One Face (one + face)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Case studies of damage to 19-storey irregular steel moment-frame buildings under near-source ground motion

EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 7 2007
Swaminathan Krishnan
Abstract This paper describes the three-dimensional nonlinear analysis of six 19-storey steel moment-frame buildings, designed per the 1997 Uniform Building Code, under strong ground motion records from near-source earthquakes with magnitudes in the range of 6.7,7.3. Three of these buildings possess a reentrant corner irregularity, while the remaining three possess a torsional plan irregularity. The records create drift demands of the order of 0.05 and plastic rotation demands of the order of 4,5% of a radian in the buildings with reentrant corners. These values point to performance at or near ,Collapse Prevention'. Twisting in the torsionally sensitive buildings causes the plastic rotations on the moment frame on one face of the building (4,5% of a radian) to be as high as twice of that on the opposite face (2,3% of a radian). The asymmetric yield pattern implies a lower redundancy in the lateral force-resisting system as the failure of the heavily loaded frame could result in a total loss of resistance to torsion. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Influence of the relative humidity on film formation by vapor induced phase separation

POLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 4 2003
H. Caquineau
The formation of polymer films produced by the phase separation process occurring when a cast poly(etherimide)/N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone solution was exposed to humid air was studied. It was found that above a relative humidity value of 27%, the films presented a cell-like structure. The size of the cells was shown to decrease when the relative humidity increased. This effect was more pronounced at the film/substrate interface than near the surface. A cell-size gradient from one face of the film to the other was also clearly observed. A phenomenological model has been proposed to explain the morphology obtained by a phase separation induced by the water vapor in the studied system, takin into account thermodynamics and kinetics considerations. In this model, the cell-like structure setting up is shown to result from a nucleation and growth process accompanied by a coalescence coarsening. It was illustrated by a composition path on the ternary phase diagram. It was shown how the relative humidity influenced the film composition leading to the preferential nucleation compared to the growth and coalescence of the cells. Finally, it was found that the cell-size anisotropy resulted in the solvent and non-solvent mass transfers in the film, bringing to the fore the determining role of kinetics. [source]


A helix-turn motif in the C-terminal domain of histone H1

PROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 4 2000
Roger Vila
Abstract The structural study of peptides belonging to the terminal domains of histone H1 can be considered as a step toward the understanding of the function of H1 in chromatin. The conformational properties of the peptide Ac-EPKRSVAFKKT KKEVKKVATPKK (CH-1), which belongs to the C-terminal domain of histone Hl° (residues 99,121) and is adjacent to the central globular domain of the protein, were examined by means of 1H-NMR and circular dichroism. In aqueous solution, CH-1 behaved as a mainly unstructured peptide, although turn-like conformations in rapid equilibrium with the unfolded state could be present. Addition of trifluoroethanol resulted in a substantial increase of the helical content. The helical limits, as indicated by (i, i + 3) nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) cross correlations and significant up-field conformational shifts of the C, protons, span from Pro100 to Val 116, with Glu99 and Ala117 as N- and C-caps. A structure calculation performed on the basis of distance constraints derived from NOE cross peaks in 90% trifluoroethanol confirmed the helical structure of this region. The helical region has a marked amphipathic character, due to the location of all positively charged residues on one face of the helix and all the hydrophobic residues on the opposite face. The peptide has a TPKK motif at the C-terminus, following the ,-helical region. The observed NOE connectivities suggest that the TPKK sequence adopts a type (I) ,-turn conformation, a ,-turn conformation or a combination of both, in fast equilibrium with unfolded states. Sequences of the kind (S/T)P(K/R)(K/R) have been proposed as DNA binding motifs. The CH-1 peptide, thus, combines a positively charged amphipathic helix and a turn as potential DNA-binding motifs. [source]


The problems of sustainable water use in the Mediterranean and research requirements for agriculture

ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2004
J LARAUS
Summary This study addresses the sustainable use of water resources in the Mediterranean basin, particularly in the Southern and Eastern parts of the region, and the many problems generated by water scarcity and misuse. Water economy in the region is beset by two specific problems: high irrigation needs and changes in consumer demands (especially after population shifts from rural to urban areas and because of increasing tourism and industrialisation). The challenges presented by the water crisis are even greater because of growing populations and estimated future climatic changes in the region. The integrated management of limited water resources in the Southern and Eastern parts of the Mediterranean involves several areas of research. Those most directly related with agriculture concern improving water (and nutrient) use in agriculture through the management and breeding of irrigated and rain-fed crops. However, these fields of research address only one face of a multi-factorial equation that affects water sustainability in the region. Thus, other research fields include the design of comprehensive water policies and integrated planning, and technologies for advanced water treatment and re-use. Moreover, local problems and socio-economic aspects must be considered when addressing research issues. [source]


Actin mutations are one cause of congenital fibre type disproportion

ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 5 2004
Nigel G. Laing PhD
We report three heterozygous missense mutations of the skeletal muscle alpha actin gene (ACTA1) in three unrelated cases of congenital fiber type disproportion (CFTD) from Japan and Australia. This represents the first genetic cause of CFTD to be identified and confirms that CFTD is genetically heterogeneous. The three mutations we have identified Leucine221Proline, Aspartate292Valine, and Proline332Serine are novel. They have not been found previously in any cases of nemaline, actin, intranuclear rod, or rod-core myopathy caused by mutations in ACTA1. It remains unclear why these mutations cause type 1 fiber hypotrophy but no nemaline bodies. The three mutations all lie on one face of the actin monomer on the surface swept by tropomyosin during muscle activity, which may suggest a common pathological mechanism. All three CFTD cases with ACTA1 mutations had severe congenital weakness and respiratory failure without ophthalmoplegia. There were no clinical features specific to CFTD cases with ACTA1 mutations, but the presence of normal eye movements in a severe CFTD patient may be an important clue for the presence of a mutation in ACTA1. Ann Neurol 2004 [source]


Subjective mental time: the functional architecture of projecting the self to past and future

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 10 2009
Shahar Arzy
Abstract Human experience takes place in the line of mental time (MT) created through ,self-projection' of oneself to different time-points in the past or future. Here we manipulated self-projection in MT not only with respect to one's life events but also with respect to one's faces from different past and future time-points. Behavioural and event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging activity showed three independent effects characterized by (i) similarity between past recollection and future imagination, (ii) facilitation of judgements related to the future as compared with the past, and (iii) facilitation of judgements related to time-points distant from the present. These effects were found with respect to faces and events, and also suggest that brain mechanisms of MT are independent of whether actual life episodes have to be re-experienced or pre-experienced, recruiting a common cerebral network including the anteromedial temporal, posterior parietal, inferior frontal, temporo-parietal and insular cortices. These behavioural and neural data suggest that self-projection in time is a fundamental aspect of MT, relying on neural structures encoding memory, mental imagery and self. [source]