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Building Materials (building + material)
Selected AbstractsA multidegree-of-freedom manipulator for curtain-wall installationJOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS (FORMERLY JOURNAL OF ROBOTIC SYSTEMS), Issue 5 2006Chang Soo Han Recently, the trend in architectural forms has been towards larger and taller buildings. Building materials are, therefore, also becoming larger and heavier. Typical construction machineries are not adequate for handling such materials, and most construction works are still managed by a human operator. Construction processes are, therefore, fraught with a number of problems, including frequent accidents, high construction cost, and heterogeneous construction quality depending on the experience of the workers. Automation has been introduced at various sites to address these construction problems. In this paper, the process of a curtain-wall installation in a skyscraper is analyzed, and the prototype of a construction robot for curtain-wall installation (CRCWI) is proposed. Use of the proposed CRCWI can reduce the need for manpower and the construction period and cost, and can assure safety in the curtain-wall construction site. The performance of the proposed CRCWI was verified with a real application test in a skyscraper construction site. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Prediction of fire classification for wood based products.FIRE AND MATERIALS, Issue 3 2007A multivariate statistical approach based on the cone calorimeter Abstract Wood has long traditions as a building material, and is often used in construction elements, and as interior and exterior surfaces in the Nordic countries. In most applications, there are reaction to fire requirements to products used as surfaces, e.g. in escape routes and larger public spaces. Most wood products will therefore have to be treated with fire retardant (FR) agents to fulfil the strict requirements to properties connected to heat release and flame spread. Unfortunately, FR agents usually also increase the smoke production, as they cause a more incomplete combustion of the wood. The wood product manufacturers seek to find the optimal amount of FR additives where both heat release and smoke production in the classifying test are within the requirements given in the building regulations. This paper describes models for prediction of the European reaction to fire classes of wood products. The models are based on multivariate statistical analysis, and use test results from the cone calorimeter test as input. The presented models are, with very good precision, able to predict which Euroclass and additional smoke class a wood based product would obtain if it were to be tested in the single burning item test. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The ecology and agronomy of Miscanthus sinensis, a species important to bioenergy crop development, in its native range in Japan: a reviewGCB BIOENERGY, Issue 2 2009J. RYAN STEWART Abstract Among several candidate perennial taxa, Miscanthus×giganteus has been evaluated and promoted as a promising bioenergy crop. Owing to several limitations, however, of the sterile hybrid, both at the taxon and agronomic production levels, other options need to be explored to not only improve M. ×giganteus, which was originally collected in Japan, but to also consider the development of other members of its genus, including Miscanthus sinensis, as bioenergy crops. Indeed, there is likely much to be learned and applied to Miscanthus as a bioenergy crop from the long history of intensive interaction between humans and M. sinensis in Japan, which in some regions of the country spans several thousand years. Combined with its high amount of genetic variation, stress tolerance, biotic interactions with fauna, and function as a keystone species in diverse grasslands and other ecosystems within its native range, the unique and extensive management of M. sinensis in Japan as a forage grass and building material provides agronomists, agroecologists, and plant breeders with the capability of better understanding this species in terms of potential contribution to bioenergy crop development. Moreover, the studies described in this review may serve as a platform for future research of Miscanthus as a bioenergy crop in other parts of the world. [source] Gain enhancement in embedded microstrip antennasMICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 2 2008M. Fallah-Rad Abstract A microstrip antenna embedded inside a dielectric medium representing the building material is investigated for its gain. It is shown that coupling the embedded antenna to a parasitic patch, placed outside the embedding material, can increase the antenna gain significantly. In addition, by properly selecting the antenna depth inside the embedded material its radiation characteristics can be made less sensitive to the material parameters of the surrounding. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 269,271, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23070 [source] Experimentelle Untersuchungen zum Schubtragverhalten dünner Scheiben aus Ultrahochfestem Beton,BETON- UND STAHLBETONBAU, Issue 9 2009Julia Heidrich Dipl.-Ing. Versuche; Baustoffe Abstract Ultrahochfester Beton ist ein Baustoff mit herausragenden mechanischen Eigenschaften. Weit gespannte Brückentragwerke mit schlanken Stegen aus Ultrahochfestem Beton sind denkbar. Dadurch kann Eigengewicht und Material gespart werden. Die Lebensdauer der Brücken würde aufgrund der Widerstandsfähigkeit gegen mechanische und chemische Einflüsse steigen. Die Zug- und die Druckfestigkeit wurden inzwischen in einigen Forschungsarbeiten untersucht. Demgegenüber gibt es noch kaum Erkenntnisse zum Schubtragverhalten. Auch existieren noch keine Normen oder Vorschriften dazu. Eine Arbeit am Institut für Betonbau der TU-Graz befasst sich mit der Schubtragfähigkeit von schlanken, nicht beulgefährdeten Scheiben aus Ultrahochfestem Beton. Shear Carrying Capacity of Ultra High Performance Concrete Ultra High Performance Concrete is a building material with fantastic mechanical properties. Slender, durable Bridges with large spans and thin webs are imaginable. The life cycle will increase because of the chemical and mechanical resistance. The tension and compression strength are well investigated, but there are less investigations about the shear carrying capacity. One research work at the Institute for Structural Concrete of Graz University of Technology deals with the shear carrying capacity of thin Panels without buckling risk. [source] Disappearance of gender-related difference in the toxicity of benzotriazole ultraviolet absorber in juvenile ratsCONGENITAL ANOMALIES, Issue 4 2009Mutsuko Hirata-Koizumi ABSTRACT 2-(2,-hydroxy-3,,5,-di- tert -butylphenyl)benzotriazole (HDBB) is an ultraviolet absorber used in plastic resin products, such as building materials and automobile components. In oral repeated dose toxicity studies using 5- or 6-week-old rats, this chemical induced hepatic histopathological changes, such as hypertrophy accompanied with eosinophilic granular changes and focal necrosis of hepatocytes, and male rats showed nearly 25 times higher susceptibility to the toxic effects than females. Castration at approximately 4 weeks of age markedly reduced the sex-related variation in HDBB toxicity, but some difference, less than five times, remained between male and female castrated rats. Following oral HDBB administration to male and female juvenile rats from postnatal days 4,21, such gender-related difference in toxic susceptibility was not detected; therefore, it is speculated that the determinants of susceptibility to HDBB toxicity are differentiated between sexes after weaning. In young rats given HDBB, there was no gender-related difference in plasma HDBB concentration, and no metabolites were detected in the plasma of either sex. HDBB induced lauric acid 12-hydroxylase activity in the liver and this change was more pronounced in males than in females. These findings indicate that HDBB could show hepatic peroxisome proliferation activity, and the difference in the susceptibility of male and female rats to this effect might lead to marked gender-related differences in toxicity. [source] Effects of seismic intensity and socioeconomic status on injury and displacement after the 2007 Peru earthquakeDISASTERS, Issue 4 2010Karen Milch Earthquakes are a major cause of displacement, particularly in developing countries. Models of injury and displacement can be applied to assist governments and aid organisations in effectively targeting preparedness and relief efforts. A stratified cluster survey was conducted in January 2008 to evaluate risk factors for injury and displacement following the 15 August 2007 earthquake in southern Peru. In statistical modelling, seismic intensity, distance to rupture, living conditions, and educational attainment collectively explained 54.9 per cent of the variability in displacement rates across clusters. Living conditions was a particularly significant predictor of injury and displacement, indicating a strong relationship between risk and socioeconomic status. Contrary to expectations, urban, periurban, and rural clusters did not exhibit significantly different injury and displacement rates. Proxies of socioeconomic status, particularly the living conditions index score, proved relevant in explaining displacement, likely due to unmeasured aspects of housing construction practices and building materials. [source] Fixation of heavy contaminants of a dirty bomb attack: Studies with uranium and metal simulantsENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, Issue 1 2007Thomas L. McGehee Abstract Asphalt emulsions were evaluated as a means to immobilize radiological contaminants deposited on urban surfaces after a dirty bomb attack. Contaminated surfaces would be sprayed with thin coatings of asphalt emulsion to encapsulate the radioactive particles until the site can be safely remediated. This research investigated applications of an asphalt emulsion (Topein C, Encapco Technologies, LLC, Napa, CA) to treat (zero-valent) iron, lead, and uranium powders on various building material surfaces. Initial studies found that some of the building materials (limestone, concrete, and metal) reacted with the emulsion producing gas bubbles, which formed 0.001 to 1 cm vesicles in the cured asphalt emulsion. These vesicles, however, did not expose the building material surface, and the reaction appeared to aid in the setting of the emulsion. Powdered lead did not react with the asphalt emulsion, but iron powder and uranium did. Iron powder and the emulsion formed vesicles up to 0.5 mm (but not exposing the building material surface), while the uranium (U3O8) had a moderate reaction when compared with to the lead and iron powders. Scanning electron micrographs showed that the lead powder formed nonreactive layers adjacent to the concrete surface while iron particles were evenly distributed in the asphalt matrix due to the reaction with the asphalt, indicating that the physical and chemical reactions between the iron metal particles, asphalt, and concrete affected particle distribution in the asphalt matrix. A vertical operation sediment tube was used to determine the flowing shear stress durability of the asphalt/metal/substrate complex. The asphalt treatment with iron had no loss at the shear range tested (0.1,2.5 Pa), while the asphalt stabilized powdered lead lost 8% asphalt and lead at 2.5 Pa mean shear stress applied for 5 h. The chemical reaction between asphalt emulsion and iron increased the resistance of the asphalt/metal/substrate complex to shear when compared with lead. Some hydrogen was formed in reactions with iron, but the amount formed was well below the lower flammability limit. Treatment of uranium indicated that the emulsion was effective at reducing leaching of the uranium 10 fold. These experiments indicate that asphalt emulsions may be a viable means for containing metallic or dense radiological contaminants on common building materials. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog 26:94,103, 2007 [source] Identification of Trichoderma strains by image analysis of HPLC chromatogramsFEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 2 2001Ulf Thrane Abstract Forty-four Trichoderma strains from water-damaged building materials or indoor dust were classified with chromatographic image analysis on full chromatographic matrices obtained by high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection of culture extracts. The classes were compared with morphological identification and rDNA sequence data, and for each class all strains were of the same identity. With all three techniques each strain , except one , was identified as the same species. These strains belonged to Trichoderma atroviride (nine strains), Trichoderma viride (three strains), Trichoderma harzianum (10 strains), Trichoderma citrinoviride (12 strains), and Trichoderma longibrachiatum (nine strains). The odd strain was identified as Trichoderma hamatum by morphology and rDNA sequencing, but not by image analysis as no reference strains of this species were included. It is concluded that the secondary metabolite profile contains sufficient information for classification and species identification. [source] Modeling fluid saturated porous media under frost attackGAMM - MITTEILUNGEN, Issue 1 2010Tim Ricken Abstract Freezing and thawing are important processes in civil engineering. On the one hand frost damage of porous building materials like road pavements and concrete in regions with periodical freezing is well known. On the other hand, artificial freezing techniques are widely used, e.g. for tunneling in non-cohesive soils and other underground constructions as well as for the protection of excavation and compartmentalization of contaminated tracts. Ice formation in porous media results from a coupled heat and mass transport and is accompanied by the ice expansion. The volume increase in space and time is assigned to the moving freezing front inside the porous solid. In this paper, a macroscopic ternary model is presented within the framework of the Theory of Porous Media (TPM) in view of the description of phase transition. For the mass exchange between ice and water an evolution equation based on the local balance of the heat flux vector is used. Examples illustrate the application of the model for saturated porous solids under thermal loading (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Rethinking what constitutes suspended sedimentHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 9 2001Ian G. Droppo Abstract Although cohesive suspended sediment is now known to be transported primarily as flocculated material, there is still a misconception of what constitutes suspended sediment. Flocs represent a complex matrix of microbial communities, organic particles (e.g. detritus, extracellular polymers and cellular debris), inorganic particles (e.g. clays and silts) and substantial interfloc spaces (pores), which allow for the retention or flow through of water. Flocculation results in significant alteration of the hydrodynamics of the constituent particles (by modifying their effective size, shape, density and porosity), thereby affecting the transport of sediment and associated contaminants. The composition and structure of a floc is in a continuous state of change as the medium in which it is transported provides the floc with further building materials, energy, nutrients and chemicals for biological growth, chemical reactions and morphological development. As such, a floc's physical (e.g. transport), chemical (e.g. contaminant adsorption) and biological (community development and contaminant biotransformation) behaviour are also in a continuous state of change, with concomitant effects on their aquatic environment as a whole. Although it is recognized that floc form will influence floc behaviour, there is still a basic lack of knowledge of the complex links between the structural components of a floc and how their individual properties and behaviours in combination with others will influence a floc's physical, chemical and biological behaviour. This paper provides a comprehensive conceptual model that links the many interrelated structural components of typical flocs and their interrelated behavioural aspects, in order to enhance our understanding of what constitutes suspended sediment. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effects on perceived air quality and symptoms of exposure to microbially produced metabolites and compounds emitted from damp building materialsINDOOR AIR, Issue 2 2009A. -S. First page of article [source] Modeling and CFD prediction for diffusion and adsorption within room with various adsorption isothermsINDOOR AIR, Issue 2003S. Murakami Abstract This paper presents physical models that are used for analyzing numerically the transportation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from building materials in a room. The models are based on fundamental physicochemical principles of their diffusion and adsorption/desorption (hereafter simply sorption) both in building materials and in room air. The performance of the proposed physical models is examined numerically in a test room with a technique supported by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Two building materials are used in this study. One is a VOC emitting material for which the emission rate is mainly controlled by the internal diffusion of the material. The other is an adsorptive material that has no VOC source. It affects the room air concentration of VOCs with its sorption process. The floor is covered with an emission material made of polypropylene styrene,butadiene rubber (SBR). An adsorbent material made of coal-based activated carbon is spread over the sidewalls. The results of numerical prediction show that the physical models and their numerical simulations explain well the mechanism of the transportation of VOCs in a room. [source] Human exposure to phthalates via consumer productsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, Issue 1 2006TED SCHETTLER Summary Phthalate exposures in the general population and in subpopulations are ubiquitous and widely variable. Many consumer products contain specific members of this family of chemicals, including building materials, household furnishings, clothing, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, medical devices, dentures, children's toys, glow sticks, modelling clay, food packaging, automobiles, lubricants, waxes, cleaning materials and insecticides. Consumer products containing phthalates can result in human exposures through direct contact and use, indirectly through leaching into other products, or general environmental contamination. Historically, the diet has been considered the major source of phthalate exposure in the general population, but all sources, pathways, and their relative contributions to human exposures are not well understood. Medical devices containing di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate are a source of significant exposure in a susceptible subpopulation of individuals. Cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, herbal remedies and insecticides, may result in significant but poorly quantified human exposures to dibutyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, or dimethyl phthalate. Oven baking of polymer clays may cause short-term, high-level inhalation exposures to higher molecular weight phthalates. [source] Life cycle assessment of a PPV plant applied to an existing SUW management systemINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 5 2003Francesco Di Maria Abstract The huge amount of wastes produced by modern and developed countries involves important aspects of economical, social and technical fields and also of the environment. For this reason, different technologies have been proposed for trying to reduce the impact of waste management and disposal. Generally waste management system consists of different steps like selective collection, recycling and reuse operation, energy recovery from waste and landfilling. A new technology proposed for thermal waste treatment is the plasma pyrolysis vetrification (PPV). This system seems to have interesting perspective due to the possibility of thermal treatment of dangerous slag or waste producing inactivate vetrified substances that can be landfilled or used as building materials with no impact on the environment. In this study, the effect of the application of a PPV plant on an existing waste management system was evaluated with a life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis. All the activities connected to the existing system have been carefully analysed by collecting a large quantity of experimental data. Some assumptions have been made, in particular, on the PPV plant performance. LCA analysis results illustrate how the environmental benefits arising from the adoption of the new technology, concerns only few aspects of the whole system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Hermit crabs, humans and Mozambique mangrovesAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2001David K. A. Barnes Abstract There is a complex interrelationship between upper shore hermit crabs (such as Coenobita sp. and Clibanarius sp.), coastal human populations and mangrove forests in Mozambique. The abundance, activity, shell selection and behaviour of three species of hermit crab are related to the level of mangrove cover. With increased density of mangrove trees, the study species of hermit crab changed in abundance, tended to become diurnal, spent more time feeding and were clustered in larger groups when doing so, and selected longer spired shells. All five of the same variables are also linked to the proximity and activity of humans through both direct and indirect actions. Direct effects included a tendency to nocturnal activity with proximity to human activity; indirect effects included increased and more clumped food supplies, and shell middens from intertidal harvesting and deforestation. Mangroves are important to local human populations as well as to hermit crabs, for a wide variety of (similar) reasons. Mangroves provide storm shelter, fisheries and fishery nursery grounds for adjacent human settlements, but they also harbour mosquito populations and their removal provides valuable building materials and fuel. Hermit crabs may be useful (indirectly) to coastal human populations by being a source of food to certain commercial species, and by quickly consuming rotting/discarded food and faeces (thereby reducing disease and pests). They can also cause minor problems to coastal human populations because they use shells of (fisheries) target mollusc species and can be more abundant than the living molluscs, thereby slowing down effective hand collection through confusion over identification. The mixture of positive and negative attributes that the three groups impart to each other in the Quirimba Archipelago, northern Mozambique, is discussed. Résumé Il existe des interrelations complexes entre les Bernard-l'Ermite du haut littoral (tels que Coenobita sp. Et Clibanarius sp.), les populations humaines côtières et les forêts de mangroves au Mozambique. L'abondance, l'activité, le choix de la coquille et le comportement de trois espèces de Bernard-l'Ermite sont liés au degré de couverture de la mangrove. Lorsque la densité des arbres de la mangrove augmente, l'abondance des espèces étudiées de Bernard-l'Ermite change, ils ont tendance à devenir diurnes, passent plus de temps à se nourrir et se rassemblent à ces moments-là en plus grands groupes, et ils choisissent aussi de plus longues coquilles. Les cinq mêmes variables sont aussi liées à la proximité et à l'activité des hommes, directement et indirectement. Parmi les effets directs, on compte une tendance à une activité nocturne lorsque les activités humaines sont proches ; les effets indirects incluent des apports de nourriture et de débris de coquilles accrus et plus regroupés résultant des marées et de la déforestation. Les mangroves sont aussi importantes pour les populations locales que pour les Bernard-l'Ermite, pour toute une série de raisons (semblables). Les mangroves constituent un abri en cas de tempête, un terrain de pêche et de frai dont bénéficient les populations humaines voisines, mais elles renferment aussi beaucoup de moustiques, et leur bois fournit un bon matériau de construction et du combustible. Les Bernard-l'Ermite peuvent être (indirectement) utiles aux populations côtières car certaines espèces commerciales sont comestibles et que tous consomment rapidement les restes de nourriture en décomposition et les excréments (réduisant ainsi les risques de maladie et d'animaux nuisibles). Ils peuvent aussi causer des problèmes mineurs aux populations côtières parce qu'ils utilisent la coquille d'espèces de mollusques qui font l'objet de la pêche et qu'ils peuvent être plus abondants que les mollusques eux-mêmes, ce qui ralentit la pêche manuelle à cause du besoin d'identification. On discute le mélange de qualités négatives et positives que les trois groupes représentent les uns pour les autres dans l'Archipel de Quirimba, au nord du Mozambique. [source] La Maison de Verre: Negotiating a Modern DomesticityJOURNAL OF INTERIOR DESIGN, Issue 1 2008M. Jean Edwards M.F.A. ABSTRACT The Maison de Verre (1928,1932), built in Paris and designed by Pierre Chareau in collaboration with Dutch architect Bernard Bijvoët, metalworker Louis Dalbet, and the clients, Dr. and Mme Dalsace, does not fit easily within the canon of modern architecture and interior design. Though acknowledged at the time of its construction for the groundbreaking use of modern building materials and technological innovations, it went unacknowledged throughout much of the twentieth century as a defining modernist building until a 1969 essay by Kenneth Frampton rescued the house from critical obscurity. In his essay, Frampton asks whether the house is to be understood as a conventional building or as a piece of furniture. The possibility that the house might be better understood as a "piece of furniture" suggests two questions: (1) Is the Maison de Verre more significant for its interior design than for its architecture and (2) can its significance be located in the quality of livability that resulted from the negotiation between the ideals of early modernism and the demands of habitation? Our purpose is to propose answers to these questions by analyzing the complexities of Chareau's design in relation to the rhetoric of early modern architectural theory and its challenge to the nineteenth-century concept of domesticity. We assert that Chareau's design resolution as expressed in the interior of the Maison de Verre represents a case study in livability that warrants greater attention in the context of the history and theory of interior design distinct from architectural history and theory. [source] Micro-Raman characterizations of Pompei'smortarsJOURNAL OF RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY, Issue 2 2008M. Castriota Abstract The ancient town of Pompei offers a unique opportunity to study in detail many aspects of the every day life during the Roman early imperial age. The application of micro-Raman spectroscopy can be of great help in performing a reasonably rapid comparative analysis of the mortars, quite useful to ascertain the degree of uniformity of the technical recipes among the various building firms and the eventual technical evolution in the time; moreover, the individuation of minerals of specific geographical origins can give useful information about the extension of commercial intercourses. An example of a micro-Raman investigation on building materials is reported in this work, concerning the analysis of the mortars coming from different points of the wall in the ,The House of the Wedding of Hercules'. Remarkable differences between ancient and modern mortars are found, allowing a discrimination that can be useful in the case of historical building which underwent several restoration works. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Methyl benzoate as a marker for the detection of mold in indoor building materialsJOURNAL OF SEPARATION SCIENCE, JSS, Issue 18 2005Loay Wady Abstract A convenient analytical method to quantify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from various building materials has not been addressed yet. This work presents a new and rapid automated method using SPME combined with GC/MS. Methyl benzoate , as a metabolic biomarker for mold growth,was used to indicate VOCs and to determine and assess mold growth on damp samples. Gypsum board and wallboard paper were used as examples of common indoor building materials. Optimized extraction conditions were carried out manually, using a GC/flame ionization detector. Moldy samples were analyzed using an automated SPME-GC/MS analysis under optimized conditions. The amount of methyl benzoate emitted from the studied samples ranged from 32 to 46 ppb, where the density of the fungal biomass was found to be 8×104 cells/mL. A relationship between the amount of fungal biomass and the emitted concentration of methyl benzoate was found and assessed based upon cultured mold samples taken from indoor building sites. The analytical method shows promise for the compound methyl benzoate, which can easily be identified at low detection limits (LOD = 3 ppb) and good linearity (> 0.988), and its extraction and detection can be accomplished cleanly by current extraction techniques. Results suggest that this method with easy sample preparation can be used for quantitation and, of importance, minimal matrix effects are observed. [source] Diversity of streptomycetes in water-damaged building materials based on 16S rDNA sequencesLETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2002H. Rintala Aims:,The diversity of streptomycetes in two different types of water-damaged building materials was investigated. Methods and Results:,Direct PCR amplification of 16S rDNA from DNA isolated from building materials, cloning of the fragments and sequence analysis were used. In the phylogenetic analysis of the variable , region of the PCR amplification products, the sequences affiliated with five groups. Conclusions:,Several different sequences were found in both materials, suggesting the presence of several species. Also, previously unknown sequences were detected, although all the sequences clustered together with sequences of known species. Significance and Impact of the Study:,Streptomycetes are known as indicators for moisture and mould damage in buildings and potential health risk, but their diversity in indoor environments is still unknown. [source] WTC medical monitoring and treatment program: Comprehensive health care response in aftermath of disasterMOUNT SINAI JOURNAL OF MEDICINE: A JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED AND TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2008Jacqueline M. Moline MD Abstract The attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11th, 2001 exposed thousands of individuals to an unprecedented mix of chemicals, combustion products and micronized building materials. Clinicians at the Mount Sinai Irving Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, in partnership with affected stakeholder organizations, developed a medical screening program to evaluate the health status of workers and volunteers who spent time at the WTC site and thus sustained exposure in the aftermath of September 11th. Standardized questionnaires were adapted for use in this unique population and all clinicians underwent training to ensure comparability. The WTC Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program (MSP) received federal funding in April 2002 and examinations began in July 2002. The MSP and the follow up medical monitoring program has successfully recruited nearly 22,000 responders, and serves as a model for the rapid development of a medical screening program to assess the health of populations exposed to environmental hazards as a result of natural and man-made disasters. The MSP constitutes a successful screening program for WTC responders. We discuss the challenges that confronted the program; the absence of a prior model for the rapid development of a program to evaluate results from mixed chemical exposures; little documentation of the size of the exposed population or of who might have been exposed; and uncertainty about both the nature and potential severity of immediate and long-term health effects. Mt Sinai J Med 75:67,75, 2008© 2008 Mount Sinai School of Medicine [source] Multi-temporal geophysical survey of a Roman bath complex in Montegrotto Terme (Padova, northern Italy)ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 3 2007E. Finzi Abstract Between 2000 and 2005, several geophysical surveys were carried out by the staff of the Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, on the site of the Terme Neroniane in Montegrotto, near Padova, covering a whole complex of Roman spa buildings. This work represented a good opportunity to compare the effectiveness of various techniques (ground-penetrating radar, magnetic gradiometry and electrical resistivity tomography) and to seek the reasons for differing results. Depth, contrast between composition of the geological background and building materials, good state of structural preservation, and the lack of settlement following the Roman age supported experimental results. Old and more recent excavations, conducted in parallel with the University of Padova surveys, enabled continual comparisons between geophysical models and evidence from the site. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] THE IMPACT OF SOLUBLE SALTS ON THE DETERIORATION OF PHARAONIC AND COPTIC WALL PAINTINGS AT AL QURNA, EGYPT: MINERALOGY AND CHEMISTRY*ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 2 2009A. M. A. MOUSSA The wall paintings of Al Qurna in Egypt were studied by means of XRD and ICP,AES in order to determine their mineralogical and chemical composition, and to evaluate the impact of soluble salts on their deterioration, including the identification of the building materials and pigments used. Soluble salts analysis showed that NaCl is the most common soluble salt in the bedrock, ground water and surface water samples. The building materials are affected by the ground water, while the wall paintings in the area are affected by the Upper Egypt climatic conditions, which were studied in order to detect their role in the deterioration cycle in the area. [source] Local Stone (A Fragment)ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Issue 6 2007Reinhold Martin Abstract At a time when a wide range of building materials is available around the world, the decision to use locally sourced stone in India often extends beyond the pragmatic. As Reinhold Martin explains, a particular choice of stone can potentially set off a complex string of associations with geopolitical connotations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Australian Manufacturing Business: entrepreneurship or missed opportunities?AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 2 2001Diane Hutchinson In the light of criticism of the performance of Australian business, this article surveys the mounting array of firm and industry evidence to assess the performance of Australian mass production manufacturers. The focus is on lower technology sectors of food and drink, packaging, rural and consumer chemicals, and building materials because these are sectors where Australian firms faced fewer constraints. The article evaluates whether the large firms that emerged in these industries demonstrated entrepreneurship by responding to opportunities, developing their technical capabilities and learning how to manage their growing businesses effectively. [source] Ein Trocknungskoeffizient für BaustoffeBAUPHYSIK, Issue 3 2009Gregor A. Scheffler Dr.-Ing. Berechnungsverfahren; Feuchte Wärme; Versuche Abstract Ein wesentliches Element der hygrothermischen Charakterisierung von Baustoffen ist der Trocknungsversuch. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Feuchtetransportexperimenten wie dem Diffusionsversuch oder dem Wasseraufnahmeexperiment ist es bislang nicht möglich, aus der Trocknung einen einfachen Kennwert abzuleiten. In vielen Fällen, beispielsweise in der Interaktion von Forschung und Industrie, aber auch beim praktischen Vergleich bzw. der Auswahl geeigneter Baustoffe wäre ein solcher Kennwert jedoch wünschenswert. Im vorliegenden Artikel wird zunächst die Bedeutung des Trocknungsversuches für die hygrische Charakterisierung von Baustoffen herausgestellt, aus der sich das Bestreben ableitet, das Trocknungsverhalten zu standardisieren und einen Einzahlen-Materialkennwert zu definieren. Nach einer die verschiedenen Einflussfaktoren der Trocknung differenzierenden Einleitung werden bestehende Ansätze für die Standardisierung des Trocknungsverlaufes bzw. die Ableitung eines Trocknungskoeffizienten vorgestellt. Die einhergehenden Probleme werden diskutiert und weitere Möglichkeiten evaluiert. Ein einfacher Trocknungskoeffizient, der sich aus dem Trocknungsverlauf ableiten lässt, wird definiert. Die Korrelation dieses Koeffizienten mit dem Wasseraufnahmekoeffizienten und dem Dampfdiffusionswiderstand wird analysiert. Sein zusätzlicher Informationsgehalt wird in diesem Zusammenhang kritisch hinterfragt. Im Ergebnis steht die Definition des Trocknungskoeffizienten als ein neuer, unabhängiger Materialkennwert, der die Feuchtetransporteigenschaften im Übergang zwischen hygroskopischem und gesättigtem Transport beschreibt. Mit diesem Kennwert ist es möglich, Baustoffe einfach und schnell hinsichtlich ihres Trocknungsverhaltens zu unterscheiden und zu beurteilen, was insbesondere bei feuchtesensitiven Materialien von Bedeutung ist. A drying coefficient for building materials. The drying experiment is an important element of the hygrothermal characterisation of building materials. Contrary to other moisture transport experiments as the vapour diffusion and the water absorption test, it is until now not possible to derive a simple coefficient for the drying. However, in many cases such a coefficient would be highly appreciated, e.g. in interaction of industry and research or for the distinction and selection of suitable building materials throughout design and practise. This article first highlights the importance of drying experiments for hygrothermal characterisation of building materials on which the attempt is based to standardize the drying experiment as well as to derive a single number material coefficient. The drying itself is briefly reviewed and existing approaches are discussed. On this basis, possible definitions are evaluated. Finally, a drying coefficient is defined which can be determined based on measured drying data. The correlation of this coefficient with the water absorption and the vapour diffusion coefficient is analyzed and its additional information content is critically challenged. As result, a drying coefficient has been derived and defined as a new and independent material parameter. It contains information about the moisture transport properties throughout the wide range of moisture contents from hygroscopic up to saturation. With this new and valuable coefficient, it is now possible to distinguish and select building materials quickly and easily by means of their drying behaviour. This is particularly important for moisture sensitive materials. [source] Gekoppelter Wärme- und Stofftransport einschließlich der Korrosionsprozesse in porösen Baustoffen mit dem Simulationsprogramm AStraBAUPHYSIK, Issue 3 2007Rosa Maria Espinosa Dr.-Ing. Zur Beschreibung von Wärme- und Feuchtetransportvorgängen gekoppelt mit Stofftransportprozessen in porösen Baustoffen ist ein Differentialgleichungssystem bestehend aus der Energieerhaltungsgleichung und den Massenerhaltungsgleichungen aller beteiligten Stoffe einschließlich des Wassers aufzulösen. Hierzu ist die Modellierung der stattfindenden Phasenumwandlungen der vorliegenden Stoffe und der chemischen Reaktionen der Porenlösung mit der Baustoffmatrix erforderlich. Zu unterscheiden sind dazu inerte, nicht reaktive Baustoffe und reaktionsfähige, zementgebundene Baustoffe. Für die numerische Simulation dieser Vorgänge bzw. die praktische Handhabbarkeit der Problemlösung wurde eine benutzerfreundliche Programmoberfläche AStra geschaffen, die neben dem eigentlichen Berechnungsmodul die benötigten Pre- und Postprocessing Möglichkeiten beinhaltet. Für die Berechnung des zeitlichen Verlaufs eines lösenden oder treibenden Angriffs auf zementgebundene Baustoffe wird durch eine in Abhängigkeit der beteiligten Spezies geeignete Vorauswahl von ablaufenden Reaktionen der Rechenaufwand für die Vorhersage von Nichtgleichgewichtszuständen optimiert und damit die Möglichkeit geschaffen zeitliche Abhängigkeiten mit vertretbarem Berechnungsaufwand zu beschreiben. Zusätzlich können mechanische Beanspruchungen als Folge von Kristallisationsvorgängen zumindest qualitativ vorhergesagt werden. Im Folgenden werden eine Übersicht der implementierten Berechnungsmodelle sowie drei Anwendungsbeispiele von AStra vorgestellt. Coupled heat and mass transfer simulation including corrosion in porous building materials with the program AStra. For the description of corrosion processes of porous building materials, it is necessary to solve a system of coupled (non-linear) differential equations, which consists of a conservation equation for the energy and one for the mass of each substance (including water and air), whose content may change within the simulated time period. Indeed, it must be distinguished between degradation of reactive and of inert materials. The computation program AStra simulates a coupled transport of heat, moisture, air and chemical substances in porous materials. AStra consists of a user interface for pre- and post-processing and a computation module (solver), which contains the necessary algorithms to solve the system of coupled differential equations. Mathematical models for phase changes of salts and for chemical reactions between substances, including the components of the material matrix in case of cementitious materials, were developed. Furthermore, the computational cost for the prediction of the corrosion of cementitious materials was optimized by means of an adequate pre-selection of chemical reactions. Thus, it is possible to simulate corrosion processes within justifiable simulation time. On the other hand, a simulation of the mechanical stress resulting from crystallization processes is possible. This paper presents some applications of the programs and a brief introduction into their theoretical basis. [source] Hydraulische Reaktionen des Zements in Mörtel bei verschiedenen ParameternBETON- UND STAHLBETONBAU, Issue 8 2010Analytische Betrachtungen mittels Kryotransfer-Rasterelektronenmikroskopie Allgemeines; Baustoffe Abstract Die Kryotransfer-Rasterelektronenmikroskopie wird mittlerweile sehr häufig zur Erforschung von Abbindereaktionen in Zementen und anderen Baustoffen eingesetzt und kann heute als Standardverfahren angesehen werden. Ein wesentliches Interesse für industrielle Anwendungen besteht unter anderem darin, Untersuchungen des Zementleims in-situ bereits ab der Wasserzugabe bzw. ab der ersten Minute der Hydratation in so genannten "Zeitschnitten" durchzuführen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird der Einsatz eines Kryotransfer-Systems bei der Untersuchung der Abbindereaktionen des Zements in einem herkömmlichen Beton aufgezeigt. Als unterschiedliche Parameter wurden modellhaft Abbindezeiten von 1 Minute, 5 und 60 Minuten bei Abbindetemperaturen von 4 °C, 22 °C und 40 °C gewählt. Hydraulic Reactions of Cement in Mortar at Different Parameters Analytical Observations by Means of Cryo-Transfer-Scanning-Electron-Microscopy For the investigation of hydraulic reactions of cements and other building materials the cryo-transfer scanning-electron-microscopy is frequently used by now. Today the cryo-transfer technique is considered as a reference procedure. An essential concern in industrial applications is , amongst others , the insitu investigation of the cement paste at the very early state of hydration , just after the addition of water, respectively during the first minutes within so-called "time-cuts". The present work illustrates the application of a cryo-transfer system for the investigations on hydraulic reactions of conventional concrete. Exemplary parameters were curing times of 1 minute, 5 and 60 minutes at curing temperatures of 4 °C, 22 °C and 40 °C. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||