Stable-state creep limit of softwood

1987 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Hunt ◽  
C. F. Shelton
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Gisèle Nicolas ◽  
Jean-Marie Bassot ◽  
Marie-Thérèse Nicolas

The use of fast-freeze fixation (FFF) followed by freeze-substitution (FS) brings substantial advantages which are due to the extreme rapidity of this fixation compared to the conventional one. The initial step, FFF, physically immobilizes most molecules and therefore arrests the biological reactions in a matter of milliseconds. The second step, FS, slowly removes the water content still in solid state and, at the same time, chemically fixes the other cell components in absence of external water. This procedure results in an excellent preservation of the ultrastructure, avoids osmotic artifacts,maintains in situ most soluble substances and keeps up a number of cell activities including antigenicities. Another point of interest is that the rapidity of the initial immobilization enables the capture of unstable structures which, otherwise, would slip towards a more stable state. When combined with electrophysiology, this technique arrests the ultrastructural modifications at a well defined state, allowing a precise timing of the events.We studied the epithelium of the elytra of the scale-worm, Harmothoe lunulata which has excitable, conductible and bioluminescent properties. The intracellular sites of the light emission are paracrystals of endoplasmic reticulum (PER), named photosomes (Fig.1). They are able to flash only when they are coupled with plasma membrane infoldings by dyadic or triadic junctions (Fig.2) basically similar to those of the striated muscle fibers. We have studied them before, during and after stimulation. FFF-FS showed that these complexes are labile structures able to diffentiate and dedifferentiate within milliseconds. Moreover, a transient network of endoplasmic reticulum was captured which we have named intermediate endoplasmic reticulum (IER) surrounding the PER (Fig.1). Numerous gap junctions are found in the membranous infoldings of the junctional complexes (Fig.3). When cryofractured, they cleave unusually (Fig.4-5). It is tempting to suggest that they play an important role in the conduction of the excitation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 292-304
Author(s):  
Inna O. Hordieieva ◽  
Valentina M. Molokanova

The focus of modern project management is increasingly shifting from the management of individual projects to the management of strategic project-oriented development of organizations. Now there is a need to pay more attention to project management as a universal tool for the development of systems at any level. The aim of the article is to study the processes of organization adaptation to constant changes through a synergetic portfolio of projects based on a strategic plan for the development and evolution of the organization. The spiral movement of systems development for studying development processes is considered: the process of transition of an organization from one stable state to another, the process of radical changes that accompanies innovation, as well as the processes of growth and development of crisis phenomena. The methodological principles of the organization evolutionary development management through the implementation of portfolio using its methods and tools are considered. It is proposed to manage the organization evolutionary development by building actions in the form of a synergistic portfolio of appropriate projects content, in order to increase the value of the entire portfolio of projects over the value of individual projects. The synergetic portfolio of projects is seen as a tool for a harmonious transition to the desired evolutionary state, by preserving the internal integrity of the organization and ensuring its sustainability. A mathematical model for estimating the desired properties and relations of the organizational synergetic portfolio of projects is proposed, which allows to determine and minimize the magnitude of the evolutionary goals inconsistency and to stabilize the current state of organization. It is determined that the two main tasks of any organization - external adaptation and internal integration - constantly push the organization to evolutionary development. The article proposes the author's approach to managing the organization evolutionary development through a portfolio of projects identifies indicators of adaptation of the organization to changes in the environment, defines the conditions for maintaining the integrity of the organization in the process of organizational changes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (12) ◽  
pp. 15-22
Author(s):  
N. A. Bulayev ◽  
E. V. Chukhlantseva ◽  
O. V. Starovoytova ◽  
A. A. Tarasenko

The content of uranium and plutonium is the main characteristic of mixed uranium-plutonium oxide fuel, which is strictly controlled and has a very narrow range of the permissible values. We focused on developing a technique for measuring mass fractions of uranium and plutonium by controlled potential coulometry using a coulometric unit UPK-19 in set with a R-40Kh potentiostat-galvanostat. Under conditions of sealed enclosures, a special design of the support stand which minimized the effect of fluctuations in ambient conditions on the signal stability was developed. Optimal conditions for coulometric determination of plutonium and uranium mass fractions were specified. The sulfuric acid solution with a molar concentration of 0.5 mol/dm3 was used as a medium. Lead ions were introduced into the background electrolyte to decrease the minimum voltage of hydrogen reduction to –190 mV. The addition of aluminum nitride reduced the effect of fluoride ions participating as a catalyst in dissolving MOX fuel samples, and the interfering effect of nitrite ions was eliminated by introducing a sulfamic acid solution into the cell. The total content of uranium and plutonium was determined by evaluation of the amount of electricity consumed at the stage of uranium and plutonium co-oxidation. Plutonium content was measured at the potentials, at which uranium remains in the stable state, which makes it possible to subtract the contribution of plutonium oxidation current from the total oxidation current. The error characteristics of the developed measurement technique were evaluated using the standard sample method and the real MOX fuel pellets. The error limits match the requirements set out in the specifications for MOX fuel. The technique for measuring mass fractions of uranium and plutonium in uranium-plutonium oxide nuclear fuel was certified. The relative measurement error of the mass fraction of plutonium and uranium was ±0.0070 and ±0.0095, respectively. The relative error of the ratio of the plutonium mass fraction to the sum of mass fractions of uranium and plutonium was ±0.0085.


Author(s):  
Nikolai Petrov ◽  
Nikolai Petrov ◽  
Inna Nikonorova ◽  
Inna Nikonorova ◽  
Vladimir Mashin ◽  
...  

High-speed railway "Moscow-Kazan" by the draft crosses the Volga (Kuibyshev reservoir) in Chuvashia region 500 m below the village of New Kushnikovo. The crossing plot is a right-bank landslide slope with a stepped surface. Its height is 80 m; the slope steepness -15-16o. The authors should assess the risk of landslides and recommend anti-landslide measures to ensure the safety of the future bridge. For this landslide factors have been analyzed, slope stability assessment has been performed and recommendations have been suggested. The role of the following factors have been analyzed: 1) hydrologic - erosion and abrasion reservoir and runoff role; 2) lithologyc (the presence of Urzhum and Northern Dvina horizons of plastically deformable rocks, displacement areas); 3) hydrogeological (the role of perched, ground and interstratal water); 4) geomorphological (presence of the elemental composition of sliding systems and their structure in the relief); 5) exogeodynamic (cycles and stages of landslide systems development, mechanisms and relationship between landslide tiers of different generations and blocks contained in tiers). As a result 6-7 computational models at each of the three engineering-geological sections were made. The stability was evaluated by the method “of the leaning slope”. It is proved that the slope is in a very stable state and requires the following measures: 1) unloading (truncation) of active heads blocks of landslide tiers) and the edge of the plateau, 2) regulation of the surface and groundwater flow, 3) concrete dam, if necessary.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-141
Author(s):  
Tomasz Stępniewski

The present paper discusses the following research questions: to what extent did errors made by the previous presidents of Ukraine result in the country’s failure to introduce systemic reforms (e.g. combating corruption, the development of a foundation for a stable state under the rule of law and free-market economy)?; can it be ventured that the lack of radical reforms along with errors in the internal politics of Ukraine under Petro Poroshenko resulted in the president’s failure?; will the strong vote of confidence given to Volodymyr Zelensky and the Servant of the People party exact systemic reforms in Ukraine?; or will Volodymyr Zelensky merely become an element of the oligarchic political system in Ukraine?


2003 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimír Kvasnička ◽  
Jiří Pospíchal

A simplified model of Darwinian evolution at the molecular level is studied by applying the methods of artificial chemistry. A chemical reactor (chemostat) contains molecules that are represented by binary strings, the strings being capable of replication with a probability proportional to their fitness. Moreover, the process of replication is not fully precise, sporadic mutations may produce new offspring strings, which are slightly different from their parent templates. The dynamics of such an autoreplicating system is described by Eigen's differential equations. These equations have a unique asymptotically stable state, which corresponds to those strings that have the highest rate constants (fitness). Fitness of binary string is calculated as a graph-theory similarity between a folding (phenotype) of respective string and the so-called required folding. The presented method offers a detailed view of mechanisms of the molecular Darwinian evolution, in particular of the meaning and importance of neutral mutations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 2991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Yan ◽  
Mingyang Lv ◽  
Zhixing Ruan ◽  
Shiyong Yan ◽  
Guang Liu

A surge-type glacier is a special and dangerous type of glacier, which can advance quickly in a short-time with cycles. Glaciers in the Yangtze River headwater are generally acknowledged to be in a stable state. However, not all of those glaciers are stable. In this paper, five glaciers from the Yangtze River headwater glacier were selected as the experimental subjects, and multi-source remote sensing images were used to study and analyze the surge behavior over the past 30 years. Based on the Landsat series data, ERS-2, and ENVISAT radar data, this paper extracts the glacier centerline information, glacial area information, and glacial flow velocity during different time periods from 1988 to 2018, which are used to monitor the active periods of glacier surges. We found three surge-type glaciers in the study area. The glacial characteristics of the three glaciers showed some drastic changes, they can advance quickly nearly 800 m in active periods, their area change can reach 2.0 × 106 m2, and their flow velocity can suddenly increase by dozens of times. Surging periods and the initiated time of the three glaciers are different, which are locked in 1997, 2003, and 1997–1998. All those surges ended within one to two years. We suggest that the surges in this paper are dominated by hydrological conditions.


Author(s):  
Yuqian Wang ◽  
Mingyan Jiang ◽  
Yinshu Huang ◽  
Zhiyi Sheng ◽  
Xiao Huang ◽  
...  

This study illustrated the physiological and psychological effects of watching videos of different durations showing bamboo forests with varied structures. Physiological indicators, including EEG (electroencephalogram), blood pressure, skin conductance, and pulse, were monitored in 180 Chinese university students (mean age: 20.72 ± 2.56 years) while they were watching bamboo videos. Before and after watching the videos, their psychological indicators, including positive and negative moods, were measured using the Profile of Mood States questionnaire. After watching the bamboo videos of different durations, all of the physiological indicators responded to the stimulation after only 1 min. The indicators showed different trends at 1, 3 and 5 min. EEG decreased and then was maintained at a stable level after 1 min, and the high β, low β, and α waves had no significant differences between 1, 3 and 5 min. Blood pressure dropped to a stable state after 3 min, and the decline was significantly different greater after 3 min than after 1 min. Skin conductance increased for 1 to 5 min, and it did not stabilize after a long time (5 min). Pulse decreased after 1 min but increased after 5 min. After watching the videos with bamboo of varying structures, the physiological and psychological indicators showed significantly different changes. Skin conductance significantly increased (mean value: 6.78%), and the amount of sweat was more effectively reduced, thereby reducing tension, when the students viewed videos of sympodial bamboo forests compared with monopodial bamboo forests. Bamboo forests with a higher canopy density (0.83–0.85) could significantly decrease α waves (mean value: 1.50 Hz), relaxing the human body. High β and low β waves showed greater decreases, with tension reduced more effectively, when bamboo forests with a low tilt ratio (< 1.5%) were viewed. Bamboo forests with neat undergrowth could have more beneficial physiological and psychological effects on the human body.


Author(s):  
Qianqian Lu ◽  
Nannan Zhang ◽  
Chen Chen ◽  
Miao Zhang ◽  
Dehua Zhao ◽  
...  

Lab-scale simulated biofilm reactors, including aerated reactors disturbed by short-term aeration interruption (AE-D) and non-aerated reactors disturbed by short-term aeration (AN-D), were established to study the stable-state (SS) formation and recovery after disturbance for nitrogen transformation in terms of dissolved oxygen (DO), removal efficiency (RE) of NH4+-N and NO3−-N and activity of key nitrogen-cycle functional genes amoA and nirS (RNA level abundance, per ball). SS formation and recovery of DO were completed in 0.56–7.75 h after transition between aeration (Ae) and aeration stop (As). In terms of pollutant REs, new temporary SS formation required 30.7–52.3 h after Ae and As interruptions, and seven-day Ae/As interruptions required 5.0% to 115.5% longer recovery times compared to one-day interruptions in AE-D and AN-D systems. According to amoA activity, 60.8 h were required in AE-D systems to establish new temporary SS after As interruptions, and RNA amoA copies (copy number/microliter) decreased 88.5%, while 287.2 h were required in AN-D systems, and RNA amoA copies (copy number/microliter) increased 36.4 times. For nirS activity, 75.2–85.8 h were required to establish new SSs after Ae and As interruptions. The results suggested that new temporary SS formation and recovery in terms of DO, pollutant REs and amoA and nirS gene activities could be modelled by logistic functions. It is concluded that temporary SS formation and recovery after Ae and As interruptions occurred at asynchronous rates in terms of DO, pollutant REs and amoA and nirS gene activities. Because of DO fluctuations, the quantitative relationship between gene activity and pollutant RE remains a challenge.


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