative traits and the variance accounted for by mapped causative variants. One major potential explanation for the missing heritability is allelic heterogeneity, in which there are multiple causative variants at each causative gene with only a fraction having been identified. The majority of genome-wide association studies (GWAS implicitly assume that a single SNP can explain all the variance for a causative locus. However, if allelic heterogeneity is prevalent, a substantial amount of genetic variance will remain unexplained. In this paper, we take a haplotype-based mapping approach and quantify the number of alleles segregating at each locus using a large set of 7922 eQTL contributing to regulatory variation in the Drosophila melanogaster female head. Not only does this study provide a comprehensive eQTL map for a major community genetic resource, the Drosophila Synthetic Population Resource, but it also provides a direct test of the allelic heterogeneity hypothesis. We find that 95% of cis-eQTLs and 78% of trans-eQTLs are due to multiple alleles, demonstrating that allelic heterogeneity is widespread in Drosophila eQTL. Allelic heterogeneity likely contributes significantly to the missing heritability problem common in GWAS studies.

  1. Multi-scale approach of the mechanical behaviour of reinforced concrete structures - Application to nuclear plant containment buildings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    David, M.

    2012-01-01

    This thesis develops a multi-scale strategy to describe the mechanical behaviour of steel reinforcements and prestressing tendons in a reinforced concrete structure. This strategy is declined in several steps, which allow gradual integration of new physical phenomena. The first asymptotic model represents the effective elastic behaviour of heterogeneities periodically distributed on a surface. It combines an elastic interface behaviour and a membrane behaviour. A second asymptotic model then focuses on the behaviour of rigid fibers distributed on a surface, which may slide with respect to the surrounding volume. These models induce less stress concentrations than the usual truss models. They are implemented in the finite element code Code-Aster, and validated with respect to reference three-dimensional simulations. Their interaction with a macroscopic crack is studied. Finally, this strategy allows the modeling of experimental tests carried out on a portion of a containment building in real scale. (author)

  2. Generic, network schema agnostic sparse tensor factorization for single-pass clustering of heterogeneous information networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jibing; Meng, Qinggang; Deng, Su; Huang, Hongbin; Wu, Yahui; Badii, Atta

    2017-01-01

    Heterogeneous information networks (e.g. bibliographic networks and social media networks) that consist of multiple interconnected objects are ubiquitous. Clustering analysis is an effective method to understand the semantic information and interpretable structure of the heterogeneous information networks, and it has attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years. However, most studies assume that heterogeneous information networks usually follow some simple schemas, such as bi-typed networks or star network schema, and they can only cluster one type of object in the network each time. In this paper, a novel clustering framework is proposed based on sparse tensor factorization for heterogeneous information networks, which can cluster multiple types of objects simultaneously in a single pass without any network schema information. The types of objects and the relations between them in the heterogeneous information networks are modeled as a sparse tensor. The clustering issue is modeled as an optimization problem, which is similar to the well-known Tucker decomposition. Then, an Alternating Least Squares (ALS) algorithm and a feasible initialization method are proposed to solve the optimization problem. Based on the tensor factorization, we simultaneously partition different types of objects into different clusters. The experimental results on both synthetic and real-world datasets have demonstrated that our proposed clustering framework, STFClus, can model heterogeneous information networks efficiently and can outperform state-of-the-art clustering algorithms as a generally applicable single-pass clustering method for heterogeneous network which is network schema agnostic.

  3. Heterogeneous Optimization Framework: Reproducible Preprocessing of Multi-Spectral Clinical MRI for Neuro-Oncology Imaging Research

    OpenAIRE

    Milchenko, Mikhail; Snyder, Abraham Z.; LaMontagne, Pamela; Shimony, Joshua S; Benzinger, Tammie L.; Fouke, Sarah Jost; Marcus, Daniel S.

    2016-01-01

    Neuroimaging research often relies on clinically acquired magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) datasets that can originate from multiple institutions. Such datasets are characterized by high heterogeneity of modalities and variability of sequence parameters. This heterogeneity complicates the automation of image processing tasks such as spatial co-registration and physiological or functional image analysis.

  4. Continuous Reinforced Concrete Beams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoang, Cao Linh; Nielsen, Mogens Peter

    1996-01-01

    This report deals with stress and stiffness estimates of continuous reinforced concrete beams with different stiffnesses for negative and positive moments e.g. corresponding to different reinforcement areas in top and bottom. Such conditions are often met in practice.The moment distribution...

  5. Modelling reinforcement corrosion in concrete

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Michel, Alexander; Geiker, Mette Rica; Stang, Henrik

    2012-01-01

    A physio-chemical model for the simulation of reinforcement corrosion in concrete struc-tures was developed. The model allows for simulation of initiation and subsequent propaga-tion of reinforcement corrosion. Corrosion is assumed to be initiated once a defined critical chloride threshold......, a numerical example is pre-sented, that illustrates the formation of corrosion cells as well as propagation of corrosion in a reinforced concrete structure....

  6. The Reinforcement Learning Competition 2014

    OpenAIRE

    Dimitrakakis, Christos; Li, Guangliang; Tziortziotis, Nikoalos

    2014-01-01

    Reinforcement learning is one of the most general problems in artificial intelligence. It has been used to model problems in automated experiment design, control, economics, game playing, scheduling and telecommunications. The aim of the reinforcement learning competition is to encourage the development of very general learning agents for arbitrary reinforcement learning problems and to provide a test-bed for the unbiased evaluation of algorithms.

  7. Instructions, multiple schedules, and extinction: Distinguishing rule-governed from schedule-controlled behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, S C; Brownstein, A J; Haas, J R; Greenway, D E

    1986-09-01

    Schedule sensitivity has usually been examined either through a multiple schedule or through changes in schedules after steady-state responding has been established. This study compared the effects of these two procedures when various instructions were given. Fifty-five college students responded in two 32-min sessions under a multiple fixed-ratio 18/differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 6-s schedule, followed by one session of extinction. Some subjects received no instructions regarding the appropriate rates of responding, whereas others received instructions to respond slowly, rapidly, or both. Relative to the schedule in operation, the instructions were minimal, partially inaccurate, or accurate. When there was little schedule sensitivity in the multiple schedule, there was little in extinction. When apparently schedule-sensitive responding occurred in the multiple schedule, however, sensitivity in extinction occurred only if differential responding in the multiple schedule could not be due to rules supplied by the experimenter. This evidence shows that rule-governed behavior that occurs in the form of schedule-sensitive behavior may not in fact become schedule-sensitive even though it makes contact with the scheduled reinforcers.

  8. Does heterogeneity of pimonidazole labelling correspond to the heterogeneity of radiation-response of FaDu human squamous cell carcinoma?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yaromina, Ala; Hoelscher, Tobias; Eicheler, Wolfgang; Rosner, Andrea; Krause, Mechthild; Hessel, Franziska; Petersen, Cordula; Thames, Howard D.; Baumann, Michael; Zips, Daniel

    2005-01-01

    Background and purpose: Pimonidazole is a marker for hypoxic cells which are radioresistant and thereby important for the outcome of radiotherapy. The present study evaluates heterogeneity in pimonidazole binding within and between tumours and relates the results to the heterogeneity of radiation response in the same tumour cell line. Materials and methods: FaDu, a poorly differentiated human squamous cell carcinoma line, was transplanted subcutaneously into the right hind-leg of NMRI nude mice. Tumours were irradiated with graded single doses either under ambient or clamped blood flow conditions and local tumour control was evaluated after 120 days. Complete dose-response curves for local tumour control were generated and the slope, a measure of heterogeneity of radiation response, was determined. In parallel, 12 unirradiated tumours were examined histologically. Seven serial 10 μm cross-sections per tumour were evaluated using fluorescence microscopy and computerised image analysis to determine the pimonidazole hypoxic fraction (pHF). Heterogeneity in pHF was quantified by its coefficient of variation (CV). Poisson-based model calculations considering the intertumoural heterogeneity of pHF were performed and the slopes of the predicted and the observed dose-response curves were compared. Results: The mean pHF was 11% [CV 50%] when one central section per tumour was evaluated. Measurements of multiple sections per tumour resulted in a mean pHF of 12% [CV 46%] (P=0.7). Intertumoural heterogeneity in pHF was more pronounced than heterogeneity in individual tumours by a factor of 2. Model calculations based on the variability in pHF resulted in similar slopes of the dose-response curve for local tumour control in comparison with the observed slope when the heterogeneity in an unknown and arbitrarily chosen additional radiobiologically relevant parameter, in this example clonogen density, was taken into account. Conclusions: While the average pimonidazole hypoxic

  9. Scalable and massively parallel Monte Carlo photon transport simulations for heterogeneous computing platforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Leiming; Nina-Paravecino, Fanny; Kaeli, David; Fang, Qianqian

    2018-01-01

    We present a highly scalable Monte Carlo (MC) three-dimensional photon transport simulation platform designed for heterogeneous computing systems. Through the development of a massively parallel MC algorithm using the Open Computing Language framework, this research extends our existing graphics processing unit (GPU)-accelerated MC technique to a highly scalable vendor-independent heterogeneous computing environment, achieving significantly improved performance and software portability. A number of parallel computing techniques are investigated to achieve portable performance over a wide range of computing hardware. Furthermore, multiple thread-level and device-level load-balancing strategies are developed to obtain efficient simulations using multiple central processing units and GPUs. (2018) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

  10. ADvanced IMage Algebra (ADIMA): a novel method for depicting multiple sclerosis lesion heterogeneity, as demonstrated by quantitative MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yiannakas, Marios C; Tozer, Daniel J; Schmierer, Klaus; Chard, Declan T; Anderson, Valerie M; Altmann, Daniel R; Miller, David H; Wheeler-Kingshott, Claudia A M

    2013-05-01

    There are modest correlations between multiple sclerosis (MS) disability and white matter lesion (WML) volumes, as measured by T2-weighted (T2w) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans (T2-WML). This may partly reflect pathological heterogeneity in WMLs, which is not apparent on T2w scans. To determine if ADvanced IMage Algebra (ADIMA), a novel MRI post-processing method, can reveal WML heterogeneity from proton-density weighted (PDw) and T2w images. We obtained conventional PDw and T2w images from 10 patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and ADIMA images were calculated from these. We classified all WML into bright (ADIMA-b) and dark (ADIMA-d) sub-regions, which were segmented. We obtained conventional T2-WML and T1-WML volumes for comparison, as well as the following quantitative magnetic resonance parameters: magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR), T1 and T2. Also, we assessed the reproducibility of the segmentation for ADIMA-b, ADIMA-d and T2-WML. Our study's ADIMA-derived volumes correlated with conventional lesion volumes (p < 0.05). ADIMA-b exhibited higher T1 and T2, and lower MTR than the T2-WML (p < 0.001). Despite the similarity in T1 values between ADIMA-b and T1-WML, these regions were only partly overlapping with each other. ADIMA-d exhibited quantitative characteristics similar to T2-WML; however, they were only partly overlapping. Mean intra- and inter-observer coefficients of variation for ADIMA-b, ADIMA-d and T2-WML volumes were all < 6 % and < 10 %, respectively. ADIMA enabled the simple classification of WML into two groups having different quantitative magnetic resonance properties, which can be reproducibly distinguished.

  11. Integrating heterogeneous healthcare call centers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peschel, K M; Reed, W C; Salter, K

    1998-01-01

    In a relatively short period, OHS has absorbed multiple call centers supporting different LOBs from various acquisitions, functioning with diverse standards, processes, and technologies. However, customer and employee satisfaction is predicated on OHS's ability to thoroughly integrate these heterogeneous call centers. The integration was initiated and has successfully progressed through a balanced program of focused leadership and a defined strategy which includes site consolidation, sound performance management philosophies, and enabling technology. Benefits have already been achieved with even more substantive ones to occur as the integration continues to evolve.

  12. Implementation of Highly-Flowable Strain Hardening Fiber Reinforced Concrete in New RC Beam-Column Joints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liao Wen-Cheng

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of New RC project was aimed to reduce the member sections and increase the available space of high rise buildings by using high strength concrete (f’c > 70 MPa and high strength rebars (fy > 685 MPa. Material consumptions and member section sizes can be further reduced owing to the upgrade of strength. However, the nature of brittleness of high strength may also cause early cover spalling and other ductility issues. Addition of steel fibers is an alternative as transverse reinforcement. Highly flowable strain hardening fiber reinforced concrete (HF-SHFRC has excellent workability in the fresh state and exhibits the strain-hardening and multiple cracking characteristics of high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCC in their hardened state. The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of implementing HF-SHFRC in New RC building systems, particularly for beam-column joints as an alternative of transverse reinforcements. Four full-scale exterior beam-column joints, including two specimens with intensive transverse reinforcements and two specimens made of HF-SHFRC without any stirrup, are tested. Test results show that the HF-SHFRC specimens perform as well as specimens with intensive transverse reinforcements regarding failure mode, ductility, energy dissipation and crack width control. Integration of New RC building systems and HF-SHFRC can assuring construction qualities and further diminish labor work and give infrastructure longer service life, and eventually lower the life-cycle cost.

  13. Origins of food reinforcement in infants12345

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Kai Ling; Feda, Denise M; Eiden, Rina D; Epstein, Leonard H

    2015-01-01

    Background: Rapid weight gain in infancy is associated with a higher risk of obesity in children and adults. A high relative reinforcing value of food is cross-sectionally related to obesity; lean children find nonfood alternatives more reinforcing than do overweight/obese children. However, to our knowledge, there is no research on how and when food reinforcement develops. Objective: This study was designed to assess whether the reinforcing value of food and nonfood alternatives could be tested in 9- to 18-mo-old infants and whether the reinforcing value of food and nonfood alternatives is differentially related to infant weight status. Design: Reinforcing values were assessed by using absolute progressive ratio schedules of reinforcement, with presentation of food and nonfood alternatives counterbalanced in 2 separate studies. Two nonfood reinforcers [Baby Einstein–Baby MacDonald shows (study 1, n = 27) or bubbles (study 2, n = 30)] were tested against the baby’s favorite food. Food reinforcing ratio (FRR) was quantified by measuring the reinforcing value of food (Food Pmax) in proportion to the total reinforcing value of food and a nonfood alternative (DVD Pmax or BUB Pmax). Results: Greater weight-for-length z score was associated with a greater FRR of a favorite food in study 1 (FRR-DVD) (r = 0.60, P positively associated with FRR-DVD (r = 0.57, P = 0.009) and FRR-BUB (r = 0.37, P = 0.047). Conclusions: Our newly developed paradigm, which tested 2 different nonfood alternatives, demonstrated that lean infants find nonfood alternatives more reinforcing than do overweight/obese infants. This observation suggests that strengthening the alternative reinforcers may have a protective effect against childhood obesity. This research was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02229552. PMID:25733636

  14. Effect of hybrid fiber reinforcement on the cracking process in fiber reinforced cementitious composites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pereira, Eduardo B.; Fischer, Gregor; Barros, Joaquim A.O.

    2012-01-01

    The simultaneous use of different types of fibers as reinforcement in cementitious matrix composites is typically motivated by the underlying principle of a multi-scale nature of the cracking processes in fiber reinforced cementitious composites. It has been hypothesized that while undergoing...... tensile deformations in the composite, the fibers with different geometrical and mechanical properties restrain the propagation and further development of cracking at different scales from the micro- to the macro-scale. The optimized design of the fiber reinforcing systems requires the objective...... materials is carried out by assessing directly their tensile stress-crack opening behavior. The efficiency of hybrid fiber reinforcements and the multi-scale nature of cracking processes are discussed based on the experimental results obtained, as well as the micro-mechanisms underlying the contribution...

  15. Non-linear waves in heterogeneous elastic rods via homogenization

    KAUST Repository

    Quezada de Luna, Manuel

    2012-03-01

    We consider the propagation of a planar loop on a heterogeneous elastic rod with a periodic microstructure consisting of two alternating homogeneous regions with different material properties. The analysis is carried out using a second-order homogenization theory based on a multiple scale asymptotic expansion. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Large epidemic thresholds emerge in heterogeneous networks of heterogeneous nodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Hui; Tang, Ming; Gross, Thilo

    2015-08-01

    One of the famous results of network science states that networks with heterogeneous connectivity are more susceptible to epidemic spreading than their more homogeneous counterparts. In particular, in networks of identical nodes it has been shown that network heterogeneity, i.e. a broad degree distribution, can lower the epidemic threshold at which epidemics can invade the system. Network heterogeneity can thus allow diseases with lower transmission probabilities to persist and spread. However, it has been pointed out that networks in which the properties of nodes are intrinsically heterogeneous can be very resilient to disease spreading. Heterogeneity in structure can enhance or diminish the resilience of networks with heterogeneous nodes, depending on the correlations between the topological and intrinsic properties. Here, we consider a plausible scenario where people have intrinsic differences in susceptibility and adapt their social network structure to the presence of the disease. We show that the resilience of networks with heterogeneous connectivity can surpass those of networks with homogeneous connectivity. For epidemiology, this implies that network heterogeneity should not be studied in isolation, it is instead the heterogeneity of infection risk that determines the likelihood of outbreaks.

  17. Large epidemic thresholds emerge in heterogeneous networks of heterogeneous nodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Hui; Tang, Ming; Gross, Thilo

    2015-08-21

    One of the famous results of network science states that networks with heterogeneous connectivity are more susceptible to epidemic spreading than their more homogeneous counterparts. In particular, in networks of identical nodes it has been shown that network heterogeneity, i.e. a broad degree distribution, can lower the epidemic threshold at which epidemics can invade the system. Network heterogeneity can thus allow diseases with lower transmission probabilities to persist and spread. However, it has been pointed out that networks in which the properties of nodes are intrinsically heterogeneous can be very resilient to disease spreading. Heterogeneity in structure can enhance or diminish the resilience of networks with heterogeneous nodes, depending on the correlations between the topological and intrinsic properties. Here, we consider a plausible scenario where people have intrinsic differences in susceptibility and adapt their social network structure to the presence of the disease. We show that the resilience of networks with heterogeneous connectivity can surpass those of networks with homogeneous connectivity. For epidemiology, this implies that network heterogeneity should not be studied in isolation, it is instead the heterogeneity of infection risk that determines the likelihood of outbreaks.

  18. Centrality of prefrontal and motor preparation cortices to Tourette Syndrome revealed by meta-analysis of task-based neuroimaging studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liliana Polyanska

    2017-01-01

    The dispersed involvement of multiple cortical regions with differences in functional reactivity may account for heterogeneity in the symptomatic expression of TS and its comorbidities. More specifically for tics and tic severity, the findings reinforce previously proposed contributions of premotor and lateral prefrontal cortices to tic expression.

  19. Effects of differential reinforcement and rules with feedback on preference for choice and verbal reports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karsina, Allen; Thompson, Rachel H; Rodriguez, Nicole M; Vanselow, Nicholas R

    2012-01-01

    We evaluated the effects of differential reinforcement and accurate verbal rules with feedback on the preference for choice and the verbal reports of 6 adults. Participants earned points on a probabilistic schedule by completing the terminal links of a concurrent-chains arrangement in a computer-based game of chance. In free-choice terminal links, participants selected 3 numbers from an 8-number array; in restricted-choice terminal links participants selected the order of 3 numbers preselected by a computer program. A pop-up box then informed the participants if the numbers they selected or ordered matched or did not match numbers generated by the computer but not displayed; matching in a trial resulted in one point earned. In baseline sessions, schedules of reinforcement were equal across free- and restricted-choice arrangements and a running tally of points earned was shown each trial. The effects of differentially reinforcing restricted-choice selections were evaluated using a reversal design. For 4 participants, the effects of providing a running tally of points won by arrangement and verbal rules regarding the schedule of reinforcement were also evaluated using a nonconcurrent multiple-baseline-across-participants design. Results varied across participants but generally demonstrated that (a) preference for choice corresponded more closely to verbal reports of the odds of winning than to reinforcement schedules, (b) rules and feedback were correlated with more accurate verbal reports, and (c) preference for choice corresponded more highly to the relative number of reinforcements obtained across free- and restricted-choice arrangements in a session than to the obtained probability of reinforcement or to verbal reports of the odds of winning.

  20. The doctrinal illusion of heterogeneity of international law-making processes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    d' Aspremont, J.; Ruiz Fabri, H.; Wofrum, R.; Gogolin, J.

    2010-01-01

    Contemporary practice shows that the image of international lawmaking as a diverse and heterogeneous process, understood in terms of the multiplicity of the actors involved, is mostly an illusion. Despite strong empirical evidence, many scholars have been lured by this idea or have tried to promote

  1. MPTCP Tunnel: An Architecture for Aggregating Bandwidth of Heterogeneous Access Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaolan Liu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Fixed and cellular networks are two typical access networks provided by operators. Fixed access network is widely employed; nevertheless, its bandwidth is sometimes not sufficient enough to meet user bandwidth requirements. Meanwhile, cellular access network owns unique advantages of wider coverage, faster increasing link speed, more flexible deployment, and so forth. Therefore, it is attractive for operators to mitigate the bandwidth shortage by bundling these two. Actually, there have been existing schemes proposed to aggregate the bandwidth of two access networks, whereas they all have their own problems, like packet reordering or extra latency overhead. To address this problem, we design new architecture, MPTCP Tunnel, to aggregate the bandwidth of multiple heterogeneous access networks from the perspective of operators. MPTCP Tunnel uses MPTCP, which solves the reordering problem essentially, to bundle multiple access networks. Besides, MPTCP Tunnel sets up only one MPTCP connection at play which adapts itself to multiple traffic types and TCP flows. Furthermore, MPTCP Tunnel forwards intact IP packets through access networks, maintaining the end-to-end TCP semantics. Experimental results manifest that MPTCP Tunnel can efficiently aggregate the bandwidth of multiple access networks and is more adaptable to the increasing heterogeneity of access networks than existing mechanisms.

  2. Seismic Retrofitting: Reinforced Concrete (RC shear wall versus Reinforcement of RC element by Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP using PUSHOVER analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yahya RIYAD

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Seismic retrofitting of constructions vulnerable to earthquakes is a current problem of great political and social relevance. During the last sixty years, moderate to severe earthquakes have occurred in Morocco (specifically in Agadir 1960 and Hoceima 2004. Such events have clearly shown the vulnerability of the building stock in particular and of the built environment in general. Hence, it is very much essential to retrofit the vulnerable building to cope up for the next damaging earthquake. In this paper, the focus will be on a comparative study between two techniques of seismic retrofitting, the first one is a reinforcement using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP applied to RC elements by bonding , and the second one is a reinforcement with a shear wall. For this study, we will use a non-linear static analysis -also known as Pushover analysis - on a reinforced concrete structure consisting of beams and columns, and composed from eight storey with a gross area of 240 m², designed conforming to the Moroccan Seismic code[1].

  3. Heterogeneity and plasticity of epidermal stem cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schepeler, Troels; Page, Mahalia E; Jensen, Kim Bak

    2014-01-01

    The epidermis is an integral part of our largest organ, the skin, and protects us against the hostile environment. It is a highly dynamic tissue that, during normal steady-state conditions, undergoes constant turnover. Multiple stem cell populations residing in autonomously maintained compartments...... facilitate this task. In this Review, we discuss stem cell behaviour during normal tissue homeostasis, regeneration and disease within the pilosebaceous unit, an integral structure of the epidermis that is responsible for hair growth and lubrication of the epithelium. We provide an up-to-date view...... of the pilosebaceous unit, encompassing the heterogeneity and plasticity of multiple discrete stem cell populations that are strongly influenced by external cues to maintain their identity and function....

  4. Simultaneous Two-Way Clustering of Multiple Correspondence Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Heungsun; Dillon, William R.

    2010-01-01

    A 2-way clustering approach to multiple correspondence analysis is proposed to account for cluster-level heterogeneity of both respondents and variable categories in multivariate categorical data. Specifically, in the proposed method, multiple correspondence analysis is combined with k-means in a unified framework in which "k"-means is…

  5. Within- and across-trial dynamics of human EEG reveal cooperative interplay between reinforcement learning and working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Anne G E; Frank, Michael J

    2018-03-06

    Learning from rewards and punishments is essential to survival and facilitates flexible human behavior. It is widely appreciated that multiple cognitive and reinforcement learning systems contribute to decision-making, but the nature of their interactions is elusive. Here, we leverage methods for extracting trial-by-trial indices of reinforcement learning (RL) and working memory (WM) in human electro-encephalography to reveal single-trial computations beyond that afforded by behavior alone. Neural dynamics confirmed that increases in neural expectation were predictive of reduced neural surprise in the following feedback period, supporting central tenets of RL models. Within- and cross-trial dynamics revealed a cooperative interplay between systems for learning, in which WM contributes expectations to guide RL, despite competition between systems during choice. Together, these results provide a deeper understanding of how multiple neural systems interact for learning and decision-making and facilitate analysis of their disruption in clinical populations.

  6. IDENTIFIABILITY VERSUS HETEROGENEITY IN GROUNDWATER MODELING SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A M BENALI

    2003-06-01

    Full Text Available Review of history matching of reservoirs parameters in groundwater flow raises the problem of identifiability of aquifer systems. Lack of identifiability means that there exists parameters to which the heads are insensitive. From the guidelines of the study of the homogeneous case, we inspect the identifiability of the distributed transmissivity field of heterogeneous groundwater aquifers. These are derived from multiple realizations of a random function Y = log T  whose probability distribution function is normal. We follow the identifiability of the autocorrelated block transmissivities through the measure of the sensitivity of the local derivatives DTh = (∂hi  ∕ ∂Tj computed for each sample of a population N (0; σY, αY. Results obtained from an analysis of Monte Carlo type suggest that the more a system is heterogeneous, the less it is identifiable.

  7. FOAM CONCRETE REINFORCEMENT BY BASALT FIBRES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhukov Aleksey Dmitrievich

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The authors demonstrate that the foam concrete performance can be improved by dispersed reinforcement, including methods that involve basalt fibres. They address the results of the foam concrete modeling technology and assess the importance of technology-related parameters. Reinforcement efficiency criteria are also provided in the article. Dispersed reinforcement improves the plasticity of the concrete mix and reduces the settlement crack formation rate. Conventional reinforcement that involves metal laths and rods demonstrates its limited application in the production of concrete used for thermal insulation and structural purposes. Dispersed reinforcement is preferable. This technology contemplates the infusion of fibres into porous mixes. Metal, polymeric, basalt and glass fibres are used as reinforcing components. It has been identified that products reinforced by polypropylene fibres demonstrate substantial abradability and deformability rates even under the influence of minor tensile stresses due to the low adhesion strength of polypropylene in the cement matrix. The objective of the research was to develop the type of polypropylene of D500 grade that would demonstrate the operating properties similar to those of Hebel and Ytong polypropylenes. Dispersed reinforcement was performed by the basalt fibre. This project contemplates an autoclave-free technology to optimize the consumption of electricity. Dispersed reinforcement is aimed at the reduction of the block settlement in the course of hardening at early stages of their operation, the improvement of their strength and other operating properties. Reduction in the humidity rate of the mix is based on the plasticizing properties of fibres, as well as the application of the dry mineralization method. Selection of optimal parameters of the process-related technology was performed with the help of G-BAT-2011 Software, developed at Moscow State University of Civil Engineering. The authors also

  8. A heterogeneous stochastic FEM framework for elliptic PDEs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hou, Thomas Y.; Liu, Pengfei

    2015-01-01

    We introduce a new concept of sparsity for the stochastic elliptic operator −div(a(x,ω)∇(⋅)), which reflects the compactness of its inverse operator in the stochastic direction and allows for spatially heterogeneous stochastic structure. This new concept of sparsity motivates a heterogeneous stochastic finite element method (HSFEM) framework for linear elliptic equations, which discretizes the equations using the heterogeneous coupling of spatial basis with local stochastic basis to exploit the local stochastic structure of the solution space. We also provide a sampling method to construct the local stochastic basis for this framework using the randomized range finding techniques. The resulting HSFEM involves two stages and suits the multi-query setting: in the offline stage, the local stochastic structure of the solution space is identified; in the online stage, the equation can be efficiently solved for multiple forcing functions. An online error estimation and correction procedure through Monte Carlo sampling is given. Numerical results for several problems with high dimensional stochastic input are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the HSFEM in the online stage

  9. The possibility of using high strength reinforced concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miura, Nobuaki

    1991-01-01

    There is recently much research about and developments in reinforced concrete using high strength concrete and reinforcement. As a result, some high-rise buildings and nuclear buildings have been constructed with such concrete. Reinforced concrete will be stronger in the future, but there is a limit to its strength defined by the character of the materials and also by the character of the reinforced concrete members made of the concrete and reinforcement. This report describes the merits and demerits of using high strength reinforced concrete. (author)

  10. Reinforced concrete wall under hydrogen detonation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saarenheimo, A.

    2000-11-01

    The structural integrity of a reinforced concrete wall in the BWR reactor building under hydrogen detonation conditions has been analysed. Of particular interest is whether the containment integrity can be jeopardised by an external hydrogen detonation. The load carrying capacity of a reinforced concrete wall was studied. The detonation pressure loads were estimated with computerised hand calculations assuming a direct initiation of detonation and applying the strong explosion theory. The results can be considered as rough and conservative estimates for the first shock pressure impact induced by a reflecting detonation wave. Structural integrity may be endangered due to slow pressurisation or dynamic impulse loads associated with local detonations. The static pressure following the passage of a shock front may be relatively high, thus this static or slowly decreasing pressure after a detonation may damage the structure severely. The mitigating effects of the opening of a door on pressure history and structural response were also studied. The non-linear behaviour of the wall was studied under detonations corresponding a detonable hydrogen mass of 0.5 kg and 1.428 kg. Non-linear finite element analyses of the reinforced concrete structure were carried out by the ABAQUS/Explicit program. The reinforcement and its non-linear material behaviour and the tensile cracking of concrete were modelled. Reinforcement was defined as layers of uniformly spaced reinforcing bars in shell elements. In these studies the surrounding structures of the non-linearly modelled reinforced concrete wall were modelled using idealised boundary conditions. Especially concrete cracking and yielding of the reinforcement was monitored during the numerical simulation. (au)

  11. Asymmetrical reinforcement and Wolbachia infection in Drosophila.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Jaenike

    2006-10-01

    reinforcement, particularly in the uninfected species. The resulting reproductive character displacement not only increases behavioral isolation from the Wolbachia-infected species, but may also lead to behavioral isolation between populations of the uninfected species. Given the widespread occurrence of Wolbachia among insects, it thus appears that there are multiple ways by which these endosymbionts may directly and indirectly contribute to reproductive isolation and speciation.

  12. Failure behavior / characteristics of fabric reinforced polymer matrix composite and aluminum6061 on dynamic tensile loading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bang, Hyejin; Cho, Chongdu [Inha University, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-08-15

    Composite materials are composed of multiple types of materials as reinforcement and matrix. Among them, CFRP (Carbon fiber reinforced polymer) is widely used materials in automotive and defense industry. Carbon fibers are used as a reinforcement, of which Young's modulus is in a prepreg form. In automotive industry, especially, high strain rate test is needed to measure dynamic properties, used in dynamic analysis like high inertia included simulation as a car crash. In this paper, a SHTB (Split Hopkinson tensile bar) machine is employed for estimating stress-strain curve under dynamic load condition on aluminum 6061 and CFRP. The strain rate range is about from 100 /s to 1000 /s and the number of prepreg layers of composite specimen is total eight plies which are stacked symmetrically to structure CFRP. As a result, stress / strain point data are obtained and used for simulation into stacked composites.

  13. Failure behavior / characteristics of fabric reinforced polymer matrix composite and aluminum6061 on dynamic tensile loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bang, Hyejin; Cho, Chongdu

    2017-01-01

    Composite materials are composed of multiple types of materials as reinforcement and matrix. Among them, CFRP (Carbon fiber reinforced polymer) is widely used materials in automotive and defense industry. Carbon fibers are used as a reinforcement, of which Young's modulus is in a prepreg form. In automotive industry, especially, high strain rate test is needed to measure dynamic properties, used in dynamic analysis like high inertia included simulation as a car crash. In this paper, a SHTB (Split Hopkinson tensile bar) machine is employed for estimating stress-strain curve under dynamic load condition on aluminum 6061 and CFRP. The strain rate range is about from 100 /s to 1000 /s and the number of prepreg layers of composite specimen is total eight plies which are stacked symmetrically to structure CFRP. As a result, stress / strain point data are obtained and used for simulation into stacked composites.

  14. Mathematically Simulated Elastic Characteristics of the Composite Reinforced by Spherical Inclusions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. S. Sergeeva

    2017-01-01

    numerical implementation was used a ANSYS software complex coupled with a specially designed software module that allows creating tensors of elastic coefficient and pliability of the composite, as well as averaging its elastic characteristics to have values of bulk and shear moduli of the material.The results of numerical simulations have been compared with the analytical estimates obtained by the self-consistent method and the dual formulation of the elasticity problem in a heterogeneous solid. It is found that in numerical implementation a choice of the composite periodic cell has a significant impact on the values of the shear modulus as opposed to the bulk modulus of elasticity. It is also shown that the numerical simulation results are between the estimates obtained using the analytical models. These results allow predicting the elastic properties of composites, reinforced by spherical inclusions, including advanced materials, i.e. nanocomposites reinforced by spherical nanoclusters of randomly oriented SWCNTs.The paper is done within the framework of implementing basic part of the Governmental task of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (Project 9.7784.2017/БЧ.  

  15. Collectives for Multiple Resource Job Scheduling Across Heterogeneous Servers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tumer, K.; Lawson, J.

    2003-01-01

    Efficient management of large-scale, distributed data storage and processing systems is a major challenge for many computational applications. Many of these systems are characterized by multi-resource tasks processed across a heterogeneous network. Conventional approaches, such as load balancing, work well for centralized, single resource problems, but breakdown in the more general case. In addition, most approaches are often based on heuristics which do not directly attempt to optimize the world utility. In this paper, we propose an agent based control system using the theory of collectives. We configure the servers of our network with agents who make local job scheduling decisions. These decisions are based on local goals which are constructed to be aligned with the objective of optimizing the overall efficiency of the system. We demonstrate that multi-agent systems in which all the agents attempt to optimize the same global utility function (team game) only marginally outperform conventional load balancing. On the other hand, agents configured using collectives outperform both team games and load balancing (by up to four times for the latter), despite their distributed nature and their limited access to information.

  16. On the weld strength of in situ tape placed reinforcements on weave reinforced structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grouve, Wouter Johannes Bernardus; Warnet, Laurent; Rietman, Bert; Akkerman, Remko

    2012-01-01

    Unidirectionally reinforced thermoplastic tapes were welded onto woven fabric reinforced laminates using a laser assisted tape placement process. A mandrel peel setup was used to quantify the interfacial fracture toughness between the tape and the laminate as a measure for weld strength. The tape

  17. Reinforcement Learning State-of-the-Art

    CERN Document Server

    Wiering, Marco

    2012-01-01

    Reinforcement learning encompasses both a science of adaptive behavior of rational beings in uncertain environments and a computational methodology for finding optimal behaviors for challenging problems in control, optimization and adaptive behavior of intelligent agents. As a field, reinforcement learning has progressed tremendously in the past decade. The main goal of this book is to present an up-to-date series of survey articles on the main contemporary sub-fields of reinforcement learning. This includes surveys on partially observable environments, hierarchical task decompositions, relational knowledge representation and predictive state representations. Furthermore, topics such as transfer, evolutionary methods and continuous spaces in reinforcement learning are surveyed. In addition, several chapters review reinforcement learning methods in robotics, in games, and in computational neuroscience. In total seventeen different subfields are presented by mostly young experts in those areas, and together the...

  18. Heterogeneity of reward mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lajtha, A; Sershen, H

    2010-06-01

    The finding that many drugs that have abuse potential and other natural stimuli such as food or sexual activity cause similar chemical changes in the brain, an increase in extracellular dopamine (DA) in the shell of the nucleus accumbens (NAccS), indicated some time ago that the reward mechanism is at least very similar for all stimuli and that the mechanism is relatively simple. The presently available information shows that the mechanisms involved are more complex and have multiple elements. Multiple brain regions, multiple receptors, multiple distinct neurons, multiple transmitters, multiple transporters, circuits, peptides, proteins, metabolism of transmitters, and phosphorylation, all participate in reward mechanisms. The system is variable, is changed during development, is sex-dependent, and is influenced by genetic differences. Not all of the elements participate in the reward of all stimuli. Different set of mechanisms are involved in the reward of different drugs of abuse, yet different mechanisms in the reward of natural stimuli such as food or sexual activity; thus there are different systems that distinguish different stimuli. Separate functions of the reward system such as anticipation, evaluation, consummation and identification; all contain function-specific elements. The level of the stimulus also influences the participation of the elements of the reward system, there are possible reactions to even below threshold stimuli, and excessive stimuli can change reward to aversion involving parts of the system. Learning and memory of past reward is an important integral element of reward and addictive behavior. Many of the reward elements are altered by repeated or chronic stimuli, and chronic exposure to one drug is likely to alter the response to another stimulus. To evaluate and identify the reward stimulus thus requires heterogeneity of the reward components in the brain.

  19. Heterogeneity, histological features and DNA ploidy in oral carcinoma by image-based analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diwakar, N; Sperandio, M; Sherriff, M; Brown, A; Odell, E W

    2005-04-01

    Oral squamous carcinomas appear heterogeneous on DNA ploidy analysis. However, this may be partly a result of sample dilution or the detection limit of techniques. The aim of this study was to determine whether oral squamous carcinomas are heterogeneous for ploidy status using image-based ploidy analysis and to determine whether ploidy status correlates with histological parameters. Multiple samples from 42 oral squamous carcinomas were analysed for DNA ploidy using an image-based system and scored for histological parameters. 22 were uniformly aneuploid, 1 uniformly tetraploid and 3 uniformly diploid. 16 appeared heterogeneous but only 8 appeared to be genuinely heterogeneous when minor ploidy histogram peaks were taken into account. Ploidy was closely related to nuclear pleomorphism but not differentiation. Sample variation, detection limits and diagnostic criteria account for much of the ploidy heterogeneity observed. Confident diagnosis of diploid status in an oral squamous cell carcinoma requires a minimum of 5 samples.

  20. Conversion of Sugars to Lactic Acid Derivatives Using Heterogeneous Zeotype Catalysts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Martin Spangsberg; Shunmugavel, Saravanamurugan; Taarning, Esben

    2010-01-01

    of mono-and disaccharides that are dissolved in methanol to methyl lactate at 160 C. With sucrose as the substrate, methyl lactate yield reaches 68%, and the heterogeneous catalyst can be easily recovered by filtration and reused multiple times after calcination without any substantial change...

  1. Estimation of noise-free variance to measure heterogeneity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tilo Winkler

    Full Text Available Variance is a statistical parameter used to characterize heterogeneity or variability in data sets. However, measurements commonly include noise, as random errors superimposed to the actual value, which may substantially increase the variance compared to a noise-free data set. Our aim was to develop and validate a method to estimate noise-free spatial heterogeneity of pulmonary perfusion using dynamic positron emission tomography (PET scans. On theoretical grounds, we demonstrate a linear relationship between the total variance of a data set derived from averages of n multiple measurements, and the reciprocal of n. Using multiple measurements with varying n yields estimates of the linear relationship including the noise-free variance as the constant parameter. In PET images, n is proportional to the number of registered decay events, and the variance of the image is typically normalized by the square of its mean value yielding a coefficient of variation squared (CV(2. The method was evaluated with a Jaszczak phantom as reference spatial heterogeneity (CV(r(2 for comparison with our estimate of noise-free or 'true' heterogeneity (CV(t(2. We found that CV(t(2 was only 5.4% higher than CV(r2. Additional evaluations were conducted on 38 PET scans of pulmonary perfusion using (13NN-saline injection. The mean CV(t(2 was 0.10 (range: 0.03-0.30, while the mean CV(2 including noise was 0.24 (range: 0.10-0.59. CV(t(2 was in average 41.5% of the CV(2 measured including noise (range: 17.8-71.2%. The reproducibility of CV(t(2 was evaluated using three repeated PET scans from five subjects. Individual CV(t(2 were within 16% of each subject's mean and paired t-tests revealed no difference among the results from the three consecutive PET scans. In conclusion, our method provides reliable noise-free estimates of CV(t(2 in PET scans, and may be useful for similar statistical problems in experimental data.

  2. Facilitating tolerance of delayed reinforcement during functional communication training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, W W; Thompson, R H; Hagopian, L P; Bowman, L G; Krug, A

    2000-01-01

    Few clinical investigations have addressed the problem of delayed reinforcement. In this investigation, three individuals whose destructive behavior was maintained by positive reinforcement were treated using functional communication training (FCT) with extinction (EXT). Next, procedures used in the basic literature on delayed reinforcement and self-control (reinforcer delay fading, punishment of impulsive responding, and provision of an alternative activity during reinforcer delay) were used to teach participants to tolerate delayed reinforcement. With the first case, reinforcer delay fading alone was effective at maintaining low rates of destructive behavior while introducing delayed reinforcement. In the second case, the addition of a punishment component reduced destructive behavior to near-zero levels and facilitated reinforcer delay fading. With the third case, reinforcer delay fading was associated with increases in masturbation and head rolling, but prompting and praising the individual for completing work during the delay interval reduced all problem behaviors and facilitated reinforcer delay fading.

  3. Reinforced Conductive Polyaniline-Paper Composites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinhua Yan

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available A method for direct aniline interfacial polymerization on polyamideamine-epichlorohydrin (PAE-reinforced paper substrate is introduced in this paper. Cellulose-based papers with and without reinforcement were considered. The polyaniline (PANI-paper composites had surface resistivity lower than 100 Ω/sq after more than 3 polymerizations. Their mechanical strength and thermal stability were analyzed by tensile tests and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR results revealed that there was strong interaction between NH groups in aniline monomers and OH groups in fibers, which did not disappear until after 3 polymerizations. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM and field emission (FE SEM images showed morphological differences between composites using reinforced and untreated base papers. Conductive composites made with PAE-reinforced base paper had both good thermal stability and good mechanical strength, with high conductivity and a smaller PANI amount.

  4. Superelastic SMA–FRP composite reinforcement for concrete structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wierschem, Nicholas; Andrawes, Bassem

    2010-01-01

    For many years there has been interest in using fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) as reinforcement in concrete structures. Unfortunately, due to their linear elastic behavior, FRP reinforcing bars are never considered for structural damping or dynamic applications. With the aim of improving the ductility and damping capability of concrete structures reinforced with FRP reinforcement, this paper studies the application of SMA–FRP, a relatively novel type of composite reinforced with superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. The cyclic tensile behavior of SMA–FRP composites are studied experimentally and analytically. Tests of SMA–FRP composite coupons are conducted to determine their constitutive behavior. The experimental results are used to develop and calibrate a uniaxial SMA–FRP analytical model. Parametric and case studies are performed to determine the efficacy of the SMA–FRP reinforcement in concrete structures and the key factors governing its behavior. The results show significant potential for SMA–FRP reinforcement to improve the ductility and damping of concrete structures while still maintaining its elastic characteristic, typical of FRP reinforcement

  5. Effect of reinforced fiber on morphology of Si phases in Al2O3/AI-Si alloy composite

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng LIU

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available Alumina/aluminum-silicon alloy composite is manufactured by squeeze casting. The effect of the reinforcement on the morphology of the silicon phase in aluminum-silicon alloy is studied. The results indicate that an alumina fiber can serve as propitious sites for the heterogeneous nucleation of the silicon phase, and the primary silicon in the composite can nucleate on the surface of the fiber. The fiber in the composite can trigger twin during the coupled growth of the aluminum-silicon eutectic and lead to modification of the eutectic silicon near the fiber.

  6. Learning to trade via direct reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moody, J; Saffell, M

    2001-01-01

    We present methods for optimizing portfolios, asset allocations, and trading systems based on direct reinforcement (DR). In this approach, investment decision-making is viewed as a stochastic control problem, and strategies are discovered directly. We present an adaptive algorithm called recurrent reinforcement learning (RRL) for discovering investment policies. The need to build forecasting models is eliminated, and better trading performance is obtained. The direct reinforcement approach differs from dynamic programming and reinforcement algorithms such as TD-learning and Q-learning, which attempt to estimate a value function for the control problem. We find that the RRL direct reinforcement framework enables a simpler problem representation, avoids Bellman's curse of dimensionality and offers compelling advantages in efficiency. We demonstrate how direct reinforcement can be used to optimize risk-adjusted investment returns (including the differential Sharpe ratio), while accounting for the effects of transaction costs. In extensive simulation work using real financial data, we find that our approach based on RRL produces better trading strategies than systems utilizing Q-learning (a value function method). Real-world applications include an intra-daily currency trader and a monthly asset allocation system for the S&P 500 Stock Index and T-Bills.

  7. Enhancement of shear strength and ductility for reinforced concrete wide beams due to web reinforcement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Said

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The shear behavior of reinforced concrete wide beams was investigated. The experimental program consisted of nine beams of 29 MPa concrete strength tested with a shear span-depth ratio equal to 3.0. One of the tested beams had no web reinforcement as a control specimen. The flexure mode of failure was secured for all of the specimens to allow for shear mode of failure. The key parameters covered in this investigation are the effect of the existence, spacing, amount and yield stress of the vertical stirrups on the shear capacity and ductility of the tested wide beams. The study shows that the contribution of web reinforcement to the shear capacity is significant and directly proportional to the amount and spacing of the shear reinforcement. The increase in the shear capacity ranged from 32% to 132% for the range of the tested beams compared with the control beam. High grade steel was more effective in the contribution of the shear strength of wide beams. Also, test results demonstrate that the shear reinforcement significantly enhances the ductility of the wide beams. In addition, shear resistances at failure recorded in this study are compared to the analytical strengths calculated according to the current Egyptian Code and the available international codes. The current study highlights the need to include the contribution of shear reinforcement in the Egyptian Code requirements for shear capacity of wide beams.

  8. Oxidation of nano-reinforced polyolefins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutierrez Castro, G.G.

    2010-11-01

    Nano-composite materials attract search due to their improvements on barrier properties by incorporating low level of nano-filler of 5%w. Nowadays, organically modified montmorillonite (MMT-O) is the most used filler due to its high aspect ratio which permits stronger clay/polymer interactions. If nano-reinforced materials are highly performing, the ways in which clay presence affects polyolefin durability have not being subject of a rigorous study, thus they are not yet clear. Our goal was to examine unstabilized clay polypropylene and unstabilized clay polyethylene nano composites to get a better comprehension of the clay effects on their thermo-oxidation process under low temperatures. The effects induced by a dual physic-chemical nature of the clay were explored. The problem was tackled from both experimental and theoretical point of views for degradation process not controlled and controlled by oxygen diffusion (homogenous and heterogeneous respectively). It seems that MMT-O speeds up oxidation. This phenomenon was modeled by adding a catalytic reaction between metallic particles initially present in the MMT-O and hydroperoxide groups (main responsible of oxidation). Regarding the oxygen permeability two situations were confronted: for the clay polypropylene system a decrease of 45% of oxygen permeability was measured. On the other hand, no variation was found for the polyethylene case. This effect was attributed to the fact that polyethylene nano-composite reached a blend morphology less developed than those of the polypropylene nano-composite. Kinetics and oxidation products profiles across the sample thickness were simulated for both systems by coupling oxidation reactions with oxygen diffusion equations. For the polyethylene case, the effects induced by oxidation on molar mass and crystalline morphology were also simulated. Finally, based on a structure-property relationship, simulations of mechanic modulus profiles were performed for the heterogeneous

  9. Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites as Internal and External Reinforcements for Building Elements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cătălin Banu

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available During the latest decades fibre reinforced polymer (FRP composite materials have proven valuable properties and suitable to be used in construction of new buildings and in upgrading the existing ones. These materials have covered the road from research laboratory and demonstration projects to implementation in actual structures. Nowadays the civil and structural engineering communities are about to commence the stage in which the use of FRP composites is becoming a routine similar to that of traditional material such as concrete, masonry and wood. Two main issues are presented in this paper, the use of FRP composite materials for new structural members (internal reinforcements and strengthening of existing members (externally bonded reinforcements. The advantages and disadvantages as well as the problems and constraints associated with both issues are discussed in detail mainly related to concrete members.

  10. Strength Characteristics of Reinforced Sandy Soil

    OpenAIRE

    S. N. Bannikov; Mahamed Al Fayez

    2005-01-01

    Laboratory tests on determination of reinforced sandy soil strength characteristics (angle of internal friction, specific cohesive force) have been carried out with the help of a specially designed instrument and proposed methodology. Analysis of the obtained results has revealed that cohesive forces are brought about in reinforced sandy soil and an angle of internal soil friction becomes larger in comparison with non-reinforced soil.

  11. Analytical, Numerical and Experimental Examination of Reinforced Composites Beams Covered with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasimzade, A. A.; Tuhta, S.

    2012-03-01

    In the article, analytical, numerical (Finite Element Method) and experimental investigation results of beam that was strengthened with fiber reinforced plastic-FRP composite has been given as comparative, the effect of FRP wrapping number to the maximum load and moment capacity has been evaluated depending on this results. Carbon FRP qualitative dependences have been occurred between wrapping number and beam load and moment capacity for repair-strengthen the reinforced concrete beams with carbon fiber. Shown possibilities of application traditional known analysis programs, for the analysis of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) strengthened structures.

  12. Producing Durable Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement using Glass-ceramic Coated Reinforcing Steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-01

    reinforcement if the enamel is broken  Embedded cement grains hydrate if enamel is cracked to self-heal with the formation of calcium silicate hydrate Goal...Reinforced Concrete Pavement The 600% volume change in the iron to iron oxide formation put the concrete in tension and it cracks an spalls BUILDING...corrodes prematurely and delaminates the pavement  Moisture and chlorides can move through the natural porosity of concrete and the cracks in the

  13. Constitutive model for reinforced concrete

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Feenstra, P.H.; Borst, de R.

    1995-01-01

    A numerical model is proposed for reinforced-concrete behavior that combines the commonly accepted ideas from modeling plain concrete, reinforcement, and interaction behavior in a consistent manner. The behavior of plain concrete is govern by fracture-energy-level-based formulation both in tension

  14. Tangible Reinforcers: Bonuses or Bribes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Leary, K. Daniel; And Others

    1972-01-01

    Objections to the use of tangible reinforcers, such as prizes, candy, cigarettes, and money, are discussed. Treatment programs using tangible reinforcers are recommended as powerful modifers of behavior to be implemented only after less powerful means of modification have been tried. (Author)

  15. TEACHING SELF-CONTROL WITH QUALITATIVELY DIFFERENT REINFORCERS

    OpenAIRE

    Passage, Michael; Tincani, Matt; Hantula, Donald A.

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the effectiveness of using qualitatively different reinforcers to teach self-control to an adolescent boy who had been diagnosed with an intellectual disability. First, he was instructed to engage in an activity without programmed reinforcement. Next, he was instructed to engage in the activity under a two-choice fixed-duration schedule of reinforcement. Finally, he was exposed to self-control training, during which the delay to a more preferred reinforcer was initially sh...

  16. PARTIAL REINFORCEMENT (ACQUISITION) EFFECTS WITHIN SUBJECTS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AMSEL, A; MACKINNON, J R; RASHOTTE, M E; SURRIDGE, C T

    1964-03-01

    Acquisition performance of 22 rats in a straight alley runway was examined. The animals were subjected to partial reinforcement when the alley was black (B+/-) and continuous reinforcement when it was white (W+). The results indicated (a) higher terminal performance, for partial as against continuous reinforcement conditions, for starting-time and running-time measures, and (b) lower terminal performance under partial conditions for a goal-entry-time measure. These results confirm within subjects an effect previously demonstrated, in the runway, only in between-groups tests, where one group is run under partial reinforcement and a separate group is run under continuous reinforcement in the presence of the same external stimuli. Differences between the runway situation, employing a discrete-trial procedure and performance measures at three points in the response chain, and the Skinner box situation, used in its free-operant mode with a single performance measure, are discussed in relation to the present findings.

  17. A note on variational multiscale methods for high-contrast heterogeneous porous media flows with rough source terms

    KAUST Repository

    Calo, Victor M.

    2011-09-01

    In this short note, we discuss variational multiscale methods for solving porous media flows in high-contrast heterogeneous media with rough source terms. Our objective is to separate, as much as possible, subgrid effects induced by the media properties from those due to heterogeneous source terms. For this reason, enriched coarse spaces designed for high-contrast multiscale problems are used to represent the effects of heterogeneities of the media. Furthermore, rough source terms are captured via auxiliary correction equations that appear in the formulation of variational multiscale methods [23]. These auxiliary equations are localized and one can use additive or multiplicative constructions for the subgrid corrections as discussed in the current paper. Our preliminary numerical results show that one can capture the effects due to both spatial heterogeneities in the coefficients (such as permeability field) and source terms (e.g., due to singular well terms) in one iteration. We test the cases for both smooth source terms and rough source terms and show that with the multiplicative correction, the numerical approximations are more accurate compared to the additive correction. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

  18. Reinforcement Learning in Repeated Portfolio Decisions

    OpenAIRE

    Diao, Linan; Rieskamp, Jörg

    2011-01-01

    How do people make investment decisions when they receive outcome feedback? We examined how well the standard mean-variance model and two reinforcement models predict people's portfolio decisions. The basic reinforcement model predicts a learning process that relies solely on the portfolio's overall return, whereas the proposed extended reinforcement model also takes the risk and covariance of the investments into account. The experimental results illustrate that people reacted sensitively to...

  19. Heterogeneity and contaminant transport modeling for the Savannah River integrated demonstration site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chesnut, D.A.

    1992-11-01

    The effectiveness of remediating aquifers and vadose zone sediments is frequently controlled by spatial heterogeneities. A continuing and long-recognized problem in selecting, planning, implementing, and operating remediation projects is the development of methods for quantitatively describing heterogeneity and predicting its effects on process performance. The similarity to and differences from modeling oil recovery processes in the petroleum industry are illustrated by the extension to contaminant extraction processes of an analytic model originally developed for waterflooding petroleum reservoirs. The resulting equations incorporate the effects of heterogeneity through a single parameter, σ. Fitting this model to the Savannah River in situ Air Stripping test data suggests that the injection of air into a horizontal well below the water table may have improved performance by changing the flow pattern in the vadose zone. This change increased the capture volume, and consequently the contaminant mass inventory, of the horizontal injection well completed in the vadose zone. The apparent increases (compared to extraction only from the horizontal well) are from 10,200 to 21,000 pounds for TCE and from 3,600 pounds to 59,800 pounds for PCE. The predominance of PCE in this calculated increase suggests that redistribution of flow paths in the vadose zone, rather than in-situ stripping, may provide most of the improvement. Although this preliminary conclusion remains to be reinforced by more sophisticated modeling currently in progress, there appears to be a definite improvement, which is attributable to air injection, over conventional remediation methods

  20. Responding for sucrose and wheel-running reinforcement: effects of sucrose concentration and wheel-running reinforcer duration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belke, Terry W; Hancock, Stephanie D

    2003-03-01

    Six male albino rats were placed in running wheels and exposed to a fixed-interval 30-s schedule of lever pressing that produced either a drop of sucrose solution or the opportunity to run for a fixed duration as reinforcers. Each reinforcer type was signaled by a different stimulus. In Experiment 1, the duration of running was held constant at 15 s while the concentration of sucrose solution was varied across values of 0, 2.5. 5, 10, and 15%. As concentration decreased, postreinforcement pause duration increased and local rates decreased in the presence of the stimulus signaling sucrose. Consequently, the difference between responding in the presence of stimuli signaling wheel-running and sucrose reinforcers diminished, and at 2.5%, response functions for the two reinforcers were similar. In Experiment 2, the concentration of sucrose solution was held constant at 15% while the duration of the opportunity to run was first varied across values of 15, 45, and 90 s then subsequently across values of 5, 10, and 15 s. As run duration increased, postreinforcement pause duration in the presence of the wheel-running stimulus increased and local rates increased then decreased. In summary, inhibitory aftereffects of previous reinforcers occurred when both sucrose concentration and run duration varied; changes in responding were attributable to changes in the excitatory value of the stimuli signaling the two reinforcers.

  1. Assessing the scale of tumor heterogeneity by complete hierarchical segmentation of MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gensheimer, Michael F; Hawkins, Douglas S; Ermoian, Ralph P; Trister, Andrew D

    2015-02-07

    In many cancers, intratumoral heterogeneity has been found in histology, genetic variation and vascular structure. We developed an algorithm to interrogate different scales of heterogeneity using clinical imaging. We hypothesize that heterogeneity of perfusion at coarse scale may correlate with treatment resistance and propensity for disease recurrence. The algorithm recursively segments the tumor image into increasingly smaller regions. Each dividing line is chosen so as to maximize signal intensity difference between the two regions. This process continues until the tumor has been divided into single voxels, resulting in segments at multiple scales. For each scale, heterogeneity is measured by comparing each segmented region to the adjacent region and calculating the difference in signal intensity histograms. Using digital phantom images, we showed that the algorithm is robust to image artifacts and various tumor shapes. We then measured the primary tumor scales of contrast enhancement heterogeneity in MRI of 18 rhabdomyosarcoma patients. Using Cox proportional hazards regression, we explored the influence of heterogeneity parameters on relapse-free survival. Coarser scale of maximum signal intensity heterogeneity was prognostic of shorter survival (p = 0.05). By contrast, two fractal parameters and three Haralick texture features were not prognostic. In summary, our algorithm produces a biologically motivated segmentation of tumor regions and reports the amount of heterogeneity at various distance scales. If validated on a larger dataset, this prognostic imaging biomarker could be useful to identify patients at higher risk for recurrence and candidates for alternative treatment.

  2. The enigma of multiple sclerosis: inflammation and neurodegeneration cause heterogeneous dysfunction and damage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Owens, Trevor

    2003-01-01

    progression correlate with axonal damage, and that brain atrophy resulting from axonal loss is a feature of early multiple sclerosis, and is not restricted to the secondary progressive forms of the disease. Inflammatory mediators (CD8 T cells and antibodies) are implicated in axonal damage, and treatment...... cells for oligodendrocytes. SUMMARY: Oligodendrocyte precursors are abundant in multiple sclerosis lesions, but fail to remyelinate. Oligodendrocyte growth and regeneration are probably compromised by the action of growth inhibitory signals and lack of growth stimuli. Inflammatory cells and mediators......PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis has an autoimmune inflammatory component, which has dominated the description of multiple sclerosis. A degenerative component to multiple sclerosis was always apparent, but was underappreciated until recently. Recent work has brought...

  3. Zebrafish as a model to assess cancer heterogeneity, progression and relapse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackburn, Jessica S.; Langenau, David M.

    2014-01-01

    Clonal evolution is the process by which genetic and epigenetic diversity is created within malignant tumor cells. This process culminates in a heterogeneous tumor, consisting of multiple subpopulations of cancer cells that often do not contain the same underlying mutations. Continuous selective pressure permits outgrowth of clones that harbor lesions that are capable of enhancing disease progression, including those that contribute to therapy resistance, metastasis and relapse. Clonal evolution and the resulting intratumoral heterogeneity pose a substantial challenge to biomarker identification, personalized cancer therapies and the discovery of underlying driver mutations in cancer. The purpose of this Review is to highlight the unique strengths of zebrafish cancer models in assessing the roles that intratumoral heterogeneity and clonal evolution play in cancer, including transgenesis, imaging technologies, high-throughput cell transplantation approaches and in vivo single-cell functional assays. PMID:24973745

  4. Rational and Mechanistic Perspectives on Reinforcement Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chater, Nick

    2009-01-01

    This special issue describes important recent developments in applying reinforcement learning models to capture neural and cognitive function. But reinforcement learning, as a theoretical framework, can apply at two very different levels of description: "mechanistic" and "rational." Reinforcement learning is often viewed in mechanistic terms--as…

  5. Homogenization technique for strongly heterogeneous zones in research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, J.T.; Lee, B.H.; Cho, N.Z.; Oh, S.K.

    1991-01-01

    This paper reports on an iterative homogenization method using transport theory in a one-dimensional cylindrical cell model developed to improve the homogenized cross sections fro strongly heterogeneous zones in research reactors. The flux-weighting homogenized cross sections are modified by a correction factor, the cell flux ratio under an albedo boundary condition. The albedo at the cell boundary is iteratively determined to reflect the geometry effects of the material properties of the adjacent cells. This method has been tested with a simplified core model of the Korea Multipurpose Research Reactor. The results demonstrate that the reaction rates of an off-center control shroud cell, the multiplication factor, and the power distribution of the reactor core are close to those of the fine-mesh heterogeneous transport model

  6. Numerical analyses of the effect of SG-interlayer shear stiffness on the structural performance of reinforced glass beams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Louter, C.; Nielsen, Jens Henrik

    2013-01-01

    This paper focuses on the numerical modelling of SentryGlas-laminated reinforced glass beams. In these beams, which have been experimentally investigated in preceding research, a stainless steel reinforcement section is laminated at the inner recessed edge of a triple-layer glass beam by means...... of SentryGlas (SG) interlayer sheets. The current contribution numerically investigates the effect of the SG-interlayer shear stiffness on the overall structural response of the beams. This is done by means of a 3D finite element model in which the individual glass layers, the SG......-interlayers and the reinforcement are incorporated. In the model, the glass parts are allowed to crack, but all other parts are assumed linear elastic throughout the analyses. By changing the shear modulus of the SG-interlayer in multiple analyses, its contribution to the overall structural performance of the beams - especially...

  7. FMRQ-A Multiagent Reinforcement Learning Algorithm for Fully Cooperative Tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhen; Zhao, Dongbin; Gao, Junwei; Wang, Dongqing; Dai, Yujie

    2017-06-01

    In this paper, we propose a multiagent reinforcement learning algorithm dealing with fully cooperative tasks. The algorithm is called frequency of the maximum reward Q-learning (FMRQ). FMRQ aims to achieve one of the optimal Nash equilibria so as to optimize the performance index in multiagent systems. The frequency of obtaining the highest global immediate reward instead of immediate reward is used as the reinforcement signal. With FMRQ each agent does not need the observation of the other agents' actions and only shares its state and reward at each step. We validate FMRQ through case studies of repeated games: four cases of two-player two-action and one case of three-player two-action. It is demonstrated that FMRQ can converge to one of the optimal Nash equilibria in these cases. Moreover, comparison experiments on tasks with multiple states and finite steps are conducted. One is box-pushing and the other one is distributed sensor network problem. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms others with higher performance.

  8. Glass FRP reinforcement in rehabilitation of concrete marine infrastructure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newhook, John P.

    2006-01-01

    Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcements for concrete structures are gaining wide acceptance as a suitable alternative to steel reinforcements. The primary advantage is that they do not suffer corrosion and hence they promise to be more durable in environments where steel reinforced concrete has a limited life span. Concrete wharves and jetties are examples of structures subjected to such harsh environments and represent the general class of marine infrastructure in which glass FRP (GFRP) reinforcement should be used for improved durability and service life. General design considerations which make glass FRP suitable for use in marine concrete rehabilitation projects are discussed. A case study of recent wharf rehabilitation project in Canada is used to reinforce these considerations. The structure consisted of a GFRP reinforced concrete deck panel and steel - GFRP hybrid reinforced concrete pile cap. A design methodology is developed for the hybrid reinforcement design and verified through testing. The results of a field monitoring program are used to establish the satisfactory field performance of the GFRP reinforcement. The design concepts presented in the paper are applicable to many concrete marine components and other structures where steel reinforcement corrosion is a problem. (author)

  9. Programming heterogeneous MPSoCs tool flows to close the software productivity gap

    CERN Document Server

    Castrillón Mazo, Jerónimo

    2014-01-01

    This book provides embedded software developers with techniques for programmingheterogeneous Multi-Processor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoCs), capable of executing multiple applications simultaneously. It describes a set of algorithms and methodologies to narrow the software productivity gap, as well as an in-depth description of the underlying problems and challenges of today’s programming practices. The authors present four different tool flows: A parallelism extraction flow for applications writtenusing the C programming language, a mapping and scheduling flow for parallel applications, a special mapping flow for baseband applications in the context of Software Defined Radio (SDR) and a final flow for analyzing multiple applications at design time. The tool flows are evaluated on Virtual Platforms (VPs), which mimic different characteristics of state-of-the-art heterogeneous MPSoCs.   • Provides a novel set of algorithms and methodologies for programming heterogeneous Multi-Processor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoCs)...

  10. The Effects of Multiple Exemplar Training on a Working Memory Task Involving Sequential Responding in Children with Autism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baltruschat, Lisa; Hasselhorn, Marcus; Tarbox, Jonathan; Dixon, Dennis R.; Najdowski, Adel; Mullins, Ryan David; Gould, Evelyn

    2012-01-01

    This study is part of a programmatic line of research into the use of basic positive reinforcement procedures for improving working memory in children with autism spectrum disorders. The authors evaluated the effects of multiple exemplar training, utilizing positive reinforcement, on performance of a "digit span backwards" task--a test of working…

  11. The critical dimensions of the response-reinforcer contingency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, B A.

    2001-05-03

    Two major dimensions of any contingency of reinforcement are the temporal relation between a response and its reinforcer, and the relative frequency of the reinforcer given the response versus when the response has not occurred. Previous data demonstrate that time, per se, is not sufficient to explain the effects of delay-of-reinforcement procedures; needed in addition is some account of the events occurring in the delay interval. Moreover, the effects of the same absolute time values vary greatly across situations, such that any notion of a standard delay-of-reinforcement gradient is simplistic. The effects of reinforcers occurring in the absence of a response depend critically upon the stimulus conditions paired with those reinforcers, in much the same manner as has been shown with Pavlovian contingency effects. However, it is unclear whether the underlying basis of such effects is response competition or changes in the calculus of causation.

  12. Heterogeneidade neuropsicológica na esclerose múlipla Neuropsychological heterogeneity in multiple sclerosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo de Paula Lima

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available A esclerose múltipla (EM é uma doença neurológica progressiva e incapacitante, cujos sintomas afetam o funcionamento motor, sensorial e psicológico. Diversas variáveis clínicas e psicossociais influenciam o perfil neuropsicológico na EM, que é extremamente heterogêneo. O objetivo principal do presente estudo foi investigar a possibilidade de estratificar estatisticamente portadores de EM e controles a partir das dimensões neurológica, sócio-demográfica e neuropsicológica de funcionamento. A partir desse objetivo, foi conduzido um procedimento de análise de conglomerados utilizando cinco instrumentos neuropsicológicos, selecionados dentre uma gama de nove medidas, de acordo com a acurácia diagnóstica. A amostra foi constituída por 45 pessoas saudáveis e 35 portadores de EM com características sócio-demográficas semelhantes. Os resultados indicaram uma solução ideal com quatro conglomerados a partir de duas dimensões, funcionamento "cognitivo" e "psicossocial", que representam aspectos independentes, porém não disjuntivos, do funcionamento neuropsicológico na EM.Multiple sclerosis (MS is a progressively disabling neurological disease which symptoms affect sensory, motor and psychological functioning. Several clinical neurological and psychological variables influence the neuropsychological profile in MS, which is extremely heterogeneous. The main objective of the present study was to investigate if it is possible to statistically stratify control subjects and MS patients from neurological, socio-demographic and neuropsychological dimensions. With this purpose we applied cluster analysis procedures to five neuropsychological instruments selected according to diagnostic accuracy from a pool of 9 neuropsychological tests. The sample was composed of 45 healthy controls and 35 MS patients with similar socio-demographic characteristics. The results indicated an ideal solution with 4 different clusters according to two

  13. Memory Transformation Enhances Reinforcement Learning in Dynamic Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santoro, Adam; Frankland, Paul W; Richards, Blake A

    2016-11-30

    Over the course of systems consolidation, there is a switch from a reliance on detailed episodic memories to generalized schematic memories. This switch is sometimes referred to as "memory transformation." Here we demonstrate a previously unappreciated benefit of memory transformation, namely, its ability to enhance reinforcement learning in a dynamic environment. We developed a neural network that is trained to find rewards in a foraging task where reward locations are continuously changing. The network can use memories for specific locations (episodic memories) and statistical patterns of locations (schematic memories) to guide its search. We find that switching from an episodic to a schematic strategy over time leads to enhanced performance due to the tendency for the reward location to be highly correlated with itself in the short-term, but regress to a stable distribution in the long-term. We also show that the statistics of the environment determine the optimal utilization of both types of memory. Our work recasts the theoretical question of why memory transformation occurs, shifting the focus from the avoidance of memory interference toward the enhancement of reinforcement learning across multiple timescales. As time passes, memories transform from a highly detailed state to a more gist-like state, in a process called "memory transformation." Theories of memory transformation speak to its advantages in terms of reducing memory interference, increasing memory robustness, and building models of the environment. However, the role of memory transformation from the perspective of an agent that continuously acts and receives reward in its environment is not well explored. In this work, we demonstrate a view of memory transformation that defines it as a way of optimizing behavior across multiple timescales. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/3612228-15$15.00/0.

  14. Modelling root reinforcement in shallow forest soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skaugset, Arne E.

    1997-01-01

    A hypothesis used to explain the relationship between timber harvesting and landslides is that tree roots add mechanical support to soil, thus increasing soil strength. Upon harvest, the tree roots decay which reduces soil strength and increases the risk of management -induced landslides. The technical literature does not adequately support this hypothesis. Soil strength values attributed to root reinforcement that are in the technical literature are such that forested sites can't fail and all high risk, harvested sites must fail. Both unstable forested sites and stable harvested sites exist, in abundance, in the real world thus, the literature does not adequately describe the real world. An analytical model was developed to calculate soil strength increase due to root reinforcement. Conceptually, the model is composed of a reinforcing element with high tensile strength, i.e. a conifer root, embedded in a material with little tensile strength, i.e. a soil. As the soil fails and deforms, the reinforcing element also deforms and stretches. The lateral deformation of the reinforcing element is treated analytically as a laterally loaded pile in a flexible foundation and the axial deformation is treated as an axially loaded pile. The governing differential equations are solved using finite-difference approximation techniques. The root reinforcement model was tested by comparing the final shape of steel and aluminum rods, parachute cord, wooden dowels, and pine roots in direct shear with predicted shapes from the output of the root reinforcement model. The comparisons were generally satisfactory, were best for parachute cord and wooden dowels, and were poorest for steel and aluminum rods. A parameter study was performed on the root reinforcement model which showed reinforced soil strength increased with increasing root diameter and soil depth. Output from the root reinforcement model showed a strain incompatibility between large and small diameter roots. The peak

  15. Modeling of geosynthetic reinforced capping systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viswanadham, B.V.S.; Koenig, D.; Jessberger, H.L.

    1997-01-01

    The investigation deals with the influence of a geosynthetic reinforcement on the deformation behavior and sealing efficiency of the reinforced mineral sealing layer at the onset of non-uniform settlements. The research program is mainly concentrated in studying the influence of reinforcement inclusion in restraining cracks and crack propagation due to soil-geosynthetic bond efficiency. Centrifuge model tests are conducted in the 500 gt capacity balanced beam Bochum geotechnical Centrifuge (Z1) simulating a differential deformation of a mineral sealing layer of a landfill with the help of trap-door arrangement. By comparing the performance of the deformed mineral sealing layer with and without geogrid, the reinforcement ability of the geogrid in controlling the crack propagation and permeability of the mineral swing layer is evaluated

  16. High Intra- and Inter-Tumoral Heterogeneity of RAS Mutations in Colorectal Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marion Jeantet

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Approximately 30% of patients with wild type RAS metastatic colorectal cancer are non-responders to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibodies (anti-EGFR mAbs, possibly due to undetected tumoral subclones harboring RAS mutations. The aim of this study was to analyze the distribution of RAS mutations in different areas of the primary tumor, metastatic lymph nodes and distant metastasis. A retrospective cohort of 18 patients with a colorectal cancer (CRC was included in the study. Multiregion analysis was performed in 60 spatially separated tumor areas according to the pathological tumor node metastasis (pTNM staging and KRAS, NRAS and BRAF mutations were tested using pyrosequencing. In primary tumors, intra-tumoral heterogeneity for RAS mutation was found in 33% of cases. Inter-tumoral heterogeneity for RAS mutation between primary tumors and metastatic lymph nodes or distant metastasis was found in 36% of cases. Moreover, 28% of tumors had multiple RAS mutated subclones in the same tumor. A high proportion of CRCs presented intra- and/or inter-tumoral heterogeneity, which has relevant clinical implications for anti-EGFR mAbs prescription. These results suggest the need for multiple RAS testing in different parts of the same tumor and/or more sensitive techniques.

  17. Geo synthetic-reinforced Pavement systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zornberg, J. G.

    2014-01-01

    Geo synthetics have been used as reinforcement inclusions to improve pavement performance. while there are clear field evidence of the benefit of using geo synthetic reinforcements, the specific conditions or mechanisms that govern the reinforcement of pavements are, at best, unclear and have remained largely unmeasured. Significant research has been recently conducted with the objectives of: (i) determining the relevant properties of geo synthetics that contribute to the enhanced performance of pavement systems, (ii) developing appropriate analytical, laboratory and field methods capable of quantifying the pavement performance, and (iii) enabling the prediction of pavement performance as a function of the properties of the various types of geo synthetics. (Author)

  18. MULTIPLE OBJECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Bosov

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The development of complicated techniques of production and management processes, information systems, computer science, applied objects of systems theory and others requires improvement of mathematical methods, new approaches for researches of application systems. And the variety and diversity of subject systems makes necessary the development of a model that generalizes the classical sets and their development – sets of sets. Multiple objects unlike sets are constructed by multiple structures and represented by the structure and content. The aim of the work is the analysis of multiple structures, generating multiple objects, the further development of operations on these objects in application systems. Methodology. To achieve the objectives of the researches, the structure of multiple objects represents as constructive trio, consisting of media, signatures and axiomatic. Multiple object is determined by the structure and content, as well as represented by hybrid superposition, composed of sets, multi-sets, ordered sets (lists and heterogeneous sets (sequences, corteges. Findings. In this paper we study the properties and characteristics of the components of hybrid multiple objects of complex systems, proposed assessments of their complexity, shown the rules of internal and external operations on objects of implementation. We introduce the relation of arbitrary order over multiple objects, we define the description of functions and display on objects of multiple structures. Originality.In this paper we consider the development of multiple structures, generating multiple objects.Practical value. The transition from the abstract to the subject of multiple structures requires the transformation of the system and multiple objects. Transformation involves three successive stages: specification (binding to the domain, interpretation (multiple sites and particularization (goals. The proposed describe systems approach based on hybrid sets

  19. Reinforcement of Conducting Silver-based Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heike JUNG

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Silver is a well-known material in the field of contact materials because of its high electrical and thermal conductivity. However, due to its bad mechanical and switching properties, silver alloys or reinforcements of the ductile silver matrix are required. Different reinforcements, e. g. tungsten, tungsten carbide, nickel, cadmium oxide or tin oxide, are used in different sectors of switches. To reach an optimal distribution of these reinforcements, various manufacturing techniques (e. g. powder blending, preform infiltration, wet-chemical methods, internal oxidation are being used for the production of these contact materials. Each of these manufacturing routes offers different advantages and disadvantages. The mechanical alloying process displays a successful and efficient method to produce particle-reinforced metal-matrix composite powders. This contribution presents the obtained fine disperse microstructure of tungsten-particle-reinforced silver composite powders produced by the mechanical alloying process and displays this technique as possible route to provide feedstock powders for subsequent consolidation processes. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.20.3.4889

  20. Topology optimization of reinforced concrete beams by a spread-over reinforcement model with fixed grid mesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjapon Wethyavivorn

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available For this investigation, topology optimization was used as a tool to determine the optimal reinforcement for reinforcedconcrete beam. The topology optimization process was based on a unit finite element cell with layers of concrete and steel.The thickness of the reinforced steel layer of this unit cell was then adjusted when the concrete layer could not carry thetensile or compressive stress. At the same time, unit cells which carried very low stress were eliminated. The process wasperformed iteratively to create a topology of reinforced concrete beam which satisfied design conditions.

  1. GenHtr: a tool for comparative assessment of genetic heterogeneity in microbial genomes generated by massive short-read sequencing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu GongXin

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Microevolution is the study of short-term changes of alleles within a population and their effects on the phenotype of organisms. The result of the below-species-level evolution is heterogeneity, where populations consist of subpopulations with a large number of structural variations. Heterogeneity analysis is thus essential to our understanding of how selective and neutral forces shape bacterial populations over a short period of time. The Solexa Genome Analyzer, a next-generation sequencing platform, allows millions of short sequencing reads to be obtained with great accuracy, allowing for the ability to study the dynamics of the bacterial population at the whole genome level. The tool referred to as GenHtr was developed for genome-wide heterogeneity analysis. Results For particular bacterial strains, GenHtr relies on a set of Solexa short reads on given bacteria pathogens and their isogenic reference genome to identify heterogeneity sites, the chromosomal positions with multiple variants of genes in the bacterial population, and variations that occur in large gene families. GenHtr accomplishes this by building and comparatively analyzing genome-wide heterogeneity genotypes for both the newly sequenced genomes (using massive short-read sequencing and their isogenic reference (using simulated data. As proof of the concept, this approach was applied to SRX007711, the Solexa sequencing data for a newly sequenced Staphylococcus aureus subsp. USA300 cell line, and demonstrated that it could predict such multiple variants. They include multiple variants of genes critical in pathogenesis, e.g. genes encoding a LysR family transcriptional regulator, 23 S ribosomal RNA, and DNA mismatch repair protein MutS. The heterogeneity results in non-synonymous and nonsense mutations, leading to truncated proteins for both LysR and MutS. Conclusion GenHtr was developed for genome-wide heterogeneity analysis. Although it is much more time

  2. Acquisition with partial and continuous reinforcement in pigeon autoshaping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gottlieb, Daniel A

    2004-08-01

    Contemporary time accumulation models make the unique prediction that acquisition of a conditioned response will be equally rapid with partial and continuous reinforcement, if the time between conditioned stimuli is held constant. To investigate this, acquisition of conditioned responding was examined in pigeon autoshaping under conditions of 100% and 25% reinforcement, holding intertrial interval constant. Contrary to what was predicted, evidence for slowed acquisition in partially reinforced animals was observed with several response measures. However, asymptotic performance was superior with 25% reinforcement. A switching of reinforcement contingencies after initial acquisition did not immediately affect responding. After further sessions, partial reinforcement augmented responding, whereas continuous reinforcement did not, irrespective of an animal's reinforcement history. Subsequent training with a novel stimulus maintained the response patterns. These acquisition results generally support associative, rather than time accumulation, accounts of conditioning.

  3. Brain network response underlying decisions about abstract reinforcers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills-Finnerty, Colleen; Hanson, Catherine; Hanson, Stephen Jose

    2014-12-01

    Decision making studies typically use tasks that involve concrete action-outcome contingencies, in which subjects do something and get something. No studies have addressed decision making involving abstract reinforcers, where there are no action-outcome contingencies and choices are entirely hypothetical. The present study examines these kinds of choices, as well as whether the same biases that exist for concrete reinforcer decisions, specifically framing effects, also apply during abstract reinforcer decisions. We use both General Linear Model as well as Bayes network connectivity analysis using the Independent Multi-sample Greedy Equivalence Search (IMaGES) algorithm to examine network response underlying choices for abstract reinforcers under positive and negative framing. We find for the first time that abstract reinforcer decisions activate the same network of brain regions as concrete reinforcer decisions, including the striatum, insula, anterior cingulate, and VMPFC, results that are further supported via comparison to a meta-analysis of decision making studies. Positive and negative framing activated different parts of this network, with stronger activation in VMPFC during negative framing and in DLPFC during positive, suggesting different decision making pathways depending on frame. These results were further clarified using connectivity analysis, which revealed stronger connections between anterior cingulate, insula, and accumbens during negative framing compared to positive. Taken together, these results suggest that not only do abstract reinforcer decisions rely on the same brain substrates as concrete reinforcers, but that the response underlying framing effects on abstract reinforcers also resemble those for concrete reinforcers, specifically increased limbic system connectivity during negative frames. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Long-term performance of GFRP reinforcement : technical report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-12-01

    Significant research has been performed on glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) concrete reinforcement. : This research has shown that GFRP reinforcement exhibits high strengths, is lightweight, can decrease time of : construction, and is corrosion ...

  5. The effect of concrete strength and reinforcement on toughness of reinforced concrete beams

    OpenAIRE

    Carneiro, Joaquim A. O.; Jalali, Said; Teixeira, Vasco M. P.; Tomás, M.

    2005-01-01

    The objective pursued with this work includes the evaluating of the strength and the total energy absorption capacity (toughness) of reinforced concrete beams using different amounts of steel-bar reinforcement. The experimental campaign deals with the evaluation of the threshold load prior collapse, ultimate load and deformation, as well as the beam total energy absorption capacity, using a three point bending test. The beam half span displacement was measured using a displacement transducer,...

  6. Heterogeneous computing with OpenCL 2.0

    CERN Document Server

    Kaeli, David R; Schaa, Dana; Zhang, Dong Ping

    2015-01-01

    Heterogeneous Computing with OpenCL 2.0 teaches OpenCL and parallel programming for complex systems that may include a variety of device architectures: multi-core CPUs, GPUs, and fully-integrated Accelerated Processing Units (APUs). This fully-revised edition includes the latest enhancements in OpenCL 2.0 including: Shared virtual memory to increase programming flexibility and reduce data transfers that consume resources Dynamic parallelism which reduces processor load and avoids bottlenecks Improved imaging support and integration with OpenGL  Designed to work on multiple platfor

  7. Concrete cover cracking due to uniform reinforcement corrosion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Solgaard, Anders Ole Stubbe; Michel, Alexander; Geiker, Mette Rica

    2013-01-01

    and reinforcement de-passivation is a frequently used limit state. The present paper investigates an alternative limit state: corrosion-induced cover cracking. Results from numerical simulations of concrete cover cracking due to reinforcement corrosion are presented. The potential additional service life...... is calculated using literature data on corrosion rate and Faraday’s law. The parameters varied comprise reinforcement diameter, concrete cover thickness and concrete material properties, viz. concrete tensile strength and ductility (plain concrete and fibre reinforced concrete). Results obtained from......Service life design (SLD) is an important tool for civil engineers to ensure that the structural integrity and functionality of the structure is not compromised within a given time frame, i.e. the service life. In SLD of reinforced concrete structures, reinforcement corrosion is of major concern...

  8. Three-dimensional imaging of aquifer and aquitard heterogeneity via transient hydraulic tomography at a highly heterogeneous field site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Zhanfeng; Illman, Walter A.

    2018-04-01

    Previous studies have shown that geostatistics-based transient hydraulic tomography (THT) is robust for subsurface heterogeneity characterization through the joint inverse modeling of multiple pumping tests. However, the hydraulic conductivity (K) and specific storage (Ss) estimates can be smooth or even erroneous for areas where pumping/observation densities are low. This renders the imaging of interlayer and intralayer heterogeneity of highly contrasting materials including their unit boundaries difficult. In this study, we further test the performance of THT by utilizing existing and newly collected pumping test data of longer durations that showed drawdown responses in both aquifer and aquitard units at a field site underlain by a highly heterogeneous glaciofluvial deposit. The robust performance of the THT is highlighted through the comparison of different degrees of model parameterization including: (1) the effective parameter approach; (2) the geological zonation approach relying on borehole logs; and (3) the geostatistical inversion approach considering different prior information (with/without geological data). Results reveal that the simultaneous analysis of eight pumping tests with the geostatistical inverse model yields the best results in terms of model calibration and validation. We also find that the joint interpretation of long-term drawdown data from aquifer and aquitard units is necessary in mapping their full heterogeneous patterns including intralayer variabilities. Moreover, as geological data are included as prior information in the geostatistics-based THT analysis, the estimated K values increasingly reflect the vertical distribution patterns of permeameter-estimated K in both aquifer and aquitard units. Finally, the comparison of various THT approaches reveals that differences in the estimated K and Ss tomograms result in significantly different transient drawdown predictions at observation ports.

  9. Effect of alkali–silica reaction on the shear strength of reinforced concrete structural members. A numerical and statistical study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saouma, Victor E.; Hariri-Ardebili, Mohammad Amin [Department of Civil Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States); Le Pape, Yann, E-mail: lepapeym@ornl.gov [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States); Balaji, Rajagopalan [Department of Civil Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States)

    2016-12-15

    Highlights: • Alkali–silica reaction (ASR) affects reinforced structures shear strength. • Statistical analysis indicates large scattering of post-ASR strength losses/gains. • Competitive structural and materials mechanisms affect the residual shear strength. - Abstract: The residual structural shear resistance of concrete members without shear reinforcement and subject to alkali–aggregate reaction (ASR) is investigated by finite element analysis. A parametric numerical study of 648 analyses considering various structural members’ geometries, boundary conditions, ASR-induced losses of materials properties, ASR expansions and reinforcement ratios is conducted. As a result of competitive mechanisms (e.g., ASR-induced prestressing caused by the longitudinal reinforcement) and loss of concrete materials properties, important scatter in terms of gain or loss of shear strength is observed: about 50% of the studied configurations lead to a degradation of structural performance. The range of variation in terms of post-ASR shear resistance is extremely scattered, in particular, when ASR results in out-of-plane expansion only. Influencing factors are derived by two methods: (i) visual inspection of boxplots and probability distributions, and (ii) information criteria within multiple-linear regression analysis.

  10. Quenched Reinforcement Exposed to Fire

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hertz, Kristian Dahl

    2006-01-01

    .0% is seldom found in “slack” (not prestressed) reinforcement, but 2.0% stresses might be relevant for reinforcement in T shaped cross sections and for prestressed structures, where large strains can be applied. All data are provided in a “HOT” condition during a fire and in a “COLD” condition after a fire...

  11. Porting AMG2013 to Heterogeneous CPU+GPU Nodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samfass, Philipp [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2017-01-26

    LLNL's future advanced technology system SIERRA will feature heterogeneous compute nodes that consist of IBM PowerV9 CPUs and NVIDIA Volta GPUs. Conceptually, the motivation for such an architecture is quite straightforward: While GPUs are optimized for throughput on massively parallel workloads, CPUs strive to minimize latency for rather sequential operations. Yet, making optimal use of heterogeneous architectures raises new challenges for the development of scalable parallel software, e.g., with respect to work distribution. Porting LLNL's parallel numerical libraries to upcoming heterogeneous CPU+GPU architectures is therefore a critical factor for ensuring LLNL's future success in ful lling its national mission. One of these libraries, called HYPRE, provides parallel solvers and precondi- tioners for large, sparse linear systems of equations. In the context of this intern- ship project, I consider AMG2013 which is a proxy application for major parts of HYPRE that implements a benchmark for setting up and solving di erent systems of linear equations. In the following, I describe in detail how I ported multiple parts of AMG2013 to the GPU (Section 2) and present results for di erent experiments that demonstrate a successful parallel implementation on the heterogeneous ma- chines surface and ray (Section 3). In Section 4, I give guidelines on how my code should be used. Finally, I conclude and give an outlook for future work (Section 5).

  12. Design of reinforced concrete plates and shells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schulz, M.

    1984-01-01

    Nowadays, the internal forces of reinforced concrete laminar structures can be easily evaluated by the finite element procedures. The longitudinal design in each direction is not adequate, since the whole set of internal forces in each point must be concomitantly considered. The classic formulation for the design and new design charts which bring reduction of the amount of necessary reinforcement are presented. A rational reinforced concrete mathematical theory which makes possible the limit state design of plates and shells is discussed. This model can also be applied to define the constitutive relationships of laminar finite elements of reinforced concrete. (Author) [pt

  13. Effect of steel reinforcement with different degree of corrosion on degeneration of mechanical performance of reinforced concrete frame joints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wu Xu

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Beam-column joints which shoulders high-level and vertical shearing effect that maintains balance of beam and column end is the major component influencing the performance of the whole framework. Post earthquake investigation suggests that collapse of frame structure is induced by failure of joints in most cases. Thus, beam-column joints must have strong bearing capacity and good ductility, and reinforced concrete structure just meets the above requirement. But corrosion caused by long time use of reinforced concrete framework will lead to degeneration of mechanical performance of joints. To find out the rule of effect of steel reinforcement with different corrosion rate on degeneration of bearing capacity of reinforced concrete framework joints, this study made a nonlinear numerical analysis on fifteen models without stirrup in the core area of reinforced concrete frame joints using displacement method considering axial load ratio of column end and constraint condition. This work aims to find out the key factor that influences mechanical performance of joints, thus to provide a basis for repair and reinforcement of degenerated framework joints.

  14. Stability of reinforced cemented backfills

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitchell, R.J.; Stone, D.M.

    1987-01-01

    Mining with backfill has been the subject of several international meetings in recent years and a considerable research effort is being applied to improve both mining economics and ore recovery by using backfill for ground support. Classified mill tailings sands are the most commonly used backfill material but these fine sands must be stabilized before full ore pillar recovery can be achieved. Normal portland cement is generally used for stabilization but the high cost of cement prohibits high cement usage. This paper considers the use of reinforcements in cemented fill to reduce the cement usage. It is concluded that strong cemented layers at typical spacings of about 3 meters in a low cement content bulk fill can reinforce the fill and reduce the overall cement usage. Fibre reinforcements introduced into strong layers or into bulk fills are also known to be effective in reducing cement usage. Some development work is needed to produce the ideal type of anchored fibre in order to realize economic gains from fibre-reinforced fills

  15. Modelling Preference Heterogeneity for Theatre Tickets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baldin, Andrea; Bille, Trine

    2018-01-01

    This article analyses the behavioural choice for theatre tickets using a rich data set for 2010–2013 from the sale system of the Royal Danish National Theatre. A consumer who decides to attend a theatre production faces multiple sources of price variation that involves a choice by the consumer...... among different ticket alternatives. Three modelling approaches are proposed in order to model ticket purchases: conditional logit with socio-demographic characteristics, nested logit and latent class. These models allow us explicitly to take into account consumers’ preference heterogeneity with respect...... of behaviour in the choice of theatre ticket....

  16. An orthogonal wavelet division multiple-access processor architecture for LTE-advanced wireless/radio-over-fiber systems over heterogeneous networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahapatra, Chinmaya; Leung, Victor CM; Stouraitis, Thanos

    2014-12-01

    The increase in internet traffic, number of users, and availability of mobile devices poses a challenge to wireless technologies. In long-term evolution (LTE) advanced system, heterogeneous networks (HetNet) using centralized coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmitting radio over optical fibers (LTE A-ROF) have provided a feasible way of satisfying user demands. In this paper, an orthogonal wavelet division multiple-access (OWDMA) processor architecture is proposed, which is shown to be better suited to LTE advanced systems as compared to orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) as in LTE systems 3GPP rel.8 (3GPP, http://www.3gpp.org/DynaReport/36300.htm). ROF systems are a viable alternative to satisfy large data demands; hence, the performance in ROF systems is also evaluated. To validate the architecture, the circuit is designed and synthesized on a Xilinx vertex-6 field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The synthesis results show that the circuit performs with a clock period as short as 7.036 ns (i.e., a maximum clock frequency of 142.13 MHz) for transform size of 512. A pipelined version of the architecture reduces the power consumption by approximately 89%. We compare our architecture with similar available architectures for resource utilization and timing and provide performance comparison with OFDMA systems for various quality metrics of communication systems. The OWDMA architecture is found to perform better than OFDMA for bit error rate (BER) performance versus signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in wireless channel as well as ROF media. It also gives higher throughput and mitigates the bad effect of peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR).

  17. Analysis of a homogenous and heterogeneous stylized half core of a CANDU reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    EL-Khawlani, Afrah [Physics Department, Sana' a (Yemen); Aziz, Moustafa [Nuclear and radiological regulatory authority, Cairo (Egypt); Ismail, Mahmud Yehia; Ellithi, Ali Yehia [Cairo Univ. (Egypt). Faculty of Science

    2015-03-15

    The MCNPX (Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code System) code has been used for modeling and simulation of a half core of CANDU (CANada Deuterium-Uranium) reactor, both homogenous and heterogeneous model for the reactor core are designed. The fuel is burnt in normal operation conditions of CANDU reactors. Natural uranium fuel is used in the model. The multiplication factor for homogeneous and heterogeneous reactor core is calculated and compared during fuel burnup. The concentration of both uranium and plutonium isotopes are analysed in the model. The flux and power distributions through channels are calculated.

  18. Fatigue Performance of Fiber Reinforced Concrete

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jun, Zhang; Stang, Henrik

    1996-01-01

    The objective of the present study is to obtain basic data of fibre reinforced concrete under fatigue load and to set up a theoretical model based on micromechanics. In this study, the bridging stress in fiber reinforced concrete under cyclic tensile load was investigted in details. The damage...... mechanism of the interface between fiber and matrix was proposed and a rational model given. Finally, the response of a steel fiber reinforced concrete beam under fatigue loading was predicted based on this model and compared with experimental results....

  19. Strain rate effects on reinforcing steels in tension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cadoni, Ezio; Forni, Daniele

    2015-09-01

    It is unquestionable the fact that a structural system should be able to fulfil the function for which it was created, without being damaged to an extent disproportionate to the cause of damage. In addition, it is an undeniable fact that in reinforced concrete structures under severe dynamic loadings, both concrete and reinforcing bars are subjected to high strain-rates. Although the behavior of the reinforcing steel under high strain rates is of capital importance in the structural assessment under the abovementioned conditions, only the behaviour of concrete has been widely studied. Due to this lack of data on the reinforcing steel under high strain rates, an experimental program on rebar reinforcing steels under high strain rates in tension is running at the DynaMat Laboratory. In this paper a comparison of the behaviour in a wide range of strain-rates of several types of reinforcing steel in tension is presented. Three reinforcing steels, commonly proposed by the European Standards, are compared: B500A, B500B and B500C. Lastly, an evaluation of the most common constitutive laws is performed.

  20. Effect of kenaf fiber in reinforced concrete slab

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syed Mohsin, S. M.; Baarimah, A. O.; Jokhio, G. A.

    2018-04-01

    The effect of kenaf fibers in reinforced concrete slab with different thickness is discusses and presented in this paper. Kenaf fiber is a type of natural fiber and is added in the reinforced concrete slab to improve the structure strength and ductility. For this study, three types of mixtures were prepared with fiber volume fraction of 0%, 1% and 2%, respectively. The design compressive strength considered was 20 MPa. Six cubes were prepared to be tested at 7th and 28th day. A total of six reinforced concrete slab with two variances of thickness were also prepared and tested under four-point bending test. The differences in the thickness is to study the potential of kenaf fiber to serve as part of shear reinforcement in reinforced concrete slab that was design to fail in shear. It was observed that, addition of kenaf fiber in reinforced concrete slab improves the flexural strength and ductility of the reinforced concrete slab. In the slab with reduction in thickness, the mode of failure change from brittle to ductile with the inclusion of kenaf fiber.

  1. Influence of reinforcement on strains within maxillary implant overdentures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Toshihito; Gonda, Tomoya; Maeda, Yoshinobu

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of reinforcement of an embedded cast on the strains within maxillary implant overdentures. A maxillary edentulous model with implants placed bilaterally in the canine positions, dome-shaped copings, and experimental overdentures was fabricated. Rosette-type strain gauges were attached in the canine positions and at three points along the midline of the polished surface of the denture and connected to the sensor interface controlled by a personal computer. Experimental dentures with five different reinforcements were tested: without reinforcement; with a cast cobalt-chrome reinforcement over the residual ridge and the tops of the copings; with the same reinforcement from first molar to first molar, over the residual ridge and the tops of the copings; with the same reinforcement over the residual ridge and the sides of the copings; and with the same reinforcement from first molar to first molar, over the residual ridge and the sides of the copings. A vertical occlusal load of 49 N was applied to the first premolar and then to the first molar, and the strains were measured and compared by analysis of variance. In both loading situations, significantly less strain was recorded in dentures with reinforcement than in those without reinforcement. When the first premolar was loaded on dentures with and without palatal reinforcement at the first premolars, the strains on the denture with reinforcement over the tops of the copings were significantly lower than on the denture with reinforcement over the sides of the copings at the canine position. Cast reinforcement over the residual ridge and the top of copings embedded in an acrylic base reduced the strain from occlusal stress on maxillary implant overdentures.

  2. Multiple equilibria and minimum wages in labor markets with informationale frictions and heterogeneous production technologies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Berg, G.J.

    2003-01-01

    It is often argued that a mandatory minimum wage is binding only if the wage density displays a spike at it. In this article, we analyze a model with search frictions and heterogeneous production technologies, in which imposition of a minimum wage affects wages even though, after imposition, the

  3. Multiple Equilibria and Minimum Wages in Labor Markets with Informational Frictions and Heterogeneous Production Technologies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    G.J. van den Berg (Gerard)

    2003-01-01

    textabstractIt is often argued that a mandatory minimum wage is binding only if the wage density displays a spike at it. In this paper we analyze a model with wage setting, search frictions, and heterogeneous production technologies, in which imposition of a minimum wage affects wages even though,

  4. Application of multiple-point geostatistics to simulate the effect of small-scale aquifer heterogeneity on the efficiency of aquifer thermal energy storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Possemiers, Mathias; Huysmans, Marijke; Batelaan, Okke

    2015-08-01

    Adequate aquifer characterization and simulation using heat transport models are indispensible for determining the optimal design for aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) systems and wells. Recent model studies indicate that meter-scale heterogeneities in the hydraulic conductivity field introduce a considerable uncertainty in the distribution of thermal energy around an ATES system and can lead to a reduction in the thermal recoverability. In a study site in Bierbeek, Belgium, the influence of centimeter-scale clay drapes on the efficiency of a doublet ATES system and the distribution of the thermal energy around the ATES wells are quantified. Multiple-point geostatistical simulation of edge properties is used to incorporate the clay drapes in the models. The results show that clay drapes have an influence both on the distribution of thermal energy in the subsurface and on the efficiency of the ATES system. The distribution of the thermal energy is determined by the strike of the clay drapes, with the major axis of anisotropy parallel to the clay drape strike. The clay drapes have a negative impact (3.3-3.6 %) on the energy output in the models without a hydraulic gradient. In the models with a hydraulic gradient, however, the presence of clay drapes has a positive influence (1.6-10.2 %) on the energy output of the ATES system. It is concluded that it is important to incorporate small-scale heterogeneities in heat transport models to get a better estimate on ATES efficiency and distribution of thermal energy.

  5. Review of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Reinforced Material in Concrete Structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayuddin Ayuddin

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP is a material that is lightweight, strong, anti-magnetic and corrosion resistant. This material can be used as an option to replace the steel material in concrete construction or as material to improve the strength of existing construction. CFRP is quite easy to be attached to the concrete structure and proved economically used as a material for repairing damaged structures and increase the resilience of structural beams, columns, bridges and other parts of the structure against earthquakes. CFRP materials can be shaped sheet to be attached to the concrete surface. Another reason is due to the use of CFRP has a higher ultimate strength and lower weight compared to steel reinforcement so that the handling is significantly easier. Through this paper suggests that CFRP materials can be applied to concrete structures, especially on concrete columns. Through the results of experiments conducted proved that the concrete columns externally wrapped with CFRP materials can increase the strength. This treatment is obtained after testing experiments on 130 mm diameter column with a height of 700 mm with concentric loading method to collapse. The experimental results indicate that a column is wrapped externally with CFRP materials can achieve a load capacity of 250 kN compared to the concrete columns externally without CFRP material which only reached 150 kN. If the column is given internally reinforcing steel and given externally CFRP materials can reach 270 kN. It shows that CFRP materials can be used for concrete structures can even replace reinforcing steel that has been widely used in building construction in Indonesia.

  6. Application of multiple-point geostatistics to simulate the effect of small scale aquifer heterogeneity on the efficiency of Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Possemiers, Mathias; Huysmans, Marijke; Batelaan, Okke

    2015-04-01

    Adequate aquifer characterization and simulation using heat transport models are indispensible for determining the optimal design for Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) systems and wells. Recent model studies indicate that meter scale heterogeneities in the hydraulic conductivity field introduce a considerable uncertainty in the distribution of thermal energy around an ATES system and can lead to a reduction in the thermal recoverability. In this paper, the influence of centimeter scale clay drapes on the efficiency of a doublet ATES system and the distribution of the thermal energy around the ATES wells are quantified. Multiple-point geostatistical simulation of edge properties is used to incorporate the clay drapes in the models. The results show that clay drapes have an influence both on the distribution of thermal energy in the subsurface and on the efficiency of the ATES system. The distribution of the thermal energy is determined by the strike of the clay drapes, with the major axis of anisotropy parallel to the clay drape strike. The clay drapes have a negative impact (3.3 - 3.6%) on the energy output in the models without a hydraulic gradient. In the models with a hydraulic gradient, however, the presence of clay drapes has a positive influence (1.6 - 10.2%) on the energy output of the ATES system. It is concluded that it is important to incorporate small scale heterogeneities in heat transport models to get a better estimate on ATES efficiency and distribution of thermal energy.

  7. Degradation processes of reinforced concretes by combined sulfate–phosphate attack

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Secco, Michele, E-mail: michele.secco@unipd.it [Inter-Departmental Research Center for the Study of Cement Materials and Hydraulic Binders (CIRCe), University of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova (Italy); Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering (ICEA), University of Padova, Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padova (Italy); Lampronti, Giulio Isacco, E-mail: gil21@cam.ac.uk [Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EQ Cambridge (United Kingdom); Schlegel, Moritz-Caspar, E-mail: moritz-caspar.schlegel@helmholtz-berlin.de [BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin (Germany); Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fürMaterialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Maritan, Lara, E-mail: lara.maritan@unipd.it [Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova (Italy); Zorzi, Federico, E-mail: federico.zorzi@unipd.it [Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova (Italy)

    2015-02-15

    A novel form of alteration due to the interaction between hydrated cement phases and sulfate and phosphate-based pollutants is described, through the characterization of concrete samples from an industrial reinforced concrete building. Decalcification of the cement matrices was observed, with secondary sulfate and phosphate-based mineral formation, according to a marked mineralogical and textural zoning. Five alteration layers may be detected: the two outermost layers are characterized by the presence of gypsum–brushite solid solution phases associated with anhydrous calcium sulfates and phosphates, respectively, while a progressive increase in apatite and ammonium magnesium phosphates is observable in the three innermost layers, associated with specific apatite precursors (brushite, octacalcium phosphate and amorphous calcium phosphate, respectively). The heterogeneous microstructural development of secondary phases is related to the chemical, pH and thermal gradients in the attacked cementitious systems, caused by different sources of pollutants and the exposure to the sun's radiation.

  8. Degradation processes of reinforced concretes by combined sulfate–phosphate attack

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Secco, Michele; Lampronti, Giulio Isacco; Schlegel, Moritz-Caspar; Maritan, Lara; Zorzi, Federico

    2015-01-01

    A novel form of alteration due to the interaction between hydrated cement phases and sulfate and phosphate-based pollutants is described, through the characterization of concrete samples from an industrial reinforced concrete building. Decalcification of the cement matrices was observed, with secondary sulfate and phosphate-based mineral formation, according to a marked mineralogical and textural zoning. Five alteration layers may be detected: the two outermost layers are characterized by the presence of gypsum–brushite solid solution phases associated with anhydrous calcium sulfates and phosphates, respectively, while a progressive increase in apatite and ammonium magnesium phosphates is observable in the three innermost layers, associated with specific apatite precursors (brushite, octacalcium phosphate and amorphous calcium phosphate, respectively). The heterogeneous microstructural development of secondary phases is related to the chemical, pH and thermal gradients in the attacked cementitious systems, caused by different sources of pollutants and the exposure to the sun's radiation

  9. FEM performance of concrete beams reinforced by carbon fiber bars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasan Hashim

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Concrete structures may be vulnerable to harsh environment, reinforcement with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP bars have an increasing acceptance than normal steel. The nature of (FRP bar is (non-corrosive which is very beneficial for increased durability as well as the reinforcement of FRP bar has higher strength than steel bar. FRP usage are being specified more and more by public structural engineers and individual companies as main reinforcement and as strengthening of structures. Steel reinforcement as compared to (FRP reinforcement are decreasingly acceptable for structural concrete reinforcement including precast concrete, cast in place concrete, columns, beams and other components. Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Polymer (CFRP have a very high modulus of elasticity “high modulus” and very high tensile strength. In aerospace industry, CFRP with high modulus are popular among all FRPs because it has a high strength to weight ratio. In this research, a finite element models will be used to represent beams with Carbon Fiber Reinforcement and beams with steel reinforcement. The primary objective of the research is the evaluation of the effect of (CFR on beam reinforcement.

  10. Assessing the scale of tumor heterogeneity by complete hierarchical segmentation of MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gensheimer, Michael F; Ermoian, Ralph P; Hawkins, Douglas S; Trister, Andrew D

    2015-01-01

    In many cancers, intratumoral heterogeneity has been found in histology, genetic variation and vascular structure. We developed an algorithm to interrogate different scales of heterogeneity using clinical imaging. We hypothesize that heterogeneity of perfusion at coarse scale may correlate with treatment resistance and propensity for disease recurrence. The algorithm recursively segments the tumor image into increasingly smaller regions. Each dividing line is chosen so as to maximize signal intensity difference between the two regions. This process continues until the tumor has been divided into single voxels, resulting in segments at multiple scales. For each scale, heterogeneity is measured by comparing each segmented region to the adjacent region and calculating the difference in signal intensity histograms. Using digital phantom images, we showed that the algorithm is robust to image artifacts and various tumor shapes. We then measured the primary tumor scales of contrast enhancement heterogeneity in MRI of 18 rhabdomyosarcoma patients. Using Cox proportional hazards regression, we explored the influence of heterogeneity parameters on relapse-free survival. Coarser scale of maximum signal intensity heterogeneity was prognostic of shorter survival (p = 0.05). By contrast, two fractal parameters and three Haralick texture features were not prognostic. In summary, our algorithm produces a biologically motivated segmentation of tumor regions and reports the amount of heterogeneity at various distance scales. If validated on a larger dataset, this prognostic imaging biomarker could be useful to identify patients at higher risk for recurrence and candidates for alternative treatment. (paper)

  11. Fracture load of complete-arch implant-supported prostheses reinforced with nylon-silica mesh: An in vitro study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonçalves, Fernanda de Cássia Papaiz; Amaral, Marina; Borges, Alexandre Luiz Souto; Gonçalves, Luiz Fernando Martins; Paes-Junior, Tarcisio José de Arruda

    2018-04-01

    Complete-arch implant-supported prostheses without a framework have a high risk of failure: a straightforward and inexpensive reinforcement material, such as nylon mesh, could improve their longevity. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate a nylon-silica mesh compound on the fracture strength of acrylic resin and the fracture load of complete-arch implant-supported prostheses. Twenty-four complete mandibular arch implant-supported prostheses were divided into 2 groups according to cantilever length (molar and premolar) and subdivided into another 2 subgroups according to the presence or absence of reinforcing mesh. The specimens were submitted to a maximum load-to-fracture test in a universal testing machine, with a 100-N load cell, a 2 mm/min crosshead speed, and a spherical metal tip diameter of 4 mm at different points (molar and premolar). These were submitted to 1-way analysis of variance for repeated measurement and the post hoc Tukey multiple comparison test (α=.05). The mean maximum load ±standard deviation for the molar group was 393.4 ±95.0 N with reinforcement and 305.4 ±76.3 N without reinforcement (P=.02); and for the premolar group was 1083.3 ±283.7 N with reinforcement and 605.3 ±90.5 N without reinforcement (P=.001). Reinforcement with nylon mesh increased the mean maximum load of implant-supported complete-arch prostheses at both cantilever lengths. The cantilever to the premolar (5 mm) presented the highest maximum load values to fracture. Copyright © 2017 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Depression, Activity, and Evaluation of Reinforcement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammen, Constance L.; Glass, David R., Jr.

    1975-01-01

    This research attempted to find the causal relation between mood and level of reinforcement. An effort was made to learn what mood change might occur if depressed subjects increased their levels of participation in reinforcing activities. (Author/RK)

  13. The genetics of speciation by reinforcement.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Ortiz-Barrientos

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available Reinforcement occurs when natural selection strengthens behavioral discrimination to prevent costly interspecies matings, such as when matings produce sterile hybrids. This evolutionary process can complete speciation, thereby providing a direct link between Darwin's theory of natural selection and the origin of new species. Here, by examining a case of speciation by reinforcement in Drosophila,we present the first high-resolution genetic study of variation within species for female mating discrimination that is enhanced by natural selection. We show that reinforced mating discrimination is inherited as a dominant trait, exhibits variability within species, and may be influenced by a known set of candidate genes involved in olfaction. Our results show that the genetics of reinforced mating discrimination is different from the genetics of mating discrimination between species, suggesting that overall mating discrimination might be a composite phenomenon, which in Drosophila could involve both auditory and olfactory cues. Examining the genetics of reinforcement provides a unique opportunity for both understanding the origin of new species in the face of gene flow and identifying the genetic basis of adaptive female species preferences, two major gaps in our understanding of speciation.

  14. Experimental investigation of the relation between damage at the concrete-steel interface and initiation of reinforcement corrosion in plain and fibre reinforced concrete

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Michel, Alexander; Solgaard, Anders Ole Stubbe; Pease, Bradley Justin

    2013-01-01

    Cracks in covering concrete are known to hasten initiation of steel corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. To minimise the impact of cracks on the deterioration of reinforced concrete structures, current approaches in (inter)national design codes often limit the concrete surface crack width....... Recent investigations however, indicate that the concrete-reinforcement interfacial condition is a more fundamental criterion related to reinforcement corrosion. This work investigates the relation between macroscopic damage at the concrete-steel interface and corrosion initiation of reinforcement...... embedded in plain and fibre reinforced concrete. Comparisons of experimental and numerical results indicate a strong correlation between corrosion initiation and interfacial condition....

  15. Environmental Durability of Reinforced Concrete Deck Girders Strengthened for Shear with Surface-Bonded Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-05-01

    "This research investigated the durability of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRP) used for shear strengthening reinforced concrete deck girders. Large beams were used to avoid accounting for size effects in the data analysis. The effort...

  16. Integrating heterogeneous databases in clustered medic care environments using object-oriented technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thakore, Arun K.; Sauer, Frank

    1994-05-01

    The organization of modern medical care environments into disease-related clusters, such as a cancer center, a diabetes clinic, etc., has the side-effect of introducing multiple heterogeneous databases, often containing similar information, within the same organization. This heterogeneity fosters incompatibility and prevents the effective sharing of data amongst applications at different sites. Although integration of heterogeneous databases is now feasible, in the medical arena this is often an ad hoc process, not founded on proven database technology or formal methods. In this paper we illustrate the use of a high-level object- oriented semantic association method to model information found in different databases into an integrated conceptual global model that integrates the databases. We provide examples from the medical domain to illustrate an integration approach resulting in a consistent global view, without attacking the autonomy of the underlying databases.

  17. Anodization Mechanism on SiC Nanoparticle Reinforced Al Matrix Composites Produced by Power Metallurgy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonia C. Ferreira

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Specimens of aluminum-based composites reinforced by silicon carbide nanoparticles (Al/SiCnp produced by powder metallurgy (PM were anodized under voltage control in tartaric-sulfuric acid (TSA. In this work, the influence of the amount of SiCnp on the film growth during anodizing was investigated. The current density versus time response and the morphology of the porous alumina film formed at the composite surface are compared to those concerning a commercial aluminum alloy (AA1050 anodized under the same conditions. The processing method of the aluminum alloys influences the efficiency of the anodizing process, leading to a lower thicknesses for the unreinforced Al-PM alloy regarding the AA1050. The current density versus time response is strongly dependent on the amount of SiCnp. The current peaks and the steady-state current density recorded at each voltage step increases with the SiCnp volume fraction due to the oxidation of the SiCnp. The formation mechanism of the anodic film on Al/SiCnp composites is different from that occurring in AA1050, partly due the heterogeneous distribution of the reinforcement particles in the metallic matrix, but also to the entrapment of SiCnp in the anodic film.

  18. Anodization Mechanism on SiC Nanoparticle Reinforced Al Matrix Composites Produced by Power Metallurgy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Sonia C.; Conde, Ana; Arenas, María A.; Rocha, Luis A.; Velhinho, Alexandre

    2014-01-01

    Specimens of aluminum-based composites reinforced by silicon carbide nanoparticles (Al/SiCnp) produced by powder metallurgy (PM) were anodized under voltage control in tartaric-sulfuric acid (TSA). In this work, the influence of the amount of SiCnp on the film growth during anodizing was investigated. The current density versus time response and the morphology of the porous alumina film formed at the composite surface are compared to those concerning a commercial aluminum alloy (AA1050) anodized under the same conditions. The processing method of the aluminum alloys influences the efficiency of the anodizing process, leading to a lower thicknesses for the unreinforced Al-PM alloy regarding the AA1050. The current density versus time response is strongly dependent on the amount of SiCnp. The current peaks and the steady-state current density recorded at each voltage step increases with the SiCnp volume fraction due to the oxidation of the SiCnp. The formation mechanism of the anodic film on Al/SiCnp composites is different from that occurring in AA1050, partly due the heterogeneous distribution of the reinforcement particles in the metallic matrix, but also to the entrapment of SiCnp in the anodic film. PMID:28788295

  19. Anodization Mechanism on SiC Nanoparticle Reinforced Al Matrix Composites Produced by Power Metallurgy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Sonia C; Conde, Ana; Arenas, María A; Rocha, Luis A; Velhinho, Alexandre

    2014-12-19

    Specimens of aluminum-based composites reinforced by silicon carbide nanoparticles (Al/SiC np ) produced by powder metallurgy (PM) were anodized under voltage control in tartaric-sulfuric acid (TSA). In this work, the influence of the amount of SiC np on the film growth during anodizing was investigated. The current density versus time response and the morphology of the porous alumina film formed at the composite surface are compared to those concerning a commercial aluminum alloy (AA1050) anodized under the same conditions. The processing method of the aluminum alloys influences the efficiency of the anodizing process, leading to a lower thicknesses for the unreinforced Al-PM alloy regarding the AA1050. The current density versus time response is strongly dependent on the amount of SiC np . The current peaks and the steady-state current density recorded at each voltage step increases with the SiC np volume fraction due to the oxidation of the SiC np . The formation mechanism of the anodic film on Al/SiC np composites is different from that occurring in AA1050, partly due the heterogeneous distribution of the reinforcement particles in the metallic matrix, but also to the entrapment of SiC np in the anodic film.

  20. Seismic Stability of Reinforced Soil Slopes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tzavara, I.; Zania, Varvara; Tsompanakis, Y.

    2012-01-01

    Over recent decades increased research interest has been observed on the dynamic response and stability issues of earth walls and reinforced soil structures. The current study aims to provide an insight into the dynamic response of reinforced soil structures and the potential of the geosynthetics...... to prevent the development of slope instability taking advantage of their reinforcing effect. For this purpose, a onedimensional (SDOF) model, based on Newmark’s sliding block model as well as a two-dimensional (plane-strain) dynamic finite-element analyses are conducted in order to investigate the impact...

  1. Reinforcement of RC structure by carbon fibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kissi B.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, rehabilitation has been the subject of extensive research due to the increased spending on building maintenance work and restoration of built works. In all cases, it is essential to carry out methods of reinforcement or maintenance of structural elements, following an inspection analysis and methodology of a correct diagnosis. This research focuses on the calculation of the necessary reinforcement sections of carbon fiber for structural elements with reinforced concrete in order to improve their load bearing capacity and rigidity. The different results obtained reveal a considerable gain in resistance and deformation capacity of reinforced sections without significant increase in the weight of the rehabilitated elements.

  2. Compensatory Analysis and Optimization for MADM for Heterogeneous Wireless Network Selection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Zhou

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In the next-generation heterogeneous wireless networks, a mobile terminal with a multi-interface may have network access from different service providers using various technologies. In spite of this heterogeneity, seamless intersystem mobility is a mandatory requirement. One of the major challenges for seamless mobility is the creation of a network selection scheme, which is for users that select an optimal network with best comprehensive performance between different types of networks. However, the optimal network may be not the most reasonable one due to compensation of MADM (Multiple Attribute Decision Making, and the network is called pseudo-optimal network. This paper conducts a performance evaluation of a number of widely used MADM-based methods for network selection that aim to keep the mobile users always best connected anywhere and anytime, where subjective weight and objective weight are all considered. The performance analysis shows that the selection scheme based on MEW (weighted multiplicative method and combination weight can better avoid accessing pseudo-optimal network for balancing network load and reducing ping-pong effect in comparison with three other MADM solutions.

  3. Flexural Behavior of High-Volume Steel Fiber Cementitious Composite Externally Reinforced with Basalt FRP Sheet

    OpenAIRE

    Seungwon Kim; Cheolwoo Park

    2016-01-01

    High-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCCs) are characterized by unique tensile strain hardening and multiple microcracking behaviors. The HPFRCC, which demonstrates remarkable properties such as strength, ductility, toughness, durability, stiffness, and thermal resistance, is a class of fiber cement composite with fine aggregates. It can withstand tensile stresses by forming distributed microcracks owing to the embedded fibers in the concrete, which improve the energy...

  4. A Preliminary Study on the Multiple Mapping Structure of Classification Systems for Heterogeneous Databases

    OpenAIRE

    Seok-Hyoung Lee; Hwan-Min Kim; Ho-Seop Choe

    2012-01-01

    While science and technology information service portals and heterogeneous databases produced in Korea and other countries are integrated, methods of connecting the unique classification systems applied to each database have been studied. Results of technologists' research, such as, journal articles, patent specifications, and research reports, are organically related to each other. In this case, if the most basic and meaningful classification systems are not connected, it is difficult to ach...

  5. Modeling and optimization for rotary ultrasonic face milling of carbon fiber reinforced polymers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amin Muhammad

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP have got paramount importance in aerospace, and other industries due to their attractive properties of high specific strength, high specific stiffness, high corrosion resistance, and low thermal expansion. However, due to their properties like heterogeneity, anisotropy, and low heat dissipation, the issues in machining like excessive cutting forces and high surface roughness have found. In this research, a cutting force model has developed for rotary ultrasonic face milling of CFRP composites. The experimental machining was carried out on CFRP-T700. From the analysis, it has found that experimental and simulation values of cutting forces have variation/ error below than 10% in the most of the groups of parameters. However, the error found higher in few cases, due to heterogeneity, anisotropy and some other properties of these materials. The formula for contact area of the abrasive core tool improved and an overlapping cutting allowance has applied the first time. The optimal combination of parameters has investigated for cutting force and surface roughness. The developed cutting force model then further validated with pilot experiments and found the same results. So, the model developed in this paper is robust and can be applied to predict cutting force and optimization.

  6. Behaviour of concrete beams reinforced withFRP prestressed concrete prisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svecova, Dagmar

    The use of fibre reinforced plastics (FRP) to reinforce concrete is gaining acceptance. However, due to the relatively low modulus of FRP, in comparison to steel, such structures may, if sufficient amount of reinforcement is not used, suffer from large deformations and wide cracks. FRP is generally more suited for prestressing. Since it is not feasible to prestress all concrete structures to eliminate the large deflections of FRP reinforced concrete flexural members, researchers are focusing on other strategies. A simple method for avoiding excessive deflections is to provide sufficiently high amount of FRP reinforcement to limit its stress (strain) to acceptable levels under service loads. This approach will not be able to take advantage of the high strength of FRP and will be generally uneconomical. The current investigation focuses on the feasibility of an alternative strategy. This thesis deals with the flexural and shear behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with FRP prestressed concrete prisms. FRP prestressed concrete prisms (PCP) are new reinforcing bars, made by pretensioning FRP and embedding it in high strength grout/concrete. The purpose of the research is to investigate the feasibility of using such pretensioned rebars, and their effect on the flexural and shear behaviour of reinforced concrete beams over the entire loading range. Due to the prestress in the prisms, deflection of concrete beams reinforced with this product is substantially reduced, and is comparable to similarly steel reinforced beams. The thesis comprises both theoretical and experimental investigations. In the experimental part, nine beams reinforced with FRP prestressed concrete prisms, and two companion beams, one steel and one FRP reinforced were tested. All the beams were designed to carry the same ultimate moment. Excellent flexural and shear behaviour of beams reinforced with higher prestressed prisms is reported. When comparing deflections of three beams designed to have the

  7. A conditioned reinforcer did not help to maintain an operant conditioning in the absence of a primary reinforcer in horses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lansade, Léa; Calandreau, Ludovic

    2018-01-01

    The use of conditioned reinforcers is increasingly promoted in animal training. Surprisingly, the efficiency of their use remains to be demonstrated in horses. This study aimed to determine whether an auditory signal which had previously been associated with a food reward 288 times could be used as a conditioned reinforcer to replace the primary reinforcer in an unrelated operant conditioning procedure. Fourteen horses were divided into two groups of 7: No Reinforcement (NR) and Conditioned Reinforcement (CR). All horses underwent nine sessions of Pavlovian conditioning during which the word "good" was associated with food (32 associations/session). The horses then followed five sessions of operant conditioning (30 trials/session) during which they had to touch a cone signaled by an experimenter to receive a food reward. The last day, horses underwent one test session of the operant response: no reward was given, but the word "good" was said each time a CR horse touched the cone. Nothing was said in the NR group. CR horses did not achieve more correct trials than NR horses during the test. These findings again show that the conditioned reinforcement was ineffective when used instead of the primary reinforcement to maintain conditioning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Representation Learning from Time Labelled Heterogeneous Data for Mobile Crowdsensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunmei Ma

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Mobile crowdsensing is a new paradigm that can utilize pervasive smartphones to collect and analyze data to benefit users. However, sensory data gathered by smartphone usually involves different data types because of different granularity and multiple sensor sources. Besides, the data are also time labelled. The heterogeneous and time sequential data raise new challenges for data analyzing. Some existing solutions try to learn each type of data one by one and analyze them separately without considering time information. In addition, the traditional methods also have to determine phone orientation because some sensors equipped in smartphone are orientation related. In this paper, we think that a combination of multiple sensors can represent an invariant feature for a crowdsensing context. Therefore, we propose a new representation learning method of heterogeneous data with time labels to extract typical features using deep learning. We evaluate that our proposed method can adapt data generated by different orientations effectively. Furthermore, we test the performance of the proposed method by recognizing two group mobile activities, walking/cycling and driving/bus with smartphone sensors. It achieves precisions of 98.6% and 93.7% in distinguishing cycling from walking and bus from driving, respectively.

  9. Heterogeneous network architectures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Henrik Lehrmann

    2006-01-01

    is flexibility. This thesis investigates such heterogeneous network architectures and how to make them flexible. A survey of algorithms for network design is presented, and it is described how using heuristics can increase the speed. A hierarchical, MPLS based network architecture is described......Future networks will be heterogeneous! Due to the sheer size of networks (e.g., the Internet) upgrades cannot be instantaneous and thus heterogeneity appears. This means that instead of trying to find the olution, networks hould be designed as being heterogeneous. One of the key equirements here...... and it is discussed that it is advantageous to heterogeneous networks and illustrated by a number of examples. Modeling and simulation is a well-known way of doing performance evaluation. An approach to event-driven simulation of communication networks is presented and mixed complexity modeling, which can simplify...

  10. Design aid for shear strengthening of reinforced concrete T-joints using carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gergely, Ioan

    The research presented in the present work focuses on the shear strengthening of beam column joints using carbon fiber composites, a material considered in seismic retrofit in recent years more than any other new material. These composites, or fiber reinforced polymers, offer huge advantages over structural steel reinforced concrete or timber. A few of these advantages are the superior resistance to corrosion, high stiffness to weight and strength to weight ratios, and the ability to control the material's behavior by selecting the orientation of the fibers. The design and field application research on reinforced concrete cap beam-column joints includes analytical investigations using pushover analysis; design of carbon fiber layout, experimental tests and field applications. Several beam column joints have been tested recently with design variables as the type of composite system, fiber orientation and the width of carbon fiber sheets. The surface preparation has been found to be critical for the bond between concrete and composite material, which is the most important factor in joint shear strengthening. The final goal of this thesis is to develop design aids for retrofitting reinforced concrete beam column joints. Two bridge bents were tested on the Interstate-15 corridor. One bent was tested in the as-is condition. Carbon fiber reinforced plastic composite sheets were used to externally reinforce the second bridge bent. By applying the composite, the displacement ductility has been doubled, and the bent overall lateral load capacity has been increased as well. The finite element model (using DRAIN-2DX) was calibrated to model the actual stiffness of the supports. The results were similar to the experimental findings.

  11. Multiple recharge processes to heterogeneous Mediterranean coastal aquifers and implications on recharge rates evolution in time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santoni, S.; Huneau, F.; Garel, E.; Celle-Jeanton, H.

    2018-04-01

    Climate change is nowadays widely considered to have major effects on groundwater resources. Climatic projections suggest a global increase in evaporation and higher frequency of strong rainfall events especially in Mediterranean context. Since evaporation is synonym of low recharge conditions whereas strong rainfall events are more favourable to recharge in heterogeneous subsurface contexts, a lack of knowledge remains then on the real ongoing and future drinking groundwater supply availability at aquifers scale. Due to low recharge potential and high inter-annual climate variability, this issue is strategic for the Mediterranean hydrosystems. This is especially the case for coastal aquifers because they are exposed to seawater intrusion, sea-level rise and overpumping risks. In this context, recharge processes and rates were investigated in a Mediterranean coastal aquifer with subsurface heterogeneity located in Southern Corsica (France). Aquifer recharge rates from combining ten physical and chemical methods were computed. In addition, hydrochemical and isotopic investigations were carried out through a monthly two years monitoring combining major ions and stable isotopes of water in rain, runoff and groundwater. Diffuse, focused, lateral mountain system and irrigation recharge processes were identified and characterized. A predominant focused recharge conditioned by subsurface heterogeneity is evidenced in agreement with variable but highly favourable recharge rates. The fast water transfer from the surface to the aquifer implied by this recharge process suggests less evaporation, which means higher groundwater renewal and availability in such Mediterranean coastal aquifers.

  12. Reinforcing effects of methamphetamine in an animal model of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryu Jong

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Substrains of the Spontaneously Hypertensive rat (SHR, a putative animal model of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, have demonstrated increased sensitivity to many drugs of abuse, including psychostimulants. Therefore, it was suggested that studies in SHR may help elucidate ADHD and comorbidity with substance use disorder (SUD. However, the drug intake profile of the SHR in the most relevant animal model of drug addiction, the self-administration (SA test, and its response on the conditioned place preference (CPP paradigm are not yet determined. In the present study, we employed SA and CPP tests to investigate the reinforcing effects of the psychostimulant methamphetamine in an SHR substrain obtained from Charles River, Japan (SHR/NCrlCrlj. Concurrent tests were also performed in Wistar rats, the strain representing "normal" heterogeneous population. To address if the presence of ADHD behaviors further increases sensitivity to the rewarding effect of methamphetamine during adolescence, a critical period for the onset of drug abuse, CPP tests were especially conducted in adolescent Wistar and SHR/NCrlCrlj. We found that the SHR/NCrlCrlj also acquired methamphetamine SA and CPP, indicating reinforcing effects of methamphetamine in this ADHD animal model. However, we did not observe increased responsiveness of the SHR/NCrlCrlj to methamphetamine in both SA and CPP assays. This indicates that the reinforcing effects of methamphetamine may be similar in strains and that the SHR/NCrlCrlj may not adequately model ADHD and increased sensitivity to methamphetamine.

  13. STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE OF DEGRADED REINFORCED CONCRETE MEMBERS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braverman, J.I.; Miller, C.A.; Ellingwood, B.R.; Naus, D.J.; Hofmayer, C.H.; Bezler, P.; Chang, T.Y.

    2001-01-01

    This paper describes the results of a study to evaluate, in probabilistic terms, the effects of age-related degradation on the structural performance of reinforced concrete members at nuclear power plants. The paper focuses on degradation of reinforced concrete flexural members and shear walls due to the loss of steel reinforcing area and loss of concrete area (cracking/spalling). Loss of steel area is typically caused by corrosion while cracking and spalling can be caused by corrosion of reinforcing steel, freeze-thaw, or aggressive chemical attack. Structural performance in the presence of uncertainties is depicted by a fragility (or conditional probability of failure). The effects of degradation on the fragility of reinforced concrete members are calculated to assess the potential significance of various levels of degradation. The fragility modeling procedures applied to degraded concrete members can be used to assess the effects of degradation on plant risk and can lead to the development of probability-based degradation acceptance limits

  14. Limit analysis of solid reinforced concrete structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Kasper Paaske

    2009-01-01

    Recent studies have shown that Semidefinite Programming (SDP) can be used effectively for limit analysis of isotropic cohesive-frictional continuums using the classical Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. In this paper we expand on this previous research by adding reinforcement to the model and a solid...... reinforcement and it is therefore possible to analyze structures with complex reinforcement layouts. Tests are conducted to validate the method against well-known analytical solutions....

  15. Increasing the persistence of a heterogeneous behavior chain: Studies of extinction in a rat model of search behavior of working dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thrailkill, Eric A; Kacelnik, Alex; Porritt, Fay; Bouton, Mark E

    2016-08-01

    Dogs trained to search for contraband perform a chain of behavior in which they first search for a target and then make a separate response that indicates to the trainer that they have found one. The dogs often conduct multiple searches without encountering a target and receiving the reinforcer (i.e., no contraband is present). Understanding extinction (i.e., the decline in work rate when reinforcers are no longer encountered) may assist in training dogs to work in conditions where targets are rare. We therefore trained rats on a search-target behavior chain modeled on the search behavior of working dogs. A discriminative stimulus signaled that a search response (e.g., chain pull) led to a second stimulus that set the occasion for a target response (e.g., lever press) that was reinforced by a food pellet. In Experiment 1 training with longer search durations and intermittent (partial) reinforcement of searching (i.e. some trials had no target present) both led to more persistent search responding in extinction. The loss of search behavior in extinction was primarily dependent on the number of non-reinforced searches rather than time searching without reinforcement. In Experiments 2 and 3, delivery of non-contingent reinforcers during extinction increased search persistence provided they had also been presented during training. Thus, results with rats suggest that the persistence of working dog performance (or chained behavior generally) may be improved by training with partial reinforcement of searching and non-contingent reinforcement during both training and work (extinction). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Seamless Data Services for Real Time Communication in a Heterogeneous Networks using Network Tracking and Management

    OpenAIRE

    T, Adiline Macriga.; Kumar, Dr. P. Anandha

    2010-01-01

    Heterogeneous Networks is the integration of all existing networks under a single environment with an understanding between the functional operations and also includes the ability to make use of multiple broadband transport technologies and to support generalized mobility. It is a challenging feature for Heterogeneous networks to integrate several IP-based access technologies in a seamless way. The focus of this paper is on the requirements of a mobility management scheme for multimedia real-...

  17. Using Goals, Feedback, Reinforcement, and a Performance Matrix to Improve Customer Service in a Large Department Store

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eikenhout, Nelson; Austin, John

    2005-01-01

    This study employed an ABAC and multiple baseline design to evaluate the effects of (B) feedback and (C) a package of feedback, goalsetting, and reinforcement (supervisor praise and an area-wide celebration as managed through a performance matrix, on a total of 14 various customer service behaviors for a total of 115 employees at a large…

  18. Online Pedagogical Tutorial Tactics Optimization Using Genetic-Based Reinforcement Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Hsuan-Ta; Lee, Po-Ming; Hsiao, Tzu-Chien

    2015-01-01

    Tutorial tactics are policies for an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) to decide the next action when there are multiple actions available. Recent research has demonstrated that when the learning contents were controlled so as to be the same, different tutorial tactics would make difference in students' learning gains. However, the Reinforcement Learning (RL) techniques that were used in previous studies to induce tutorial tactics are insufficient when encountering large problems and hence were used in offline manners. Therefore, we introduced a Genetic-Based Reinforcement Learning (GBML) approach to induce tutorial tactics in an online-learning manner without basing on any preexisting dataset. The introduced method can learn a set of rules from the environment in a manner similar to RL. It includes a genetic-based optimizer for rule discovery task by generating new rules from the old ones. This increases the scalability of a RL learner for larger problems. The results support our hypothesis about the capability of the GBML method to induce tutorial tactics. This suggests that the GBML method should be favorable in developing real-world ITS applications in the domain of tutorial tactics induction.

  19. A MODEL OF HETEROGENEOUS DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM FOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragutin Kermek

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper investigates the design of heterogeneous distributed system for foreign exchange portfolio analysis. The proposed model includes few separated and dislocated but connected parts through distributed mechanisms. Making system distributed brings new perspectives to performance busting where software based load balancer gets very important role. Desired system should spread over multiple, heterogeneous platforms in order to fulfil open platform goal. Building such a model incorporates different patterns from GOF design patterns, business patterns, J2EE patterns, integration patterns, enterprise patterns, distributed design patterns to Web services patterns. The authors try to find as much as possible appropriate patterns for planned tasks in order to capture best modelling and programming practices.

  20. Characterization of Cellular and Molecular Heterogeneity of Bone Marrow Stromal Cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elsafadi, Mona; Manikandan, Muthurangan; Atteya, Muhammad

    2016-01-01

    and osteoblast differentiation genes which included several homeobox genes: TBX15, HOXA2 and HOXA10, and IGF1, FGFR3, BMP6, MCAM, ITGA10, IGFBP5, and ALP. siRNA-based downregulation of the ALP gene in CL1 impaired osteoblastic and adipocytic differentiation. Our studies demonstrate the existence of molecular......Human bone marrow-derived stromal stem cells (hBMSC) exhibit multiple functions, including differentiation into skeletal cells (progenitor function), hematopoiesis support, and immune regulation (nonprogenitor function). We have previously demonstrated the presence of morphological and functional...... and functional heterogeneity in cultured hBMSC. ALP can be employed to identify osteoblastic and adipocytic progenitor cells in the heterogeneous hBMSC cultures...

  1. Reinforced flexural elements for TEMP-STRESS Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marchertas, A.H.; Kennedy, J.M.; Pfeiffer, P.A.

    1987-06-01

    The implementation of reinforced flexural elements into the thermal-mechanical finite element program TEMP-STRESS is described. With explicit temporal integration and dynamic relaxation capabilities in the program, the flexural elements provide an efficient method for the treatment of reinforced structures subjected to transient and static loads. The capability of the computer program is illustrated by the solution of several examples: the simulation of a reinforced concrete beam; simulations of a reinforced concrete containment shell which is subjected to internal pressurization, thermal gradients through the walls, and transient pressure loads. The results of this analysis are relevant in the structural design/safety evaluations of typical reactor containment structures. 22 refs., 13 figs

  2. An Overview of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Heterogeneity and Treatment Options

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Anne Masi; Marilena M.DeMayo; Nicholas Glozier; Adam J.Guastella

    2017-01-01

    Since the documented observations of Kanner in 1943,there has been great debate about the diagnoses,the sub-types,and the diagnostic threshold that relates to what is now known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Reflecting this complicated history,there has been continual refinement from DSM-Ⅲ with ‘Infantile Autism’ to the current DSM-Ⅴ diagnosis.The disorder is now widely accepted as a complex,pervasive,heterogeneous condition with multiple etiologies,sub-types,and developmental trajectories.Diagnosis remains based on observation of atypical behaviors,with criteria of persistent deficits in social communication and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior.This review provides a broad overview of the history,prevalence,etiology,clinical presentation,and heterogeneity of ASD.Factors contributing to heterogeneity,including genetic variability,comorbidity,and gender are reviewed.We then explore current evidencebased pharmacological and behavioral treatments for ASD and highlight the complexities of conducting clinical trials that evaluate therapeutic efficacy in ASD populations.Finally,we discuss the potential of a new wave of research examining objective biomarkers to facilitate the evaluation of sub-typing,diagnosis,and treatment response in ASD.

  3. Bayesian inversion analysis of nonlinear dynamics in surface heterogeneous reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omori, Toshiaki; Kuwatani, Tatsu; Okamoto, Atsushi; Hukushima, Koji

    2016-09-01

    It is essential to extract nonlinear dynamics from time-series data as an inverse problem in natural sciences. We propose a Bayesian statistical framework for extracting nonlinear dynamics of surface heterogeneous reactions from sparse and noisy observable data. Surface heterogeneous reactions are chemical reactions with conjugation of multiple phases, and they have the intrinsic nonlinearity of their dynamics caused by the effect of surface-area between different phases. We adapt a belief propagation method and an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to partial observation problem, in order to simultaneously estimate the time course of hidden variables and the kinetic parameters underlying dynamics. The proposed belief propagation method is performed by using sequential Monte Carlo algorithm in order to estimate nonlinear dynamical system. Using our proposed method, we show that the rate constants of dissolution and precipitation reactions, which are typical examples of surface heterogeneous reactions, as well as the temporal changes of solid reactants and products, were successfully estimated only from the observable temporal changes in the concentration of the dissolved intermediate product.

  4. Analytical bounds on the area spectral efficiency of uplink heterogeneous networks over generalized fading channels

    KAUST Repository

    Shakir, Muhammad; Tabassum, Hina; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2014-01-01

    Heterogeneous networks (HetNets) are envisioned to enable next-generation cellular networks by providing higher spectral and energy efficiency. A HetNet is typically composed of multiple radio access technologies where several low-power low

  5. Optimal Routing for Heterogeneous Fixed Fleets of Multicompartment Vehicles

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Qian; Ji, Qingkai; Chiu, Chun-Hung

    2014-01-01

    We present a metaheuristic called the reactive guided tabu search (RGTS) to solve the heterogeneous fleet multicompartment vehicle routing problem (MCVRP), where a single vehicle is required for cotransporting multiple customer orders. MCVRP is commonly found in delivery of fashion apparel, petroleum distribution, food distribution, and waste collection. In searching the optimum solution of MCVRP, we need to handle a large amount of local optima in the solution spaces. To overcome this proble...

  6. Reinforcement Corrosion: Numerical Simulation and Service Life Prediction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Michel, Alexander

    defects and b) define the end of service life once reinforcement corrosion is initiated neglecting corrosion processes during the propagation stage. The goal of this work was to develop a framework for the service life prediction of reinforced concrete covering initiation and propagation of chloride......Modelling of deterioration processes in concrete structures plays an increasing role in the design of reinforced concrete structures. Large sums are spent every year to ensure the durability of concrete structures, especially towards reinforcement corrosion. Improved durability provides increased...... structural reliability, economical improvements in form of less need for maintenance and repair as well as increased sustainability due to an increased energy and resource efficiency. Several service life prediction models dealing with reinforcement corrosion in concrete structurescan be found...

  7. A shell approach for fibrous reinforcement forming simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, B.; Colmars, J.; Boisse, P.

    2018-05-01

    Because of the slippage between fibers, the basic assumptions of classical plate and shell theories are not verified by fiber reinforcement during a forming. However, simulations of reinforcement forming use shell finite elements when wrinkles development is important. A shell formulation is proposed for the forming simulations of continuous fiber reinforcements. The large tensile stiffness leads to the quasi inextensibility in the fiber directions. The fiber bending stiffness determines the curvature of the reinforcement. The calculation of tensile and bending virtual works are based on the precise geometry of the single fiber. Simulations and experiments are compared for different reinforcements. It is shown that the proposed fibrous shell approach not only correctly simulates the deflections but also the rotations of the through thickness material normals.

  8. Effect of nano-hydroxyapatite reinforcement in mechanically alloyed NiTi composites for biomedical implant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akmal, Muhammad; Raza, Ahmad; Khan, Muhammad Mudasser; Khan, M. Imran; Hussain, Muhammad Asif

    2016-01-01

    Equi-atomic NiTi alloy composites reinforced with 0, 2, 4 and 6 vol.% nano-hydroxyapatite (HA) were successfully synthesized using pressureless sintering. Pure Ni and Ti elements were ball milled for 10 h in order to produce a mechanically alloyed equi-atomic NiTi alloy (MA-NiTi). Mechanically alloyed NiTi and HA powders were blended, compacted and then sintered for 3 h at 1325 K. The sintered density varied inversely with volume percent of HA reinforcement. The X-Ray diffraction spectra and SEM images showed the formation of multiple phases like NiTi, NiTi 2 , Ni 3 Ti, and Ni 4 Ti 3 . The back scattered-SEM image analysis confirmed the presence of Ni-rich and Ti-rich phases with increasing HA content. The 6 vol.% HA reinforced composite showed Ni 3 Ti as the major phase having the highest hardness value which can be attributed to the presence of relatively harder phases along with higher HA content as a reinforcement. The composite of MA-NiTi with 2 vol.% HA manifested the most desirable results in the form of better sintering density mainly due to the minute decomposition of NiTi into other phases. Therefore, the 2 vol.% reinforced MA-NiTi composite can be exploited as a novel material for manufacturing biomedical implants. - Highlights: • NiTi-HA composites were synthesized using powder metallurgy route. • New phases such as NiTi 2 , Ni 3 Ti and Ni 4 Ti 3 were observed for sintered composites. • Mechanical properties enhanced with the increasing content of HA and new phases. • No martensitic transformation was observed for all composites by DSC analysis. • 2 vol.% HA composite is a novel candidate for biomedical implants.

  9. Effect of nano-hydroxyapatite reinforcement in mechanically alloyed NiTi composites for biomedical implant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akmal, Muhammad, E-mail: muhammad.akmal@giki.edu.pk [Faculty of Materials and Chemical Engineering, GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi 23640 (Pakistan); Raza, Ahmad, E-mail: ahmadrazac@yahoo.com [Faculty of Materials and Chemical Engineering, GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi 23640 (Pakistan); Khan, Muhammad Mudasser; Khan, M. Imran [Faculty of Materials and Chemical Engineering, GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi 23640 (Pakistan); Hussain, Muhammad Asif [Department of Chemical Engineering, Kangwon National University, Samcheok, 25913 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-11-01

    Equi-atomic NiTi alloy composites reinforced with 0, 2, 4 and 6 vol.% nano-hydroxyapatite (HA) were successfully synthesized using pressureless sintering. Pure Ni and Ti elements were ball milled for 10 h in order to produce a mechanically alloyed equi-atomic NiTi alloy (MA-NiTi). Mechanically alloyed NiTi and HA powders were blended, compacted and then sintered for 3 h at 1325 K. The sintered density varied inversely with volume percent of HA reinforcement. The X-Ray diffraction spectra and SEM images showed the formation of multiple phases like NiTi, NiTi{sub 2}, Ni{sub 3}Ti, and Ni{sub 4}Ti{sub 3}. The back scattered-SEM image analysis confirmed the presence of Ni-rich and Ti-rich phases with increasing HA content. The 6 vol.% HA reinforced composite showed Ni{sub 3}Ti as the major phase having the highest hardness value which can be attributed to the presence of relatively harder phases along with higher HA content as a reinforcement. The composite of MA-NiTi with 2 vol.% HA manifested the most desirable results in the form of better sintering density mainly due to the minute decomposition of NiTi into other phases. Therefore, the 2 vol.% reinforced MA-NiTi composite can be exploited as a novel material for manufacturing biomedical implants. - Highlights: • NiTi-HA composites were synthesized using powder metallurgy route. • New phases such as NiTi{sub 2}, Ni{sub 3}Ti and Ni{sub 4}Ti{sub 3} were observed for sintered composites. • Mechanical properties enhanced with the increasing content of HA and new phases. • No martensitic transformation was observed for all composites by DSC analysis. • 2 vol.% HA composite is a novel candidate for biomedical implants.

  10. Clinical and pathological heterogeneity of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hannah P Yang

    Full Text Available Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3, the immediate cervical cancer precursor, is a target of cervical cancer prevention. However, less than half of CIN3s will progress to cancer. Routine treatment of all CIN3s and the majority of CIN2s may lead to overtreatment of many lesions that would not progress. To improve our understanding of CIN3 natural history, we performed a detailed characterization of CIN3 heterogeneity in a large referral population in the US.We examined 309 CIN3 cases in the SUCCEED, a large population-based study of women with abnormal cervical cancer screening results. Histology information for 12 individual loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP segments was evaluated for each woman. We performed case-case comparisons of CIN3s to analyze determinants of heterogeneity and screening test performance.CIN3 cases varied substantially by size (1-10 LEEP segments and by presentation with concomitant CIN2 and CIN1. All grades of CINs were equally distributed over the cervical surface. In half of the women, CIN3 lesions were found as multiple distinct lesions on the cervix. Women with large and solitary CIN3 lesions were more likely to be older, have longer sexual activity span, and have fewer multiple high risk HPV infections. Screening frequency, but not HPV16 positivity, was an important predictor of CIN3 size. Large CIN3 lesions were also characterized by high-grade clinical test results.We demonstrate substantial heterogeneity in clinical and pathological presentation of CIN3 in a US population. Time since sexual debut and participation in screening were predictors of CIN3 size. We did not observe a preferential site of CIN3 on the cervical surface that could serve as a target for cervical biopsy. Cervical cancer screening procedures were more likely to detect larger CIN3s, suggesting that CIN3s detected by multiple independent diagnostic tests may represent cases with increased risk of invasion.

  11. The power reinforcement framework revisited

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jeppe; Andersen, Kim Normann; Danziger, James N.

    2016-01-01

    Whereas digital technologies are often depicted as being capable of disrupting long-standing power structures and facilitating new governance mechanisms, the power reinforcement framework suggests that information and communications technologies tend to strengthen existing power arrangements within...... public organizations. This article revisits the 30-yearold power reinforcement framework by means of an empirical analysis on the use of mobile technology in a large-scale programme in Danish public sector home care. It explores whether and to what extent administrative management has controlled decision......-making and gained most benefits from mobile technology use, relative to the effects of the technology on the street-level workers who deliver services. Current mobile technology-in-use might be less likely to be power reinforcing because it is far more decentralized and individualized than the mainly expert...

  12. Characterizing Tumor Heterogeneity With Functional Imaging and Quantifying High-Risk Tumor Volume for Early Prediction of Treatment Outcome: Cervical Cancer as a Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mayr, Nina A., E-mail: Nina.Mayr@osumc.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (United States); Huang Zhibin [Department of Radiation Oncology and Department of Physics, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC (United States); Wang, Jian Z. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (United States); Lo, Simon S. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (United States); Fan, Joline M. [Department of Molecular Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA (United States); Grecula, John C. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (United States); Sammet, Steffen [Department of Radiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Department of Radiology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (United States); Sammet, Christina L. [Department of Radiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Jia Guang; Zhang Jun; Knopp, Michael V.; Yuh, William T.C. [Department of Radiology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (United States)

    2012-07-01

    Purpose: Treatment response in cancer has been monitored by measuring anatomic tumor volume (ATV) at various times without considering the inherent functional tumor heterogeneity known to critically influence ultimate treatment outcome: primary tumor control and survival. This study applied dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) functional MRI to characterize tumors' heterogeneous subregions with low DCE values, at risk for treatment failure, and to quantify the functional risk volume (FRV) for personalized early prediction of treatment outcome. Methods and Materials: DCE-MRI was performed in 102 stage IB{sub 2}-IVA cervical cancer patients to assess tumor perfusion heterogeneity before and during radiation/chemotherapy. FRV represents the total volume of tumor voxels with critically low DCE signal intensity (<2.1 compared with precontrast image, determined by previous receiver operator characteristic analysis). FRVs were correlated with treatment outcome (follow-up: 0.2-9.4, mean 6.8 years) and compared with ATVs (Mann-Whitney, Kaplan-Meier, and multivariate analyses). Results: Before and during therapy at 2-2.5 and 4-5 weeks of RT, FRVs >20, >13, and >5 cm{sup 3}, respectively, significantly predicted unfavorable 6-year primary tumor control (p = 0.003, 7.3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -8}, 2.0 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -8}) and disease-specific survival (p = 1.9 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -4}, 2.1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -6}, 2.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -7}, respectively). The FRVs were superior to the ATVs as early predictors of outcome, and the differentiating power of FRVs increased during treatment. Discussion: Our preliminary results suggest that functional tumor heterogeneity can be characterized by DCE-MRI to quantify FRV for predicting ultimate long-term treatment outcome. FRV is a novel functional imaging heterogeneity parameter, superior to ATV, and can be clinically translated for personalized early outcome prediction before or as early as 2

  13. Shear behaviour of reinforced phyllite concrete beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adom-Asamoah, Mark; Owusu Afrifa, Russell

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Phyllite concrete beams often exhibited shear with anchorage bond failure. ► Different shear design provisions for reinforced phyllite beams are compared. ► Predicted shear capacity of phyllite beams must be modified by a reduction factor. -- Abstract: The shear behaviour of concrete beams made from phyllite aggregates subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading is reported. First diagonal shear crack load of beams with and without shear reinforcement was between 42–58% and 42–92% of the failure loads respectively. The phyllite concrete beams without shear links had lower post-diagonal cracking shear resistance compared to corresponding phyllite beams with shear links. As a result of hysteretic energy dissipation, limited cyclic loading affected the stiffness, strength and deformation of the phyllite beams with shear reinforcement. Generally, beams with and without shear reinforcement showed anchorage bond failure in addition to the shear failure due to high stress concentration near the supports. The ACI, BS and EC codes are conservative for the prediction of phyllite concrete beams without shear reinforcement but they all overestimate the shear strength of phyllite concrete beams with shear reinforcement. It is recommended that the predicted shear capacity of phyllite beams reinforced with steel stirrups be modified by a reduction factor of 0.7 in order to specify a high enough safety factor on their ultimate strength. It is also recommended that susceptibility of phyllite concrete beams to undergo anchorage bond failure is averted in design by the provision of greater anchorage lengths than usually permitted.

  14. Application of Fiber Reinforcement Concrete Technique in Civil ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    modulus of elasticity, high tensile strength, improved fatigue and impact resistance. Reinforcing the concrete structures with fibers such as polyester is one of the possible ways to provide all the criteria of the durable repair material. This type of reinforcement is called Fiber Reinforcement of Concrete Structures. There is an ...

  15. Predicting Protein Function via Semantic Integration of Multiple Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Guoxian; Fu, Guangyuan; Wang, Jun; Zhu, Hailong

    2016-01-01

    Determining the biological functions of proteins is one of the key challenges in the post-genomic era. The rapidly accumulated large volumes of proteomic and genomic data drives to develop computational models for automatically predicting protein function in large scale. Recent approaches focus on integrating multiple heterogeneous data sources and they often get better results than methods that use single data source alone. In this paper, we investigate how to integrate multiple biological data sources with the biological knowledge, i.e., Gene Ontology (GO), for protein function prediction. We propose a method, called SimNet, to Semantically integrate multiple functional association Networks derived from heterogenous data sources. SimNet firstly utilizes GO annotations of proteins to capture the semantic similarity between proteins and introduces a semantic kernel based on the similarity. Next, SimNet constructs a composite network, obtained as a weighted summation of individual networks, and aligns the network with the kernel to get the weights assigned to individual networks. Then, it applies a network-based classifier on the composite network to predict protein function. Experiment results on heterogenous proteomic data sources of Yeast, Human, Mouse, and Fly show that, SimNet not only achieves better (or comparable) results than other related competitive approaches, but also takes much less time. The Matlab codes of SimNet are available at https://sites.google.com/site/guoxian85/simnet.

  16. Design for whipping pipe impact on reinforced concrete panels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, C.C.; Gurbuz, O.

    1984-01-01

    This paper describes determination of local and overall effects on reinforced concrete panels due to whipping pipe impact in postulated pipe break events. Local damage includes the prediction of minimum concrete panel thickness required to prevent spalling from the back face of the target reinforced concrete panels. Evaluation of overall effect deals with the ductility ratio calculation for the target reinforced concrete panels. Design curves for determining the minimum panel thickness and the minimum reinforcement of reinforced concrete panels are presented in this paper for some cases commonly encountered in nuclear applications. The methodology and the results provided can be used to determine if an existing reinforced concrete wall is capable of resisting the whipping pipe impact, and consequently, if pipe whip restraints can be eliminated

  17. Heterogeneous tiny energy: An appealing opportunity to power wireless sensor motes in a corrosive environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qiao, Guofu; Sun, Guodong; Li, Hui; Ou, Jinping

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Ultra-low ambient energy was scavenged to power the first of its kind wireless corrosion sensors. • Three feasible tiny-energy sources were exploited for long-term corrosion monitoring. • Automatic recharging control of heterogeneous tiny energy was proposed for human-free monitoring. • Corrosion itself was applied as an energy source to power the wireless corrosion-monitoring motes. - Abstract: Reinforcing steel corrosion is a significant factor leading to the durability deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. The on-line monitoring of the corrosion of RC structures in a long-term, human-free manner is not only valuable in industry, but also a significant challenge in academia. This paper presents the first of its kind corrosion-monitoring approach that only exploits three heterogeneous tiny energy sources to power commercial-off-the-shelf wireless sensor motes such that the corrosion-related data are automatically and autonomously captured and sent to users via wireless channels. We first investigated the availability of these three tiny energy sources: corrosion energy, a cement battery, and a weak solar energy. In particular, the two former energy sources inherently exist in RC structures and can be generated continually in the service-life of RC structures, which beneficial for the prospects of long-term corrosion monitoring. We then proposed a proof-of-concept prototype, which consisted of a Telosb wireless sensor mote and an energy harvester in order to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the ultralow-power ambient energy as a type of power supply in corrosion monitoring applications. The critical metrics for the holographic monitoring of RC structures, including electrochemical noise, humidity and temperature, were successfully acquired and analysed using a post-processing program. This paper describes a unique and novel approach towards the realisation of smart structural monitoring and control system in the

  18. Scheduling reinforcement about once a day.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckerman, D A

    1999-04-01

    A pigeon earned its daily food by pecking a key according to reinforcement schedules that produced food about once per day. Fixed-interval (FI), Fixed-time (FT), and various complex schedules were arranged to demonstrate the degree to which a scalloped pattern of responding remained. Pausing continued until about an hour before the reinforcer could be earned for FIs of 12, 24, and 48 h. Pausing was not as long for FIs of 18, 19, and 23 h. Pausing of about 24 h was seen for FI 36 h. FT 24 h produced continued responding but at a diminished frequency. The pattern of responding was strongly controlled by the schedule of reinforcement and seemed relatively independent of the cycle of human activity in the surrounding laboratory. Effects of added ratio contingencies and of signaling the availability of reinforcement in FT were also examined. Signaled FTs of 5 min-3 h produced more responding during the signal (autoshaping) than did FTs of 19 or 24 h.

  19. Fundamentals of fibre-reinforced soil engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Shukla, Sanjay Kumar

    2017-01-01

    This book is intended to serve as a one-stop reference on fibre-reinforced soils. Over the past 30-35 years, the engineering behaviour of randomly distributed/oriented fibre-reinforced soil, also called simply fibre-reinforced soil, has been investigated in detail by researchers and engineers worldwide. Waste fibres (plastic waste fibres, old tyre fibres, etc.) create disposal and environmental problems. Utilization of such fibres in construction can help resolve these concerns. Research studies and some field applications have shown that the fibres can be utilized in large quantities in geotechnical and civil engineering applications in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner. This book covers a complete description of fibres, their effects when included within a soil or other similar materials such as the fly ash, and their field applications. It gives a detailed view of fibre-reinforced soil engineering. The book will be useful to students, professional, and researchers alike, and can also ser...

  20. Brachytherapy dose measurements in heterogeneous tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paiva F, G.; Luvizotto, J.; Salles C, T.; Guimaraes A, P. C.; Dalledone S, P. de T.; Yoriyaz, H.; Rubo, R.

    2014-08-01

    Recently, Beau lieu et al. published an article providing guidance for Model-Based Dose Calculation Algorithms (MBDCAs), where tissue heterogeneity considerations are addressed. It is well-known that T G-43 formalism which considers only water medium is limited and significant dose differences have been found comparing both methodologies. The aim of the present work is to experimentally quantify dose values in heterogeneous medium using different dose measurement methods and techniques and compare them with those obtained with Monte Carlo simulations. Experiments have been performed using a Nucletron micro Selectron-Hdr Ir-192 brachytherapy source and a heterogeneous phantom composed by PMMA and different tissue equivalent cylinders like bone, lungs and muscle. Several dose measurements were obtained using tissue equivalent materials with height 1.8 cm and 4.3 cm positioned between the radiation source and the detectors. Radiochromic films, TLDs and MOSFET S have been used for the dose measurements. Film dosimetry has been performed using two methodologies: a) linearization for dose-response curve based on calibration curves to create a functional form that linearize s the dose response and b) 177 multichannel analysis dosimetry where the multiple color channels are analyzed allowing to address not only disturbances in the measurements caused by thickness variation in the film layer, but also, separate other external influences in the film response. All experiments have been simulated using the MCNP5 Monte Carlo radiation transport code. Comparison of experimental results are in good agreement with calculated dose values with differences less than 6% for almost all cases. (Author)

  1. Brachytherapy dose measurements in heterogeneous tissues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paiva F, G.; Luvizotto, J.; Salles C, T.; Guimaraes A, P. C.; Dalledone S, P. de T.; Yoriyaz, H. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares / CNEN, Av. Lineu Prestes 2242, Cidade Universitaria, 05508-000 Sao Paulo (Brazil); Rubo, R., E-mail: gabrielpaivafonseca@gmail.com [Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo, 05403-900 Sao Paulo (Brazil)

    2014-08-15

    Recently, Beau lieu et al. published an article providing guidance for Model-Based Dose Calculation Algorithms (MBDCAs), where tissue heterogeneity considerations are addressed. It is well-known that T G-43 formalism which considers only water medium is limited and significant dose differences have been found comparing both methodologies. The aim of the present work is to experimentally quantify dose values in heterogeneous medium using different dose measurement methods and techniques and compare them with those obtained with Monte Carlo simulations. Experiments have been performed using a Nucletron micro Selectron-Hdr Ir-192 brachytherapy source and a heterogeneous phantom composed by PMMA and different tissue equivalent cylinders like bone, lungs and muscle. Several dose measurements were obtained using tissue equivalent materials with height 1.8 cm and 4.3 cm positioned between the radiation source and the detectors. Radiochromic films, TLDs and MOSFET S have been used for the dose measurements. Film dosimetry has been performed using two methodologies: a) linearization for dose-response curve based on calibration curves to create a functional form that linearize s the dose response and b) 177 multichannel analysis dosimetry where the multiple color channels are analyzed allowing to address not only disturbances in the measurements caused by thickness variation in the film layer, but also, separate other external influences in the film response. All experiments have been simulated using the MCNP5 Monte Carlo radiation transport code. Comparison of experimental results are in good agreement with calculated dose values with differences less than 6% for almost all cases. (Author)

  2. Aquifer heterogeneity characterization with oscillatory pumping: Sensitivity analysis and imaging potential

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardiff, M.; Bakhos, T.; Kitanidis, P. K.; Barrash, W.

    2013-09-01

    Periodic pumping tests, in which a fluid is extracted during half a period, then reinjected, have been used historically to estimate effective aquifer properties. In this work, we suggest a modified approach to periodic pumping test analysis in which one uses several periodic pumping signals of different frequencies as stimulation, and responses are analyzed through inverse modeling using a "steady-periodic" model formulation. We refer to this strategy as multifrequency oscillatory hydraulic imaging. Oscillating pumping tests have several advantages that have been noted, including no net water extraction during testing and robust signal measurement through signal processing. Through numerical experiments, we demonstrate additional distinct advantages that multifrequency stimulations have, including: (1) drastically reduced computational cost through use of a steady-periodic numerical model and (2) full utilization of the aquifer heterogeneity information provided by responses at different frequencies. We first perform fully transient numerical modeling for heterogeneous aquifers and show that equivalent results are obtained using a faster steady-periodic heterogeneous numerical model of the wave phasor. The sensitivities of observed signal response to aquifer heterogeneities are derived using an adjoint state-based approach, which shows that different frequency stimulations provide complementary information. Finally, we present an example 2-D application in which sinusoidal signals at multiple frequencies are used as a data source and are inverted to obtain estimates of aquifer heterogeneity. These analyses show the different heterogeneity information that can be obtained from different stimulation frequencies, and that data from several sinusoidal pumping tests can be rapidly inverted using the steady-periodic framework.

  3. Numerical estimation of concrete beams reinforced with FRP bars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Protchenko Kostiantyn

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces numerical investigation on mechanical performance of a concrete beam reinforced with Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP bars, which can be competitive alternative to steel bars for enhancing concrete structures. The objective of this work is being identified as elaborating of reliable numerical model for predicting strength capacity of structural elements with implementation of Finite Element Analysis (FEA. The numerical model is based on experimental study prepared for the beams, which were reinforced with Basalt FRP (BFRP bars and steel bars (for comparison. The results obtained for the beams reinforced with steel bars are found to be in close agreement with the experimental results. However, the beams reinforced with BFRP bars in experimental programme demonstrated higher bearing capacity than those reinforced with steel bars, which is not in a good convergence with numerical results. Authors did attempt to describe the reasons on achieving experimentally higher bearing capacity of beams reinforced with BFRP bars.

  4. Simulation analysis of impact tests of steel plate reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete slabs against aircraft impact and its validation with experimental results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadiq, Muhammad; Xiu Yun, Zhu; Rong, Pan

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Simulation analysis is carried out with two constitutive concrete models. • Winfrith model can better simulate nonlinear response of concrete than CSCM model. • Performance of steel plate concrete is better than reinforced concrete. • Thickness of safety related structures can be reduced by adopting steel plates. • Analysis results, mainly concrete material models should be validated. - Abstract: The steel plate reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete structures are used in nuclear power plants for protection against impact of an aircraft. In order to compare the impact resistance performance of steel plate reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete slabs panels, simulation analysis of 1/7.5 scale model impact tests is carried out by using finite element code ANSYS/LS-DYNA. The damage modes of all finite element models, velocity time history curves of the aircraft engine and damage to aircraft model are compared with the impact test results of steel plate reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete slab panels. The results indicate that finite element simulation results correlate well with the experimental results especially for constitutive winfrith concrete model. Also, the impact resistance performance of steel plate reinforced concrete slab panels is better than reinforced concrete slab panels, particularly the rear face steel plate is very effective in preventing the perforation and scabbing of concrete than conventional reinforced concrete structures. In this way, the thickness of steel plate reinforced concrete structures can be reduced in important structures like nuclear power plants against impact of aircraft. It also demonstrates the methodology to validate the analysis procedure with experimental and analytical studies. It may be effectively employed to predict the precise response of safety related structures against aircraft impact

  5. Halloysite reinforced epoxy composites with improved mechanical properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saif Muhammad Jawwad

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs reinforced epoxy composites with improved mechanical properties were prepared. The prepared HNTs reinforced epoxy composites demonstrated improved mechanical properties especially the fracture toughness and flexural strength. The flexural modulus of nanocomposite with 6% mHNTs loading was 11.8% higher than that of neat epoxy resin. In addition, the nanocomposites showed improved dimensional stability. The prepared halloysite reinforced epoxy composites were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA. The improved properties are attributed to the unique characteristics of HNTs, uniform dispersion of reinforcement and interfacial coupling.

  6. Working Memory and Reinforcement Schedule Jointly Determine Reinforcement Learning in Children: Potential Implications for Behavioral Parent Training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elien Segers

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Behavioral Parent Training (BPT is often provided for childhood psychiatric disorders. These disorders have been shown to be associated with working memory impairments. BPT is based on operant learning principles, yet how operant principles shape behavior (through the partial reinforcement (PRF extinction effect, i.e., greater resistance to extinction that is created when behavior is reinforced partially rather than continuously and the potential role of working memory therein is scarcely studied in children. This study explored the PRF extinction effect and the role of working memory therein using experimental tasks in typically developing children.Methods: Ninety-seven children (age 6–10 completed a working memory task and an operant learning task, in which children acquired a response-sequence rule under either continuous or PRF (120 trials, followed by an extinction phase (80 trials. Data of 88 children were used for analysis.Results: The PRF extinction effect was confirmed: We observed slower acquisition and extinction in the PRF condition as compared to the continuous reinforcement (CRF condition. Working memory was negatively related to acquisition but not extinction performance.Conclusion: Both reinforcement contingencies and working memory relate to acquisition performance. Potential implications for BPT are that decreasing working memory load may enhance the chance of optimally learning through reinforcement.

  7. Optimizing the Flexural Strength of Beams Reinforced with Fiber Reinforced Polymer Bars Using Back-Propagation Neural Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bahman O. Taha

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The reinforced concrete with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP bars (carbon, aramid, basalt and glass is used in places where a high ratio of strength to weight is required and corrosion is not acceptable. Behavior of structural members using (FRP bars is hard to be modeled using traditional methods because of the high non-linearity relationship among factors influencing the strength of structural members. Back-propagation neural network is a very effective method for modeling such complicated relationships. In this paper, back-propagation neural network is used for modeling the flexural behavior of beams reinforced with (FRP bars. 101 samples of beams reinforced with fiber bars were collected from literatures. Five important factors are taken in consideration for predicting the strength of beams. Two models of Multilayer Perceptron (MLP are created, first with single-hidden layer and the second with two-hidden layers. The two-hidden layer model showed better accuracy ratio than the single-hidden layer model. Parametric study has been done for two-hidden layer model only. Equations are derived to be used instead of the model and the importance of input factors is determined. Results showed that the neural network is successful in modeling the behavior of concrete beams reinforced with different types of (FRP bars.

  8. Mechanical Properties of Welded Deformed Reinforcing Steel Bars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ghafur H. Ahmed

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Reinforcement strength, ductility and bendability properties are important components in design of reinforced concrete members, as the strength of any member comes mainly from reinforcement. Strain compatibility and plastic behaviors are mainly depending on reinforcement ductility. In construction practice, often welding of the bars is required. Welding of reinforcement is an instant solution in many cases, whereas welding is not a routine connection process. Welding will cause deficiencies in reinforcement bars, metallurgical changes and re-crystallization of microstructure of particles. Weld metal toughness is extremely sensitive to the welding heat input that decreases both of its strength and ductility. For determining the effects of welding in reinforcement properties, 48 specimens were tested with 5 different bar diameters, divided into six groups. Investigated parameters were: properties of un-welded bars; strength, ductility and density of weld metal; strength and ductility reduction due to heat input for bundled bars and transverse bars; welding effect on bars’ bending properties; behavior of different joint types; properties of three weld groove shapes also the locations and types of failures sections. Results show that, strength and elongation of the welded bars decreased by (10-40% and (30-60% respectively. Cold bending of welded bars and groove welds shall be prevented.

  9. Deep Reinforcement Learning: An Overview

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Yuxi

    2017-01-01

    We give an overview of recent exciting achievements of deep reinforcement learning (RL). We discuss six core elements, six important mechanisms, and twelve applications. We start with background of machine learning, deep learning and reinforcement learning. Next we discuss core RL elements, including value function, in particular, Deep Q-Network (DQN), policy, reward, model, planning, and exploration. After that, we discuss important mechanisms for RL, including attention and memory, unsuperv...

  10. Durability of fibre reinforced concrete structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Ernst Jan De Place; Hansen, Kurt Kielsgaard

    1996-01-01

    The planned research will indicate, whether fibre reinforced concrete has better or worse durability than normal concrete. Durability specimens will be measured on cracked as well as uncracked specimens. Also the pore structure in the concrete will be characterized.Keywords: Fibre reinforced...... concrete, durability, pore structure, mechanical load...

  11. Dynamic heterogeneity in life histories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tuljapurkar, Shripad; Steiner, Uli; Orzack, Steven Hecht

    2009-01-01

    or no fixed heterogeneity influences this trait. We propose that dynamic heterogeneity provides a 'neutral' model for assessing the possible role of unobserved 'quality' differences between individuals. We discuss fitness for dynamic life histories, and the implications of dynamic heterogeneity...... generate dynamic heterogeneity: life-history differences produced by stochastic stratum dynamics. We characterize dynamic heterogeneity in a range of species across taxa by properties of the Markov chain: the entropy, which describes the extent of heterogeneity, and the subdominant eigenvalue, which...... distributions of lifetime reproductive success. Dynamic heterogeneity contrasts with fixed heterogeneity: unobserved differences that generate variation between life histories. We show by an example that observed distributions of lifetime reproductive success are often consistent with the claim that little...

  12. Behavior of reinforced concrete at elevated temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freskakis, G.N.

    1984-09-01

    A study is presented concerning the behavior of reinforced concrete sections at elevated temperatures. Material properties of concrete and reinforcing steel are discussed. Behavior studies are made by means of moment-curvature-axial force relationships. Particular attention is given to the load carrying capacity, thermal forces and moments, and deformation capacity. The effects on these properties of variations in the strength properties, the temperature level and distribution, the amount of reinforcing steel, and limiting values of strains are considered

  13. Experimental investigation of the relation between damage at the concrete-steel interface and initiation of reinforcement corrosion in plain and fibre reinforced concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michel, A.; Solgaard, A.O.S.; Pease, B.J.; Geiker, M.R.; Stang, H.; Olesen, J.F.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •Cracked plain and steel fibre reinforced concrete flexural beams were investigated. •“Instrumented rebars” provided location- and time-dependent corrosion measurements. •Interfacial condition can be used as a reliable indicator to quantify the risk of corrosion. •Simulated interfacial conditions are in very good agreement with all experimental observations. -- Abstract: Cracks in covering concrete are known to hasten initiation of steel corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. To minimise the impact of cracks on the deterioration of reinforced concrete structures, current approaches in (inter)national design codes often limit the concrete surface crack width. Recent investigations however, indicate that the concrete-reinforcement interfacial condition is a more fundamental criterion related to reinforcement corrosion. This work investigates the relation between macroscopic damage at the concrete-steel interface and corrosion initiation of reinforcement embedded in plain and fibre reinforced concrete. Comparisons of experimental and numerical results indicate a strong correlation between corrosion initiation and interfacial condition

  14. Scaling the heterogeneously heated convective boundary layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Heerwaarden, C.; Mellado, J.; De Lozar, A.

    2013-12-01

    We have studied the heterogeneously heated convective boundary layer (CBL) by means of large-eddy simulations (LES) and direct numerical simulations (DNS). What makes our study different from previous studies on this subject are our very long simulations in which the system travels through multiple states and that from there we have derived scaling laws. In our setup, a stratified atmosphere is heated from below by square patches with a high surface buoyancy flux, surrounded by regions with no or little flux. By letting a boundary layer grow in time we let the system evolve from the so-called meso-scale to the micro-scale regime. In the former the heterogeneity is large and strong circulations can develop, while in the latter the heterogeneity is small and does no longer influence the boundary layer structure. Within each simulation we can now observe the formation of a peak in kinetic energy, which represents the 'optimal' heterogeneity size in the meso-scale, and the subsequent decay of the peak and the development towards the transition to the micro-scale. We have created a non-dimensional parameter space that describes all properties of this system. By studying the previously described evolution for different combinations of parameters, we have derived three important conclusions. First, there exists a horizontal length scale of the heterogeneity (L) that is a function of the boundary layer height (h) and the Richardson (Ri) number of the inversion at the top of the boundary layer. This relationship has the form L = h Ri^(3/8). Second, this horizontal length scale L allows for expressing the time evolution, and thus the state of the system, as a ratio of this length scale and the distance between two patches Xp. This ratio thus describes to which extent the circulation fills up the space that exists between two patch centers. The timings of the transition from the meso- to the micro-scale collapse under this scaling for all simulations sharing the same flux

  15. Soft tissue reinforcement interposition flaps in hypospadias repair

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Singh R

    2007-01-01

    , pinpointed and were located at the corona in five and at the shaft in seven. Eight (67% of the 12 UCFs healed spontaneously during the follow-up period of 12 weeks. Conclusions: Harvesting STRIFs is technically easy, however, great care is required in their handling, accurate placement and suturing over and around the re-constructed neo-urethras for their secured reinforcement against fistula formation. Use of STRIFs in hypospadias repairs decreases fistula-associated morbidity but does not absolutely prevent fistula formation. The STRIFs reduce the size and prevent multiplicity of UCFs and locate the UCFs eccentrically well away from the neo-urethra to facilitate their spontaneous (conservative as well as subsequent (surgical closure. The mechanism of action of STRIFs is multi-factorial, like acting as a mechanical barrier; preventing suture line superimposition; inducing neo-angio-genesis; working as biological drain; providing mechanical support; and, filling the dead spaces.

  16. Origins of altered reinforcement effects in ADHD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tripp Gail

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, characterized by hyperactivity, impulsiveness and deficient sustained attention, is one of the most common and persistent behavioral disorders of childhood. ADHD is associated with catecholamine dysfunction. The catecholamines are important for response selection and memory formation, and dopamine in particular is important for reinforcement of successful behavior. The convergence of dopaminergic mesolimbic and glutamatergic corticostriatal synapses upon individual neostriatal neurons provides a favorable substrate for a three-factor synaptic modification rule underlying acquisition of associations between stimuli in a particular context, responses, and reinforcers. The change in associative strength as a function of delay between key stimuli or responses, and reinforcement, is known as the delay of reinforcement gradient. The gradient is altered by vicissitudes of attention, intrusions of irrelevant events, lapses of memory, and fluctuations in dopamine function. Theoretical and experimental analyses of these moderating factors will help to determine just how reinforcement processes are altered in ADHD. Such analyses can only help to improve treatment strategies for ADHD.

  17. From Cellulose Nanospheres, Nanorods to Nanofibers: Various Aspect Ratio Induced Nucleation/Reinforcing Effects on Polylactic Acid for Robust-Barrier Food Packaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Hou-Yong; Zhang, Heng; Song, Mei-Li; Zhou, Ying; Yao, Juming; Ni, Qing-Qing

    2017-12-20

    The traditional approach toward improving the crystallization rate as well as the mechanical and barrier properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is the incorporation of nanocelluloses (NCs). Unfortunately, little study has been focused on the influence of the differences in NC morphology and dimensions on the PLA property enhancement. Here, by HCOOH/HCl hydrolysis of lyocell fibers, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), and ginger fibers, we unveil the preparation of cellulose nanospheres (CNS), rod-like cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), and cellulose nanofibers (CNF) with different aspect ratios, respectively. All the NC surfaces were chemically modified by Fischer esterification with hydrophobic formate groups to improve the NC dispersion in the PLA matrix. This study systematically compared CNS, CNC, and CNF as reinforcing agents to induce different kinds of heterogeneous nucleation and reinforce the effects on the properties of PLA. The incorporation of three NCs can greatly improve the PLA crystallization ability, thermal stability, and mechanical strength of nanocomposites. At the same NC loading level, the PLA/CNS showed the highest crystallinity (19.8 ± 0.4%) with a smaller spherulite size (33 ± 1.5 μm), indicating that CNS, with its high specific surface area, can induce a stronger heterogeneous nucleation effect on the PLA crystallization than CNC or CNF. Instead, compared to PLA, the PLA/CNF nanocomposites gave the largest Young's modulus increase of 350 %, due to the larger aspect ratio/rigidity of CNF and their interlocking or percolation network caused by filler-matrix interfacial bonds. Furthermore, taking these factors of hydrogen bonding interaction, increased crystallinity, and interfacial tortuosity into account, the PLA/CNC nanocomposite films showed the best barrier property against water vapor and lowest migration levels in two liquid food simulates (well below 60 mg kg -1 for required overall migration in packaging) than CNS- and CNF-based films

  18. Numerical modelling of reinforced concrete beams with fracture-plastic material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Sucharda

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the use of models of fracture-plastic materials for reinforced concrete in numerical modelling of beams made from reinforced concrete. The purpose of the paper is to use of a model of concrete for modelling of a behaviour of reinforced concrete beams which have been tested at the University of Toronto within re-examination of classic concrete beam tests. The original tests were performed by Bresler- Scordelis. A stochastic modelling based on LHS (Latin Hypercube Sampling has been performed for the reinforced concrete beam. An objective of the modelling is to evaluate the total bearing capacity of the reinforced concrete beams depending on distribution of input data. The beams from the studied set have longitudinal reinforcement only. The beams do not have any shear reinforcement. The software used for the fracture-plastic model of the reinforced concrete is the ATENA.

  19. Reinforcement learning in supply chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valluri, Annapurna; North, Michael J; Macal, Charles M

    2009-10-01

    Effective management of supply chains creates value and can strategically position companies. In practice, human beings have been found to be both surprisingly successful and disappointingly inept at managing supply chains. The related fields of cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence have postulated a variety of potential mechanisms to explain this behavior. One of the leading candidates is reinforcement learning. This paper applies agent-based modeling to investigate the comparative behavioral consequences of three simple reinforcement learning algorithms in a multi-stage supply chain. For the first time, our findings show that the specific algorithm that is employed can have dramatic effects on the results obtained. Reinforcement learning is found to be valuable in multi-stage supply chains with several learning agents, as independent agents can learn to coordinate their behavior. However, learning in multi-stage supply chains using these postulated approaches from cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence take extremely long time periods to achieve stability which raises questions about their ability to explain behavior in real supply chains. The fact that it takes thousands of periods for agents to learn in this simple multi-agent setting provides new evidence that real world decision makers are unlikely to be using strict reinforcement learning in practice.

  20. Rotational Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Beams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ulfkjær, J. P.; Henriksen, M. S.; Brincker, Rune

    1995-01-01

    programme where 120 reinforced concrete beams, 54 plain concrete beams and 324 concrete cylinders are tested. For the reinforced concrete beams four different parar meters are varied. The slenderness is 6, 12 and 18, the beam depth is 100 mm, 200 mm and 400 mm giving nine different geometries, five...

  1. GLASS-FIBRE REINFORCED COMPOSITES: THE EFFECT OF ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    HOD

    mechanical and corrosion wear behaviour of any reinforced composites. In other ..... physical properties of glass fibre reinforced epoxy resin and the following .... waste in concrete and cement composites," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol.

  2. Human choice among five alternatives when reinforcers decay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothstein, Jacob B; Jensen, Greg; Neuringer, Allen

    2008-06-01

    Human participants played a computer game in which choices among five alternatives were concurrently reinforced according to dependent random-ratio schedules. "Dependent" indicates that choices to any of the wedges activated the random-number generators governing reinforcers on all five alternatives. Two conditions were compared. In the hold condition, once scheduled, a reinforcer - worth a constant five points - remained available until it was collected. In the decay condition, point values decreased with intervening responses, i.e., rapid collection was differentially reinforced. Slopes of matching functions were higher in the decay than hold condition. However inter-subject variability was high in both conditions.

  3. Toughened microstructures for ductile phase reinforced molybdenum disilicide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pickard, S.M.; Ghosh, A.K.

    1995-01-01

    Various morphologies of ductile Nb refractory metal reinforcement are incorporated into a MoSi 2 matrix using powder metallurgy, including single-ply laminates, continuous metal ribbons and sections of 2-dimensional wire mesh. Hot forging techniques are used to redistribute the reinforcement and change the dimensions and the aspect ratio of the reinforcing metal ligaments. Work-of-rupture measurements are conducted on bend test specimens and precracked tensile specimens of the composite so that the toughness contribution from the various ductile metal morphologies can be assessed according to its effectiveness. Accompanying microstructural examination of crack bridging interaction with the reinforcement is conducted

  4. Prevention of a parastomal hernia by biological mesh reinforcement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    René H Fortelny

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: In the field of hernia prevention the prophylactic mesh-reinforcement of stoma-sites is one of the most controversially discussed issues. The incidence of parastomal hernias in the literature reported to be up to 48.1% after end colostomy and up to 30.8 % after of loop colostomy respectively, but still remains uncertain due to diagnostic variety of clinical or radiological methods, heterogeneous patient groups and variable follow-up intervals respectively. Anyway, the published data regarding the use of synthetic or bio-prostethic meshes in the prevention of parastomal hernia at the primary operation are very scarce. Methods: A literature search of the Medline database in terms of biological prophylactic mesh implantation in stoma creation identified 6 systematic reviews, 2 randomized controlled trials (RCT, 2 case controlled studies and 1 technical report. Results: In a systematic review focusing on the prevention of parastomal hernia including only RCTs encompassing one RCT using bio-prosthetic mesh the incidence of herniation was 12.5 % compared to 53% in the control group (p<0.0001. In 1 RCT and 2 case control studies respectively, there was a significant smaller incidence of parastomal herniation as well as a similar complication rate compared to the control group respectively. Only in 1 RCT no significant difference regarding the incidence of parastomal hernia was reported with comparable complication rates. Conclusion: Thus so far 2 RCT and 2 case control studies are published with prophylactic bio prosthetic reinforcement in stoma sites. The majority revealed significant better results in terms of parastomal herniation and without any mesh related complications in comparison to the non mesh group. Further multicenter RCT are required to achieve a sufficient level of recommendation.

  5. Generating variable and random schedules of reinforcement using Microsoft Excel macros.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bancroft, Stacie L; Bourret, Jason C

    2008-01-01

    Variable reinforcement schedules are used to arrange the availability of reinforcement following varying response ratios or intervals of time. Random reinforcement schedules are subtypes of variable reinforcement schedules that can be used to arrange the availability of reinforcement at a constant probability across number of responses or time. Generating schedule values for variable and random reinforcement schedules can be difficult. The present article describes the steps necessary to write macros in Microsoft Excel that will generate variable-ratio, variable-interval, variable-time, random-ratio, random-interval, and random-time reinforcement schedule values.

  6. Evaluation of the protection behaviour of reinforcement steel against corrosion induced by chlorides in reinforced mortar specimens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crivelaro, Marcos

    2002-01-01

    In this work various treatments for protecting reinforcing steels against corrosion induced by chlorides have been evaluated. Additives to mortars and surface treatments given to reinforcing steels were evaluated as corrosion protection measures. In the preliminary tests the corrosion resistance of a CA 50 steel treated by immersion in nearly 50 different solutions, was determined. The solutions were prepared with tannins (from various sources) and/or benzotriazole, and during immersion, a surface film formed on the steel. The corrosion resistance of the coated steels was evaluated in a saturated Ca(OH) 2 solution with 5% (wt) NaCl. Preliminary tests were also carried out with mortars reinforced with uncoated steel to which tannin or lignin was added. Two organic coatings, a monocomponent and a bicomponent type, formulated specially for this investigation, with both tannin and benzotriazole, were also tested in the preliminary tests to select the coating with better corrosion protection property. The bicomponent type (epoxy coating) showed better performance than the monocomponent type coating, and the former was therefore chosen to investigate the corrosion performance on CA 50 steel inside mortar specimens. From the preliminary tests, two solutions with tannin from two sources, Black Wattle (Acacia mearnsii) and Brazilian tea (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hill), to which benzotriazole and phosphoric acid were added, were chosen. Mortar specimens reinforced with CA50 steel treated by immersion in these two solutions were prepared. Also, epoxy coated CA50 steel was tested as reinforcement inside mortar specimens. Mortars reinforced with uncoated CA50 steel were also prepared and corrosion tested for comparison. The effect of tannin and lignin as separate additives to the mortar on the corrosion resistance of uncoated steel was also studied. The reinforced mortar specimens were tested with various cycles of immersion for 2 days in 3.5% (wt) NaCl followed by with air

  7. Conceptualizing a tool to optimize therapy based on dynamic heterogeneity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liao, David; Estévez-Salmerón, Luis; Tlsty, Thea D

    2012-01-01

    Complex biological systems often display a randomness paralleled in processes studied in fundamental physics. This simple stochasticity emerges owing to the complexity of the system and underlies a fundamental aspect of biology called phenotypic stochasticity. Ongoing stochastic fluctuations in phenotype at the single-unit level can contribute to two emergent population phenotypes. Phenotypic stochasticity not only generates heterogeneity within a cell population, but also allows reversible transitions back and forth between multiple states. This phenotypic interconversion tends to restore a population to a previous composition after that population has been depleted of specific members. We call this tendency homeostatic heterogeneity. These concepts of dynamic heterogeneity can be applied to populations composed of molecules, cells, individuals, etc. Here we discuss the concept that phenotypic stochasticity both underlies the generation of heterogeneity within a cell population and can be used to control population composition, contributing, in particular, to both the ongoing emergence of drug resistance and an opportunity for depleting drug-resistant cells. Using notions of both ‘large’ and ‘small’ numbers of biomolecular components, we rationalize our use of Markov processes to model the generation and eradication of drug-resistant cells. Using these insights, we have developed a graphical tool, called a metronomogram, that we propose will allow us to optimize dosing frequencies and total course durations for clinical benefit. (paper)

  8. [The behavior of fiber-reinforced plastics during laser cutting].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emmrich, M; Levsen, K; Trasser, F J

    1992-06-01

    The pattern of the organic emissions, which are produced by processing of fibre reinforced plastics (epoxy resins reinforced by aramid and glass fibres and phenol resins reinforced by aramid fibre) with laser beam was studied and the concentrations of the main components determined. Despite the application of plastic materials with different chemical structures, the observed patterns are very similar. Mainly aromatic hydrocarbons are emitted, especially benzene and toluene, as well as some heteroatom-containing aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g. phenol). By use of oxygen as process gas the emissions during cutting of glass fibre reinforced plastics can be reduced, while they will be constantly high with aramid fibre reinforced plastics.

  9. A link prediction method for heterogeneous networks based on BP neural network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ji-chao; Zhao, Dan-ling; Ge, Bing-Feng; Yang, Ke-Wei; Chen, Ying-Wu

    2018-04-01

    Most real-world systems, composed of different types of objects connected via many interconnections, can be abstracted as various complex heterogeneous networks. Link prediction for heterogeneous networks is of great significance for mining missing links and reconfiguring networks according to observed information, with considerable applications in, for example, friend and location recommendations and disease-gene candidate detection. In this paper, we put forward a novel integrated framework, called MPBP (Meta-Path feature-based BP neural network model), to predict multiple types of links for heterogeneous networks. More specifically, the concept of meta-path is introduced, followed by the extraction of meta-path features for heterogeneous networks. Next, based on the extracted meta-path features, a supervised link prediction model is built with a three-layer BP neural network. Then, the solution algorithm of the proposed link prediction model is put forward to obtain predicted results by iteratively training the network. Last, numerical experiments on the dataset of examples of a gene-disease network and a combat network are conducted to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed MPBP. It shows that the MPBP with very good performance is superior to the baseline methods.

  10. Generating Variable and Random Schedules of Reinforcement Using Microsoft Excel Macros

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bancroft, Stacie L.; Bourret, Jason C.

    2008-01-01

    Variable reinforcement schedules are used to arrange the availability of reinforcement following varying response ratios or intervals of time. Random reinforcement schedules are subtypes of variable reinforcement schedules that can be used to arrange the availability of reinforcement at a constant probability across number of responses or time.…

  11. Full-Scale Continuous Mini-Reactor Setup for Heterogeneous Grignard Alkylation of a Pharmaceutical Intermediate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Michael Jønch; Holm, Thomas; Rahbek, Jesper P.

    2013-01-01

    A reactor setup consisting of two reactors in series has been implemented for a full-scale, heterogeneous Grignard alkylation. Solutions pass from a small filter reactor into a static mixer reactor with multiple side entries, thus combining continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and plug flow...

  12. Fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibition heightens anandamide signaling without producing reinforcing effects in primates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Justinova, Zuzana; Mangieri, Regina A.; Bortolato, Marco; Chefer, Svetlana I.; Mukhin, Alexey G.; Clapper, Jason R.; King, Alvin R.; Redhi, Godfrey H.; Yasar, Sevil; Piomelli, Daniele; Goldberg, Steven R.

    2008-01-01

    Background CB1 cannabinoid receptors in the brain are known to participate in the regulation of reward-based behaviors, however, the contribution of each of the endocannabinoid transmitters, anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), to these behaviors remains undefined. To address this question, we assessed the effects of URB597, a selective anandamide deactivation inhibitor, as a reinforcer of drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior in squirrel monkeys. Methods We investigated the reinforcing effects of the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB597 in monkeys trained to intravenously self-administer Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), anandamide or cocaine, and quantified brain endocannabinoid levels using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. We measured brain FAAH activity using an ex vivo enzyme assay. Results URB597 (0.3 mg/kg, intravenous) blocked FAAH activity and increased anandamide levels throughout the monkey brain. This effect was accompanied by a marked compensatory decrease in 2-AG levels. Monkeys did not self-administer URB597 and the drug did not promote reinstatement of extinguished drug-seeking behavior previously maintained by THC, anandamide, or cocaine. Pretreatment with URB597 did not modify self-administration of THC or cocaine even though, as expected, it significantly potentiated anandamide self-administration. Conclusions In the monkey brain, the FAAH inhibitor URB597 increases anandamide levels while causing a compensatory down-regulation in 2-AG levels. These effects are accompanied by a striking lack of reinforcing properties, which distinguishes URB597 from direct-acting cannabinoid agonists such as THC. Our results reveal an unexpected functional heterogeneity within the endocannabinoid signaling system, and suggest that FAAH inhibitors might be used therapeutically without risk of abuse or triggering of relapse to drug abuse. PMID:18814866

  13. The role of family planning communications--an agent of reinforcement or change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, E C

    1981-12-01

    Results are presented of a multiple classification analysis of responses to a 1972 KAP survey in Taiwan of 2013 married women aged 18-34 designed to determine whether family planning communication is primarily a reinforcement agent or a change agent. 2 types of independent variables, social demographic variables including age, number of children, residence, education, employment status, and duration of marriage; and social climate variables including ever receiving family planning information from mass media and ever discussing family planning with others, were used. KAP levels, the dependent variables, were measured by 2 variables each: awareness of effective methods and awareness of government supply of contraceptives for knowledge, wish for additional children and approve of 2-child family for attitude, and never use contraception and neither want children nor use contraception for practice. Social demographic and attitudinal variables were found to be the critical ones, while social climate and knowledge variables had only negligible effects on various stages of family planning adoption, indicating that family planning communications functioned primarily as a reinforcement agent. The effects of social demographic variables were prominent in all stages of contraceptive adoption. Examination of effects of individual variables on various stages of family planning adoption still supported the argument that family planning communications played a reinforcement role. Family planning communications functioned well in diffusing family planning knowledge and accessibility, but social demographic variables and desire for additional children were the most decisive influences on use of contraception.

  14. Effect of the reinforcement bar arrangement on the efficiency of electrochemical chloride removal technique applied to reinforced concrete structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garces, P.; Sanchez de Rojas, M.J.; Climent, M.A.

    2006-01-01

    This paper reports on the research done to find out the effect that different bar arrangements may have on the efficiency of the electrochemical chloride removal (ECR) technique when applied to a reinforced concrete structural member. Five different types of bar arrangements were considered, corresponding to typical structural members such as columns (with single and double bar reinforcing), slabs, beams and footings. ECR was applied in several steps. We observe that the extraction efficiency depends on the reinforcing bar arrangement. A uniform layer set-up favours chloride extraction. Electrochemical techniques were also used to estimate the reinforcing bar corrosion states, as well as measure the corrosion potential, and instant corrosion rate based on the polarization resistance technique. After ECR treatment, a reduction in the corrosion levels is observed falling short of the depassivation threshold

  15. Reinforcement versus fluidization in cytoskeletal mechanoresponsiveness.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramaswamy Krishnan

    Full Text Available Every adherent eukaryotic cell exerts appreciable traction forces upon its substrate. Moreover, every resident cell within the heart, great vessels, bladder, gut or lung routinely experiences large periodic stretches. As an acute response to such stretches the cytoskeleton can stiffen, increase traction forces and reinforce, as reported by some, or can soften and fluidize, as reported more recently by our laboratory, but in any given circumstance it remains unknown which response might prevail or why. Using a novel nanotechnology, we show here that in loading conditions expected in most physiological circumstances the localized reinforcement response fails to scale up to the level of homogeneous cell stretch; fluidization trumps reinforcement. Whereas the reinforcement response is known to be mediated by upstream mechanosensing and downstream signaling, results presented here show the fluidization response to be altogether novel: it is a direct physical effect of mechanical force acting upon a structural lattice that is soft and fragile. Cytoskeletal softness and fragility, we argue, is consistent with early evolutionary adaptations of the eukaryotic cell to material properties of a soft inert microenvironment.

  16. Introduction to Concrete Reinforcing. Instructor Edition. Introduction to Construction Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

    This module on concrete reinforcing is one of a series of modules designed to teach basic skills necessary for entry-level employment in this field. This module contains three instructional units that cover the following topics: (1) concrete reinforcing materials; (2) concrete reinforcing tools; and (3) concrete reinforcing basic skills. Each…

  17. Addressing the Externalities from Genetically Modified Pollen Drift on a Heterogeneous Landscape

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mattia C. Mancini

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Genetically modified (GM crops have single or multiple genes introduced to obtain crop characteristics that cannot be obtained through conventional breeding. Pollen mediated gene flow from GM to non-GM crops causes some crops planted as non-GM to become GM, and this imposes economic losses on farmers who planted a non-GM crop but then have to sell the harvest on a GM market. The economic losses that result when both crops are grown together depend on the institutional arrangements and the type of property rights in place. We analyze how the spatial heterogeneity of a farmer’s fields affects the land allocation between buffers, the GM, and the non-GM crop based on cross-pollination and initial assignment of property rights. Greater spatial heterogeneity reduces the possibility of coexistence of crops on the landscape and increases the economic losses. Buffer zones enforced to reduce cross-pollination result in less coexistence on heterogeneous landscapes.

  18. Heterogeneous Deformable Modeling of Bio-Tissues and Haptic Force Rendering for Bio-Object Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shiyong; Lee, Yuan-Shin; Narayan, Roger J.

    This paper presents a novel technique for modeling soft biological tissues as well as the development of an innovative interface for bio-manufacturing and medical applications. Heterogeneous deformable models may be used to represent the actual internal structures of deformable biological objects, which possess multiple components and nonuniform material properties. Both heterogeneous deformable object modeling and accurate haptic rendering can greatly enhance the realism and fidelity of virtual reality environments. In this paper, a tri-ray node snapping algorithm is proposed to generate a volumetric heterogeneous deformable model from a set of object interface surfaces between different materials. A constrained local static integration method is presented for simulating deformation and accurate force feedback based on the material properties of a heterogeneous structure. Biological soft tissue modeling is used as an example to demonstrate the proposed techniques. By integrating the heterogeneous deformable model into a virtual environment, users can both observe different materials inside a deformable object as well as interact with it by touching the deformable object using a haptic device. The presented techniques can be used for surgical simulation, bio-product design, bio-manufacturing, and medical applications.

  19. Behaviour of fibre reinforced polymer confined reinforced concrete columns under fire condition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chowdhury, Ershad Ullah

    In recent years, fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) materials have demonstrated enormous potential as materials for repairing and retrofitting concrete bridges that have deteriorated from factors such as electro-chemical corrosion and increased load requirements. However, concerns associated with fire remain an obstacle to applications of FRP materials in buildings and parking garages due to FRP's sensitivity to high temperatures as compared with other structural materials and to limited knowledge on their thermal and mechanical behaviour in fire. This thesis presents results from an ongoing study on the fire performance of FRP materials, fire insulation materials and systems, and FRP wrapped reinforced concrete columns. The overall goal of the study is to understand the fire behaviour of FRP materials and FRP strengthened concrete columns and ultimately, provide rational fire safety design recommendations and guidelines for FRP strengthened concrete columns. A combined experimental and numerical investigation was conducted to achieve the goals of this research study. The experimental work consisted of both small-scale FRP material testing at elevated temperatures and full-scale fire tests on FRP strengthened columns. A numerical model was developed to simulate the behaviour of unwrapped reinforced concrete and FRP strengthened reinforced concrete square or rectangular columns in fire. After validating the numerical model against test data available in literature, it was determined that the numerical model can be used to analyze the behaviour of concrete axial compressive members in fire. Results from this study also demonstrated that although FRP materials experience considerable loss of their mechanical and bond properties at temperatures somewhat below the glass transition temperature of the resin matrix, externally-bonded FRP can be used in strengthening concrete structural members in buildings, if appropriate supplemental fire protection system is provided over

  20. Geometry segmentation of voxelized representations of heterogeneous microstructures using betweenness centrality

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yuan, Rui; Singh, Sudhanshu S.; Chawla, Nikhilesh; Oswald, Jay, E-mail: joswald1@asu.edu

    2016-08-15

    We present a robust method for automating removal of “segregation artifacts” in segmented tomographic images of three-dimensional heterogeneous microstructures. The objective of this method is to accurately identify and separate discrete features in composite materials where limitations in imaging resolution lead to spurious connections near close contacts. The method utilizes betweenness centrality, a measure of the importance of a node in the connectivity of a graph network, to identify voxels that create artificial bridges between otherwise distinct geometric features. To facilitate automation of the algorithm, we develop a relative centrality metric to allow for the selection of a threshold criterion that is not sensitive to inclusion size or shape. As a demonstration of the effectiveness of the algorithm, we report on the segmentation of a 3D reconstruction of a SiC particle reinforced aluminum alloy, imaged by X-ray synchrotron tomography.

  1. Equivalence relations and the reinforcement contingency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sidman, M

    2000-07-01

    Where do equivalence relations come from? One possible answer is that they arise directly from the reinforcement contingency. That is to say, a reinforcement contingency produces two types of outcome: (a) 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, or n-term units of analysis that are known, respectively, as operant reinforcement, simple discrimination, conditional discrimination, second-order conditional discrimination, and so on; and (b) equivalence relations that consist of ordered pairs of all positive elements that participate in the contingency. This conception of the origin of equivalence relations leads to a number of new and verifiable ways of conceptualizing equivalence relations and, more generally, the stimulus control of operant behavior. The theory is also capable of experimental disproof.

  2. Slipforming of reinforced concrete shield building

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsieh, M.C.; King, J.R.

    1982-01-01

    The unique design and construction features of slipforming the heavily reinforced concrete cylindrical shield walls at the Satsop nuclear plant in Washington, D.C. site are presented. The shield walls were designed in compliance with seismic requirements which resulted in the need for reinforcing steel averaging 326 kg/m/sup 3/. A 7.6 m high, three-deck moving platform was designed to permit easy installation of the reinforcing steel, embedments, and blockouts, and to facilitate concrete placement and finishing. Two circular box trusses, one on each side of the shield wall, were used in combination with a spider truss to meet both the tolerance and strength requirements for the slipform assembly

  3. Mining the Mind Research Network: A Novel Framework for Exploring Large Scale, Heterogeneous Translational Neuroscience Research Data Sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bockholt, Henry J.; Scully, Mark; Courtney, William; Rachakonda, Srinivas; Scott, Adam; Caprihan, Arvind; Fries, Jill; Kalyanam, Ravi; Segall, Judith M.; de la Garza, Raul; Lane, Susan; Calhoun, Vince D.

    2009-01-01

    A neuroinformatics (NI) system is critical to brain imaging research in order to shorten the time between study conception and results. Such a NI system is required to scale well when large numbers of subjects are studied. Further, when multiple sites participate in research projects organizational issues become increasingly difficult. Optimized NI applications mitigate these problems. Additionally, NI software enables coordination across multiple studies, leveraging advantages potentially leading to exponential research discoveries. The web-based, Mind Research Network (MRN), database system has been designed and improved through our experience with 200 research studies and 250 researchers from seven different institutions. The MRN tools permit the collection, management, reporting and efficient use of large scale, heterogeneous data sources, e.g., multiple institutions, multiple principal investigators, multiple research programs and studies, and multimodal acquisitions. We have collected and analyzed data sets on thousands of research participants and have set up a framework to automatically analyze the data, thereby making efficient, practical data mining of this vast resource possible. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for capturing and analyzing heterogeneous neuroscience research data sources that has been fully optimized for end-users to perform novel data mining. PMID:20461147

  4. Mining the mind research network: a novel framework for exploring large scale, heterogeneous translational neuroscience research data sources.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henry Jeremy Bockholt

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available A neuroinformatics (NI system is critical to brain imaging research in order to shorten the time between study conception and results. Such a NI system is required to scale well when large numbers of subjects are studied. Further, when multiple sites participate in research projects organizational issues become increasingly difficult. Optimized NI applications mitigate these problems. Additionally, NI software enables coordination across multiple studies, leveraging advantages potentially leading to exponential research discoveries. The web-based, Mind Research Network (MRN, database system has been designed and improved through our experience with 200 research studies and 250 researchers from 7 different institutions. The MRN tools permit the collection, management, reporting and efficient use of large scale, heterogeneous data sources, e.g., multiple institutions, multiple principal investigators, multiple research programs and studies, and multimodal acquisitions. We have collected and analyzed data sets on thousands of research participants and have set up a framework to automatically analyze the data, thereby making efficient, practical data mining of this vast resource possible. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for capturing and analyzing heterogeneous neuroscience research data sources that has been fully optimized for end-users to perform novel data mining.

  5. Heterogeneous cellular networks

    CERN Document Server

    Hu, Rose Qingyang

    2013-01-01

    A timely publication providing coverage of radio resource management, mobility management and standardization in heterogeneous cellular networks The topic of heterogeneous cellular networks has gained momentum in industry and the research community, attracting the attention of standardization bodies such as 3GPP LTE and IEEE 802.16j, whose objectives are looking into increasing the capacity and coverage of the cellular networks. This book focuses on recent progresses,  covering the related topics including scenarios of heterogeneous network deployment, interference management i

  6. Quantitative radiographic analysis of fiber reinforced polymer composites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baidya, K P; Ramakrishna, S; Rahman, M; Ritchie, A

    2001-01-01

    X-ray radiographic examination of the bone fracture healing process is a widely used method in the treatment and management of patients. Medical devices made of metallic alloys reportedly produce considerable artifacts that make the interpretation of radiographs difficult. Fiber reinforced polymer composite materials have been proposed to replace metallic alloys in certain medical devices because of their radiolucency, light weight, and tailorable mechanical properties. The primary objective of this paper is to provide a comparable radiographic analysis of different fiber reinforced polymer composites that are considered suitable for biomedical applications. Composite materials investigated consist of glass, aramid (Kevlar-29), and carbon reinforcement fibers, and epoxy and polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) matrices. The total mass attenuation coefficient of each material was measured using clinical X-rays (50 kev). The carbon fiber reinforced composites were found to be more radiolucent than the glass and kevlar fiber reinforced composites.

  7. Behavior of reinforcement SCC beams under elevated temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fathi, Hamoon; Farhang, Kianoosh

    2015-09-01

    This experimental study focuses on the behavior of heated reinforced concrete beams. Four types of concrete mixtures were used for the tested self-compacting concrete beams. A total of 72 reinforced concrete beams and 72 standard cylindrical specimens were tested. The compressive strength under uniaxial loading at 23 °C ranged from 30 to 45 MPa. The specimens were exposed to different temperatures. The test parameters of interest were the compressive strength and the temperature of the specimens. The effect of changes in the parameters was examined so as to control the behavior of the tested concrete and that of the reinforced concrete beam. The results indicated that flexibility and compressive strength of the reinforced concrete beams decreased at higher temperatures. Furthermore, heating beyond 400 °C produced greater variations in the structural behavior of the materials in both the cylindrical samples and the reinforced concrete beams.

  8. Vicarious Reinforcement In Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steve W. C. Chang

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available What happens to others profoundly influences our own behavior. Such other-regarding outcomes can drive observational learning, as well as motivate cooperation, charity, empathy, and even spite. Vicarious reinforcement may serve as one of the critical mechanisms mediating the influence of other-regarding outcomes on behavior and decision-making in groups. Here we show that rhesus macaques spontaneously derive vicarious reinforcement from observing rewards given to another monkey, and that this reinforcement can motivate them to subsequently deliver or withhold rewards from the other animal. We exploited Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning to associate rewards to self (M1 and/or rewards to another monkey (M2 with visual cues. M1s made more errors in the instrumental trials when cues predicted reward to M2 compared to when cues predicted reward to M1, but made even more errors when cues predicted reward to no one. In subsequent preference tests between pairs of conditioned cues, M1s preferred cues paired with reward to M2 over cues paired with reward to no one. By contrast, M1s preferred cues paired with reward to self over cues paired with reward to both monkeys simultaneously. Rates of attention to M2 strongly predicted the strength and valence of vicarious reinforcement. These patterns of behavior, which were absent in nonsocial control trials, are consistent with vicarious reinforcement based upon sensitivity to observed, or counterfactual, outcomes with respect to another individual. Vicarious reward may play a critical role in shaping cooperation and competition, as well as motivating observational learning and group coordination in rhesus macaques, much as it does in humans. We propose that vicarious reinforcement signals mediate these behaviors via homologous neural circuits involved in reinforcement learning and decision-making.

  9. Vicarious reinforcement in rhesus macaques (macaca mulatta).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Steve W C; Winecoff, Amy A; Platt, Michael L

    2011-01-01

    What happens to others profoundly influences our own behavior. Such other-regarding outcomes can drive observational learning, as well as motivate cooperation, charity, empathy, and even spite. Vicarious reinforcement may serve as one of the critical mechanisms mediating the influence of other-regarding outcomes on behavior and decision-making in groups. Here we show that rhesus macaques spontaneously derive vicarious reinforcement from observing rewards given to another monkey, and that this reinforcement can motivate them to subsequently deliver or withhold rewards from the other animal. We exploited Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning to associate rewards to self (M1) and/or rewards to another monkey (M2) with visual cues. M1s made more errors in the instrumental trials when cues predicted reward to M2 compared to when cues predicted reward to M1, but made even more errors when cues predicted reward to no one. In subsequent preference tests between pairs of conditioned cues, M1s preferred cues paired with reward to M2 over cues paired with reward to no one. By contrast, M1s preferred cues paired with reward to self over cues paired with reward to both monkeys simultaneously. Rates of attention to M2 strongly predicted the strength and valence of vicarious reinforcement. These patterns of behavior, which were absent in non-social control trials, are consistent with vicarious reinforcement based upon sensitivity to observed, or counterfactual, outcomes with respect to another individual. Vicarious reward may play a critical role in shaping cooperation and competition, as well as motivating observational learning and group coordination in rhesus macaques, much as it does in humans. We propose that vicarious reinforcement signals mediate these behaviors via homologous neural circuits involved in reinforcement learning and decision-making.

  10. Feedback-related brain activity predicts learning from feedback in multiple-choice testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ernst, Benjamin; Steinhauser, Marco

    2012-06-01

    Different event-related potentials (ERPs) have been shown to correlate with learning from feedback in decision-making tasks and with learning in explicit memory tasks. In the present study, we investigated which ERPs predict learning from corrective feedback in a multiple-choice test, which combines elements from both paradigms. Participants worked through sets of multiple-choice items of a Swahili-German vocabulary task. Whereas the initial presentation of an item required the participants to guess the answer, corrective feedback could be used to learn the correct response. Initial analyses revealed that corrective feedback elicited components related to reinforcement learning (FRN), as well as to explicit memory processing (P300) and attention (early frontal positivity). However, only the P300 and early frontal positivity were positively correlated with successful learning from corrective feedback, whereas the FRN was even larger when learning failed. These results suggest that learning from corrective feedback crucially relies on explicit memory processing and attentional orienting to corrective feedback, rather than on reinforcement learning.

  11. Analysis of Genome-Wide Association Studies with Multiple Outcomes Using Penalization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jin; Huang, Jian; Ma, Shuangge

    2012-01-01

    Genome-wide association studies have been extensively conducted, searching for markers for biologically meaningful outcomes and phenotypes. Penalization methods have been adopted in the analysis of the joint effects of a large number of SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and marker identification. This study is partly motivated by the analysis of heterogeneous stock mice dataset, in which multiple correlated phenotypes and a large number of SNPs are available. Existing penalization methods designed to analyze a single response variable cannot accommodate the correlation among multiple response variables. With multiple response variables sharing the same set of markers, joint modeling is first employed to accommodate the correlation. The group Lasso approach is adopted to select markers associated with all the outcome variables. An efficient computational algorithm is developed. Simulation study and analysis of the heterogeneous stock mice dataset show that the proposed method can outperform existing penalization methods. PMID:23272092

  12. Structural performance evaluation on aging underground reinforced concrete structures. Part 5

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumura, Takuro; Matsuo, Toyofumi; Miyagawa, Yoshinori

    2009-01-01

    When we evaluate the soundness of reinforced concrete structures, it is important to assess the chloride induced deterioration. We conducted the reinforcing steel corrosion tests of reinforced concrete specimens under simulated tidal environment of sea. Parameters of the tests were water cement ratio, cement type and crack width of concrete. Periods of the tests were eighty month. The obtained results were summarized at follows: (a) The chloride ion concentration at the initiation of reinforcing steel corrosion was about 3.0 kg/m 3 in case of reinforcing steel in non-crack concrete used ordinary cement. (b) The corrosion rate of reinforcing steels was almost constant at any cement type specimens after causing crack by reinforcing steel corrosion. (c) The corrosion rate of reinforcing steels in specimens, which caused cracks by bending load, increased as crack width. In the same type specimens, the corrosion rate of reinforcing steels in fly ash cement specimens was larger than that of ordinary cement specimens. In this case, the corrosion rate of reinforcing steels was evaluated about 0.18 mm/year. (author)

  13. Disperse reinforced concrete used in obtaining prefabricated elements for roads

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bogdan MEZEI

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Concrete is the most used material in construction. By improving the performance of materials and of technologies, concretes with outstanding performances were also developed, in the past two decades. Concrete with dispersed reinforcement represents a new generation of reinforced concrete that combines a good behavior of concrete compressive strength with an increased tensile strength of steel fibers. Using this material, monolithic and prefabricated concrete elements with high mechanical strengths and high durability can be obtained. Technological processes for preparation of concrete with dispersed reinforcement are similar to the conventional methods and do not involve using additional equipment for dosing the dispersed reinforcement. The study aimed the development of road plates made with optimized disperse- reinforced concrete. The first tests were done on plates from the gutter roadway, having a classic reinforcement, using different percentages of fibre reinforcement in the concrete composition, leading to the development of a new optimized economical solution. The results prove the enhanced characteristics of the disperse-reinforced concrete versus conventional concrete, and hence of the developed concrete plates.

  14. Global reinforcement training of CrossNets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Xiaolong

    2007-10-01

    Hybrid "CMOL" integrated circuits, incorporating advanced CMOS devices for neural cell bodies, nanowires as axons and dendrites, and latching switches as synapses, may be used for the hardware implementation of extremely dense (107 cells and 1012 synapses per cm2) neuromorphic networks, operating up to 10 6 times faster than their biological prototypes. We are exploring several "Cross- Net" architectures that accommodate the limitations imposed by CMOL hardware and should allow effective training of the networks without a direct external access to individual synapses. Our studies have show that CrossNets based on simple (two-terminal) crosspoint devices can work well in at least two modes: as Hop-field networks for associative memory and multilayer perceptrons for classification tasks. For more intelligent tasks (such as robot motion control or complex games), which do not have "examples" for supervised learning, more advanced training methods such as the global reinforcement learning are necessary. For application of global reinforcement training algorithms to CrossNets, we have extended Williams's REINFORCE learning principle to a more general framework and derived several learning rules that are more suitable for CrossNet hardware implementation. The results of numerical experiments have shown that these new learning rules can work well for both classification tasks and reinforcement tasks such as the cartpole balancing control problem. Some limitations imposed by the CMOL hardware need to be carefully addressed for the the successful application of in situ reinforcement training to CrossNets.

  15. Strengthening of the Timber Members Using Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioana-Sorina Enţuc

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The reinforcement of structural wood products has become in the last decades an efficient method of improving structural capabilities of load carrying members made of this material. Some important steps in earlier stages of research were focused on using metallic reinforcement, including steel bars, prestressed stranded cables, and bonded steel and aluminum plates. A disadvantage of the metallic reinforcement was the poor compatibility between the wood and the reinforcing materials. In comparison with metallic reinforcement, fiber reinforced polymers (FRP composites are compatible with structural wood products leading to efficient hybrid members. Some interesting strengthening alternatives using FRP applied to wood beams and to wood columns are presented in this paper.

  16. Bond characteristics of steel fiber and deformed reinforcing steel bar embedded in steel fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete (SFRSCC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aslani, Farhad; Nejadi, Shami

    2012-09-01

    Steel fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete (SFRSCC) is a relatively new composite material which congregates the benefits of the self-compacting concrete (SCC) technology with the profits derived from the fiber addition to a brittle cementitious matrix. Steel fibers improve many of the properties of SCC elements including tensile strength, ductility, toughness, energy absorption capacity, fracture toughness and cracking. Although the available research regarding the influence of steel fibers on the properties of SFRSCC is limited, this paper investigates the bond characteristics between steel fiber and SCC firstly. Based on the available experimental results, the current analytical steel fiber pullout model (Dubey 1999) is modified by considering the different SCC properties and different fiber types (smooth, hooked) and inclination. In order to take into account the effect of fiber inclination in the pullout model, apparent shear strengths ( τ ( app)) and slip coefficient ( β) are incorporated to express the variation of pullout peak load and the augmentation of peak slip as the inclined angle increases. These variables are expressed as functions of the inclined angle ( ϕ). Furthurmore, steel-concrete composite floors, reinforced concrete floors supported by columns or walls and floors on an elastic foundations belong to the category of structural elements in which the conventional steel reinforcement can be partially replaced by the use of steel fibers. When discussing deformation capacity of structural elements or civil engineering structures manufactured using SFRSCC, one must be able to describe thoroughly both the behavior of the concrete matrix reinforced with steel fibers and the interaction between this composite matrix and discrete steel reinforcement of the conventional type. However, even though the knowledge on bond behavior is essential for evaluating the overall behavior of structural components containing reinforcement and steel fibers

  17. Soil reinforcement with geosynthetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bessaim Mohammed Mustapha

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The proportionality of existence of land with good bearing to erect any building or building is very small, to remedy this deficiency it is necessary to resort to techniques of reinforcement of the soils which can constitute a very important development. Among these methods of remediation, there is reinforcement by the geosynthetics which constitute an effective solution to these constraints. This process tends to stabilize the soil in question with increased load bearing capacity in civil engineering and geotechnical works such as embankments, slopes, embankments and hydraulic structures, with an inestimable gain in time, economy and durability while preserving the natural and environmental aspect.

  18. Growth mechanism, distribution characteristics and reinforcing behavior of (Ti, Nb)C particle in laser cladded Fe-based composite coating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Qingtang; Lei, Yongping; Fu, Hanguang

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Reinforced (Ti, Nb)Cp can be synthesized in the molten pool during laser cladding. • Formation mechanism of (Ti, Nb)Cp are impacted by Ti/Nb atomic ratio. • Appropriate Ti element can improve the precipitation of carbide particle. • Excess Ti weakens this effect above-mentioned. • The wear resistance of the coating was improved when Ti/Nb = 1. - Abstract: Over the past decade, researchers have demonstrated much interest in laser cladded metal matrix composite coatings for its good wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and high temperature properties. In this paper, in-situ (Ti, Nb)C particle reinforced Fe-based composite coatings were produced by laser cladding. The effects of Ti/Nb(atomic ratio) in the cladding powder on the formation mechanism and distribution characteristics of multiple particle were investigated. The results showed that when Ti/Nb > 1, Ti had a stronger ability to bond with C compared with Nb. (Ti, Nb)C multiple particles with TiC core formed in the molten pool. With the decrease of Ti/Nb, core-shell structure disappeared, the structure of particle got close to that of NbC gradually. It is found that the amount, area ratio and distribution of the reinforced particle in the coating containing Ti and Nb elements were improved, compared with these in the coating containing equal Nb element. When Ti/Nb = 1, the effects above-mentioned is most prominent, and the wear resistance of the coating is promoted obviously

  19. Growth mechanism, distribution characteristics and reinforcing behavior of (Ti, Nb)C particle in laser cladded Fe-based composite coating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Qingtang, E-mail: liqingtang123@126.com; Lei, Yongping, E-mail: yplei@bjut.edu.cn; Fu, Hanguang

    2014-10-15

    Highlights: • Reinforced (Ti, Nb)Cp can be synthesized in the molten pool during laser cladding. • Formation mechanism of (Ti, Nb)Cp are impacted by Ti/Nb atomic ratio. • Appropriate Ti element can improve the precipitation of carbide particle. • Excess Ti weakens this effect above-mentioned. • The wear resistance of the coating was improved when Ti/Nb = 1. - Abstract: Over the past decade, researchers have demonstrated much interest in laser cladded metal matrix composite coatings for its good wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and high temperature properties. In this paper, in-situ (Ti, Nb)C particle reinforced Fe-based composite coatings were produced by laser cladding. The effects of Ti/Nb(atomic ratio) in the cladding powder on the formation mechanism and distribution characteristics of multiple particle were investigated. The results showed that when Ti/Nb > 1, Ti had a stronger ability to bond with C compared with Nb. (Ti, Nb)C multiple particles with TiC core formed in the molten pool. With the decrease of Ti/Nb, core-shell structure disappeared, the structure of particle got close to that of NbC gradually. It is found that the amount, area ratio and distribution of the reinforced particle in the coating containing Ti and Nb elements were improved, compared with these in the coating containing equal Nb element. When Ti/Nb = 1, the effects above-mentioned is most prominent, and the wear resistance of the coating is promoted obviously.

  20. Use of Graph Database for the Integration of Heterogeneous Biological Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Byoung-Ha; Kim, Seon-Kyu; Kim, Seon-Young

    2017-03-01

    Understanding complex relationships among heterogeneous biological data is one of the fundamental goals in biology. In most cases, diverse biological data are stored in relational databases, such as MySQL and Oracle, which store data in multiple tables and then infer relationships by multiple-join statements. Recently, a new type of database, called the graph-based database, was developed to natively represent various kinds of complex relationships, and it is widely used among computer science communities and IT industries. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of using a graph-based database for complex biological relationships by comparing the performance between MySQL and Neo4j, one of the most widely used graph databases. We collected various biological data (protein-protein interaction, drug-target, gene-disease, etc.) from several existing sources, removed duplicate and redundant data, and finally constructed a graph database containing 114,550 nodes and 82,674,321 relationships. When we tested the query execution performance of MySQL versus Neo4j, we found that Neo4j outperformed MySQL in all cases. While Neo4j exhibited a very fast response for various queries, MySQL exhibited latent or unfinished responses for complex queries with multiple-join statements. These results show that using graph-based databases, such as Neo4j, is an efficient way to store complex biological relationships. Moreover, querying a graph database in diverse ways has the potential to reveal novel relationships among heterogeneous biological data.

  1. Modelling Preference Heterogeneity for Theatre Tickets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baldin, Andrea; Bille, Trine

    This paper analyzes the behavioural choice for theatre tickets using a rich dataset for 2010-2013 from the sale system of the Royal Danish National Theatre. A consumer who decides to attend a theater production faces multiple sources of price variation that depends on: socio-economic characterist......This paper analyzes the behavioural choice for theatre tickets using a rich dataset for 2010-2013 from the sale system of the Royal Danish National Theatre. A consumer who decides to attend a theater production faces multiple sources of price variation that depends on: socio......-economic characteristics, quality of the seat, day of the performance and timing of purchase. Except for the first case, factors of price differentiation involves a choice by the consumer among different ticket alternatives. Two modelling approaches, namely multinomial logit (with socio-demographic characteristics......) and latent class are proposed in order to model ticket purchase behaviour. These models allow us explicitly to take into account consumers' preference heterogeneity with respect to the attributes associated to each ticket alternative In addition, the distribution of the willingness-to-pay (WTP) of choice...

  2. Semantic distributed resource discovery for multiple resource providers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pittaras, C.; Ghijsen, M.; Wibisono, A.; Grosso, P.; van der Ham, J.; de Laat, C.

    2012-01-01

    An emerging modus operandi among providers of cloud infrastructures is the one where they share and combine their heterogenous resources to offer end user services tailored to specific scientific and business needs. A challenge to overcome is the discovery of suitable resources among these multiple

  3. Surface Heave Behaviour of Coir Geotextile Reinforced Sand Beds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lal, Dharmesh; Sankar, N.; Chandrakaran, S.

    2017-06-01

    Soil reinforcement by natural fibers is one of the cheapest and attractive ground improvement techniques. Coir is the most abundant natural fiber available in India and due to its high lignin content; it has a larger life span than other natural fibers. It is widely used in India for erosion control purposes, but its use as a reinforcement material is rather limited. This study focuses on the use of coir geotextile as a reinforcement material to reduce surface heave phenomena occurring in shallow foundations. This paper presents the results of laboratory model tests carried out on square footings supported on coir geotextile reinforced sand beds. The influence of various parameters such as depth of reinforcement, length, and number of layers of reinforcement was studied. It was observed that surface heave is considerably reduced with the provision of geotextile. Heave reduction up to 98.7% can be obtained by the proposed method. Heave reduction is quantified by a non-dimensional parameter called heave reduction factor.

  4. Neurofeedback in Learning Disabled Children: Visual versus Auditory Reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández, Thalía; Bosch-Bayard, Jorge; Harmony, Thalía; Caballero, María I; Díaz-Comas, Lourdes; Galán, Lídice; Ricardo-Garcell, Josefina; Aubert, Eduardo; Otero-Ojeda, Gloria

    2016-03-01

    Children with learning disabilities (LD) frequently have an EEG characterized by an excess of theta and a deficit of alpha activities. NFB using an auditory stimulus as reinforcer has proven to be a useful tool to treat LD children by positively reinforcing decreases of the theta/alpha ratio. The aim of the present study was to optimize the NFB procedure by comparing the efficacy of visual (with eyes open) versus auditory (with eyes closed) reinforcers. Twenty LD children with an abnormally high theta/alpha ratio were randomly assigned to the Auditory or the Visual group, where a 500 Hz tone or a visual stimulus (a white square), respectively, was used as a positive reinforcer when the value of the theta/alpha ratio was reduced. Both groups had signs consistent with EEG maturation, but only the Auditory Group showed behavioral/cognitive improvements. In conclusion, the auditory reinforcer was more efficacious in reducing the theta/alpha ratio, and it improved the cognitive abilities more than the visual reinforcer.

  5. Tensile behavior and tension stiffening of reinforced concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choun, Young Sun; Seo, Jeong Moon

    2001-03-01

    For the ultimate behavior analysis of containment buildings under severe accident conditions, a clear understanding of tensile behaviors of plain and reinforced concrete is necessary. Nonlinear models for tensile behaviors of concrete are also needed. This report describe following items: tensile behaviors of plain concrete, test results of reinforced concrete panels in uniaxial and biaxial tension, tension stiffening. The tensile behaviors of reinforced concrete are significantly influenced by the properties of concrete and reinforcing steel. Thus, for a more reliable evaluation of tensile behavior and ultimate pressure capacity of a reinforced or prestressed concrete containment building, an advanced concrete model which can be considered rebar-concrete interaction effects should be developed. In additions, a crack behavior analysis method and tension stiffening models, which are based on fracture mechanics, should be developed. The model should be based on the various test data from specimens considering material and sectional properties of the containment building

  6. Mechanical Behaviour of Sisal Fibre Reinforced Cement Composites

    OpenAIRE

    M. Aruna

    2014-01-01

    Emphasis on the advancement of new materials and technology has been there for the past few decades. The global development towards using cheap and durable materials from renewable resources contributes to sustainable development. An experimental investigation of mechanical behaviour of sisal fibre-reinforced concrete is reported for making a suitable building material in terms of reinforcement. Fibre reinforced Composite is one such material, which has reformed the concept of high strength. ...

  7. Superconducting properties and uniaxial strain characteristics of Nb3Sn fiber-reinforced superconductors with tantalum reinforcement fibers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arai, Kazuaki; Umeda, Masaichi; Agatsuma, Koh; Tateishi, Hiroshi

    1998-01-01

    We have been developing fiber-reinforced superconductors (FRS) for high-field and large-scale magnets. Tungsten fibers have been selected as the reinforcement fiber for FRS so far because tungsten has the highest elastic modulus of approximately 400 GPa which can minimize the strain from electromagnetic force. The preparation process of FRS consists of sputtering deposition and heat treatment because it may be difficult to apply drawing methods to materials of high-elastic modulus such as tungsten. Tantalum has high elastic modulus of 178 GPa and its thermal expansion coefficient that is closer to that of Nb 3 Sn than tungsten's, which means prestrain in Nb 3 Sn in FRS is reduced by adopting tantalum fibers. Tantalum has been used as barriers between bronze and copper in conventional Nb 3 Sn superconductors which are usually prepared with drawing process despite of the tantalum's high elastic modulus. That implies drawing process may be applied to prepare FRS with tantalum reinforcement fibers. In this paper, FRS using tantalum fibers prepared with sputtering process are described with making comparison with FRS of tungsten to clarify the basic properties of FRS using tantalum fibers. Depth profiles in Nb 3 Sn layer in FRS were measured to examine reaction between superconducting layers and reinforcement fibers. Superconducting properties including strain and stress characteristics were shown. Those data will contribute to design of FRS using tantalum reinforcement fibers with adopts the drawing processes. (author)

  8. Assisted heterogeneous multinucleation and bubble growth in semicrystalline ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer/expanded graphite nanocomposite foams: Control of morphology and viscoelastic properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Yousefzade

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Nanocomposite foams of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA reinforced by expanded graphite (EG were prepared using supercritical nitrogen in batch foaming process. Effects of EG particle size, crosslinking of EVA chains and foaming temperature on the cell morphology and foam viscoelastic properties were investigated. EG sheet surface interestingly provide multiple heterogeneous nucleation sites for bubbles. This role is considerably intensified by incorporating lower loadings of EG with higher aspect ratio. The amorphous and non-crosslinked domains of EVA matrix constitute denser bubble areas. Higher void fraction and more uniform cell structure is achieved for non-crosslinked EVA/EG nanocomposites foamed at higher temperatures. With regard to the structural variation, the void fraction of foam samples decreases with increasing the EG content. Storage and loss moduli were analyzed to study the viscoelastic properties of nanocomposite foams. Surprisingly, the foaming process of EVA results in a drastic reduction in loss and storage moduli regardless of whether the thermoplastic matrix contains EG nanofiller or not. For the EVA/EG foams with the same composition, the nanocomposite having higher void fraction shows relatively lower loss modulus and more restricted molecular movements. The study findings have verified that the dynamics of polymer chains varies after foaming EVA matrix in the presence of EG.

  9. HETEROGENEOUS REBURNING BY MIXED FUELS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wei-Yin Chen; Benson B. Gathitu

    2005-01-14

    Recent studies of heterogeneous reburning, i.e., reburning involving a coal-derived char, have elucidated its variables, kinetics and mechanisms that are valuable to the development of a highly efficient reburning process. Young lignite chars contain catalysts that not only reduce NO, but they also reduce HCN that is an important intermediate that recycles to NO in the burnout zone. Gaseous CO scavenges the surface oxides that are formed during NO reduction, regenerating the active sites on the char surface. Based on this mechanistic information, cost-effective mixed fuels containing these multiple features has been designed and tested in a simulated reburning apparatus. Remarkably high reduction of NO and HCN has been observed and it is anticipated that mixed fuel will remove 85% of NO in a three-stage reburning process.

  10. DEMARCATE: Density-based magnetic resonance image clustering for assessing tumor heterogeneity in cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, Abhijoy; Banerjee, Sayantan; Kurtek, Sebastian; Narang, Shivali; Lee, Joonsang; Rao, Ganesh; Martinez, Juan; Bharath, Karthik; Rao, Arvind U K; Baladandayuthapani, Veerabhadran

    2016-01-01

    Tumor heterogeneity is a crucial area of cancer research wherein inter- and intra-tumor differences are investigated to assess and monitor disease development and progression, especially in cancer. The proliferation of imaging and linked genomic data has enabled us to evaluate tumor heterogeneity on multiple levels. In this work, we examine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with brain cancer to assess image-based tumor heterogeneity. Standard approaches to this problem use scalar summary measures (e.g., intensity-based histogram statistics) that do not adequately capture the complete and finer scale information in the voxel-level data. In this paper, we introduce a novel technique, DEMARCATE (DEnsity-based MAgnetic Resonance image Clustering for Assessing Tumor hEterogeneity) to explore the entire tumor heterogeneity density profiles (THDPs) obtained from the full tumor voxel space. THDPs are smoothed representations of the probability density function of the tumor images. We develop tools for analyzing such objects under the Fisher-Rao Riemannian framework that allows us to construct metrics for THDP comparisons across patients, which can be used in conjunction with standard clustering approaches. Our analyses of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) based Glioblastoma dataset reveal two significant clusters of patients with marked differences in tumor morphology, genomic characteristics and prognostic clinical outcomes. In addition, we see enrichment of image-based clusters with known molecular subtypes of glioblastoma multiforme, which further validates our representation of tumor heterogeneity and subsequent clustering techniques.

  11. Molecular Heterogeneity in Primary Breast Carcinomas and Axillary Lymph Node Metastases Assessed by Genomic Fingerprinting Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellsworth, Rachel E; Toro, Allyson L; Blackburn, Heather L; Decewicz, Alisha; Deyarmin, Brenda; Mamula, Kimberly A; Costantino, Nicholas S; Hooke, Jeffrey A; Shriver, Craig D; Ellsworth, Darrell L

    2015-01-01

    Molecular heterogeneity within primary breast carcinomas and among axillary lymph node (LN) metastases may impact diagnosis and confound treatment. In this study, we used short tandem repeated sequences to assess genomic heterogeneity and to determine hereditary relationships among primary tumor areas and regional metastases from 30 breast cancer patients. We found that primary carcinomas were genetically heterogeneous and sampling multiple areas was necessary to adequately assess genomic variability. LN metastases appeared to originate at different time periods during disease progression from different sites of the primary tumor and the extent of genomic divergence among regional metastases was associated with a less favorable patient outcome (P = 0.009). In conclusion, metastasis is a complex process influenced by primary tumor heterogeneity and variability in the timing of dissemination. Genomic variation in primary breast tumors and regional metastases may negatively impact clinical diagnostics and contribute to therapeutic resistance. PMID:26279627

  12. Molecular Heterogeneity in Primary Breast Carcinomas and Axillary Lymph Node Metastases Assessed by Genomic Fingerprinting Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel E. Ellsworth

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Molecular heterogeneity within primary breast carcinomas and among axillary lymph node (LN metastases may impact diagnosis and confound treatment. In this study, we used short tandem repeated sequences to assess genomic heterogeneity and to determine hereditary relationships among primary tumor areas and regional metastases from 30 breast cancer patients. We found that primary carcinomas were genetically heterogeneous and sampling multiple areas was necessary to adequately assess genomic variability. LN metastases appeared to originate at different time periods during disease progression from different sites of the primary tumor and the extent of genomic divergence among regional metastases was associated with a less favorable patient outcome ( P = 0.009. In conclusion, metastasis is a complex process influenced by primary tumor heterogeneity and variability in the timing of dissemination. Genomic variation in primary breast tumors and regional metastases may negatively impact clinical diagnostics and contribute to therapeutic resistance.

  13. Analysis of Social Variables when an Initial Functional Analysis Indicates Automatic Reinforcement as the Maintaining Variable for Self-Injurious Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuhn, Stephanie A. Contrucci; Triggs, Mandy

    2009-01-01

    Self-injurious behavior (SIB) that occurs at high rates across all conditions of a functional analysis can suggest automatic or multiple functions. In the current study, we conducted a functional analysis for 1 individual with SIB. Results indicated that SIB was, at least in part, maintained by automatic reinforcement. Further analyses using…

  14. Structural performance evaluation on aging underground reinforced concrete structures. Part 6. An estimation method of threshold value in performance verification taking reinforcing steel corrosion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuo, Toyofumi; Matsumura, Takuro; Miyagawa, Yoshinori

    2009-01-01

    This paper discusses applicability of material degradation model due to reinforcing steel corrosion for RC box-culverts with corroded reinforcement and an estimation method for threshold value in performance verification reflecting reinforcing steel corrosion. First, in FEM analyses, loss of reinforcement section area and initial tension strain arising from reinforcing steel corrosion, and deteriorated bond characteristics between reinforcement and concrete were considered. The full-scale loading tests using corroded RC box-culverts were numerically analyzed. As a result, the analyzed crack patterns and load-strain relationships were in close agreement with the experimental results within the maximum corrosion ratio 15% of primary reinforcement. Then, we showed that this modeling could estimate the load carrying capacity of corroded RC box-culverts. Second, a parametric study was carried out for corroded RC box culverts with various sizes, reinforcement ratios and levels of steel corrosion, etc. Furthermore, as an application of analytical results and various experimental investigations, we suggested allowable degradation ratios for a modification of the threshold value, which corresponds to the chloride induced deterioration progress that is widely accepted in maintenance practice for civil engineering reinforced concrete structures. Finally, based on these findings, we developed two estimation methods for threshold value in performance verification: 1) a structural analysis method using nonlinear FEM included modeling of material degradation, 2) a practical method using a threshold value, which is determined by structural analyses of RC box-culverts in sound condition, is multiplied by the allowable degradation ratio. (author)

  15. Risk-targeted safety distance of reinforced concrete buildings from natural-gas transmission pipelines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russo, Paola; Parisi, Fulvio

    2016-01-01

    Natural-gas pipeline accidents mostly result in major damage even to buildings located far away. Therefore, proper safety distances should be observed in land use planning to ensure target safety levels for both existing and new buildings. In this paper, a quantitative risk assessment procedure is presented for the estimation of the annual probability of direct structural damage to reinforced concrete buildings associated with high-pressure natural-gas pipeline explosions. The procedure is based on Monte Carlo simulation and takes into account physical features of blast generation and propagation, as well as damage to reinforced concrete columns. The natural-gas jet release process and the flammable cloud size are estimated through SLAB one-dimensional integral model incorporating a release rate model. The explosion effects are evaluated by a Multi-Energy Method. Damage to reinforced concrete columns is predicted by means of pressure–impulse diagrams. The conditional probability of damage was estimated at multiple pressure–impulse levels, allowing blast fragility surfaces to be derived at different performance limit states. Finally, blast risk was evaluated and allowed the estimation of minimum pipeline-to-building safety distances for risk-informed urban planning. The probabilistic procedure presented herein may be used for performance-based design/assessment of buildings and to define the path of new natural-gas pipeline networks. - Highlights: • The safety of buildings against blast loads due to pipeline accidents is assessed. • A probabilistic risk assessment procedure is presented for natural-gas pipelines. • The annual risk of collapse of reinforced concrete building columns is evaluated. • Monte Carlo simulation was carried out considering both pipeline and column features. • A risk-targeted safety distance is proposed for blast strength class 9.

  16. Corrosion of reinforcement induced by environment containing ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    carbonation and chlorides causing corrosion of steel reinforcement. ... interesting and important when the evaluation of the service life of the ... preferably in the areas of industrial and transport activities. ... For controlling the embedded corrosion sensors, elec- .... danger of corrosion of reinforcement seems to be more.

  17. How edge-reinforced random walk arises naturally

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rolles, S.W.W.

    2003-01-01

    We give a characterization of a modified edge-reinforced random walk in terms of certain partially exchangeable sequences. In particular, we obtain a characterization of an edge-reinforced random walk (introduced by Coppersmith and Diaconis) on a 2-edge-connected graph. Modifying the notion of

  18. Behavioral sensitivity to changing reinforcement contingencies in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsop, Brent; Furukawa, Emi; Sowerby, Paula; Jensen, Stephanie; Moffat, Cara; Tripp, Gail

    2016-08-01

    Altered sensitivity to positive reinforcement has been hypothesized to contribute to the symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this study, we evaluated the ability of children with and without ADHD to adapt their behavior to changing reinforcer availability. Of one hundred sixty-seven children, 97 diagnosed with ADHD completed a signal-detection task in which correct discriminations between two stimuli were associated with different frequencies of reinforcement. The response alternative associated with the higher rate of reinforcement switched twice during the task without warning. For a subset of participants, this was followed by trials for which no reinforcement was delivered, irrespective of performance. Children in both groups developed an initial bias toward the more frequently reinforced response alternative. When the response alternative associated with the higher rate of reinforcement switched, the children's response allocation (bias) followed suit, but this effect was significantly smaller for children with ADHD. When reinforcement was discontinued, only children in the control group modified their response pattern. Children with ADHD adjust their behavioral responses to changing reinforcer availability less than typically developing children, when reinforcement is intermittent and the association between an action and its consequences is uncertain. This may explain the difficulty children with ADHD have adapting their behavior to new situations, with different reinforcement contingencies, in daily life. © 2016 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  19. Persistence of Immunopathological and Radiological Traits in Multiple Sclerosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koenig, Fatima B.; Wildemann, Brigitte; Nessler, Stefan; Zhou, Dun; Hemmer, Bernhard; Metz, Imke; Hartung, Hans-Peter; Kieseier, Bernd C.; Brueck, Wolfgang

    Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. The identification of 4 different immunopathological subtypes of MS raises the question of whether these subtypes represent different patient subgroups that can be distinguished according to

  20. Multiplicity: An Explorative Interview Study on Personal Experiences of People with Multiple Selves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribáry, Gergő; Lajtai, László; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Maraz, Aniko

    2017-01-01

    Background and aims: Personality psychology research relies on the notion that humans have a single self that is the result of the individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can be reliably described (i.e., through traits). People who identify themselves as "multiple" have a system of multiple or alternative, selves, that share the same physical body. This is the first study to explore the phenomenon of multiplicity by assessing the experiences of people who identify themselves as "multiple." Methods: First, an Internet forum search was performed using the terms "multiplicity" and "multiple system." Based on that search, people who identified themselves as multiple were contacted. Interviews were conducted by a consultant psychiatrist, which produced six case vignettes. Results: Multiplicity is discussed on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ and several other personal websites, blogs, and forums maintained by multiples. According to the study's estimates, there are 200-300 individuals who participate in these forums and believe they are multiple. Based on the six interviews, it appears that multiples have several selves who are relatively independent of each other and constitute the personality's system. Each "resident person" or self, has their own unique behavioral pattern, which is triggered by different situations. However, multiples are a heterogeneous group in terms of their system organization, memory functions, and control over switching between selves. Conclusions: Multiplicity can be placed along a continuum between identity disturbance and dissociative identity disorder (DID), although most systems function relatively well in everyday life. Further research is needed to explore this phenomenon, especially in terms of the extent to which multiplicity can be regarded as a healthy way of coping.

  1. Dynamic heterogeneity and DNA methylation in embryonic stem cells.

    KAUST Repository

    Singer, Zakary S

    2014-07-01

    Cell populations can be strikingly heterogeneous, composed of multiple cellular states, each exhibiting stochastic noise in its gene expression. A major challenge is to disentangle these two types of variability and to understand the dynamic processes and mechanisms that control them. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) provide an ideal model system to address this issue because they exhibit heterogeneous and dynamic expression of functionally important regulatory factors. We analyzed gene expression in individual ESCs using single-molecule RNA-FISH and quantitative time-lapse movies. These data discriminated stochastic switching between two coherent (correlated) gene expression states and burst-like transcriptional noise. We further showed that the "2i" signaling pathway inhibitors modulate both types of variation. Finally, we found that DNA methylation plays a key role in maintaining these metastable states. Together, these results show how ESC gene expression states and dynamics arise from a combination of intrinsic noise, coherent cellular states, and epigenetic regulation.

  2. Factors that influence the reinforcing value of foods and beverages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Temple, Jennifer L

    2014-09-01

    Behavioral economic principles state that as the cost of a product increases, purchasing or consumption of that product will decrease. To understand the impact of behavioral economics on ingestive behavior, our laboratory utilizes an operant behavior paradigm to measure how much work an individual will engage in to get access to foods and beverages. This task provides an objective measure of the reinforcing value. We have shown that consumption of the same high fat snack food every day for two weeks reduces its reinforcing value in lean individuals, but increases its reinforcing value in a subset of obese individuals. This increase in the reinforcing value of food predicts future weight gain. Similarly, we have shown that repeated intake of caffeinated soda increases its reinforcing value in boys, but not in girls. This increase in reinforcing value is not related to usual caffeine consumption, but may be associated with positive, subjective effects of caffeine that are more likely to be reported by boys than by girls. Because food and beverage reinforcement relates to real-world consumption, it is important to determine factors that increase or decrease the reinforcing value and determine the consequences of these responses. We are especially interested in determining ways to shift the behavioral economic curve in order to develop novel strategies to decrease the reinforcing value of less healthy snack foods and beverages, such as soda, potato chips and candy and to increase the reinforcing value of healthier foods and beverages, such as water, fruits, and vegetables. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Modeling fine-scale geological heterogeneity-examples of sand lenses in tills

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kessler, Timo Christian; Comunian, Alessandro; Oriani, Fabio

    2013-01-01

    that hamper subsequent simulation. Transition probability (TP) and multiple-point statistics (MPS) were employed to simulate sand lens heterogeneity. We used one cross-section to parameterize the spatial correlation and a second, parallel section as a reference: it allowed testing the quality......Sand lenses at various spatial scales are recognized to add heterogeneity to glacial sediments. They have high hydraulic conductivities relative to the surrounding till matrix and may affect the advective transport of water and contaminants in clayey till settings. Sand lenses were investigated...... on till outcrops producing binary images of geological cross-sections capturing the size, shape and distribution of individual features. Sand lenses occur as elongated, anisotropic geobodies that vary in size and extent. Besides, sand lenses show strong non-stationary patterns on section images...

  4. A nanoscale temperature-dependent heterogeneous nucleation theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Y. Y.; Yang, G. W.

    2015-01-01

    Classical nucleation theory relies on the hypothetical equilibrium of the whole nucleation system, and neglects the thermal fluctuations of the surface; this is because the high entropic gains of the (thermodynamically extensive) surface would lead to multiple stable states. In fact, at the nanometer scale, the entropic gains of the surface are high enough to destroy the stability of the thermal equilibrium during nucleation, comparing with the whole system. We developed a temperature-dependent nucleation theory to elucidate the heterogeneous nucleation process, by considering the thermal fluctuations based on classical nucleation theory. It was found that the temperature not only affected the phase transformation, but also influenced the surface energy of the nuclei. With changes in the Gibbs free energy barrier, nucleation behaviors, such as the nucleation rate and the critical radius of the nuclei, showed temperature-dependent characteristics that were different from those predicted by classical nucleation theory. The temperature-dependent surface energy density of a nucleus was deduced based on our theoretical model. The agreement between the theoretical and experimental results suggested that the developed nucleation theory has the potential to contribute to the understanding and design of heterogeneous nucleation at the nanoscale

  5. Dynamic Pore-Scale Imaging of Reactive Transport in Heterogeneous Carbonates at Reservoir Conditions Across Multiple Dissolution Regimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menke, H. P.; Bijeljic, B.; Andrew, M. G.; Blunt, M. J.

    2014-12-01

    Sequestering carbon in deep geologic formations is one way of reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions. When supercritical CO2 mixes with brine in a reservoir, the acid generated has the potential to dissolve the surrounding pore structure. However, the magnitude and type of dissolution are condition dependent. Understanding how small changes in the pore structure, chemistry, and flow properties affect dissolution is paramount for successful predictive modelling. Both 'Pink Beam' synchrotron radiation and a Micro-CT lab source are used in dynamic X-ray microtomography to investigate the pore structure changes during supercritical CO2 injection in carbonate rocks of varying heterogeneity at high temperatures and pressures and various flow-rates. Three carbonate rock types were studied, one with a homogeneous pore structure and two heterogeneous carbonates. All samples are practically pure calcium carbonate, but have widely varying rock structures. Flow-rate was varied in three successive experiments by over an order of magnitude whlie keeping all other experimental conditions constant. A 4-mm carbonate core was injected with CO2-saturated brine at 10 MPa and 50oC. Tomographic images were taken at 30-second to 20-minute time-resolutions during a 2 to 4-hour injection period. A pore network was extracted using a topological analysis of the pore space and pore-scale flow modelling was performed directly on the binarized images with connected pathways and used to track the altering velocity distributions. Significant differences in dissolution type and magnitude were found for each rock type and flowrate. At the highest flow-rates, the homogeneous carbonate was seen to have predominately uniform dissolution with minor dissolution rate differences between the pores and pore throats. Alternatively, the heterogeneous carbonates which formed wormholes at high flow rates. At low flow rates the homogeneous rock developed wormholes, while the heterogeneous samples showed evidence

  6. Strain Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Members Subjected to Uniaxial Tension

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hagsten, Lars German; Rasmussen, Annette Beedholm; Fisker, Jakob

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to set up a method to determine the strain capacity of tension bars of reinforced concrete (RC) subjected to pure tension. Due to the interaction between reinforcement and concrete and due to the presence of cracks, the stresses in both reinforcement and concrete...... are varying along the length of the tension bar. The strain capacity of the tension bar is seen as the average strain in the reinforcement at the load level corresponding to the ultimate stress capacity of the reinforcement at the cracks. The result of the approach is in overall good agreement when comparing...

  7. Variance heterogeneity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae expression data: trans-regulation and epistasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Ronald M; Pettersson, Mats E; Li, Xidan; Carlborg, Örjan

    2013-01-01

    Here, we describe the results from the first variance heterogeneity Genome Wide Association Study (VGWAS) on yeast expression data. Using this forward genetics approach, we show that the genetic regulation of gene-expression in the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, includes mechanisms that can lead to variance heterogeneity in the expression between genotypes. Additionally, we performed a mean effect association study (GWAS). Comparing the mean and variance heterogeneity analyses, we find that the mean expression level is under genetic regulation from a larger absolute number of loci but that a higher proportion of the variance controlling loci were trans-regulated. Both mean and variance regulating loci cluster in regulatory hotspots that affect a large number of phenotypes; a single variance-controlling locus, mapping close to DIA2, was found to be involved in more than 10% of the significant associations. It has been suggested in the literature that variance-heterogeneity between the genotypes might be due to genetic interactions. We therefore screened the multi-locus genotype-phenotype maps for several traits where multiple associations were found, for indications of epistasis. Several examples of two and three locus genetic interactions were found to involve variance-controlling loci, with reports from the literature corroborating the functional connections between the loci. By using a new analytical approach to re-analyze a powerful existing dataset, we are thus able to both provide novel insights to the genetic mechanisms involved in the regulation of gene-expression in budding yeast and experimentally validate epistasis as an important mechanism underlying genetic variance-heterogeneity between genotypes.

  8. Reinforcement, Behavior Constraint, and the Overjustification Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Bruce W.

    1980-01-01

    Four levels of the behavior constraint-reinforcement variable were manipulated: attractive reward, unattractive reward, request to perform, and a no-reward control. Only the unattractive reward and request groups showed the performance decrements that suggest the overjustification effect. It is concluded that reinforcement does not cause the…

  9. Continuous jute fibre reinforced laminated paper composite

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Jute fibre; laminated paper composite; plastic bag pollution. Abstract. Plastic bags create a serious environmental problem. The proposed jute fibre reinforced laminated paper composite and reinforcement-fibre free paper laminate may help to combat the war against this pollutant to certain extent. The paper laminate ...

  10. Maintenance of reinforcement to address the chronic nature of drug addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silverman, Kenneth; DeFulio, Anthony; Sigurdsson, Sigurdur O

    2012-11-01

    Drug addiction can be a chronic problem. Abstinence reinforcement can initiate drug abstinence, but as with other treatments many patients relapse after the intervention ends. Abstinence reinforcement can be maintained to promote long-term drug abstinence, but practical means of implementing long-term abstinence reinforcement are needed. We reviewed 8 clinical trials conducted in Baltimore, MD from 1996 through 2010 that evaluated the therapeutic workplace as a vehicle for maintaining reinforcement for the treatment of drug addiction. The therapeutic workplace uses employment-based reinforcement in which employees must provide objective evidence of drug abstinence or medication adherence to work and earn wages. Employment-based reinforcement can initiate (3 of 4 studies) and maintain (2 studies) cocaine abstinence in methadone patients, although relapse can occur even after long-term exposure to abstinence reinforcement (1 study). Employment-based reinforcement can also promote abstinence from alcohol in homeless alcohol dependent adults (1 study), and maintain adherence to extended-release naltrexone in opioid dependent adults (2 studies). Treatments should seek to promote life-long effects in patients. Therapeutic reinforcement may need to be maintained indefinitely to prevent relapse. Workplaces could be effective vehicles for the maintenance of therapeutic reinforcement contingencies for drug abstinence and adherence to addiction medications. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Constitutive equations for cracked reinforced concrete based on a refined model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geistefeldt, H.

    1977-01-01

    Nonlinear numerical methods to calculate structures of reinforced concrete or of prestressed concrete are mostly based on two idealizing assumptions: tension stiffness perpendicular to cracks is equal to the stiffness of reinforcement alone and shear modulus is taken as constant. In real reinforced concrete structures concrete contributes to the tension-stiffness perpendicular to cracks and thus to the global stiffness matrix because of bond action between concrete and reinforcement and shear transfer in cracks is depending on stresses acting in cracks. Only few authors are taking these aspects into account and only with rough semiempirical assumptions. In this paper a refined nonlinear three-dimensional mechanical model for reinforced concrete is presented which can include these effects, hitherto neglected, depending on the given state of stress. The model is composed of three model-elements: component u - uncracked reinforced concrete with perfect bond (stiffness equal to the sum of the stiffnesses of concrete and reinforcement), component r - reinforcement free in surrounding concrete (reinforcement and concrete are having equal normal strains in noncracked directions and equal shear strains), component c - crack-part (shear stiffnesses in cracks is equal to the sum of shear stiffnesses of the reinforcement mesh, interface shear transfer and dowel action in cracks). (Auth.)

  12. Reinforcement Toolbox, a Parametric Reinforcement Modelling Tool for Curved Surface Structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lauppe, J.; Rolvink, A.; Coenders, J.L.

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a computational strategy and parametric modelling toolbox which aim at enhancing the design- and production process of reinforcement in freeform curved surface structures. The computational strategy encompasses the necessary steps of raising an architectural curved surface model

  13. Reinforcement Learning in Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuela Schuetze

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Early behavioral interventions are recognized as integral to standard care in autism spectrum disorder (ASD, and often focus on reinforcing desired behaviors (e.g., eye contact and reducing the presence of atypical behaviors (e.g., echoing others' phrases. However, efficacy of these programs is mixed. Reinforcement learning relies on neurocircuitry that has been reported to be atypical in ASD: prefrontal-sub-cortical circuits, amygdala, brainstem, and cerebellum. Thus, early behavioral interventions rely on neurocircuitry that may function atypically in at least a subset of individuals with ASD. Recent work has investigated physiological, behavioral, and neural responses to reinforcers to uncover differences in motivation and learning in ASD. We will synthesize this work to identify promising avenues for future research that ultimately can be used to enhance the efficacy of early intervention.

  14. Habitat heterogeneity of hadal trenches: Considerations and implications for future studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Heather A.; Jamieson, Alan J.

    2018-02-01

    The hadal zone largely comprises a series of subduction trenches that do not form part of the continental shelf-slope rise to abyssal plain continuum. Instead they form geographically isolated clusters of deep-sea (6000-11,000 m water depth) environments. There is a growing realization in hadal science that ecological patterns and processes are not driven solely by responses to hydrostatic pressure, with comparable levels of habitat heterogeneity as observed in other marine biozones. Furthermore, this heterogeneity can be expressed at multiple scales from inter-trench levels (degrees of geographical isolation, and biochemical province), to intra-trench levels (variation between trench flanks and axis), topographical features within the trench interior (sedimentary basins, ridges, escarpments, 'deeps', seamounts) to the substrate of the trench floor (seabed-sediment composition, mass movement deposits, bedrock outcrop). Using best available bathymetry data combined with the largest lander-derived imaging dataset that spans the full depth range of three hadal trenches (including adjacent slopes); the Mariana, Kermadec and New Hebrides trenches, the topographic variability, fine-scale habitat heterogeneity and distribution of seabed sediments of these three trenches have been assessed for the first time. As well as serving as the first descriptive study of habitat heterogeneity at hadal depths, this study also provides guidance for future hadal sampling campaigns taking into account geographic isolation, total trench particulate organic matter flux, maximum water depth and area.

  15. Pinning of Josephson vortex chain in periodically heterogeneous junctions: theory and experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malomed, B.A.; Ustinov, A.V.

    1989-01-01

    Critical values of the density of extrinsic current of rigid Josephson vortex chain depinning in a long Josephson junction are calculated in terms of the perturbation theory. The dynamics of the chain is considered. In particular, a minimum value of the current density is estimated which permits the chain free motion through the transition on dissipation. The dependence of critical current, Jc, on external magnetic field H is measured for long Josephson junctions Nb-NbO x -Pb with artificial spatially periodic heterogeneities of dielectric barrier. For multiple values of H, the curve Jc(H) is found to display some peaks which, by the theory, are responsible for by an increase in the force of Josephson vortex chain and the heterogeneity lattice are commensurate

  16. Mechanical properties of thermoplastic composites reinforced with Entada Mannii fibre

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oluwayomi BALOGUN

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The mechanical properties and fracture mechanisms of thermoplastic composites reinforced with Entada mannii fibres was investigated. Polypropylene reinforced with 1, 3, 5, and 7 wt% KOH treated and untreated Entada mannii fibres were processed using a compression moulding machine. The tensile properties, impact strength, and flexural properties of the composites were evaluated while the tensile fracture surface morphology was examined using scanning electron microscopy. The results show that reinforcing polypropylene with Entada mannii fibres resulted in improvement of the tensile strength and elastic modulus. This improvement is remarkable for 5 wt% KOH treated Entada mannii fibre reinforced composites by 28 % increase as compared with the unreinforced polypropylene. The composites reinforced with Entada mannii fibres also had impact strength values of 70 % higher than the unreinforced polypropylene. However, the polypropylene reinforced with 5 and 7wt% KOH treated fibres exhibited significantly higher flexural strength and Young’s modulus by 53% and 52% increase as compared with the unreinforced polypropylene. The fracture surface of the polypropylene composites reinforced with untreated Entada mannii fibres were characterized by fibre debonding, fibre pull-out and matrix yielding while less voids and fibre pull-outs are observed in the composites reinforced with KOH treated Entada mannii fibres. v

  17. A Bio-Inspired QoS-Oriented Handover Model in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daxin Tian

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose a bio-inspired model for making handover decision in heterogeneous wireless networks. It is based on an extended attractor selection model, which is biologically inspired by the self-adaptability and robustness of cellular response to the changes in dynamic environments. The goal of the proposed model is to guarantee multiple terminals’ satisfaction by meeting the QoS requirements of those terminals’ applications, and this model also attempts to ensure the fairness of network resources allocation, in the meanwhile, to enable the QoS-oriented handover decision adaptive to dynamic wireless environments. Some numerical simulations are preformed to validate our proposed bio-inspired model in terms of adaptive attractor selection in different noisy environments. And the results of some other simulations prove that the proposed handover scheme can adapt terminals’ network selection to the varying wireless environment and benefits the QoS of multiple terminal applications simultaneously and automatically. Furthermore, the comparative analysis also shows that the bio-inspired model outperforms the utility function based handover decision scheme in terms of ensuring a better QoS satisfaction and a better fairness of network resources allocation in dynamic heterogeneous wireless networks.

  18. The partial-reinforcement extinction effect and the contingent-sampling hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hochman, Guy; Erev, Ido

    2013-12-01

    The partial-reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) implies that learning under partial reinforcements is more robust than learning under full reinforcements. While the advantages of partial reinforcements have been well-documented in laboratory studies, field research has failed to support this prediction. In the present study, we aimed to clarify this pattern. Experiment 1 showed that partial reinforcements increase the tendency to select the promoted option during extinction; however, this effect is much smaller than the negative effect of partial reinforcements on the tendency to select the promoted option during the training phase. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the overall effect of partial reinforcements varies inversely with the attractiveness of the alternative to the promoted behavior: The overall effect is negative when the alternative is relatively attractive, and positive when the alternative is relatively unattractive. These results can be captured with a contingent-sampling model assuming that people select options that provided the best payoff in similar past experiences. The best fit was obtained under the assumption that similarity is defined by the sequence of the last four outcomes.

  19. Analysis of FRP bars used as reinforcement in concrete structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kinga Brózda

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In the design and construction of building and engineering structures, it is of utmost importance to provide their reliability and safety. The use of FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymers bars as reinforcement of structural concrete elements could help reducing the typical defects of reinforced concrete and increase its strength parameters. In the paper the selected FRP bar characteristic properties are presented and advantages derived therefrom are specified. Furthermore, the most commonly used in construction types of FRP bars, depending on the raw material used during the production process are listed. In addition, the possibility of recycling of elements reinforced with FRP bars is presented and compared with traditional reinforced concrete (reinforced with steel bars. The production method of FRP bars (pultrusion is shown. Moreover, the advantages and disadvantages of using this method are discussed.

  20. Safety analysis report for the Hanford Critical Mass Laboratory: Supplement No. 2. Experiments with heterogeneous assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gore, B.F.; Davenport, L.C.

    1981-04-01

    Factors affecting the safety of criticality experiments using heterogeneous assemblies are described and assessed. It is concluded that there is no substantial change in safety from experiments already being routinely performed at the Critical Mass Laboratory (CML), and that laboratory and personnel safety are adequately provided by the combination of engineered and administrative safety limits enforced at the CML. This conclusion is based on the analysis of operational controls, potential hazards, and the consequences of accidents. Contingencies considered that could affect nuclear criticality include manual changes in fuel loadings, water flooding, fire, explosion, loss of services, earthquake, windstorm, and flood. Other potential hazards considered include radiation exposure to personnel, and potential releases within the Assembly Room and outside to the environment. It is concluded that the Maximum Credible Nuclear Burst of 3 x 10 18 fissions (which served as the design basis for the CML) is valid for heterogeneous assemblies as well as homogeneous assemblies. This is based upon examination of the results of reactor destructive tests and the results of the SL-1 reactor destructive accident. The production of blast effects which might jeopardize the CML critical assembly room (of thick reinforced concrete) is not considered credible due to the extreme circumstances required to produce blast effects in reactor destructive tests. Consequently, it is concluded that, for experiments with heterogeneous assemblies, the consequences of the Maximum Credible Burst are unchanged from those previously estimated for experiments with homogeneous systems

  1. Study on the Permeability Characteristics of Polyurethane Soil Stabilizer Reinforced Sand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin Liu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available A polymer material of polyurethane soil stabilizer (PSS is used to reinforce the sand. To understand the permeability characteristics of PSS reinforced sand, a series of reinforcement layer form test, single-hole permeability test, and porous permeability test of sand reinforced with PSS have been performed. Reinforcement mechanism is discussed with scanning electron microscope images. The results indicated that the permeability resistance of sand reinforced with polyurethane soil stabilizer is improved through the formation of reinforcement layer on the sand surface. The thickness and complete degree of the reinforcement layer increase with the increasing of curing time and PSS concentration. The water flow rate decreases with the increasing of curing time or PSS concentration. The permeability coefficient decreases with the increasing of curing time and PSS concentration and increases with the increasing of depth in specimen. PSS fills up the voids of sand and adsorbs on the surface of sand particle to reduce or block the flowing channels of water to improve the permeability resistance of sand. The results can be applied as the reference for chemical reinforcement sandy soil engineering, especially for surface protection of embankment, slope, and landfill.

  2. Design of reinforced concrete members based on structural mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diaz, B.E.; Schulz, M.

    1984-01-01

    Up to now the design of reinforced concrete linear members is performed with the help of an inconsistent design theory, which nevertherless is sufficiently safe and simple to be used in the practice. The purpose of this paper is to present a rational reinforced concrete design method which is not too dissimilar to the present design rules, but is capable of defining consistently internal stresses along a reinforced concrete section. The present status of the completed computer procedures allows the analysis of linear reinforced concrete members formed by laminar reinforced concrete plates presenting variable thickness. A practical approach is presented for which the concrete and steel section is constant along the member axis. In this case, the concept of the equivalent section is introduced, which allows a simple analysis of the stress pattern along the member section. (Author) [pt

  3. Influence of facing vertical stiffness on reinforced soil wall design

    OpenAIRE

    Puig Damians, Ivan; Bathurst, Richard; Josa Garcia-Tornel, Alejandro; Lloret Morancho, Antonio

    2013-01-01

    Current design practices for reinforced soil walls typically ignore the influence of facing type and foundation compressibility on the magnitude and distribution of reinforcement loads in steel reinforced soil walls under operational conditions. In this paper, the effect of the facing vertical stiffness (due to elastomeric bearing pads placed in the horizontal joints between panels) on load capacity of steel reinforced soil walls is examined in a systematic manner using a numerical modelli...

  4. Normal Strength Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Subjected to Explosive Loading

    OpenAIRE

    Mohammed Alias Yusof; Norazman Norazman; Ariffin Ariffin; Fauzi Mohd Zain; Risby Risby; CP Ng

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the behavior of plain reinforced concrete and Normal strength steel fiber reinforced concrete panels (SFRC) subjected to explosive loading. The experiment were performed by the Blast Research Unit Faculty of Engineering, University Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia A total of 8 reinforced concrete panels of 600mm x 600mm x 100mm were tested. The steel fiber reinforced concrete panels incorporated three different volume fraction, 0...

  5. Flexural strengthening of Reinforced Concrete (RC) Beams Retrofitted with Corrugated Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Laminates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aravind, N.; Samanta, Amiya K.; Roy, Dilip Kr. Singha; Thanikal, Joseph V.

    2015-01-01

    Strengthening the structural members of old buildings using advanced materials is a contemporary research in the field of repairs and rehabilitation. Many researchers used plain Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) sheets for strengthening Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams. In this research work, rectangular corrugated GFRP laminates were used for strengthening RC beams to achieve higher flexural strength and load carrying capacity. Type and dimensions of corrugated profile were selected based on preliminary study using ANSYS software. A total of twenty one beams were tested to study the load carrying capacity of control specimens and beams strengthened with plain sheets and corrugated laminates using epoxy resin. This paper presents the experimental and theoretical study on flexural strengthening of Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams using corrugated GFRP laminates and the results are compared. Mathematical models were developed based on the experimental data and then the models were validated.

  6. Episodic reinforcement learning control approach for biped walking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katić Duško

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a hybrid dynamic control approach to the realization of humanoid biped robotic walk, focusing on the policy gradient episodic reinforcement learning with fuzzy evaluative feedback. The proposed structure of controller involves two feedback loops: a conventional computed torque controller and an episodic reinforcement learning controller. The reinforcement learning part includes fuzzy information about Zero-Moment- Point errors. Simulation tests using a medium-size 36-DOF humanoid robot MEXONE were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.

  7. Experience with dynamic reinforcement rates decreases resistance to extinction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craig, Andrew R; Shahan, Timothy A

    2016-03-01

    The ability of organisms to detect reinforcer-rate changes in choice preparations is positively related to two factors: the magnitude of the change in rate and the frequency with which rates change. Gallistel (2012) suggested similar rate-detection processes are responsible for decreases in responding during operant extinction. Although effects of magnitude of change in reinforcer rate on resistance to extinction are well known (e.g., the partial-reinforcement-extinction effect), effects of frequency of changes in rate prior to extinction are unknown. Thus, the present experiments examined whether frequency of changes in baseline reinforcer rates impacts resistance to extinction. Pigeons pecked keys for variable-interval food under conditions where reinforcer rates were stable and where they changed within and between sessions. Overall reinforcer rates between conditions were controlled. In Experiment 1, resistance to extinction was lower following exposure to dynamic reinforcement schedules than to static schedules. Experiment 2 showed that resistance to presession feeding, a disruptor that should not involve change-detection processes, was unaffected by baseline-schedule dynamics. These findings are consistent with the suggestion that change detection contributes to extinction. We discuss implications of change-detection processes for extinction of simple and discriminated operant behavior and relate these processes to the behavioral-momentum based approach to understanding extinction. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  8. Deciphering cancer heterogeneity: the biological space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie eRoessler

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Most lethal solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC are considered incurable due to extensive heterogeneity in clinical presentation and tumor biology. Tumor heterogeneity may result from different cells of origin, patient ethnicity, etiology, underlying disease and diversity of genomic and epigenomic changes which drive tumor development. Cancer genomic heterogeneity thereby impedes treatment options and poses a significant challenge to cancer management. Studies of the HCC genome have revealed that although various genomic signatures identified in different HCC subgroups share a common prognosis, each carries unique molecular changes which are linked to different sets of cancer hallmarks whose misregulation has been proposed by Hanahan and Weinberg to be essential for tumorigenesis. We hypothesize that these specific sets of cancer hallmarks collectively occupy different tumor biological space representing the misregulation of different biological processes. In principle, a combination of different cancer hallmarks can result in new convergent molecular networks that are unique to each tumor subgroup and represent ideal druggable targets. Due to the ability of the tumor to adapt to external factors such as treatment or changes in the tumor microenvironment, the tumor biological space is elastic. Our ability to identify distinct groups of cancer patients with similar tumor biology who are most likely to respond to a specific therapy would have a significant impact on improving patient outcome. It is currently a challenge to identify a particular hallmark or a newly emerged convergent molecular network for a particular tumor. Thus, it is anticipated that the integration of multiple levels of data such as genomic mutations, somatic copy number aberration, gene expression, proteomics, and metabolomics, may help us grasp the tumor biological space occupied by each individual, leading to improved therapeutic intervention and outcome.

  9. Executive Functioning Heterogeneity in Pediatric ADHD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kofler, Michael J; Irwin, Lauren N; Soto, Elia F; Groves, Nicole B; Harmon, Sherelle L; Sarver, Dustin E

    2018-04-28

    Neurocognitive heterogeneity is increasingly recognized as a valid phenomenon in ADHD, with most estimates suggesting that executive dysfunction is present in only about 33%-50% of these children. However, recent critiques question the veracity of these estimates because our understanding of executive functioning in ADHD is based, in large part, on data from single tasks developed to detect gross neurological impairment rather than the specific executive processes hypothesized to underlie the ADHD phenotype. The current study is the first to comprehensively assess heterogeneity in all three primary executive functions in ADHD using a criterion battery that includes multiple tests per construct (working memory, inhibitory control, set shifting). Children ages 8-13 (M = 10.37, SD = 1.39) with and without ADHD (N = 136; 64 girls; 62% Caucasian/Non-Hispanic) completed a counterbalanced series of executive function tests. Accounting for task unreliability, results indicated significantly improved sensitivity and specificity relative to prior estimates, with 89% of children with ADHD demonstrating objectively-defined impairment on at least one executive function (62% impaired working memory, 27% impaired inhibitory control, 38% impaired set shifting; 54% impaired on one executive function, 35% impaired on two or all three executive functions). Children with working memory deficits showed higher parent- and teacher-reported ADHD inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms (BF 10  = 5.23 × 10 4 ), and were slightly younger (BF 10  = 11.35) than children without working memory deficits. Children with vs. without set shifting or inhibitory control deficits did not differ on ADHD symptoms, age, gender, IQ, SES, or medication status. Taken together, these findings confirm that ADHD is characterized by neurocognitive heterogeneity, while suggesting that contemporary, cognitively-informed criteria may provide improved precision for identifying a

  10. Full Scale Reinforced Concrete Beam-Column Joints Strengthened with Steel Reinforced Polymer Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandro De Vita

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the results of an experimental campaign performed at the Laboratory of Materials and Structural Testing of the University of Salerno (Italy in order to investigate the seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC beam-column joints strengthened with steel reinforced polymer (SRP systems. With the aim to represent typical façade frames’ beam-column subassemblies found in existing RC buildings, specimens were provided with two short beam stubs orthogonal to the main beam and were designed with inadequate seismic details. Five members were strengthened by using two different SRP layouts while the remaining ones were used as benchmarks. Once damaged, two specimens were also repaired, retrofitted with SRP, and subjected to cyclic test again. The results of cyclic tests performed on SRP strengthened joints are examined through a comparison with the outcomes of the previous experimental program including companion specimens not provided with transverse beam stubs and strengthened by carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP systems. In particular, both qualitative and quantitative considerations about the influence of the confining effect provided by the secondary beams on the joint response, the suitability of all the adopted strengthening solutions (SRP/CFRP systems, the performances and the failure modes experienced in the several cases studied are provided.

  11. Multiplicity: An Explorative Interview Study on Personal Experiences of People with Multiple Selves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gergő Ribáry

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background and aims: Personality psychology research relies on the notion that humans have a single self that is the result of the individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can be reliably described (i.e., through traits. People who identify themselves as “multiple” have a system of multiple or alternative, selves, that share the same physical body. This is the first study to explore the phenomenon of multiplicity by assessing the experiences of people who identify themselves as “multiple.”Methods: First, an Internet forum search was performed using the terms “multiplicity” and “multiple system.” Based on that search, people who identified themselves as multiple were contacted. Interviews were conducted by a consultant psychiatrist, which produced six case vignettes.Results: Multiplicity is discussed on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ and several other personal websites, blogs, and forums maintained by multiples. According to the study's estimates, there are 200–300 individuals who participate in these forums and believe they are multiple. Based on the six interviews, it appears that multiples have several selves who are relatively independent of each other and constitute the personality's system. Each “resident person” or self, has their own unique behavioral pattern, which is triggered by different situations. However, multiples are a heterogeneous group in terms of their system organization, memory functions, and control over switching between selves.Conclusions: Multiplicity can be placed along a continuum between identity disturbance and dissociative identity disorder (DID, although most systems function relatively well in everyday life. Further research is needed to explore this phenomenon, especially in terms of the extent to which multiplicity can be regarded as a healthy way of coping.

  12. A comparative study to check fracture strength of provisional fixed partial dentures made of autopolymerizing polymethylmethacrylate resin reinforced with different materials: An in vitro study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupt, Parikshit; Nagpal, Archana; Samra, Rupandeep Kaur; Verma, Ramit; Kaur, Jasjeet; Abrol, Surbhi

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to evaluate the fracture strength of provisional fixed partial dentures made of autopolymerizing polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) resin using different types of reinforcement materials to determine the best among them. Fifty samples were made (10 samples for each group) with autopolymerizing PMMA resin using reinforcement materials (stainless steel wire: looped and unlooped and glass fiber: loose and unidirectional) as 3-unit posterior bridge. The test specimens were divided into five groups depending on the reinforcing material as Group I, II, III, IV, and V; Group I: PMMA unreinforced (control group), Group II: PMMA reinforced with stainless steel wire (straight ends), Group III: PMMA reinforced with stainless steel wire (looped ends), Group IV: PMMA reinforced with unidirectional glass fibers, and Group V: PMMA reinforced with randomly distributed glass fibers. Universal testing machine was used to evaluate and compare the fracture strength of samples. Comparison of mean ultimate force and ultimate stress was done employing one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc tests. The highest and lowest mean ultimate force and mean ultimate stress were of Group IV and I, respectively. Tukey's post hoc honestly significant difference multiple comparison for mean ultimate force and stress shows the increase in strength to be statistically significant ( P 0.05). Unidirectional glass fibers showed the maximum strength, which was comparable to mean values of both stainless steel wire groups. Low cost and easy technique of using stainless steel wire make it the material of choice over the unidirectional glass fiber for reinforcement in nonesthetic areas where high strength is required.

  13. Investigating aluminum alloy reinforced by graphene nanoflakes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yan, S.J., E-mail: shaojiuyan@126.com [Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials, Beijing 100095 (China); Dai, S.L.; Zhang, X.Y.; Yang, C.; Hong, Q.H.; Chen, J.Z. [Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials, Beijing 100095 (China); Lin, Z.M. [Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Beijing 100022 (China)

    2014-08-26

    As one of the most important engineering materials, aluminum alloys have been widely applied in many fields. However, the requirement of enhancing their mechanical properties without sacrificing the ductility is always a challenge in the development of aluminum alloys. Thanks to the excellent physical and mechanical properties, graphene nanoflakes (GNFs) have been applied as promising reinforcing elements in various engineering materials, including polymers and ceramics. However, the investigation of GNFs as reinforcement phase in metals or alloys, especially in aluminum alloys, is still very limited. In this study, the aluminum alloy reinforced by GNFs was successfully prepared via powder metallurgy approach. The GNFs were mixed with aluminum alloy powders through ball milling and followed by hot isostatic pressing. The green body was then hot extruded to obtain the final GNFs reinforced aluminum alloy nanocomposite. The scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope analysis show that GNFs were well dispersed in the aluminum alloy matrix and no chemical reactions were observed at the interfaces between the GNFs and aluminum alloy matrix. The mechanical properties' testing results show that with increasing filling content of GNFs, both tensile and yield strengths were remarkably increased without losing the ductility performance. These results not only provided a pathway to achieve the goal of preparing high strength aluminum alloys with excellent ductilitybut they also shed light on the development of other metal alloys reinforced by GNFs.

  14. Beyond Cassie equation: Local structure of heterogeneous surfaces determines the contact angles of microdroplets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Bo; Wang, Jianjun; Liu, Zhiping; Zhang, Xianren

    2014-01-01

    The application of Cassie equation to microscopic droplets is recently under intense debate because the microdroplet dimension is often of the same order of magnitude as the characteristic size of substrate heterogeneities, and the mechanism to describe the contact angle of microdroplets is not clear. By representing real surfaces statistically as an ensemble of patterned surfaces with randomly or regularly distributed heterogeneities (patches), lattice Boltzmann simulations here show that the contact angle of microdroplets has a wide distribution, either continuous or discrete, depending on the patch size. The origin of multiple contact angles observed is ascribed to the contact line pinning effect induced by substrate heterogeneities. We demonstrate that the local feature of substrate structure near the contact line determines the range of contact angles that can be stabilized, while the certain contact angle observed is closely related to the contact line width. PMID:25059292

  15. Continuous carbon nanotube reinforced composites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ci, L; Suhr, J; Pushparaj, V; Zhang, X; Ajayan, P M

    2008-09-01

    Carbon nanotubes are considered short fibers, and polymer composites with nanotube fillers are always analogues of random, short fiber composites. The real structural carbon fiber composites, on the other hand, always contain carbon fiber reinforcements where fibers run continuously through the composite matrix. With the recent optimization in aligned nanotube growth, samples of nanotubes in macroscopic lengths have become available, and this allows the creation of composites that are similar to the continuous fiber composites with individual nanotubes running continuously through the composite body. This allows the proper utilization of the extreme high modulus and strength predicted for nanotubes in structural composites. Here, we fabricate such continuous nanotube polymer composites with continuous nanotube reinforcements and report that under compressive loadings, the nanotube composites can generate more than an order of magnitude improvement in the longitudinal modulus (up to 3,300%) as well as damping capability (up to 2,100%). It is also observed that composites with a random distribution of nanotubes of same length and similar filler fraction provide three times less effective reinforcement in composites.

  16. Reinforcement learning in computer vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, A. V.; Burnaev, E. V.

    2018-04-01

    Nowadays, machine learning has become one of the basic technologies used in solving various computer vision tasks such as feature detection, image segmentation, object recognition and tracking. In many applications, various complex systems such as robots are equipped with visual sensors from which they learn state of surrounding environment by solving corresponding computer vision tasks. Solutions of these tasks are used for making decisions about possible future actions. It is not surprising that when solving computer vision tasks we should take into account special aspects of their subsequent application in model-based predictive control. Reinforcement learning is one of modern machine learning technologies in which learning is carried out through interaction with the environment. In recent years, Reinforcement learning has been used both for solving such applied tasks as processing and analysis of visual information, and for solving specific computer vision problems such as filtering, extracting image features, localizing objects in scenes, and many others. The paper describes shortly the Reinforcement learning technology and its use for solving computer vision problems.

  17. Non-linear self-reinforced growth of tearing modes with multiple rational surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maschke, E.K.; Persson, M.; Dewar, R.L.; Australian National Univ., Canberra, ACT

    1993-06-01

    The non-linear evolution of tearing modes with multiple rational surfaces is discussed. It is demonstrated that, in the presence of small differential rotation, the non-linear growth might be faster than exponential. This growth occurs as the rotation frequencies of the plasma at the different rational surfaces go into equilibrium

  18. Teaching Self-Control with Qualitatively Different Reinforcers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Passage, Michael; Tincani, Matt; Hantula, Donald A.

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the effectiveness of using qualitatively different reinforcers to teach self-control to an adolescent boy who had been diagnosed with an intellectual disability. First, he was instructed to engage in an activity without programmed reinforcement. Next, he was instructed to engage in the activity under a two-choice fixed-duration…

  19. Heterogeneous reconfigurable processors for real-time baseband processing from algorithm to architecture

    CERN Document Server

    Zhang, Chenxin; Öwall, Viktor

    2016-01-01

    This book focuses on domain-specific heterogeneous reconfigurable architectures, demonstrating for readers a computing platform which is flexible enough to support multiple standards, multiple modes, and multiple algorithms. The content is multi-disciplinary, covering areas of wireless communication, computing architecture, and circuit design. The platform described provides real-time processing capability with reasonable implementation cost, achieving balanced trade-offs among flexibility, performance, and hardware costs. The authors discuss efficient design methods for wireless communication processing platforms, from both an algorithm and architecture design perspective. Coverage also includes computing platforms for different wireless technologies and standards, including MIMO, OFDM, Massive MIMO, DVB, WLAN, LTE/LTE-A, and 5G. •Discusses reconfigurable architectures, including hardware building blocks such as processing elements, memory sub-systems, Network-on-Chip (NoC), and dynamic hardware reconfigur...

  20. WE-E-17A-06: Assessing the Scale of Tumor Heterogeneity by Complete Hierarchical Segmentation On MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gensheimer, M; Trister, A; Ermoian, R; Hawkins, D

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: In many cancers, intratumoral heterogeneity exists in vascular and genetic structure. We developed an algorithm which uses clinical imaging to interrogate different scales of heterogeneity. We hypothesize that heterogeneity of perfusion at large distance scales may correlate with propensity for disease recurrence. We applied the algorithm to initial diagnosis MRI of rhabdomyosarcoma patients to predict recurrence. Methods: The Spatial Heterogeneity Analysis by Recursive Partitioning (SHARP) algorithm recursively segments the tumor image. The tumor is repeatedly subdivided, with each dividing line chosen to maximize signal intensity difference between the two subregions. This process continues to the voxel level, producing segments at multiple scales. Heterogeneity is measured by comparing signal intensity histograms between each segmented region and the adjacent region. We measured the scales of contrast enhancement heterogeneity of the primary tumor in 18 rhabdomyosarcoma patients. Using Cox proportional hazards regression, we explored the influence of heterogeneity parameters on relapse-free survival (RFS). To compare with existing methods, fractal and Haralick texture features were also calculated. Results: The complete segmentation produced by SHARP allows extraction of diverse features, including the amount of heterogeneity at various distance scales, the area of the tumor with the most heterogeneity at each scale, and for a given point in the tumor, the heterogeneity at different scales. 10/18 rhabdomyosarcoma patients suffered disease recurrence. On contrast-enhanced MRI, larger scale of maximum signal intensity heterogeneity, relative to tumor diameter, predicted for shorter RFS (p=0.05). Fractal dimension, fractal fit, and three Haralick features did not predict RFS (p=0.09-0.90). Conclusion: SHARP produces an automatic segmentation of tumor regions and reports the amount of heterogeneity at various distance scales. In rhabdomyosarcoma, RFS was