Monoamine oxidase inhibitors inhibit [3H]quinpirole binding in rat striatal membranes

The paper deals with methods facilitating the preparation of oncospheres of the cestode, Hymenolepis diminuta, for experimental studies. Described in detail are procedures for the infection of the definitive hosts with the oncospheres; collection and artificial hatching of oncospheres; purification of hexacanths; preparation of extracts from the hexacanths; and preparation of hexacanths for electronmicroscopic studies.     

Bond of steel reinforcement with microwave cured concrete repair mortars

This paper investigates the effect of microwave curing on the bond strength of steel reinforcement in concrete repair. Pull-out tests on plain mild steel reinforcement bars embedded in four repair materials in 100 mm cube specimens were performed to determine the interfacial bond strength. The porosity and pore structure of the matrix at the steel interface, which influence the bond strength, were also determined. Test results show that microwave curing significantly reduces the bond strength of plain steel reinforcement. The reduction relative to normally cured (20 °C, 60% RH) specimens is between 21 and 40% with low density repair materials and about 10% for normal density cementitious mortars. The corresponding compressive strength of the matrix also recorded similar reduction and microwave curing resulted in increased porosity at the interface transition zone of the steel reinforcement. A unique relationship exists between bond strength and both compressive strength and porosity of all matrix materials. Microwave curing reduced shrinkage but despite the wide variation in the shrinkage of the repair mortars, its effect on the bond strength was small. The paper provides clear correlations between the three parameters (compressive strength, bond strength and porosity), which are common to both the microwave and conventionally cured mortars. Therefore, bond-compressive strength relationships used in the design of reinforced concrete structures will be also valid for microwave cured elements.     

Energy polarization and popular representation: Evidence from the Russian Duma

In this article we introduce the term “energy polarization” to explain the politics of energy market reform in the Russian Duma. Our model tests the impact of regional energy production, party cohesion and ideology, and electoral mandate on the energy policy decisions of the Duma deputies (oil, gas, and electricity bills and resolution proposals) between 1994 and 2003. We find a strong divide between Single-Member District (SMD) and Proportional Representation (PR) deputies High statistical significance of gas production is demonstrated throughout the three Duma terms and shows Gazprom's key position in the post-Soviet Russian economy. Oil production is variably significant in the two first Dumas, when the main legislative debates on oil privatization occur. There is no constant left–right continuum, which is consistent with the deputies' proclaimed party ideology. The pro- and anti-reform poles observed in our Poole-based single dimensional scale are not necessarily connected with liberal and state-oriented regulatory policies, respectively. Party switching is a solid indicator of Russia's polarized legislative dynamics when it comes to energy sector reform.     

Anti-windup controller design using linear parameter-varying control methods

In this paper, we seek to provide a systematic anti-windup control synthesis approach for systems with actuator saturation within a linear parameter-varying (LPV) design framework. The closed-loop induced L2 gain control problem is considered. Different from conventional two-step anti-windup design approaches, the proposed scheme directly utilizes saturation indicator parameters to schedule accordingly the parameter-varying controller. Hence, the synthesis conditions are formulated in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) that can be solved very efficiently. The resulting gain-scheduled controller is non-linear in general and would lead to graceful performance degradation in the presence of actuator saturation non-linearities and linear performance recovery. An aircraft longitudinal dynamics control problem with two input saturation non-linearities is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed LPV anti-windup scheme.     

Crisis-driven changes in construction patterns: evidence from building permits in a Mediterranean city

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the construction sector’s response to the 2007–2008 recession based on the spatial analysis of 10 building activity indicators over a 25-year period (1990–2014) in Athens, Greece. Expansion and recession cycles influenced the average values of four indicators (density of new buildings, average floors per new building, density of enlarged buildings and building permits per inhabitant) without altering their spatial pattern. By contrast, the spatial distribution of six indicators (proportion of small-sized dwellings, average surface area of new buildings, average number of floors in enlarged buildings, average surface area of enlarged buildings, volume ratio of enlarged buildings compared to new buildings and ratio of new building surface area to the absolute population increase) became more heterogeneous during the study period. Local-scale indicators derived from building-permits data provide insights into building cycles, shedding light on the short-term effects of the recent crisis on the construction sector.     

Laminar Free Convection in a Square Enclosure Driven by the Lorentz Force

A numerical study is presented of laminar free convection flow driven by magnetic forces. An external magnetic field with one spatially varying component is applied to an electrically conducting fluid in a square enclosure. This magnetically-driven flow is controlled by the intensity and the wave number of the applied magnetic forcing. In addition, when the enclosure is heated laterally in a non-zero gravity environment, the resulting buoyant forces may contribute or resist the magnetically-driven fluid motion. The present results show that a strong magnetic field can even reverse the buoyant flow. The circulation intensity of the flow and the heat transfer from the sidewalls is increased with increasing magnetic field or with decreasing magnetic Reynolds number. The wave number of the magnetic forcing is also an important parameter that determines the vortex patterns and, consequently, the convection heat transfer.     

Dissipative analysis and control of state-space symmetric systems

The paper addresses the problem of analysis and static output feedback control synthesis for strict quadratic dissipativity of linear time-invariant systems with state-space symmetry. As a particular case of dissipative systems, we consider the mixed H_∞ and positive real performance criterion and we develop an explicit expression for calculating the H_∞ norm of these systems. Subsequently, an explicit parametrization of the static output feedback control gains that solve the mixed H_∞ and positive real performance problem is obtained. Numerical examples demonstrate the use and computational advantages of the proposed explicit solutions.