Seismic soil–structure interaction analysis of wind turbines in frequency domain

In this paper, the seismic behavior of wind turbines sitting on a finite flexible soil layer is investigated in three‐dimensional space. A numerical algorithm formulated in frequency domain is proposed in order to simulate the dynamic soil–structure interaction (SSI). The wind turbine is discretized using finite element method (FEM) while, the underlying soil is represented by complex dynamic stiffness functions based on cone models. A parametric study consisting of 24 ground motions and three soil profiles is carried out, and different response quantities of the wind tower model are calculated and presented in the paper. The free‐field ground motions are estimated based on an equivalent linear approach using SHAKE2000 computer software. Transfer functions for total acceleration of the wind tower are obtained under the considered soil profiles and the modal frequencies of the coupled wind turbine–soil foundation are estimated. It is shown that the response quantities such as displacement, rotation, acceleration, base shear and moment are significantly affected by SSI, although the effect of SSI on the fundamental frequencies of the wind tower is insignificant. The moment and shear force distribution along the height of the tower is highly influenced as the soil stiffness decreases. The change in seismic demand distribution along the tower height because of SSI is not addressed by simplified design approached and should be carefully considered in seismic design of wind towers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Antioxidant,anticholinesterase and antimicrobial constituents from the essential oil and ethanol extract of Salvia potentillifolia

The essential oil of Salvia potentillifolia was analysed by GC and GC–MS. Totally, 123 components were detected in both hydrodistilled and steam-distilled oils, α- and β-pinenes being major compounds. The antioxidant activities were determined by using complementary tests, namely, DPPH radical-scavenging, β-carotene-linoleic acid and reducing power assays. The ethanol extract also showed better activity (IC₅₀ = 69.4 ± 0.99 μg/ml) than that of BHT in the DPPH system, and showed great lipid peroxidation inhibition in the β-carotene-linoleic acid system (IC₅₀ = 30.4 ± 0.50 μg/ml). The essential oil showed meaningful butyrylcholinesterase activity (65.7 ± 0.21%), and α-pinene showed high acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 86.2 ± 0.96 μM) while β-pinene was inactive. Antimicrobial activity was also investigated on several microorganisms, and the essential oil showed high activity against Bacillus subtilis and B. cereus. It also exhibited remarkable anticandidal activity against Candida albicans and C. tropicalis with MIC values of 18.5 and 15.5 μg/ml, respectively, while α- and β-pinenes showed moderate activity.     

Nitric oxide and radiation enteritis

Mice with mutations at the downless (dl) locus have defects in hair follicle, tooth, sweat gland, preputial gland, Meibomian gland, and tail development. The dl phenotype is analogous to the human genetic disorder termed autosomal hypohidrotic (or anhidrotic) ectodermal dysplasia (HED). On the basis of the identification of two related transgenic insertional mutations in the downless gene, yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) were identified that map to the critical region of mouse Chromosome (Chr) 10. To determine which of the YACs contain the dl gene, we generated YAC transgenic mice by mouse embryo microinjections. The 200-kb YAC B25.D9 was found to rescue all of the downless defects. In addition, the transgenic YAC rescued the dominant Sleek (Dlslk) allele. Since the sequences within the YAC are entirely deleted in one of the transgenic mutants, our results establish that Sleek encodes a dominant-negative protein whose effects can be reversed by expression of extra copies of the wild-type locus.     

Chromium(VI) bioremoval by Pseudomonas bacteria: role of microbial exudates for natural attenuation and biotreatment of Cr(VI) contamination

Laboratory batch and column experiments were conducted to investigate the role of microbial exudates, e.g., exopolymeric substance (EPS) and alginic acid, on microbial Cr(VI) reduction by two different Pseudomonas strains (P. putida P18 and P. aeuroginosa P16) as a method for treating subsurface environment contaminated with Cr(VI). Our results indicate that microbial exudates significantly enhanced microbial Cr(VI) reduction rates by forming less toxic and highly soluble organo-Cr(III) complexes despite the fact Cr(III) has a very low solubility under the experimental conditions studied (e.g., pH 7). The formation of soluble organo-Cr(III) complexes led to the protection of the cells and chromate reductases from inactivation. In systems with no organic ligands, soluble organo-Cr(III) end products were formed between Cr(III) and the EPS directly released by bacteria due to cell lysis. Our results also provide evidence that cell lysis played an important role in microbial Cr(VI) reduction by Pseudomonas bacteria due to the release of constitutive reductases that intracellularly and/or extracellularly catalyzed the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). The overall results highlight the need for incorporation of the release and formation of organo-Cr(III) complexes into reactive transport models to more accurately design and monitor in situ microbial remediation techniques for the treatment of subsurface systems contaminated with Cr(VI).     

A new approach to determine the base shear of steel frame structures

Base shear (V) is the maximum lateral force that will occur due to seismic ground motion at the base of a structure. Calculations of base shear depend on a lot of factors such as soil conditions, level of ductility, fundamental period of vibration of the structure, etc. A great number of methodologies have been developed to determine the dynamic responses of individual frameworks. However, there is no well established empirical solution of the dynamic response of the problem due to the base shear of the steel frames. In this study, a formulation based on NN to determine the dynamic response of both braced and unbraced plane steel frames are provided. The presented formulation is a function of number of stories (ns), bays of the frames (nb), and soil types (Z). The training and testing patterns of the proposed NN formulation are obtained from linear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) solution. The NN-based formulation results are compared with the results obtained from numerical and some current design codes. The NN- based formulation results are found to be more accurate.     

Efficacy of methotrexate and misoprostol for early abortion

BACKGROUND: Medical termination of pregnancy (medical abortion) as an alternative to surgical abortion has many advantages since it does not require anesthetics and there is no risk of cervical laceration or uterine perforation. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of methotrexate and intravaginally administered misoprostol for early abortion. METHODS: The study population consisted of 32 women seeking abortion of a normal intrauterine pregnancy of 8 weeks or less documented by ultrasound. The dose of methotrexate was 50 mg/m2 intramuscularly and the dose of misoprostol was 800 micrograms intravaginally. The final outcome of treatment was evaluated on day 14 or 16, and an abortion was considered successful if pregnancy was terminated without a surgical procedure. RESULTS: Abortion occurred in only 23 (71.8%) of 32 women. There were 9 failures (28.1%); 3 were ongoing pregnancies (9.3%) and 6 were incomplete abortions (18.7%) requiring suction curettage. After the exclusion of treatment failures, the mean duration of vaginal bleeding was 16.3 +/- 2 days. No serious side effects occurred as a result of methotrexate and misoprostol treatment. CONCLUSION: The use of methotrexate and intravaginal misoprostol for the termination of pregnancy requires larger studies to determine the safety and efficacy of this medical abortion, a comparison with RU 486 in prospective controlled randomized trials is necessary.     

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull.) Murrill

Antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activities of Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull.) Murrill. extracts obtained with ethanol were investigated in this study. The study was aimed at determining the antioxidant activity (DPPH free radical-scavenging, β-carotene/linoleic acid systems), total phenolic content and total flavonoid concentration of L. sulphureus. Inhibition values both of L. sulphureus ethanol and the standards increased parallel with the elevation of concentration in the linoleic acid system. Inhibition values of L. sulphureus (LS) extract, BHA and α-tocopherol standards were found to be 82.2%, 96.4% and 98.6%, respectively, at a concentration of 160 μg/ml. DPPH free radical-scavenging activity was found to exhibit 14%, 26%, 55% and 86% inhibition, respectively, at concentrations of 100, 200, 400 and 800 μg/ml. Total flavanoids were 14.2 ± 0.12 μg mg⁻¹ (quercetin equivalent) while the phenolics were 63.8 ± 0.25 μg mg⁻¹ (pyrocatechol equivalent) in the extract. Positive correlations were found between total phenolic content in the mushroom extracts and their antioxidant activities. Edible mushrooms may have potential as natural antioxidants. L. sulphureus showed narrow antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria and strongly inhibited the growth of the Gram-positive bacteria tested. The crude extract exhibited high anticandidal activity on Candida albicans. Therefore, the extracts could be suitable as antimicrobial and antioxidative agents in the food industry.