Probabilistic Fatigue Evaluation of Riveted Railway Bridges

A probabilistic fatigue assessment methodology for riveted railway bridges is presented. The methodology is applied to a typical, short-span, riveted U.K. railway bridge under historical and present day train loading. On the loading side, the problem is randomized through dynamic amplification and traffic volume; on the resistance side, the S-N curves and the cumulative damage model are treated probabilistically. Model uncertainty is represented by the ratio between actual and calculated stresses, the latter obtained through finite element analysis. Annual response spectra for a fatigue-critical connection are developed through Monte Carlo simulation, which show that there is a continual and accelerating increase in the mean stress range experienced by the connection with time. S-N curves proposed in United States and United Kingdom codes are used in combination with Miner’s rule, to estimate the remaining fatigue life of the connection for different target failure probabilities. Parametric studies revealed that fatigue life estimates exhibit the highest sensitivity to detail classification, to S-N predictions in the region of high endurances, and to model uncertainty. This highlights the importance of field monitoring for old bridges approaching the end of their useful life.     

The immunogenic effect of purified antigens of B. alexandrina against Schistosoma mansoni in experimental animals (I) as measured by worm load and viability of ova

Current stratigies for the control of schistosomiasis are based primarily on chemotherapy but successful vaccination against infection has been also demonstrated in several host parasite models. In this study, the immunogenic effect of two purified antigens (Fiv 20-29 000 daltons & Fv 20-24 000 daltons) extracted from non infected hepatopancreas of B. alexandrina as measured by worm load, state of copulation and viability of ova in tissues. The antigens were prepared using gel filtration chromatography and their molecular weights were estimated through sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Four dilutions from each antigen were prepared and injected in two groups (33 each) of Swiss albino mice at weekly intervals. A control group was injected with phosphate buffer saline (PBS) in the same manner. All mice were injected with 100 cercariae using immersion method. Sacrification was done regularly after 7 weeks of injection. On the basis of worm load, Fiv gave protection of 44% while Fv gave only 36%. The number of worms in copula was significantly reduced and they became delicate, fragile, stunted and malformed. Both antigens gave a significant reduction in total viable eggs in tissues.     

A REVIEW OF HYDROCARBON HABITATS IN BANGLADESH

Bangladesh, with approximately 25 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas initially in place and 15.52 TCF of initial recoverable reserves, and an average success ratio of 3:1, has emerged as a new hydrocarbon exploration frontier. The country occupies the major part of the Bengal Basin and is essentially located in a convergent-margin basin that owes its origin to the Early Cretaceous rifting of the Indian Plate away from Antarctica, the formation of the Indian Ocean (part of Palaeo-Tethys), and ultimately the collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate. The Bengal Basin is filled with approximately 20km of mostly Tertiary siliciclastic sediments comprising a spectrum of facies including deep- to shallow-marine, deltaic and fluvial types. The presence of thick sequences of reservoir-quality sandstones coupled with organic-rich shales, and of different kinds of traps including broad anticlinal structures, makes the basin highly prospective for hydrocarbon exploration. Of the exploration wells (52 onshore; 12 offshore) so far drilled in Bangladesh, a total of 22 reported commercial discoveries of natural gas from sandstones in the Miocene-Pliocene Surma Group. The hydrocarbon potential of older sequences, especially the Eocene Sylhet Limestone and the Oligocene Barail Group, are not adequately known at present. However, initial indications (e.g. the presence of suitable source rocks, high-pressure zones, "dim" and "flat" spots and velocity sag in reef complexes in the Sylhet Limestone) tend to favour the hydrocarbon prospectivity of these sequences.     

Rheological and mechanical properties of cross-linked fish gelatins

Gelatin was extracted from the skins of Alaska pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) and Alaska pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha). Amino acid analysis and gel electrophoresis were used to determine their amino acid composition and molecular weight profiles, respectively. Dynamic rheology was also used to characterize the fish gelatins’ gelation and melting behavior as well as their cross-linking behavior upon adding genipin and glutaraldehyde. Pollock and salmon gelatin had lower gelation and melting temperatures than that of a commercial porcine gelatin. Both fish gelatins that contained genipin showed faster cross-linking rates for samples with higher pH values. However, salmon samples exhibited greater dependence on pH. Also, pollock gelatin cross-linked faster with glutaraldehyde than with genipin. After five days of cross-linking, all porcine samples had much greater gel strengths than pollock samples. In addition, porcine samples containing genipin had gel strengths several times greater than those containing glutaraldehyde.     

Neuroprotective Effects of Germinated Brown Rice against Hydrogen Peroxide Induced Cell Death in Human SH-SY5Y Cells

The neuroprotective and antioxidative effects of germinated brown rice (GBR), brown rice (BR) and commercially available γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) against cell death induced by hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells have been investigated. Results show that GBR suppressed H(2)O(2)-mediated cytotoxicity and induced G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest in SH-SY5Y cells. Moreover, GBR reduced mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and prevented phosphatidylserine (PS) translocation in SH-SY5Y cells, key features of apoptosis, and subsequent cell death. GBR exhibited better neuroprotective and antioxidative activities as compared to BR and GABA. These results indicate that GBR possesses high antioxidative activities and suppressed cell death in SH-SY5Y cells by blocking the cell cycle re-entry and apoptotic mechanisms. Therefore, GBR could be developed as a value added functional food to prevent neurodegenerative diseases caused by oxidative stress and apoptosis.     

Effects of brown rice and white rice on expression of xenobiotic metabolism genes in type 2 diabetic rats

Xenobiotics constantly influence biological systems through several means of interaction. These interactions are disturbed in type 2 diabetes, with implications for disease outcome. We aimed to study the implications of such disturbances on type 2 diabetes and rice consumption, the results of which could affect management of the disease in developing countries. In a type 2 diabetic rat model induced through a combination of high fat diet and low dose streptozotocin injection, up-regulation of xenobiotic metabolism genes in the diabetic untreated group was observed. Xenobiotic metabolism genes were upregulated more in the white rice (WR) group than the diabetic untreated group while the brown rice (BR) group showed significantly lower expression values, though not as effective as metformin, which gave values closer to the normal non-diabetic group. The fold changes in expression in the WR group compared to the BR group for Cyp2D4, Cyp3A1, Cyp4A1, Cyp2B1, Cyp2E1, Cyp2C11, UGT2B1, ALDH1A1 and Cyp2C6 were 2.6, 2, 1.5, 4, 2.8, 1.5, 1.8, 3 and 5, respectively. Our results suggest that WR may upregulate these genes in type 2 diabetes more than BR, potentially causing faster drug metabolism, less drug efficacy and more toxicity. These results may have profound implications for rice eating populations, constituting half the world's population.     

Antioxidant Property Enhancement of Sweet Potato Flour under Simulated Gastrointestinal pH

Sweet potato is known to be rich in healthful antioxidants, but the stability of its antioxidant properties under gastrointestinal pH is very much unknown. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the changes in antioxidant properties (total contents of phenolics and flavonoids as well as antioxidant activity) of sweet potato flour (SPF) under simulated gastrointestinal pH conditions. It was found that the yield of SPF crude phenolic extract increased from 0.29 to 3.22 g/100 g SPF upon subjection to gastrointestinal pH conditions (p < 0.05). Also elevated significantly were the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity of SPF (p < 0.05). In summary, the antioxidant properties of SPF were enhanced under gastrointestinal pH conditions, suggesting that SPF might possess a considerable amount of bound phenolic and other antioxidative compounds. The antioxidant properties of SPF are largely influenced by pH and thus might be enhanced during the in vivo digestive process.     

Surface coated iron particles via atom transfer radical polymerization for thermal–oxidatively stable high viscosity magnetorheological fluid

A surface grafting technique for poly(2‐fluorostyrene) onto iron particles via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is described. Grafted poly(2‐fluorostyrene)–iron particles were synthesized by immobilizing 2‐4(‐chlorosulfonylphenyl)‐ethyltrichlorosilane to the iron particles through the covalent bond of a silanol group, followed by the polymerization of 2‐fluorostyrene monomer. The grafted polymer–iron particles display a higher thermal transition temperature compared to bulk polymer because the covalent bond between the polymer backbone and the surface of the iron particles restricts the molecular mobility. The molecular weight of the synthesized poly(2‐fluorostyrene) has been measured and it has a narrow molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n < 1.1). From thermogravimetric analysis, the thermal stability of poly(2‐fluorostyrene) is superior to polystyrene. Also, the high viscosity magnetorheological fluid (HVMRF) prepared from surface coated iron particles has excellent thermo–oxidative stability, having nearly constant viscosity. These materials exhibit a large increase in shear yield stress for the off‐ and on‐state as compared to a benchmark high viscosity magnetorheological fluid (HVMRF) and ‐coated iron particle HVMRF. In addition, this type of fluid eliminates iron particle settling which is a common problem found in traditional magnetorheological fluids (MRFs). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Microstructural Characteristics and Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir Welded Thick 5083 Aluminum Alloy

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Joining thick sections of aluminum alloys by friction stir welding (FSW) in a single pass needs to overcome many challenges before it comes to...     

Application of DKMQ24 shell element for twist of thin-walled beams: Comparison with Vlassov theory

This article presents the application of DKMQ24 shell element for twist of thin-walled beams. This element passed the patch tests for membrane, bending and shear problems and gave fine results for plate and shell problems analysis without shear locking. Thin-walled cantilever beams are analyzed using this element. DKMQ24 gives good results for cantilever beams with open cross-section for a very few number of element. Moreover, the comparison of the results obtained with Vlassov analytical solution enables to evaluate the accuracy of the twist rigidity, J_d, which depends on an empirical coefficient in Vlassov theory.